Biblical Essays
THE SABBATH AND THE LAW
(A Scriptural Enquiry)
The Bereans were counted “more noble than those in Thessalonica,” not because they consulted the decrees or traditions of the elders, but because “they searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). This is precisely what we want you to do. We want you to imitate the “noble” conduct of the Bereans. We want you to “search the Scriptures,” with an unbiased mind, forming your convictions amid the pure and hallowed light of God’s Holy Word – not amid the darkness of misrepresentation and prejudice. We affectionately pray that all of us will guard against the disposition of thinking that merely because someone’s position differs from our own, then they are in error. May we always seek for a dispassionate judgment, a calm, well-adjusted mind, and a liberal spirit. In this way, if we cannot agree, let us at least refrain from hard feelings and hard words, neither of which can possibly serve any desirable end for any of us. To ascertain truth is the object of every judicious and reflecting mind, and this object should ever be pursued with a spirit freed from the defiling and withering influences of a narrow and demoralizing bigotry.
Our essay will briefly consider two important Biblical points: the Sabbath and the Law.
The Sabbath
If it were merely a question of the observance or non-observance of a day, it could easily be disposed of, because an apostle teaches us in Romans 14:5, 6, and also in Colossians 2:16 that such things are not to be made a ground of judgment. But since there is a great principle involved in the Sabbath question, it is important that we have a clear and Scriptural understanding of the Fourth Commandment: “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: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made-heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:8-11).
This same law is repeated in Exodus 31:12-17. Then, in Numbers 15, a man was stoned for gathering sticks on the Sabbath-day. All this is plain and absolute enough. Man has no right to alter God’s law in reference to the Sabbath, no more than he has to alter it in reference to murder, adultery, or theft. We presume this will not be called in question. The entire body of Old Testament Scripture fixes the seventh day as the Sabbath; and the Fourth Commandment lays down the mode in which that Sabbath was to be observed. So, we ask, where is this precedent followed? Where is this command obeyed? Sadly, it seems obvious today that the Lord’s church is having a difficult time keeping Sunday after the Scripture mode, much less the Sabbath. The commandments of God are made of none effect by human traditions, and we lose sight of the glorious truths which hang around “the Lord’s day.” The Children of Israel are robbed of their distinctive day with all its privileges; and, because of man’s traditions, the Church is robbed of her distinctive day and all the glories therewith connected. The result? We have neither pure Judaism nor pure Christianity, but an anomalous system arising out of an utterly unscriptural combination of the two.
However, for the sake of our brief study, we desire to refrain from an attempt to develop the deeply spiritual doctrine involved in this great question, and confine ourselves to the plain teaching of Scripture on the subject. Thus, we maintain that if one quotes the Fourth Commandment and parallel Scriptures, in defense of keeping the Sabbath, then it is evident, that in almost every case the law is entirely set aside. Consider the command, “thou shalt not do any work.” This is binding on all who believe in observing the Sabbath. This command offers no room for introducing what we might view as “works of necessity” – cutting grass, or going out to eat, being served by someone. But, the Fourth Commandment – the Law – is stern and absolute, severe and unbending. It will not, it cannot, lower its standard to suit our convenience or accommodate itself to our thoughts. The mandate is, “thou shalt not do any work” on “the seventh day” – our Saturday. Is there a single passage of Scripture in which the day is changed? Or in which the strict observance of the day is, in the smallest degree, relaxed?
For more in-depth study, we recommend pausing and searching out this matter thoroughly, in the light of Scripture. We pray you will, in true Berean nobility of spirit, “search the Scriptures.” By doing so, you will find that from the second chapter of Genesis, down to the last passage in which the Sabbath is named, it means the seventh day – no other. Also, there is not a shadow of divine authority for altering the mode of observing that day. Law is law; and, if we are under the law, we are bound to keep it, or else be cursed, for “it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10).
But it will be said, “We are not under the Mosaic Law; we are the subjects of the Christian economy.” Granted – most fully, freely, and thankfully granted. According to the teaching of Romans 7, 8, and Galatians 3, 4, all true Christians are the happy and privileged subjects of the Christian dispensation. But, if so, what is the day that specially characterizes that dispensation – “the seventh day” or “the first day of the week”? “The Lord’s Day” is pre-eminently the Christian’s day. Let us observe this day, with all the sanctity, the sacred reverence, the hallowed separation, the elevated tone, of which our new nature is capable. We believe the Christian’s separation from secular things cannot be too profound on the Lord’s Day. The idea of making the Lord’s Day a season of recreation, unnecessary traveling, personal convenience, or profit, in temporal things is shocking, to say the least. We openly confess to a love and reverence of the Lord’s Day; as well as a lack of respect for anyone who deliberately desecrates that holy and happy day.
Through misguided feelings, or perhaps ignorance, some have said and done things on the Lord’s Day that dishonors God. However, there is a body of New Testament teaching on the important subject of the Lord’s Day. For instance, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead on that day (Matt. 28:1-6; Mark 16:1, 2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). He met His disciples, once and again, on that day (John 20:19, 26). The early disciples met to break bread on that day (Acts 20:7). By the Holy Spirit, the apostle directs the Corinthians to lay by their contributions for the poor on that day (1 Cor. 16:2). And, finally, the exiled apostle was in the Spirit and received visions of the future on that day (Rev. 1:10). The above Biblical examples are conclusive, proving that the Lord’s Day occupies a unique and heavenly place – quite divine. They also prove the entire distinctness of the Old Testament Sabbath and the Lord’s Day. The two days are spoken of throughout the New Testament with as much distinctness as we speak of Saturday and Sunday. The only difference is, that the latter are human titles, and the former divine (Compare Matt. 28:1; Acts 13:14, 17:2, 20:7; Col. 2:16).
Having gone this far in our brief consideration of the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, we suggest the following questions: Where in the Word of God is the Sabbath changed to the first day of the week? Where is the law of the Sabbath repealed? Where is Scriptural authority for altering the day or the mode of observing it? Where in Scripture is such an expression as “the Christian Sabbath”? Where in Scripture is the Lord’s Day called the Sabbath? (For more on the Sabbath, see Gen. 2; also Ex. 16 and 31).
Shouldn’t we honor the Lord’s Day with all our hearts? Hasn’t the gracious Providence of God so ordered? Pray that our depth of love for Jesus Christ will spiritually grow and blossom, so that we can truly enjoy the rest and retirement of the Lord’s Day – abstaining from business, giving ourselves wholly to the worship and service of God; not as a matter of cold legality, but as a holy and happy privilege.
It brings deep sorrow to our hearts to think that a Christian would desecrate the Lord’s Day by joining with and acting like the ungodly, the profane, the thoughtless, and the pleasure-hunting multitude. We are of the opinion that to profane or treat with lightness the Lord’s Day is to act in opposition to the Word and Spirit of God.
The Law
The Law of the Old Testament is looked at in two ways: first, as a ground of justification; and, secondly, as a rule of life. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28). Again, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16).
Then, as to its being a rule of life, we read, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law, by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him that is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God” (Rom. 7:4).
“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7:6; NKJV). Observe two things in this last-quoted passage: First, “we are delivered from the law;” Second, not that we may do nature’s pleasure, but “that we should serve in newness of spirit.” Though delivered from bondage, it is our privilege to “serve.” Again, we read further on in the chapter, “And the commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death” (Rom. 7:10). Evidently, it did not prove to be a rule of life to him. “I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came sin revived, and I died” (Rom. 7:9). Whoever “I” represents in this chapter, was alive until the law came, and then he died. Hence, therefore, the law could not have been a rule of life to him; yea, it was the very opposite – a rule of death.
Therefore, it is evident that a sinner cannot be justified by the works of the law; and it is equally evident that the law is not the rule of the believer’s life. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse” (Gal. 3:10). The Law does not make or offer a distinction between a regenerated and unregenerate man. It rules and curses a man as long as he lives – no one can keep it as a true believer.
Therefore, what is the basis of our justification – what is our rule of life? The Word of God answers, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ...” (Rom. 3:20-22. Also read Rom. 3:23-24).
So we are justified by the faith of Christ – Jesus Christ is our rule of life. He bore all our sins in His Own body on the tree; He was made a curse for us; on our behalf, He drained the cup of God’s righteous wrath; He deprived death of its sting, and the grave of its victory; He gave up His life for us; He went down into death for us, in order that He might bring us up in eternal association with Himself in life, righteousness, favor, and glory, before our God and His God, our Father and His Father1. God’s Holy Word clearly teaches that we are not justified by works of the Law; but rather through the deep and solid foundations of the Christian life – righteousness and peace; planned in God’s eternal counsels; laid in the finished atonement of Christ; developed by God the Holy Spirit in the Word; and made good in the happy experience of all true believers.
Regarding the believer’s rule of life, the apostle does not say, “For to me, to live is the Law, but rather, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21; NKJV). Christ is our rule, our model, our touchstone, our all. The true Christian’s constant inquiry should not be, is this or that according to the old Law, but rather, is it like Jesus Christ? The Gospel teaches us to love, bless, and pray for our enemies. “Love is the fulfilling of the law,” but we should not seek justification by the old Law. If we make it our standard of action, then we’ll fall short of the mark. We are not to be conformed to Old Testament law, but to the image of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. We are to be like Him2.
It may seem paradoxical to some to be told that “the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us” (Rom. 8:4), while at the same time being told that we cannot be justified by the old Law, nor make it our rule of life. Nevertheless, if we are to form our convictions by the Word of God, this is the case. Let us briefly consider this Biblical truth. By nature we are “dead in trespasses and sins” begs the question, what can a dead person do? How can the dead get life? Especially when getting life requires giving life we don’t have? The answer is this: Christ is our life. We live in Him who died for us; we are blessed in Him who became a curse for us by hanging on a tree; we are righteous in Him who was made sin for us; we are brought nigh in Him who was cast out for us3. To have life and righteousness in Christ means that we have heard His call to walk as He walked; to purify ourselves even as He is pure; to walk in His footsteps; to show forth His virtues; to manifest His Spirit4.
In closing this part of our brief consideration of the Sabbath and the Law, consider two questions. First, can the Ten Commandments be a sufficient rule of life for the believer without the New Testament? Second, can the New Testament be a sufficient rule without the Ten Commandments? Hopefully, we can agree on this point: something insufficient cannot be our rule of life.
We receive and accept the Ten Commandments as part of the canon of inspiration; but are we to believe that the old Law remains in full force today – ruling over us? As sinners, can we gain eternal life through the old Law? What does the Old Testament (and the New) teach us about those who earnestly tried to shape their way according to its rigid standard? We are fully convinced that a person walking according to the spirit of the Gospel, will not commit murder or steal; but we are also convinced that one confined to the standard of the Law of Moses, will fall short of the spirit of the Gospel.
The subject of “the law” demands a more elaborate exposition than the limits of this brief consideration permits. Therefore, we encourage you to seriously look into the various passages of Scripture referred to herein and carefully ponder them. In this way we feel assured and trust that you will arrive at a sound conclusion that is independent of human creeds, dogmas, teachings, and influence. We are convinced that by so doing, you will see how that a man is justified freely by the grace of God, through faith in a crucified and risen Christ; made a partaker of divine life; introduced into a condition of divine and everlasting righteousness; and consequently exempted from all condemnation. In this holy and elevated position, Christ is our object, our theme, our model, our rule, our hope, our joy, our strength, our all. What is the hope set before us? To be with Jesus where He is; to be like Him forever. The lost sinner who has found pardon and peace at the foot of the cross, now an accepted and adopted son, is not sent back to the foot of Mount Sinai to be terrified and repulsed by the terrible anathemas of a broken law. When the Father received the prodigal to His bosom in purest, deepest, richest grace, He was not thinking of ruling with an iron law. Oh! no; “Being justified by faith we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace; wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1, 2). When we are born again we are justified, not by works, but by faith (trust) in the faith of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3, especially v. 22); standing not in law, but in grace – waiting for glory, not judgment.
Conclusion
Again, we strongly encourage you to “search the Scriptures” – to try everything by that eternal and divine standard. God’s Holy Word – only God’s Word – can sustain us. Following man’s way brings only darkness. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Is. 8:20).
We now commend you to the blessing of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. May we all be bright and faithful witnesses for our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But if you have not yet found peace in Jesus, we say, with solemn emphasis and earnest affection, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
(Unless noted, the King James Version translation is used)
Footnotes:
1 John 20:17; Romans 4:25; 5:l-10; 6:1-11; 7. passim, Romans 8:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31; 6:11; 15:55-57; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 3:13, 25-29; 4:31; Ephesians 1:19-23; 2:1-6; Colossians 2:10-15; Hebrews 2:14, 15; 1 Peter 1:23.
2 See Matthew 5:21-48; Romans 8:29; 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Galatians 5:14-26; Ephesians 1:3-5; Philippians 3:20, 21; 2:5; 4:8; Colossians 3:1-7.
3 Romans 5:6-15; Ephesians 2:4-6; Galatians 3:13.
4 John 13:14, 15; 17:14-19; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6, 29; 3:3.
