My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2024 (11)

Question 1: Is partaking of the Lord’s Supper by a backslidden believer considered unworthily?

Answer 1: A backslider (or “backsliding”) appears only in the Old Testament. It refers to an Israelite who “turned” away from the LORD and to idols. He is an unbeliever. In the moral or theological sense, it refers to an apostate. He used to turn to the LORD in worship, but now he has turned to idols. An unbeliever is not a backslider; he has never called himself a Christian and did not turn to the LORD from the beginning. It was impossible for an Israelite not to begin his life without the LORD because of his nationality as a citizen of Israel – Israel means “prince of God.” He was born a people of the LORD. Therefore, when an Israelite turned his back on the LORD and to an idol or even became an atheist, he was called a backslider, i.e. an apostate.

In the church context, it refers to a professing believer, a person brought up in the church or who has been baptised and now has turned his back on Christ and loves the world. He may have stopped attending a conservative church or attended an apostate or ecumenical church to soothe his conscience, where the Word of God tickles his itching ears and no longer convicts him of his sins. In this way, he feels good about himself. Or he could be attending church on Sundays, but the Word of God falls on the hard ground because he hears the Word of God but does not care to obey, or he picks and chooses what he desires to obey and rejects what he does not. He lives in sin, and hypocrisy characterises him.

In a state of backsliding, the professing believer who partakes of the Lord’s Supper has partaken of it unworthily, not discerning the Lord’s death. He mocks the Lord’s death since he refuses to repent his sins and dares to take the Lord’s Supper. He must be born again by repentance and return to the Lord in the brokenness of heart and spirit to avoid God’s judgment.

Question 2: What are the limitations of keeping the Lord’s Day holy? Should we be partaking in leisure activities such as watching TV, playing games, sports, doing household chores?

Answer 2: Keeping the Lord’s Day holy should be a joy and delight for all born-again believers. It is a time of holiness, reflection, worship, and spending time alone with God or God’s people. The LORD made the Sabbath Day for His people (cf. Mark 2:27). How can believers obey the Fourth Commandment and receive blessings practically?

The Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 is a direct quote from God who spoke to Israel from Mount Sinai. “⁸ Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰ 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: ¹¹ 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.”

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 was given to Moses by God through inspiration and with explanation: “¹² Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³ Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁴ 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵ And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”

The passage from Exodus highlights the example of God in creation as the example for all Israel to follow when they keep the Sabbath Day holy. The event of creation was before the fall of man. Adam and Eve experienced a perfect relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. Tendering the Garden of Eden required no work, for there were no thorns and thistles at that time, and water came forth from the ground to water the earth. Yet, God says to man that He kept the Lord’s Day holy to demonstrate the benefits and importance of God’s people keeping the Lord’s Day holy to a world dying in sin. The passage in Deuteronomy emphasises the importance of giving rest to their manservants and maidservants. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and did not receive any rest when they served their Egyptian masters. They understood the experience of no rest. 

The following are some of the blessings when keeping the Lord’s Day holy:

Life is more than physical food – When a servant is not given any rest but has to work non-stop, his life will be one of grief and hopelessness. Can someone work without a day of rest till the day he dies? God did not allow His people to treat their servants, i.e. slaves, this way even though it may be their legal right in those days. As children of God, they needed to witness to their servants and care for their salvation. Isn’t this the spiritual injunction from God to all His children? How can God's people share Christ with any moral authority if their treatment contradicts their words? The gospel of Christ teaches us that eternal death and hell await all without a Sabbath Day rest, is not the message to these servants one of condemnation to eternal death and hell? How can genuinely born-again believers disobey God and treat their servants so callously and without compassion, especially after they claim to have received compassion from God when they accepted Christ?

1. Exercising faith – To children of God, trusting in God to provide them with all that they need six days a week is a matter of faith. All believers know that without faith, it is impossible to please God (cf Heb 11:6), and whatever that is not done in faith is sin (cf. Rom 14:23). The child of God must seek God's kingdom first and His righteousness throughout his life, and trust his heavenly Father to provide all that he needs to keep body and soul together without hurting his faith and trust in God (cf. Matt 6:33). This teaching is non-negotiable in the life of faith for all believers. To deliberately plan to work or have tuition or study on Sunday for employees, employers and students is evidence of weak or no faith.
   
   
2. Reminder of the believer’s heavenly home – The heavenly Father knows His children will be drastically affected by the world’s influence if they do not keep the Lord’s Day holy. When they work hard, their lives will improve materially. The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches will choke their hearts. They will listen and agree with God's Word but not obey. This sin is no better than the sin of those who openly reject God's Word from the start. Keeping the Lord’s Day holy is like pressing the reset button to begin every new week with a spiritual mindset. The spiritual mindset is the mind of a Christian stranger and sojourner who knows that this world is not his home. His earthly sojourn is a precious time of service and witness for Christ before it ends in Christ’s presence, when he can serve no more since he has returned home to his heavenly Father.

Understanding the spiritual benefits of keeping the Lord’s Day holy first will help us determine the activities we can and cannot do. A Christian student must not plan to study on the Lord’s Day but study diligently for six days. The Lord’s Day is a day of rest to experience the spiritual blessings stated above. However, suppose there was an emergency six days before the Lord’s Day, and he had to go to the hospital to care for his grandmother. In that case, he can study after morning worship, as the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Learning this Sabbath-keeping principle as a Christian student will help the student carry through this godly practice all his life. The spiritual blessing of keeping the Sabbath Day holy will be his to receive. The same principle applies to the employee and employer.

Dear believer, do not plan to study, work or make money on the Lord’s Day, but plan to keep every Lord’s Day holy for God's glory and your spiritual blessings.

The activities cited in the question are described as “leisure.” Therefore believer, partake of them judiciously as long as they are done for your spiritual well-being and God's glory.