Theology 101 No. 8

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear it and learn it.

In the Old Testament God required His people to cease their labors on the seventh day of the week (Saturday for us). The pause in their work was not a means unto an itself, but expressly for the purpose that the Israelites take the opportunity to worship and praise God. By Jesus’ day this Sabbath keeping had formalized itself as a day of ritual worship focused on the reading and learning of the Scriptures.

In the New Testament church there is no divinely instituted day to gather for worship. In the early church the believers worshiped corporately everyday. Sunday has become the traditional day of worship since it represents the day on which our Lord rose from the dead and the day on which the New Testament church was born (Pentecost).

Even though there is not a particularly instituted day for worship, it is still God’s will that Christians meet publically and corporately. There are those who believe that you do not have “to go to church” because you can worship God anywhere. This statement is partly true. We can worship, praise and pray to God anywhere, but we are commanded to worship together and regularly (Hebrews 10:25). Irregular and spotty worship is not in keeping with this command.

Excuses like, “It is my only day off,” “I don’t like the pastor(’s sermons),” “It’s boring,” “I don’t get anything out of it” and so forth fall under the category of despising God’s Word. We are not to neglect the hearing and learning of God’s Word for reasons of human comfort or likes and dislikes. God has chosen to work in us faith and salvation through the Means of Grace and the Word is the primary means. If we neglect hearing and learning His Word we are hampering the efforts of the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

A careless use of God’s Word is also forbidden. It is quite common in this day and age to approach the preached and taught Word as simply being one opinion among many. There are those in the pews who think they can “pick and choose” what they want to believe or not believe.

If the pastor is, however, preaching according to the Scriptures as defined by the Lutheran Confessions, this thought process is erroneous. Christ told His disciples, “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16). The attitude of the hearer of the orthodox preacher should be as Jesus says, “He who is of God hears God's words” (John 8:47a).

While we all have opinions, we must recognize that they can be wrong and we also do not have the freedom to hold opinions that are at variance with the Scriptures and Confessions. Simply put, we are to heed the words of God’s servants and ambassadors and honor them (I Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 13:17; and Galatians 6:6).

Similarly, we are also not keeping this Commandment when we hear God’s Word and we do not live according to it. As King Solomon wrote, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong” Ecclesiastes 5:1). [Interestingly, the New Living Translation renders the verse as thus: “As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut! Don't be a fool who doesn't realize that mindless offerings to God are evil.”]

As God’s people in Christ, we go to church and hear God’s Word on purpose (Colossians 3:16). He has something important to tell us there. The faithful use of God’s Word brings with it many blessings. In that Word is wisdom, warnings against dangers, a defense against the devil and his minions, training in godliness, comfort in trouble, and most importantly life and salvation through Jesus Christ.

This is also the Word we are to share with others that they too may know theses same blessings. As we grow in God’s Word we become closer to our Heavenly Father, more careful in our walk with Christ, and confident in our witness to others. This Word is most certainly to be the center of our worship and daily life alone and togther as God’s people (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).