Sabbath Musings, Part 2

"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Genesis 2:2-3

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I had always been under the impression that the command to honor the Sabbath had passed away under the Old Covenant, and that since the church was under the New Covenant we were on to "bigger and better things". I confess, I am no theologian. God-fearing men, much wiser than myself disagree passionately as to how we are to interpret and apply the scriptures of the Old Testament in the New Testament era; however, God has made clear to us that all of His word is inspired and profitable for doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16-17) meaning that the OT couldn't have just been for Israel with no application for the church whatsoever or else why did the Lord stir Paul to declare it profitable for the use of the Church?

Looking Back
As a basic foundation for this study we need to understand that Jesus Himself declared that the law would not pass away until all had been fulfilled, for He had not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17-19). Texts such as the book of Hebrews make clear to us Christ's fulfillment of the Levitcal priesthood and the sacrificial or ceremonial laws and passages such as 1 Timothy 1: 8-11 declare that the judicial and moral law still maintains it's authority over law-breakers. I'm afraid that to go into much more detail on that is beyond the scope of this study. But the question ought to be asked, where does the Lord's day fall into in the midst of all this? I used to believe that all the law had "passed away" and certainly without a doubt the ceremonial; at that time, I thought that the sabbath was part of the ceremonial law and therefore had most certainly been fulfilled; somehow, I was under the impression that 9 of the ten commandments still applied execpt the 1 almost smack-dab in the middle.

Fulfilled?
The ceremonial law consisted of types and foreshadows of things to come, particularily of atoning work of Christ as well as illustrative of man's utter depravity and is inability to appease the righteousness of God by his own merits. Did the keeping of the sabbath have anything to do with the above? What is it's purpose, what is it's foundation? Let's look at the passage in Exodus:

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: where fore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11

Interestingly enough, the foundation on which God based the sabbath day was His own example of work and rest during the creation week. Looking back to that time we read,

"and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Gen. 2:3

Prior to the giving of the Mosiac law, God had determined a day of rest (and I think the argument can be made that He also established it as a day of worship at that time), which means that even if all the mosiac law had passed away/been fulfilled the sabbath would remain, as its foundation was established before Israel was instructed at Mt. Sinai.

Context Clarifies
Consider also the position of the fourth commandment; in the first four commandments God gives specific details regarding worship: the 1st commandment fixes the object of worship ("I am the Lord thy God. . . thou shalt have no other gods before me"); the 2nd gives the means ("Thou shalt not make any graven image. . . thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them"); the 3rd explains the manner ("thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" i.e. worship is to be given with reverence and fear); and the 4th establishes the time ("Six days shalt thou labor . . . but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God.")
Why would the object, means and manner of worship still be in place and observed by the Church and yet the time somehow done away with?

To Be Continued in Part 3

Sabbath Musings, Part 1

I wasn't born into a Christian household and neither were either of my parents; both dad and mom came to salvation after my brother and I had joined the family. As new converts, we were starting with a completely blank slate: pretty much all of Christianity was foreign to us and we were like dry sponges: we soaked up every bit of knowledge and instruction we could get our hands on.

It seems to me that the majority of the Church in America is dispensational in theology, so it's no surprise that the first church we joined, and subsequently every church we've been in since, was dispensational and as such it was this thinking that shaped our understanding of scripture, it's application and interpretation. A good chunck of the Old Testament was thrown out the window, labled as "Applicable to Israel Only" and one precious truth/doctrine that was thus discarded as "fulfilled" was that precious teaching of scripture regarding the Sabbath. We based our belief on Romans 14:5,
                                ^"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind"

We basically believed that Romans 14:5 taught that so long as we were "persuaded" we had no biblical obligation to observe the sabbath as a day of rest from our labors. Of course we were not to forsake the gathering together of ourselves (Heb. 10:25) and so we attended church on Sunday, but it wasn't uncommon for us to stop at the store and pickup goat feed or groceries, or even go out to eat on the way home. We also often used Sunday like any other day of the way to get chores done, specifically ones that required dad's help as he had the day off. So we had a 7 day work week of sorts.

And then, I met, fell in love with, and married Reformed Baptist, Pennsylvania farmer.

Jonathan, using his oft quoted principle for undertanding the scriptures, "the clear must interpret the unclear, not the other way around" helped me to understand that Paul was not speaking of the Lord's day in Romans 14:5.

In this series on "Sabbath Musings" I am hoping to show you what Paul was referring to in Romans 14:5 and why we are still to observe a day of rest and worship based on the scriptures. Will you join me?

Studies of Scripture

Elise drifted off to sleep while nursing and beside me, my husband had also, exhausted from six full days of laboring in the field. I slipped out from my place, nestled inbetween them, and headed into the office. The thought came that I ought to take advantage of this quiet moment to study scripture and pray. I retrieved my Bible and went to check my nightstand for my journal. As I walked softly beside the bed I saw the little face pucker, the mouth draw into a pout and a cry escaped the tiny lips followed by another and another, in rapid sucession.                                  -There goes my afternoon; -   
I picked her up and whisked her to the living room where we wouldn't disturb daddy. Laying her on the couch beside me I decided to try and let her fuss it out, and while she fussed, I pondered what to study, where in the scriptures to read. It soon became evident that she had not intention of sleeping. I held her, but she would not refused to be comforted while mommy was sitting, so I walked, until her eyes closed. Gently she was laid back down and I settled in with my Bible, Strong's Concordance and the Expository Greek dictionary, Lord, what shall I read, where in these 66 books of the cannon of scripture do You want my soul to feed?
John 3:16 came to mind. I've been pondering the Calvanistic doctrine of Particular Redemption (or Limited Atonement), searching the scriptures, wanting to be convinced for myself of what the Word teaches. What does it mean, God so loved the world that He sent His only Son? Does it nullify my understanding of limited atonement. Elise's cries fill the still air. With a sigh I walk with her, trying to soothe her. We sit in the rocking chair.  No, God's love for the world (greek: Kosmos) doesn't mean He died for all the world, it just means He loved the world. Elise is settled and back on her make shift bed in the living room, Lord, how do I go about studying the teaching of scripture in regards to the atoning work of Christ? Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9? Gary Martin read that passage in preparation for partaking of the Lord's supper this morning. I don't remember anything particular being said about who's sins were atoned for. . . With my daugher at last sleeping I began to read. At first the Inspired Word explains how the symbols of the first covenant pointed to Christ and the new covenant. But then I came to verse 28, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Many. What word is that? Poloos, many. Used throughout the gosples to refer to the multitudes that followed Christ. I.e. it refers to a group of people, not all people. Hmm,
The sound of my husband reading Psalm 127 to my again awake daughter fills my ears; I still have more studying to do, more to meditate on, but I am thankful for the direction the Spirit has pointed me in.