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Chapter 22 of Religious Worship 
and the Sabbath Day. We looked at what's called the 
regular principle of worship in paragraph 1, and for the last 
several times together we've been looking specifically at 
paragraph 7, with reference to the appointed day for worship. 
But I'll read chapter 22 beginning in paragraph 1. The light of 
nature shows that there is a God who hath lordship and sovereignty 
over all, is just, good and doth good unto all, and is therefore 
to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in and served 
with all the heart and all the soul and with all the might. 
but the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by 
Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may 
not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices 
of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, 
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. Religious 
worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
and to Him alone, not to angels, saints, or any other creatures, 
and since the fall, not without a mediator, nor in the mediation 
of any other but Christ alone. Prayer, with thanksgiving, being 
one part of natural worship, is by God required of all men. 
But that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name 
of the Son, by the help of the Spirit, according to His will, 
with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, 
and perseverance, and when with others, in a known tongue. Prayer 
is to be made for things lawful, and for all sorts of men living, 
or that shall live hereafter, but not for the dead, nor for 
those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the sin 
unto death. The reading of the scriptures, preaching and hearing 
the word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, 
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the 
Lord, as also the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper, 
are all parts of religious worship of God, to be performed in obedience 
to Him with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. Moreover, 
solemn humiliation with fastings and thanksgivings upon special 
occasions ought to be used in a holy and religious manner. 
Neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship is 
now, under the Gospel, tied unto or made more acceptable by any 
place in which it is performed, or towards which it is directed. 
But God is to be worshipped everywhere, in spirit and in truth, as in 
private families daily, and in secret, each one by himself, 
so more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly 
nor willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God by His 
word of providence calleth thereto. 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 hath 
particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be 
kept holy unto him, 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. The 
Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due 
preparing of their hearts, and to ordering their common affairs 
aforehand, do not only observe in holy rest all the day, from 
their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employment 
and recreations, but also are taken up the whole time in the 
public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties 
of necessity and mercy. Amen. Well, as we have seen, 
the church is regulated, or the church is worshipped, is regulated 
by the word and will of God. The Lord has determined how men 
are to approach Him. It's not left up to men to figure 
out or to try to divine the best way of approach, but God has 
made it very clear. In the Old Testament, He spelled 
it out through sacrifices, through the tabernacle, through temple, 
and He gave specific commands how Israel was to approach God. 
In the New Covenant, we see the very same thing. The regulative 
principle of worship means that the church is free to do that 
which is commanded by God. We're not free to do anything 
else. We're not to bring any innovations or anything not commanded 
by God into the worship of God. This differentiates us from, 
say, Anglicanism or Romanism or Lutheranism or Evangelicalism 
to a large degree, where they say it's not only what is commanded, 
but what is not forbidden. Well, we don't subscribe to that. 
We go according to what God commands in Scripture. That is the regulative 
principle of worship. And then we see how the Confession 
states in paragraph 6, that religious worship under the gospel is not 
tied onto or made more acceptable by any place. In other words, 
the central sanctuary of Deuteronomy 12 is no longer binding upon 
the people of God. That was an element or a circumstance 
of Old Covenant worship received by positive law. with the destruction 
of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, with the passing away of 
the Old Covenant, that particular stipulation is no longer binding 
upon the Church today. But we see, so more solemnly 
in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly nor willfully 
to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by His word of providence, 
calleth thereto." In other words, the local church is where God 
is to be met, to be worshipped and glorified. And then in paragraph 
7, we see the stipulation of the day that we are called upon 
to worship. And we have considered this in 
some detail. We noted the nature of the Sabbath 
day. It is a positive, moral and perpetual 
commandment. The scope of the commandment 
is binding all men in all ages. And then the essence of it is 
that He hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath 
to be kept holy unto Him. Now in terms of the identification 
of that particular day, we see right about in the middle of 
paragraph seven, which from the beginning of the world to the 
resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week. We saw 
Saturday Sabbath keeping. We saw sort of an Old Testament 
biblical theology of the Sabbath. Remember that the moral principle 
of the fourth command is one day out of seven that is to be 
carved out and given over to the worship of God. The positive 
element is that which is temporary, that is attaching to a particular 
moral command based on the covenant that is operable at the time. 
So in the Old Covenant, the moral principle is there, one day in 
seven, for the worship of God. The positive element is Saturday 
worship. The New Covenant, we see the 
moral principle carried over, the one day in seven, binding 
all men in all ages, and the positive element is attached 
to Sunday. It is Sunday Sabbath observance, 
and this is what the Confession 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 as we have seen, we have seen 
a biblical theology, and again, not every jot and detail. I just 
joked with Pastor Porter, if I was Pastor Barcelos, this would 
be our 24th message on this particular chapter. This just happens to 
be our fourth message on this particular chapter. Actually, 
if I was Pastor Barcelos, it'd be the 24th message on the first 
clause in paragraph one. So, while we have been here for 
a while, we haven't done an exhaustive, detailed study of every jot and 
tittle pertaining to Sabbath-keeping, but an Old Testament theology 
of the Sabbath and a New Testament biblical theology of the Sabbath. 
And the specific text we saw in the New Testament was the 
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, And then the practice 
of the church, the specific practice of the church after the resurrection 
of Christ, the disciples are found worshiping or gathered 
together on the first day. That's when Jesus appears to 
them in John 20. As well in Acts chapter 20 at 
verse 7, we see that Paul and the church at Troas are gathering 
together on the first day. 1 Corinthians 16, we see the 
same thing. Paul tells the church to bring 
their collections or to set aside their monies for the first day 
of the week. And then Revelation 1, verse 
10, John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. It's not the 
eschatological Day of the Lord, but it is the Lord's Day, that 
day that belongs peculiarly to the Lord Jesus Christ. The only 
other place where we see that particular word used is in 1 
Corinthians 11, where we see the Lord's Supper. There is a 
supper that belongs particularly to the Lord, there is a day that 
belongs particularly to the Lord, and that is the Christian Lord's 
Day or Sabbath. So the implications of the chapter 
here, or the paragraph here, tells us the first day of the 
week is the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day is to be continued 
to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, and then the 
seventh-day Sabbath has been abolished. There are obviously 
some that still observe a Saturday Sabbath, the seventh-day Adventists. 
In fact, they say that first-day worship is a mark of the Antichrist. It's always sort of intrigued 
me. We used to rent their building. They didn't have any problem 
taking money from the Antichrist, but they would condemn us for 
having Sunday worship. And as well, there are Seventh-day 
Baptists and others that practice a Saturday Sabbath observance. Well, that is to miss the Bible's 
teaching with reference to the necessity of not only identifying 
moral but positive law. Well, this morning I wanted to 
deal with three texts in the New Testament that seem to challenge 
the concept of Christian Sabbath-keeping. They're passages that are often 
trotted out and brought before the people of God, and they're 
made to say things that the Apostle never intended for them to say. 
And the first is found in Romans 14. Romans chapter 14. Not every 
time we see the word day or days in the New Testament does it 
necessarily mean the Christian Sabbath is in view. And specifically 
what is going on in Romans 14 is the whole idea of Christian 
liberty and how we're supposed to deal with one another. The 
theme, or the message, or the point of Romans 14 is not the 
abolition of the Christian Sabbath. The point of Romans 14, at least 
in the first section, is how we are to deal with one another 
in the context of the local church. That's the point. Very important 
when you do Bible study, you always try and identify what 
the point is. Say, for instance, you're studying 
1 Corinthians 7.14, and we see this reference to holy children, 
or holy infants, or sanctified babies. Do we immediately conclude 
that baptism is in view there? No, we ask the question, what's 
Paul's point here in 1 Corinthians 7? If you understand what the 
point of a passage is, it helps you then to make heads or tails 
of the particular details that are involved. And so in Romans 
14, we're not dealing with the abolition of the Christian Sabbath, 
we're dealing with abolition of divisiveness within the context 
of the practice of Christian liberty. Notice in 14. 1. Receive one who is weak in the 
faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes 
he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise 
him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge 
him who eats, for God has received him. The particular situation 
involved in this passage is what we'll call the weaker and the 
stronger brother. He says, receive one who is weak 
in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. And then 
he identifies these two persons. For one believes he may eat all 
things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. So there are 
some that think that you can only eat vegetables. They are 
identified as weaker brethren. The converse is those who believe 
he may eat all things. Those are stronger brethren. 
Now, within the context of the local church, Paul doesn't say, 
you're wicked if you eat or you're wicked if you don't eat. He acknowledges 
the reality that some will eat and some will not eat, and he's 
addressing the situation that will inevitably arise. The one 
who eats may look down his nose at the one who doesn't eat, and 
the one who doesn't eat may judge the one who does eat, and Paul 
wants to put an end to that kind of division within the church. 
If you have before God a clear conscience to eat that steak, 
then a brother shouldn't judge you in a way that is ungodly. 
But if you have a clear conscience to eat that steak and another 
brother doesn't have that conscience, don't look down on him, don't 
mock him, don't make fun of him, don't invite him over for a barbecue 
and put the steak right before his face and waft it around. 
Don't do that sort of thing. Respect your brethren. love one 
another, respect the fact that there are matters of Christian 
liberty, or what have historically been called the adiaphora, and 
those things are not to be a point of contention within the people 
of God. And then he invokes the whole 
idea of observation to days. Notice in verse 5. One person 
esteems one day above another, another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in 
his own mind. He who observes the day, observes 
it to the Lord. And he who does not observe the 
day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats 
to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. And he who does not eat, 
to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. Now, in 
this particular context, as Paul is dealing with these issues, 
it would seem to be the case that it's not just basic eating 
and drinking that's involved. And the invocation of days that, 
we'll argue in just a moment, it's obviously not the Sabbath, 
but it seems to have a Jewish feel, or a Jewish, dare I say, 
taste to it. Because the Jews had specific 
regulations concerning what they could eat, what they could drink, 
and on days where they would have feasts and various things 
that were not associated with the Sabbath. There were many 
feast days in Old Covenant Israel. And Paul is essentially saying 
that if one wants to observe these things without religious 
significance, one is free to do that. In fact, you will see 
that Paul himself kept an oath. He went to the temple, he shaved 
his head on one occasion. If it is not religiously motivated, 
it's okay to practice those cultural things. Circumcision. Paul is 
anti-circumcision in the book of Galatians, because in the 
book of Galatians, the Galatians themselves thought that circumcision 
was necessary to commend them to God. So of course Paul is 
anti-circumcision when it comes to a situation where persons 
see a religious motivation in getting circumcised. But when 
it came to taking Timothy along with him into Jewish regions, 
he had Timothy circumcised. How do we explain that other 
than there was no religious motivation to the circumcision of Timothy? 
It was simply to make sure that he wouldn't cause offense to 
those Jewish audiences that he was going to. And so Paul in 
Romans 14 seems to indicate that there will be this abiding sort 
of cultural influence upon the Jews. And if these Jews have 
these particular things, as long as it's not religiously motivated, 
as long as they don't think they're going to somehow get themselves 
into heaven, by eating, by drinking, or by a particular day wherein 
they have a feast, then leave them alone. Don't judge them, 
don't look down your nose upon them, and make sure that they 
don't, in turn, look down their noses upon others that aren't 
observing that particular thing. The point is not the Christian 
Sabbath in this particular passage, but rather the point is Christian 
liberty and how we treat one another when it comes to things 
in different eating, drinking, and days. William Ames says, 
the Apostle in Romans 14 expressly speaks of the judgment about 
certain days, which then produced offense among Christians. But 
the observance of the Lord's Day, which the Apostle himself 
teaches, had already taken place in all the churches and could 
not be the occasion of offense. In other words, if we interpret 
Acts 20, 1 Corinthians 16, and Revelation correctly in the larger 
context of redemptive history vis-à-vis the fourth commandment 
and the contours of Sabbath-keeping all throughout Scripture, then 
it ought to be evident that Paul is not now coming and saying, 
well, don't have a Christian Sabbath. don't have a Christian 
Lord's Day. If the apostles met on Sunday, 
if Paul tells the saints in not only Corinth but Galatia to gather 
up money for the Lord's Day, and John is in the Spirit on 
the Lord's Day, if that is already binding, if that is already being 
observed, if that is already the case for the New Covenant 
Church, then why in the world would we think that just out 
of nowhere Paul in Romans 14 would say, well, abolish the 
Christian Sabbath? The fact that it's days connected 
with drinks and meats and various things like that, in the context 
of not giving offense to one another, there's no suggestion 
whatsoever that Paul is opposed to the Christian Sabbath. And 
then Ames sees it this way, it is most probable that the apostle 
in this passage is treating of a dispute about the choosing 
of days to eat or to refuse certain meats. So it's not days even 
in and of themselves, but it's days upon which to eat and drink. It's days upon which to have 
these sort of meals that are connected to our culture. And 
then he says, for the question is put in Romans 14, 2 about 
meats only. And in verses 5 and 6, the related 
problem of duty is discussed. And in the remainder of the chapter, 
he considers only meats, making no mention of days. So when we 
come to Romans 14, we identify the point. The point is, if you 
eat meat, don't look down your nose on those who don't. If you 
don't eat meat, don't be in judgment of those who do, but realize 
that God is gracious and kind. As well, we ought to have great 
amounts of sort of evidence to be able to say, well, Romans 
14 is a clear instance where Paul is abrogating the Christian 
Sabbath. That's not clear at all. That 
would be a very difficult case to try and make. Before we move 
to the next text, here's Hodge on Christian liberty. You never 
miss an opportunity to read Hodge on Christian liberty. He says, 
this is the whole idea of the strong looking down on the weak 
and the weak judging the strong. It is a common saying that every 
man has a pope in his own bosom. That is, the disposition to lord 
it over God's heritage is almost universal. Men wish to have their 
opinions on moral questions made into laws to bind the consciences 
of their brethren. John Calvin says, if anything 
pleases us, we forthwith desire to make it a law that others 
may live according to our pleasure. That's what Paul's condemning 
in Romans 14. Next text is Galatians 4. Now, any sort of a reference 
to anything in Galatians that may have any attachment whatsoever 
to Judaism should immediately alert us that what Paul is most 
likely dealing with is the whole idea that any sort of observance, 
any sort of law, any sort of merit can commend us to God. Notice in chapter 4, specifically 
at verse 10, or verse 8, But then indeed, when you did not 
know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now, 
after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how 
is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements 
to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days 
and months and seasons and years, I am afraid for you, lest I have 
labored for you in vain." Now, I don't believe he's dealing 
with the Christian Sabbath at all. I don't think that's anywhere 
on the horizon of the apostles' argument. or statement to the 
Galatians. Remember, if we've understood 
Acts 27, 1 Corinthians 16, and Revelation 1 in the context of 
the rest of the Bible, and there is an abiding Sabbath for the 
people of God, there is a Christian Lord's Day operative at this 
particular juncture. We ought to make sure that understanding 
that we have a very strong argument to try and obliterate that or 
demolish that. Now, Galatians was written earlier 
than Corinthians, but it is interesting that when Paul says to the Corinthians, 
I'm not only giving this instruction to you, but to the churches of 
Galatia as well. So no one can say, well, Galatians 
was written earlier, and so, yeah, I mean, whatever's going 
on in 1 Corinthians 16. No, the churches of Galatia had 
received the same instruction by Paul, which is absolutely 
appropriate, because those were the churches he visited on his 
first missionary journey. The first missionary journey 
of the Apostle Paul. You know what he's telling the 
churches of Galatia? When you meet together on the Lord's Day, 
bring your dough. When you meet together on the Lord's Day, pony 
up. He probably didn't say it quite 
like that. But when you meet on the Lord's 
Day, bring your money for the alleviation of our poor brethren. 
So the Galatian churches had received this instruction. So 
the idea that he is now telling them to absolutely renounce any 
commitment to the Lord's Day is really amazingly out of the 
question. Ames says in the Galatians passage, 
the discussion relates only to the observance of days, months, 
and years as an aspect of bondage to weak and beggarly elements. 
Notice in verse 9, but now after you have known God or rather 
are known by God, How is it that you turn again to the weak and 
beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage? 
Does the Bible ever present the Sabbath in that garb? Does the Bible at creation say 
God Sabbathed and while he did that he engaged in these weak 
and beggarly elements that only bring people into bond? Absolutely 
not. Remember the Sabbath day to keep 
it holy. Not because it's a weak and a 
beggarly element. that brings you into bondage. Did Jesus say He is the Lord 
of the Sabbath in order to impose upon the people of God weak and 
beggarly elements that provide bondage? This is absolutely not 
dealing with the observance of the Christian Sabbath. Back to 
Ames. He says, it was far from the 
apostle's mind and altogether strange to Christian faith to 
consider any commandment of the Decalogue or any ordinance of 
Christ in such a vein. Could you imagine Paul referring 
to the 8th commandment in that way, or the 1st commandment in 
that way, or the 2nd commandment? Why would he refer to the 4th 
commandment as a weak and beggarly element that only brings you 
into bondage? This observation of days and 
months and seasons and years, and then his statement about, 
I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. You 
see, it's not just a matter of simple clarification. If it was 
the case that he's abolishing the Sabbath, just stop doing 
that. No. He says, I'm afraid for you. Go back to Galatians chapter 
1 for a moment. Remember that the epistle to 
the Galatians is a fighting epistle. It is a polemic, and the polemic 
is indicated in 1.6. I marvel that you are turning 
away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to 
a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some 
who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even 
if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you 
than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As 
we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any 
other gospel to you, then what you have received, let him be 
accursed. Turn over to Galatians 5. Galatians 
5, verse 2. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that 
if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. Again, 
he had Timothy circumcised. He doesn't mean as a cultural 
identifier. He doesn't mean as a practice 
for cleanliness. He doesn't mean that. He is not 
anti-circumcision. Timothy will testify to you on 
that. Probably not with a smile on 
his face either. Timothy understood all too well 
that Paul had no problem with circumcision. Galatians believed 
that circumcision, that aspect of Mosaic ceremonial law, was 
necessary to commend them to God. That's the context. So any argument against days 
or months or years in Galatians isn't an argument against Christian 
Sabbatarianism. It's this idea that by observing 
days or months or years, I can somehow supplement my faith in 
Christ and commend myself to God. Notice in verse 3, I testify 
again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor 
to keep the whole law, whole point of Galatians. You're going 
to try to keep the law in order to get to God, you need to keep 
the whole law. It needs to be perpetual, it 
needs to be exact, it needs to be entire, it needs to be personal, 
it needs to be what God demands. The point of Galatians is, you're 
not going to be able to do that. renounce your works, look to 
Christ in faith, and happily receive all the benefits that 
he confers upon needy sinners. Why is it that we are so, you 
know, bound to try and present our works to God? I don't know 
what your experience is, but the longer I live, the more I'm 
convinced I'm not sure I've ever done a good work. You know, these 
guys on the internet boasting about our good works somehow 
being taken into account on the final judgment, I really hope 
they're wrong. I really hope Paul is right, 
because if my good works have any place in the judgment to 
come, that's a terrifying prospect. Remember, a good work needs to 
be done out of love to God and love to man. You say, well, I 
do that all the time. Goody on you. Pray for the rest 
of us, because we're a bunch of struggling wretches. Notice, 
verse 4, you have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt 
to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace. See, the Arminian 
interpretation of verse 4 is absolutely, positively wrong. The Bible does not teach that 
genuine believers can actually lose their salvation. So the 
idea that one can fall from grace and somehow end up damned, who 
at one time was saved, is absolutely foreign to scripture. In this 
context, it makes perfect sense. When you attempt justification 
by law, you have fallen from grace. In other words, there's 
only one of two ways in approaching God. It's either law or grace. If you choose law, then guess 
what you have fallen from? You have fallen from grace. Not 
in some personal way, you were saved and you lost it, but you 
have chosen the course of law. Therefore, grace is no longer 
an option for you. It is excluded by your own folly 
in attempting to commend yourself to God vis-à-vis circumcision 
or the observation of days or months or years. So in Galatians 
4, the argument is not, don't maintain a Christian Sabbath. The argument is, continue to 
look to Christ in faith and do not look to works, whether they 
be circumcision or days and months and seasons and years. The apostle 
is not condemning the obligatory observation of times as such, 
even, but he is condemning the Galatians foray into the false 
system of Judaism. As I've already mentioned, Paul 
himself kept vows. Paul himself shaved his head. 
Paul himself did those things that were culturally connected 
to the Jewish people, but it doesn't mean he did it to be 
commended to God. The apostle condemns this practice 
because, like circumcision, they thought such an observance was 
necessary for salvation as a supplement to faith in Christ. Fung, a commentator, 
I can't remember his first name, Ronald Fung, says, the issue 
then, and then he quotes Ritterbos, is not the observation of religious 
usages as such, but the basis of the justification before God. The legalistic approach advocated 
by the Galatian agitators and the gospel of free grace proclaimed 
by Paul are irreconcilably opposed to each other. Sabbath-keeping 
is a fruit of our having been justified. It is not a means 
by which we pursue justification. That's the bottom line, whatever 
the days and the months and the seasons and the years are. But 
the language itself certainly doesn't suggest the Christian 
Sabbath. So, I will say to you, if you 
think that the abiding validity of the Christian Sabbath is given 
to you so that you may indeed try and earn your way to heaven, 
you've misunderstood it. It is not the case that Sabbatarianism 
is a means by which we are saved. Sabbatarianism is a fruit of 
us having been saved. It's the market day of the soul 
for the people of God who have been called out of darkness into 
marvelous light. And then the final passage is 
in Colossians 2. Colossians 2. There's probably two ways you could answer 
this one. Paul says, no more seventh-day 
Sabbath. But I think the other way is 
probably more accurate. Now, most people recognize that 
there's some sort of heresy behind the scenes that Paul is dealing 
with in Colossae. There's a particular form of 
opposition to Christianity that Paul is countering as he writes 
this epistle to the Colossians. Some have seen some sort of admixture 
of angels Judaism and perhaps even some other things, this 
sort of syncretistic conglomeration of things. Maybe not all persons 
have the same sort of a view, but he seems to speak not against 
angels, but angels are not necessary for your realization of Christ 
and his glory and all that sort of thing. And then Judaism, some 
of the things that were back, things that were common to the 
Jewish calendar, Jewish practice. And so in verse 16 of Colossians 
2, he says, so let no one judge you in food or in drink or regarding 
a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things 
to come, but the substance is of Christ. So you see, the argument 
goes like this. Don't let anybody judge you with 
reference to food or drink regarding a festival or new moon or Sabbath. In other words, I don't keep 
the Sabbath, don't judge me. And the reason I don't keep the 
Sabbath is because it was simply a shadow and now Christ is here. That's what he's saying. That's 
the typical way that this passage is interpreted. But again, it 
will take some argument to demonstrate that what's in view here is the 
first day Sunday Sabbath. Just because the word Sabbath 
is used, it doesn't always mean the first day Christian Sabbath. There remains, therefore, Hebrews 
4.9, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Remember, we're not coming 
to these texts in isolation. We're not coming to these texts 
without having done some work. We have seen not only Old Testament, 
but New Testament. We have seen the resurrection 
of Christ, the assembling of the disciples together. John 
20, when Jesus comes to them and manifests himself to them. 
Acts 20, the post Ascension Church gathers together on the first 
day, 1 Corinthians 16, and Revelation chapter 1. We have that statement 
of Hebrews 4 and 9. There is, therefore, a Sabbath 
rest for the people of God. We don't empty our minds of all 
that and say, wow, that must mean there's no Lord's Day. Let's 
go to Tim Horton's on Sunday after church. That's really a 
stretch. Do you see how we interpret the 
Bible sometimes? It makes no sense. We need to 
make sure that we're dealing with what the apostle is dealing 
with, or we will have some serious problems and issues. Now, I suggest 
that the three terms that are employed here are terms that 
sort of take on a technical significance. Let no one judge you in food 
or in drink. And again, I don't think he means 
there if you have a steak or you have broccoli. It's probably 
Jewish. It's probably having to do with 
meats and drinks that are connected to Jewish people, Jewish faith. Or regarding a festival or a 
new moon or Sabbaths. Those three terms are used six 
times in the Old Testament together. Now, once is, wow, that's neat. Two is a coincidence. Three is, 
there's probably something going on. Six is, yeah, it's definite. Six different times in the Old 
Testament, these three terms are used together. So when Paul 
uses it here, we ought not to forget those six times in the 
Old Testament where it's utilized. And when we look at those six 
times in the Old Testament, we will see that they do not have 
reference to the weekly Sabbath. They have reference to temporary 
Sabbaths. They have reference to those 
Sabbaths that were connected to these festivals or new moon 
celebrations. In fact, the last of those passages 
is Hosea 2.11. You can look there. I said Hosea 
2.11 yesterday when I meant Hosea 11.1. I figured that out this 
morning. So please forgive me. Hosea 2.11, 
the other places where these terms are used together for those 
who want to jot them down, 1 Chronicles 23.31, 2 Chronicles 2.4, 2 Chronicles 
31.3, Ezekiel 45.17, and Hosea 2.11, Isaiah 1.13 also. But the Hosea 2.11 one is interesting 
because remember what's going on in Hosea at this particular 
point. God is indicting the nation for 
their sin and rebellion against him. And note that Hosea 2.11, 
well go back to 2.9. Therefore I will return and take 
away my grain in its time and my new wine in its season and 
will take back my wool and my linen given to cover her nakedness. 
Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and 
no one shall deliver her from My hand. I will also cause all 
her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, her Sabbaths, 
all her appointed feasts." It's not uncommon for the Old Covenant 
prophets to promise God's judgment in closing down the cult. In other words, those ceremonial 
aspects involved with Israel's approach to God, the prophets 
had no problem saying, God's gonna stop this. There will be 
no more feasts or new moons or Sabbaths. There will be no more 
sacrificial system. There will be no more temple. There will be no more of those 
things that are connected to Israel in terms of calendar and 
ceremony in her approach to God. But it is intriguing that when 
we look at the Old Testament biblical theology of Sabbath-keeping, 
the prophet Isaiah indicates that the weekly Sabbath, at that 
time Saturday Sabbath that would become the Sunday Sabbath, will 
abide in the Messianic reign. Isaiah 56 and 58 indicate that 
when Messiah reigns, there is Sabbath keeping. So Hosea 2.11 
says that there will be a suspension, rather a closing down, the obsolescence 
of this old covenant approach to God. And Hosea 2.11 uses those 
particular terms. So going back to Colossians 2, 
Paul is telling them, let none of these people armed with the 
Jewish calendar judge you. Let none of these people armed 
with the Jewish sacrificial system judge you. Let none of these 
people who want to Judaize the church judge you. He says, verse 
17, which are a shadow of things to come. Isn't that how the ceremonies 
functioned? Isn't that the purpose of the 
types? They were shadows, they were types, they were things 
that were given to an old covenant people that did display Jesus, 
that did point forward to the promised Messiah of Galatians 
3. But Paul's argument here is once 
Jesus, the substance, is come, you don't go back to the types 
and the shadows. But the types in the shadows 
were not the weekly Sabbath day wherein the people of God find 
their rest in their blessed God and Redeemer, but it was those 
things associated with Israel's calendar, those things associated 
with the cult, that ceremonial approach to God. Don't let anybody 
bind your conscience with those things now that Christ has come. See, we have no problem seeing 
the connection between Jesus and the abrogation or the fulfillment 
of the ceremonial law in the book of Hebrews. The same thing's 
going on here in Colossians 2, 16 and 17. It is not the abrogation 
of the moral abiding Sabbath, but the abrogation of those things 
that found their way onto Israel's calendar. And if somebody in 
this new covenant setting is trying to bind your conscience 
with those things, don't let them do that. You are not bound 
to that calendar. You have the substance, which 
is Christ. Ames, again, makes this observation. In Colossians 2, the Sabbaths 
mentioned are specially and expressly described as new moons and ceremonial 
shadows of things to come in Christ. But the Sabbath commanded 
in the Decalogue in our Lord's Day are of another nature entirely. You see, Israel understood this 
as well. They knew there was a difference 
between the Saturday Sabbath and these temporary and occasional 
Sabbaths, new moons and feasts. They understood that, and the 
people of God today ought to understand that. Gil Philon, 
in a book on the Lord's Day, says, while moreover his words 
discard the days of Judaism, they touch not the authority 
of the ancient statute of paradise. I like that, the ancient statute 
of paradise, the Sabbath. So while these words discard 
the days of Judaism, they touch not the authority of the ancient 
statute of paradise and in undermining ceremonial rights, leave unshaken 
the moral foundation on which rests the prescription, remember 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy. So these three passages, in their 
context, are not designed to teach the abrogation of Christian 
Sabbath-keeping. When these three passages are 
looked at just a little bit further, we can identify what the point 
is. Romans 14, don't judge each other. 
Lighten up. Chill. Be kind. Somebody doesn't 
want to have steak, don't force them. Somebody wants to have 
steak, don't judge them. Galatians, if you try anything, 
adding that to faith in Jesus to try to get to God, you've 
fallen from grace. And Colossians 2, don't let people 
armed with the Jewish calendar try to bind your conscience into 
things that were simply typological. Now that the substance is here, 
don't go backwards to the calendar and start to do those new moons, 
feasts, and occasional or temporary Sabbaths. has nothing to do with 
the Christian Sabbath. So let's look finally at paragraph 
8. Not a lot of exposition is required here because it's pretty 
clear, but a lot of questions arise here. One of the things 
I didn't say to Mike yesterday when we were doing the theological 
examination, along the way both Cam and I sort of, you know, 
asked follow-up questions, impressed some practical things and things 
that he would have to deal with and, you know, things that will 
arise in the pastoral ministry. You know what one of the big 
questions for pastors are, or is? What can I do on the Sabbath? Can I go to Tim Hortons on Sunday? 
Can my kids play sports? I'm not a rabbi. Some of this 
stuff is tough, brethren. We want rabbis. We want sort of a team of scholars 
to legislate. If you were brought up Roman 
Catholic, that's in you. Just tell me what I need to do 
to get to heaven, or just to get to purgatory. Most of us 
didn't think we were going to heaven. purgatory for, you know, 
however long that was, you know, more than adequate for us. But 
we want all these answers. And, you know, the answers aren't 
always that clear. I know when I first got saved, 
I first came into the Reformed faith, my brother and I, Rich 
Gibson, we used to say, you know, if we saw somebody committing 
adultery, we would rebuke them for breaking the seventh commandment. 
The fourth should be exactly the same way. It's kind of not. there are some interesting things 
that occur. There are some things that happen. Those who are fastidious in Sabbath-keeping 
or, you know, in judging those of us who perhaps aren't as fastidious, 
the same chapter tells us that God is to be worshipped you know, 
everywhere in spirit and truth, as in private families daily, 
and in secret, each one by himself. I mean, that's as much in our 
confessional statement as is paragraph 8. You know, some may 
have this great fastidiousness about the Christian Sabbath, 
and they don't read their Bibles on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 
So the point is, brethren, when we read a paragraph or we read 
paragraph 8, we need to remember that the Sabbath command, and 
I'm not saying this so I can go to Tim Hortons after church. 
I'm really not. I don't want to go to Tim Hortons 
after church. But I'm saying this because it's as difficult 
to apply the fourth commandment sometimes as it is to apply all 
the rest of them, right? And why is it that we're, you 
know, that guy broke the Sabbath, he should be excommunicated. 
You've probably broken the seventh, or the sixth, or the eighth, 
or the ninth, or the tenth, or the first, or the second. Shouldn't 
we excommunicate you? Praise God that Jesus died even 
for the sin of Sabbath breaking. I'm not saying that so we can 
go out and Sabbath break. I know it's probably gonna be 
interpreted that way. Butler wants to go to Tim Hortons. 
I don't even like Tim Hortons. I don't know why I keep saying 
Tim Hortons. The coffee isn't that good. I'm sorry. The donuts are okay. All right, I guess Tim Hortons. 
But the point is that it's not as easy as it may seem. Again, that may sound like I 
am conceding, I'm a wretch, I'm a terrible human. I just know 
from my own practice, I know from my own part, and I know 
from observing others, I don't know that any of us do what paragraph 
8 says. And I often find myself thanking 
the Lord God Almighty that Christ bore my sin on the cross, not 
just idolatry, not just blasphemy, not just insubordination, not 
just murder and adultery and theft and lies and covetousness, 
but He bore in Himself Sabbath-breaking. We have redemption through His 
blood. Now, having said all that, paragraph 8 is wonderful. Paragraph 
8 is what our Sabbaths ought to look like. Paragraph 8 ought 
to be what we are pursuing, those things that are pleasing to God 
and good for our souls. I think that when we approach 
the Sabbath, the temptation or tendency is to approach it negatively. Well, I can't go to Tim Hortons 
on Sunday. I can't play soccer with my buddies on Sunday. I 
can't go, you know, do whatever on Sunday. We always look at 
the can't, can't, can't, can't, can't. We don't look at what 
we get to do. We get to have a day in the presence 
of God and His people. We get to go with gladness to 
the house of the Lord. In our church, you get three 
kicks at the can. You get to capitalize on the 
Lord's day. Praise God that we operate in 
the context of the Lord's day. It's not the Lord's morning. 
It's not the Lord's afternoon. It's not the Lord's evening. 
Persons say, well, the Bible doesn't command two services 
on a Sunday. If that's your attitude, I'm sorry. You know, the Sabbath 
does have benefit for the heart and soul of man. And when churches 
see the need or see the blessed ability to apply the Sabbath 
with two or even three services, that's a means not to hold the 
people of God in bondage, but to facilitate their liberty, 
to provide an outlet for them. to praise, to worship, to glorify. So don't focus on what we can't 
do. And I think this is helpful in 
rearing children. You know, it's not, you can't 
play tiddlywinks, or you can't this, or you can't that, or you 
can't... No, we get to go to the house of God, you get to 
go to Sunday school, you get to go to catechism. You know, 
a lot of times children mimic what their parent's disposition 
is. If Sunday's a drudgery to the parent, don't imagine that 
it's going to be joy for the kid. You know, I've seen this 
happen as I've been here now for 20 years. A kid hits 15, 
16, 17, and they have no desire to go to church. Well, what did 
they see in their home? What did they see modeled for 
them? Did they see an approach to the Sabbath as drudgery, or 
we don't like that church, or we're not going to go to that 
church, or we'll never go to a Sunday night service? We don't want 
them to impinge upon our... If that's the attitude that we're 
communicating to our children, don't be surprised when at 15 
or 16 or 17, I don't want to go to evening service. I don't 
want to go to the Lord's Supper. I don't want to go there. I don't 
want to be there. Why? They haven't seen it modeled. 
They haven't seen the gladness of Psalm 122 oozing out of the 
hearts of their moms and dads. Approach it positively. Approach 
it in a manner that is consistent with the Scripture. Confession 
says, The Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, 
after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common 
affairs aforehand, It's not legalism. I mean, if you can buy gas on 
Saturday, it's a better way to live. You legalistic saboteur. OK, if that's what you think, 
I'm sorry, but I'd rather get gas on Saturday than Sunday. 
You terrible legalist, that you cook soup on Saturday night so 
that my wife can have a break on Sunday and take a nap. She's 
not a John Deere tractor. I want her to get some rest. 
The Sabbath is not only for worship, but there is rest involved. Can 
I take a nap on Sunday? Sure. Go ahead. I don't think 
it's wise to sleep the whole Sunday away and not read the 
Bible and not pray and not attend worship. Well, it's a Sabbath 
rest, so I'm not going to drag out of bed on Sunday. That's 
an abuse of the rest principle. But this whole idea of ordering 
their common affairs aforehand, that just sounds so technical 
and Puritan and harsh and dour. You can go visit Justin Trudeau 
on Saturday. You'll probably get gas on Friday, 
so you're not late. Why will we do that for Justin, 
but not for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? No, I'm 
not trying to bind anybody's conscience. Oh, you made me feel 
bad. I'm sorry. It's my last Sunday for a while. 
I got to give you a good dose of 
feel bad, right? What'd the guy on Facebook say? 
Always guilt and shame or something. Yeah, always. That's what I'm 
a peddler in. do not only observe in holy rest all the day from 
their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employment 
and recreations, but also are taken up the whole time in the 
public and private exercises of his worship and in the duties 
of necessity and mercy. Isn't that what the Bible says? 
It's not a Puritan, sort of, I can't believe that anybody 
out there is happy and I want to make you miserable approach 
to Sabbath keeping. Isn't this what God says? Cease 
and desist from your own things. Lose yourself in the God of heaven 
and earth. Find your joy and rest and comfort 
and blessing in Him, and I will cause you to soar." That's the 
promise from Yahweh and Isaiah the prophet. And that's the promise 
that we have with reference to this whole issue of Sabbath-keeping. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for the Word of God, we thank 
you for its clarity, we thank you for its consistency, and 
we thank you for the law. God, we know the law was never 
intended for men to save themselves or to be a means of salvation, 
but it is indeed to show us our need for Jesus and how we thank 
you for Jesus that he bore in his own body our sins or the 
punishment for our sins. But that selfsame law is a rule 
of life, a pattern for our sanctification. So empower us by your Holy Spirit 
to love your law, not as a means of justification, but as a blessed 
rule for sanctification. Grant us grace and help and strength, 
grant us the desire, God, to keep your law, and grant us the 
desire to bring glory to you. And we pray these things through 
Christ the Lord. Amen.