Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Guest (Male): The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals presents the timeless teaching of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse.

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: If the people were not going to follow God's king, it was no use for them to pretend to be in God's will by going through forms and ceremonies. God hates forms and ceremonies if the heart is far from him.

How much more, then, were all rules and regulations suspended if the people refused to follow God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ? Did anyone think that God would look with favor on the religious ceremonies of men who rejected the Lord and Savior of the world?

There he was, standing in the midst of them. He was greater than the temple. If they rejected him, even the Sabbath, the sign between God and Israel, was done away with. Christ declared himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. This sweeping statement, which reveals Christ's teaching about the Sabbath, was one of the reasons why the Pharisees wanted to kill him. Christ was interested in the heart and didn't care an iota about observance of rules if the heart was far from him.

Guest (Male): Over a half a century ago, the late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, then pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, saw the need to spread God's word beyond the hearing of his local congregation. He started the radio ministry which has become known as Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible. The application of God's word as taught by Dr. Barnhouse is as relevant today as when he first taught over the radio airwaves decades ago.

The message we'll be featuring on today's edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is entitled, "Lord of the Sabbath." During the Old Testament era, the Israelites strictly observed the Sabbath according to the law of Moses, knowing that the penalty for violating it was death. On one occasion, the Pharisees and religious leaders saw the disciples of Christ walking through a field, plucking heads of grain to eat. They saw this as a violation of the Sabbath according to the manmade rules and regulations they had added to the requirements for Sabbath observance.

How did Jesus respond to their charges and establish himself as the Lord of the Sabbath? The scripture text for this edition is Romans chapter 14, verses five and six. Here again is Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse with a message entitled, "Lord of the Sabbath."

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto thee, our Father and our God, and in the Holy Spirit. We worship thee and acknowledge thee to be our God. There is none like unto thee, and thou alone art the true God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Speak to us in this hour. Unless there shall be the illumination of thy Holy Spirit upon the word, we shall be in darkness. But if thou shalt shine upon us, there will be light and life. Speak to each listening heart to bless us. We ask it in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

In Romans 14:5-6, we come to the great passage: "One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let everyone be convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord." The Sabbath, as we have seen, was made known to man at the time of Moses. No one had ever observed a religious Sabbath before that time, and no one except the nation of Israel observed it. God's own people were to observe the day as a complete rest from labor.

It was binding on the whole nation and the penalty for violation was death. We have the great illustration of this in the story of the man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath day in Numbers 15:32. Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody because it had not been made plain what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp." And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.

On the Sabbath day, no fire was to be kindled, no food prepared, no journey undertaken. No buying or selling was permitted, no burden was to be borne. Even the fields were to lie fallow one year in seven. In this connection, a great prophecy of Jeremiah explains part of the sufferings of the nation of Israel. "Thus saith the Lord," we read in Jeremiah 17. "Thus saith the Lord, 'Take heed for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.'"

"'And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy as I commanded your fathers. Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck that they might not hear and receive instruction.'" But, said God, "If you do not listen to me to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched."

This was the Lord's teaching about the Sabbath, and herein is the reason why Israel remained captive in Babylon for 70 years. That all the broken Sabbaths might be paid for, and that the land might have its Sabbath, as we read in 2 Chronicles 36:21. The religious leaders wrote lengthy statements concerning just what could be done on the Sabbath and what could not be done. If a man carried a handkerchief in his hand on the Sabbath, they said he had broken the law because he was bearing a burden.

But if he tied the handkerchief around his neck, it was an article of clothing and he was not breaking the law. Again, they said that if a man should spit, and his spittle should strike the dust, it would make a furrow, and that would be plowing and profaning of the Sabbath. But if the spittle struck a rock, it would not make a furrow and therefore the man would not be breaking the law. The Lord had to rescue Israel from the enslavement to the Sabbath laws of these religious leaders.

He had to restore the proper balance by teaching that man had not been made for the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath had been made for man. And it should be understood here that man does not mean mankind, but the nation of Israel. Chafer says two facts determine the answer: one, the Sabbath is never by any subsequent scripture applied to Gentiles; and two, the word "man" is used in the Old Testament no less than 336 times when referring to Israel alone, and many times in the New Testament when referring only to Christians.

It is said Christ is the head of every man, the spirit is given to every man. If any man build on this foundation, every man shall have praise, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. In all these scriptures, the word "man" has only the limited meaning. It's therefore evident that Christ said, in harmony with all scripture, that the Sabbath was made for Israel. For there is no biblical evidence that Christ ever imposed the Jewish Sabbath on either Gentiles or Christians.

But true to the law, he did recognize its important place and obligation in relation to Israel until the reign of the law should be terminated through his death. The Lord Jesus, who is none other than God Almighty, knew all that he had written in the Old Testament and all that he would cause to be written in the New Testament. His attitude toward the Sabbath, therefore, is consistent with all that is written elsewhere in the Bible. He was the avowed enemy of any teaching that would make Sabbath keeping more important than spiritual principles.

Life is more important than rules, and he could not have stressed this fact more than he did in his encounter with the Pharisees at the time of their criticism of his disciples. Jesus and the twelve were walking through grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples reached out and plucked some of the ears of grain to eat them. The Pharisees followed the Talmudic restrictions which taught that the disciples were breaking the law by harvesting. The act of picking a handful of grain was considered by them a violation of the Sabbath laws.

Christ answered them, saying, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him? How he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, someone greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Incidentally, let us remark that two of the worst errors of translation to be found in the Revised Standard Version are incorporated in their rendering of these phrases. The translation "bread of the presence" could lend credence to the erroneous teaching of the real presence of God in the bread. The bread was made from the grain of the firstfruits and was presented before the Lord. It in no wise implied the presence of the Lord. The second error is the reduction of *hoti* from "someone" to "something" greater than the temple. The understanding of the whole passage will reveal the shallowness of such a translation.

But let us look at this situation and the boldness of Jesus' answer. His disciples had fed themselves on the Sabbath by taking grain as they walked through the field. When the Pharisees protested, Jesus boldly proclaimed their unbelief and their rejection by God in a remarkable quotation from the life of David. There was a time when David, who had already been anointed by God to be king of his people, was rejected by that people. He was forced to flee in order to save his life. Being without food, he and his followers went into the tabernacle, took the bread that was there, and ate it.

Every Jew knew that only members of the tribe of Levi, the sons of Aaron, could enter the sacred precincts. Only the priests could eat this bread. But God did not strike David dead, even though seemingly he was violating a solemn law. The explanation is that God considered the anointing of David to be more important than the law about the bread of presentation. If the people were not going to follow God's king, it was no use for them to pretend to be in God's will by going through forms and ceremonies.

God hates forms and ceremonies if the heart is far from him. How much more, then, were all rules and regulations suspended if the people refused to follow God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ? Did anyone think that God would look with favor on the religious ceremonies of men who rejected the Lord and Savior of the world? There he was, standing in the midst of them. He was greater than the temple. If they rejected him, even the Sabbath, the sign between God and Israel, was done away with. Christ declared himself to be Lord of the Sabbath.

This sweeping statement, which reveals Christ's teaching about the Sabbath, was one of the reasons why the Pharisees wanted to kill him. In their view of religion, frozen formalities were sufficient, and the heart could go on its own excursions of selfish desire. Christ was interested in the heart and didn't care an iota about observance of rules if the heart was far from him. The Pharisees' attitude was the basis for their behavior on the day of his trial. They would perform ceremonial washings to get ready for the observance of the Passover.

Thus cleansed, they were ready to partake of the feast that symbolized the shedding of the blood of the Lamb of God. They would leave their homes and go to the temple for the Passover sacrifice. But on the way, they would make a slight detour to have Jesus murdered. Then they would continue on to their religious observance. Oh, let this abomination teach us how terrible it is to have a religion of the senses, a religion of forms and ceremonies when the heart is far from the Savior.

God is not interested in anything that does not come by the Holy Spirit through a yielded heart. This is the real significance of Christ's great statement to the woman at the well: "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." One of the saddest things in religious life is the ability of the human heart to seize upon some outward observance and to follow that observance meticulously, without in any wise turning the heart toward God.

This was very evident in the lives of the Pharisees as they followed Christ around, seeking to trap him in order to show that he did not observe their piddling little rules or follow their trivial petty ways. Christ had just shown them that God did not consider the temple rules binding when his king was rejected. Christ declared that he was greater than the temple, and that their accusation against his disciples was thereby rejected. He went on from there and entered their synagogue.

And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" And the Bible concludes their question with the horrible statement that they asked this question in order that they might accuse him. The Sabbath question aroused the most virulent hatred against Christ. This legally observed day was the bulwark of their whole system of do-it-yourself righteousness. If this were destroyed, there would be nothing else to occupy their thinking.

They would be forced to acknowledge that salvation cannot be procured by human merit. To accept this fact would force them to the position that they wanted least of all: that of total dependence upon the grace of God. For the human heart wants more than anything else to have a part in its own salvation. This is the mark of the counterfeit in all religion. Christ answered them, "What man of you if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep? So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

And then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, whole like the other. Great social teachings are involved in this incident. Since the dawn of history, there have been two parties on every social question. First arose the sheep party, which considered property interests to be above and beyond human interests. Little by little arose the man party, which considers that the rights of man are more important than material concerns.

Confronting the Lord Jesus were men who stood for vested interests, who wanted their little kingdom of paltry rules in which they could be judges and lord it over the minds and consciences of their fellow men. Christ wanted righteousness and justice, even if entrenched religion had to fall apart. Can we calculate the degree of blackness in hearts that would allow a man to suffer rather than allow their little arbitrary rule to be touched? The healing word of God, like a sword, cut their system apart.

"Stretch out your hand." And the flowing power of God swept through the withered member and the hand of the man showed that life comes from the word of God in grace, and not from the observance of religious rules. And the end of the story is a dark sentence. The Pharisees went out and took counsel against him, how to destroy him. We do not know where this committee met. We do not know which of the Pharisees was its chairman.

In modern parlance, it would have been called a "Get Jesus Committee." They were now committed to the murder of God. The carnal mind, we read in Romans 8:7, is enmity against God. And nowhere is that enmity more manifest when confronted by the death of legalism and the erection of barriers by God which force men to conclude that salvation is by grace through faith, plus nothing. When we read the gospels closely, we can reconstruct the minutes of their meetings.

One Pharisee came up with the idea of trapping Christ through the question of taxes. If Jesus said the taxes should be paid, they would laugh at him as one who urged collaboration with the Romans. What kind of a Jewish Messiah would this be? If he said the taxes should not be paid, they would denounce him to the Roman government as a subversive and let the civil power deal with him. They thought they had him coming or going. But with a single phrase, he discomforted them and drove them back to their committee meeting.

Another Pharisee suggested that they catch a woman in the act of adultery and confront him with the law of Moses concerning her. Should she be stoned? If he said that she should, they would laugh him to scorn: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you a brick." But if he said not to stone her, they would have their servants ready with stones to kill him because he spoke against the law of Moses. Incidentally, it's worth noting that some of them knew where to find a woman in the act of adultery.

It shows the nature of the conflict that Jesus had to wage against these evil men. But again, he overthrew them with a word. Now, why all of their viciousness? Why this desire to destroy the meek and lowly Jesus? Why this murderous intent to do away with God? The answer is here in the Sabbath question. They wanted rules. They did not want God's grace. They wanted human merit. They did not want the simplicity of divine pardon.

They wanted to do something for themselves. They had it all worked out. They would make a show of keeping a day as sacred. Their hearts could wallow in lust, their minds could conceive schemes of greed, their avarice could swell to outrageous proportions, but the Sabbath would be their cloak. Keeping a day would be their mask. With a word of healing, the Lord Jesus destroyed the foundation of their dream castle. The turrets were tumbling, the whole thing would come down around their heads.

They saw it falling. They would seek to destroy Jesus before they were destroyed. They killed him. But he arose from the dead. And he chose to arise, not on their Sabbath of death, but on the first day of the week. A new order was introduced. A new day was breaking. Holiness would no longer have any link with the calendar. Life was to flow seven days in the week and every day in the year.

Christ was to dwell in the hearts of his followers, and they would seek to be the word made flesh, dwelling among their fellows. And we pray thee, our God and Father, that thou shalt use this word as it goes forth, and help to cut away all of that which men have put over the grace that thou hast given, and tear away the rules that they have set up in order that they may get back to thy life being lived every moment. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Guest (Male): The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath and he gives everlasting spiritual rest to weary, burdened sinners who come to him. We hope you've benefited from today's message entitled, "Lord of the Sabbath." To listen to more Bible teaching by Dr. Barnhouse, visit us online at Alliancenet.org.

An audio copy of today's teaching is available by calling us toll-free: 1-800-488-1888. Today's message again is entitled, "Lord of the Sabbath," or simply request message number R14-5. We would also like to make available to you a free copy of our booklet entitled, "Discovering Prayer." You know that prayer is vital to your relationship with God, and yet your prayer life may be weak, inconsistent, and ineffectual.

This free booklet will show you that prayer is not a bland, routine spiritual exercise. It is the path of spiritual power and intimacy with God that can transform every area of your life. Do you want a prayer life that will revolutionize your daily walk with Christ? Ask for your complimentary copy of "Discovering Prayer" when you call or write. Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is a radio ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

We exist to promote a biblical understanding and worldview. Drawing upon the insight and wisdom of Reformation theologians from decades and even centuries gone by, we seek to provide contemporary Christian teaching which will equip the believers to understand and meet the challenges and opportunities of our time and place. We also produce the radio broadcast, "The Bible Study Hour," featuring the teachings of the late Dr. James Montgomery Boice, and "Every Last Word," featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Philip Graham Ryken.

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Again, that's 1-800-488-1888. Write to us at: Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Visit us online at Alliancenet.org. Be sure to ask for a free resource catalog featuring books, audio teaching, commentaries, booklets, videos, and a wealth of other materials from outstanding reformed teachers and theologians, including Drs. Donald Grey Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Philip Graham Ryken. Thanks for listening. Join us again next time for more classic teaching on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible.