Truth For Life

Alistair Begg: What does it mean to set apart the Lord's Day? Alistair Begg offers an answer today on Truth for Life to this sometimes controversial question. We'll learn today why Sabbath observance benefits more than just the Christian observing it. Alistair shares practical tips for how to observe the Sabbath as a holy day and not simply as a holiday. We're in the book of Exodus, chapter 20.

I would like to affirm for us the abiding application of the Sabbath in our day. This is very, very important because, as you know, it is a question of great confusion. I quoted this morning from a gentleman who had passed away in 1975, and writing before his death, he said this: "It is not too much to say that we owe most, if not all the blessings we enjoy, to the Lord's Day."

It's a quite awesome statement. Without it, there is no true Christianity. And without Christianity, there is no real, lasting spiritual blessing. That we in our generation are in danger of losing this day altogether, few serious-minded men or women will dispute.

In our time, the Lord's Day is not so much argued about anymore. People simply ignore it. We are living, he says, in perilous times. A mock Christianity with its vile breed of atheism, modernism, and immorality is the religion of the vast majority of our people.

If this mock Christianity continues to advance at its present alarming rate, the time may be near when in Britain the Lord's Day as a divine institution will be nothing but a relic of history. Even now, literally millions of people turn their backs upon it and refuse to acknowledge it.

Many of these are, as T.S. Eliot describes them, "decent, godless people." Their only monument, the asphalt road and a thousand lost golf balls. Tens of thousands of others make a formal recognition of it. Not the whole of it, but of 45 or 60 minutes of it. The rest of it, they claim as their own.

So what then possible abiding significance is there in this Sabbath principle? Well, let's apply it first of all to society and to unbelievers in general. Most people, I think, would be tempted to say that there's no point in thinking of the application of the fourth commandment in relationship to a godless society. After all, our friends and our neighbors largely reject God and reject His authority.

They've got no commitment to the Lord or to His word. And so we say to ourselves, in light of that, surely it is pretty futile for us to confront our neighbors with the question of their desecration of the Lord's Day.

Now the fact of the matter is that when we plead with our neighbors and our friends concerning the distinctiveness of Christianity, obviously we will have more to say than simply to plead with them the obligations of the Sabbath. It would be highly unlikely that most of us would use that as the starting point in most of our conversations.

However, we daren't divorce it from our wider presentations of the gospel. I don't believe that it is wrong to urge Sabbath observance on our unbelieving friends. For the following reasons, to which I'm indebted to Murray for.

First of all, because we're presumably not going to say that it's wrong or futile or irrelevant to confront unbelievers with the law of God. Because after all, the word of God says that it is by God's law that our unbelieving friends become conscious of their sins.

And so it is going to be important for us to confront our unbelieving friends with the truth of Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death." And one of the things that our neighbors and friends do is say, "But, you know, I'm quite a good person and I haven't really done very much that is wrong."

Well, one of the ways that we can ask them about how they're doing in relationship to God's standard is to say, "How are you spending your Sundays?" And the reason that we find ourselves unwilling to use that as a point of departure in our witnessing is grounded in the fact that there is a fallacy, namely, as we said this morning, that the fourth commandment is in a different category from all the others.

This is a fallacy that we not only theoretically profess, but to which we have pragmatically succumbed. And the reason that most of us could not speak to our friends about breaking the law of God in relationship to the fourth commandment is because we are in such dreadful predicaments in relationship to it ourselves.

It would be like trying to induce in someone the rightness of giving up smoking, and while we're talking to them, we have a large cigar sticking out of the corner of our mouths. "You know, I think you ought to give it up sometime." I said, "I don't understand."

So the reason that we can't go to our friends and say, "Hey, hey, what about Sundays?" is because we daren't say it, because any finger that we point, there are four or five pointing back at ourselves. We have no ground upon which to address the question.

Also, since because of by the, because by the law comes the awareness of sin, we must recognize that then sin can be made understandable in the minds of our unconverted friends when they see that this commandment remains in scripture.

Indeed, we actually do a great disservice to men and women, to the gospel, and actually to their eternal destiny when we exclude Sabbath desecration from the scope of God's condemnation. Because often our friends will say, "Well, I'm not an adulterer and I don't steal."

And so we say, "Okay, well, we can't talk about that. Let's find something else. Why don't we talk about the Sabbath?" Also, a sustained emphasis upon the necessity of Sabbath observance is a restraining influence, which prevents other kinds of multiple transgressions.

And when we confront our neighbors and our friends and our unbelieving society with the rightness of the law of God, with the abiding relevance of the law of God, what we're doing is, in some measure, at least checking their progress into further degradation and destruction. Indeed, we could argue, and oh, we would, we'd argue that when we gave up in this country and in Great Britain on the fourth commandment, we opened the door to a great exponential downward slide in terms of the civil realm of our, of our government and our country.

Because we gave up on something that was so clearly, manifestly mandated by God. We gave up the chance to call the people, as you, if you like, to a point of contact along the journey, and we failed to prevent them from a further slide into trespasses and a further slide into the road that leads to destruction.

The other reason that we would want to hold up the abiding principle of the Sabbath for our unbelieving friends is because the observances which the Sabbath enjoins upon us are means of grace and they're channels of salvation. Simply what we're saying is that if we can urge our neighbors and our friends, even from an external perspective, to cultivate these observances, then they will come within the sound of the word of God, right?

And we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So by calling them into Christ's way, they may come to know Christ.

Fifthly, the outward observance of the Sabbath promotes public order. And it makes for the preservation of some of our most cherished rights and liberties.

Unrestrained violations of the economy of God's plan from all of creation destroys peace. And in our own country here, in giving up on that which is a creation principle, namely, the Sabbath purposes of God, we introduced disintegration into the civil and social order of our nation. Think it out.

Now, what about the application not simply to society in general, but to the church and particularly to believers? Well, let's say this. Our observance of this fourth commandment is relevant, not in isolation, but is relevant in the context of the whole plan and purpose of God.

Most of us know, if we have lived around any kind of Sabbatarianism at all, that observance of the Sabbath principle can so quickly become an instrument of self-righteousness. It can so easily become marked by legalism and by externalism.

And it was that legalism and externalism which the Pharisees had championed and which Jesus addressed there in our reading in Matthew chapter 12. You may want to turn to it just once again as I mention it. These Pharisees were experts at keeping the outside of the cup clean, remember Jesus said, when the inside they allowed to be dirty.

They were, he said, like whited sepulchers. On the outside they were fairly impressive, but on the inside they were full of dead men's bones. They had made the commands of God, rather than them being the paths of joy and of liberty, they had made them burdensome. They had added to them and they had destroyed the enjoyment potential in them for so many who sought to be obedient.

So they were hypocrites, and they had made it something that it wasn't. And so Jesus says, "In works of mercy, in works of necessity, and in works of piety, we still maintain the principle which God has established from all creation."

So we need to understand that the Sabbath commandment must never be isolated from God's law in its entirety, nor from the gospel in regenerating and in redeeming grace.

At the same time, we need to realize that the relevance of the Sabbath is tied up with the fact that it is a positive requirement. Most of our reactions to the notion of the Sabbath are because we believe it to be negative.

Now, there is no question that many have spoken of the Sabbath simply in those terms, and there is a danger of negativism in the weariness of a kind of soulless inactivity. The rest of the Sabbath isn't idleness. The rest of the Sabbath is not simply rest from that which marks the other days, but it is rest to and rest in our worship and our contemplation and our prayer and our fellowship.

When God's people understand this, then they will not see the services of the Lord's Day as intrusions upon their day of rest, but they will go home and close their door and thank God that since the purpose of the Sabbath is for worship and for edification and for fellowship and for rest and for contemplation, they will thank God that they have been made part of a church family that has given itself to make sure that the people of God will be able to spend their Sabbaths with the greatest profit.

But no participation, no worship, no glimpse.

Now, let me give to you just a couple of quotes as we move towards a conclusion. Let me give you a little flavor of how traditionally people have taught their children and one another the nature of the fourth commandment. The Shorter Scottish Catechism question, "How is the Sabbath to be kept holy or to be sanctified?"

Answer: "The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days, and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship, except so much as is to be taken up in works of necessity and of mercy."

"The fourth commandment forbideth the omission or careless performance of the duties required, and the profaning of the day by idleness, or doing that which in itself is sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works about our worldly employments or our recreations."

Unnecessary thoughts, words, works about our worldly employments or our recreations.

Do you know how quickly after the benediction we manifest what's really on our hearts? It doesn't take five minutes. Because out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak.

And when, when the worship is over and the praise has ended and the music has ceased to play, then we return how quickly to the considerations that God has intended we would leave beside on this of all days. It's simply an act of obedience. It's simply an act of the will. It's simply a positive perspective on the wonder of the provision that God has made in this fourth commandment.

Well, you say to me, Alistair, is this not a lofty standard? Yes. Is it an unattainable standard? I don't know. Is it possible for us really to enjoy the Lord's Day?

See, people think I was weird. I used to tell them, "I always go in the bathroom before I come to preach." The reason I was in the bathroom was not because I needed to make use of the facilities, but because it was the only place that I could be free from people talking about their cars and their caravans and the golf and the soccer and every other thing.

Not because I'm very pious, but because I find in my heart a great desire to talk about cars and caravans and golf and soccer. So it was an act of the will on my part to shut myself away that I might come, as it were, to the task at hand from the framework of that kind of positive perspective.

You know, loved ones, if you would endeavor to do that on the Lord's Day, our worship would be exponentially transformed. I guarantee it. If you were to determine that in your preparation for the worship of the Lord's Day, you would do as much as is in your strength to set aside every worldly concern, every recreational desire, every element of that which means so much on other days, simply because of the positive potential of what is about to be enjoyed, then I can guarantee you that things would be radically different.

If we were to make our way post-worship into the company of one another, to speak about the greatness of God and the truth of His word and the wonder of His dealings with us and the foretaste and glimpse of heaven, then we should begin to understand some of these one-another passages in the New Testament about edifying one another and encouraging one another and speaking the truth to one another and building one another up.

How in the world is that supposed to take place? We can't do it on any other day. We're not even together on any other day. And so if on the one day that we have the opportunity to be together, we treat it as we would every other day, then it diminishes the potential of being together.

And it is because we do that we determine that there's really no validity to it. But you see, there is. This is what it will take. If we're going to profit from the Lord's Day, and with this I conclude, I'm going to tell you four things.

First, if we would really profit from the Lord's Day, there must be a deep and unshakeable conviction of the divine warrant for the keeping of the Lord's Day established in our minds. That's where we began and that's where we conclude. Until you as an individual come to that, all that I have said today, all that we have studied today will appear either to be cultural, to be customary, or even to be legalistic.

But once we come to an unshakeable internal conviction as to the divine warrant of the fourth commandment, then the door opens for profit on the Lord's Day.

Secondly, we must have a deep impression of the tremendous importance of the day for ourselves. This is important like no other day is important. This is an opportunity like no other opportunity exists. Think about it. If it was given in creation before the fall, if in paradise perfect men and women were to celebrate the Lord's Day, if it was necessary for them to observe the Sabbath without sin in the pristine nature of God's creative order, there in their sinless state to have a Sabbath for the development of their spiritual nature as sinless people.

How much more necessary for us to have this day for the development of our spiritual nature. Thirdly, if we are to benefit from it, it must be observed as a complete day of rest.

There is no valid reason in scripture for professing Christians to work on the Lord's Day, except in cases of piety, necessity, and mercy. The only thing that legitimizes it at this point in history is the prevailing influence of our secular culture.

Fourthly, and finally, the Sabbath must be a day of spiritual improvement. The improvement that comes in public worship, the improvement that comes in families having time, not around the television, not around the local sporting event, but time around the Lord Jesus, His word, and His purposes.

The spiritual improvement that comes from religious reading. So many of us have never read the Bible through, ever. Do you know that you could read it through if you just determined to read if you never read any other day in the week? If you determined to read five or six chapters at three points on the Lord's Day, you would read through the Bible in a whole year if you never read it Monday through Saturday.

And what of all those books that we wanted to read? When are you reading them? And what of secret prayer? And what of holy meditation? And what of anticipating the fact that one day the silver cord will break, and in an instant we will be in the presence of Christ?

Isaiah chapter 58. "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord."

There's a direct correlation between joyful Christianity and the spending of the Lord's Day. "And I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob. The mouth of the Lord has spoken."

Loved ones, I commend to your careful consideration the issues that we've addressed today. What a wonderful privilege that He has set apart one day in seven when untrammeled by the rest we may give Him our totally devoted attention.

You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg. Along with studying the Bible on the Sabbath, we'd like to recommend another book that is spiritually edifying. It's titled *A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation*.

This is a book that will help you develop spiritual disciplines and make them a vital part of your daily routine so you can reap the many benefits of being transformed by God's Spirit. Today is the last day we're featuring this book, *A Heart Aflame for God*, so don't miss out. It's yours for a donation to Truth for Life. Visit our website truthforlife.org/donate or call us at 888-588-7884.

And another great offer that expires today is the opportunity to download Alistair's audiobook, *Brave by Faith*, along with the corresponding study guide for free. This book is written by Alistair and offers encouragement for how we can live faithfully in a culture that often opposes God and His authority. The book is exceptionally relevant to the world we are navigating today.

Again, download the audiobook and study guide for free today at truthforlife.org/brave. Thanks for joining us today. There are many debates concerning the Sabbath. What's permitted? What isn't? Is it in fact obsolete? Tomorrow we will think through the answers.

The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the learning is for living.