Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 5:12–15

Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Considering the Christian Sabbath, we're looking at part 2 this morning. Just want to read Deuteronomy 5, 12 to 15, I'll pray, and then we'll look at the material. Deuteronomy 5, verse 12, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Father in heaven, we come to what some consider to be a controversial subject. We ask that you would guide us now by the Holy Spirit, give us wisdom, give us understanding, give us grace to see that none of the commandments of God are burdensome, cause us to reflect upon the blessedness of a God who gives His people the gift of a day, a day to cease from their worldly labors, a day to come in from out of the world, to gather together in the presence of God, to sanctify the day, to call it a delightful day, to keep it as a holy day. We ask now that You would bless us and help us, Lord God, in this. Guide us by the Spirit, we pray, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Introduction

Well, when we consider the doctrine of the Sabbath, we look at the exposition of this commandment, and then last time we looked at the Sabbath in the Old Covenant. This morning we're going to take up the Sabbath in the New Covenant under the few headings of the ministry of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and then the teaching of the apostles. But just by way of a bit of a review, we see Sabbatarianism, or Sabbath-keeping, first patterned by God. In Genesis chapter 2, verses 1 to 3, it serves as a pattern or a paradigm for the created order.

On the heels of that account, we have Cain and Abel coming at the end of days, the end of the days of the week, to bring sacrifice that Adam had commanded them on the day that Adam had commanded them. We see that the Sabbath is pre-Sinai in terms of observance. In Exodus chapter 16, they were supposed to gather on the sixth day, a daily portion, so that they would not have to work on the seventh day, the Sabbath day. Of course, we see the giving of the law and the codification of the Sabbath in the Fourth Commandment.

In Exodus chapter 20, the rationale for Sabbath-keeping is the reality that God created the heavens and the earth in the space of six days. The rationale in Deuteronomy is that God redeemed Israel out of bondage in Egypt. So those twin themes of creation and redemption obtain in Old Covenant Sabbath-keeping. I will argue they obtain in New Covenant Sabbath-keeping as well, and our text for that will be Hebrews 4.

Before we turn there, it's going to be in a few minutes, but just a bit of a review. You see the Sabbath in the Prophets, Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34, doesn't mention anything particular to Sabbath, but mentions about New Covenant blessing. In the times of Messiah, in the time of the New Covenant, the Lord God will indeed write His law on the hearts of His redeemed people. He will give them a knowledge of Himself.

He will forgive their sins, all features that were present in the Old Covenant, but were not essential. In the New Covenant, those are essential features. Anyone in the New Covenant must be identified as one who's been forgiven of sin, one who's had the law of God internalized, including the Fourth Commandment, and those who have the Spirit abiding in them. We see in the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 56, it is a prophecy concerning New Covenant reality.

And the New Covenant is going to see the inclusion of eunuchs. Deuteronomy 23.1 forbids eunuchs from entering into the assembly of the Lord. Well, in Isaiah 56, we learn that the eunuchs will be able to come to the house of God. You see that fulfilled in Acts chapter 8, when Philip meets that Ethiopian eunuch.

And that Ethiopian eunuch is baptized, and he's added to the very church of God Most High. And then in Isaiah 58, the prophet upbraids the nation for two ordinances that they had engaged in with the wrong motives. fasting and Sabbath keeping. And again, that section in Isaiah 50 points to new covenant blessing. It all hinges upon or is rooted in Isaiah 53 and the substitutionary atoning work of the servant of Yahweh, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So based on what he has done, there are certain features essential to new covenant religion that the prophets speak of. So when we get to the new covenant, we see those things come to fruition. And when it comes to the law of God Most High, remember the threefold division. There is that ceremonial law, those feast days that we just read about in Exodus 23.

Those prefigured, those typified the coming Messiah. Those are fulfilled by Him, so there is no longer an obligation on the New Covenant Church to hold to the ceremonial law. There is the judicial law, which is that section in Exodus that we are reading. The Ten Commandments are given in Exodus 20, and then there are case law, concrete examples of how to do society.

That is the judicial law. Again, it has expired with the Commonwealth of Israel, but there is a general equity that obtains. And then, of course, the moral law. That's Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments.

That's Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments. That is abiding. That is perpetual. That continues.

That has not been abrogated. It has not been fulfilled. It has not been done away with. Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law.

The Jews or the Commonwealth of Israel is dissolved, so there is no more judicial law, technically speaking. But the moral law is extant. It is for us, and it's not just 9 out of the 10 commandments, but rather it is all 10 of the commandments. Now, as a Reformed church that subscribes to a Reformed confession, we affirm a Reformed hermeneutic.

So, if the New Testament doesn't get rid of something, then it continues to be binding for us. I realize there are persons that suggest that the New Covenant does do away with Sabbath-keeping. We'll take up those alleged anti-Sabbatarian texts, God willing, next Sunday, but for now, I want to consider the Sabbath and the New Covenant.

Ministry of Christ and the Law

Turn first with me to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5, as we look at the ministry of Christ, I have two sub points here. First, his doctrine concerning the law, and second, his practice concerning the Sabbath. We'll take up first his doctrine concerning the law in Matthew 5, 17 to 20.

Look at what it says. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." So what we have here is Christ's hermeneutic.

Now, kids, the word hermeneutics simply means principles of interpretation. If you don't know what principles means, too bad. You're going to have to ask your parents at lunch. But the idea is that when we come to the Bible, there's some frame of reference by which we interpret the Bible.

In other words, what you put in in terms of exegesis is what you get out in terms of application. I said that if you have not been in a Reformed church, you will have heard the allegation that Reformed people who believe that the Sabbath is still perpetual for us are legalistic, or we're Judaizing the New Testament. Well, again, that's a result of their hermeneutic. either dispensational theology or new covenant theology, with the hermeneutic they put in, they come out on the other side with no Sabbath. It is different for the reform.

The hermeneutic that we utilize comes out on the other side with an abiding Sabbath. Again, it goes back to the threefold division of the law, threefold use of the law, and all those sorts of things. But Christ is setting forth now his hermeneutic. how he deals with the Bible, how he deals with the Old Testament. His popularity and his fame had been spreading.

There were people that were drawing nigh to hear him. In fact, we see that at the outset of the Sermon on the Mount. All the multitudes drew to him. He sits down in the position of an official rabbinic teacher, and he expounds the Word of God. not only for his disciples, but for the multitudes.

No doubt religious leaders had come because they had heard of the popularity of Jesus, and one of the pressing issues would no doubt have been, what does he think about Moses? What does he think about Isaiah? What does he think about what we now call the Old Testament? In other words, how does he handle the scriptures?

So he sets forth these principles.

Christ's Doctrine Concerning the Law

In the first place, he says, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. He does this in his work. He doesn't invalidate the law or the prophets, that means the Old Testament, but rather he fulfills it.

In other words, what it says concerning him, Deuteronomy 18, a prophet will be raised up among the children of Israel, him you shall hear. 2 Samuel chapter 7, a son of David that would build the house for God. Isaiah 53, the suffering servant, who would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and who would go to the cross for us men and for our salvation. So he doesn't come to invalidate or to abrogate or to destroy the law and the prophets, but he comes to fulfill it in his own work. the fulfillment of all that was written of Him in the prophets, and the active obedience of Christ to everything written in terms of law. He had to fulfill that in order for us to achieve this righteousness.

We will never fulfill that law perfectly. We will never do it perpetually. We will never do it exactly, and we'll never do it entirely. So if the priest does not come, the representative of his people does not come and do that for us, then we will perish in hell forever.

But he fulfills all righteousness. He carries out every obligation of the law, and he does that so that we can receive a righteousness imputed to us and received by faith alone. He fulfills the ceremonial law. in the sacrifice of himself. He's not only the priest, but he's the victor.

He's not only the offerer, but he is the offer. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And thus, in the work of Christ, he fulfills the law and the prophets in his actions. Spurgeon says, he is himself the fulfillment and substance of the types and prophecies and commands of the law.

Secondly, he fulfills the law in his doctrine. And this is what he sets forth here. Do not think, the tense of the verb suggests we ought to interpret it this way. Do not let it even begin to arise in your mind that I have come to destroy the law and the prophets.

I didn't come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, I have come rather to fulfill them. And by fulfill he means, again, so that we might have a righteousness, but by fulfill he's confirming, he is strengthening, he is demonstrating the beauty and the glory of it. Again, Spurgeon makes the observation. Our king honors his father's law.

He took care to revise and reform the laws of men, but the law of God he established and confirmed. Our king has not come to abrogate the law, but to confirm and reassert it. So he makes that statement, do not even let it begin to rise up. Don't even begin to think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets.

I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Notice the abiding perpetuity of God's moral law. We already see that the ceremonial is fulfilled by Jesus. The judicial expires with the Commonwealth of Israel.

But in verse 18, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." So he confirms it according to Spurgeon. I think he's right there. He strengthens the obligation even under the new covenant. It's not the case that we are to disregard it or to relegate it.

It's not the case that because Jesus fulfilled the law relative to the seventh commandment, that now we can go out and commit adultery, or that Jesus has fulfilled the law relative to the sixth commandment, we can go out and commit murder. Well, that Jesus has fulfilled the law concerning the Sabbath doesn't mean that we're free now to have no obligation with reference to the Sabbath. That is a non sequitur. It does not follow, and that is not what Christ is doing.

In terms of his hermeneutic, he issues this caution against those who breaks Or verse 19, whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So in terms of an antinomian, those who do not have a high regard for the law, he nevertheless says they will be least in the kingdom of heaven. But notice what he says concerning legalism or neo-Nomianism in verse 20.

He says, Notice it's the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees that is the target. not the righteousness of the law of Moses. And in verses 21 to 44, he goes on to give a series of antitheses between what has been said in Pharisaic misinterpretation to what has always been the original purpose given by God in the giving of the law. So Christ's hermeneutic, Christ's principle of interpretation, Christ's framework with dealing with the law is one that is pro-law. He's not an antinomian, and that simply means one who gets rid of, one who is against, or one who disregards the law of God.

He's also not a neonomian or what we call a legalist. He knows that the righteousness that is demanded by him in the Sermon on the Mount is afforded by him in terms of his redemptive work on behalf of his people. So Christ navigates between antinomianism and neonomianism and sets forth parameters so that the church can do likewise. So with reference to the ministry of Christ, we see his doctrine concerning the law.

It's like Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. Doesn't say anything about the law, the law of the Sabbath, but it tells you how you're supposed to think about the law in general, and then the particular commandments in particular. And then

Christ's Practice Concerning the Sabbath

with reference to his practice concerning the Sabbath, we see that in Matthew 12. You can turn there. So there's general, overarching, pro-law sentiment on the part of our blessed Savior. And then we see his practice concerning the Sabbath in Matthew chapter 12, verses 1 to 14.

And when Jesus teaches, he is also giving us some necessary qualifications with reference to the law. We looked at this two weeks ago in part one, when we considered Mark. God didn't make the man so that the man could observe the Sabbath. God made the Sabbath as a gift given for the man.

And we need to understand the original intention of God. John tells us in 1 John 5, 3, His commandments are not burdensome. In Isaiah 58, 13 and 14, we're to call the Sabbath a delight. Brethren, I've debated this and talked about this and preached about this as a confessional Baptist since the time I was in ministry.

And when we propagate the doctrine of the Christian Sabbath, much to the chagrin of the opponents of the Christian Sabbath, this isn't legalism. This isn't Judaizing. This is rather liberation. It is rather a blessed gift.

It is rather something good that our God gives us. Our God who commands us to rejoice is a God who gives us a day upon which to rejoice in his presence. So with reference to Christ, we see these Sabbath wars that he engages the Pharisees and the religious leaders in. And in the first section in Matthew 12, one to eight, notice in verse one, at that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. These guys were the consummate fault finders. These were the consummate Karens. These were the guys that just tried to make life miserable.

I think the best illustration of what's called Christian fundamentalism, if you know what that means, you'll understand. It's the strange idea that somewhere, someone is actually enjoying themselves. We need to eradicate that mindset. And here I think those in the context of the church ate the government at times.

But with reference to these guys, they say, look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. Well, that's not charged rhetoric, is it? That's not a simple question. That's not a simple, you know, call for understanding.

Well, what does Jesus do? Does Jesus say, Oh yeah, you're right. We're Sabbath breaking wretches. No, he says you're wrong.

You don't understand the scope of the Sabbath. When it came to David, they went into the holy place and they ate the bread that was for the priests only. Would it have been better for them to die? They needed food, they needed resources, they needed health and strength in order that they might go forth in the fear of God, conquering the enemies of God.

He then invokes, after David, he invokes the priests. They work on the Sabbath day. They had back-to-back services. It's likely to kill them.

There's a lot of labor involved in preaching back-to-back. Brethren, if you pray practically, pray they'd open the churches again so we can get a bit of space between the time. But in terms of the priests, they labored on the Sabbath, and they weren't violating that holy day. And then Jesus asserts his superiority over temple.

And that's a major theme in New Testament theology. Christ has not come to replace the temple. You hear it referred to at times as replacement theology. Covenant theology is not replacement theology.

It is fulfillment theology. It is organic. The promises made to Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob come to fruition in the Israel of God, which is Jesus Christ our Lord. The temple was, for a time, it pointed forward to the one that would be superior and over and supreme.

In other words, the one the temple pointed to is the primary, is the superior one. And then notice as well, with reference to his teaching, he is the Lord of the Sabbath. So verse 8, for the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. But in this particular context, our Lord Jesus shows us that the works of necessity are consistent with Sabbath keeping.

In other words, it's not a cessation from life. It's not sit in your living room all day long. But it is rather do good things and encourage people, gather in the house of God for the worship of God. And there are works of necessity.

If you are in a position where you have to eat or you'll die, then by all means eat. That's not a violation of the Sabbath. We approach this commandment like we don't with any other. We just have this view of God just trying to hedge us in and kill us and be the cosmic Terran to ruin our lives.

No, that's not it at all. Works of necessity are consistent with Sabbath-keeping. But he also indicates in the next section that works of mercy are consistent with Sabbath-keeping. Notice in verse 9, Now when he had departed from there, he went into their synagogue.

And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him? Again, they're not looking for information. The gospel writers, the evangelists, oftentimes tip the hat in terms of what's the actual motivation behind these Pharisees or religious leaders.

Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath that they might accuse Him? Now, notice. He said to them, What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?

Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Sabbath keeping does not invalidate works of mercy. Works of mercy are absolutely positively consistent on the Sabbath day. So it's not a cessation from labor to the place of inertness or staticness. where you just sit on your couch all day and engage in the holy observation of Sabbath.

No, works of necessity, works of mercy, but underscoring this is the outflow of Jesus' overall approach to the law. I mentioned before that it would be very curious if Christ was going to invalidate or to abrogate or to destroy or to do away with the Sabbath, that there would be all of these Sabbath wars recorded for us in the gospel narratives. Many times that Jesus and his opponents butt heads, it is over the doctrine of the Sabbath. One man has made this observation.

He says, Christ was careful to clear it from Jewish corruptions. And if there was any precept more particularly vindicated by him and honored than another, it was that requiring the Sabbath day to be kept holy. It is not the practice of a wise man to repair a house which he is about to pull down. Why would he do that?

It makes no sense. Rather, he vindicates it, and he highlights the reality that there is a proper approach to Sabbath-keeping, as is there an improper approach. You see that in 1 Timothy 1.8. The apostle Paul says, we know, this is something the church had settled back then.

For whatever reason, we don't have this lesson down today. He says, but we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. If you teach people that it's keeping the law that gets them into heaven, you're not teaching them properly. If you're teaching them that the law has been abrogated and it is no longer a revelation of who God is and a pattern for your sanctification, then you are teaching it unlawfully.

But when you have that threefold use of the law and you use it lawfully, then that is a great benefit and something the church must engage. And so Jesus uses the law lawfully and he distinguishes it from the malpractice of the religious leaders in his time. So we have the ministry of Christ, his doctrine concerning the law and his practice concerning the Sabbath.

Resurrection of Christ

Now let's look at the resurrection of Christ. He rose the first day of the week, Matthew 28. Matthew chapter 28. We'll just read the passages because this is absolutely crucial.

Matthew 28 one. Now after the Sabbath, that's the seventh day, Saturday Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. So it was the first day of the week upon which our Lord had risen from the dead. Turn over to Mark's gospel, Mark 16.

Mark 16. Each of the gospel writers indicate this for us. The reason why they indicate for us is that there has been a shift in terms of the day upon which the church celebrates Sabbath. Now, while you're turning there, I'll remind you of something I think I said in part one.

When it comes to the Sabbath commandment, it is both moral law and ceremonial. Or we might say it's both moral and positive. The moral aspect is one day out of seven, the people of God worship the God of the people. The ceremonial or positive aspect is the day upon which, conditioned by the covenant, that the people of God do that.

So there are both moral and positive elements involved in the Sabbath commandment. But notice in Mark 16, one and two. Now, when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

Again, Christ rose again on the first day of the week. Turn to Luke 24. Luke chapter 24. If you are curious about my use of moral or positive or ceremonial, again, I encourage you to take a copy of our church's Confession of Faith and read chapter 19 of the Law of God.

It is a wonderful presentation of Reformed theology relative to God's law. But in Luke 24 we read, Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Turn over to John 20.

John chapter 20, verse 1, very similar. Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Now drop down to verse 19. When does Jesus appear to his disciples? 2019, then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

So you have the disciples gathered together secretly for fear of the Jews, and Jesus comes to them on that first day of the week. Now, it's the disciples minus Thomas. The following week, Thomas is now with them. And notice the same day that Christ comes to them, verse 26.

And after eight days, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. It's inclusive, so it means the first day of the week. We have the resurrection of Christ as that day upon which the church and the new covenant gathers together for worship.

As the confession of faith says, which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week. And from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord's day and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished. So you have the ministry of Christ with reference to the law and his practice concerning the Sabbath. You have the resurrection of Christ, which is conspicuously on the first day of the week.

Each of the gospel writers underscores that for us, and John does it twice. He does it when the disciples meet without Thomas. He does it again when the disciples meet with Thomas. But in both instances, the Church of Christ is gathered on the first day of the week.

Teaching of the Apostles

Now turn with me, thirdly, in terms of the actual structure of the sermon, to the teaching of the apostles. So turn to Hebrews chapter 4. I won't get into the reasons why I believe that Paul wrote Hebrews. I think if Paul wrote Hebrews, it doesn't prohibit what's called an amanuensis.

Paul would use another person to actually put pen to paper, but the apostle Paul is responsible for the book of Hebrews. That's been debated in the context of the church. It ultimately doesn't matter. You're not going to go to hell if you don't accept Pauline authorship of Hebrews.

And I hope you don't go to hell if you accept the Pauline authorship of Hebrews, because then I'm going to be there. But notice, we have first, in terms of the teaching of the apostles, the Sabbath that remains. Now, when it comes to Hebrews 4, we're doing what's called biblical theology. Now, there is a text specifically in the context that tells us there is a Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God.

Verse 9 is very conspicuous in that way. In fact, it's only the New King James, as far as I can tell, of the English translations, the modern ones, that doesn't use the theologically charged terminology of Sabbath rest. If you have the ESV, you have the NIV, you have the NASB, verse 9 tells us there is a Sabbath rest for the people of God. But in terms of the context, as I said, we need to do a bit of biblical theology.

In the first place, the context is perseverance in the Christian faith. Perseverance in the Christian faith. If you go back to chapter 3, you'll see an exhortation, two exhortations to that end. Verse 6, but Christ is Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

See, the book of Hebrews is charged with that particular doctrine. Persevere, overcome, endure, go forward, don't shrink back. If, as I suspect, it was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the specific admonition comes to Hebrew Christians and they are being told not to recant Christ and go back to the temple and go back to the sacrificial system. You need to endure and persevere.

And then notice as well, verse 14, for we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. And then you have this negative example portrayed in verses 16 to 19. For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

Now with whom was he angry 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see then that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

So that's the larger context for Hebrews chapter four. Persevere, endure, overcome. Now he gets into the specific application.

The Sabbath Rest That Remains: Hebrews 4

Notice with reference to this emphasis on rest. 4.1. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, God's rest is the blessedness of the creature communing with the Creator. It is the blessedness of us entering in to the covenant promises of God Almighty. And as we move through this passage, we learn that Sabbath keeping was a great boon and a great help and a great encouragement for the people of God to persevere and to endure and to overcome.

Notice the declaration concerning God's rest in verse 4. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all His works. So God's rest, again, is paradigmatic. It is a pattern for the creature in Genesis 2, 1 to 3.

Now notice the emphasis in verses 6 and 7. The reality that Canaan was typical of the rest for the people of God. So along the way in Israel's history, there were these not only weekly Sabbaths, but the land itself typified or foreshadowed or prefigured or looked forward to that consummate rest when the people of God enter in to the presence of God for all eternity. Notice according to verse 8, the rest promised by God was not fulfilled in the land of Canaan.

Verse 8 says, for if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. I think the argument of the apostle is simply this. The ultimate end for the people of God is to enter into God's rest. God's rest is most glorious.

It is most excellent. We engage it now on the Sabbath day, but it's not fully entered into as to what it's going to be. And so there have been these things in history that have signified or typified that rest, but it hasn't exhausted the reality. And so in history, we have Canaan to keep us going.

We have weekly Sabbath keeping to keep us going. Now notice what he does in verse 9. He says, there remains therefore a rest, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Now, it is very intriguing what the apostle does here.

Sometimes when you're reading passages of scripture, you'll see the use of synonymous words, but they're different. I mean, they're the same word in terms of meaning, but they're different from a literary point of view. In other words, you don't want to have this same repetition of the same word over and over again. But there are other times when a new word is used which has theological significance.

So the word that has been used throughout up until verse 9 has been a general word for rest. Katapausen is the word. Now he uses a very theologically charged word, sabbatismos. Sabbath rest.

It is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament on a couple of places as a verbal form. The people of God Sabbath according to Exodus 1630. It's also used in a verbal form for the land. The land was given its Sabbath rest.

So the author here now uses this theologically charged word, and what he says here is, there remains, therefore, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Just like in the Old Covenant, they had the weekly Sabbath that helped spur them on in terms of perseverance and endurance, Just like in the Old Covenant they had Canaan as a type, as a prefigurement, as a helpful pointer to what would ultimately obtain in the eternal state, so in the New Covenant we have a Sabbath rest for the people of God. This is a passage that does exactly what many in our day say the Bible never does. They say things like, I can't understand how any student of the New Testament could find Sabbath-keeping in the New Testament.

Well, the Apostle tells us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, there remains, therefore, a Sabbatismus for the people of God. Certainly in terms of consummate glory, certainly in terms of eternal rest, But if in the Old Covenant that weekly Sabbath functioned to encourage the people of God, could it not be the case that in the New Covenant there is a weekly Sabbath that is calculated to encourage the people of God? I think that's precisely what the apostle is getting at in this place. The Sabbath rest typifies the eternal rest that is to come.

G.K. Beale, a New Testament biblical theologian, he said, if the eschatological reality, eschatology just means doctrine of last things, the study of end times, the study of the eschaton, what happens when this life is over and we enter into the age to come. He says, if the eschatological reality of final Sabbath rest has not consummately come, then it is unlikely that the typological sign pointing to that ultimate rest has ceased. In other words, if one of the functions of Sabbath under Old Covenant was to spur, urge, and encourage the people of God to march on until the consummate rest, Since the consummate rest has not come, then it follows that the people of God in a new covenant situation still need that help.

They still need that encouragement. They still need that boon. They need that blessing to aid them along the way. He goes on to say, that is, if the weekly Sabbath included the function of pointing forward to consummate rest, and that rest has not yet come, then that weekly Sabbath should continue.

This is a man, I don't want to get into any sort of, what is it, an appeal to authority? I can't remember the Latin here. He's no piker. He's no amateur.

I mean, G.K. Bill is a pretty accomplished father in Israel, and this is not some Judaizing of the New Testament or legalizing of the New Testament. And then A.W. Pink, who I'm sure many of you have heard of, his comment on 4.9 is very interesting.

He says, here then is a plain, positive, unequivocal declaration by the Spirit of God. There remaineth therefore a Sabbath keeping. Nothing could be simpler, nothing less ambiguous. The striking thing, and this really needs to be pondered, Because one of the things that the book of Hebrews is doing is showing the superiority of Christ over angels, showing the superiority of Christ over Moses, showing the superiority of Christ over the Levitical priesthood.

It's all about how Christ is so much better because he is the one they pointed forward to. So he says, the striking thing is that this statement occurs in the very epistle whose theme is the superiority of Christianity over Judaism, written to those addressed as holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. Therefore, it cannot be gainsaid that Hebrews 4.9 refers directly to the Christian Sabbath. Hence, we solemnly and emphatically declare that any man who says there is no Christian Sabbath takes direct issue with the New Testament scriptures.

Now, when we ask the question, what is the day upon which the people of God observe that? Verse 10 provides the answer. Now, if you are using the New King James, you will notice that the New King James capitalizes references to deity. The personal pronouns are capitalized. in the new king, King James.

So if you have he or him or you and it's a reference to deity, then it's capitalized. I don't think the English version's out there. I don't think NIV does that. I don't think NAS does that.

Maybe old NAS did. I don't know if new. I'm looking at Shane. Does NAS capitalize pronouns?

Okay. I'm not sure about the ESV. I don't think the ESV does. But they do that, I suspect, for reverence.

We want to be reverent to the deity, so we'll capitalize that pronoun. Okay, but it's also an interpretative call. When you capitalize a reference, a personal pronoun, you are making an interpretative call that the pronoun represents deity. Now, in the New King James, at verse 10, you do not have capitalized pronouns.

So verse 10 reads, for he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. The natural or typical interpretation is that refers to the believer. That refers to us. No, it refers to Jesus.

And the twin themes picked up in Exodus and in Deuteronomy of creation and redemption obtained not only for the Father, but also for the Son. That's the theology of the change of the day in verse 10. In the first place, the comparison. It's Christ's works and rest to God's works and rest. not the believers' works and rest, compared to God's works and rest.

Go back to verse 3. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he has said. So I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works.

So God at the cessation of the creation account, or rather the completion of it, ceases from his labors. It is complacency, it is approbation, it is approval. He looks upon what he has made and he rests. Jesus does that on the first day.

Verse 10, for he, Christ, who has entered his rest, has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. There's a change of pronoun, not just a capitalization of it, but throughout the context the plural form is used. Not now, there is a singular person. It is the one Christ who ceased from his works on the first day.

He is the author, the inaugurator of new creation and of redemption in terms of all that God had promised. The first day of the week is the cessation of Christ's labors and the entrance into His rest. As well, the rest of verse 10 is completed while the rest of verse 11 is not completed and is to be strived after. If verse 10 refers to the believer, then verse 11 doesn't make any sense.

Why would it be the case that we have entered into the rest, verse 10, and then verse 11? Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. It isn't us in verse 10, it's Jesus. By way of analogy, turn over to Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews chapter 10, another passage that I think goes misunderstood. And Arminian sees upon it and tell us that this is how we can lose our salvation. But if you look at Hebrews chapter 10 at verse 29, the context is apostasy, a defection from God. Verse 29, of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has trampled the son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace?

We look at that and we say, wait a minute, we have been sanctified, we've been included in this blood of the covenant, and we're considering this a common thing? The he there is Jesus. He was sanctified. He was set apart.

He was the one that is disregarded by those engaged in apostasy. So beware of capitalization with reference to deity. Beware of red letters. Again, it's helpful, but if you put all of your interpretative marbles in that bag, sometimes you're going to be sorely vexed.

You're going to end up with just the opposite meaning. I think there's another place in 2 Thessalonians 2. The new King James reflects dispensational translators, and they capitalize the he, and they try to buttress their idea that it's the spirit restraining. Again, the theology is then fit into the passage.

That's not the goal of exegesis. We're supposed to unpack the meaning of scripture, and that informs our theology. We don't bring our theology to override our exegesis. We let our exegesis feed our theology.

But back to chapter 4, we have this statement. He who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his. So the theology of the passage indicates that there is an eternal rest ahead of us, but it's typified, it's prefigured still in this new covenant setting with a weekly Sabbath. In fact, verse 9, there remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Yes, consummate glory, but yes, weekly observance. What day are we supposed to do that on? Lo and behold, it's the first day of the week when our blessed Lord Jesus ceased from His labors, entered into the rest of His Father, and sets forth a paradigm based on creation and redemption that the church is to do likewise in terms of Sabbath keeping. The old theologian William Ames says, the reason for the change by the consent of all is the resurrection of Christ, which is itself a confirmation.

On this day, the creation of a new world or of a world to come, wherein all things are made new, was completed. And Christ's rising from the dead ceased and rested from His greatest work. Just as in the beginning God rested from His work and blessed and hallowed the day wherein He rested, so also it is right that the very day wherein He rested, so also it is right that the very day wherein Christ rested from His labors should be hallowed. Now, I realize in the space of 20 minutes or 15 minutes going through this, it can be a bit confusing, especially if you've never read Hebrews with this mindset.

I'm not trying to confuse you since I can't convince you. If you're interested, email me. I will send you notes. I can give you some authors that have written in detail on this particular subject.

It's not new. It's not novel. It wasn't recently hatched. And it is a biblical theological reading of the text of scripture that, again, the church needs to do more of because the Bible was written, in spite of the fact that there were 40 human authors, one author.

Prior to the Enlightenment, the church accepted that. After the Enlightenment, the Bible has been dissected. The Bible has been torn apart. The Bible has been marginalized by scholarship trying to show some degree of ability with the sacred text.

Yes, God used human authors, but the entirety from Genesis to Revelation is ascribed to God Most High. And there are biblical theological concepts throughout. The Old Testament refers to Old Testament. The New Testament refers to Old Testament.

The New Testament refers to New Testament. These theologians that wrote Scripture were doing what's called intertextual exegesis. They're working with previous texts, capitalizing on them, making their arguments in light of that. The Bible is holistic.

The Bible is a whole, and we ought to receive it as such. So we have the Sabbath that remains in Hebrews 4.

Worship on the First Day: Acts 20

Look secondly at the worship service at Troas. These next few will be quick. I know we've covered them, and we'll close. Acts chapter 20 at verse 7.

Well, verse six, we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. Now again, I'm not a rocket scientist. I didn't make up the calendar, but I know this, that if you were there seven days, you were there on a Saturday. If you were there seven days, you were there on a Saturday, unless they were working with a different calendar, which they weren't, they were there during a Saturday.

But then notice in verse seven, now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, the breaking of bread there was most likely the Lord's supper. It probably wasn't just a common meal, though it could have been, and that doesn't invalidate the implication, but they come together on the first day of the week. And then Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. So the people of God gather together, they break bread together, and then Paul preaches to them.

We typically refer to that as a church worship service. F.F. Bruce says, the reference to the meeting for the breaking of bread on the first day of the week is the earliest text we have from which it may be inferred with reasonable certainty that Christians regularly came together for worship on that day. Now

The Collection in Corinth: 1 Corinthians 16

notice thirdly the collection in Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 16, the apostle orders. He doesn't suggest, he doesn't recommend, but he is giving authorized orders to the church. Notice in verse one, now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also. On the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters, I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me." Now that's a bit ambiguous. It doesn't say they were having worship services and they had a box in the back and little envelopes and you put your money in there and you put it in the box. Sometimes the deacons would go and count that and then do whatever it is the deacons do with the money and all that.

It doesn't say that, but it's conspicuous that on the first day of the week you lay aside the dough so that Paul can gather it and take it back to Judea to alleviate the suffering of the people of God in Jerusalem.

The Lord's Day Vision: Revelation 1

And then notice fourthly, we got the Sabbath that remains, the worship service at Troas, the collection in Corinth. Fourthly, the vision at Patmos. Turn to Revelation 1. Revelation 1.

Verse 10, we'll look at verse 9. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. See, those things are consistent in the Christian life. It's not the case that we have one or the other.

Very often we have all of them above. We have patience and we have tribulation and we still have kingdom. The presence of tribulation doesn't argue against the kingdom of God. In fact, the kingdom of God encompasses this world, which means we will have tribulation.

But notice, he was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet. Now the form of the word that is used here, I've explained this recently but I'll rehearse it, it's only used one other time in the New Testament and that is found in 1 Corinthians 11 20. There it refers to the Lord's supper or the Lord's table.

Here it refers to the Lord's day. It's where the word Kirk comes from. Kuriake in Greek means something possessed by the Lord, something owned by the Lord. Now God owns Monday through Saturday to be sure, but he specifically owns the Lord's day.

He owns every bit of food you put in your mouth. Everything you eat comes from the hand of God. But the Lord's table or the Lord's supper according to 1 Corinthians 11 20 is set apart. It is something unique.

It is something that the people of God treasure because it's the Lord's table or the Lord's supper and because it's the Lord's day. This is what John tells us. He is in the spirit on the Lord's day. Now, the use of the word in Revelation 1.10, it's not the eschatological day of the Lord, because John lives to fight another day.

He's not only here writing, he's not only receiving these visions, but this is not consummate. He ends the book with, even so, come Lord Jesus. If it was the Lord's day in terms of eschatological reality, then the end of come Lord Jesus doesn't make sense. As well, it has the idea, or rather, it has the specific reality that it's the Lord's possession specifically that John is enjoying.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. One commentator on the book of Revelation makes this observation. He says, as the Lord's supper is for the remembrance of his death till he come again, so is this day for remembering the work of redemption and His resurrection till He come again. So, when you come to the New Testament, in conclusion, you don't find a particular passage, say in Romans 17, that says, Thou shalt worship on Sunday, which is now the Christian Sabbath, the Lord's day.

But you see all of it, I hope, when it's laid out for you. And I think our confession of faith, again, in chapter 22, portrays a good biblical theological reading of scripture as it compiles data concerning the Christian Sabbath. It is binding, it is for us, not as a means of our salvation, but as a pattern of what pleases God, and as something that taps into the reality that there's something bigger, brighter, and better than this present world. Each time we gather together as the Lord's people on the Lord's day in the Lord's house, we know there's something beyond this.

We're getting a taste of it, we're getting a glimpse of it, we're getting blessed, we're getting thrilled, we're getting encouraged to be sure, but hopefully we're all departing with this longing for more. And I think that's the emphasis in Hebrews chapter 4. The Father entered into His rest, the Son entered into that rest as well, at the cessation of their respective works. Old creation and redemption, new creation and redemption.

The Lord gives to us this day in order to help us along in our march to that consummate rest and glory. And are we going to be the kinds of people that say, oh, no, I don't want to do that. Let me just go get my obligation out of the way so I can do what I really want. Now, I realize it doesn't come out that course for the most part.

I realize it doesn't come out that sort of blatant for the most part. But there is antipathy to Sabbath keeping among the churches of Jesus Christ. Again, I've been accused of being a legalist, been accused of being a Judaizer, been accused of reading scripture in a way that nobody ever could see it. Well, brethren, the first day is distinguished by the apostolic ministry.

The first day is distinguished by our Lord's resurrection. And that theology of Hebrews 4, if it's not crystal clear now, ponder it, think through it. Consider it and realize that as the Father ceased from His works, so the Son ceased from His works. When we were in the Old Covenant, we rested on the day the Father ceased from His works.

In the New Covenant, we rest on the day that the Son ceases from His works.

Application

Now, in conclusion, I just want to rehearse a bit of our confession because, again, it's not Scripture, it's not infallible, but it is a good summary statement of what the Scripture teaches. First, the Sabbath is consistent with natural law. Now, natural law is... We don't have time for that.

But as the confession uses natural law, it sees Adam in the garden. Now, what Adam has in the garden is every bit as much as what Israel receives at Sinai. We know that because persons were punished, persons were sanctioned for violating the Ten Commandments prior to the giving of the Ten Commandments. So natural law sees Adam in the garden, coming from the hand of God, hardwired with the law of God in him.

And our confession says, as it is the law of nature, that in a general proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God. The Sabbath, secondly, according to our confession, is revealed in the Word of God. So by His Word, just like by His Word we know not to murder people, just like by His Word we know not to engage in adultery, by His Word we know not to be idolaters, so by His Word we know that the rhythm of life concerns one day out of seven wherein man gathers in the presence of his God to worship and to glorify Him. The Confession highlights that Sabbath is positive law.

Positive law in the hands of the Reformers and the Puritans meant something that was commanded for a specific time. In other words, the prohibition against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It's not wrong to eat fruit from trees. It was wrong under positive law to eat fruit from that particular tree.

Positive law relative to Sabbath dictates the day upon which the church meets for worship, and that is conditioned by covenant. So, under the Old Covenant, it is Saturday Sabbath-keeping. Under the New Covenant, it is Sunday Sabbath-keeping. As well, the Confession highlights that there is, in fact, moral law.

In the Confession of Faith, it says that it is therefore a perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages. So again, it's the hermeneutic or the principle of interpretation that you put in and determines what you get out. Reformed people have a particular hermeneutic, and as a result, we have all ten of the Ten Commandments. Dispensationalists and New Covenant theology has different operating assumptions.

I'm not saying different in the sense that one group's hell-bound and the other's not. Brethren, this is an intramural debate, and we ought to exercise caution and charity and love and kindness. And in the absence of churches actually preaching Sabbath-keeping, we really ought to bear and forbear with the people of God in our generation. So, having that knowledge of charity, nevertheless, with reference to dispensationalism and New Covenant theology, their hermeneutic excludes Sabbath-keeping in the New Covenant.

That's not so with the Reform. So again, it's not Judaizing, it's not legalizing, but rather it is to interpret the Bible in the way that God decreed it to. Just kidding. The way you're supposed to.

That's a joke. Somebody out there is going to hear that and get triggered and cry. Oh, he called us non-Christians. He said, we don't know how to read the Bible.

You don't at this point. But I'm just saying, what's the old proverb? When you're in a hole, stop digging. I'm going to keep digging and just really alienate everybody out there.

So confessional statement in chapter 22 is very positive, very, very powerful. As well, we need to remember the qualifications. The Lord Jesus specifies that works of necessity and mercy are authorized. Sabbath-keeping does not earn one salvation.

Sabbath-keeping is a reflection of, or an application of, the normative use of God's law. In other words, we have the civil or political use of God's law where it restrains preachers. We have the pedagogical or child tutor law or function of the law where it shows us our need for Christ. Once we, by grace, go to Christ, we're saved by Christ, Christ points us back to the law for the normative use, our normal use of the law.

So just as we're not supposed to commit murder, so just as we're not supposed to commit adultery, we don't think, well, I didn't kill anybody today, so I've earned my place in heaven. That's not how it works, brethren. This is the reflex of those saved by grace through faith in Jesus. They want to do what the Father says, they want to obey the law, they have the Spirit to enable them to comply, and so they do not see the commandments of God, even the fourth commandment, as a burdensome thing or as something grievous.

The believer must avoid the abuse of the legalist. I think some positive damage has been done to Sabbatarianism by legalism. Some Sabbatarians, I mean, the whole idea that you can't do this, you can't do that, you can't do this, you can't do that. Again, it sounds like the restrictions of federal government.

We ought to look at it as, you get to do this, you get to do that, you get to cease from your earthly employments, and for one day gather with the people of God and the presence of God and the house of God to worship Him on the day of God. It is a good thing, not a bad thing, and we need to see it and treat it as such. But as well, the believer must avoid the abuse of antinomianism. There is antinomianism built into dispensationalism and built into New Covenant theology.

I realize they don't want to hear that, and I realize they don't like to hear that, and I'm not suggesting it's practical antinomianism. Practical antinomianism would be, go ahead and commit murder, go ahead and commit adultery, go ahead and do whatever it is you want. But it is a doctrinal antinomianism that teaches that the law of God is no longer binding upon the people of God. That is not a good conclusion that one should take away from a deductive study of Holy Scripture.

And then the believer must see, or hopefully will see, the blessing involved in Sabbath keeping. Turn to Isaiah 58, and we'll end on that high positive note. Isaiah 58, 13 to 14. I think this underscores what Gerhardus Voss has said. that the Sabbath has faithfully accompanied the people of God on their march through the ages.

Isaiah 53, I'm sorry, 58, verse 13. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words. then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob, your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken." It's a most blessed and a wonderful thing.

Again, not that we do in order for salvation, but that we do because we've been saved. It's a gift given to us by God for the encouragement and for the assistance of his people as they march to Zion. The way of salvation is to look in faith at the paradigm of Sabbath-keeping. The Lord Jesus Christ kept the law of God.

The Lord Jesus died an accursed death, and the Lord Jesus Christ was risen the third day, such that whoever looks to Him in faith will have everlasting life. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank you for your Word, and thank you for your graciousness in giving to man this gift of the Sabbath. You call us to rejoice, you call us to have that blessedness, you call us to engage our souls to you on the Lord's day. And what a privilege it is, and what a blessing it is, and I pray that we would see it as such, and that we with David would say, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. We ask that you would go with us now.

We pray that you would watch over us in this coming week. Grant us grace and that peace that does surpass all understanding. And we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

We'll close with a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Genesis 2:1-3
• Exodus 16; 16:30; 20; 23
• Deuteronomy 5:12-15; 18; 23:1
• 2 Samuel 7
• Isaiah 53; 56; 58; 58:13-14
• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• Matthew 5:17-20; 5:18; 5:19; 5:20; 5:21-44; 12:1-14; 28:1
• Mark 16:1-2
• Luke 24:1
• John 20:1; 20:19; 20:26
• Acts 8; 20:6; 20:7
• 1 Corinthians 11:20; 16:1-4
• 2 Thessalonians 2
• 1 Timothy 1:8
• Hebrews 3:6; 3:14; 3:16-19; 4:1; 4:3; 4:4; 4:6-7; 4:8; 4:9; 4:10; 4:11; 10:29
• 1 John 5:3
• Revelation 1:9-10