If You Can't Beat'em, Join'em?

Friends,

I recently read an article in the North American Mission Board magazine about a pastor and church in Indiana that had discovered the key to overcoming secular schedules interfering with church schedules. In this particular case, the secular schedule was baseball. The church’s solution: if you can’t beat’em, join’em. This church decided that they were tired of "fighting" over the issue and so commissioned those who forsake the fellowship of the saints to a sort of chaplaincy. Instead of coming to church, these folks go on to their sports and try to be salt and light. What was amazing, at least to me, was that the North American Mission Board seemed to support this action lock, stock and barrel- even to the inconspicuous encouragement of other churches to do the same. Everyone seems happy with the agreement- but is Jesus?
In the small western Kentucky area in which I grew up (where Baptists are the majority religion) schools would not dare hold sports meetings on Sundays or even Wednesday nights. This occurred first because those schedule makers were typically Lord’s Day honoring Christians and secondly, if they weren’t, they knew full well there would be an outcry and furthermore, they knew no one would attend. Coming to Indiana in 2003, I quickly learned the opposite is the case in this culture- sports is exalted as a god of summer (or winter, depending on the particular sport) and everyone seems convinced their child will be the next Babe Ruth (or Dan Marino, etc.). My exhortation to my people has been to honor the Lord’s Day and even tell the coaches and staff that makes sports schedules that their children will not participate in sports on Sundays- or at least during service hours. I believe this is equally being salt and light and I have no doubt that would remedy the problem, but to date it hasn’t happened.

Nevertheless, this attitude seems to be occurring more in Southern Baptist life. I really could not believe Lifeway would hold their inventories on Sundays. Granted, they tried to hold them at hours after church- the morning service anyway. Sunday night services were completely disregarded. Personally, I completely balked at the idea- especially when I found out the main reason was so the store could continue to operate without the interference of an inventory. Nevertheless, my wife and I determined she simply was not going to do it- even if it meant loosing her job. She was excused from those hours, but a dangerous precedent had been set.
Thus, we have two attitudes presented to the current problem- join it or confront it. I cannot fault any of my brethren for attempting to be truly missional (sheesh, did I really just use that word- watch out, I’ll probably be saying "organic" soon) to a lost world- yet evangelism and missions becomes an idol when it forsakes and overshadows holiness and obedience. It is an attempt to conform Christ to culture rather than culture to Christ and such cannot be supported from Scripture. The remaining question to ask is, "can the "confront it" mentality be supported by Scripture?" I believe it can.

To begin, one has to ask themselves just what part we don’t understand of "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it". The Sabbath was ordained in creation (Genesis 2:2) and etched into holy law at Sinai. While the fifth command contains a promise, the fourth command receives the greatest commentary and instruction- and God was deathly serious about it (Exodus 31:14-15). Upon breach of the Covenant including neglect of the Sabbath, Israel was subjected to exile and slavery (Nehemiah 13:17-18). God was equally willing to greatly bless those who honored the Sabbath as well (Isaiah 56:2).

In fulfilling the promise to Adam and Abraham, the Law of God has likewise been fulfilled in Christ leaving New Covenant believers free from its demands (Galatians 3:23). Nevertheless, as surely as the Law of Moses did not nullify that promise to Abraham, so the Law of Christ does not forsake the Law- in fact, it is written on our hearts and we are commanded to excel in its point and desire. For example, Jesus taught us that as the Law instructed, do not commit adultery, He expects us in the New Covenant to not only abstain from the physical act, but abstain from even lusting for a woman in our hearts (Matthew 5:27-28). As it pertains to the Sabbath, the demand of its regulation has been fulfilled (note its absence of discussion in Acts 15). The Day has changed to Sunday as it was on this day our Lord rose from the grave, the church began its worldwide mission, Paul worshipped and the day the Corinthians were to bring offerings when they gathered (Luke 24:1, Acts 2 & 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2). We cannot be certain, but it is very likely this is the Day John spoke of in Revelation 1:10.

Having this premise before us are we able to say the holy day has changed to holiday? The New Covenant will not allow it. Minimally, the law called for a cessation of work. Jesus calls us to exceed in that premise, to not only sanctify His Day, but also to recognize in obedient holiness that He is the Lord of it (Matthew 12:1-12, Mark 2:27, Luke 6:5). Furthermore, He expects us to be together in all of our meetings so as to keep our lives oriented and prepared for His return (Hebrews 10:25). We are allowed in the New Covenant to exceed our days and times of worship from just once per week, but minimally we are all to be together, in worship, in service, on His Day- period.

Jesus said that only three activities should be performed on the Sabbath (rest being implied) worship, mercy and deeds of necessity (Matthew 12:10, Luke 13:15). The Christian goal in observing the Lord’s Day should be to seek maximum adherence to these Lord’s Day pillars. Thus, if any activity violates or nullifies the Christian’s worship of Christ, rest, acts of mercy or necessity this is voluntary sin showing an abysmal appreciation for the suffering and resurrection of Christ and the new life He has given us through them (Isaiah 58:13-14, Amos 8:4-8, Hebrews 10:25). If we cannot perform an activity on the Lord’s Day by faith, it is sin (Romans 14:23). Furthermore, if love for the brothers is the chief characteristic of a Christian (1 John 3:14-19), it seems impossible for this to occur when one willful forsakes the assembling of the saints, putting their lives in the world where their hearts really are instead of Christ and His church. Christians express the Law of Christ in part by maintaining the Lord’s Day as a Holy Day, honoring Christ in it through worship and encouraging the brothers through mutual edification.

Confessionally, Southern Baptists believe "The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ." This article was changed from the 1963 confession which stated in part that activities on the Lord’s Day should include "refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, work of necessity and mercy only being excepted." Was it a mistake to change this phrase? I agree with the wording of the 2000 confession because the exhortations I’ve given regarding the Lord’s Day do indeed flow from a Christian’s conscience. In other words, these are things saved people desire to do, not legalistic requirements people must do to be saved. Nevertheless, I agree with James Leo Garrett who wrote regarding these changes that, "it is difficult to escape the conclusion that this is an accommodation to the secularization/desabbathization of Sunday in American society and among Southern Baptists." Likewise, I agree with Larry Baker when he wrote: "Baptists of the SBC have largely abandoned the vision of the Lord’s Day as expressed by the BFM…Now it seems that anything goes on Sunday, even for church folks. For many people in the larger society and in Baptist churches, Sunday is only one of seven days in the week. For many people, Sunday is business as usual."

I should know, because I once found myself wayward in this matter. Occasionally when I was around sixteen or seventeen and had the goal of being a tournament fisherman, my grandfather and I would go fishing on some Sundays. I can distinctly remember the last time I did so. I was convicted not only of the sin, but also of the pure vanity of sitting on a lake, trying to catch fish, and then realizing that if my goal of being a tournament fisherman came true, that’s all my life would be before God when it was over. But, I’m a good sinner and a slow learner. When I was around 18 years old I started a collectibles business that operated on Sunday. I only endured that deal, going to church mainly on nights and Wednesdays, for a few months. I can still remember my grandmother so lovingly rebuking me and praying for me to not forsake the church- she knew the seriousness of what forsaking the Lord’s Day meant. Then, a year or so later, I got a job at a municipality. When I first began, I worked a shift that went Monday-Fridays, but later was put on a shift that required me to work every other Sunday. I hated it with all that I was. I prayed that God would open a door for me to continue working but on a different shift. To the glory of God, He did and I went back working from Mondays to Fridays until I surrendered to His ministry calling and went to seminary. I realized while I was in seminary and living in the dorms that a serious problem lay in the hands of Southern Baptists as Sunday by Sunday so many of my fellow brothers in training, so to speak, would sleep in and not go to church at all.

By the grace of God and the concern of godly saints, I come to treasure the value of the Lord’s Day and what a thorough maintenance of it in the soul entails. Praise God I come to know in a most intimate way with my Savior these precious words: If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58:13-14).

Confront it brothers, don’t join it- the labor will not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Blessings,
TJ