"Lord, I don't ask that I should win, but please, please don't let me finish behind Akabusi."
Fourth Commandment Part 2
Sunday Sport, a Biblical ViewOur starting point in a consideration of Sunday sport from a biblical perspective is the belief, as expressed in chapter 1, that sport is part of God’s creation and is therefore good. Eric Liddell's 'when I run, I feel his pleasure' is a thoroughly biblical view. It follows from this that it cannot be argued, in absolute terms, that attending church is better than playing football. (Of course there are the issues of a need for fellowship, teaching, being part of a community of believers and balance in life, which we will address later.)
The point being made here is to challenge the theology behind the opinion often expressed to today's sporty teenager, that in a conflict between church and Sunday sport, choosing church is always better. If sport is part of God's creation, then God can (and must) be worshipped on the sports field as much as anywhere else.
We read in Genesis 2:3, '…and God blessed the seventh day and made it holy' and in Exodus 20:8, 'Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy'. Have these texts any relevance to the issue of Sunday sport? I would suggest not. If sport is part of God's creation there is nothing unholy about it. There is also the wider issue of what is meant by the Sabbath.
In an article in the Australian SLM (Specialised Life-Oriented Ministries) Newsletter, entitled, 'Sunday Sport is not a Compromise', Simon Manchester argues, 'I know the "one day in seven" is a very sacred cow but it is not taught in Genesis 2, before the fall, or after the resurrection. Try giving a new Christian a New Testament and see if they can find any law about the Sabbath - it's gone! But the commandment to remember the seventh day is fulfilled in Christians who come to Jesus and then live seven days in his spiritual worship (Romans12:1).'
Simon Manchester also points out that Genesis 2 is often misunderstood. ‘Many people read Genesis 2 and assume it tells us to have a day of rest. It doesn't. In Genesis 2:1 we are told that God rested but nowhere does he tell the man and woman to rest.’
He continues his argument through Old Testament references. ‘In Exodus 16 after he rescued his people from slavery in Egypt, Moses begins to teach them about the seventh day by telling them not to work. In Exodus 20 he leads them to the Sinai mountain and makes the seventh day a law (the fourth commandment).
‘In Leviticus 25 he makes it law to rest the land – proof positive that the “rest” is bigger than sitting around! In Deuteronomy 5 he repeats the law – they must remember God their maker, rescuer and priorities of the "rest"'’
In the New Testament, Jesus says to his followers, Come to me and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:25), and in Hebrews 4:3 we learn that we enter God's sabbath rest by believing in Christ. We are called not just to keep one day holy, but to live all seven days in spiritual worship of God (Romans 12:1).
Simon Manchester concludes his argument, ‘Sunday is useful for meeting to learn about Jesus Christ (and special because it's the resurrection day) but there is no teaching in the New Testament about physical resting or which day is essential. (See Romans 14:5, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.")'
The heart of the issue is our understanding of the biblical doctrine of the Sabbath. That is the fundamental theological issue at stake here. Is the biblical position on the Sabbath one that it is absolutely sacred as a day to be set aside for not working, for worshipping God and meeting together as Christians?
If God made everything and there is nothing sacred or secular, then to worship God is to worship him with all that you are, with all your heart, mind etc. and if you’re doing that in sport it's the same as saying your prayers.
But the fundamental issue is a Sabbatarian issue - if the Sunday is a Sabbath in the New Testament is it a specific day of the week or not? If the Sabbath for the Christian means entering into the sabbath rest talked about in Hebrews (where we enter into a sabbath rest in Christ and therefore all the time is a sabbath rest in Christ) that means that all the time is a 'Sunday'. Every moment of every day is a time to worship God - not just the first 24 hours of each week.
For a longer article on Sunday Sport