The Fourth Commandment

Introduction to the Fourth Commandment and its Controversial Nature

0:00 Good morning, everyone. It's good to see you today. We're very happy to have our daughters with us today, home from spring break. It's a blessing to see them sitting out in the congregation today.

0:15 Let's begin our day with prayer.

0:20 Our Father, as we now stand and sit at the threshold of another Lord's Day, we are full of eagerness and anticipation as we consider, as we contemplate, as we look ahead to the activities of the day. And we do thank you, our Father, for your kindness to us, your consideration of our needs, both spiritually and physically, in that you have set apart a day, one day in seven, for us to rest from our ordinary labors, to enlist in the work of the Lord, and to do the work of the Lord. We engage in worship and in deeds of mercy.

1:06 We thank you for this day. We pray that you would help us as we continue to open up your word and seek to understand it and to cut a straight line through the scriptures regarding our relationship as New Covenant believers to your holy law.

1:23 We pray that you would forgive us of our many sins and iniquities, both those that are secret in our hearts and those that have been expressed through our lips or in our actions. You know everything about us, our Father. We cannot draw near to you in pretense and put on pretending to be those who are righteous, but we recognize that our righteousness is in heaven. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's in his name that we come to you.

1:55 And we pray that you would receive us for Christ's sake, and we pray that you would continue your promised ongoing work, of sanctifying us by the washing of the water of your word and through the ministry of your Holy Spirit. And we pray that that would be ongoing even now in our Sunday school hour. And we pray for all the other Sunday school teachers, that you will help them and give them much grace and wisdom as they seek to teach your word. We ask all of this in Christ's name.

2:23 Amen.

2:28 Okay, we're still in this section. The church's ethics and commitment to the abiding authority of the moral law. And as the rule of life for the believer. And we've been considering, I've been dealing with the issue of the abiding validity of the Ten Commandments under the New Covenant.

2:50 That's been the focus now for several weeks. And these are the five headings of basic categories of arguments that we looked at in defense of that position. And then as I told you, I said that we would come back now and take up with, I guess you could call it an appendix or a lengthy appendix, a case study regarding one of the Ten Commandments, the Fourth Commandment. So that's what we come to today.

3:22 And someone has rightly said that one thing about the Ten Commandments upon which all Christians agree today is that the Fourth Commandment is the most controversial. And it's sad that it should, be that way, but today it's the one that definitely stirs up the most controversy. And I had considered, I had in my notes all these various views that are out there about the Fourth Commandment. I was going to go over all of them with you and kind of to show you just how confusing it is in the church, Christian church today.

3:57 But that would take a lot of time, so I'm not going to do that because most of you are aware of a lot of them anyhow. And I'll be addressing them as we go along. Some of the various nuances. Some of the differences of D.A. Carson's position

4:11 compared to New Covenant theology, the dispensational view, and so forth. But there are various views. There's a lot of confusion out there on that subject. And these and other things are good reasons, I think, for us to carefully consider what the Bible teaches on this subject.

Sermon Outline and the Biblical Basis for Sabbath Continuance

4:27 Here's the broad outline that I'm going to be following as we work our way through this. We're going to first look at the biblical basis for the continuance of the Sabbath. Then we're going to look at the biblical basis for the change of the Sabbath to Sunday, the Lord's Day. Then we're going to take up the question of the proper observance, proper and balanced observance of the Lord's Day.

4:49 So this morning we're going to at least begin to take up, first of all, the biblical basis for the continuance of the Sabbath.

4:57 And under this heading, I'm going to approach it from four angles. We're going to consider today that the Sabbath was instituted at creation. Then we're going to remind ourselves that the Sabbath was included in the Ten Commandments and what is significant about that. Then the continuance of the Sabbath was predicted by the Old Testament prophets.

5:21 And then we'll see that the Sabbath was upheld by Christ. And then we'll be prepared to move into the issue of the change of the day from the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Lord's Day Sabbath. All right. So I want us to see, first of all, that the Sabbath was instituted at creation.

The Sabbath as a Creation Ordinance: Its Importance and Perpetuity

5:42 Now, why is this important? How is this relevant to this question? First of all, because the main argument that's used against the continuance of the Sabbath is that it was a temporary ceremonial law for Israel. In some way or in some way, it was only tied to the Mosaic Covenant.

6:03 It was a temporary ceremonial law or temporary law for Israel.

6:09 Now, if we can prove that the Sabbath predated Israel and the Mosaic Covenant, that before there ever was, the nation of Israel, before there ever was a Mosaic Covenant, there was a Sabbath, if we can prove that, then this argument against the Sabbath falls to the ground. Secondly, if it can be shown that the Sabbath is a creation ordinance, then really that basically clenches the whole case for its continuance in some form to this present day. Why? Because the teaching of Scripture is that creation ordinances continue to be in force, in force in this present age.

6:50 Now, we've looked at creation ordinances early. Creation ordinances are those laws and those relationships that God gave to Adam and Eve at the very beginning before the fall. Ordinances like marriage, procreation, that's reproduction, procreation, labor. Well, the teaching of Scripture is that whatever was ordained at creation continues.

7:16 And this is illustrated. For example, by Jesus' teaching on marriage. Do you remember when the Pharisees came to him with questions about divorce?

7:26 What did Jesus do? Well, he appealed to the account of creation. In Matthew 19, 4-6, he said, Have you not read that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?

7:47 Conclusion, so then they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate.

7:55 Well, then the Pharisees responded with an appeal to the Mosaic civil code. They said, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to put her away? It wasn't that God was condoning divorce. He was, the civil law simply dealt with the fact that divorces sometimes happened and how were they to be regulated when they did happen.

8:16 And so Moses commanded that a certificate of divorce was to be given. Well, Jesus, again, goes back, he appeals to the creation ordinance. He says, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. So Jesus defends the sanctity of the one man, one woman, lifetime marriage commitment by an appeal to the creation ordinance.

8:43 Now, what does that say to us? Well, it reminds us that what is creational is perpetual. What is creational is perpetual. The Apostle Paul does the same thing many times in his teaching.

8:57 For example, he appeals to the creation ordinance when teaching the unique roles of men and women in the church. In 1 Corinthians 11, he does this. In 1 Timothy 2, 13 and 15, he roots his arguments in the order of creation. Likewise, the New Testament is clear that the labor ordinance given at creation still continues to this day.

9:20 Also, Paul appeals to creation. The creation order, when he argues for the high calling of motherhood, of bearing children, procreation.

9:30 So if we can prove that the Sabbath is a creation ordinance, then by that alone we've proven its ongoing validity in some form for the New Testament Christian and for the church. And let me just say that many non-Sabbatarians recognize that and they concede that point. That's why you'll find that many of them, try to argue that the Sabbath is not a creation ordinance.

Key Text 1: Genesis 2:1-3 - God's Rest, Blessing, and Sanctification

10:00 Because they realize if they give up that point, they've given up a lot. They've basically given up the argument, actually. So the question is, is it or isn't it? Well, there are three key texts that I think conclusively prove that it is a creation ordinance.

10:18 And the first is the Genesis account itself. So turn with me or you can look on the board to Genesis 2. 1 to 3. All right, here we read.

10:31 Thus the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them were finished. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work which he had created and made. Now, I think we all know something of the creation account.

10:54 That God created the world in six days and then he rested on the seventh. But before we look at this passage in detail, let me ask you a question. All right. Very simple question.

11:05 Sometimes we can get so technical that we can miss the obvious. So let me ask you a question.

11:14 Have you ever wondered why God created the world in six days?

11:19 Why he did it that way?

11:22 Clearly, he did it that way for some reason. God never does anything haphazardly or without fault and purpose. So why did he do it that way? Was it because this was the only way it could be done?

11:34 Of course not. God could have created the whole world and everything in it instantaneously if he wanted to. He could have created it in six seconds or six hours or six years.

11:48 As Brian Edwards comments, it would have been no more difficult for God to create in a microsecond than in an hour or a day. One word, one thought from the sovereign triune creator and everything would have come into being. So back to the question, why did God create the universe in six days? Is it because there's some mysterious value to the number six?

12:12 Well, if so, he could have created it in six seconds or six months. So why did he do it in six days? It seems to me that people who want to argue that the creation cycle of six days labor and one day rest is not intended to say anything to men about how we are to order our lives, fell to ask themselves this simple question. Surely God didn't do it this way for no reason.

12:44 And he certainly didn't do it this way because after the first six days, God was weary and worn out because God never gets tired.

12:53 No, he did it this way, not so much for himself, but for us.

13:00 It should be obvious that he did it with a deliberate purpose. And that's true of everything God does. Now, let's look at the text. What does it tell us?

13:16 First of all, we're told that God rested on the seventh day after the completion of his work of creation. The word translated rested is the verbal form meaning to Sabbath. He Sabbathed on the seventh day. So what does this resting of God mean?

13:33 Well, by resting, God was declaring that his work of creation was completed. It doesn't mean that God slept, that he took a nap on the seventh day or that God was inactive. God is always active by his. Powerful, all wise providence.

13:49 But God did cease from his work of creation on the seventh day. Verse one, thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished.

14:01 So first we have God's example of resting on the seventh day. But not only did God rest on the seventh day. Secondly, we were told that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Now, what does it mean in Scripture to bless?

14:18 Something we see that language a lot in the Old Testament of God, blessing someone or making someone a blessing or blessing something. What does that mean? Well, it certainly expresses God's goodwill, his delight in the thing. But it means much more than that.

14:33 God's blessing is effectual. In other words, when God pronounces blessing upon a person or blesses something, it's not that he merely prays or wishes good for it. No, his blessing effects. Or makes that thing or person to receive good or to be the source of good to bless.

14:57 The seventh day is for God to make that day a source of blessing or a source of good or a receptacle of good for whom?

15:13 Well, obviously not for himself, but for man.

15:19 Indeed, as we'll see in a moment, this is precisely what Jesus tells us in Mark about the Sabbath. But then what about this word sanctified?

15:32 He blessed the day and sanctified it.

15:38 Well, when God sanctifies something in the Old Testament, that means that he has set it apart for religious use. He has consecrated it. He has set it apart as special and sacred. So here in Genesis 2, we're explicitly told that God set apart the seventh day for sacred and religious use.

15:58 For sacred and religious use by whom?

16:06 Wasn't the answer to that question obvious? By man, for who else could it be?

16:12 So I trust we see that what we have here is the establishment of the sanctity of the Sabbath. And we clearly see that the Sabbath is indeed a creation ordinance. But let me point you to two other passages that strongly confirm and I think further clench this argument. Key text number two, Exodus chapter 20.

Key Text 2: Exodus 20:8-11 - Sabbath Grounded in Creation

16:32 This is the very passage in which the command is given in the Ten Commandments. And the Ten Commandments are also rehearsed later in Deuteronomy a bit differently. We'll look at that. But notice how this commandment is given here by God in Exodus 20.

16:45 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates.

17:01 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it or sanctified it.

17:20 That's the motive that's given here for keeping the Sabbath. And I trust you see that that's a reference to Genesis two. Now, there are three important observations that I want to make from this text. First, Moses clearly identifies and equates man's Sabbath with God's Sabbath at the time of creation.

17:39 The one term Sabbath is used to refer both to God's rest after creating the world and to man's Sabbath. And this passage, thus identifying the two as one and the same thing.

17:51 Secondly, God grounds the Israelites obligation to keep the Sabbath in his own example at creation, which points us to the fact that God rested as I as I was was already implied in the Genesis count itself. The reason God did it, that God was as an example for man. God rested as an example for man.

18:17 It was intended to be. Imitated by man. God's image bearer.

18:23 Thirdly, Moses uses the past tense for the words bless and sanctify.

18:31 He says God blessed it, blessed and sanctified it. Not God is blessing and sanctifying it. In other words, the Sabbath day was not just being introduced for the first time. It was not just now being made a source of blessing and being set apart for religious use.

18:50 When the Ten Commandments were given. And this had already occurred at creation. And the fact that God had blessed and set apart this day way back at the beginning is now given as one of the reasons that the Sabbath day was to be remembered and kept holy now. OK, you see the significance of that.

Key Text 3: Mark 2:27-28 - Sabbath Made for Man

19:14 All right. Key text number three.

19:18 Mark chapter two.

19:21 And we're going to be looking at more of Jesus teaching on the Sabbath later. But for right now, I want to just draw your attention to what he says here in verse 26. And he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Now, notice three things here.

19:40 First, we have reference to the origin of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made. And he uses the Greek word genomai. It's the word used to refer to creation in John chapter one.

19:54 And it's the very word that's used in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament that was used in Jesus time. To refer. To refer to the creation of man in Genesis two, seven. So he says that the Sabbath was made, was created.

20:09 Jesus is referring back to the creation account. He doesn't refer back to Exodus here, but to Genesis.

20:19 Secondly, we have reference to the purpose of the Sabbath.

20:27 The Sabbath was made for man. It was made to be a blessing for man.

20:34 This he's referring back to creation. Why did God? So why did God bless the Sabbath day and sanctify it? It was made to be.

20:43 It was for man that he did that. It was made to be a blessing for man. It was made for man's benefit. And thirdly, we have reference to the recipients of the Sabbath.

20:55 So origin, it was made its purpose for man, the recipients, man, man. We have the Greek word Anthropos. And in the original, it's actually preceded by the. The article, the Sabbath was made for the man.

21:13 Now, this could either mean mankind collectively or it could be referring specifically to Adam. But either way, Jesus certainly does not restrict the Sabbath to the Jews. He doesn't say the Sabbath was created for Israel or for the Jews. He said the Sabbath was made for man, for mankind or for Adam, the representative of mankind.

21:33 But either way, I trust you see that Jesus called it. The Sabbath was instituted at creation. And it was intended for the good of mankind. So that's the first argument for the continuance of the Sabbath.

21:48 The Sabbath was instituted at creation is a creation ordinance. It's not merely a temporary ceremonial law that finds its source in Moses alone. It is a creation ordinance. And that which is creational is perpetual.

22:04 Now, that's just the first argument, brethren. But in my judgment, it already clenches, clenches the point. The other arguments are just going to be. Piling on more proofs.

Addressing Objections to the Sabbath as a Creation Ordinance

22:15 But now I realize that some of you may be wondering when I hear someone make an argument, it seems so clear cut. And how could anyone ever argue against it? And I actually know that there are people who do. My mind starts thinking, well, are we hearing the whole story here?

22:30 What are what are the arguments that people use against this? So I realize that some of you may be wondering how in the world does anyone ever get around the fact that the Sabbath was instituted at creation?

22:41 I mean, Pastor, you mentioned that some people reject the idea. That. The Sabbath is a creation ordinance, and they realize the implications of accepting it as such. And they reject it as such.

22:53 Now, what possible arguments could they have? Well, let me mention the objections that are sometimes brought against this to be fair. And then I hope to show you that those objections don't hold water to be gracious about it. I don't believe they hold any water at all.

23:13 And so I hope I can convince you of the same. All right. First objection. Is that there's no explicit command to keep the Sabbath in Genesis.

23:24 It just states that that God blessed the Sabbath, the Sabbath day sanctified, be rested on the Sabbath. There's no explicit command to keep the Sabbath in Genesis is probably the main objection that you'll hear. Well, what do we say to that? Well, that's true.

23:42 But we do read that God blessed the day and set it apart as sacred. Who did God make it a source of blessing for and set set it apart to sacred use? For if not for man. In fact, Jesus specifically tells us in Mark two that it was made for man.

24:04 True, there's no explicit command in Genesis for men to keep the Sabbath, but the obligation is still communicated. Remember, God does not always communicate his will by direct, explicit commands. He also does so by necessary inference and by example. For example, there's no command in Genesis, no command in Genesis that men are to have.

24:28 Only one wife and never to get a divorce except for sexual immorality. However, as we saw, Jesus indicates that the fact that God in the beginning created one man and one woman and the two, not the three or the four, but the two were made one flesh. This, according to Jesus, was sufficient communication of God's will in this matter, and that the Pharisees should have understood that the same can be said of the distinct roles of men and women. Paul's teaching on that is derived from.

24:58 And. Rooted in the implications of the creation order, though there's no explicit command in Genesis about that. You see, this is an important ethical principle that we need to get hold on in the New Testament, that which is creational is perpetual. And it's also a hermeneutical principle.

25:17 So what does hermeneutical mean? Well, it's an important principle of biblical interpretation. God does not always communicate his will or merely communicate his will by explicit command. He also does so by by approved example, necessary implication or necessary inference.

25:37 For example, how do we know? I think I've brought this up before, but this is, I think, a real easy one to see. How do we know that a local church should desire and seek to have deacons, deacons?

25:52 Maybe my accent. How are you supposed to say it? Deacons, deacons. I don't know.

25:57 All right. To have deacons. Well, there's no command in the Bible. Thou.

26:03 We ought to establish the office of deacon in the church and never find such a command.

26:10 But we do have the apostolic example of appointing deacons in Acts, and we're given qualifications for deacons in First Timothy, chapter three. So what does this tell us? Well, it tells us that ordinarily the local church is to have deacons if they're qualified men to fill the office. My point is that we don't always need the explicit command God's will concerning the sanctity of the Sabbath was sufficiently communicated.

26:35 When he himself set an example for men by resting on the seventh day, and when he blessed that day and set it apart for religious use as sacred.

26:51 So that's my answer to that objection.

Addressing Objections: Silence in Genesis and Exodus Grounding

26:55 Second objection.

26:57 There are no references to people keeping the Sabbath until we get to the time of Moses. This is a common objection. No one. We don't have any reference to people keeping the Sabbath till we get to Moses.

27:07 So it's not a creation ordinance. It wasn't. God didn't speak that in Genesis. Tending that people observe the Sabbath day.

27:14 That's the argument. Well, what do we say to that? First of all, this is an argument from silence. So it doesn't prove anything.

27:23 First thing I would say.

27:26 Secondly, even if you could prove that no one kept the Sabbath leading up to Moses, that still wouldn't mean the Sabbath was not instituted. All that would prove is that men are sinners and that men in their sin allowed the observance of the Sabbath to be neglected until Moses revived it. That shouldn't surprise us. Because we see the same thing in our own day.

27:49 And also, we have other instances of this kind of thing in Old Testament history. During the days of the kings, for example, many of the ordinances of divine worship were often neglected for lengthy periods of time. And God would raise up a Hezekiah or a Josiah to revive the Passover or the temple sacrifices and so on. During Nehemiah's time.

28:12 Now, think about that. That's at the very end of the Old Testament. During Nehemiah's time. During Nehemiah's time.

28:17 We're told that the people of Israel had not celebrated the Feast of the Booths since the time of Joshua, though God had instituted that feast in the Mosaic law.

28:37 But for hundreds of years, they had not observed it. The fact that they had gone for hundreds of years without keeping it did not change the fact that God had instituted it.

28:50 Thirdly, Genesis and the early chapters. Of Exodus before Sinai are not as silent on this issue as some seem to think.

29:04 For example, we find many indications that the customary division of time into weekly intervals of seven days was followed from the very beginning.

29:14 Noah twice waited a period of seven days before sending out his dove. In Genesis 29, we find that it was customary in the patriarchal period to continue a wedding festival for a period of seven days. In Genesis 29, we find that it was customary in the patriarchal period to continue a wedding festival for a period of seven days. Genesis 50 shows us that at the time of Jacob's death, mourning lasted for a week of seven days.

29:39 In Exodus 12, the Passover was instituted and it was to last for seven days. And remember, that's still before the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai. In fact, in Exodus 16, Moses reminds the people, Exodus 16, not to gather manna on the Sabbath. And again, that's before we get to Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are given.

30:06 So the fact is, there are numerous indications that though the Sabbath may have been greatly neglected, there was still a consciousness of it that remained between Genesis and the giving of the Ten Commandments. And we can only assume that there were some over those centuries who did keep it. For example, we are told that Abraham kept and also taught his children to keep God's commandments.

30:31 He was way before the Ten Commandments.

30:36 What commandments?

30:40 Well, certainly it would have included the creation ordinances.

30:46 So it's probable that the Sabbath was one of those commands that he kept and that he taught his children to keep.

Addressing Objections: Deuteronomy 5:15 and Nehemiah/Ezekiel Texts

30:54 All right, third objection. It's argued that Deuteronomy 5.15 grounds Sabbath observance in the Exodus.

31:05 If you want to turn over there, you can look at it. And there we have a rehearsal of the Ten Commandments. Once again, they're repeated. But there, this commandment is given a little differently.

31:16 It says, And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath. So you see that that text is pointed to. The objector says, he points to this text and says, See, this gives the Exodus from Egypt as the reason God commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath.

31:43 The Exodus was an event peculiar to the history of Israel. Therefore, those who do not share in their special history have nothing to do with keeping the Sabbath. OK, that's the argument. All right.

32:01 In answer to that, first of all, we must not forget that in Exodus 2011, the Sabbath is grounded in creation. So the very same argument that this person is trying to use to prove may also be used to prove the application of. Sabbath to all mankind. Very same argument. Secondly, the exodus from Egypt was simply an

32:23 additional reason why the Jews were especially obligated to keep it at that time in history, just as our redemption from sin in Christ is an additional reason why we should keep the Lord's day at this time in history. All mankind as creatures created by God are bound to keep the Sabbath, but God's people have the additional reason of gratitude for what God has done for them. This was true for Old Testament Israel, and it's even more so for New Testament Israel,

33:03 the church. All right. Fourth objection. Two texts that are pointed to both Nehemiah 914 and Ezekiel 2012 seem to teach that the Sabbath was first originated with Moses. And listen to

33:25 these two texts. They point to these two texts that seem to teach that the Sabbath day first originated with Israel at Mount Sinai. Nehemiah 914 says, You may known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded in precepts, statutes and laws by the hand of Moses, your servant. Ezekiel 20, verse 12. Moreover, I also

33:53 gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between them and me that they might know that I am the Lord. All right. So those two texts are taken up. And the argument is that these verses teach that the Sabbath day was a uniquely Jewish institution that originated with Moses. All right. You understand the argument? Well, in answer to that, first of all, we've already seen that the scriptures teach the Sabbath originated with creation, not Moses. Secondly, the phrase made known does not mean that the Israelites knew nothing.

34:36 nothing about knew nothing about the Sabbath before then. You know, I went over this thing this time because it was so bad last week. I read over it to try to make sure there were no typos. And still for. All right. Okay. The phrase made known does not mean that the Israelites knew nothing about the Sabbath before then. That phrase also occurs, for example,

35:14 Example, in Ezekiel 20, verse 9, their God says of Israel, I made myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

35:29 Now, does that mean that the Israelites never knew anything about God before the Exodus? Of course not. He was the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But it does mean that God revealed himself to them in the Exodus in a way or to a degree that generation had never known him before.

35:50 So to argue that when it says God made known his Sabbaths to the people through Moses, that that means that the Sabbath was never known about at all before Moses is an exaggeration, to say the least. The Sabbath was before Moses, but God revived the Sabbath and made it known to Israel through Moses. Inalienable. In a way that that generation had not known it before.

36:14 All right. And then with respect to the Ezekiel text, where the Sabbath is said to have been given to Israel by God as a sign between him and them.

36:33 Again, that doesn't mean that there was no Sabbath before Moses any more than the fact that circumcision was given by Moses as a sign for Israel. It means that there was no circumcision before Moses.

36:46 The same language is used with reference to circumcision.

36:50 For example, we read in John. Seven twenty two. For this reason, Moses has given you circumcision. But does that mean that circumcision originated with Moses?

36:59 No, it originated with Abraham, not Moses. That text goes on to say, for this reason, Moses has given you circumcision, not because it was from Moses, but from the fathers. So to say that Moses gave circumcision to Israel does not mean that circumcision originated with Moses. And the same is true with the Sabbath.

37:22 Well, I trust you see then that none of these objections that are raised against the Sabbath being a creation ordinance hold really hold any water over against the clear teaching of Genesis chapter two, Exodus chapter 20 and Mark chapter two, that the Sabbath is indeed a creation ordinance, that it was instituted at creation. It was made for man for his benefit. God effectually blessed it and set it apart for sacred use.

Conclusion of First Proof and Q&A on Sabbath's Creation Origin

37:55 Well, that's just the first proof, the first building block in the argument for the continuance and abiding validity of the Sabbath. But it's a very important one. Very important one.

38:07 We've seen that it was instituted at creation. Now, next time, God willing, we'll begin to see the significance of the fact that it was also included in the Ten Commandments, that its continuance was predicted by the prophets, that the Sabbath was upheld by Jesus Christ. And miracle of all miracles. I'm finished early.

38:26 So we have time to take questions. You have questions. Some of your questions may reflect back on the earlier studies about the Ten Commandments in general. Or if you have questions specific to the issue that we're considering today, the creation ordinance.

38:43 Now, if you start asking me a bunch of things that get way ahead of us, I may not answer them yet. But if we can keep the questions focused on the issues that we've just discussed and that we've just finished covering. That would be helpful for us. Yes.

39:01 It's a strong enough statement to communicate that God's will regarding that day. It's not actually in the form of a commandment. It doesn't in the sense of saying men must sanctify the Sabbath or men must keep the Sabbath. But it's implied in the statement.

39:39 So it's virtually a command. It has the same weight, force of a command. But technically. It's not an explicit command.

39:51 Yes.

40:01 Well, you know, one of the things interesting to me. He said, does it boil down to Satan's lie? Did God really say that? One of the things that's interesting to me is that he stated history of the Sabbath in the Christian church.

40:17 There have been differences at different times in history. But in our own country and I think in the UK as well. For a number of centuries. Leading up to really the 20th up till you get to the 20th century and maybe early night and middle or late 19th century was pretty much a consensus among Protestant Christians in America and elsewhere of observance of the Lord's day as the Christian Sabbath.

40:46 It was pretty much a unity of conviction about that in America. He even had laws in our country and states. And counties that forbid certain activities on the Lord's day in the in the south. There's still a few of them around.

41:05 Most of them have been repealed now called Blue Laws. I think Kelly was telling me when she was growing up in in Texas in high school that you supermarkets, some supermarkets would be open on the Lord's day. But you could only buy certain things on the Lord's day, like baby formula and necessities and things like that. But it's this generation.

41:27 That's basically cast off and caved in to our culture on this issue. Now, I realize that there are there are good, I think, good men that have views that I wouldn't agree with on the Lord's day. But that and you want to be you don't want to condemn everyone and say they're not Christians or anything of that nature. But at the same time, brethren, I think that on the whole, as much as any other area of.

41:59 Christian ethics. This is an area where the Christian church has caved in and is continuing to cave in more and more to the culture of America.

42:11 And I do believe it's the work of the devil. I do. Yes. You didn't make use of the conceit from the law of nature that a there's some time that man ought to give to be man himself.

42:39 We can. Everyone has made some regular breaks. Yes. And yeah, it touches on the fact that the Sabbath is based on natural law.

42:57 We're going to get into that when we go to when we go to the Ten Commandments, the difference between natural law and positive law. Natural law is that it's something that's inherent in the way God has made the world and the way that God has made man. Positive law is something we wouldn't know unless God directly revealed it. For example, when God told Adam not to eat of the tree.

43:20 In the midst of the garden, there was nothing in Adam's in the natural world or in Adam's natural being as he was made in the image of God that would have ever said to him, you can't eat from this tree. But that was a positive law that God gave.

43:35 But there's also natural law, which I think is actually a better term than moral law. But it's it carries sort of the same idea. And so that's going to help us to make some distinctions later on when we ask the question about the day being switched from one day to another day when we come to the new covenant. And distinguishing between that which is creation ordinance is established by God and that which is natural law from that which may be positive law that's attached to certain things in the civil code of Moses says that command was applied.

44:09 So that's a good, good point. And our confession is very, very wisely underscores that that issue. Yeah. Yes.

44:17 Well, the issue of the observance of the Lord's Day and its connection.

45:30 To what you were referring to, the new creation. Those are things that we're going to get to later on. And I think that the whole issue of the observance of how we observe the Lord's Day is very important because I think some of the confusion that gets injected into this situation are is in this area. And sometimes it's because of a legalistic approach.

45:53 I think what I mean by legalistic is going beyond Scripture, what Scripture teaches in the way that people approach the day. Okay. And then the other, there's two, there's two problems. There's an overly lax approach and there's also an overly strict approach.

46:08 And we're going to look at those two and how Jesus really addressed, I think, that issue in the, in the Gospels. Yes. Take up that point. It would be helpful, I think, the observance of the Sabbath brought into national civil law.

46:40 We are very, very keen in arguing against abortion because we believe that that's breaking the commandment. And then should we press for it to be the Sabbath in the same way as did happen in the United Kingdom and here in a previous generation? And the other comment that I would make is just listening to the arguments that you were bringing this morning, I get rather impatient with these people who put up these arguments. It seems to me that, that they know the truth and they're doing what Paul says.

47:19 They're suppressing the truth. In righteousness. And the puzzling thing is, why would a Christian want to do that?

47:28 It's not as if the commandment is asking them to spend the whole day in the hard rock casino. It's asking them to devote the day to God and to his worship and to fellowship. Why would a Christian not want to do that? Yeah.

47:43 Just comment. Yeah, well, I think that, you know, the first part of your comment, and I know you would agree with this, is that people, sometimes a person's heart. Can be better than their head. You know, in other words, they're, they're confused about things that they've been taught.

48:00 And I think it would be, it wouldn't be proper. I don't think we should, should have a, I wouldn't want to be communicating to you in a way that comes across. Like I'm saying, this is an absolute no brainer. Okay.

48:13 The fact is that this, this is something there are smart people who have a different position on this. And I do. I mean, when I, when I study it out, it seems clear as can be to me. And it's hard for me to understand how someone can miss it, but I have to be humble enough to recognize that there, you know, there are good men that see it differently, that I would not want to question their Christianity.

48:40 But in terms of the second part of what you said, it's a great question. I've often said to people, if someone could prove to me from the Bible that there's no. Christian, that the Lord's day is not the Christian, a new covenant Sabbath, there's not to be such a day. If someone could prove that to me, I would be extremely sad and disappointed.

49:08 I would not be saying, Whoa, now I have Liberty because the Lord's day is a blessing. I enjoy the Lord's day. And I think the question has to be asked that if we, if we find no pleasure and joy, and we find it to be a. Burden and oppressive to set aside one day in a week that we lay aside the things of this earth that are legitimate, are legitimate labors, and we're able to focus on fellowshipping with other believers, worshiping God, resting, enjoying those things.

49:45 Then if that's a burden to us, then we're just not prepared for heaven. And the problem is not with the Lord's day. The problem is with the heart. Because in one sense, heaven is going to be one.

49:57 Continue. We will unending Sabbath, you know, that's a good question. I've never really thought about that. I have to be honest with never really thought, thought about that.

50:39 I mean, just to hear you say that, you know, seems to have some credibility to it or something to think about that. One of that one aspect of the Sabbath is we're in a sense celebrating the creation, which we're going to see more than that in the new covenant. We're celebrating the resurrection, the new creation. The resurrection of Christ, but would seem certainly to say it's appropriate to to comment on, to consider and to praise and adore the glory of the creation that God's made.

51:14 Now, how we go about doing that, that's another question that we could take up. But our time, our time is up. Thank you for your questions. They're all very good, very good questions.

51:24 I'm going to ask Pastor Deacon if he'll close our our class and prayer for us.