Sanctifying or Profaning the Sabbath

Q. 61: What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?
Answer: The fourth commandment forbiddeth the omission or careless performance of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about our worldly employments or recreations.

Q. 62: What are the reasons annexed to the fourth commandment?
Answer: The reasons annexed to the fourth commandment are, God's allowing us six days of the week for our own employments, his challenging a special propriety in the seventh, his own example, and his blessing the sabbath day. (WSC)

The fourth commandment tells us to observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy. We do this by resting from our normal activities and by using the time for the worship of God, as well as for deeds of mercy and necessity. 

Accordingly, the commandment forbids us from omitting these duties or carelessly performing them. To show contempt for God’s worship is to show contempt for him (Malachi 1:6-7, 13-14). Even though the day is a day of rest, yet this rest should not be taken to the excess of idleness, such that we neglect what should be done on the day. 

The day is also profaned by unnecessary and distracting thoughts, words, or works, as well as by sin, which should be avoided every day. Examine your thoughts, words, and works on the sabbath day and consider whether they are fitting for the day. Do they aid piety, show mercy, or meet necessities that cannot be delayed? Isaiah 58:13 tells us that the sabbath day is honored when you do not go your own way, or seek your own pleasure, or talk idly. Pleasure itself is not forbidden, but we are directed to take pleasure in the observance of the day, calling the Sabbath "a delight." 

God gives several arguments to support this command. This command is reasonable, for he gives us six days for our own callings, for our “worldly employments and recreations.” This command is just, for the day is his day, “the sabbath of the Lord thy God.” To put it to common use is to steal from God. This command is also supported by God’s own example, for he rested one day in seven when he made the world. Furthermore, this command is for our own good, for God blessed the sabbath day, so that we are blessed in the observance of it. Not only is God glorified, but we are refreshed and edified by this holy rest and by the means of grace in the fellowship of the saints.

Sabbath Rest, Worship, and Mercy

Q. 60: How is the sabbath to be sanctified? 

Answer: 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.

The fourth commandment requires us to keep the sabbath day holy. This is done, first, by resting from our normal activities. “…in it thou shalt not do any work” (Ex. 20:10). God exemplified this pattern of weekly rest in his work of creation. God tells his people to take a break and to trust him, our heavenly Father. We are not slaves under harsh spiritual bondage, nor are we orphans who are on our own in this world, but we are children of the living God. This rest is a guard against a workaholic mentality, worldliness, and the oppression of workers.

This rest is also intended to make room for the devotion of the day to duties of piety and mercy. The sabbath day is kept holy, not only by resting from worldly employments and recreations, but second, by spending the day in worship, as well as in works of necessity and mercy. As a holy day, it is set apart unto the worship of God. In commemoration of Christ’s resurrection, we ought to meditate on God’s word and works and give him praise. As Leviticus 23:3 says, the sabbath is a day for a holy convocation, the assembly of God’s people in local congregations for worship. As mentioned earlier, the New Testament describes this as well, that the church gathers for worship on the weekly sabbath, which is now the first day of the week. By resting the whole day, we gain time to prepare for public worship and as well as to practice family and private worship on that day.

In Matthew 12:1-13, Jesus corrected the Pharisaic practice of the sabbath, which had turned it into a burden. He noted how the sabbath day is also a day for deeds of mercy and kindness. Even in the Old Testament, it is noted that not only should you rest, but you should give rest and refreshment to others (Ex. 23:12, Deut. 5:13). Having received mercy from God, we should show mercy to others, sharing with one another and encouraging one another. Jesus also taught that deeds of necessity are permitted on the sabbath day, rebuking the Pharisees when they condemned the disciples for feeding themselves from the grain fields.

You can learn more on the observance of the sabbath day in this short video and in these sermons: Jesus and the Sabbath and Keep the Sabbath Day Holy.

The Christian Sabbath: The First Day of the Week

Q. 59: Which day of the seven hath God appointed to be the weekly sabbath?
Answer: From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day 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, which is the Christian sabbath. (WSC)

The sabbath day is the weekly day of rest and worship (Ex. 20:11, Lev. 23:3). The observance of the sabbath day in the Old Testament on the seventh day was based on God’s works of creation and redemption (Ex. 20:11; Deut. 5:15). But the day of the new creation and redemption in the New Testament is the first day of the week, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Thus, our observance of the sabbath and its “holy convocation” (Lev. 23:3) also shifts to the first day. The fourth commandment was not abrogated, but its old covenant form was replaced by its new covenant form, explicitly connected to the work of Christ.

This shift was not a mere invention of the church, but was taught by the example of our Lord and intentionally recorded in Scripture. Jesus met with his gathered disciples on the day of his resurrection and broke bread with some of them (Luke 24, John 20:19-23). A week later, on the first day of the week, they were gathered again and he met with them (John 20:26-29). Seven weeks after his resurrection, on the first day of the week, was the day of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-16), when the disciples were gathered again in one place and the Spirit descended upon them in the morning (Acts 2:1ff). They spoke in foreign tongues and Peter preached.

After this, we find the apostles following this example and gathering for worship on the first day of the week. In Acts 20:7 we find that “on the first day of the week” they “were gathered together to break bread” and “Paul talked with them…and he prolonged his speech until midnight.” In 1 Corinthians 11 we find that the Corinthian church gathered together as a church to eat the Lord’s Supper (11:18, 20, 33), and in 1 Corinthians 16 we find that the day that they met together was the first day of the week, since Paul tells them to collect supplies for the Jerusalem church on “the first day of every week” (16:2). Finally, we find that the Apostle John received God’s word when he was in the Spirit on “the Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10, a reference to the first day of the week, the day of the Lord’s resurrection.

The early church continued to gather on this day, as Justin Martyr records in A.D. 155,

“We all make our assembly in common on Sunday, since it is the first day, on which God changed the darkness and matter and made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead on the same day.” (Justin Martyr, First Apology)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

Q. 57: Which is the fourth commandment?
Answer: The fourth commandment is, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 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. 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.

Q. 58: What is required in the fourth commandment?
Answer: 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. (WSC)

It is just and right that a certain amount of time be set aside for the worship of God. It is true that we ought to serve God in everything we do, but part of the service we owe to God is to directly and explicitly praise him, thank him, call upon him, pay homage to him, meditate on his deeds, hear his word, and renew our covenant with him. Thus, the law regarding the sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11) is a moral law at its core, not merely a ceremonial law.

In his word, God has specified that we set aside one day in seven for this purpose, as a holy sabbath. He has taught this pattern to us by the way he made the world, by resting on the seventh day and thereby blessing and sanctifying it. The sabbath is a creation ordinance that predates man's fall as well as the giving of the ceremonial law to Israel. Another catechism question will address the shift from the seventh day to the first day, but the proportion of time is the same from the creation of the world to the present. And in both Old and New Testaments, the day is specified by God’s word and sanctified by his deeds. 

The catechism accurately notes that the fourth commandment does not merely require a cessation from your normal work. The commandment requires us to “keep it holy,” that is, to set it aside from other days and consecrate it to the worship of God. God has made it holy (“hallowed it”), and so we ought to treat it as holy. It is not only a day of rest, but also a day of worship. In Old and New Testaments, the church has assembled for worship on its weekly day of rest (Lev. 23:2, Acts 20:7). Rest and worship complement each other. The rest allows us to direct our attention to the worship of God, and in turn the worship of God refreshes us. God “blessed” the sabbath day, and he makes it a blessing to us as we observe it with faith and gratitude.

Should Christians Keep the Old Testament Feasts?

Because modern Christianity tends to neglect the Old Testament, some have sought to supply this lack by returning to Old Testament practices like the food laws, the seventh-day Sabbath, and at least some of the feasts. It also seems that this movement comes as a radical reaction against the history and tradition of the Christian church. For example, the choice between the traditional church calendar and the Old Testament feasts is seen as a conflict between tradition and biblical truth. This is a bit ironic, because they usually end up adopting Jewish traditions that have continued to develop since biblical times. But it is a powerful appeal, especially to Protestants, and appears to have some truth to it - after all, Sukkoth is in the Bible, but Christmas is not. So should we return to the Old Testament ceremonies and holy days?

In his letter to the saints in Colossae, the apostle Paul wrote,

"Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (Colossians 2:16–17)

This is one of the places in the New Testament which teaches that the old covenant symbolic ordinances and ceremonies are no longer binding on Christians in the present era (for another, see Hebrews 9:9-10, 10:1). Now, I have seen some argue that Paul is here affirming these practices, in effect saying: "do not let anyone condemn you for practicing these things, since they point to Christ." But this is not Paul's point in Colossians. Rather, he is saying, "do not let anyone condemn you for not following these practices, since you already have the substance they pointed to - Christ!" How do I know this? Because the sufficiency of Christ, as opposed to regulations regarding what you can taste and touch, is Paul's theme (Col. 2:6, 20-21). He had already addressed the matter of circumcision, the preeminent symbol of the old covenant administration. He argued that they were already circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the flesh and being united to Christ, an event confirmed by their baptism (Col. 2:11-12). They were circumcised without being physically circumcised by having the substance, Christ. Therefore, they did not need to be circumcised (cp. Acts 15, Gal. 5:2-6). This pattern holds true for other ceremonial laws of food and times.

The laws regarding clean and unclean foods had been given to represent the purity of God’s people, in distinction from the nations (Lev. 11, Acts 10:9-29). The unclean foods were literally unclean and often unhealthy, but that is not the main reason they were forbidden (just as ritual washings were primarily spiritual in meaning, even though they did physically wash things). The true uncleanness or defilement is sin and curse. The food laws were a shadow, but the substance belongs to Christ. Christ takes away our defilement and makes us clean. In Christ, we are called to avoid the defilement of sin and to be holy. Christ taught us the true meaning of defilement in Mark 7:18-23 when he said,

“‘Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’” 

The festivals and new moons were holy times in Israel, observed with sacrifices and often participated in by eating. These also were shadows of Christ. The Passover pointed to Christ, our Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:6-13). The Feast of Firstfruits pointed to Christ, who rose as the firstfruits of the dead on that very day (1 Cor. 15). The Feast of Weeks or Harvest (i.e. Pentecost) commemorated blessing in the Promised Land and the giving of the law. It pointed to Christ, who achieved lasting rest in the land (Heb. 3-4) and who sent His Spirit on that day to write the law on our hearts (Acts 2). The Feast of Trumpets prepared the people for the next two events in that seventh month: the Day of Atonement, which pointed to Christ’s atonement for our sins which was achieved on the cross (Heb. 9), and the Feast of Booths, which looked back to God’s provision for Israel in the wilderness and looked forward to Christ, who is the manna from heaven, the bread of life (John 6), and the rock from which comes living water (John 4, 1 Cor. 10). And all the sacrifices on these days and on the new moons pointed to Christ, the once-for-all-time sacrifice which paid the penalty for our sins and reconciled us to God (Heb. 9-10).

Also on this list is “a Sabbath” or “sabbaths.” This probably refers to the sabbath years, as well as the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath. The old covenant Sabbath pointed to Christ and His redemptive work. It was a day of rest, and Christ has given us rest. If we have entered God’s rest in Christ, we have rested from our works (Heb. 4:10). It was also a day that commemorated the accomplishment of redemption. In Deuteronomy 5:15, Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath in remembrance of their exodus from Egypt. It was then that God rested from the work of redemption and that Israel rested from its bondage. But this pointed to the full accomplishment of redemption in the resurrection of Christ. Thus, the seventh-day Sabbath was a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. And so we do not observe the seventh-day Sabbath of the old covenant, but we follow the example of Christ and the apostles and observe the Lord’s Day as the Christian Sabbath (John 20, Luke 24, Acts 20:7). The Sabbath principle is an aspect of creation and is part of the moral law, but the day has changed because a new creation has begun and something greater than the exodus has come.

Thus, all of these old covenant ceremonies of food and time are no longer required. They were tutors given to bring Israel to Christ before His coming. They were shadows, giving us the outline of the one to come, but now that He has come, we turn from observing the shadows to Jesus Christ. Jesus established new ceremonies that fit the greater clarity of the new covenant, like baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Lord’s Day. While the Old Testament feasts are in the Bible, to treat them as holy days, to be observed today as such, is unbiblical.

The Old Testament is important. It is often sadly neglected today. It is still part of the Bible, God's infallible word. But it is vital to understand it and obey it in the light of Christ and the new covenant.

The Duty of Civil Government

"God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates, to be, under him, over the people, for his own glory, and the public good: and, to this end, hath armed them with the power of the sword, for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evildoers." (Westminster Confession of Faith, 23.1)

Civil government is not just a good idea - it is appointed by God. In Genesis 9:3-6 he gave man the responsibility to avenge the murder of the innocent, to reestablish justice with the power of the sword when the image of God is attacked. This basic responsibility developed under God's direction to a general responsibility to enforce justice, to punish the evildoer, and to protect the innocent.

We see this point articulated in both the Old Testament law and in the New Testament in passages like Romans 13:1-7. There we see that civil rulers, even pagan rulers, have delegated authority from God (Rom. 13:1). They have their legitimacy from God’s appointment (Rom. 13:2). Just like the judges and elders of Israel (Deut. 1:17), so even pagan rulers judge not for men, but for God. They are God’s servants (Rom. 13:4). They exercise God’s authority and are accountable to Him. They are appointed to carry out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (Rom. 13:4). When justice is violated, civil rulers are to restore justice. “Justice, and only justice, you shall follow…” (Deut. 16:20). Wrongdoing provokes God’s just wrath, and rulers carry it out as far as they can as limited human authorities.

The power they have to carry out God’s wrath is the sword (Rom. 13:4). The authority of civil rulers is symbolized by the sword since it is their final appeal, their ultimate power. They vindicate the innocent and restore justice by capital punishment, but also by other means, like restitution and corporal punishment. The sword is used against private criminals as well as foreign armies - rulers have the authority to defend their people and land in just war.

The result is that they are a terror to bad conduct (Rom. 13:3). They restrain evil in the earth. They promote peace by punishing those who break the peace. They are to especially aim at maintaining "piety, justice, and peace" (WCF 23.2). As Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:2, when kings and rulers do their job, it allows us to “lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” Therefore, they are for your good. Rulers are God’s servants for the good of the people. They should rule for the glory of God and the public good (WCF 23.1), not for themselves. They serve the public good by restoring justice, judging the evildoer and praising those who do good. They are especially a benefit for those who are vulnerable and weak (Prov. 31:8-9). 

Since civil rulers are God's servants, they must take their standard of justice from God. This is known to some degree through the design of creation and the witness of conscience, but it has been revealed infallibly and most clearly in the Bible, being summarized in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). So to understand what the civil government ought to be doing, let us consider the principles of the Ten Commandments, what we might consider the Bible's "bill of rights."

1. God’s right to ultimate loyalty (Ex. 20:3). He is the Creator of all things visible and invisible, Sovereign over all, and all authorities on earth ought to act in accordance with this truth. The civil government ought to confess subjection to God, particularly his anointed King, Jesus Christ (Ps. 2), rather than serve a false god or treat themselves as god. In our secular age, the state - as the manifestation of the will of the people - is often seen as supreme, divine, and messianic.

2. God’s right to be worshipped as he has appointed (Ex. 20:4-6). The civil government ought to discourage false worship and idolatry, or at least protect and prioritize the true worship of God (Is. 60:10-12, Judges 6:25-32). Certainly in its own ceremonies, assemblies, and proclamations of thanksgiving and fasts, it should worship the true God as he has appointed in his word. It also has a duty to protect the liberty and promote the good of Christ's church as its "foster fathers and nursing mothers" (Is. 49:23, 60:16, see also WCF 23.3, WLC 191, and this post). 

3. God’s right to his name (Ex. 20:7). The civil government ought to keep its oaths, punish oath breakers (Lev. 19:12), and suppress public blasphemers (Ex. 22:28, Dan. 3:29, 6:26). As John Calvin wrote, "those laws are preposterous which neglect God's right and provide only for men" (Institutes, 4.20.9).

4. God’s right to his day and man’s right to a weekly rest (Ex. 20:8-11; note the added emphasis on rest for laborers in Deut. 5:12-15). Because this day is appointed for God's worship and man's rest, the civil government ought to enforce restrictions on business on a weekly sabbath day (see this post for more on the corporate implications of the sabbath). Since the resurrection, the sabbath day is the first day of the week, the Lord's Day (John 20:19-23, 26-29, Acts 20:7). Like the rest of the Ten Commandments, this command is based in creation and binding on all people. This commandment explicitly includes "the sojourner who is within your gates" (Ex. 20:10, see also WLC 118). See Nehemiah 13:15-22 for an example of this being enforced on non-Israelites in a firm but careful manner.

5. Parental rights and authority (Ex. 20:12). The civil government should generally respect and support parental authority and training (Matt. 15:4, Deut. 6:7, 21:18-21) and the honor and duties “belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals” (WSC, 64). Civil government becomes totalitarian when it seeks to supplant the natural household and other "intermediate institutions" in society. It must be careful that its policies do not discourage or replace the natural ties and responsibilities of the household (1 Tim. 5:4).  

6. Human right to life (Ex. 20:13). Human life is valuable because God created humanity as his image, his representative (Gen. 9:6). The civil government ought to administer the death penalty for murder (Gen. 9:6) and various penalties for negligence, manslaughter, and physical abuse/injury (Deut. 22:8, Num. 35:22-29, Ex. 21:26-32). It should support the right of justified self-defense (Ex. 22:2-3) and wage just war against aggressors (Deut. 20, Rom. 13:4). This duty to defend innocent life extends to the unborn (Ex. 22:22-25), so that abortion, rather than being a right protected by the government, should be prohibited by it.

7. Rights of marriage (Ex. 20:14). The civil government ought to uphold and recognize the institution of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, according to God's design (Gen. 2). It ought to put limits on divorce (Matt. 19:3-9, 1 Cor. 7:15, Deut. 24:1-4, see also WCF 24.5-6), hold men accountable for premarital sex (see Ex. 22:16-17), and punish those who are caught committing rape, adultery, and homosexuality (Deut. 22:22-27, Lev. 20:10-13).

8. Right of property ownership (Ex. 20:15). The civil government ought to enforce restitution for goods unlawfully taken or withheld (Ex. 21:33-22:15), punish fraud in the market place and unfaithfulness in contracts (Lev. 19:11-13), and punish kidnapping and enslaving (Ex. 21:16). The protection of private property encourages responsibility, initiative, and long-term thinking. Rulers should avoid using their power for unjust confiscation, excessive taxation, or other ways they might violate this principle (1 Kgs. 21, Mic. 3:1-3, Amos 5:11; see this post for more on taxation).

9. Right to one’s good name and the truth (Ex. 20:16). The civil government should punish convicted malicious witnesses with the penalty that would have been received as a result of their false witness (Deut. 19:15-21) and vindicate the innocent against slander (Lev. 19:16). The Bible insists on an investigation of the facts, presumption of innocence, due process, and at least two or three witnesses of some kind (Deut. 19:15, Josh. 7). These things are essential to harmony in society and to a judicial system that might enforce justice justly. 

10. You shall not covet (Ex. 20:17). This last one is like the first - primarily an internal command. Just as rulers should confess subjection to God, likewise should they confess their duty to protect those under their care, even from themselves, recognizing their limits and the purpose of their authority.

Finally, there is in biblical law a focus on the victim’s rights, an aim at restitution and restoration, and limits and checks on government power. I also believe it teaches that for capital offenses, the death penalty can be reduced to a lesser punishment due to various circumstances in some cases (though not in the case of murder). Also, the Bible teaches that it is vital for judges to have wisdom and good character if they are going to do their job well (Deut. 1:13, Ex. 18:21, 1 Kgs. 3).

So civil government is appointed by God to enforce justice so that people may enjoy peace and liberty. In the next two posts, I will move on to the duty of people toward the civil government:

Our Duty toward Civil Government

Our Duty toward Unjust Civil Government 

Principles of Worship: The Sabbath Principle

Here I continue the series on worship, looking at a second of five principles that govern Christian worship, according to a Presbyterian understanding of Scripture (see this link for the first principle). This second principle is that of the Sabbath - the day of corporate worship.

The Sabbath is the weekly day of rest, and is a day of holy convocation. God calls His people to assemble to worship Him on this day. We find this stated in Leviticus 23:3.

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.” (Lev. 23:3)

The sabbath day in the Old Testament was based on God’s works of creation and redemption on the seventh day (Exod. 20:11; Deut. 5:15). But the day of the new creation and the day of redemption in the New Testament is the first day of the week, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Thus, our observance of the Sabbath and its “holy convocation” also shifts to the first day. The fourth commandment was not abrogated, but its old covenant form was replaced by its new covenant form, explicitly connected to the work of Christ.

This shift was taught by the example of our Lord - it was not a mere invention of the church. Jesus met with his disciples on the day of His resurrection and broke bread with some of them (Luke 24, John 20:19-23). A week later, on the first day of the week, they were gathered again and He met with them again (John 20:26-29). Seven weeks later, on the first day of the week, was the day of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-16), when the disciples were gathered again in one place and the Spirit descended upon them in the morning (Acts 2:1ff). They spoke in foreign tongues and Peter preached.

Following this, we find the apostles following this example and gathering on the first day of the week. Later in Acts 20:7 we find that “on the first day of the week” they “were gathered together to break bread” and “Paul talked with them…and he prolonged his speech until midnight.” In 1 Corinthians 11 we find that the Corinthian church gathered together as a church to eat the Lord’s Supper (11:18, 20, 33), and in 1 Corinthians 16 we find that this day that they met together was the first day of the week, since Paul tells them to collect supplies for the Jerusalem church on “the first day of every week” (16:2). Finally, we find that the Apostle John received God’s word on the “Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1:10, a reference to the first day of the week, the day of the Lord’s resurrection.

The early church continued to gather on this day, as Justin Martyr records in A.D. 155: “We all make our assembly in common on Sunday, since it is the first day, on which God changed the darkness and matter and made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead on the same day” (Justin Martyr, First Apology).

While there is more to the Christian Sabbath than worship, we can see that worship is a very important part of it, even central. It is a day of rest and worship, a feast day in commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection. It is a day of convocation, a day to worship with God’s people, a day to partake of the Lord’s Supper and to meet with the triune God.

No, You Cannot Choose "Your Sabbath"

The idea that the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath is rather unpopular today. Our culture prizes individual freedom and economic efficiency, both of which conflict with the idea of a corporate observance of a day of rest and worship. As our society has become more and more secular, its schedule and rhythm of life no longer makes space for the Sabbath. While society used to give support to the Lord's Day, now Christians must swim against the stream to carve out this time. Secular society has its own rival "church calendar" that seeks to shape our character by scheduling our time.

Many Christians have wavered in the face of this pressure. One approach that some have taken is that any day of the week can be your Sabbath. The idea is that in the new covenant the seventh day is no longer the Sabbath and there is not a specific day substituted in its place. Those who hold this position would agree that a Sabbath principle rooted in creation continues to apply (i.e. there should be one day in seven as a day of rest), but that it is a matter of individual choice as to what day of the week that is. This allows them to observe their Sabbath whenever it works best in their schedule, minimizing conflicts with the schedule of the broader society.

I believe that a specific day has been substituted for the seventh day. As my church's shorter catechism says, "From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, God appointed the seventh day 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, which is the Christian sabbath" (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 59). I don't intend to make the case for this position in this post, but I would appeal to texts like Deuteronomy 5:15, Luke 24, John 20:19-23, 26-29, Acts 2:1ff, 20:7, 1 Corinthians 11:18, 20, 33; 16:2, and Revelation 1:10. What I do want to point out is that even if God did not specify which day of the week was to be observed as the Christian Sabbath, the choice would not be left to individual believers. 

The Sabbath is not designed as something to be observed by individuals on their own. It is designed to be observed by a community. This requires that a day be agreed upon by that community rather than leaving it up to individuals to choose their Sabbath.

When the fourth commandment was given, not only was it commanded that "you" shall not do any work, but also "your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you" (Deut. 5:14). Exodus 23:12 also emphasizes corporate responsibility and communal benefits, “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed." This is not merely a command for individuals, but a command for a community to rest and give rest and to share in this rest together. It gives leaders a responsibility to see that those under their charge observe this day, knowing that our schedules are rarely individual matters.

The Sabbath rest was not merely for the cessation of work - although physical rest was certainly part of it. It was also a day of worship. As Leviticus 23:3 proclaimed, "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places." Work was set aside for the sake of worship with God's people. Central to the idea of the Sabbath rest was worship - not only private and family worship, but worship in the assembly of the saints. Furthermore, we find this pattern of a weekly holy convocation continued in the New Testament (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 11:18, 20, 33; 16:2, Heb. 10:25). This important aspect of the Sabbath is not possible if the Sabbath is left to individuals. Even if one believes there is no divinely appointed day of the week in the New Testament, there is a practical necessity that the church chooses a weekly day to observe this holy rest and common worship. And throughout the history of the New Testament church, this day has been the first day of the week, the Lord's Day.

Like I said, I believe the the first day of the week has been divinely appointed as the Lord's Day, which is the day the Sabbath principle is observed in the new covenant. But even if one is not convinced of this, I believe one should observe the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath because this is the publicly recognized day the church observes its weekly rest and worship. Giving individuals the option to observe any day of the week as "their Sabbath" actually transforms the Sabbath - making it a day off for individuals, rather than a community holiday observed with a holy convocation. In a day in which community is weak and culture is generally secularized, Christians need a communal holy day on a regular basis. This is God's appointed means to build up His saints so that they can maintain their distinct identity in a world that seeks to conform them to its ways.

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Speaking of community, my church is hosting a men's conference next week with "building community" as its theme. For more information, go to this link.