For the Son of man is Lord
even of the sabbath day.
even of the sabbath day.
Matthew 12:8
In response to the "Announcement" Anna posted previously
in June on Facing the Waves, one of our readers requested a post regarding
Sunday worship. This was not a topic I had consciously thought about (hence the
very late post), though I did for a short time a couple months ago. So, I went
to Scripture and sermons to refresh my mind.
Likely, we have all grown up with slight differences in how we
observe Sunday. Many people want to know "What can't I do?",
rather than focusing on the heart and asking "How
can I best worship the Lord on His day?". Dividing this post into
two sections, I will attempt to explain what the Lord's Day should mean to
believers in the 21st century.
What Sunday is not...
Sunday is not the Sabbath. The Sabbath Day was given to the Jews--the
Israelite nation. Sabbath was the day on which the Lord rested after He spoke
His creation into being. This day was one of rest for God which served as a
day of remembrance for the Israelites--a reminder to worship God as
Creator. The Lord commanded the Israelites that the 7th day of
the week was to be a day of rest for the Jews and pointed to certain judgment
if God’s laws were not kept. (Exodus 31:13-17)This day was to be one that was
set-apart; it was marked for sanctification. Israel was not to act like the
other nations around them; this Sabbath day was one created specifically for
them—a sign of sanctification and rest, in order that they would remember their
Creation, His creation, and their sinfulness.
Sunday is not a day in which we commanded to observe the Old
Testament rules. The Lord laid out clear laws that the Israelites were to
follow, and among those rules were many pertaining to the Sabbath day. They
were not to collect manna on that day, and they were not to go on any long
journeys, to name a couple. And whoever violated the Sabbath day was to be put
to death. (Exodus 31:14) Through these laws, man was to recognize that Creation
was marred and that man was filled with sin, and that the only way they could
receive forgiveness was by keeping the law.
Sunday is not identified on Judaism’s calendar. The Sabbath day was
the 7th day of the week; one that was to be a reminder to the Israelites
that God rested on this day. Not because He was weary, but because it was His
day to enjoy His creation and bless all that He had made. (Genesis 2:3) The
Sabbath day was a memorial to the original creation—a reminder that Paradise
had been lost and forfeited by man’s sin and that there was now judgment if they
disobeyed God’s law. The Sabbath was a sign to the Israelites connecting them
with the Fall of Man and reminding them that the only way to regain a taste of
that Paradise was by observing a day of rest—the 7th day. The
Sabbath was only a shadow of the substance (His rest), and yet it was a promise
of future salvation.
What Sunday is…
Sunday is the 1st day of the week! This is the day that
approximately 2000 years ago, Christ victoriously conquered death, paid for the
sins of mankind, and provided redemption, justification, and sanctification for
all those who would believe in Him. (Luke 23:53-12:1-12) This is the day that
Christ appeared to His disciples, showing them that He is risen—proving that
all His past ministry and death made sense, that the Old Testament was broken
once and for all, and that the Father affirmed His finished work on the cross.
He also promises to His followers that they would receive the Holy Spirit after
He had been received up into heaven. (John 20:19-23) Again, on the first day of
the week (a different Sunday ;), the disciples received the Holy Spirit and
were given the gift of speaking in tongues, and Peter preached the first “Sunday
sermon”. (Acts 2:1-4, 14-43)
Sunday is a day in which we are no longer under the bondage of the
law. When Jesus died, He eliminated the
priesthood, sacrifices, and holy days—including the Sabbath. Sunday was the day
Christ arose and overthrew the law. He eliminated the need to work for salvation
by following the law. Believers rest
from the works approach to righteousness, because we have entered into the new
covenant—the one where Christ is our ultimate rest. The law only pointed to
Christ—and Christ was the fulfillment of that law through His atoning work on
the cross. We are not under the bondage of the law anymore, but rather, we are
bondage of grace; and through grace, we have freedom in Christ. (Romans 14:1-6)
(Galatians 4:9-11) The Sabbath laws were mere shadows of the hope to come;
Christ’s resurrection is the hope. (Colossians
2:16-17) And while, Sunday on this earth is still only a shadow of the rest to
come, we now have the promise of salvation. If we try to hold on to the old
laws of God, then we make His finished work of no avail. No longer are we only
left with a shadow of rest as the Old Testament provided, we now have the substance:
Christ, and He is our complete rest. To paraphrase John MacArthur’s words: When
Jesus picked the 12 disciples, He left the Old Testament leaders behind; when
He picked the 1st day of the week, He left the 7th
behind.
Sunday is a day in which we worship Christ as Redeemer, Savior,
and Lord. We observe this day because this is the day when our Lord proved His
deity and the sufficiency of His fulfillment of the law. After all, He was the one
to demonstrate the throwing aside Pharisaical laws by healing and working on
the Sabbath. (John 5:3-18) He isn’t honored with the keeping of some day of the
week; He is honored in our worship of Him on the Lord’s day. While the other
Old Testament commands are repeated in the New Testament, there is never a
command to observe the Sabbath. The Sabbath was done away with, so the
disciples came together on the first days of the week (And not just the first
days! Sometimes they worshipped together for days in a row.[Acts 2:46]) , without
the bondage of the law. This is the day when we glorify Christ as Redeemer; not
worshiping old creation, but the new! This is “the Lord’s Day”: set-apart for
Him. (Revelation 1:10)This is the day when the disciples gathered together to
break bread, worship, sing, preach, and embrace the truth of the gospel. (1
Corinthians 16:1-2) This is not a day that is just a “stop-off” in the middle
of the week; it’s a day to remember the glory of your salvation. We are not
forbidden to work or play—but, remember, this is the day that God named as His
own. Surely, we can give Him—He who created us, died for us, and saved us—one day
of the seven He gives us. We are commanded not to forsake the assembling of
believers, and especially as the coming of Christ draws nearer by nearer, so
our communion with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ should increase.
(Hebrews 10:25). Celebrate His resurrection and atoning work, by filling the
Lord’s Day with worship, preaching, and fellowship; and rest in Christ and in the reality of your salvation. This is our
day to find greatest delight in Christ and to fellowship with brothers and
sisters in the Lord, because He rose from the grave, victorious over death, and
is now seated at the right hand of the
Father, living to intercede for His chosen ones.
Let us hold fast the profession of our
faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider
one another to provoke unto love and to good works; Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25
In Christ,
Kaleigh
Very well said, Kaleigh. "Sunday is not the Sabbath," you wrote. So true! I'd never thought about it in such black-and-white terms before. And, yet, to so many people, Sunday is the Sabbath (which makes one wonder how they can so religiously defend resting on the day when it isn't even the last day of the week- the original Sabbath day). Just remember that the Sabbath day was indeed for rest (Exodus 20:10), and that we Christians today do indeed observe that Sabbath rest, in a sense. Remember Psalm 95:11 when God said in his anger that the Israelites "shall never enter my rest?" Well, we as Christian now enter that rest as a kind of Sabbath. Hebrews 4:1-11 states it far more eloquently than I do; "There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his." So God's rest in Genesis still applies to us today. While it may not be a set day, let's remain in God's rest.
ReplyDeleteCaleb
What an excellent post, Kaleigh. :) I really enjoyed it, and the contrasts you made between the Christian Sunday and the Jewish Sabbath. That is a source of confusion for many.
ReplyDeleteYou said: "this Sabbath day was one created specifically for them—a sign of sanctification and rest, in order that they would remember their Creation, His creation, and their sinfulness."
I was curious where the Sabbath was supposed to remind us of our sinfulness? I had never heard that before; only to commemorate God's rest from the work of creation. :)
Great point on freedom from bondage of law on Sundays! I think setting it aside as a day of worship looks different for various families and occupations, but it's important to have the mindset of honoring the Lord and worshipping Him, even though we don't all do it the same. :)
Love,
Schuyler
Thank you, Caleb. :) Yes, I like "black-and-white terms"--part of it is my personality, I think. But I really liked your comment. I definitely agree. I wish I had included that in my post, but thank you for pointing that out: Christ is our rest now. Good thought. Thanks. :)
ReplyDelete~Kaleigh
Thanks, Schuyler. I really liked John MacArthur's explanation of your question, so I'll attempt to better explain what I mean using my notes from his sermon. ;) In Exodus 31:13, God says that the Sabbath was a sign (or symbol) that points to something else; reminding the Israelites that the only way they could regain a taste of Paradise was through observing the Sabbath day. I think it is somewhat implied that man would have to remember his own sinfulness if he is to remember his Creator. Thinking about the Creation, the Creator, and the day of rest, would hopefully prompt the reminder that Creation was marred because of man's sin and (for the Israelites), the only way to gain forgiveness was by keeping the law (the fourth commandment, specifically).
ReplyDeleteFor the Christian today, I think that we would be reminded about our celebration when thinking on Christ's resurrection. The resurrection would have been unnecessary if man had not sinned.
And, if you care to know, Sundays happen to be my favorite day of the week, so this was a fun post to write. :D
Thanks for commenting. :)
Love,
Kaleigh