Some Thoughts On Sabbath-ing
June 15, 2008 – 6:37 pmFor the last semester, one of the Crusade girls Community Groups, as well as a handful of others, have been deliberate about keeping the Sabbath and learning what that means. I thank God for you girls and the example you’ve set - Sabbath-keeping at Cornell I believe requires either an insane amount of legalism or a truly changed heart and desires, and I praise God as I see those new desires in many of you.
My own approach has been far less deliberate and far less God-honoring. I took a very negative view of Sabbath-keeping: the Sabbath is just a day where you don’t do certain things. Well, being an under-credited Senior I had many of that type of day, so I was all set! Of course, it’s not supposed to work like that. I was missing the point.
John Piper gave a very comprehensive, very good sermon on this a few decades ago, and I encourage you to read it. It has helped sharpen my thinking greatly. Here is some of what I’ve learned:
First, Jesus didn’t abolish the Sabbath command of the Old Testament - he clarified it. The Sabbath has existed since God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. As with much of the OT law, it was significantly distorted over time and became very legalistic. At it’s simplest, it became, “I keep the Sabbath, so God will love me.” WRONG. It should be, “God loves me, so I get to keep the Sabbath.”
One of the most important NT texts on the Sabbath is Matthew 12:1-12. In it, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their flawed view of the Sabbath. He gives examples of how people such as David and the Priests broke the Pharisees rules, and still kept the Sabbath. He points to the phrase, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” as the hinge on which the meaning of Sabbath-ing lies. Takeaway: we should still Sabbath, but it’s not about legalistic rules - it’s about something so much better.
Second, the Sabbath is a special day set apart to focus on God. We should always be focused on God, but there is a difference between the continual focus and special focus. 1 Thess 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” That doesn’t mean that all we do is pray, and it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set apart time specifically for prayer. So it is with the Sabbath and focusing on God - we should always do it, but we do it in a special way when we devote 1 out of every 7 days specifically to it.
Third, the Sabbath is God’s gift to us. It is not a burden. It is a gift. It becomes a burden when we don’t recognize what it is for. It becomes a burden when we take a negative view of it, like I was doing. The Sabbath isn’t simply a day to not do certain things. It is a day for certain things - namely focusing on God. What does that look like? Reading the Bible, praying, fellowshipping with other believers, going to church and listening to preaching of the Bible, reading Christian books. It is a day set apart to make yourself happy in God and to meditate on and celebrate His goodness to us.
Fourth, the Sabbath helps us rely on God. An illustration of this was how when the Israelites were wandering in the desert for 40 years and had to rely on manna for food. God provided them manna six days of the week. Each day they could gather enough for that day, but they any they didn’t use would spoil and not be good the next day. The exception was the Sabbath - God built Sabbath-ing in to the manna-giving system. The Israelites were not going to be given manna on the Sabbath, but instead were allowed to collect 2 days worth of manna the day before, and trust God that it would not spoil like it usually did.
What this means for us? In the working world, it means trusting God to live off of six days of income, not seven. In the academic world, it means trusting God to live off of six days of studying, not seven. Romans 8:32 - “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” God will sustain you.
Subpoint: Sabbathing can reveal idols. It will show you where you are relying on yourself instead of God. It will show you where you don’t believe God will take care of you. Might be your money. Might be your grades. It will test your faith. And since ultimately Sabbath-ing isn’t about what you don’t do but what you do, it will grow your faith.
Of course, I’m generalizing a lot, but I hope I’m being clear. What to take away: the Sabbath should be treasured, not feared. I personally like to look at it starting from that “pray continually” perspective - at all times, we should be in some level of interaction with God. Daily, my Quiet Time is like a mini-Sabbath, set apart to focus and meditate on God (and rely on Him, since there is always something else I could be doing). Weekly, I get to Sabbath, set apart to focus and meditate on God in a broader set of activities than what QT allows.
Thoughts? Things I’m missing?
-Ben
9 Responses to “Some Thoughts On Sabbath-ing”
well put, ben, and i highly agree. it has made such a difference over the past few months of seriously taken out a day for God each week. for me, it’s saturdays, because i think God had it right that we should rest on the last day of the week, not the first day. church on sundays is fine, i’m not going crazy there, but i definitely need rest on saturdays, and finding rest in Him is so much better than mere sleep or lounging around all day. and it does grow faith so much, and allow me to get a better and bigger view of God, that i may praise Him all the more. God is good, all the time. grace and peace, bro.
By walt on Jun 15, 2008
“…each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” -Romans 14:5
What does it look like to be fully convinced and not have a set sabbath day weekly?
By Liang on Jun 16, 2008
I believe that Romans 14:5 is not talking about Sabbath days but about holidays. That is, ascribing certain value to the day itself.
From Gill: “therefore, that it must be understood of Jewish days, or of such as were appointed to be observed by the Jews under the former dispensation, and which some thought were still to be regarded; wherefore they esteemed some days in the year above others, as the days of unleavened bread, or the passover;”
From Wiersbe: “The Jewish Christians might want to cling to special holy days and OT dietary laws, while the Gentile believers might turn their Christian liberty into license and offend their Jewish brothers and sisters. Many Christians have the false notion that extreme legalism (observing days and diets) shows strong faith, but Paul states that just the opposite is true!”
From Calvin: “He had spoken before of scruples in the choice of meats; he now adds another example of difference, that is, as to days; and both these arose from Judaism. For as the Lord in his law made a difference between meats and pronounced some to be unclean, the use of which he prohibited, and as he had also appointed festal and solemn days and commanded them to be observed, the Jews, who had been brought up from their childhood in the doctrine of the law, would not lay aside that reverence for days which they had entertained from the beginning, and to which through life they had been accustomed; nor could they have dared to touch these meats from which they had so long abstained.”
By Ben on Jun 16, 2008
nah dude, romans 14 is more generic. that was my reaction to your post too before i even saw liangs comment.
sabbath is certainly good and practical and i try and keep it. but it’s really hard to find support for it being a new testament command/requirement/whatever of any kind.
actually, Carson edited a whole scholarly book on this, “from sabbath to Lord’s day”. i started reading that while at grove city where all the presbyterian kids dont do hw on sundays because “Sunday IS sabbath” apparently. (i never got through much of it though)
By john sullivan on Jun 16, 2008
What do you mean by “more generic”?
As far as explicit NT references - when Jesus says, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath,” doesn’t that imply some level of continuation? He didn’t say, “the Son of Man is Lord of Saturday, just like he’s Lord of every other day.” He could have killed the concept of the Sabbath, right then and there, but he clarified it instead, saying “you missed it all along… it’s all about ME.”
In response to Liang’s actual question, to be “fully convinced” means basically what we’ve been talking about making decisions from a positive perspective. That is, not a question of “what can I get away with?” but one of “is this (keeping the Sabbath, not keeping the Sabbath, etc.) glorifying to God?”
By Ben on Jun 16, 2008
“the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” does not necessarily mean, keep the Sabbath because of Jesus. It could mean that - it could also mean other things.
Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
I think it is clear that Sabbath does fall under the category of “each one should be fully convinced” (Piper preached two sermons on this under a similar title).
Perhaps it is the very nature of “each one should be fully convinced” being applied graciously and non-legalistically to a subject such as whether to keep the Sabbath, in which God is glorified?
By Liang on Jun 16, 2008
Perhaps some confusion comes from the blurring of my term of “Sabbath-ing” and the Biblical term of “Lord’s day”, which is what Piper is talking about and what we’re really talking about.
What follows is from the bottom of here: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2005/226_Is_There_a_Lords_Day/
So, does Romans 14:5 refer to the Lord’s Day when it says, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind”? I answer with Paul Jewett: “It is unconvincing . . . to press Paul’s statement in Romans 14:5 so absolutely as to have considered John [the apostle] a Judaizer for having called one day in the week the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10), thus giving it the preeminence.” (The Lord’s Day, p. 78). Jewett takes John’s conviction as having apostolic authority and assumes he is not among the “weak” of Romans 14:2. That is, John does not call one day in the week “the Lord’s Day” as one option among many. He calls it “the Lord’s day” because he and the early church treat it in a special way among all days.
I cannot escape what seems to me compelling evidence that the Lord’s Day remains till Jesus comes and that it is set apart for the glory of Christ and the good of our souls. May the Lord give you wisdom and freedom and joy as you display his work and his worth on his day.
By Ben on Jun 16, 2008
this may not be the best of reasonings, but mull over this.
we don’t believe the tithe is required, yet i would argue that giving less than tithing is taking the freedom we have in Christ the wrong way. yes, we are to give what we feel called to, not legalistically, but i’d have trouble believing you if you said you felt called to give less than tithing.
in the same way, we’re freed now from the law, not to give less of our time to Jesus, but more of it. we’re freed to give our lives to Him. we don’t have to follow a bunch of rules about what we can and cannot do on a given day, but are free to give all of our time to Jesus, not less. so i’d say that spending less than a day a week devoted to spending time with Jesus through prayer, and the study of Scripture, and the fellowship of His Body, and the praise of His Name, is a misuse and an abuse of your freedom in Christ.
and i say this, knowing full well i fall short of this, and that i need to relook at how and more importantly why i do these things. and i’m not saying this as a strict rule or water-tight argument, but i urge you to think over that, and more importantly pray about that, and see where the Lord leads you. i think that’s what paul means in saying “be fully convinced”: that after much prayer and pouring over God’s Word and taking Godly counsel from our brothers in Christ we make the choice based on what we know and what we can discern.
so i urge you, pray, seek, and find Him. may He make Himself known to you and show His ways, to the praise of His glorious Name, amen.
By walt on Jun 17, 2008
Hey guys, I like the discussion we’re having in this comments area.
By Ray Li on Jun 17, 2008