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Exodus 20:8-11 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you.
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It's well read and treasured in your heart this morning.
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And turn with me to Exodus chapter 20.
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Our primary text for today, although I'll go to a number of other texts,
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is Exodus chapter 20, verses 8 through 11.
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Before we read it together and get into a discussion of it,
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I want to remind you where we've been.
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Or inform you if you're a guest, you're with us today.
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A careful study of the Sermon on the Mount brought us to Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 through 20,
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where Matthew records Jesus saying,
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Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
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I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
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For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
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not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
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Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same
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will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
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Whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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For I tell you,
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unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
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you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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And this text has caused us to ask the question,
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what is the relationship between the Old Testament law and the gospel of Jesus Christ?
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We have answered that question with two answers.
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First, the Old Testament law is meant to bring us to Jesus Christ.
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It fixes for us the holy standard that God requires
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and exposes our failure to keep such a law.
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It creates for us a problem that we might find the solution to said problem
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in the person and work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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So that's one way that the law serves.
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Secondly, having been set free from the burden of it,
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the Old Testament law continues to serve as a guide for how our lives might please God.
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So having been accepted by God in the perfect righteousness of Jesus,
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we are gratefully obedient.
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To the commands of God.
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Now we have distinguished between some categories of Old Testament laws.
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We have divided them into three parts.
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And this is a common division found.
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Those laws that are considered civil,
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that were meant to govern Israel as a theocracy.
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And so when Israel ceased to exist as a theocracy,
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those laws no longer reign.
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Ceremonial.
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Ceremonial.
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Ceremonial.
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These are laws that are meant to foreshadow something greater that's found in Christ.
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The sacrificial system, as an example.
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The Day of Atonement.
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And those sacrifices that were made on that day
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find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice for all time.
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And finally, those laws that are moral.
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And that is these commandments that we are to keep perpetually.
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The moral law finds its briefest summary in Matthew chapter 22,
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verses 37 through 40,
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where Jesus says,
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You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
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and with all your soul,
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and with all your mind.
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This is the great and first commandment.
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And a second is like it.
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You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
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And Jesus here is citing from Deuteronomy 6.5 and Leviticus 19.18.
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The moral law finds its more expanded summary in the Ten Commandments,
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which is why we have found ourselves here in Exodus chapter 20,
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considering these commands given to Moses on Mount Sinai,
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written in stone, which is significant.
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And we began considering them in detail last week.
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And I'll insert at this point an apology for the fire hose of information
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I gave you all last week.
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But my hope was to get you to see the expanse of the commands that are given to us
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that we might pick up the Bible and read and understand
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and desire obedience to a most holy God.
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The first four commandments outline what loving the Lord your God with all your heart,
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with all your soul, and with all your mind looks like.
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And the last six commandments outline what you shall love your neighbor as yourself looks like.
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Now, I have informed you that there are many views on the relationship
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between the Old Testament law and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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I purchased a book this week that I had to discipline myself not to open
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because it was five competing views.
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And one of those books well put together where someone writes
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and somebody writes in response to their writing.
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And I just went, nope, nope, nope.
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I can't blow my brain open again on this matter.
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You may remember the giant stack of books that I brought up on stage to make the point
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that it's a big point of contention and a challenging one.
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Some will say that the Old Testament law has no place in the life of the Christian
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and will look instead to the commands of the New Testament.
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This is not at all troubling
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as nine of the commandments found in Exodus 20 are restated at some point
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and in varying ways in the teaching of the New Testament.
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It's not troubling until we consider the fourth commandment,
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which we will do today and I believe also next Sunday.
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Yeah, we're going to get into it next Sunday as well.
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I won't cover all my notes today because of time.
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Having stated that I believe that,
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having been set free from the burden of the Old Testament law,
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it continues to serve as a guide for how our lives might please God,
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I believe that we are to keep it,
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which includes the fourth commandment.
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We don't merely dismiss one out of the ten and go,
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well, these nine we'll keep active,
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but this one we won't.
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But what we must answer is,
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how are we to keep the fourth commandment?
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What does it look like for us to keep the fourth commandment?
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So before we do that,
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I want you to be reminded that the law was not given,
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its intention was not to be a burden to God's people,
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but it was intended to be loving instruction.
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Listen to a sampling from Psalm 119
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concerning the goodness of God's law.
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The psalmist writes in verse 1,
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Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
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who walk in the law of the Lord.
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Verse 14,
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In the way of your testimonies,
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I delight as much as in all riches.
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Verse 35,
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Lead me in the path of your commandments,
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for I delight in it.
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Verse 52,
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When I think of your rules from of old,
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I take comfort,
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O Lord.
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Verse 103,
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How sweet are your words to my taste,
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sweeter than honey to my mouth.
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Verse 167,
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My soul keeps your testimonies.
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I love them exceedingly.
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The psalmist tells us that God's law brings blessing,
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is a delight,
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is a comfort to the afflicted,
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is tasty,
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and that it is lovely.
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This is the attitude that we should come to the fourth commandment with.
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As we approach it to try to understand it,
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we should understand,
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the filter we place up is,
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God loves us,
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and cares for us,
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and wants good for us.
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We should not see it as burdensome,
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but rather as aimed at our good,
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and more importantly,
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at His glory.
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So,
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Exodus chapter 20,
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verse 8 through 11,
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Beloved,
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this is God's word to us.
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It was written for His glory and our good.
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We would all do well to listen to it,
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in order to believe its promises,
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and obey its commands.
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Remember the Sabbath day,
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to keep it holy.
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Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
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but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
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On it you shall not do any work,
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you or your son or your daughter,
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your male servant or your female servant,
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or your livestock,
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or the sojourner who was within your gates.
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For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
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the sea and all that is in them,
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and rested on the seventh day.
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Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day,
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and made it holy.
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Now I just want to make a little bit of a note,
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before moving on.
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Of these commands etched in stone,
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God spends more time,
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more space,
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stone space,
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on this command,
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than any other.
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Isn't that just interesting?
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Right?
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It's the transition command,
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from those devotions to God,
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service to God,
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and to those commands,
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that are devotion and service to others.
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That's all.
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It's just a thought.
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Now,
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if you were to ask me,
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Nathan,
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are we meant to keep the fourth commandment?
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I would say,
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yes.
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But if you ask me,
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Nathan,
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are we meant to keep the Sabbath?
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I would say,
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well,
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we are meant to keep the fourth commandment.
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And then I would proceed to answer a number of questions,
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for our mutual benefit.
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Question number one.
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What does it mean to keep the fourth commandment?
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What does it mean to keep the fourth commandment?
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Now,
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we have previously distinguished between some categories of Old Testament law,
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civil,
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ceremonial,
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and moral.
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I ran back through those for you just a moment ago.
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The fourth commandment,
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interestingly,
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has elements of all three.
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And this is important in our understanding of the commandment.
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First,
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it had some civil elements to it.
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Israel as a nation state,
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collectively rested on the Sabbath day,
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on Saturday in their time.
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Altogether,
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stopped.
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It was meant to be kept by all of them,
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and therefore breaking it was punishable.
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In fact,
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it was a capital crime.
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If you read in Nehemiah,
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Nehemiah is furious with God's people when they break the Sabbath,
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when people are so eager to get in and to trade,
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to gain more for themselves.
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He's absolutely furious with them that they would do such a thing.
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So it has a civil element to it,
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which is no longer the case in our day,
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although we could all wish that it was,
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that no one had to work when we gather as a church.
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It also has a ceremonial element to it.
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The Sabbath was meant to foreshadow the rest that is found in Christ.
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The rest that those of us who are in Christ have and will have for eternity.
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And it also has a moral element.
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The Sabbath commandment comes smack in the middle of the Ten Commandments,
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as I mentioned,
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the other nine of which are plainly moral laws.
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Old Testament prophets consistently emphasize matters of the heart,
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moral laws,
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above the ceremonial laws.
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For example,
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in Hosea chapter 6 and verse 6,
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God says to the prophet Isaiah,
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for I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
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The prophets treated the Sabbath as if it was a matter of the heart,
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commending the keeping of it again and again.
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For example,
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in Isaiah chapter 56 and verse 2,
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blessed is the man who does this,
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keeps the Sabbath,
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and the son of man who holds it fast,
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who keeps the Sabbath,
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not profaning it,
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and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
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So the Sabbath commandment is a sort of ceremonial moral law.
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If you can combine those two things together.
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The fulfillment of the ceremonial portion,
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having been fulfilled in Christ,
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should find us expecting some change to the commandment.
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An example of this would be circumcision to baptism.
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The moral component should find us expecting to keep it.
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I noted earlier that nine of the commandments found in Exodus 20
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are restated at some point in the teaching of the New Testament.
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The single exception being the fourth commandment.
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Some argue that because the fourth commandment is not explicitly mentioned,
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then it no longer has to be obeyed.
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But it is also never explicitly abolished.
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Why then would we assume that it is not to be obeyed?
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This kind of logic will lead us to all sorts of errors.
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So let me take you to a place in the New Testament
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where the Sabbath is spoken of,
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and it is spoken of much in the New Testament.
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This will be one example.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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So please turn with me to Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Matthew chapter 12.
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Here Matthew records for us two circumstances that happened on the Sabbath.
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So this has been on Saturday.
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And the Pharisees' problem with what happened.
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And then Jesus' response to it.
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Luke records this for us as well.
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In Luke's account, these two things happened on separate Sabbath days.
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But he puts them together.
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And I think Luke does so to really clearly make the point.
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What is Jesus trying to teach us about the Sabbath?
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About a day set aside in this way.
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So beginning in verse 1.
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At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath.
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His disciples were hungry.
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And they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
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But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him,
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Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
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He said to them,
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Have you not read what David did when he was hungry and those who were with him?
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How he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the presence,
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which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
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Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?
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I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
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And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
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you would not have condemned the guiltless.
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For the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.
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He went on from there and entered their synagogue.
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And a man was there with a withered hand.
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And they asked him, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him?
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He said to them, Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
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will not take hold of it and lift it out?
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Of how much more value is a man than a sheep?
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So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
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Then he said to the man, Stretch out your hand.
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And the man stretched it out and it was restored healthy like the other.
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But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him how to destroy him.
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So let me note a couple of things for you from this text.
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First, Jesus does not abolish the Sabbath.
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He does not say to the Pharisees, Oh, the Sabbath is no longer a thing.
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He just simply says, I'm the Lord of the Sabbath.
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I'm going to define what was always meant by the keeping of such a day.
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Secondly, Jesus allows for work of necessity.
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Now note that he does not refute that what the disciples were doing was not against the law.
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What they were doing was working.
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They were gleaning wheat and eating it.
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And he goes on to use an example that's a clear infraction of the law where David and his men, having returned from battle, were hungry.
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And they went and ate sacred bread.
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They were not meant to eat.
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And what is the point that Jesus makes here?
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That this profaning of the Sabbath is okay in times of necessity.
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That it's not okay for these disciples and David and his men to go hungry.
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This is not the point of the keeping of this day.
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That it's okay.
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He actually calls the priestly duties a profaning of the Sabbath.
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But they had work to do on this day in keeping the temple.
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So he says and allows for work of necessity.
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Now, would it have been better that David and his men and the disciples had packed bread along with them and had something to eat?
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Surely it would have been.
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But it was okay.
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When they were hungry, they ate.
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And we can give lots of application for this.
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And I'll do so in brief this week and get into it more in particulars into next week.
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We want to give allowance for people that we want working on the Lord's Day.
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Military.
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Police.
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Are we glad that we can call 911 this morning?
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I am.
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Firemen.
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I'm glad that we just don't have to let buildings burn to the ground on Sundays.
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ER doctors and nurses.
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Thankful that we can go from this place to a hospital and receive care.
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Maybe in some cases of absolute necessity that the only job you can find is going to require of you to work on a Sunday.
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But there is some space made here for necessity.
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The third thing I want to note is that Jesus desires mercy.
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Now the Pharisees failed to understand that the Sabbath was for mercy.
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It was meant to be an expression of mercy to them.
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And they were meant to be merciful to others.
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The Pharisees had built up so many extra laws.
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Things that they added on top of in order to define what it meant to rest.
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They were just too uncertain about the fourth commandment.
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And so they had to create a bunch of particular things and pressed upon everybody to obey them.
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Laid up burdens on people in that way.
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Some Pharisees held that.
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You'll get a kick out of this.
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I don't know if this happened often in their day.
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But if a wall fell on top of someone on the Sabbath, only enough rubble could be removed to find out how badly the person was injured.
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So you can lift those stones to just say, are you all right?
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If he was not injured too badly, then he must be left until the Sabbath ended when the rescue could be completed.
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They allowed for acts of mercy in absolute dire circumstance.
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Like the person will die today if they don't receive care.
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But otherwise, they had to wait.
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Which is why it's significant that Jesus goes and heals a man with a hand that's withered.
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And I take that to mean that he had broken it.
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Maybe the bones were crushed.
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He couldn't use his hand.
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Which is not a necessary part of our body.
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A very helpful part of our body.
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But not a necessary part of our body.
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And Jesus displays mercy.
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So Jesus does not abolish the Sabbath.
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Jesus allows for work of necessity.
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And Jesus desires mercy.
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So Jesus clarifies here.
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And this is recorded by Matthew and by Luke to help us to understand the Sabbath itself.
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Now the change that we do find to the Sabbath in the New Testament is the moving of the day of rest.
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From Saturday as a time of rest and a remembering of their deliverance from Egypt.
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To Sunday where early Christians set themselves apart from Judaism.
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And met on this first day of the week in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Which occurred on a Sunday.
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We can see this in Acts chapter 20 verse 7.
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On the first day of the week when we were gathered together to break bread.
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Paul talked with them and instructs them until midnight.
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This day came to be known as the Lord's day.
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We see that in Revelation chapter 1 verse 10.
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John speaks of the vision that he has.
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And he says,
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I was in the spirit on the Lord's day.
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There is evidence that this was the prominent practice of the early church.
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Ignatius, who was a first century bishop, wrote,
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Christians no longer observing the Sabbath, but fashioning their lives after the Lord's day.
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On which our life also arose in him that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ.
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And Tertullian, who was a second century theologian,
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wrote that for Christians, Sunday is a day of joy.
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And that pagans would not celebrate anything on Sunday for fear
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they might be mistaken for Christians.
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So the church had clearly, not in entirety,
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there was a lot of working out happening of this Sabbath, Saturday, Sunday relationship.
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But certainly into the first and certainly in second century,
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there was a transition that was happening.
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And the early church was meeting in this way.
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And so let me read to you from the London Baptist Confession of 1689.
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I did not put this on the back of your bulletin.
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You are welcome.
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Briefly, as it is the law of nature,
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that in general a proportion of time by God's appointment be set apart for the worship of God,
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so by his word, in a positive moral and perpetual commandment,
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binding all men in all ages,
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he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him,
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which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ was the last day of the week.
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And from the resurrection of Christ was changed into the first day of the week,
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which is called the Lord's Day,
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and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath,
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the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.
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So I really want you to get on board with this.
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And I don't want you to get on board with this because I need you here on Sundays.
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I certainly don't want you to get on board with this because God can't do without your voice in the choir of the congregation.
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But I want you to get on board with this because God intends it for your good.
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And if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, he intends it for his glory.
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He intends to set his people apart in very particular ways.
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We are strange people for gathering together in this room,
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doing the things we're doing on such a beautiful day.
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If this doesn't have weight and meaning because we worship this risen Christ,
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we should go hiking.
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It is gorgeous outside today.
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And we live in or close to Dahlonega.
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So if you're feeling some defiance at this point,
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maybe you've studied this matter for yourself.
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There's some texts that are coming to mind.
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You're going, wait, wait, Nathan.
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Hang on.
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I want to look at some of those difficult texts.
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I really want to lay the issue to rest,
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although I'm assuming it won't be laid to rest this morning.
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We'll have many conversations following this about it.
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But let's look together at some of those difficult texts.
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Some of those go-to texts that people go to to say,
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wait a minute, we don't have to keep the fourth commandment.
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Many of these seem on their outset to run in contradiction to what I'm about to say.
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First, let's look at the Pauline texts.
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The first one, Romans chapter 14.
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So turn there with me.
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Romans chapter 14.
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This may have come to your mind.
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Verse 5.
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Verse 5.
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One person esteems one day as better than another,
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while another esteems all days alike.
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Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
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And so, here in this context,
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Paul is talking about not passing judgment on the weaker brother.
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And many will run to this and say,
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look, see, if someone thinks, right,
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here I am representing the weaker brother this morning to you, right,
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I think we ought to gather on a day,
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and we ought to set it apart for rest and joy in the Lord.
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Just let him think that.
28:00
And it's okay that you don't have such a narrow view.
28:04
This is what people will do with this text.
28:06
But the greater context of this passage concerns food.
28:14
Look at verses 3 and 4.
28:16
But not the one who eats despise the one who abstains.
28:20
But not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats,
28:24
for God has welcomed him.
28:25
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?
28:29
It is before his own master that he stands or falls,
28:31
and he will be upheld,
28:33
for the Lord is able to make him stand.
28:37
And then we see verse 5, right?
28:39
Now look at verse 6.
28:40
It is most likely that Paul is not addressing two separate matters here.
29:02
He is not addressing the matter of food and then the matter of a particular day of worship,
29:07
but rather he is addressing fasting.
29:11
And those who believe that there was a particular day on which they should fast.
29:17
I think that is a fairly plain reading of the text.
29:20
Now, if you can't get there with me,
29:24
if this text gives us any space for our understanding of the fourth commandment,
29:30
it would only be in the day selected.
29:36
And I'm okay with that.
29:38
Exodus chapter 20 verse 9 says,
29:41
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
29:44
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
29:48
It doesn't define necessarily that it has to be Saturday.
29:51
In fact, some assume that the word Sabbath means Saturday,
29:55
and it doesn't.
29:55
It actually means week.
29:57
It's a very basic Hebrew word.
30:01
But no one would contend that we ought not gather as the church.
30:07
And if they do,
30:08
they could be corrected from Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24 and 25.
30:12
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
30:16
not neglecting to meet together,
30:20
as is the habit of some,
30:21
but encourage one another,
30:23
and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
30:27
So you see, taking a day of rest and a day to gather with the church
30:30
is not meant to be done at your convenience.
30:33
It's meant to be even labored for,
30:37
set aside,
30:39
especially for the worship of God.
30:42
So you don't wake up in the morning and come if you feel like it.
30:46
I would never come.
30:50
You come because it's a good command for you to come.
30:56
Let's look at another text.
30:58
Galatians chapter 4,
31:01
verses 8 through 11.
31:05
And I'll have you know that as I've had conversations about the Sabbath
31:07
after the last couple of weeks,
31:09
every one of these has been brought up as a,
31:11
but what about,
31:12
hey, but what about Galatians 4?
31:15
So,
31:15
so here,
31:15
here are the answers to those questions.
31:17
And they're fair questions.
31:18
They're very fair questions.
31:23
If you want to come down to my study,
31:24
I'll show you the board that I actually printed all these texts
31:27
and put them on
31:28
to just like stand and look at them all.
31:32
Formally,
31:32
when you do not know God,
31:33
Paul writes to the Galatians,
31:36
you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
31:40
But now that you have come to know God,
31:41
or rather to be known by God,
31:44
how can you turn back again
31:45
to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world
31:49
whose slaves you want to be once more?
31:53
You observe days and months and seasons and years.
31:58
I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
32:02
Right?
32:03
So some will say,
32:04
wait,
32:04
he's talking about the observation of days.
32:07
And I agree,
32:08
he is.
32:09
He most certainly is.
32:10
And he very likely
32:11
is referring to
32:13
the Sabbath.
32:15
But what is the larger context
32:16
of Paul's letter to the church of Galatia?
32:19
They were being overrun
32:20
by what are known as the Judaizers.
32:22
Those who claim to be followers of Christ,
32:24
but said to Gentile believers,
32:26
you must come underneath the law of God.
32:31
You must be a keeper of the law of God
32:34
to be accepted by God.
32:36
They flipped the gospel upside down.
32:39
Right?
32:39
So that's not what I'm saying.
32:41
Right?
32:41
We're accepted by God,
32:43
by faith in Jesus Christ.
32:44
He is our righteousness,
32:45
and therefore we want to obey him.
32:48
They were flipping the whole thing around.
32:50
They're saying,
32:50
no,
32:50
no,
32:50
no.
32:51
You must be circumcised.
32:53
This was the major issue of the day.
32:56
Right?
32:56
You Gentile believers
32:57
must be circumcised
32:58
in order to be found in Christ.
33:01
This is what Paul is speaking against,
33:03
and he's giving further example of that
33:05
in talking about this observation
33:07
of days and months and seasons and years.
33:09
Not for obedience,
33:11
but for salvation.
33:13
You're keeping these things.
33:14
Right?
33:15
May it never be.
33:18
There's Galatians chapter 4.
33:20
One more.
33:21
Colossians chapter 2.
33:23
One more from Paul, anyway.
33:40
Colossians chapter 2,
33:41
verse 16 and 17.
33:43
Paul writes,
33:44
Therefore,
33:44
let no one pass judgment on you
33:46
in questions of food and drink
33:47
or with regard to a festival
33:50
or a new moon or a Sabbath.
33:52
Your translation might say Sabbaths.
33:54
There were multiple keepings of these.
33:57
These are a shadow of the things to come,
33:59
but the substance belongs to Christ.
34:02
Okay?
34:03
So many will take this,
34:03
and I can understand it,
34:04
but many will take this and say,
34:05
See,
34:06
no one can pass judgment over me.
34:08
No one can expect that I would keep a day
34:09
set apart for the Lord.
34:11
But once again,
34:13
Paul is battling a particular heresy
34:15
of the day.
34:16
And we don't know exactly what it was.
34:18
Some letters we know,
34:20
Ephesians,
34:21
Galatians.
34:22
In this case,
34:23
it seems to be some kind of
34:24
Jewish asceticism.
34:28
If you read on down
34:29
in Colossians chapter 2,
34:31
verse 20 and verse 21,
34:33
Paul says,
34:34
If with Christ you died
34:35
to the elemental spirits of the world,
34:37
why,
34:37
as if you were still alive in the world,
34:40
do you submit to regulations?
34:41
These are the things being applied to them
34:44
by these Jewish ascetics.
34:47
Do not handle,
34:48
do not taste,
34:50
do not touch.
34:52
So if you read carefully
34:53
through Colossians chapter 2,
34:56
you'll see that Paul is addressing
34:57
this very particular type of heresy
35:01
that was being applied as well
35:03
to these festivals,
35:05
new moon,
35:07
Sabbaths.
35:08
Once again,
35:09
it's not explicitly say
35:10
that we're no longer
35:12
meant to keep
35:13
the fourth commandment.
35:16
And then finally,
35:17
turn to Hebrews chapter 4.
35:32
The logic of the author of Hebrews
35:34
really, really begins
35:36
at the end of chapter 3.
35:39
I could argue
35:40
at the beginning of chapter 1,
35:41
but for the sake of time,
35:42
I'm just going to read verses 9 and 10.
35:45
So Hebrews chapter 4,
35:46
verses 9 and 10,
35:47
I invite you to look
35:47
at the larger context.
35:50
Verse 9,
35:51
So then,
35:52
there remains a Sabbath rest
35:54
for the people of God.
35:55
For whoever has entered
35:57
God's rest
35:58
has also rested
35:59
from his works
36:00
as God did
36:02
from his.
36:05
And this text
36:05
does not abolish
36:07
the Sabbath.
36:08
The writer of Hebrews
36:10
is writing
36:11
to a predominantly
36:12
Jewish audience
36:13
to be sure
36:14
that they enter
36:14
the rest
36:15
that could be theirs
36:16
in Jesus Christ.
36:19
And he uses,
36:20
he quotes from Psalm
36:21
and he uses
36:22
the Old Testament
36:23
example
36:24
of the generation
36:25
that came out of Exodus
36:26
with Moses
36:27
and didn't get to go
36:28
into the promised land.
36:29
They had to stay
36:30
in the wilderness
36:31
as a warning to them.
36:35
Don't be like
36:36
that generation.
36:37
Be like the generation
36:38
that was faithful
36:40
and believed
36:40
and entered
36:41
into the rest.
36:45
He is exhorting them
36:46
to stop keeping
36:47
the law
36:48
to be accepted
36:49
by God
36:49
but to be accepted
36:50
by God
36:51
in the person
36:51
and work
36:52
of Jesus Christ.
36:54
He is employing
36:55
the ceremonial aspect
36:57
of the fourth commandment
36:58
as was intended
37:00
to point them
37:01
to Jesus.
37:02
which brings me
37:05
to the next question
37:06
I would answer
37:07
if you asked me.
37:09
Nathan,
37:09
are we meant
37:10
to keep the Sabbath?
37:11
I would say,
37:13
well,
37:14
we are meant
37:14
to keep
37:15
the fourth commandment
37:15
and then I would
37:17
also ask
37:19
and answer
37:19
this question.
37:20
Why should we keep
37:22
the fourth commandment?
37:24
The fourth commandment
37:26
begins
37:26
with the word
37:27
remember.
37:28
And the Westminster
37:30
Larger Catechism
37:31
in question 121
37:33
says,
37:34
why is the word
37:35
remember
37:35
set in the beginning
37:37
of the fourth commandment?
37:40
And I'll give you
37:40
their answer
37:41
in brief.
37:42
Number one,
37:43
partly
37:43
because of the
37:45
great benefit
37:46
of remembering it
37:47
and secondly,
37:50
partly
37:51
because we are
37:52
very ready
37:53
to forget it.
37:55
We are such
37:57
slow learners.
37:58
And we are so
38:00
quick
38:01
to forget.
38:03
We are to remember
38:04
to keep
38:05
the fourth commandment
38:06
in order to
38:08
remember.
38:10
This is a day
38:11
set apart
38:12
for the worship
38:13
of God.
38:14
To be gathered
38:15
together with the church
38:16
to learn
38:17
and to be reminded
38:19
that we have
38:21
rest
38:22
in Christ.
38:25
The wicked
38:26
cannot rest.
38:28
Isaiah 5720
38:29
says,
38:30
but the wicked
38:31
are like
38:32
the tossing
38:33
sea,
38:34
for it cannot
38:35
be quiet
38:36
and its waters
38:37
toss up
38:38
mire
38:39
and dirt.
38:41
But beloved,
38:42
this is not
38:43
us.
38:45
We do not
38:45
have to
38:45
frantically
38:46
work
38:47
to be valued
38:49
in this world.
38:50
If we are in
38:51
Christ,
38:52
we are
38:53
gods.
38:54
Jesus says
38:56
in Matthew
38:56
chapter 11,
38:57
verse 28,
38:57
come to me
38:58
all who labor
39:00
and are heavy
39:00
laden
39:01
and I
39:01
will give
39:02
you
39:03
rest.
39:05
God knows
39:06
how very
39:07
fragile
39:07
we are.
39:09
And God
39:09
knows
39:10
how much
39:11
we need
39:12
to stop
39:13
and to
39:14
remember
39:15
I am
39:17
righteous
39:17
in Christ
39:19
because of
39:20
God's
39:20
loving
39:20
kindness
39:21
to me.
39:23
I need
39:23
to remember
39:24
that for
39:24
all of my
39:25
failures
39:25
of last
39:25
week
39:26
and I
39:27
need to
39:27
remember
39:27
that for
39:28
all my
39:28
hopes
39:29
of next
39:30
week.
39:32
And we
39:33
see the
39:33
example of
39:34
this given
39:34
to us
39:35
by God
39:36
himself.
39:37
In Exodus
39:38
chapter 20,
39:38
verse 11,
39:39
for in
39:41
six days
39:41
the Lord
39:42
made heaven
39:43
and earth
39:43
the sea
39:44
and all
39:44
that is
39:45
in them
39:45
and rested
39:46
on the
39:47
seventh day.
39:49
Therefore,
39:49
the Lord
39:49
blessed the
39:50
Sabbath day
39:51
and he
39:52
made it
39:52
holy.
39:53
And we
39:54
read about
39:54
this in
39:54
the beginning
39:55
of Genesis
39:55
chapter 2
39:56
verses 1
39:58
through 3.
40:00
We see
40:00
that he
40:00
rested
40:01
from all
40:02
the work
40:03
he had
40:03
done at
40:04
the end
40:04
of verse
40:05
2.
40:05
So God
40:06
blessed
40:06
the seventh
40:07
day and
40:07
made it
40:08
holy because
40:09
on it
40:09
God
40:09
rested
40:10
from all
40:10
his work
40:11
that he
40:12
had done
40:12
in creation.
40:15
Now remember
40:16
in the
40:17
Genesis
40:17
account
40:18
what's
40:18
happening
40:18
in
40:19
chapter 1.
40:21
The God
40:22
with powerful
40:22
words is
40:23
speaking and
40:24
on a day
40:24
he makes
40:25
and then
40:26
on another
40:26
day he
40:27
makes
40:27
and then
40:28
on another
40:28
day he
40:29
makes.
40:29
For six
40:30
days we
40:30
see this
40:31
and we
40:31
see this
40:31
repetition
40:32
of a
40:33
phrase
40:33
throughout
40:34
Genesis
40:35
chapter 1
40:35
in verse
40:36
4 and
40:36
verse 10
40:37
verse 12
40:38
verse 18
40:39
verse 21
40:40
and verse
40:41
25
40:42
and that
40:43
phrase is
40:43
and God
40:44
saw that
40:45
it was
40:46
good.
40:48
God saw
40:49
that it
40:49
was good.
40:51
So did
40:52
God need
40:53
rest?
40:53
Of course
40:54
not.
40:55
Right?
40:55
God is
40:56
a say.
40:58
He has
40:58
limitless
40:59
power.
41:00
God
41:02
but he
41:02
saw that
41:03
it was
41:03
good
41:03
and
41:04
therefore
41:04
set
41:05
as an
41:05
example
41:06
for
41:06
us
41:07
to
41:07
rest
41:08
in
41:09
goodness.
41:12
What
41:12
happens
41:12
in Genesis
41:12
chapter 3?
41:13
Things are
41:14
not so
41:14
good
41:15
anymore.
41:16
Mankind
41:17
rebels
41:17
against
41:17
God.
41:19
And Jesus
41:19
says in
41:20
John
41:20
chapter 5
41:21
verse 17
41:21
my father
41:22
is working
41:23
until now
41:24
and I
41:25
am
41:26
working.
41:27
So it
41:29
would seem
41:29
that on
41:31
the seventh
41:31
day God
41:32
rested and
41:33
then he
41:33
got back
41:34
to work.
41:36
Remaking
41:36
things
41:37
good.
41:39
God has
41:40
worked and
41:40
is now
41:41
working so
41:42
that we
41:43
can rest.
41:47
Martin
41:47
Luther said
41:48
and I will
41:49
add at this
41:49
point that I
41:50
don't completely
41:51
agree with
41:51
Martin Luther
41:51
in his view
41:52
of the law
41:52
but I really
41:53
like what he
41:53
said about
41:54
this commandment.
41:55
This is on
41:55
your bulletin
41:55
if you care
41:56
to look at
41:56
it.
41:57
He said
41:57
the spiritual
41:58
rest which
41:59
God particularly
42:00
intends in
42:01
this commandment
42:01
is this
42:02
that we
42:03
not only
42:03
cease from
42:04
our labor
42:05
and trade
42:05
but much
42:06
more
42:07
that we
42:08
let God
42:08
alone work
42:09
in us
42:09
and that we
42:10
do nothing
42:10
of our own
42:11
with all
42:12
our powers.
42:15
And John
42:15
Calvin is
42:15
helpful to
42:16
us here
42:17
in answering
42:18
the question
42:18
why do we
42:19
keep the
42:20
fourth
42:20
commandment.
42:21
He has
42:22
said that we
42:22
observe the
42:23
Lord's day
42:23
for three
42:24
reasons.
42:26
Number one
42:26
to depict
42:29
spiritual
42:30
rest.
42:31
We have
42:32
spiritual
42:33
rest and
42:34
so in
42:34
setting a
42:35
day a
42:36
week
42:36
aside
42:36
we're
42:37
depicting
42:37
that rest.
42:39
We are
42:40
saying as a
42:40
people we
42:41
do not have
42:42
to labor
42:42
seven days
42:43
a week
42:44
because God
42:45
is our
42:45
God and
42:46
he has
42:47
finished a
42:47
work on
42:48
our behalf.
42:49
We show
42:50
it to the
42:51
world
42:52
as a
42:53
day that
42:54
we can
42:54
rest.
42:55
So we
42:55
depict
42:56
spiritual
42:56
rest.
42:57
Secondly
42:57
Calvin says
42:59
to preserve
43:00
ecclesiastical
43:01
order.
43:03
Church order.
43:04
That is to
43:05
say we
43:06
have a
43:07
day,
43:07
prominent
43:08
day in
43:09
which we
43:10
meet.
43:13
I have to
43:14
catch you
43:14
guys up a
43:15
lot on
43:16
where we've
43:16
been in
43:17
our sermons
43:17
because a
43:18
lot of you
43:18
aren't here
43:19
every Sunday
43:19
when we
43:20
gather.
43:22
How wonderful
43:22
would it be
43:23
if I said
43:23
and we
43:24
left off
43:24
on verse
43:25
and just
43:25
got to
43:25
go.
43:26
Not spend
43:27
the first
43:27
ten minutes
43:27
summarizing
43:28
where we've
43:29
been.
43:31
It is good
43:31
for us to
43:32
have a day
43:32
where we
43:33
intend,
43:33
we plan,
43:34
we set
43:34
aside to
43:36
be gathered
43:36
together as
43:37
God's people
43:38
that we can
43:39
count on
43:40
being together.
43:42
And so
43:42
having a day
43:42
like this
43:43
preserves
43:44
ecclesiastical
43:45
order.
43:48
And thirdly
43:48
to provide
43:50
relief from
43:51
our labor.
43:53
We are
43:53
fooling
43:54
ourselves if
43:55
we do not
43:55
think that
43:56
we need
43:56
physical rest.
43:59
The Lord's
44:00
day reminds
44:01
us that
44:01
we are
44:02
human.
44:04
We are
44:04
not God.
44:05
We must
44:07
rest.
44:08
We must
44:09
rest from
44:09
the labor
44:10
of the
44:11
week.
44:11
That we
44:11
might be
44:12
refreshed.
44:13
As the
44:13
Puritans
44:14
said,
44:14
we need
44:15
to recreate
44:15
and by
44:16
that they
44:16
meant
44:16
recreate.
44:17
in order
44:19
that we
44:19
might be
44:19
strengthened
44:20
for the
44:20
work of
44:22
next week.
44:23
So we
44:23
do this
44:24
to depict
44:24
spiritual rest,
44:25
to preserve
44:26
ecclesiastical
44:26
order,
44:27
and to
44:27
provide
44:28
relief
44:29
from our
44:30
labor.
44:30
Now,
44:31
I'm running
44:32
out of time.
44:33
Next week,
44:34
I want to
44:34
answer with
44:35
much greater
44:36
specificity the
44:37
question,
44:38
how should
44:39
we keep the
44:40
fourth commandment?
44:41
So cliffhanger
44:42
for you there.
44:43
I want to get
44:44
more into the
44:44
particulars of
44:45
how it is
44:46
that we
44:46
ought to
44:46
set aside
44:47
a day
44:48
for rest
44:50
and the
44:50
worship of
44:50
God.
44:52
In closing,
44:53
we must be
44:54
careful that
44:55
we do not
44:56
do what the
44:56
Pharisees had
44:57
done with
44:58
the fourth
44:58
commandment.
45:00
It is not
45:01
meant to be
45:02
burdensome,
45:03
!
45:04
But joyful!
45:06
That's all I want
45:06
to read for our
45:07
benefit,
45:07
Psalm 92,
45:09
and you can
45:09
certainly go
45:09
there with me.
45:11
Psalm 92,
45:12
a psalm
45:14
that in the
45:18
original text
45:19
has a title.
45:21
And not all
45:22
psalms have
45:23
titles.
45:23
This one does.
45:25
And it is
45:25
simply a
45:26
psalm,
45:27
a song
45:28
for the
45:29
Sabbath.
45:33
And the
45:34
psalmist
45:34
writes,
45:35
it is good
45:37
to give
45:37
thanks to
45:38
the Lord,
45:38
to sing
45:39
praises to
45:40
your name,
45:41
O Most
45:42
High,
45:43
to declare
45:44
your steadfast
45:45
love in the
45:45
morning and
45:46
your faithfulness
45:47
by night,
45:48
to the music
45:49
of the lute
45:50
and the harp,
45:50
to the melody
45:51
of the lyre.
45:53
For you,
45:54
O Lord,
45:54
have made me
45:55
glad by your
45:56
works.
45:56
At the works
45:57
of your hands
45:58
I sing
45:59
for joy.
46:01
How great
46:01
are your works,
46:02
O Lord,
46:02
how your
46:03
thoughts are
46:04
very deep.
46:06
The stupid
46:07
man cannot
46:07
know,
46:08
the fool
46:08
cannot
46:09
understand
46:09
this,
46:10
that though
46:10
the wicked
46:11
sprout like
46:11
grass and
46:12
all evildoers
46:13
flourish,
46:14
they are doomed
46:15
to destruction
46:15
forever.
46:17
But you,
46:18
O Lord,
46:19
are on high
46:20
forever.
46:21
For behold
46:22
your enemies,
46:22
O Lord,
46:23
for behold
46:23
your enemies
46:24
shall perish,
46:25
all evildoers
46:26
shall be
46:27
scattered.
46:28
But you
46:28
have exalted
46:29
my horn
46:30
like that
46:30
of the wild
46:31
ox.
46:32
You have
46:32
poured over
46:33
me,
46:34
fresh
46:34
oil.
46:36
My eyes
46:37
have seen
46:37
the downfall
46:38
of my
46:38
enemies.
46:39
My ears
46:39
have heard
46:40
the doom
46:40
of my
46:41
evil
46:41
assailants.
46:43
The righteous
46:44
flourish like
46:45
the palm tree
46:46
and grow
46:47
like a cedar
46:48
in Lebanon.
46:49
They are
46:49
planted in
46:50
the house
46:50
of the Lord.
46:51
They flourish
46:52
in the courts
46:53
of our God.
46:54
They still
46:55
bear fruit
46:55
in old age.
46:56
They are
46:57
ever full
46:57
of sap
46:58
and green.
46:59
To declare
47:00
that the Lord
47:01
is upright.
47:03
He is my
47:04
rock and
47:05
there is no
47:06
unrighteousness
47:07
in him.
47:08
Let's pray
47:09
together.