The Lord's Day Must be Devoted to Worship

The Lord's Day must be devoted to worship, Mohler says in Ten Commandments series

October 05, 2006
By David Roach and Jeff Robinson

Christians have a biblical mandate to devote the Lord's Day to gathering with other believers in worship, said R. Albert Mohler Jr. on Sept. 21, in a chapel address on the fourth commandment at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

"We are to make it a priority of our lives that on this day we will be with God's people, we will be with the redeemed, we will be with the saints," Mohler said, "and we will gather together to prepare for eternity, to be confronted with the Word of God, to edify one another and to yearn for that eternal rest which is promised unto us by the grace and mercy of God."

The seminary president began a 10-part series on the Ten Commandments at the outset of the fall semester, a series he will complete during spring semester. In the latest installment, he outlined three positions Christians commonly hold regarding the application of the fourth commandment.

Some argue that Christians should continue to observe the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week as in the Old Testament, he said. This position is logical at many points but fails to accurately consider New Testament teaching on the Sabbath, Mohler said.

Others argue that the Old Testament commandments regarding a seventh day transfer to the first day of the week in the New Testament, he said. This position has a long history in the Protestant tradition but is incorrect, he said. Mohler argued that the New Testament gives neither explicit nor implicit evidence that the Sabbath commandments are simply transferred to the Lord's Day, Mohler noted.

The best approach for believers to take regarding the fourth commandment is known as Lord's Day observance, Mohler said. This position emphasizes that the central issue for the church is to gather and worship on the Lord's Day, he explained, adding that this position focuses on the positive content of Lord's Day observance rather than prohibited activities.

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