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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Deuteronomy chapter 5. Our focus this evening is on 
the fourth commandment. And I hope to confine this to 
one message, just touching the main points with reference to 
the Christian Sabbath. As Steve reminded me, Cam is 
away on holiday today. He can answer, as he's preaching 
next week, he can answer all your practical questions. I'll 
be in SeaTac if you have difficult questions on what you can and 
cannot do on the Sabbath, those would be excellent for Pastor 
Porter. Just kidding. The Sabbath is something that 
not all Christians hold to, as I'm sure you are aware, and there's 
a hermeneutical reason for that. the science of interpretation. 
Sacred hermeneutics refers specifically to the science of biblical interpretation. There are those who imbibe what 
is called dispensational theology, others who imbibe what is called 
New Covenant theology, and because of their hermeneutic, they do 
not see the perpetuity of the fourth commandment. They do not 
see that it is binding upon all men in all ages as our confession 
of faith stipulates. Those persons with reference 
to hermeneutics have a different understanding of the law, of 
the covenants, and of continuity and discontinuity between the 
Old and New Testaments. Well, as a reformed church with 
a reformed confession, we adhere to the binding of all men and 
all ages view of this fourth word. So I want to read just 
verses 12 to 15 and then we'll get into our study on the Sabbath. Beginning in 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. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the word, and we pray for the Spirit 
to guide us as we study the word. We pray that you would give us 
clarity and understanding, that you would help us to see that 
the fourth along with the other nine are binding upon all men 
in all ages. And may we learn to call the 
Sabbath a delight. May we see it as the day of rest 
you've intended it to be. May we see it as God's gift to 
man, and may we see it as a blessed thing. Lord, we ask that you 
would keep us from that sin of viewing the commandments of God 
as a burden. May we say with the psalmist, 
may we say with the entirety of the Bible, oh how I love thy 
law, it is my meditation day and night. We thank you ultimately 
for Christ who kept perfectly the law of God. How we thank 
you that he always did what was pleasing to the Father. And how 
we thank you that because of his life and his death and his 
resurrection, we have an imputed righteousness received by faith 
alone. For certainly, even at the outset, 
when we consider this fourth word, we must confess that we 
have not been the Sabbath keepers that the Word of God calls us 
to be. So we thank you for our Lord. 
We thank you for cleansing in His blood. Nevertheless, may 
we strive by your grace and for your glory to do those things 
that are pleasing in your sight. And we ask these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Now one of the things that 
we notice when we treat the fourth commandment or when we look at 
this issue of Sabbath is that it is a command that has both 
a positive and a moral aspect involved. Our confession of faith 
indicates that in chapter 22, paragraph 7. It says, as it is 
the law of nature that in general a proportion of time by God's 
appointment be set apart for the worship of God, so by His 
word in a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment. Binding 
all men in all ages, he has particularly appointed one day in seven for 
a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him." Now the idea behind the 
words positive and moral Moral is what God's law is. It is the moral law of God. A positive aspect means that 
there is a temporary assignment with a particular law. In the 
Garden of Eden, for instance, when God prohibited Adam and 
Eve from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 
that was a positive law. It was given for a specific time. It wasn't binding upon all men 
in all ages. The positive aspect of the Sabbath 
commandment is seen with reference to the day it is observed, but 
the underlying moral principle is what I just read, as it is 
the law of nature. For these divines, the law of 
nature was the Ten Commandments written on the heart of man at 
creation. as it is the law of nature that 
in general a proportion of time by God's appointment be set apart 
for the worship of God." So the moral principle is one day out 
of seven we give to God for the specific and intent purpose of 
worshiping Him. The positive aspect is seen in 
the Saturday observance in the Old Covenant and in Sunday observance 
in the New Covenant. So that's what the Confession 
means. That's what Reformed theologians mean by these terms. positive 
and moral. So I want to do three things 
this evening. You're probably used to that. 
In the first place, a brief exposition of the commandment as we find 
it here in Deuteronomy chapter 5. And then secondly, I want 
to look at the Sabbath in the Old Covenant and then thirdly, 
the Sabbath in the New Covenant. And there when we get to the 
New Covenant, we'll consider the change of the day because 
certainly that perplexes people. There are Seventh-day Adventists 
who think that it's a part of Antichrist to worship on Sunday. There have been, and probably 
still are in the history of the Church, Seventh-day Baptists, 
those who believe that Saturday is the binding commandment, or 
that Saturday is binding upon people today. There's been others 
as well, to be sure. But when we consider the moral 
aspect and the positive aspect, hopefully you will see that the 
change of the day necessitated by virtue of what Christ has 
done in terms of His finished work. Now notice in the first 
place, with reference to the exposition, it is stated positively 
in verse 12, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. If you compare 
the giving of the law in the book of Exodus, there they are 
told, remember the Sabbath day. Intriguing, isn't it? That at 
Sinai, they are not given the Sabbath for the first time. In the book of Exodus, they are 
told to remember the Sabbath day. If you look specifically 
at Exodus chapter 16, there was already Sabbath observance prior 
to the giving of the law on Sinai. In Exodus 16, verses 4 and 5, 
we read, The Lord said to Moses, Behold, 
I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall 
go out and gather a certain quota every day that I may test them, 
whether they will walk in my law or not. And it shall be on 
the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in. And 
it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. And then notice 
specifically in verse 23. Then he said to them, This is 
what the Lord has said. Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a 
holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, 
and boil what you will boil, and lay up for yourselves all 
that remains to be kept until morning." So that when we get 
to Sinai, it's not a first time that they are given this commandment. 
It's not the first statement of Sabbath observance. In Exodus, 
it is, remember the Sabbath. By the time we get to Deuteronomy, 
obviously observe the Sabbath, because it's something that had 
been in place for that entire time. And we'll look more at 
the doctrine of the Sabbath in creation in a few moments. But 
one man, Philip Ross, in a most excellent book, if you are interested 
in a good study of the law of God, especially in its threefold 
division, the law of God as it is moral, ceremonial, and judicial. Philip Ross's book, The Finger 
of God, is an excellent treatment on that subject. Persons say 
that that was a reformed invention to try and finagle the law and 
try and serve their particular view of covenant theology. That 
threefold division goes all the way back to the early church. 
It may not be as developed and articulated as it is in the Reformation 
period, but it's certainly there. And Ross argues convincingly 
that that distinction is present in the text of Scripture itself. How are we to understand when 
God says, I desire mercy rather than sacrifice? How are we to 
understand when Paul says circumcision is not what avails but keeping 
the commandments of God? There is a distinction within 
the law. There is the moral law, the Ten 
Commandments. The ceremonial law, we would 
all agree, has been done away with, or fulfilled rather, through 
Jesus Christ. And that is in the book of Hebrews. 
And then the judicial law, those laws given to the nation of Israel 
to govern their civil polity for life in the land. So an excellent 
book. I highly recommend Philip Ross, 
The Finger of God. But notice, they are to remember. Ross says, does Exodus 16 not 
suggest that they were aware of an obligation to rest before 
they heard the Decalogue? Before they get to Sinai? This 
is what we see in Exodus 16. So going back to Deuteronomy 
5, they are to observe. They are to remember the Sabbath 
day. And then specifically, they are to keep it holy. We'll see 
again in a few moments in that first instance of Sabbath keeping. 
It is God the Lord. He sanctifies the day. He sets 
the example or He sets the pattern for His image bearers. They are, 
in turn, to sanctify the day as well. Notice with reference 
to the commandment, the prohibition involved. He says, 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. So there is a prohibition, 
no regular employment. I think when we get to the Lord 
Jesus, He makes specific qualifications or points out distinctions, works 
of necessity, works of mercy. If somebody's an ER doctor and 
they need to work on Sunday to save life, those are appropriate 
vocations. But for the rest of us, the most 
of us, It is the case that there is to be a cessation from our 
regular work. And the scope of the command, 
everybody attached to the covenant family. It includes not only 
the immediate family, but the servants attached to that family, 
and even the beasts of burden. We are to give rest. We are to 
respect the word of the living God. So there is a cessation 
from regular employment. Notice as well that the commandment 
not only provides for rest, but it demands work. When we look 
at the creation account, there are things in that account that 
theologians call the creation ordinances. Marriage is a creation 
ordinance. Labor is a creation ordinance. Sabbath is a creation ordinance. In this fourth commandment, two 
of them are involved. Moses reminds the people of God 
that while there is a one day of rest, the rest of the cycle 
continues. Six days you shall labor. Six 
days you need to work. Six days you need to make sure 
that you are gainfully employed. You're not to lay around on the 
couch eating Cheetos and watching Oprah. You are to be gainfully 
employed and you are to be diligent in the pursuit of an earthly 
vocation. And now notice the particular 
requirement or the reason involved. I want to point us back for just 
a moment to the book of Exodus. What's the reason given for the 
fourth commandment in the book of Exodus? It's creation. It's 
creation. Exodus 20 verse 11. For in six 
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all 
that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord 
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. What's the reason in Deuteronomy 
5? It is redemption. Those are the 
reasons given for Sabbath-keeping in the Old Covenant. And I will 
argue that those are the reasons for Sabbath-keeping in the New 
Covenant, only it's a new creation wrought by our Lord Jesus. It is a redemption wrought by 
our Lord Jesus. It's not from the house of bondage 
in Egypt, but rather it is from the house of bondage of sin. 
So the same argument holds in the Old Covenant, though the 
positive aspect is seen on Saturday, creation and redemption. When 
we get to the New Covenant, creation and redemption furnish the reason 
for New Covenant Sabbath keeping. So creation, redemption are the 
reasons for obedience to this fourth word. Now notice, secondly, 
with reference to the Sabbath and the Old Covenant, you can 
turn to Genesis 2. Genesis chapter 2. We'll cover 
a bit of ground this evening. As I said, we're not going to 
spend a lot of time in detailed exegesis of every jot and tittle. 
If you are interested in such detailed exegesis, there are 
still sermons online, sermon audio. I know I've taught on 
the Sabbath commandment in the last few years. Jonathan Hall 
could point you to where those might be or just push the page 
numbers and you'll find it. If anybody wants notes on the 
subject or references to books, please, by all means, ask. Because 
as I said, this is a battleground in the modern church. There are 
non-sabbaterians. There are those who think that 
what I'm preaching right now is legalism and that I'm binding 
the consciences of people Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath command, 
and as a result, all days are the same, and we're free to do 
whatever it is that we want. Now, that's not what the Bible 
teaches, and I hope by the time we're done tonight, you will 
be convinced otherwise, that the Reformed were actually right, 
the Puritan Sabbath codified by 22, 7 and 8 in our confession, 
does accurately reflect what Sabbath-keeping in the Bible 
looks like. Notice in Genesis 2, beginning in verse 1, Thus 
the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished. 
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done. And 
He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had 
done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. because 
in it he rested from all his work which God had created and 
made." I said, this is a creation ordinance. When we see God rest, 
bless, and sanctify the day, we as readers need to take notice 
of this. And then when we see in the book 
of Exodus specifically, God say, remember the Sabbath day and 
give as a reason the doctrine of creation, it would be foolhardy 
for us not to go back to the doctrine of creation, to see 
God's pattern, to see this six-in-one rhythm, to see the fact that 
He worked these six days making the earth, and on the seventh 
day He rested, He blessed the day, He sanctified the day. When 
we trace through Scripture with reference to Sabbath, those three 
concepts are conspicuous. There's blessing, there's sanctifying, 
and there is rest. In fact, the word Sabbath means 
simply to rest. Notice in Genesis chapter 4, 
there's an interesting turn of phrase used in verse 3. This 
is a bit of an indirect proof, but if we're going to marshal 
up data concerning Sabbath observance. Remember Genesis 4.1, now Adam 
knew Eve his wife. She conceived and bore Cain and 
said, I have acquired a man from the Lord. Then she bore again, 
this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, 
but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of 
time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit 
of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn 
of his flock and of their fat." Now notice, it is intriguing 
that there was this pattern involved in worship. These young men knew 
the reality of offering sacrifice unto God. God had taught Adam 
and Eve very particularly about this whole concept. Remember 
after Adam and Eve sinned, they cover themselves, they try to 
hide from God. When God comes to have dealings 
with them, He kills animals and He takes those animal skins and 
he covers them. He teaches Adam and Eve something 
about blood atonement. He teaches Adam and Eve something 
about sacrifice. He teaches Adam and Eve something 
about the reality of death necessary in the case of transgression 
of God. So that by the time we get to 
Cain and Abel, they are worshipers. They are sacrificers. They are 
bringing, respective to their particular trade, those things 
which God requires by way of sacrifice. But note the language 
specifically in verse 3. If you have the New King James 
and you look at the particular marginal reading, it indicates 
that at the end of days they did this. At the end of days 
they did this. Now, the end of days for Cain 
and Abel wasn't the end day, it wasn't judgment day, it wasn't 
the last day. If you think about that small 
phrase, at the end of days, what does come into mind? Probably 
at the end of the days of the week. There was in place for 
Cain and Abel this sacrificial ritual that was conducted at 
the end of days. There was a cycle in place. It was Sabbath observance, no 
doubt, grounded in and rooted in this particular account in 
Genesis chapter 2. Now as we consider the doctrine 
of the Sabbath with reference to creation, you can turn to 
Mark 2. Mark chapter 2, I know I said 
that we're studying the doctrine of the Sabbath in the Old Covenant, 
but Mark 2 is commentary on what's happening in Genesis chapter 
2. Later revelation, subsequent 
revelation, provides for us divine commentary and interpretation 
of preceding texts. It's a wonderful thing. When 
you look at the end of the Bible, you learn a lot about interpreting 
the beginning of the Bible. It truly is a helpful remedy 
or a helpful thing. Notice when Jesus is questioned 
concerning Sabbath observance. We'll get to this in more detail 
in a few minutes, but note specifically what he says in verse 27 of Mark 
2. Jesus said to them, the Sabbath 
was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the 
Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus does this elsewhere 
when he's asked about permission for divorce in Matthew 19. Where does Jesus go to argue 
for marriage? He goes to creation. From the 
beginning it was not so, but God made them male and female. 
Well, when Jesus is confronted with Sabbath disputation, He 
goes to the beginning. He goes to creation. And notice 
that He says the Sabbath was made for man. He doesn't say 
the Sabbath was made for the Jew, the Sabbath was made at 
Sinai, the Sabbath was made for Israel. Again, in the terms of 
the positive aspect, the Sabbath was indeed a sign for Israel. Exodus 31.13, Ezekiel 20.12 highlights 
that. The people of Israel who were 
Sabbath keepers on Saturday, that was a national badge of 
identity that they were God's covenant people. But when we 
look at this statement, Jesus goes back to the garden and he 
says, the Sabbath was made for man. And there's an article there. That means it's literally the 
Sabbath was made for the man. Probably a direct reference to 
Adam himself. But if not Adam himself, it is 
to man as man. Not Jew or Israelite as Jew or 
Israelite. In fact, J.C. Ryle makes this 
observation, God made the Sabbath for Adam in paradise and renewed 
it to Israel on Mount Sinai. It was made for all mankind, 
not for the Jew only, but for the whole family of Adam. So 
the Sabbath was made for man. And notice what he goes on to 
say, and not man for the Sabbath. You see, we need to guard against, 
and as we interpret Jesus properly, we'll see that the legalism that 
oftentimes fastens itself to Sabbath observance is unwarranted. It is unbiblical, it is unrighteous. The Pharisees said that the Sabbath 
essentially, or that man essentially, was made for the Sabbath. You 
can't pull your donkey out of a ditch or your ox out of a ditch. 
You can't heal a man that was on the Sabbath day. Rather, man 
has to function in such a way so that the Sabbath is served. 
Jesus says just the opposite. The Sabbath was made for man. 
Do you ever look at it that way? Do you ever thank God for Sunday? 
Do you ever say, Lord, I'm so thankful I get to come in out 
of the world for an entire day, I get to bask in the presence 
of God Most High, I get to enjoy the things of the Lord, I get 
to go where the people of God are, I get to go where the Word 
of God is? I think we approach Sabbath-keeping 
with this mindset that it's a straitjacket, that it's a bad thing, that it's 
an imposition upon us for our misery, and for our suffering, 
and for our pain, and nothing could be further from the truth. 
Jesus says that the Sabbath is a gift given to man. It's not 
that man was created so that he could obey the Sabbath. God 
in the garden gave the Sabbath to Adam so that after a long 
full week of work, he could enjoy the communion, a special communion 
with his God on that particular day. And then, of course, Christ 
asserts the reality, therefore, the Son of Man is the Lord of 
the Sabbath. It ought not to surprise us when 
we get to the New Covenant that in terms of the positive aspect 
of the law, there's a change from Saturday to Sunday. The 
Lord of the Sabbath institutes that, the apostles abide by it, 
and by doing so, they give the Church the example or the paradigm 
that we are to follow in New Covenant theology. So the Sabbath 
at creation, the second is the Sabbath at Sinai. We're dealing 
with that. The third place is the Sabbath 
and Isaiah. The Sabbath and Isaiah. You can 
turn to 56 in the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 56. We know that 
this is about New Covenant realities. We know that this is about the 
Messianic age from 52, 13 and following. We have the suffering 
servant in chapter 53. We have blessings for the church 
in chapter 54. We have gospel invitation in 
chapter 55. And in chapters 56 and following, 
we have various things by way of reproof to the people of Israel, 
but by way of promise concerning the future. And in Isaiah 56, 
we see references to Sabbath. Blessed is the man, verse 2, 
who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it, who 
keeps from defiling the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing 
any evil. Verse four, for thus says the 
Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths and choose what please 
me and hold fast my covenant. And then again in verse six, 
also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord 
to serve him and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants. Everyone who keeps from defiling 
the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant. As I said, this points 
to the new covenant. And the reason, or one of the 
reasons why we know this is the reference to the eunuch. Do you 
remember what Deuteronomy 23 1? I realize this is probably 
far more technical than it ought to be at a six o'clock hour on 
a Sunday, but just bear with me for a few more minutes. Deuteronomy 
23 verse 1 prohibited eunuchs from entering the assembly of 
the Lord. In Isaiah 56, the prophet is foretelling or prophesying 
concerning a day when Eunuchs will enter into the assembly 
of the Lord. That's not the eschaton. That's 
not heaven, though Eunuchs will. He's referring to the New Covenant. How do we know this decisively? Acts chapter 8. In Acts chapter 
8, Philip happens upon a eunuch who's reading the prophet Isaiah. 
And Philip asks him a question, and the eunuch says, of whom 
is the prophet speaking? And Luke says in the book of 
Acts that Philip, from this scripture, preached Jesus to him. And then, 
of course, Philip baptizes this unit. Now, it's a wonderful story, 
and it's helpful for the Baptist to produce or promote baptism 
by immersion and believers' baptism. But we fail to appreciate Acts 
8 if we neglect Isaiah 56. What Luke is telling us in Acts 
8 is that the new covenant reality is here. What Isaiah prophesied 
in chapter 56 is upon us. So if in the New Covenant eunuchs 
are entering in, and if in Isaiah 56 Sabbath-keeping is mentioned, 
then we ought to imply or infer that Sabbath-keeping is part 
and parcel of New Covenant religion as well. And then in Isaiah 58, 
there is a specific word again concerning Sabbath. Notice in 
verses 13 and 14. Now, just by way of a real practical 
observation, is it a bad thing? Is it like the burden that sometimes 
we hear that it is? You know, there's persons that 
say, well, every day is special. Every day I worship the Lord. 
Yes, but the Lord carved out of every day, one day in particular, 
wherein the corporate body of Christ's people come together 
to worship. Doesn't it just seem to follow 
the God in heaven who has said with reference to our possessions 
that we give a tithe? I hope none of us are begrudging 
that. I mean, God gives us all our 
wealth. God gives us jobs. God gives us health to perform 
those jobs. So when God says He wants us 
to cheerfully give to His cause for His glory and for the propagation 
of the gospel, hopefully we all say, that's legit. God's given 
us all things. Why wouldn't we give back a portion 
that He commands? Well, in the same way, God gives 
us life. He gives us health. He gives 
us days. He gives us months. He gives 
us years. And all God says is, give me one day out of the week. 
And we really struggle with that. We really have a difficulty with 
that. We're really begrudging him when 
it comes to this whole idea of Sabbath. I'm not trying to indict 
anyone here. I'm just speaking in generic 
terms. There is this idea that this 
is such a burden and such a loathsome thing for us to give a day of 
our time." Notice in Acts 8, if you turn away your foot from 
the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and 
call the Sabbath the 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. Notice what God says, 
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 is spoken. 
E.J. Young said, the Sabbath was not 
merely a mosaic ordinance, it was far more. It was instituted 
at creation and is a pattern of the heavenly Sabbath rest 
which the redeemed are to enjoy in the presence of their eternal 
God. In the great calamity of the exile that was to come upon 
them, Isaiah stresses the Sabbath as, in a sense, the heart of 
true devotion to God. He who keeps the Sabbath as it 
is intended to be kept will be happy in the Lord of the Sabbath. 
And then, as we continue, the last text would be Jeremiah 31, 
31 to 34. I submit that all of us are particularly 
aware of that text. Remember, God says that in the 
New Covenant, I will write my law on their heart. What law 
is he talking about? He's talking about the moral 
law that was given originally to Adam in the garden. that's 
codified or summarized in the Ten Commandments at Sinai. That's the law that God is talking 
about in the book of Jeremiah. We see that applied in Hebrews 
8 and Hebrews 10. What is true of New Covenant 
believers? The law of God has been written on our hearts. Those 
who are contrary to the position maintained in this message to 
the position codified in the Confessions of Faith really have 
to produce a cogent argument to tell us why nine of the Ten 
Commandments are still binding and yet one has been superseded. 
Why is it that that one no longer applies? Why is it that that 
one no longer is important? Why is it? It doesn't do to say, 
well, Jesus fulfilled the rest and Jesus brings us into rest. 
Yes, I affirm that. But you can't imagine that the 
faithful in Old Covenant Israel didn't enjoy rest, and nevertheless, 
they had this blessing of the Sabbath day. So, Jeremiah 31, 
31 to 34 indicates that there is a day coming when God will 
internalize His law. Now thirdly, and finally, the 
Sabbath in the New Covenant. The ministry of Christ. The ministry 
of Christ, His doctrine concerning the law. Matthew 5.17-20, do 
not think that I came to abolish the law. I did not come to abolish 
it, but rather to fulfill it. He fulfills it in his work. He 
obeys it perfectly. He fulfills it in terms of his 
doctrine. He upholds it. When he starts 
to expound the law in the book of Matthew, in the gospel record, 
in the Sermon on the Mount, he's not giving a new law, he's not 
giving a different law, he's just clearing away the haze and 
the fog that the interpreters had put upon the law. When he 
says, you have heard that it was said, but I say to you, he's 
not elevating the law, he's not hyper-spiritualizing the law, 
he's clearing away the misinterpretation of the law. When we get to Matthew 
chapter 12, the Lord Jesus, with reference to the Sabbath, spends 
a lot of time in this particular subject. If you go through the 
Gospel records, there's a lot concerning Jesus and what Bruce 
Ray calls Sabbath wars. There's a lot of things that 
come to Jesus on the Sabbath by way of opposition. Well, in 
summary, in verses 1 to 14 in Matthew chapter 12, Jesus indicates 
that works of necessity Piety and mercy were never at odds 
with the Sabbath. Never, was never the law of God 
in the Sabbath command for you not to help people. In fact, 
Isaiah 58 tells us, or at least with reference to fasting, how 
that's supposed to be pursued. Gilfillan, in a book called The 
Sabbath Defendant, made this statement, Christ was careful 
to clear the Sabbath 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." 
And he makes this observation, it is not the practice of a wise 
man to repair a house which he is about to pull down. If it 
is the case that Jesus was going to abolish the Sabbath, why does 
he spend so much time in the gospel records clarifying, distinguishing, 
highlighting, and reproving those who had indeed twisted and distorted 
the command? It is not the practice of a wise 
man to repair a house which he is about to pull down. I'm not 
a contractor or a builder, and I get that. I'm sure anybody 
who picks up hammer and swings it would realize you don't fix 
it and then tear it down. You don't fix the Sabbath or 
clear away all the misinterpretation. You don't correct the Pharisaic 
abuse of it only to abolish it. That simply does not follow. 
In the second place, with reference to the change of the day, how 
do we know the day has changed? Well, our Lord Jesus rose again 
on the first day of the Sabbath. of the week, and since the church 
has observed that as the Lord's Day or as the Christian Sabbath. 
Matthew 28.1, Mark 16.1 and 2 in verse 9, Luke 24.1, John 21.19 
and 26. Jesus rose on the first day. Next, we see the teaching 
of the apostles. Look at Acts 20. There have been those who oppose 
the Sabbath law abiding in the New Covenant that say, well, 
there's no command in the New Testament that says thou must 
keep the first day as the Christian Sabbath. And you know what? They're 
right. But when we see apostles keeping 
the first day as the Sabbath, then we are to keep it as the 
Sabbath. When we see by precedence and 
pattern them doing something, then we ought to do that as well. 
Notice in Acts chapter 20 at verse 7, when does the church 
gather for worship? Now on the first day of the week, 
when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to 
depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message 
until midnight. So we see they gather together 
to break bread, and they gather together not only to break bread, 
but to hear Paul preach. What are they doing? They're 
engaged in Christian worship. When are they doing it? They're 
doing it on the first day of the week, which is intriguing 
if we back up for just a moment to verse six. Notice, 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, I'm not a mathematician, 
but I realize that if you stay in one place for seven days, 
that includes Saturday. And so notice, they don't worship, 
they don't meet for breaking of bread and for preaching on 
that Saturday, but they do so on the first day of the week. 
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. 1 Corinthians 16, verses 
1 and 2. Paul gives instruction to the 
Corinthian church to lay aside their collection on the first 
day of the week. This isn't confined simply to 
Corinth. He says, I give this order to 
all the churches of Galatia. It was already a routine. It 
was already a practice. It was already going on in various 
places. When do you take up the collection? You take it up at Christian worship 
on the first day of the week. And then in Revelation chapter 
1 and verse 10, First time we hear it referred to as the Lord's 
Day. John is in the Spirit on the 
Lord's Day. Now this is a very interesting 
use of the particular language in this section. The form of 
the word employed here is used only one other place in all of 
the New Testament. It's actually where we get the 
word church from. Church doesn't come from the 
word ekklesia that we have in the Greek Bible, but it comes 
from this word kuriake. The Scots call it kirk. Kuriake 
means something that pertains to or belongs to the Lord. When John says, I was in the 
Spirit on the Lord's day, he's not talking about judgment day. 
He's not talking about the day of the Lord, when Jesus will 
come again to judge his enemies and to vindicate his church. 
He's talking about something that belongs peculiarly to the 
Lord Jesus. The only other place that I mentioned 
that it exists is in 1 Corinthians 11.20. Where there it refers 
to the Lord's supper. So all supper that we eat is 
given by God. He is the author of every good 
and perfect gift. We don't eat burritos and tacos 
and chicken and beef and we don't have all that unless our God 
gives us that. So in a sense, every supper is 
given to us by the Lord. But 1120 in 1 Corinthians tells 
us there is a supper peculiar to the Lord. It pertains to Him. It belongs to Him. So we've got 
the Lord's Supper and we've got the Lord's Day. Those things 
in particular that belong to him. James Durham in his commentary 
on Revelation said, 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. And then one final text in Hebrews 
4. We certainly do not have time to go through Hebrews 4, 1 to 
10, just jumping to verse 9. Notice in verse 9, all context 
is about entering rest. Israel was promised rest in the 
promised land. They did not enter in, though, 
because of unbelief. When they entered into that promised 
land, there would be a typical rest. There would be a rest in 
that place. That doesn't mean there's not 
an eternal rest to come. The same is true for the people 
of God today. We have that rest laid up for 
us in heaven that is to come. But we have a typical rest even 
now, which is the Christian Sabbath, which is the Lord's Day. G.K. Beale makes this perceptive statement. He says, if the eschatological 
reality of a final Sabbath rests, that means in the age to come, 
If that reality of final Sabbath rest has not come, then it is 
unlikely that the typological sign pointing to that ultimate 
rest has ceased. In other words, if you look in 
the Old Covenant, they had these down payments, as it were, every 
Saturday, pointing forward to that rest that was to come. If 
that rest that is to come hasn't come, what does that indicate? Those down payments are still 
in play. Those down payments are still 
for us. That's one of the blessed things 
about coming to church on Sunday. It is to consider the reality 
that this place, as feeble and as weak as it may be, as many 
issues that all of us have may be the case, this place is a 
token of the rest that is to come when Jesus comes in glory. This is the market day of the 
soul. This is a down payment concerning 
what lie in our future. And Beale says, if that rest 
has not come in consummation, then it is wrong to conclude 
that the typical rest is to be done away with. He says, 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. And the author in Hebrews tells 
us as much in Hebrews 4.9. Notice what he says. There remains, 
therefore, a rest for the people of God. Now, this is an intriguing 
section of scripture, because the apostle has used a word for 
rest all throughout the context. It's a consistent word, kata 
pausen. I know you're not going to remember 
that, but it's the Greek word for rest that he uses conspicuously 
all throughout the context, except in verse 9. You know what he 
says in verse 9? There remains, therefore, a Sabbath 
rest for the people of God. There remains a Sabbath rest 
for the people of God. And then verse 10 answers the 
question, well, when is that Sabbath day for the people of 
God? Notice in verse 10, for he who has entered his rest has 
himself also ceased from his words as God did from his. Now this is the problem of an 
interpretation in your Bible. The New King James does not capitalize 
the he's there. The New King James suggests to 
us that it is us who has entered his, God's rest, and we have 
also ceased from our works as God did from his. I suggest that 
all those he's be capitalized. It's a reference to Christ. The 
text says, for Christ, who has entered his rest, has himself 
also ceased from his works as God did from his. Back in the 
chapter, it speaks about God creating all things and then 
resting on the seventh day. Genesis 2.2 is highlighted. Here 
in verse 10, Christ is resting. When does Christ rest? At the 
completion of His work. At the resurrection from the 
dead. Why does the church meet on the first day? Because the 
church remembers the new creation wrought by Jesus. and redemption 
wrought by Jesus, signified in this resurrection from the dead. 
It is the first day, by way of the positive aspect in the New 
Covenant, that the people of God obey the moral requirement 
to keep one day out of seven. It is binding on all men in all 
ages. If you want this argument developed, 
I refer you to Joseph Piper's book on the Lord's Day or A.W. Pink's treatment on Hebrews chapter 
4, and I believe as well John Owen on Hebrews. And if you want 
my notes, just email me. You can have them, not that they'll 
make sense. But that's just brief. There's a lot more that could 
be said. in this particular connection. I know that was a lot of material 
and I know that it wasn't as cursory or a survey as I had 
anticipated. But in summary, the Sabbath was 
instituted creation declared to Israel at Sinai, prophesied 
of having a millennial application. When I say millennial, I refer 
to the new covenant. I'm not a dispensationalist. 
I do not believe in sort of this future millennial kingdom. I 
think the millennium of Revelation 20 describes the church age, 
the messianic age, the period between the first and the second 
advent of Christ. So it's prophesied of having 
messianic application in Isaiah 58. It's enforced by the Lord 
of the Sabbath. It is practiced by the Apostolic 
Church on the first day of the week. So it is a commandment 
that has both a moral aspect and a positive aspect. The moral 
aspect, one day in seven, a time apportioned for the worship of 
God, the positive, Saturday in the Old Covenant, Sunday in the 
New Covenant. Creation and redemption were 
to be remembered in the Old Covenant. According to Hebrews 4, those 
same concepts are to be remembered in the New Covenant. And as long 
as the Decalogue is in place, so is the Fourth Commandment. Now, by way of qualification, 
we need to make sure that we understand, in the first place, 
that the Lord Jesus specifies that works of necessity and mercy 
are authorized. It's very easy to become a legalist 
when it comes to the Sabbath. Very easy to become a legalist. If anyone doesn't do anything 
the way I do it, well, they must be wrong. Walter Chantry, in 
his good little book called The Sabbath of Delight, gives us 
an illustration. He says, imagine you're a father 
and your son says to you, Daddy, can we ride our bikes today? 
It's Sunday. Or, can we ride our bikes today? 
And the father says, no son, it's Sunday. There is to be no 
bike riding. And then you happen to be sitting 
on the couch looking out your bay window and you see the, I 
almost said Jones family, because I think that's the the one he 
used, but whatever, the whoever family, riding their bikes by. And they're in your church, and 
little Junior says, but Daddy, they're riding their bikes. What 
probably happens to the father? Now, I can't impute evil on everybody, 
but I know my own heart. Well, how could he ride his bike 
on the Sabbath, because I don't. But you don't know that the Jones 
family is riding their bikes to the park to sit under a shade 
tree so they can go through Bible memory and catechism. You see, 
we need to be very careful of this sort of an approach that 
is fastidious to the letter of the law and neglects the qualifications 
that Jesus says. If your donkey, if your ox falls 
into the ditch on the Sabbath, you pull it out. If you see a 
man that is pinned in a burning car, don't drive by and say, 
but it's the Sabbath, I can't stop and render aid. Stop your 
car and fish him out so he doesn't burn to death. We need to avoid 
the abuse of the legalist when it comes to this issue of Sabbath-keeping. But conversely, and probably 
something there's more of a proclivity to in our generation, is to avoid 
the abuse of antinomianism. No, the Sabbath isn't for us. 
I worship God every day. I do it wherever I want. This 
mystical approach, when God says, no, you do what I say. Haven't 
we been reading in the prophet Jeremiah? They wanted to do what 
felt right and good to them. And God says, I'm going to kill 
you. I'm going to send famine and pestilence, and you will 
find the judgment associated with the covenant. Brethren, 
antinomianism is a view where God's law does not apply to us. And the moment we engage in that 
particular mindset, it's the moment we have denied the scriptures. 
The law of God is good if used lawfully, the apostle says. And 
as well, the believer must see the blessing involved in Sabbath 
keeping. when we were reading Gerhardus 
Voss's biblical theology. I had not noticed this statement 
before, but he makes this comment referring to the Sabbath. He 
says, the Sabbath has faithfully accompanied the people of God 
on their march through the ages. Isn't that beautiful? The Sabbath 
has faithfully accompanied the people of God on their march 
through the ages. What brings stability, sanity, 
blessing, rest, joy, this day that God has carved out, this 
day that God has gifted to man, this day that He has blessed 
us with so we can cease from our normal activity and come 
and be refreshed in His courts. with reference to the uses of 
the law. Remember the civil use. God's 
law is a wonderful antidote to restrain the wickedness of man. 
I mean, if ever there was a society that would benefit from Sabbath 
keeping, it is our generation. I mean, people can't, probably 
for most of us, this is the longest you don't look at your phone. 
This is the longest. You're not checking email, or 
checking voicemail, or checking what demands are on you. If ever 
there was a society of people that would benefit from some 
rest. Now, there's lazy people. I get 
that. There's people that fall off 
the couch at 11.30, and they go to the fridge, and they open 
up a pop, and then they go lay down. That's not what I'm talking 
about. They don't need more Sabbath 
rest. Well, they do need Sabbath rest, but they need jobs. But 
for those who are pursuing lawful means, as Spurgeon has well said, 
sometimes we can do more by doing less. Jesus himself said to his 
disciples, come apart and rest a while. If you're constantly 
serving people, you're constantly checking your email, you're constantly 
updating your whatever, you're constantly filing paperwork, 
your mind is going to snap. There is a civil application 
that the society would indeed benefit from. We are consumer-driven. The more time that stores are 
open, the more the bottom line is increased. What a terrible, 
terrible situation. We're driven to this madness 
because we reject God's holy law. The second place in terms 
of the use of the fourth commandment, the pedagogical use. Christ's 
or God's law shows us our sin. Does the fourth commandment find 
you out? It certainly has found me out. 
But that ought to press us to Christ. We ought to be thankful 
and grateful to our Lord Jesus that he fulfilled all righteousness, 
that he was the blessed Sabbath keeper, that he did what we do 
not do. The pedagogical use should drive 
us to the Lord of glory. That should not negate the normative 
use. The normative. We are, as God's 
justified people, obliged to pursue his law by the spirit 
to be sure. The confession highlights the 
appointment of the day in 22.7 and then speaks to the sanctification 
of the day in 22.8. Francis Turretin made this observation 
in his Institutes. He said, experience teaches too 
well that license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and 
more where a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's day. 
I don't know that we've come to grips with that. I mean, the 
church is good at denouncing sins associated with the Sixth 
and the Seventh Commandments, and we ought to be. Murder is 
terrible. Abortion is terrible. Adultery 
is terrible. Homosexuality is terrible. Brethren, 
why is Sabbath-breaking not terrible? Why is Sabbath-breaking okay? Why is it the case that that 
one, well, you know, it's just different. There was a preacher 
by the name of John Elias, and his particular tact was to find 
out the sin of a city and go and preach against it. Sabbath-breaking 
was often one that he preached against. He'd erect a pulpit 
in the middle of the city square and he'd start preaching against 
Sabbath-breaking to all the people in the city. You can probably 
imagine that was real popular. Everybody said, oh yeah, we're 
convicted, let us go to church. They probably did not. But listen 
again to what Turreton says, experience teaches too well that 
license and the negligence of sacred things grows more and 
more where a proper regard is not shown for the Lord's day. You know, growing up as a papist, 
we had 530 Mass on Saturday. Do you know why there was a 530 
Mass on Saturday? I don't know that it was codified 
in any of their writings, but this is the way we oftentimes 
used 530 Mass, was to get it out of the way so that we had 
all of Sunday, you see. Now, Protestantism isn't too 
far behind that. There are Protestant churches 
that have Saturday evening services. Now, if they want to have that 
in addition to Sabbath services, great. I mean, I suggest Sabbath 
attendance. That's what we are commanded 
to do. But the no evening service idea. 
Again, it's going to sound like I'm binding everybody's conscience. 
Thou must be here all the time. But you know, it is a helpful 
way to sanctify the day. It's not the Lord's morning, 
it's not the Lord's evening, it's the Lord's day. And a morning 
and an evening service helps us to keep or sanctify the day. How many people treat Sunday 
as family day? That's pretty common today. What's 
our family day? You can't go to church, it's 
our family day. It's not family day, it's the Lord's day. John 
does not say, I was in the Spirit on family day. John says, I was 
in the Spirit on the Lord's day. The fourth commandment does not 
speak to you having a family day. You've got six days of the 
week for family. And if we are honest, what better 
day for families than the Lord's Day? What better thing than to 
bring your family to the house of God? What better thing than 
to teach your children that God is most important? What better 
thing to teach your children that on the first day, that day 
belongs to the Lord? Brethren, as parents, you're 
going to do the best for your kids when you teach them that 
they're not the most important things in the world. They've 
already got that default setting. They already believe that. They 
already think the universe surrounds them. You need to wean them from 
that, and Lord's Day observance is quite helpful and quite an 
encouragement. No, it's God's Day. You come 
with us, and it's a blessing, and it's a joy, and it's a treat. That's the way that Christian 
parents ought to promote this in their home. It's not this 
drudgery, it's not this dullery, it's not this tragedy that we 
have to give up a day. No, I was glad when they said 
unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Brethren, our children 
learn by watching. Our children see by what we do. If we are unhappy, if we are 
miserable, if we are scowling all the way to church, or we 
can't wait till it's over, do you think they're going to grow 
up excited about the house of God? Do you think they're going 
to grow up saying, I was glad when they said unto me, let us 
go to the house of the Lord? Brethren, we ought to teach by 
example and to set it apart as family day is to misuse it. It is the Lord's day. Well, I 
hope that we have made some sense out of the commandment. Remember 
it. Observe it. Keep it holy. Don't do your normal 
work. Cease from those activities and 
enjoy the blessings that God has for those who call the Sabbath 
a delight. And it's in Christ, ultimately, 
that we have that rest. Remember in Matthew 11, what 
does he say? Come to me, all you who are weary 
and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It is through Christ 
that we have it. It's not just some external magic 
connected to the day. Well, Sunday I'm just going to 
get blessed. No, it's because we're in Jesus. Matthew 11 is 
where Jesus offers that. Matthew 11 is where Jesus says, 
I will give you rest. Did you remember just a little 
while ago? It was Matthew 12 that Jesus speaks concerning 
the Sabbath. It's Matthew 12 that then deals 
with Sabbath. There is a close connection posited 
by Matthew in terms of the one who gives rest and the one who 
upholds the command in Matthew chapter 12. So if you have not 
come to the one who saves, to the one who grants rest, to the 
one who makes the Sabbath itself a delight, then believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Well let us pray. Our Father we have covered much 
ground tonight and I pray that you would help us to see that 
this along with the other nine are the moral law of God Most 
High. Give us a good approach to such 
things. Cause us to see it as a blessing. Cause us to sanctify it. Cause 
us to remember it and to observe it. And to do so with great joy 
and with great thanksgiving. We ask that you would go with 
us now. We ask that you would watch over us. Cause your face 
to shine upon us. May your peace be ours and may 
you keep us, Lord God. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.