I have spent a lot of time thinking about Sabbath for the past week. I get to preach on Luke 6 tonight where Jesus talks about being Lord of the Sabbath, so that has spurred my thoughts. I struggle with Sabbath and how to keep it holy. One the one hand, as a I read about the Jewish customs of Shabbat, I am struck by the rhythm and power of such practices. The rules regarding work seem extreme (such as not turning off and on lights or driving cars) but the attention to detail and focus on making that day separate and special from the rest of the week is beautiful. My life needs more Sabbath. In Deuteronomy 5 God tells his people to keep the Sabbath and he emphasizes the ideas of remembering and observing on the Sabbath.
In remembering who we are, what God has done for us, and where God has brought us, we are thrust back into a place of worship and devotion. Throughout the hectic days of our lives we lose a sense of who we are. It is easy at work, school or home to lose the sense of what it means to be a Child of God. We can become worn down, distracted, and forgetful of the marvelous love of God that has transformed us. We lose that piece of ourselves too often. So stopping to remember and celebrate are important activities for the rhythms of our lives.
In observing the Sabbath we reorient our lives to match up with the reality of being the people of God. Whatever is out of place, dishonoring to God, and destructive must be realigned or removed so that we can honor God. Taking time each week to reflect and act upon our need for reorientation and realignment is a crucial piece to our continued spiritual growth.
But how do we do this? How can we actually practice Sabbath without making Sabbath the lord over our lives as the Pharisees did? It has to start with the big things and work its way down to the details. Hard choices must be made to create Sabbath. We may have to work less, shop less, travel less, play less sports, watch less TV. We may need to reorganize our lives to allow for long stretches of time that are complicated by work or school. We must prioritize the act of Sabbath in a world that has no patience for or prioritization of such time. If we do this, we will stand out. We will be different. We will live radically different lives than the rest of the culture. Isn’t that a wonderful idea!
So may you reorient your life to have Sabbath. I don’t think the day of the week is the important part of Sabbath. I think it is the intentionality of Sabbath that is transformative. May you say no more often. May you have silence and reflection. May worship fill you with awe and wonder that confounds you. And may God come and fill the space of our lives, thrusting aside the distractions and insignificant banter of triviality that leave us with no room for a Lord. Learn the gift of Sabbath and may it become the rhythm of your life.
February 6, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Hey Loren,
Sorry for responding so late…I went out of town.
No “debunking” here…just consistency with Scripture. My above-stated position is the position among the evangelical church and the associated academia.
I Corinthians 10:11 states that, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”
Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
In John 5:46-47, Jesus says, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (…This is an interesting study in itself.)
Given the above passages, it is clear that the Old Testament is not “obsolete”.
It is the inspired and accurate historical record of the world and of God’s chosen people, which points to Christ. The thread of redemption runs throughout the Old Testament.
I take the Old Testament literally unless the passage specifically points out that it is an analogy, or such. I am a six day creationist and believe that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, and so forth.
However, where the Old Testament is not obsolete, the law is obsolete in a New Testament believer’s righteousness before God. Romans 10:4 says that Christ is the end of the law. Colossians 2:14 says that Christ cancelled the written code, with its regulations…He took it away and nailed it to the cross.
Christ fulfilled the law and His righteousness is imputed to the believer (through faith in His death, burial and resurrection).
The law and its regulations now have no authority as it relates to the believer’s righteousness and practice. There are no more special days (see the above-mentioned passages in previous posts).
However, every one of the Ten Commandments, except for the keeping of the Sabbath, has a New Testament parallel command. These we obey out of love for our Savior. If truly love Him, then we will obey Him. A true believer is marked by this obedience.
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) says, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Notice no law…it is fulfilled, nailed to the cross and replaced by soemthing better…faith in Jesus Christ.)
There is no more Sabbath…There is absolutely no New Testament command for it. In fact, just the opposite…Hebrews 4:9-11 says that there remains a Sabbath rest for the New Testament believer. It is an every day rest that comes in faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because of this faith, a believer no longer works on behalf of his/her salvation and righteousness…These come through faith in Jesus Christ and the finished work of the cross.
Hopefully this helps clarify what I posted previously.
Have a good one.
Paul