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Positive Law vs. Moral Law: Understanding The Sabbath — Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Jim Butler · 2025-07-11 · 387 words · 2 min

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Summary

Expository

The fourth commandment's moral core — one day in seven set apart for God — is unchanging, but positive law determines which day according to the covenant one is under, which is why the church rightly observes Sunday rather than Saturday.

The fourth commandment contains both a moral element and a positive-law element. The moral element — that one day in seven is owed to God in worship — is binding on all creatures by nature. The positive element — which specific day — is determined by the covenant one stands in: Saturday under the old covenant, Sunday under the new, the latter established by Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week. This distinction answers why the church's day of worship changed without abandoning the creational obligation to Sabbath rest.

Key quotes

Positive law is called positive not because it's good or affirmative, but because it is posited, meaning it is laid down or established by a legitimate authority.
The Sabbath is moral in its character. It is foundational to human existence. We know that God is to be feared, we know that he is to be worshiped, we know that he is to be glorified.
Positive law tells us by virtue of the covenant that we're in which day it is that we worship him on. So in the old covenant it was Saturday, and in the new covenant it is the first day.

Applications

  1. Observe the Lord's Day as the new-covenant fulfillment of the fourth commandment, not as an arbitrary church tradition.
  2. Distinguish between what the moral law requires of all people at all times and what positive law specifies for a particular covenant community.
  3. Recognize that Christ's resurrection is the ground for Sunday worship, and let that shape how you approach the first day of the week.

Questions this sermon answers

Why is it called 'positive law' — does that mean it is a good law?

No. The word 'positive' means the law has been posited or laid down by a legitimate authority; it carries no value judgment about the content of the law.

Why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday?

The specific day of worship is determined by the covenant one is under. Under the old covenant it was the seventh day (Saturday); under the new covenant it is the first day (Sunday), established by Christ's resurrection from the dead.

Is the Sabbath commandment still binding on Christians?

Its moral core — that one day in seven must be set apart to worship God — remains binding on all creatures. Only the positive element, which day, changes with the covenant.

that that Charlotte asked the question why positive? And I think last week Charlotte brought up a good question. I wanted to address that tonight. When we look at the fourth commandment, it has both a moral aspect and a ceremonial or positive law.

Moral law says one day out of seven, the creature must worship God. The ceremonial or the positive is conditioned by the covenant that one is in. So again, in the old covenant, it was Saturday. In the new covenant, it's Sunday.

How do we know that? Because Christ rested from his labors on the first day of the week. That was signified by his resurrection from the dead and all of the blessings that attend that. But that Charlotte asked the question, why positive?

When when we hear that that that statement positive law, does that mean I'm going to give you a law that's really positive? No. It has a long, you know, I felt like an idiot looking at chat GPT, but here it is.

Defining Positive Law

Positive law refers to laws that are formerly enacted by a proper authority such as a government or legislature. These laws are written, codified, and enforced by institutions, and they are distinguished from natural law, which is based on moral principles or inherent human rights. Positive law is called positive not because it's good or affirmative, but because it is posited, meaning it is laid down or established by a legitimate authority such as a government or legislature. Positive law is positive because it is posited or put in place by human or we could say divine chap gpt wasn't going to go there by human authority not because of any value judgment about its content.

I mentioned that the Sabbath is moral in in its character. It is foundational to human existence. We know that God is we know that he is to be feared. We know that he is to be worshiped.

We know that he is to be glorified. But positive law tells us by virtue of the covenant that we're in which day it is that we worship him on. So in the old covenant it was Saturday, it was sat uh seventh day and in the new covenant it is the first day. So that's positive law there for you,

Study notes

Theological terms

  • Covenant×5
  • Fourth Commandment
  • Lord's Day
  • Moral Law×3
  • New Covenant×3
  • Old Covenant×3
  • Positive Law×7
  • Sabbath×3