Chapter 4: The Biblical Alternative:
God's Holy Day
“For to the heathens
each festive day occurs but once annually: [but] you have a festive day
every eighth day” – Tertullian, De Idololatria (2nd
century).
The Biblical alternative to
the observance of ecclesiastical holy days and seasons is the observance of that
holy day which God has instituted. The first day of every week is God’s holy
day—the Lord’s Day or the Christian Sabbath. God has graciously given His
Church 52 holy days (or “festival days”)
each year. And the Lord’s Supper is the accompanying feast that He has given to
His Church. That is, the Lord’s Supper is the feast that Christians are to
observe on the Lord’s Day. For this reason I will argue in the latter half of
this chapter that the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated weekly—every time the
Church gathers on the Lord’s holy, festival Day.
I.
The Lord’s Day
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor
and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On
it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that
is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the
Sabbath day and made it holy” (Ex. 20:8-11, NIV, emphasis added).
As cited in chapter 4, Matthew Henry has provided a succinct explanation of the
biblical basis for the Christian Sabbath:
The setting apart a portion of our time for the worship
and service of God, is a moral and unchangeable duty, but had no necessary
dependence upon the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath of the Jews. The first
day of the week, or the Lord’s day, is the time kept holy by Christians, in
remembrance of Christ’s resurrection. All the Jewish rites were shadows of
gospel blessings.
The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms provides an
excellent summary of the Christian’s duty with regard to the fourth commandment
and the Christian Sabbath. Let us consider what the Larger and
Shorter Catechisms teach regarding the fourth commandment and its
implications for the observance of holy days:
WSC 58
What is required in the fourth commandment?
“The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set times as
He hath appointed in His Word; expressly one whole day in seven, to be a
holy Sabbath to Himself” (WSC, 58, emphasis added).
Although the moral law of
God requires us (i.e., all men, Christian and non-Christian)
to sanctify “such set times as He hath appointed in His Word,” it most certainly
does not require us to sanctify days or seasons that God has not appointed in
His Word. The set time that God has appointed in His Word for us to keep
holy is “expressly one whole day in seven,” which is the Sabbath day.
The Westminster Assembly
elsewhere precluded all doubt as to whether there are other holy days in
addition to the Sabbath day. The appendix “Touching Days and Places for Public
Worship” to the Westminster Assembly’s Directory for the Publick Worship of
God (1646) emphasizes that the only day that God has authorized as a
holy day is the Lord’s Day:
There is no day commanded
in the scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s day, which is
the Christian Sabbath.
WLC 116 What is required in the fourth commandment?
A.
The fourth commandment requireth of all men the sanctifying or keeping holy to
God such set times as he hath appointed in his word, expressly one whole day
in seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the
resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since,
and so to continue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath,(1)
and in the New Testament called The Lord’s day.(2)
(1)Deut. 5:12-14; Gen. 2:2,3; 1
Cor. 16:1,2; Acts 20:7; Matt. 5:17,18; Isa. 56:2,4,6,7 (2)Rev. 1:10
The Larger Catechism further explains that since Christ’s resurrection,
this one whole day in seven is “the Christian sabbath,” which in the New
Testament is called “The Lord’s day” and is observed on the first day of the
week. Under the new covenant, the fourth commandment requires “all men”
(believers and unbelievers) to sanctify or keep holy the first day of each week,
for it is the Lord’s day. It is a holy day, for God has claimed this day for
Himself. The first day of each week belongs to the Lord of heaven and earth!
The Lord’s Day calls us and all mankind to remember the significance of Christ’s
resurrection. Christ’s resurrection was an event as significant as the creation
of the world. His first coming changed the keeping of time (i.e., the B.C./A.D.
dating system); His second coming will mark the end of this present world and
its present concept of time (i.e., In the new heavens and earth, there will be
no sun or moon, Rev. 21:23.).
Tertullian’s statement, quoted at the beginning of this chapter, provides one
reason why the observance of ecclesiastical holidays distorts the Gospel:
“For to the heathens each festive day occurs but once annually: [but]
you have a festive day every eighth day.” Church holidays distort the
Gospel because they follow the same pattern as the world’s holidays, each being
observed once a year. Scripture, on the other hand, reveals that God intends
for every eighth day, the Lord’s Day, to be a weekly reminder of Christ’s death
and resurrection.
Schwertley notes the practical effect of ecclesiastical holiday observance on
the sanctifying of the Christian Sabbath:
God has been very generous to His people,
giving them 52 holy days a year. When men add their own days (e.g.,
Christmas, Easter, etc.) they detract from, denigrate and even
set aside the Lord's day. People love and give more attention to
Christmas than they do the Lord's day. Many Christians spend nearly the
whole month of December preparing for Christmas: decorating their homes, offices
and churches, buying gifts, baking pies and cookies, practicing and memorizing
Christmas carols, Christmas plays, Christmas carol recitals, etc. Many Americans
rarely attend church but would never miss the Christmas service. The typical
American winks at Sabbath breaking, fornication, adultery and drunkenness; but
considers Christians who do not celebrate Christmas to be deluded fanatics.
While the world understands Good Friday to be the church’s annual celebration of
Christ’s death and Easter Sunday to be the church’s annual celebration of His
resurrection, Scripture teaches that Christ’s death and resurrection are to be
celebrated the first day of every week! If the professing church
only observed the Biblical holy days; if Christians truly revered,
sanctified, and kept holy the first day of every week, would not the world take
notice? Christians definitely would stand out from the world.
The
world marvels at Muslims who diligently carry out their religious duties,
praying five times daily and fasting during the month of Ramadan. These
practices set Muslims apart from the rest of the world, which seems to be one
factor attracting new converts to Islam. (Islam is the fastest-growing world
religion and the fastest growing religion in the United States.)
Yet, what sets Christians apart from the world? I believe the primary reason
why the Church is losing its influence in Western society is
that it is increasingly like the world. In many
cases it is a spitting image of the world!
Yet, if Christians refused to work on the first day of the week, except for
works of necessity and mercy; if Christians refused to attend sporting events,
roam shopping malls, mow their lawns, wash their cars, watch movies, or do those
things that unbelievers occupy themselves with on the first day of the week,
surely the world would take notice. Surely unbelievers would wonder why
Christians acted the way they did on Sundays. And this would provide a
tremendous opportunity to proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would explain to these unbelievers that the first day of every week is a holy
day for Christians. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of
the week. He has claimed the first day of the week as His own holy day. And
because Jesus is the Savior and Lord of my life, I want to live in obedience to
His Law.
Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Because
Jesus is my Lord, how could I think of doing my own pleasure on His
holy day (cf. Isa. 58:13)? If I am truly Christ’s disciple, then surely I will
not think it burdensome to set aside one-seventh of each week for Him. Rather,
for me the Sabbath is a delight, for He graciously has provided me with a day to
rest in Him—to escape from the stress and toil of this life. Every eighth day I
am able to experience a foretaste of the heavenly life that I will experience
after death for all eternity to come. (Indeed, by virtue of my union with
Christ, I am already “seated with Him in the heavenly places” [Eph. 2:6].) In
order to sanctify His Day, I spend the first day of each week in personal,
family, and corporate worship, remembering what He has done for me, singing and
praying to Him, receiving spiritual nourishment from Him, and joyfully
celebrating this festival day He has given to His church. I enjoy the communion
of the saints, that is, the fellowship of gathering with my brothers and sisters
in Christ who have joined themselves together as a covenant community,
consisting of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and their children.
Joseph Pipa comments in this regard:
Our observance of the Lord’s day serves also as a sign
and testimony to our neighbors that we belong to the redeemed people of God. As
we keep the Lord’s day holy it becomes a testimony to those around us that we
are the special people of God. Often there is little that distinguishes us from
our neighbors since many of them are outwardly moral, responsible citizens and
many attend church. One external sign that God has given to us, the banner
under which we live, is the observance of the entire Christian Sabbath. By this
[and by the frequent observance of the Lord’s Supper—author] we testify that we
are not our own; we belong to the Lord. Our faithful Sabbath-keeping may be a
testimony to our neighbours and our behaviour may give us opportunity to explain
our practice to them. For example, when we tell a neighbour that our children
cannot come to a birthday party or that we cannot take part in a neighbourhood
outing or sports event because we are Christians and want to dedicate Sunday to
God’s worship and work, perhaps we will have an opportunity to explain more
fully our reasons and faith.
Charles Hodge similarly
notes the vital importance of faithful Sabbath observance for the spread of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and the extension of the kingdom of God:
If men wish the knowledge of [Jesus’
resurrection] to die out, let them neglect to keep holy the first day of the
week; if they desire that event to be everywhere known and remembered, let them
consecrate that day to the worship of the risen Saviour. This is God’s
method for keeping the resurrection of Christ, on which our salvation depends,
in perpetual remembrance.
The
Church can invest as much time and money into Christmas and Easter celebrations
as it wants, but it will continue to decline as long as it neglects to
faithfully observe God’s holy day. Hodge emphatically reminds us that
faithful observance of the Lord’s Day, as God’s holy day, is “God’s
method for keeping the resurrection of Christ in perpetual remembrance.”
R.L. Dabney likewise argued that the Christian Sabbath is “the bulwark of
practical religion in the world, that its proper observance everywhere goes hand
in hand with piety and the true worship of God; [and] that where there is no
Sabbath there is no Christianity.”
Indeed, Christians’ failure to maintain
“the sanctity of the Lord’s Day” is perhaps “the major cause of the world’s
failure to take seriously the church’s proclamation of Christ’s resurrection and
its implications.”
WLC 117 How is the sabbath or the Lord’s day to be sanctified?
A. The sabbath or Lord’s day is to be sanctified by an holy resting all the
day,(1) not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even
from such worldly employments and recreations as are on other days lawful;(2)
and making it our delight to spend the whole time (except so much of it
as is to be taken up in works of necessity and mercy(3)) in the publick and
private exercises of God’s worship; (4) and, to that end, we are to prepare
our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and
seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit
for the duties of that day.(5)
(1)Exod. 20:8,10 (2)Exod. 16:25-28; Neh. 13:15-22; Jer. 17:21,22 (3)Matt.
12:1-13 (4)Isa. 58:13; Luke 4:16; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1,2; Ps. 92 (title); Isa.
66:23; Lev. 23:3 (5)Exod. 20:8; Luke 23:54,56; Exod. 16:22,25,26,29; Neh. 13:19
God has appointed the Sabbath or Lord’s day as a day for the work of
celebration, anticipation, and re-creation. Geerhardus Vos, the old Princeton
theologian, explains:
Inasmuch as the Old Covenant was still looking forward to the performance of the
Messianic work, naturally the days of labour to it come first, the day of rest
falls at the end of the week. We, under the New Covenant, look back upon the
accomplished work of Christ. We, therefore, first celebrate the rest in
principle procured by Christ, although the Sabbath also still remains a sign
looking forward to [anticipating] the final eschatological rest. The Old
Testament people of God had to typify in their life the future developments of
redemption. Consequently the precedence of labour and the consequence of rest
had to find expression in their calendar. The New Testament Church has no
typical function to perform, for the types have been fulfilled. But it has a
great historic event to commemorate, the performance of the work by
Christ and the entrance of Him and of His people through Him upon the state of
never-ending rest. We do not sufficiently realize the profound sense the early
Church had of the epoch-making significance of the appearance, and especially of
the resurrection of the Messiah. The latter was to them nothing less than the
bringing in of a new, the second, creation. And they felt that
this ought to find expression in the placing of the Sabbath with reference to
the other days of the week. Believers knew themselves in a measure partakers of
the Sabbath-fulfillment. If the one creation required one sequence, then the
other required another. It has been strikingly observed, that our Lord died on
the eve of that Jewish Sabbath, at the end of one of these typical weeks of
labour by which His work and its consummation were prefigured. And Christ
entered upon His rest, the rest of His new, eternal life on the first day of the
week, so that the Jewish Sabbath comes to lie between, was, as it were, disposed
of, buried in His grave.
This portion of the Larger Catechism’s teaching in regard to the
sanctification of the Lord’s day and its corresponding section in the
Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 21, section 8, has been a source of
significant disagreement among modern Presbyterians. The dispute has been
explained in terms of a division between the Puritan view (expressed in the
Westminster Confession and Catechisms) and the Continental view
(expressed in the teachings of the Reformers of continental Europe). A common
illustration of the Continental view is John Calvin’s practice of “lawn bowling”
on Lord’s Day afternoons. Most of those claiming the Continental view as their
own draw exception to the Confession’s teaching that Christians must rest
“even from such worldly employments and recreations as are on other days
lawful.” Some may take exception to more or less. From my personal experience,
however, many of those who “subscribe” to the Continental view, in practice,
disregard the entire teaching of the Confession regarding the Christian
Sabbath. Nevertheless, I believe that many of those who hold to the Continental
view genuinely believe it to be the more biblical view. It is to these
individuals that the following comments are primarily intended.
Excursus: “A Defense of the Puritan View of the Sabbath”
I believe that the Puritan
view of the Sabbath, expressed in WLC Q. 117 and WCF, 21.8, is a necessary
application of the Biblical teaching regarding the Lord’s Day or Christian
Sabbath, as discussed above. If the first day of every week is God’s holy day,
the Lord’s Day, and if the fourth commandment requires all men to sanctify or
keep it holy to God, then what are the practical implications for us as
believers? To answer this question we must consider the holiness of God.
Imagine if you were invited to attend a state dinner at the White House with the
President of the United States of America. How would you dress? Would you not
take the day off work and cancel any other appointments? Would you not prepare
ahead of time for this special day? While you are meeting and dining with the
President, would you continually look at your watch and be eager to leave so
that you could meet a few friends for lunch at the Outback? Or would you
decline the President’s invitation to join him for this splendid feast prepared
by the White House chef, so that you could watch a Washington Redskins’s home
game at FedExField?
How then should you respond to God’s invitation to meet with Him and feast with
Him on the first day of each week? God is not merely a respected human leader.
No, He is the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Lord of heaven and earth. If
you are a Christian, He is your Savior and Lord. He is infinitely holy. And He
has commanded that we observe the first day of every week as His holy
day. How then should this affect the way we look at Sabbath observance?
Based on how they observe the Christian Sabbath, most professing Christians in
America display a higher view of their President than they do of God. Not only
do American churchgoers show more respect for their President than for God, they
even show more respect for sporting events than for God. Regrettably, many
professing American Christians seem much more eager to sanctify the Lord’s Day
for the god of sports than
for the God with whom they claim to have a personal relationship. Bruce
Ray, in his book Celebrating the Sabbath, illustrates this
depressing reality:
On almost any Sunday afternoon, you will find thousands of people crammed into
some sports arena or stadium to cheer on their home team. They prepared for
this event. They checked the team schedule and wrote this date on their
calendar. They set aside some of their paycheck and bought the best tickets
they thought they could afford. They will go to bed at a decent hour so that on
the big day they will be rested and able to enjoy the game. They will plan to
drive in early so that they can find good parking and not be late. Once in the
stadium, they will sit for hours on uncomfortable seats or benches without
complaining. They are not ashamed to be called fans (short for fanatics).
They will shout and cheer and clap their hands and have a wonderful time.
But next Sunday morning, look around you. Where are the crowds to clap and
cheer and praise the Lord? They’re all at home, sleeping in. It was too hard
to get out of bed this morning. They’re too tired after being out partying
until two in the morning. Or they’re headed for the ski slopes. Or the lake.
Or the office. There’s too much to do and too little time during the week, so
they steal the time that God has specifically set apart for enjoying him and
celebrating his works.
Ray
astutely observes that “the central issue in Sabbath discussions” is “the
authority of Jesus Christ as Lord. How does the Lord of the Sabbath want us
to use the day for our good and his glory?”
In concluding this excursus, let us consider the prophet
Isaiah’s message from the Covenant Lord to the exiles who had returned from
Babylon before the rebuilding of the temple in 520 B.C.:
If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing
your own pleasure on My holy day, And call
the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall
honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure,
And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I
will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with
the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
(Isa. 58:13-14, emphasis added)
I
think that the significance of Isaiah’s deliverance of this word from God has
often been overlooked. Having been confronted by the holiness of God, the
prophet Isaiah knew what it meant to sanctify God’s holy day, the holy day of
the Covenant Lord.
This is the Isaiah who saw the Lord “sitting on a throne, lofty and
exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple” (Isa. 6:1). This is the
Isaiah who heard the seraph call out to another and say, “Holy, holy, holy is
the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory” (6:3). This is the
Isaiah who responded, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of
unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen
the King, the LORD of hosts” (6:5). In this theophany Isaiah came face to face
with the holiness of God. For the first time in his life, he understood who he
was and who God was. In the presence of the Holy One, his self-esteem was
shattered. He recognized his sinfulness—in all its vileness. After receiving
forgiveness (6:7), Isaiah responded to God’s call for a prophet (6:8). He
volunteered for the job, which would involve proclaiming God’s message to a
spiritually deaf and blind people.
God was intimately involved in forming the personalities of those men
whom He foreordained to receive His revelation. By means of secondary causes,
God formed each writer’s personality so that he might be uniquely qualified to
receive God’s revelation and express it in the manner He intended. Isaiah was
no exception. Isaiah understood the holiness of God, insofar as the finite can
comprehend the infinite. Isaiah knew of the crucified Messiah who would justify
many (Isa. 53). Isaiah knew that His Redeemer was “the Holy One of Israel”
(54:5). Isaiah knew that Christ would build up His Church, His bride with whom
He would establish a perpetual covenant of peace (Isa. 54). Isaiah knew that
God would establish a new humanity, composed of both Jew and Gentile (Isa. 56).
It is in this context that
we must understand Isaiah’s teaching in Isaiah 58 regarding the observance of
the Sabbath. And it is in this context that we must understand the Puritan view
of the Sabbath.
The Lord’s Day is to be
sanctified by “an holy resting all the day,” for all the day is the Lord’s
Day. The Puritans rightly taught that we should rest “not only from such
works as are at all times sinful, but even from such worldly employments and
recreations as are on other days lawful.” If you have truly met with God
for worship on His Sabbath day, if your “eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
hosts,” if you have experienced “personal disintegration” before the holy
presence of Almighty God, why would you even want to engage in worldly
employments and recreations? Why would you want to vacuum your house, watch a
football game, or spend the afternoon playing basketball? Why would you want to
study for an Algebra or Chemistry exam? Why would you want to talk about
current events in the news, or what’s going on at work, or the batting averages
of your favorite baseball players? Surely Isaiah was not thinking about such
“worldly employments and recreations” when He was in the presence of the
holiness of God.
If you are Christ’s
disciple, then your proper response should be to desist “from your own
ways, from seeking your own pleasure, And speaking your own word” (Isa. 58:13, emphasis added).
Instead, you should devote your time to the service of the King. You should
say, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:8). You should make it your delight to
spend all God’s holy day (except so much of it as is to be taken up in works of
necessity and mercy) in the public and private exercises of God’s worship.
And the Westminster
Assembly also recommended that we “prepare our hearts, and with such
foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our
worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that
day,” because they took seriously the solemn responsibility of coming into the
presence of the “Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 54:5).
If I am spending tomorrow
meeting and dining with the President, would I not make sure I had everything
ready for that special day? Would I not be sure to arrive early? Would I not
want to be well dressed? Would not all my other “pressing concerns” have to be
put on hold for a day? How much more then should we prepare ourselves for
meeting for worship with the King of kings? How much more then should we
prepare ourselves for respecting and honoring the holiness of God’s appointed
holy day?
I believe that the
Westminster Assembly’s so-called Puritan view of the Sabbath is the
Biblical view of the Sabbath. For the Westminster divines’ view is that
which properly accounts for God’s holiness. If this is God’s holy day, then I
have no right to be thinking, doing, or speaking about those things that relate
to my six days of the week. Rather, every word of my mouth, every
thought of my mind, and every deed that I do must be in recognition of the
holiness of this day and that it is His day, not mine. To
even entertain a thought to the contrary is sinful, for in doing so I am saying,
“God, I know that you said this was Your holy day. I know that the
Sabbath is for my benefit. But I’d rather do things my way. I believe
that I have the liberty to do whatever I want on any day of the week, and I
won’t be bound by the yoke of your law.”
Where is the Christian who
will say, “O how I love Thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Thy law.” (Ps. 119:97, 113,
emphasis added)? Those who love God’s law have great peace (Ps. 119:165).
Submission to Christ’s Lordship, submission to the Lord of the Sabbath, is what
brings true joy and delight. In contrast, there is a penalty for those who
insist on “doing it my way”:
The rejection of the Sabbath rest today still carries a
death penalty, though not by the civil authorities. Those who reject God’s rest
and insist on their full ability to labor without ceasing bring death upon
themselves in the form of unrelieved stress, hypertension, heart attacks,
strokes, and a multitude of diseases. Sabbath breaking still brings death
physically.
The
Puritan view of Sabbath-keeping is not a list of do’s and don’ts. Pastors do
not have the right to impose such a list on their flock in a legalistic
fashion. Rather, each individual Christian must decide for himself how he will
spend the Lord’s Day, as his conscience dictates. (However, church leaders do
have a responsibility to discipline church members who flagrantly, obstinately,
and habitually profane the Lord’s Day, in accordance with the Biblical
principles of church discipline outlined in Matthew 18.) But if one is
convinced that the Puritan view of Sabbath-keeping is the Biblical view, which I
believe it is, then it should not be difficult for those who desire to please
God and live in obedience to Him to figure out how to observe the Lord’s Day
properly.
In applying the fourth commandment to our lives, let us
remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians: “So we make it our goal to please him,
whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him
for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:9-10).
When God declares that a day is His holy day, and
when He commands you to meet with Him for worship, how do you respond to Him?
Do you have more respect for the President, the god of sports, the god of the
shopping mall, or the Lord of heaven and earth?
--- End of Excursus ---
WLC 119 What are the sins forbidden in the fourth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in
the fourth commandment are, all omissions of the duties required,(1) all
careless, negligent, and unprofitable performing of them, and being weary of
them;(2) all profaning the day by idleness, and doing that which is in
itself sinful;(3) and by all needless works, words, and thoughts, about our
worldly employments and recreations.(4)
(1)Ezek. 22:26 (2)Acts 20:7,9;
Ezek. 33:30-32; Amos 8:5; Mal. 1:13 (3)Ezek. 23:38 (4)Jer. 17:24,27; Isa. 58:13
The fourth commandment forbids “all profaning” the Lord’s Day “by idleness.”
Because this is His day, it is not just a day to catch up on neglected
sleep from the previous week. Additionally, the fourth commandment forbids “all
needless works, words, and thoughts, about our worldly employments and
recreations.”
During worship services (especially prayers and sermons), what do many
Christians tend to think about? Their worldly employments and recreations. As
soon as the worship service concludes, what do most people tend to talk about?
Their worldly employments and recreations.
If there is one thing that American Christians are professionals at, it is
compartmentalizing their faith. Yet, God has commanded believers to seek “the
things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” We are to set
our “mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col.
3:1-2). We are to glorify God through all that we do, say, and think (1 Cor.
10:31). These commands are not limited to one day a week. Rather, this is how
we are to live seven days a week.
Yet, the fourth commandment, in particular, prohibits us from such “needless
words, works, and thoughts, about our worldly employments and recreations.” God
has given us six days a week to be in the world, dealing with all these
worldly matters. But He has given us the first day of every week to focus on
Him alone. The Lord’s Day reminds us, at the start of every week, that we are
in but not of the world (cf. John 17:11, 14-16; 1 John
2:15-16, emphasis added).
If we desire to sanctify or keep holy to God the first day of the week, then let
us dialogue with Him in corporate worship.
Before the service, let us contemplate what it means to be worshipping by the
power of God’s Spirit, in the courts of Heaven, in the company of angels (cf.
Eph. 2:6-7; Heb. 12:22-24). Let us worship as those who are truly in the
presence of the holy God—as those who by faith and in Spirit are citizens of
Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, worshipping as
the one body of Christ.
And may such contemplation direct our thoughts, words, and actions throughout
the remainder of the day.
WLC 121 Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth
commandment? A. The word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth
commandment,(1) partly, because of the great benefit of remembering it, we being
thereby helped in our preparation to keep it,(2) and, in keeping it, better to
keep all the rest of the commandments,(3) and to continue a thankful remembrance
of the two great benefits of creation and redemption, which contain a short
abridgment of religion;(4) and partly, because we are very ready to forget it,(5)
for that there is less light of nature for it,(6) and yet it restraineth our
natural liberty in things at other times lawful;(7) that it cometh but once
in seven days, and many worldly businesses come between, and too often take off
our minds from thinking of it, either to prepare for it, or to sanctify it;(8)
and that Satan with his instruments much labour to blot out the glory, and even
the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety.(9)
(1)Exod. 20:8 (2)Exod. 16:23; Luke
23:54,56 with Mark 15:42; Neh. 13:19 (3)Ps. 92 (title) compared with Ps.
92:13,14; Ezek. 20:12,19,20 (4)Gen. 2:2,3; Ps. 118:22,24; Acts 4:10,11; Rev.
1:10 (5)Ezek. 22:26 (6)Neh. 9:14 (7)Exod. 34:21 (8)Deut. 5:14,15; Amos 8:5
(9)Lam. 1:7; Jer. 17:21,22,23; Neh. 13:15-23
The Westminster Assembly was wise to devote a catechism question to the single
word remember. For how easy it is for us to forget the fourth
commandment. Indeed, the majority of Evangelicals have forgotten the fourth
commandment, and many Reformed and Presbyterian Christians would like to forget
it. Yet, God said, “REMEMBER!”
Satan, “the god of this world, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (2 Cor.
4:4). He is “the ruler of the kingdom of darkness, the ruler of the spirit who
is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:2, author’s translation).
Has Satan blinded the minds of the Church? I don’t think so. For a remnant yet
observes the Lord’s Day.
Yet, the Westminster divines astutely noted that Satan and his wicked workers of
iniquity have been quite effective in their labors “to blot out the glory” of
the Lord’s Day, and “even the memory of it,” seeking to “bring in all irreligion
and impiety.” Satan has indeed labored quite successfully in blotting “out the
glory” of it. For most professing Christians look on the Lord’s Day as a
burdensome yoke that is too great for them to bear.
They do not delight in keeping it holy to God. Satan has also labored quite
successfully in blotting out “even the memory of it.” For many evangelicals
think it is nothing but a reminder of a bygone era—an abrogated law of the
“dispensation of law” or the “dispensation of Moses.” And Satan has labored
quite successfully to bring in “all irreligion and impiety.” The Lord’s Day has
been profaned in every way imaginable, most notably by the corruption of true
worship. Satan has worked through false (and misled) teachers in church history
to devise all sorts of “self-imposed worship,” not the least of which is those
ecclesiastical holidays which have been the object of our study in this book.
The Lord’s Day has fallen on hard times since the turn of the 20th
century, as the Church has abandoned it in exchange for holy days and seasons
created by the Church.
Joseph Pipa comments:
Following the Puritans, the uniform practice of English and Scottish Reformed
churches until the middle of this [the 20th] century has been the
Sabbatarianism of the Westminster Standards. Such was also the practice of
English and American Baptists and Methodists. In Holland, although there was
more theological resistance, the primary position favoured a strict observance
of the Lord’s Day.
But in the second half of the
twentieth century the decline of the biblical doctrine of the Sabbath has been
widespread. Today Reformed Christians are compromising on the Sabbath,
returning to arguments that have been consistently repudiated throughout the
history of the Church. While on paper most Reformed denominations remain
committed to the doctrine of Sabbath-keeping, in the church courts and in the
teaching and preaching of a growing number of Presbyterian and Reformed pastors,
its glorious truth and privileges are being denied.
Yet, I am confident that truth will prevail! God will raise up modern
Reformers; He will raise up a Hezekiah, a Josiah, a John Calvin, or a John
Knox. He will either restore true worship in His church through such Reformers,
or He will return first and deliver us from this present evil age to the true
worship that shall forever await His elect. But, either way, “the gates of hell
shall not prevail” against Christ’s Church (Matt. 16:18, NIV).
II.
Baptism
Baptism is one of two sacraments
by which Christ reminds us of His death and resurrection.
Following John Murray,
Robert L. Reymond delineates a three-fold import to the sacramental sign and
seal of baptism: First, baptism denotes union with Christ
in His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. Second, baptism signifies
the cleansing or purification from sin’s defilement and guilt. Third,
baptism symbolizes the spiritual work given that name in Holy Scripture, namely,
Christ’s work of baptizing His people with the Holy Spirit.
The Westminster Larger Catechism asks the question, “How is our
baptism to be improved by us?” (Q. 167). It answers,
The needful but
much neglected duty of improving our baptism, is to be performed by us all our
life long, especially in the time of temptation, and when we are present at the
administration of it to others;(1) by serious and thankful consideration of the nature
of it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges and
benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made therein;(2) by
being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling short of, and walking
contrary to, the grace of baptism, and our engagements;(3) by growing up to
assurance of pardon of sin, and of all other blessings sealed to us in that
sacrament;(4) by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ,
into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace;(5)
and by endeavoring to live by faith,(6) to have our conversation in holiness and
righteousness,(7) as those that have therein given up their names to Christ;(8)
and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the same Spirit into one
body.(9) (1)Col. 2:11,12; Rom.
6:4,6,11 (2)Rom. 6:3-5 (3)1 Cor. 1:11-13; Rom. 6:2,3 (4)Rom. 4:11,12; 1 Pet.
3:21 (5)Rom. 6:3-5 (6)Gal. 3:26,27 (7)Rom. 6:22 (8)Acts 2:38 (9)1 Cor.
12:13,25,26,27
Question 167 of the Larger Catechism reminds us that one of the ways in
which our baptism is “improved by us” is by “drawing strength from the death and
resurrection of Christ, into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin,
and quickening [making alive] of grace.”
Baptism should be a regular occurrence on the Lord’s Day,
for several reasons: First, baptism is a holy sign and seal of the covenant of
grace, which represents Christ and His benefits. It is one of just two sacred
ordinances that have been entrusted to Christ’s church. Second, baptism is a
reminder to every member of the covenant community of his or her covenant
responsibilities. It is a reminder of their union with Christ and of their duty
to “work out” their “own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
During times of temptation and when we are present at the administration of
baptism to infants and adults, we should draw strength from this reminder of our
union with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection.
We should remember that we were baptized into Him, dying to sin but being made
alive to God in Christ Jesus (cf. Rom. 6:11). With the Apostle Paul, we should
declare, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
We have been cleansed or purified from sin’s guilt and defilement, by the blood
of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:7). We have been born again by the Spirit (John
3:1-6). Therefore, we do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit (Rom. 8:1, 4).
The Larger Catechism notes the similarities between the sacrament of
baptism and the other sacrament of Christ’s church—the Lord’s Supper:
WLC 176 Wherein do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's
supper agree?
A. The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper agree, in that the author of
both is God;(1) the spiritual part of both is Christ and his benefits,(2) both
are seals of the same covenant,(3) are
to be dispensed by ministers of the gospel, and by none other,(4) and to be
continued in the church of Christ until his second coming.(5)
(1)Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:23
(2)Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Cor. 10:16 (3)Rom. 4:11; Col. 2:12; Matt. 26:27,28 (4)John
1:38; Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:23; 1 Cor. 4:1; Heb. 5:4 (5)Matt. 28:19,20; 1 Cor.
11:26
III.
The Lord’s
Supper
The second sacrament by
which Christ reminds us of His death and resurrection is the Lord’s Supper. Not
only has God ordained the first day of every week as His day; He has
provided us with a meal to enjoy with Him, which is called “the Lord’s Supper.”
The Lord’s Supper is the feast that God has instituted for our benefit
and enjoyment. This is the means that He has ordained for us to remember His
death and resurrection:
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered
to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is
for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same way
He took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in
My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For
as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes. (1 Cor. 11:23-26, emphasis added; cf. Matt. 26; Mark 14;
Luke 22)
Joseph Pipa notes the close
connection between the Lord’s Day and the Lord’s Supper in Scripture:
The term John uses [“the Lord’s day”
(Rev. 1:10)] means a day that belongs peculiarly to the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is not the often used phrase, “the day of the Lord,” but a term that means a day
“belonging to the Lord.” This term is used only one other time in the New
Testament, by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:20 to describe the Lord’s Supper. The
Lord’s Supper is not an ordinary meal, but a meal that belongs exclusively to
the Lord, and was appointed to celebrate His redeeming work and to communicate
grace to His people. In like manner, the first day of the week is called the
Lord’s day because it is a day that belongs peculiarly to the Lord and was
appointed to commemorate His completed redemption and to communicate grace to
His people.
A. The Reformed Understanding of the
Lord’s Supper
Reformed churches teach,
following the Westminster Confession of Faith, that “worthy receivers,
outwardly partaking of the visible elements, in this sacrament [the Lord’s
Supper], do then also, inwardly by faith,
really
and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally but
spiritually, receive, and feed upon, Christ crucified, and all benefits
of His death: the body and blood of Christ being then, not corporally or
carnally, in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet, as really,
but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the
elements themselves are to their outward senses” (WCF, 29.7, emphasis added).
Robert L. Reymond adds, “The Lord’s Supper becomes then for the ‘worthy’
communicant a means of grace, not automatically, but through the blessing of
Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit in him who by faith receives the
elements. By them the crucified Christ spiritually gives himself and his
atoning benefits to the believer to strengthen and nurture him”.
Reymond points out that the view held by most Reformed
churches differs slightly from that of John Calvin, as expressed in his
Institutes, 4.17. He explains, “While Reformed churches generally
follow Calvin’s lead in his insistence that Christ is ‘really, but spiritually,
present’ to believers in the Lord’s Supper, not every Reformed theologian
follows Calvin’s exposition in its every detail”.
Citing the criticisms levied against Calvin’s teaching by Charles Hodge, William
Cunningham, and Robert Lewis Dabney, Dr. Reymond argues that Calvin’s exegetical
and interpretative error in his treatment of Jesus’ teaching in John 6 led to
his error in his exposition of the Lord’s Supper.
However, we believe that a closer examination of Calvin's
exposition of John 6, as discussed in our study, "Passover and the Christian,"
may vindicate Calvin's understanding of John 6 and its implications.
The Larger and
Shorter Catechisms provide the following definitions of the Lord’s Supper:
WLC 168 What is the Lord's supper?
A.
The Lord's supper is a sacrament of the New Testament,(1) wherein, by giving and
receiving bread and wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, his
death is showed forth and they that worthily communicate feed upon his
body and blood, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace,(2)
have their union and communion with him confirmed;(3) testify and renew
their thankfulness,(4) and engagement to God,(5) and their
mutual love and fellowship each with other, as members of the same mystical
body.(6) (1)Luke 22:20 (2)Matt.
26:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:23-26 (3)1 Cor. 10:16 (4)1 Cor. 11:24 (5)1 Cor. 10:14-16,21
(6)1 Cor. 10:17
WSC 96 What is the Lord's supper?
A.
The Lord's supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and
wine, according to Christ's appointment, his death is showed forth; and
the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but
by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to
their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace.(1)
(1)1 Cor. 11:23-26; 1 Cor. 10:16
The meaning (import) of the
Lord’s Supper can be explained and summarized under the following five headings:
1) a commemorative celebration; 2) an eschatological anticipation; 3) a means of
grace; 4) a demanding ordinance; and 5) a vindicating apologetic.
First, the Lord’s Supper is
a commemorative celebration. The Lord’s Supper is to be a commemorative
celebration of the church’s redemption, which “Christ our Passover” (1 Cor. 5:7;
cf. Exod. 12:46) accomplished when He died as our sacrifice at the time of the
Passover (John 18:28; 19:36). By it the church looks back to the historical
actuality of Christ’s cross work and remembers (1 Cor. 11:24), not
reenacts, and proclaims (1 Cor. 11:26) Christ’s sacrificial death for the
church.
Second, the Lord’s Supper is an eschatological anticipation. The Lord’s
Supper looks forward to the coming of the eschatological kingdom (see, e.g.,
Luke 22:16, 18). By partaking of the Lord’s Supper “until He comes” (1 Cor.
11:26), the “worthy” communicant anticipates that glorious time in the Eschaton,
at the return of Christ, when the church as the perfected Bride of Christ will
sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven at the “wedding
supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9) and drink anew with Christ of the fruit of the
vine in His Father’s kingdom (Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18).
Third, the Lord’s Supper is
a means of grace. Reymond explains, “By his ‘worthy’ participation in
the Lord’s Supper, the celebrant ‘communes’ by faith with his Lord’s slain body
and blood, which were offered up for him in death as his sacrifice for sin (John
6:50-58, 63-64; 1 Cor. 10:16), thereby experiencing a spiritual nourishment,
growth in grace, and renewal of thanksgiving and engagement to God”.
The Larger Catechism, Question 170, enlarges upon this aspect of the Lord’s
Supper:
WLC 170 How do they that
worthily communicate in the Lord's supper feed upon the body and blood of Christ
therein?
A. As
the body and blood of Christ are not corporally or carnally present in,
with, or under the bread and wine in the Lord's supper,(1) and yet are
spiritually present to the faith of the receiver, no less truly and really
than the elements themselves are to their outward senses;(2) so they that
worthily communicate in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, do therein feed upon
the body and blood of Christ, not after a corporal and carnal, but in a
spiritual manner, yet truly and really,(3) while by faith they
receive and apply unto themselves Christ crucified, and all the benefits of his
death.(4) (1)Acts 3:21
(2)Matt. 26:26,28 (3)1 Cor. 11:24-29 (4)1 Cor. 10:16
John
Calvin comments regarding the benefits of the Lord’s Supper:
[The Lord’s Supper
assures us of] our growth into one body with Christ such that whatever is his
may be called ours. As a consequence, we may dare assure ourselves that eternal
life, of which he is the heir, is ours; and that the Kingdom of Heaven, into
which he has already entered, can no more be cut off from us than from him;
again, that we cannot be condemned for our sins, from whose guilt he has
absolved us, since he willed to take them upon himself as if they were his own.
This is the wonderful exchange which, out of his measureless benevolence, he has
made with us; that, becoming Son of man with us, he has made us sons of God with
him; that, by his descent to earth, he has prepared an ascent to heaven for us;
that, by taking on our mortality, he has conferred immortality upon us; that,
accepting our weakness, he has strengthened us by his power; that, receiving our
poverty unto himself, he has transferred his wealth to us; that, taking the
weight of our iniquity upon himself (which oppressed us), he has clothed us with
his righteousness.
Fourth, the Lord’s Supper
is a demanding ordinance. The Larger Catechism explains what the
observance of the Lord’s Supper requires of us:
WLC 171 How are they that receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper to prepare
themselves before they come unto it?
A.
They that receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper are, before they come, to
prepare themselves thereunto, by examining themselves(1) of their being in
Christ,(2) of their sins and wants;(3) of the truth and measure of their
knowledge,(4) faith,(5) repentance;(6) love to God and the brethren,(7) charity
to all men,(8) forgiving those that have done them wrong;(9) of their desires
after Christ,(10) and of their new obedience,(11) and by renewing the exercise
of these graces,(12) by serious meditation,(13) and fervent prayer.(14)
(1)1 Cor. 11:28 (2)2 Cor. 13:5
(3)1 Cor. 5:7 compared with Exod. 12:15 (4)1 Cor. 11:29 (5)1 Cor. 13:5; Matt.
26:28 (6)Zech. 12:10; 1 Cor. 11:31 (7)1 Cor. 10:16,17; Acts 2:46,47 (8)1 Cor.
5:8; 1 Cor. 11:18,20 (9)Matt. 5:23,24 (10)Isa. 55:1; John 7:37 (11)1 Cor. 5:7,8
(12)1 Cor. 11:25,26,28; Heb. 10:21,22,24; Ps. 26:6 (13)1 Cor. 11:24,25 (14)2
Chron. 30:18,19; Matt. 26:26
WLC 174 What is required of them that receive the sacrament of the Lord's
supper in the time of [i.e., during] the administration of it?
A. It is required of them that receive the sacrament of
the Lord's supper, that, during the time of the administration of it, with all
holy reverence and attention they wait upon God in that ordinance,(1) diligently
observe the sacramental elements and actions,(2) heedfully discern the Lord's
body,(3) and affectionately meditate on his death and sufferings,(4) and thereby
stir up themselves to a vigorous exercise of their graces;(5) in judging
themselves,(6) and sorrowing for sin;(7) in earnest hungering and thirsting
after Christ,(8) feeding on him by faith,(9) receiving of his fulness,(10)
trusting in his merits,(11) rejoicing in his love,(12) giving thanks for his
grace;(13) in renewing of their covenant with God,(14) and love to all the
saints.(15) (1)Lev. 10:3; Heb.
12:28; Ps. 5:7; 1 Cor. 11:17,26,27 (2)Exod. 24:8 compared with Matt. 26:28 (3)1
Cor. 11:29 (4)Luke 22:19 (5)1 Cor. 11:26; 1 Cor. 10:3,4,5,11,14 (6)1 Cor. 11:31
(7)Zech. 12:10 (8)Rev. 22:17 (9)John 6:35 (10)John 1:16 (11)Phil. 1:16 (12)Ps.
63:4,5; 2 Chron. 30:21 (13)Ps. 22:26 (14)Jer. 1:5; Ps. 1:5 (15)Acts 2:42
WLC 175 What is the duty
of Christians, after they have received the sacrament of the Lord's
supper?
A.
The duty of Christians, after they have received the sacrament of the Lord's
supper, is seriously to consider how they have behaved themselves therein, and
with what success;(1) if they find quickening and comfort, to bless God for
it,(2) beg the continuance of it,(3) watch against relapses,(4) fulfill their
vows,(5) and encourage themselves to a frequent attendance on that ordinance:(6)
but if they find no present benefit, more exactly to review their preparation
to, and carriage at, the sacrament;(7) in both which, if they can approve
themselves to God and their own consciences, they are to wait for the fruit of
it in due time:(8) but, if they see they have failed in either, they are to be
humbled,(9) and to attend upon it afterward with more care and diligence.(10)
(1)Ps. 28:7; Ps. 85:8; 1 Cor.
11:17,30,31 (2)2 Chron. 30:21,22,23,25,26; Acts 2:42 (3)Ps. 36:10; Cant. 3:4; 1
Chron. 29:18 (4)1 Cor. 10:3,4,5,12 (5)Ps. 50:14 (6)1 Cor. 11:25,26; Acts 2:42,46
(7)Cant. 5:1-6; Eccles. 5:1-6 (8)Ps. 123:1,2; Ps. 42:5,8; Ps. 43:3-5 (9)2 Chron.
30:18,19; Isa. 1:16,18 (10)2 Cor. 7:11; 1 Chron. 15:12-14
Fifth, the Lord’s Supper is
a vindicating apologetic. Robert Reymond explains,
In the life and death struggle between
Christianity and theological liberalism, indeed against all antisupernaturalism,
the Lord’s Supper, both by its sign character (bread broken, fruit of the vine
poured out, recipient participation) and by the words of institution (“my body
which is for you”; “my blood of the new covenant which is poured out
for many for the forgiveness of sin”), stands as a vindicating apologetic
that the evangelical interpretation of the death of Christ as a substitutionary,
atoning death by sacrifice (over against the portrayal of his death as that of a
martyr in a noble cause or as that of a misguided fanatic) is the only true and
proper view of Christ’s death work. The Lord’s Supper itself preaches the
substitutionary atonement and proclaims both the Lord’s sacrificial death in our
behalf and his final return to judgment.
B.
A Case for Weekly Communion
1.
The Apostolic Teaching
In Greece, Paul and Luke
assembled with the people of God to break bread and to hear the preaching of
God’s word on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The Lord’s Supper
was observed every Lord’s Day and may have been observed even more frequently.
Calvin writes in his Institutes,
Luke relates in The Acts that this [frequent communion] was the practice of the
apostolic church, when he says that believers “. . . continued in the apostles’
teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers” [Acts 2:42,
cf. Vg.]. Thus it became the unvarying rule that no meeting of the church
should take place without the Word, prayers, partaking of the Supper, and
almsgiving. That this was the established order among the Corinthians also,
we can safely infer from Paul [cf. 1 Cor. 11:20]. And it remained in use for
many centuries after.
In the apostolic church,
worship services had a two-part structure: Word and Table. The Lord’s Supper
was administered every week, every time the Word of God was preached.
2.
The Early Church
In The Didache
(early second century) the term Lord’s Day is used to describe the day of
worship: “‘On the Lord’s day of the Lord, come together, break bread and hold
Eucharist, . . .’”.
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper continued to be an essential element of
worship. Similarly, Justin Martyr’s Apology (A.D. 150) expresses that
“the ministry of the Word” and “the ministry of the Table” were essential
elements of any worship service. He describes a typical 2nd century
liturgy:
Ministry of the
Word
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the New Testament, Colossians.
New Modern Edition
Database. Vol. 8. (Hendrickson, 1994).
Robert L. Reymond, “Lord’s Day Observance: Man’s Proper Response to the
Fourth Commandment,” Presbuterion: Covenant Seminary Review 13:1
(Spring 1987), 22.
Pipa, The Lord’s Day, 127-128. Robert L. Reymond further clarifies
that the Greek word
kuriako,j,
kyriakos, which means “belonging to the Lord,” occurs only twice in the
Greek New Testament—in 1 Corinthians 11:20, where it refers to the “Lord’s
Supper,” and Revelation 1:10, where it refers to the “Lord’s Day” (Reymond,
A New Systematic Theology, 805).
Copyright © 2011 Wabash
Bible Ministries. All rights reserved.
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