Since the rigorous, severe Sabbatical character of the Jewish Sabbath does not belong to the memorial day of the gospel, some have gone to the opposite extreme, and cast aside all regard for the day, and have taken liberty to do all kinds of temporal work and business. This is both unwise and contrary to the Scriptural teaching. Why is the resurrection day termed “the Lord’s day” if no more regard is to be given to it than to the other days of the week? This day should be given to the Lord. Some may say we give every day to the Lord by living a godly life. This is true in the sense that we must serve God in holiness all our days. But there is another sense in which we can set apart one day of the week for the Lord. We can dispense with our temporal affairs and devote this day to spiritual worship, joyfulness, and labor for the salvation of the lost. This is exactly what the primitive church did. All ordinances of God are established either by positive precept or by clear example. We have the sacredness of the resurrection day handed down to us by the example of the primitive church.
From the great day of Pentecost until now this has been a day of gospel preaching, a day of salvation work. It has always been my busiest day. During the thirty years of my ministry it has never been a day of rest and recreation. But it is a day of spiritual labor. More souls have been won to Christ on this day than on all the other days of the week put together. I am fully convinced that as far as possible all secular work should be put aside, and this memorial Lord’s Day should be spent in spiritual work for God. The church of God should make it the day of mighty effort in spreading the saving truth and redeeming the lost.
All chapters from The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day.
The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day. By H. M. Riggle, 1922. Life Assurance Ministries, Inc.
- The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day - October 2, 2021
- 27. Sunday-Keeping is Not the Mark of the Beast - July 8, 2020
- 26. The Pope and the Sabbath - July 2, 2020