A Sabbath Remains

Driving home: There is nothing in this text that can conceivably be interpreted as undermining the idea of a Lord's day sabbat for the church of Jesus Christ.

Martin quotes Alford, a commentator, who, despite his general tendency to deny a Christian Sabbath, admits that Hebrews 4:9 cannot be used to argue against it, illustrating the verse's inherent neutrality or friendliness to the doctrine.

This text is either neutral and says nothing at all that applies to an earthly sabbat, or it is a friend of an earthly sabbat, but it is no way conceivably an enemy of the sabbat doctrine that we've been seeking to establish in this text, or in this series rather. Even Alford, who seems bent on using any text that he can to deny a Christian sabbat, even Alford makes no argument from this verse. Hear what he says. He says, Still more alien from the sense and context is it to use this verse as some have absurdly done as carrying weight one way or the other

10:54 - 11:38 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I concluded that the old Puritan master had seen something I had never seen. Indeed, I am convinced he saw it so clearly that I finally had to say that what I was teaching for the past 15 years basically was wrong when I…

Martin contrasts the difficulty of understanding Hebrews 4 with the readily understandable nature of John 3:16 and Psalm 23, highlighting the need for diligent study of the former.

This is not like John 3.16. John 3.16 is readily understandable, I believe, by most people.

13:58 - 14:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I concluded that the old Puritan master had seen something I had never seen. Indeed, I am convinced he saw it so clearly that I finally had to say that what I was teaching for the past 15 years basically was wrong when I…

Martin shares his personal experience of teaching Hebrews 4:9 as neutral for 15 years at Trinity Ministerial Academy, only to change his view after reading John Owen, illustrating the profound impact of Owen's arguments.

Now, for many years, I believed and taught that this text was neutral in the discussion concerning the Christianity. All the years that I taught in Trinity Ministerial Academy, I probably taught through the book of Hebrews seven or eight times. And in all those years, as I came to this text, as I came especially to verses 9 and 10, I told my students that this text, as far as I can judge, is absolutely neutral in making any case for the Christian Sabbath. But then, after reading John Owen's exposition of the text, in his treatise on the Sabbath,

14:21 - 15:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: who is the he of verse 10 that's the only question I want you to occupy your minds with right now who is the he of verse 10

Martin quotes Philip Hughes, who interprets the rest in Hebrews 4:10 as the heavenly rest from 'toilings, trials, and tribulations' for individual Christians, serving as a counterpoint to Owen's interpretation.

from henceforth and the dead yea saith the spirit that they may rest from their labors for their works follow after them now the key phrase there is that they may those who die in the Lord that they may rest from their labors and were you to consult a number of commentaries of Hebrews 4 and verse 10 you would see that very commonly these words the he is said to be the individual Christian who when he enters into heaven rests from his labors Philip Hughes for example in an excellent commentary on Hebrews says the labors from which the people of God rest in the heavenly Sabbath are the toilings ...

38:46 - 39:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: who is the he of verse 10 that's the only question I want you to occupy your minds with right now who is the he of verse 10

Martin compares the readability of John Owen (complex) to J.C. Ryle (easy to read even 'half asleep'), illustrating the intellectual rigor required to engage with Owen's arguments.

now John Owen argues very strongly against that line of interpretation he says no it is not the individual Christian that is spoken of in this text it is someone else but not the individual Christian and Owen's argument some of you who have read Owen know that Owen is not easy to read he is not like J.C. Ryle you can read Ryle basically half asleep and still benefit from it but Owen is very complex his arguments are ordinarily very involved and if I were to try to reproduce Owen's argument in his totality we would all leave here in frustration including me but what I do

39:31 - 40:16 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin focuses on Hebrews 4:10, posing the crucial question: 'Who is the 'he'?' He presents John Owen's arguments against the 'he' being the individual Christian, instead…

Martin quotes John Owen's argument that the analogy in Hebrews 4:10 'absolutely disintegrates' if 'he' refers to the individual Christian, demonstrating Owen's precise theological reasoning.

You can't follow it. There's no comparison to be made if it refers to the individual Christian. And here I'll let Owen speak for himself. In the.

46:08 - 46:18 Read in full sermon