Project Description
This is a subject to which we have returned on numerous occasions, and we make no apology for doing so again, for it continues to be something of deep concern to those of us who love the Lord’s Day. While we accept that the trajectory of travel is something over which we have little or no control humanly speaking, it is vital that our voice continues to be heard in the public square. Those who are busily promoting a secular agenda on a Sunday are hoping that Christians who oppose that agenda will simply give up and go quietly away. But we cannot be silent.
Some of us are old enough to remember a time in Ulster when not only the evangelical community but the broader Christian community respected and observed Sunday as a day set apart. Today, people will refer to the “Ulster Sabbath” in disparaging terms and will remind us of how the parks were closed and the swings tied up. This line is often deployed by journalists as they do their best to paint a picture of misery and dystopian darkness. But I grew up in those days and Sundays were perfectly happy family days. Yes, they were quiet and different, but that was no bad thing. Shops were closed. There were no sporting or social events. There was plenty of time from Monday to Saturday for all that. And that was in an era when people often worked a six and a half day week.
How things have changed. While church attendance remains higher than in the rest of the UK, (and visitors to the Province will often remark how different it is from GB), the rhythm of Sunday is certainly changing. Traditional Sunday services remain a cornerstone for churches, but modern secularisation, 24/7 commerce, and changing lifestyle habits mean fewer and fewer people now observe the Lord’s Day. Indeed, most Protestants have abandoned any involvement with church. They prefer instead to spend their day in the pursuit of pleasure. Shops are open in the afternoons and now Belfast Council has voted to extend opening to the mornings for a two-week trial period in August to coincide with the Fleadh. An increasing number of football matches and other sporting events are staged on Sunday. The annual Belfast marathon is a major Sunday event, and many other similar events are held across the country on Sundays. Sunday has become one of the busiest days of the week. Over a few decades, the pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other.
This radical change of direction raises many questions. At a purely secular level, the demands upon some workers to work on a Sunday places undue pressure on their family life. In several countries in Europe, Sunday is observed as a day of rest on that very basis. We fully accept that some essential services will require Sunday working, but those “works of necessity and mercy” (as described in the Shorter Catechism) should not open the door to a lax approach to Sunday observance. J C Ryle says, “Works of necessity may be done: ‘It is lawful to do good’ (Matthew 12:12) and show mercy; but to give the Sabbath to idleness, pleasure-seeking, or the world, is utterly unlawful. It is contrary to the example of Christ, and a sin against a plain commandment of God”.
Christians will differ on specific aspects of how the day should be spent, and we must allow for a degree of Christian liberty in that regard. However, the 4th commandment still applies, and the old Sabbath Day is now the Lord’s Day. We reject any notion that because as believers we are under grace, we have liberty to spend the Lord’s Day as we wish. As Matthew Henry reminds us, “The law of the sabbath is still binding on us today”.
It was sad to note the number of evangelicals who ran in the Belfast Marathon in May, and the number of evangelicals who took to social media to praise them. And it was sad to note the number of Protestant public representatives and members of the loyal orders who took part. It was also so disappointing to see some churches actively supporting runners.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was an excellent example of a Christian politician. He famously put his faith into action on key issues such as slavery and child labourers. In relation to Sunday, he said, “Oh, what a blessing is Sunday, interposed between the waves of worldly business like the divine path of the Israelites through Jordan! There is nothing in which I would advise you to be more strictly conscientious than in keeping the sabbath day holy”.
The French philosopher Voltaire (1694–1778) stated, “if you want to kill Christianity you must abolish Sunday”. We appeal to all evangelical Protestants to hold fast to the Lord’s Day and to resolutely defend it.