Word of Encouragement (11/4/2020)
Today, we continue to think about the importance of the Lord’s Day for our pursuit of holiness. The main reason is that the Lord’s Day is first and foremost the day of public/corporate worship. Worship is something we give to God insofar as it is an act of acknowledging God’s supreme worth to us. But when we gather to worship God (at His call), God uses it to bless us. The authors speak of three things, through which God blesses us and helps us in our pursuit of holiness.
The first is the preaching of God’s Word.
“Preaching is an effective means to holiness because it is the proclamation of God’s authoritative, inerrant, infallible, and all-sufficient Word (Ex. 4:15). In preaching, God speaks to us, God’s name is enforced as authoritative, and God’s Spirit ministers to us. He who preaches may be a mere man, but as an ordained preacher he is an ambassador, a herald, and a messenger of the Lord of hosts (Jer. 3:15). Preaching is a means of converting our hearts and sanctifying our lives to prepare us to stand before God unashamed and holy in Jesus Christ
“What makes the Lord’s Day special is preaching, by which God speaks from heaven to His people, comforting, convicting, and constraining them. This cannot be done the same way on the other six days of the week” (p. 154) because there is no official preaching and gathering of God’s people.
The second is the Sacraments. They are “seals of the covenant of grace (Rom. 4:11) that we enjoy in Christ, and therefore are signs of our participation in all the benefits of that covenant by faith (Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 10:16-17). Baptism is a distinguishing seal upon believing parents and their children, while the Lord’s Supper is a nourishing seal by which believers feed on Christ in His death and resurrection” (p. 154). These sacraments remind us how God has provided, and is providing, all that we need for our sanctification—our union with Jesus Christ and the continual supply of nourishment and strength from Him.
The third is the fellowship of the saints. Listen to what the Hebrews writer says in this regard: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25). Read these words in the context of the persecution that Christians had to endure at that time. This shows how important it is for Christians to take part in a strong community of faith and worship and fellowship for mutual support and encouragement, especially as persecution intensifies.
“Ultimately, it is God’s presence with us as we gather together on the Lord’s Day that makes the Lord’s Day and His sacraments so effective for our growth” (p. 155). As God calls us into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly temple, we are assured of His special presence with us as His people. Let us look forward to our Lord’s Day worship and pray that we will enjoy all that God has promised for us on that day!