Introduction

Two weeks ago we discussed the fact that we glorify God by the law. We stressed that there is a lawful use of the law that has great importance because it is tied to the supreme goal of every fact of history: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Because of this connection to history, we have begun a study of the fourth commandment as a case in point. God has given us a structure for the use of our time. It is a weekly structure of work and rest like His working and resting in creation week. So last time we covered "God's Six Days and Ours" and today we will cover "God's Seventh Day and Ours."

Here is the pattern I want to follow today: the broad context, the broad argument, and some broad applications regarding God's seventh day and ours (thus the context, argument, and application of this doctrine). I will build on this message in the next couple of weeks to fill out the picture.

1A. Matters of broad context

1B. Let me start with a study guide as a matter of context.

I am assuming that the reformed view of the Sabbath described in the Westminster Standards is fundamentally correct. You have some good resources for further reading in the Westminster Confession and in the Reformed Confessions Harmonized. The Shorter Catechism puts it like this regarding the general duty required and the day required for worship.

The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set times as he hath appointed in his Word; expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy Sabbath to himself (A58).

From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventhday of the week to be the weekly Sabbath; and the first day of the week ever since, to continue to the end of the world, with is the Christian Sabbath (A59).

The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy (A60).

We of course do not put the Westminster Standards above the Bible. They are a teaching guide for us and a good one at that. I am simply saying at this point that my assumption for this message is that the Standards give us good interpretation of this theme, that these reformed thinkers are fundamentally correct in their teaching on the law of God. It is helpful for you to keep this pastoral teaching context in mind.

2B. An overview of the antithetic language

I recognize that there are some thorny difficulties on both the doctrine and the practice of the fourth commandment. One of them is the fact of antithetic language, that is, language of negation and strong contrast regarding the law and the Sabbath in the NT. Antithetic language is contextual and should not be avoided. But there is a particular point I want to make in overview of this language.

The antithetic language does not remove the abiding validity of either the law in general or the Sabbath in particular. I bring this up because it is a pitfall or a slippery slope. Maybe we should speak of a slippery slope with a pit at the end. One could slide down this slope and into the pit of antinomianism, which is an "anti-law" mind-set. I say it is a pit because Jesus said, "do not think that I came to abolish the law." There is a right way and a wrong way to think about the law. We are in a miry pit that will bog us down in our walk if we do not heed our Lord. It is wrong to have a mind-set about the law that accents abolishment, discontinuity, negation, and radical contrast.

Granted, there is strong contrasting and negative language in the NT regarding the law and regarding the Sabbath law. For example, there are the "but I say unto you" contrasts in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Furthermore, Paul says, "we are not under the law but grace" (Rom. 6:14) and the Sabbath is a "shadow" of the reality that has come in Christ (Col. 2). In brief comment, we have to note that this kind of language only gives us part of the picture. They give us varied and distinct nuances about the law that do not remove the abiding validity of the law in general or of the Sabbath in particular. That is an assertion that needs specific support part of which has already been given in the recent sermon on "The Antithetic Aspect of the Law" (1-21-01). In principle, what was said in that message applies to the Sabbath commandment and is part of the argument for Christian Sabbath keeping. It is part of the broad context that must keep in mind in order to appreciate God's seventh day and its impact on our seventh day.

3B. A calendar difficulty

Does it matter which day is observed as the Sabbath? Yes, it does matter because of God's commandment and good order for the people of God.

God applied His 6-1 pattern to our calendar by commanding that we work six days and rest one because He did so (Ex. 20:8-11). Therefore, in the Mosaic system God's seventh day was to be observed on the Jewish seventh day or Saturday by God's claim of that day in their calendar as His day. Now some Israelite might say this, "I will gather sticks on Saturday, on the Mosaic Sabbath, because for me the 6-1 goes from Tuesday to Monday and I choose to observe the seventh day Sabbath on Monday." This person would have a wrong view of the Sabbath. And if he practiced this view, he would be put to death. The death penalty was part and parcel of Israel's call to be a holy people and virtually a national embodiment of the gospel of grace and law.

In other words, God did tell Israel that the seventh day on their calendar was to be the day that they were to hallow as the memorial of His seventh day. The day was to be set aside by the people of God as a whole not simply as individuals. For example, the Ten Commandments were given to the "whole assembly" gathered at Mount Sinai (Deut. 5:22).

Also, by the giving of the law the Israelites were constituted "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex. 19:6). The day of rest in Israel was designed to be a day of "sacred assembly" (Lev. 23:3). It was a day of instruction in the prophetic word of God as implied by the account of the mother in Elisha's day (2 Ki. 4:23) who goes to the prophet even though it is not a Sabbath. She goes to him because of the death of her son. It is an unusual situation. Usually, the prophet would be sought on the Sabbath for instruction in the word of God. Today of course, we have the word of apostles and prophets that is preached. The seventh day was to be kept as part of the spirit of the entire 6-1 pattern. Hence, the Lord expresses great displeasure with people who carefully observe the time constrains of the Sabbath regarding buying and selling goods but who are oppressive and covetous in their six days of work (Amos 8:4-6).

Therefore, God's people under Moses were obligated to sanctify a particular day on their calendar. It was the day that God called His own (Isa. 58:13). Keeping that day holy was not optional. It was for the people as a whole, for the whole day, and within the whole law. By analogy, the same will surely apply in the NT form of Sabbath keeping.

2A. The broad argument for Sunday Sabbath keeping

The broad argument begins with the book of Genesis and ends with the book of Revelation. Accent is placed on the promise-fulfillment umbrella that stretches over and unites the OT to the NT (this is called biblical theology among the biblical disciplines). It can be stated in three steps.

1B. There is a day to keep from the very first week of history to the very end of history.

The seventh day memorial of God's Sabbath Kingship abides across the entire history of the heavens, the earth, and "all their host." It is special, sanctified, and set apart in this way for the same reasons that the six and one are special. a) Our seventh day is special because God proclaimed the special-ness of the seventh day in a weekly pattern of a work and rest six and one (Gen. 2:3). b) It is special because the seventh day is an inaugural day of His sovereign rule over the universe. As Isaiah 66 tells us, when He finished His work of six days, He sat down on the heavens as His throne and propped His feet on the footstool of the earth. To sit and rest is not to become idle if you sit on a throne. God's kingly inauguration took place after the six days of work. c) It is special because it promises eternal Sabbath rest at the end of history. The original six and one gives us a virtual philosophy of history in a paradigm. Creation week is a paradigm of the weeks of history that are to unfold in a pattern of work and rest showing us that all of history is moving toward eternal Sabbath rest with the Lord. d) It is special because of the Father's example. The reason that the Lord stretched creation out to six days followed by His resting on the seventh is to give us an example to follow. e) Finally, it is special because of the privilege it affords, namely, the privilege of resting with the Lord in His rest.

He honored the day. Therefore, we ought to honor it as well. By His creative action, He gave us a pattern to follow as a philosophy of history in miniature (wisdom for life in history).

We get an interesting summary of these things from the writer of Hebrews. We know that a Sabbath observance remains for the people of God (Heb. 4:9). Does this refer to faith rest, weekly Sabbath rest, or to final rest in glory? We have to answer that he refers to all three. Here is why. a) First, he ties all that he does to the seventh day on which God rested (4:4). This is the seventh day of earth history that led to the blessing of all the seventh days of history. b) Second, there is a rest entered by faith (a faith rest) like entering or not entering the Promised Land (4:6). c) Third, even the rest that Joshua entered by faith was not the rest promised it was not final rest; there is another day (4:8). Thus there is a future accent in Hebrews 4:9, the future promised in the seventh day sign (4:1, 3-4). d) Fourth, it is all cemented together by a principle of typology. Since the anti-type of eternal Sabbath rest is still out in front of us, then the weekly Sabbath type continues as a promise of ultimate rest. The seventh day has been pointing to eternal rest since creation week. Eternal rest is not yet. So the seventh day sign continues to point ahead.

Thus, we have rest in Christ daily by faith. We enter Sabbath rest by faith. And we enter eternal rest by faith. Thus a Sabbath keeping remains for the people of God by faith all week long, in a special way by faith on the seventh day, and in the consummation when we shall enter into His rest forever more. That is the first step in the promise-fulfillment argument for Christian Sabbath worship.

2B. The day to keep is no longer the Jewish Sabbath. The day to keep is no longer the Saturday Sabbath. This is how we must read Colossians 2:16-17. Paul references the Mosaic meals, new moons, and Sabbaths. These were shadows in the time of promise that looked ahead to the reality "found in Christ." Therefore we sing, "Finished, all the types and shadows of the ceremonial law."

This is where the case is made over against Seventh Day Adventists and Seventh Day Baptists who argue from the abiding validity of the law for Saturday worship.

Granted, we have the tension between having a day to keep until the end of history and this shift from promise to fulfillment in Colossians 2. This is why there is difficulty on this theme. We have to do justice to all the passages. But there is a simple way to state the case. Genesis and Hebrews tell us that the seventh day memorial of God's Sabbath kingship abides until the eternal Sabbath is reached. Colossians tells us that the Jewish form of keeping the seventh day was saturated with shadows that pointed to the coming of Christ. These shadows pass away in fulfillment.

Another way of saying this is to speak in terms of the wineskin analogy. There is still a wineskin (a housing, a structure, law) but it must be a new wineskin because promise has given way to fulfillment in Christ. Therefore, the law that housed and structured OT Sabbath keeping in the age of promise continues to abide in the age of fulfillment. But it necessarily abides in a new form because the new wine in Christ will cause old wineskins to burst. So the seventh day memorial continues in a new fulfillment form. There is a change from a Jewish to a Christian Sabbath.

3B. The day to keep is now Sunday

A key verse is Revelation 1:10 where John refers to "the Lord's Day." There is a day that belongs to the Lord in a distinct way from His ownership of every day (later in our studies in Romans I will discuss how some try to interpret "The Lord's Day" as something other than Sunday). Sunday is His day in a special way like communion is "The Lord's Supper."

Therefore, the day that belonged to the Lord in special sanctification since creation and to the end of the world now belongs to the risen Lord Jesus. Sunday, the first day of the week is His day in continuance of keeping a seventh day holy throughout human history. Now the day that is uniquely and distinctively His is the day that is to be sanctified and honored in accordance with God's six and one.

In the OT, God referred to the Sabbath as "my holy day" (Isa. 58:13) in accord with the fourth commandment where God said, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy… to the Lord (Ex. 20:8, 10). So the one-day out of seven that belonged distinctively to God in the OT, is now the day that belongs distinctively to Jesus in the NT (Rev. 1:10). He is Lord of the Sabbath and as Lord of the Sabbath He has defined its true spirit and depth for the church (Matt. 12:1-13, etc.) and He has changed the day from the Saturday to Sunday.

What about the fact that nowhere does Jesus or the apostles say, "we now have the Sabbath on Sunday"? Here is a short answer: it is like the truth of the trinity. Nowhere do Jesus or the apostles say, "we now have the truth of the trinity that God is three persons but one essence." How was the doctrine of the trinity revealed? It was revealed by redemptive deed or action: the Father sent the Son who was God with us, and the Son sent God the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Likewise, the new day of worship was given to the church by Jesus as His day; He did this by rising from the dead on the first day of the week and distinctively revealing Himself to the church in stages on that day. This is highlighted when the Gospel writers stress the day of the resurrection (cf. Jn. 20:1, 19). We discover that the day of the resurrection is important. It is stressed that the early church gathered for worship on that day gradually leaving Saturday worship behind as they moved forward in Sunday worship (they did both for a time). It simply emerges by the action of Christ. A new owner modifies the 6-1 pattern that abides throughout history.

3A. Broad application

1) Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. That is a profound fact.

The Lord's first day is God's seventh day because Jesus is "Lord of the Sabbath." Thus we pray to our Savior when we sing, "Lord of the Sabbath hear us pray in this thy house on this thy day." Charles Wesley caught this point with remarkable clarity when he identified the resurrection day as owned by the Lord Jesus (it can be sung to the tune of Majestic Sweetness):

Come, let us join with one accord

In hymns around the throne

This is the day our rising Lord

Hath made and called his own

Then he speaks of the Lord's Day, the day that Jesus "made and called his own," as the seventh day that God blessed and that remains as a type of eternal Sabbath rest yet ahead of us to enjoy in heaven:

This is the day that God hath blessed

The brightest of the sev'n

Type of that everlasting rest

The saints enjoy in heav'n

2) As Lord of the Sabbath and the new wine, Jesus changed the day. The only way we can understand that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and that He exercises that Lordship on Sunday (His day, the Lord's Day) is to also understand that He changed the day by being raised on Sunday, the first day of the week.

3) The title, Christian Sabbath, is a good title for this new day because the day is the Lord's, the Lord Jesus is the Sabbath king (Mk. 2:28), and Christians live under the authority of King Jesus. He tells us which day is His and it is our responsibility to conform to His precepts. We are not to be conformed to the world but transformed by the will of God (Rom. 12:1-2, cf. "Mercy's Demand of Godliness," 10-22-2000).

4) To honor the Lord of Sabbath we must remember the new Sabbath day and keep it holy. We still have the Sabbath, we still have the Ten Commandments as honey in the honey comb and before which we stand in wondrous awe (Ps. 119:97, 102, 120).

5) To delight in this day is to delight in the work of the Savior from which He rested when He said, "It is finished."

6) This structure affords opportunity. The Lord's day Sabbath allows us time needed to settle our thoughts and move away from the cares of the week. The Lord's day allows us to rest from our work in a special way-to rest with the Lord in His rest and to thus be refreshed spiritually in a distinct way. Our life is to be governed by this structure. God tells us this is for our good.

Benediction

May we fall down before the majesty of our God in due recognition of our sinfulness, of our need of His grace, and of His provision for all that we need in Jesus Christ. May God teach us by His Holy Spirit to cling to the Lord Jesus who loved us and gave Himself for us, and who was raised from the dead on the first day of the week as Lord of the Sabbath. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Web: www.westminsterreformedchurch.org

Email: rostella@comcast.net