“The Christian Sabbath”

What this episode covers

The Fourth Commandment: The Christian Sabbath There have been significant figures in church history who argued that Christ abolished the Sabbath in the same way that he fulfills the shadows of the ceremonial law. Augustine and Calvin are two of the more significant figures that give me pause for holding to a view that differs. For them, gathering on Sunday is not a command from God, but a tradition from man. We will consider several challenges to the notion of the Christian Sabbath this morning. This is our final sermon on the fourth commandment. We began by recognizing that the origin of Sabbath observance takes us back to the creation account (Genesis 2:1-3). If the Sabbath is a creation ordinance then it has abiding validity for all mankind. We also considered the observance of the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). The following week we looked at the purpose of the Sabbath which was to delight in a day of rest and worship (Isaiah 58:13-14). Last week we focused on the teaching of Jesus regarding the Sabbath. His corrections of the Pharisees returned his people to an accurate view of the day. In summary, Jesus taught three exceptions to the prohibition of work on the Sabbath: Works of Piety (worship)Works of Necessity (military, police)Works of Mercy (healing, medical) This morning I want to turn our attention to several of the challenges that have been raised to the concept of “the Christian Sabbath” (WCF 21.7). I will admit that the fourth commandment does pose some unique challenges that are not present with the other commandments. The other commandments received deeper and broader treatment under Christ’s teaching, especially the sixth and seventh commandments (murder includes hatred, adultery includes lust), but none of them were changed as significantly as the fourth commandment. Although much has changed about Sabbath observance, it is still relevant for believers today. Read Hebrews 4:1-10 I. Does Jesus Fulfill the Christian Sabbath? The author of Hebrews discusses the Sabbath in a section arguing that Jesus Christ is the great high priest, superior to Moses. It is the final passage in Scripture which uses the word ‘Sabbath’. The psalmist’s curse of the disobedient Hebrews (who failed to enter the Promised Land) is interpreted as a promise that some will enter God’s rest (Hebrews 4:1-3; Psalm 95:11). Those who believe enter God’s rest which is exemplified by God’s rest from his creative activities (Hebrews 4:4). Man is to rest by enjoying God’s finished work and glorifying him for it. Since the Fall men have failed to enter God’s rest, but hope is held out for those who repent (Hebrews 4:5-7). Those who entered the land under Joshua have not experienced this rest either (Hebrews 4:8). That rest is a rest specifically reserved for believers (Hebrews 4:3). “Sabbath-keeping” (σαββατισμὸς) remains for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9-10). The word for “rest” (κατάπαυσιν) occurs 12x between Hebrews 3:11 and 4:11, but it does not occur in v.9. In Hebrew 4:9, the author deliberately substitutes it with the word σαββατισμὸς. This shift in words would have been abundantly clear to the original audience. The Septuagint (LXX) uses the verbal form (σαββατισμὸς) in four places (Exodus 16:30; Leviticus 23:32; 26:34f.; and 2 Chronicles 36:21). In each of these cases the term denotes the observance or celebration of the Sabbath, not a Sabbath rest as a state to be entered into but a Sabbath-keeping as a practice to be observed. Greek morphology would agree as the μὸς ending indicates action rather than state of being. If the author were speaking of a state, he would have used σάββατoν or continued with κατάπαυσιν instead. Hebrews 4 is not explaining the abrogation of the fourth commandment, but the establishing of it under the new covenant. “God” only occurs once in v.10. Only pronouns are used prior: “for whoever has entered his rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:

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