Lord's Day
A view held among orthodox Christians
Sunday, the first day of the week, when Christians gather to worship the risen Christ; on this page, the view that it is a day of worship but not a Christian Sabbath.
Also called: non-Sabbatarian, Lord's Day observed, not Sabbatarian
What it means
Since the resurrection Christians have gathered on the first day of the week. The New Testament calls it the Lord's Day, and the early church kept it as the day of the Lord's Supper and public worship. Every orthodox tradition honors it.
Christians differ on whether it is also a Sabbath. The non-Sabbatarian view holds that the Sabbath command was part of the old covenant's ceremonial order, fulfilled in Christ, who is our rest. Believers should faithfully gather with the church on the Lord's Day, but they are not bound to a whole day of Sabbath rest. Many Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, and others hold this, and Calvin's own view was nearer to it than to the later Puritan position.
The Westminster and 1689 confessions take the Sabbatarian view instead. The site records a church's view so that you can see where it stands. What both sides should agree on is that neglecting to meet together is not an option for the Christian.
In Scripture
On the first day of the week the disciples gathered to break bread.
Paul directs the churches to set aside their gifts on the first day of every week.
John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.
No one should judge believers regarding a Sabbath, which was a shadow of Christ.
One person esteems one day above another; each should be fully convinced and act in honor of the Lord.
Believers must not neglect meeting together.
Where it comes up
Confessions: WCF 21.7; LBCF 1689 22.7
On this site: Lord's Day
Related terms
Christian SabbathA view held among orthodox Christians
The confessional teaching that the fourth commandment still binds Christians, so the Lord's Day is to be kept holy as a whole day of rest and worship.
Ten CommandmentsTerm
The ten words God spoke from Sinai and wrote on stone, which the Reformation confessions take as a summary of his moral law.
Regulative principleA view held among orthodox Christians
The principle that the public worship of God should include only what He has commanded or appointed in Scripture, whether by explicit command, example, or good and necessary inference.