Sabbath - General Principles (SS Class)

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains his decision to address the Sabbath due to recent discussions in a Friday night class, the pervasive lawlessness and disregard for God's law in the current age…

Martin uses the analogy of a tree (roots, trunk, branches, twigs, leaves) to explain that when approaching any issue, especially the Sabbath, one should start with the fundamental 'root issues' rather than getting lost in minor 'twig and leaf' details.

So because of that more immediate reason, the relationship to the Friday night class and the obvious interest in this field of concern, and then this more general reason rooted in these three principles, the lawlessness of our day, the bad influence of dispensational teaching, the increased complexity of life, I think it is part of pastoral wisdom to take a class and deal with the subject of the Sabbath. Now, what I propose to do this morning is simply to lay out some broad principles for our consideration. As with any issue, do not start, if you may liken the issue to a tree, with its roots, ...

4:53 - 5:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Keep a 'hatchet in your hand' to cut off thoughts about minor 'leaves and twigs' and focus on the 'root matters' of the Sabbath.

He uses the metaphor of keeping a 'hatchet in your hand' to lop off thoughts about 'leaves and twigs' (minor issues) to stay focused on the 'root matters' of the Sabbath.

Now I want today some cooperation from you. And that cooperation is to keep a hatchet in your hand. And every time you start thinking of leaves and twigs, lop them off and say we're going to go down to root matters. Now the difficulty is our mental furniture, our emotional furniture, or our emotional communication system, these things are usually so agitated by leaf and twink matters that we can't get detached from them long enough to be rational about rude issues.

6:27 - 7:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Make due preparations for the Sabbath on Saturday, such as filling your car with gas or preparing meals, as an act of regarding it as a special day.

Martin compares preparing for the Sabbath to a bride preparing for her wedding day, arguing that just as a bride makes extensive preparations for such a special day, believers should make adequate preparations for the Lord's Day.

And the very fact that we don't shows that we aren't regarding it. Let me illustrate it this way. What would you think of a bride who didn't think about any wedding plans until the morning of her wedding.

53:28 - 53:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Practice self-denial on the Sabbath, choosing to forgo certain conveniences or desires for the sake of honoring God and remembering to prepare better next time.

He uses the example of a diabetic needing insulin on the Lord's Day to illustrate that genuine necessities (like preserving life) are permissible, distinguishing them from mere convenience.

no alright Eugene yeah yeah that's true but sometimes you might not remember something all of a sudden let's say you need salt you don't believe you're yeah you forgot I think you're getting into the ridiculous now oh well that's what I mean I wasn't seeing a principle yeah I would say that if I through my stupidity forgot to get some salt salt is not necessary one day for my well being suppose I was someone dependent upon insulin I was a diabetic. And through lack of foresight, I ran out of my insulin. Would it be sinful for me to find a pharmacist somewhere who could fill my...

54:04 - 54:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Practice self-denial on the Sabbath, choosing to forgo certain conveniences or desires for the sake of honoring God and remembering to prepare better next time.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of denying himself pizza on the Lord's Day evening, choosing leftovers instead, to illustrate the principle of self-denial and bearing witness to God's claims.

And there are times when you have to deny yourself. There's many a night when I've driven back on the Lord's Day from a busy day and I haven't had my supper, and I go by one of these places that sells Italian food, and all my juices start going, I would love to go in there and get myself a pizza or something else, and I know what's at home.

55:11 - 55:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Law is love's eyes, and without it love is blind. And I've added a couplet to it. Love is law's heart and soul, and without it law is dead.

He quotes an old Puritan saying, 'Law is love's eyes, and without it love is blind,' and adds his own couplet, 'Love is law's heart and soul, and without it law is dead,' to explain the relationship between law, love, and obedience.

He said, if you love me, keep my commandments. One of the old purities stated it beautifully. Law is love's eyes, and without it love is blind. And I've added a couplet to it.

57:23 - 57:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Further questions touch on the lack of explicit repetition of the Fourth Commandment in the New Testament and the Sabbath's role as a sign for Israel, with Martin emphasizing the…

Martin references the Old Testament account of a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath and being put to death, highlighting the strictness of Jewish Sabbath regulations to counter dispensationalist arguments.

So much so that when that guy went out and said, well, God doesn't really mean what he said. I'm going to collect me a few sticks. he ended up dead before nightfall. That's what the dispensationalist says.

59:33 - 59:42 Read in full sermon