Proper Attitudes

The point: Never observe the Lord's Day thinking that by doing so, you are earning favor, salvation, or contributing to the basis of God's acceptance.

The Jewish Talmud devoted 24 chapters and over 1,500 rules to the Sabbath, illustrating the extreme legalism of the Pharisees.

Do you remember some of the silly rules that we looked at a few weeks ago? I mentioned some of them. The Jewish Talmud, which was like a commentary on the Old Testament, devoted 24 chapters, 24 chapters to the Sabbath. You say, well, Pastor, you just spent seven weeks on the Sabbath.

8:35 - 8:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Never observe the Lord's Day thinking that by doing so, you are earning favor, salvation, or contributing to the basis of God's acceptance.

Examples like not wearing false teeth, not bathing, or not killing a flea on the Sabbath demonstrate the absurdity of man-made legalistic rules.

Here's a few more that I didn't mention. I mentioned a bunch of them, but I'll just give you a few others. False teeth were not to be worn on the Sabbath,

9:24 - 9:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid legalism that shows itself in seeing everything as black or white, having dogmatic answers for every circumstance, or being unwilling to allow for legitimate differences where Scripture is not clear.

Owen's criticism of Bound's book on the Sabbath, stating one could scarcely read all the proposed duties in six days, illustrates Puritan legalism.

For example, one early Puritan, Nicholas Bound, wrote a book on the Sabbath that was later criticized by the great John Owen. Here's what Owen said about that book. He said, A man can scarcely in six days read over all the duties that are proposed to be observed, on the Sabbath. In other words, here's what you should do on the Sabbath.

10:49 - 11:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins discussing proper attitudes, starting with delighting in the Sabbath as a God-given blessing. He explains that God blessed the day for man's benefit, providing…

The Lord's Day is described as a 'tall mountain peak' that offers a true vantage point on life, helping believers regain spiritual perspective and anticipate eternal rest.

And in doing that, it provides us with an opportunity to commemorate and to celebrate God's work of creation and redemption. And it provides us with an opportunity to think about and to have a foretaste of that eternal rest that awaits us in the world to come. One man has described the Lord's day as a tall mountain peak that rises above all the other mountain peaks of the world. And that's the quote that I have here.

24:43 - 25:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Sometimes, do what you know is your obligation, not because you feel joyful about it, but because you trust God that doing your duty is the path to true joy.

Martin uses his marriage to Kelly to illustrate that duty and joy are not mutually exclusive; loving his wife is both a duty and a delight.

He finds joy in doing his duty. Listen, I'm married to Kelly and it's my duty to love her as Christ loved the church. But it's also my joy to do that and my delight. The fact that it's my duty doesn't mean that it's not my delight.

33:55 - 34:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Sometimes, do what you know is your obligation, not because you feel joyful about it, but because you trust God that doing your duty is the path to true joy.

Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane, where He did not 'feel like' going to the cross but embraced it as His duty, illustrates how duty can precede present delight, motivated by future joy.

So sometimes we must do what it's our obligation to do, not because we're presently pumping full of great feelings of emotion about it, but because we trust God that doing our duty is the path in which true joy is to be found. In other words, sometimes present delight precedes and motivates us to our duty. We feel delight in God's command and this moves us to obey it. At other times, depending upon what our spiritual state may be at any given moment, it's the hope of future delight that precedes and motivates our duty. We don't feel any delight right now, but we do what it is our duty to do be...

34:57 - 36:03 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate settled convictions in your life, especially regarding God's moral law, so that your obedience is not swayed by momentary feelings.

Martin's childhood experience of never questioning going to church on Sunday illustrates the importance of settled convictions regarding God's commands.

And regardless of how I may feel from one moment to the next, I am determined by God's grace to keep these commitments that I have made. I remember when I was a little boy, it never even occurred to me to ever ask my mom and dad, if we were going to church on Sunday. The fault would have never even occurred to me to ask them that. Are we going to church Sunday?

40:23 - 40:49 Read in full sermon