Skip to main content

What is to be our attitude to the Sabbath?

What is to be our attitude to the Sabbath?
The best way to develop a proper attitude, a Christian attitude, to the Sabbath is to look, first of all, at Jesus' attitude to the Sabbath.
In a very real sense, the specific question, "What is to be my attitude to the Sabbath?" is included in the broader question, "What is to be my attitude to Jesus?"
As we look Jesus' attitude to the Sabbath, with a view to answering the question, "What is to be my attitude to the Sabbath?", we notice two key features.
  • There is Someone greater than the Sabbath - Jesus (John 5:18). this is the dividing line between a disciple and a Pharisee. A disciple comes to the Saviour. A Pharisee, with all his Sabbath-keeping, does not acknowledge his need of the Saviour.
  • Jesus viewed His whole life as holy to God and wholly to God (John 5:17) for service.
From these two observations about Jesus, we note five further principles concerning the place of the Sabbath in the life of Christian discipleship.
(1) Our essential commitment is to the Lord.
It is the Lord who calls us to be His disciples. Being a Christian is more than mere allegiance to a code of ethics. It is a matter of undivided loyalty to a Person - Christ. There is no such thing as a call to be a Sabbatarian, in some sense that is independent of the call to follow Jesus. Christ's call is the call to be a Christian. It is possible to be a Sabbatarian without being a Christian.The Pharisees promoted Sabbath-keeping (John 5:10), yet they crucified Christ (John 5:16). What about us?
(2) Our attitude to the Lord's Day should be governed by our attitude to the Lord.
Jesus' attitude to His Father was described as "holy" and "wholly" - living holy to God and belonging wholly to God. These principles ought to govern our obedience.
(3) Our attitude to the Lord's Day should not mean a devaluing of other days.
We are bound to obey Christ seven days a week. When Christ said, "I am working", He meant a "seven-day week" job. How we spend Saturday evening may say more about our Christian obedience than how we spend Sunday morning.
(4) Our attitude to the Lord's Day should be governed by Gospel obedience - not legal obedience.
The Pharisee had plenty of obedience. It was all legal obedience. By their words and actions, they made people feel inferior - "Keep on trying, but you'll never be as good as us." This leads to despair. It's bad news - not good news. Jesus was very different from the Pharisees. He brought good news to people. He showed them, love, forgiveness and joy.
(5) Our attitude to the Lord's Day should be one of joy.
When we think of the resurrection of Christ by which we have been brought into the rest of faith, in which we rest seven days a week ( see Hebrews 4:1-10, especially verses 9-10), we can only rejoice.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Can I Keep From Singing | Advent Euphonic Chorale

Post a Comment
Read more

Teach Us, Lord, To Live For You.

"I am filled with the power of the Lord's Spirit" (Micah 3:8). This is what makes true ministry of God's Word so different from 'prophecy' that doesn't come from the Lord. Without the power of the Lord, there can be no Word from the Lord. We need the Word, and we need the power. "Let's go to the mountain of the Lord ...He will teach us His ways so that we may live by them" (Micah 4:2). We are taught by the Lord so that we might live for Him. Teaching and living - they belong together. We do not learn from God's Word so that we can amass more head-knowledge. We pray for a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ - a life-changing knowledge that gives us the strength that we need to live for the glory of God.
Post a Comment
Read more

Are we listening to the Lord - or are we listening to the world?

"Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of the inheritance that our father left us.” 14  Jesus said to him, “Who appointed me to be your judge or to divide your inheritance ?” 15  He told the people, “Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions.” 16  Then he used this illustration. He said, “A rich man had land that produced good crops. 17  He thought, ‘What should I do? I don’t have enough room to store my crops.’ 18  He said, ‘I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones so that I can store all my grain and goods in them. 19  Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up a lot of good things for years to come. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ 20  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you’ve accumulated?’ 21  That’s how it ...
Post a Comment
Read more