WSC Q&A #58

Q: What is required in the fourth commandment?
A: The fourth commandment requires the keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his word; expressly one whole day in seven, to be a holy sabbath to himself
Exodus 31:13  You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.'

The idea of sabbath, that is, "holy rest", is so essential to the life of a Christian. The sabbath shows and reminds us of a great reality. It is God's invitation to his people to participate in his own holy rest. The seventh day of Creation was set aside, ordained by God, to be a day of holy rest. This makes the sabbath not merely a command of the law, but rather, it makes the sabbath a "Creation Ordinance", ordained by God in his work of creation. For the Old Testament people of God, the sabbath was a reminder of their need for rest, and a reminder that true rest and peace comes from communion with God. Likewise, and more fully understood, the New Testament community finds our holy rest in our union with Jesus Christ. It is in Christ that we find rest from the burden of the law and a rest from the burden of our sins. Because of this, we remember the sabbath and keep it holy, not out of obligation, not only because God commands it, but also out of delight because, as Exodus 31 says, doing so assures us that the LORD God is indeed sanctifying us. The sabbath speaks the reality of the gospel into our lives, and the command to remember it and keep it holy is one of God's ordained means of grace for the good of his people and for his own glory. 

WSC Q&A #57

Q: Which is the fourth commandment?
A: The forth commandment is: Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
Genesis 2:2-3: And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

I'm particularly excited about examining the fourth commandment! I think that out of all the commandments, the fourth commandment is the most neglected by the modern church. We seem to have a generally low view of the sabbath day and what it means to keep it holy. Perhaps that stems from an attempt at not appearing to be legalistic. And surely, as certain theological trends arose in the 20th century that divided the continuity between Old and New Testament, opinions about how to apply the law to the New Covenant Community began to arise, and out of all the ten commandments, the fourth commandment got shafted in a big way. Generally, people in the church still agree that murdering someone, stealing, not honoring your mother and father, etc., all bad and terrible things, but for some reason, not keeping the sabbath day holy seems to be optional for God's people. And while I don't consider myself a strict sabbatarian (that is to say, I'm not someone who believes all we can do on Sundays is eat, sleep, and go to church), and sitting through many presbytery exams it's clear that many, if not most, who are licensed or ordained in the PCA take exception to the Westminster Confession of Faith's wording concerning what is permitted and forbidden on the Sabbath, I believe that it is certainly possible to have a high view of the sabbath day and not be a strict sabbatarian.

So we'll get to examine all of this over the next several weeks. We'll look at what the fourth commandment allows, what it forbids, as well as examine why we believe that since the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the New Testament ordains the first day of the week, Sunday, to be the Christian sabbath. But most importantly, we'll examine what role the sabbath day plays in our Christian worship, and why the sabbath is an important part of both our Christian discipleship and the right and proper worship of God. 

Worth Reading

1 John 1:1-4

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

True Reformation

Awakening is at the very heart of the Christian faith, and it is the reason we are Christians. . . When God awakens us, He regenerates our hearts, gives us the gift of new birth, and makes us alive. He says to us, “Live!” (Ezek. 16:6). . .

just as God ordains awakening, He ordains the means of awakening. God not only sovereignly ordains the ends of all things, He ordains the means of all ends as well.

How R.C. Sproul’s Words Changed My Life

I asked a question about pride and success. Sure, I could have struck a nerve with double predestination or eschatology or whatever. But I can find those answers on my own. I wanted to ask a question that only Sproul could answer, so I asked this... Sproul could answer, so I asked this…

10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling

The point is clear: Jesus Calling is a book built upon a faulty premise and in that way a book that is dangerous and unworthy of our attention or affirmation. The great tragedy is that it is leading people away from God’s means of grace that are so sweet and so satisfying, if only we will accept and embrace them.

WSC Q&A #56

Q: What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?
A: The reason annexed to the third commandment is that however the breakers of this commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.
1 Samuel 3:13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.

God's name is holy. God's name is his self-chosen revelation about himself and his character. The name of God demands our reverence, our deep-seated awe and respect, and just as God will not tolerate anyone to put any other gods before him, and just as God will not tolerate anyone to worship him in a way that he has not ordained in his word, so too will he not tolerate anyone to abuse and show disrespect to his great and holy name.

Phil Ryken recently wrote:

"The reason God will condemn us (for breaking the third commandment) is because misusing his name is a very great sin. It is a direct attack on his honor and glory, and anyone who makes such an attack deserves condemnation. When people break the third, or any of the commandments, they are guilty before God, and ultimately they will be judged for their sins."

We, of course, know this, and this is why the Christian puts his hope and trust in Jesus Christ's life of perfect obedience to the law of God. What other hope do we have? We know none of us keeps God's law. It is a great grace to be united to Christ, to have his righteousness counted towards us. We must always remember this. But concerning the third commandment, we should also remember that it is a great grace that God would reveal his personal name to unrighteous sinners. It's a great privilege to be able to address the God of all creation by his name, but such a great privilege brings a great responsibility with it. If we love God, if we respect God and care about his glory, we must strive to obey God and show his great and holy name the reverence it is owed. 

Worth Reading

Mark 13

Do you come to our gathered worship service expecting God to speak to you through his Word? We encourage you to prayerfully read through the passage that will be preached prior to the service to help you prepare.

The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy: It’s Our Problem

We will not believe more than we know, and we will not live higher than our beliefs.

Three Ways to Share the Gospel This Week

“Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.”

This classic quote, misattributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, is both clever and catchy. It just isn’t biblical.

Evangelism—communicating the good news of King Jesus—always requires words. Christians are called to adorn the gospel with actions (Titus 2:10), to be sure, but our actions are not the gospel. No amount of righteous living can replace the necessity of verbally proclaiming God’s saving achievement in Christ.

But even though all evangelism involves sharing the same message, not all evangelism occurs in the same manner. Here are three kinds we see modeled in the New Testament.

My Husband’s Cancer and the Lord of Steadfast Love

Yes, we want the storm to be still. Quiet waters are a welcome sight after the whipping of the wind and waves. But the calm isn’t enough. We need a safe place to drop anchor—a shelter, a place to catch our breath.