Jesus: The Lord of the Sabbath

To any reader out there I first wish grace and mercy to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ this Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you find rest and reflection during this time. It is a great time to remember all the bounty the Lord has provided us, to make careful reflection upon our lives in confessing personal and national sins, and to offer praise and thanksgiving to Him whose mercy is made new every morning.

I want to continue my study of the Sabbath Day by now looking at the teachings and interactions the Lord Jesus had as recorded in the Gospels. The first one that I am examining is where the Lord teaches that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath. One note before looking at this teaching regarding something that has stood out to me in my reading of the Scripture recently is worthy of noting. It has had the effect of humbling me and instilling the fear of the Lord in my heart and I hope it does the same for you as well. 

In Matthew 5:17-19 we read the following, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (NKJV). 

While this verse is sometimes quoted in support of the Christian Sabbath Day teaching, it is not my design here to use it for that reason. While the Lord is speaking specifically regarding the law and the Prophets, and the fulfillment of all those things, I think it is safe to say that this means anything taught in the Bible. There is no doubt that men and women today and in history have mis-taught, mis-used, and twisted the Bible's teaching. Some have done this ignorantly while others have done this for their own wicked purposes. What stands clearly out to me in this text is that the ones who break even the least of these commandments, and teach others to as well, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. This is terrifying. It is enough to never want to be a teacher of the Bible! Yet, by not teaching it to others I am not acquitted from my obligation and responsibility to obey it. Therefore, to understand it more fully and completely is of utmost importance to me. 

For me personally, I cannot escape teaching the Bible to others because I am a father--and that of seven wonderful children! I am responsible before God to train them in the things of God, to fear Him and obey Him, and therefore I must teach them His Word. I am also a husband of one wife. I am commanded by God to wash my wife with the water of the Word and help her as much as possible to grow in Christ Jesus. 

This is sobering and a fearful thing for me. I never want to disobey the Word of God myself nor teach my house to do so because of my lack of understanding. Nor do I wish my reader to come away with a false teaching that would either lead them to legalism nor licentiousness. To make this applicable to our subject, with the fear of the Lord in my heart, if there is a Christian Sabbath Day taught by the Holy Scriptures, and I teach my house they do not have to obey this, then I will have both broken the law myself and have been found to teach others also. If there is no Christian Sabbath Day and I will have taught others there is, then I will be found to having added to God's law things He did not enjoin upon them and be guilty of putting burdens on others He has not. 

What a great responsibility this is! O Lord Jesus, be merciful to your people and to all the teachers of Your Holy Scriptures. Keep us from error and help us understand Your teachings that we may obey and do them as You have commanded and for those of us who must teach others, that we may teach them to obey all that you have commanded and not a syllable more. Enable us by your great power to strengthen our minds and hearts to labor hard in the Word of God in our studies and prosper the work of our hands. Amen. 

In the Gospels of our Lord Jesus we find the account of Jesus walking through the grainfields with His disciples on the Sabbath day. This account is found in all but the Gospel of John. We find this event spoken of in Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5, and Mark 2:23-28. Each witness here gives a clear picture of what took place that day and each one with a unanimous testimony: the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Each one also adds a bit of information to paint a more clear picture for us. Matthew shows us that these men who questioned Him missed essential meaning regarding the Sabbath. After a couple questions Jesus says, "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." v.7. Mark recording the same account bears witness of Jesus' mention of Abiathar the high priest setting the historical context for the happenings of King David when he took and ate the showbread thus furnishing us with a witness to the reliability of the Old Testament Scriptures. Moreover, Mark by the Holy Spirit gives us these words of Jesus, "..The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath..." not found in the other Gospels. What precious truth is here! At a closer examination of the text I found that in the original Received Text the Koine Greek places the definite article upon the word "man" so that it would not be improper to translate this as "the man." Hardly any reader can look at this and not recognize that Jesus is referring to Adam, the first man. And Adam, in that day, standing in the place as head of the whole human race, we have here from our Lord Jesus that the sabbath was given to mankind. Luke brings us, as it were,  into the grainfields with the disciples and the Lord so that we can walk beside them as Jesus teaches us. "...and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing the in their hands." v.1 Here we are close enough to see the disciples rubbing the wheat in their hands doing that which these pharisees believed to be unlawful.

I am so thankful to Jesus that this part of the life and teaching of Jesus is recorded. John tells us that not everything Jesus did and taught is written. But the things that are written are written that we might believe, and believing we might have life in His Name. (John 20:30-31) This is recorded in three Gospels for our instruction. This was a significant controversy in those days. How controversies change! In those days the contention was over breaking the Sabbath. Today the controversy is over whether this is one at all. The issue was raised by the legalistic Jews of Jesus' day, the Pharisees. It therefore a question of lawfulness they were primarily concerned. It may prove helpful to understand this group of people to aid our understanding of the text.  

The Pharisees

The pharisees have been known in Christian circles in mainly a negative context. They are, after all, subject to many scathing rebukes from Jesus. In our texts they are corrected in their understanding of the Law of God of which they were supposedly experts. The word pharisee means separated. This most likely was a term others applied to them for their strict view of uncleanness, not only just keeping themselves separate from the unclean heathen nations, but also from other Jews they deemed to have also been affected by pagan culture (Unger's Bible Dictionary, 854). The pharisees called themselves Haberim, meaning associate. This was to mean someone who associated themselves with the Law so that it may be observed strictly against the rising tide of Hellenism (Hellenism is a term referring to the influence of Greek culture, language, customs, style, and/or thought). It is good to keep in mind that the pharisees generally held the sway with the people. This religious group were generally those who the people listened to. While the pharisees were certainly a real sect along with the sadducees and essenes, they can also be thought of in terms of concept, In concept then, pharisaism represents a reaction to the influence of the surrounding culture. The differences between pharisaism and sadducaism can be understood in how each group reacted to the influence of pagan/unholy culture. The pharisees were running to (and too far) adherence to the Law to the degree that they added to it their own teachings and practices, and the sadducees adopting, too much, the Greek culture, became more like the heathen around them. This led the saducees, also receiving many rebukes and corrections from Jesus, to hold ideas and practices that today we might label as liberal. For example, the saducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead while the pharisees did. A parallel could be drawn with the rise of modernism in the late 1800s that in many ways denied religious belief. When this modernism began to influence the Christian churches the "liberals/sadducees" began to adopt the ideas of the surrounding culture by denying miracles or the virgin birth of Jesus for example. This was seen as a danger to fundamental, or core, Christian belief and was responded to with a series of essays published from 1910 - 1915 called The Fundamentals. In time, those who adhered to the fundamentals began to see "modernism" everywhere and took on similar characteristics of pharisaism focusing more on external things as separation from the culture than a pure heart. Eventually, certain groups of these Christians attempted to separate themselves more and more, and like the pharisees of old, began adding to the Word of God their own teachings and practices.

Understanding pharisees and pharisaism is helpful in understanding the Lord's teaching on the Sabbath here. I have heard it said by some in defense of not keeping a Sabbath day that Jesus broke the Sabbath. Well-meaning Christians (at one time, myself included) do not realize what they are saying when they make this statement. To suggest that Jesus broke the Sabbath day would make Jesus out to be a law breaker against God's Law. Jesus was, according to the Scriptures, born under the Law and lived without sin. Breaking the 4th commandment was a sin punishable by death. My dear brethren, if Jesus actually broke the Sabbath day then he was a sinner! God forbid!! Jesus never once broke God's Law. What Jesus did break were the additions this group added to the Law of God and the ways in which they attempted to keep the Law but didn't. 

In these accounts Jesus teaches us something very important about the Sabbath. Our text in Matthew, Mark, and Luke show us that the Lord's practice and teaching was for the purpose of correcting this. The pharisees were offended that Jesus and His disciples went though the grainfields and were plucking heads of grain and rubbing them in their hands in order to eat. When wheat is rubbed together in the hands the chaff is rubbed away and the grain, or seed, is exposed and is edible. How beautiful a picture this gives to us. As His disciples were rubbing the chaff away to bring out the good seed to nourish themselves, Jesus' teaching was rubbing away the false ideas the pharisees had encased the Sabbath in. Jesus was not teaching that we do not have a Sabbath Day to keep. He was correcting and stripping away a false understanding of it. From our three texts I have drawn the following points.

1. The questioning of the pharisees was one of lawfulness.
2. The pharisees inability to see the true meaning of the sabbath was their pride.
3. The true meaning of the Sabbath
4. Jesus is Lord of the sabbath.

1. The questioning of the pharisees was one of lawfulness.

"At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  Matt 12:1-2.

It is plain from this text that this statement from the pharisees is a legal one of which the pharisees considered themselves experts. In Mark and Luke's gospel we do not have these words posed as a statement like we read here, but rather as a question. I found this interesting because very often I have asked the Lord questions that haven't really been questions. I have been asked questions by skeptics that haven't really been questions, but have been more accusations and challenges. The Gospel of Matthew gives us this bit of information that is helpful in understanding this passage. Seeing how Jesus answers the question confirms this.

Their accusation was that what His disciples were doing was not lawful. They had judged that what these disciples were doing was breaking the Sabbath. Is this the proper understanding of the Law? The pharisees were men of the Word. They believed the Scriptures, zealously followed the Law, and separated themselves from things and others in order to keep the Law blamelessly. There is a part of me that can relate to these men. I must confess myself a pharisee also. In my zeal for personal purity and holiness I have separated myself from many things. And there is a truth here that ought be forsaken. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Cor 6:17-18). This exhortation we find given to us from the Apostle Paul, himself of the sect of pharisees, who understood and taught the Gospel of grace in truth. The Lord has not called us to uncleaness but to holiness (1 Thess 4:7). But like the pharisees of old I have at times gone too far and falling into the same prideful trap they did. Thanks be to God who gave us these Scriptures to help us learn from them so we may know how to walk as we ought to walk without forsaking mercy.

2. The pharisees inability to see the true meaning of the sabbath was their pride.
Jesus is a master physician who first seeks to clear and clean a festering wound before trying to bind it up. "Have ye not read.." He says in verse 3 of Matthew. "Have ye not read so much as this.." We read in Luke 6:3. "Have ye never read.." we find in Mark 2:25. Jesus lays the ax at the root of their pride which is at the heart of all pharisaism. These were the most read men in all Israel. These were the most learned and skilled in the law. And yet the Lord asks them if they have ever read about an account of King David! Of course these men have read this. They read it and did not understand it. The prided themselves on their learning and if they are to learn anything at all this pride has to go.

What Jesus teaches in this regard both hacks off the pride of the pharisees and instructs us on what indeed is lawful to be done on the sabbath day. Now, concerning the question on whether or not there is a sabbath day for the Christian believer, these passage do not offer support for saying there is not. Rather, they offer instruction for a proper understanding of what is lawful on the sabbath day. One has to admit that it would be quite odd for Jesus to teach these things if He intended to remove the sabbath day altogether.

3. The true meaning of the Sabbath.
There are two examples that Jesus sets before us for what lawful sabbath day obedience looks like.

First, King David and the men that were with him. "But he said unto them, have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?"

This account is given in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. I will not quote the passage entirely, but it gives the account of David coming to Ahimelech the priest asking for bread. The priest tells David that 'there is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread.." This was the bread set aside for the temple service and was not be eaten. But this was all that was in the house to give and the Scriptures says the priest gave this bread to David which he and his men surely ate. The sentence of death was upon those who were not proper to even touch these things (Num. 4:15) let alone take and eat them. Yet David did this and lived. Why? Because the Lord desires mercy and not sacrifice. The Lord desires compassion. Did the pharisees understand that the purpose of the temple service, the showbread, the sacrifices, the incense, and all these other most holy things pertained to giving mercy to God's people? Does God need bread to eat that it cannot be taken from His service to be given to those who needed food for the bodies God had made and for the men who were hard at work in the service of the Lord?

This example Jesus gives us shows us that it is not unlawful to be merciful on the sabbath day. To do the work of mercy is lawful. "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would  not have condemned the guiltless." Matt 12:7. This clearly shows us that neither Jesus nor His disciples were actually breaking the sabbath. What Jesus is teaching here is to help us and pharisees of any sort understand that they had misunderstood how to keep the sabbath day.

Second, the priests performed much work on the sabbath day in the service of temple. "Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?" We can look to Numbers 28:9-10 to see works done on the sabbath day that would normally be considered profaning or dishonoring the sabbath.

Numbers 28:9-10 "And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: this is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering."

There was a great deal of work that went into these preparations. Yet this work was not counted against the priests as breaking or profaning the sabbath. Why? They were obeying the commandments. This shows us two things. First, that the sabbath day is kept even when some work is being done. Second, that which Mark's Gospel reveals, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." Mark 2:27. Under the old covenant sacrifices needed to be made on the sabbath day according to the Law of God and therefore it was lawful to perform the work necessary to accomplish this. Therefore, works of necessity to the service of God and man are lawful to be performed on the sabbath day.

"But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple."Matt. 12:6. The priests under the old covenant did not break the sabbath by doing the temple service any more than the disciples of Jesus did by their actions. It was merciful to permit the hungry disciples refresh themselves as they continued to labor in the Lord.

4. Jesus is Lord of the sabbath.
A final point should be made and that is what we have from Jesus: "..the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." What right had Jesus to declare that what His disciples were doing was not profaning the sabbath day? The same as He taught us regarding David and the priests. By the authority of God Himself. Jamison-Faussett-Brown's commentary contains one of the most sublime and poetic I have found so far on the passage. Consider what they say,

In what sense now is the Son of man Lord of the sabbath day? Not surely to abolish it - that surely were a strange lordship, especially just after saying that it was made or instituted for Man - but to own it, to interpret it, to preside over it, and to ennoble it, by merging it in the “Lord’s Day” (Rev_1:10), breathing into it an air of liberty and love necessarily unknown before, and thus making it the nearest resemblance to the eternal sabbatism.

In other words, Jesus is the Lord of sabbath and it is His rightful place to restore the sabbath day to its pristine beauty and benefit to mankind that it was meant to be.
 

In conclusion of this initial examination of the Scriptures, it is clear that these passages do not teach that Jesus broke the sabbath day. They teach how the sabbath is truly kept holy before the Lord. It warns me not to take this day in my hands like the pharisees and make of it what they did. It teaches me to remember mercy and do to good on the sabbath. These texts also teach me to consider not only this commandment but all the commandments under such light of mercy and truth.

May the Lord help me and all to a better understanding. 

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."

Preface - Contemplation

I am beginning a study on the subject of the Sabbath Day. This is a much debated topic, it seems, and became a controversial one for me many years ago. If the truth be told, I did actually depart from a church surrounding this subject (it was not the main reason, but rather it was a good bit of arrogance on my part that I left). The good pastor of the church was to teach a series on the subject and I had left before I heard it.

I do not want to state the differences here or make this a polemical research project. Lately my heart has grown more and more in its desire to follow all the ways of our Holy and Awesome God. In my Scripture readings I have been in Deuteronomy and have been impressed by the Word with regard to the commandments of the Lord. In Deut. 30:2,6; 11-16; 20 we can read of God's heart and commandment for His people. He desired they be circumcised in their hearts in order to love the Lord God with all their hearts and soul, to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments. It was God's desire and commandment that His people truly love Him, obey His voice, and cling to Him because He is their life and length of days. As I read these words my heart burned within me and my mind was aflame with joy. When I read them I long and yearn to fulfill every single one of them. And I should because His mercy has saved such a man as me, most unworthy, and has written His Law upon my heart.

I found my heart saying to the Lord God of all the earth, 'Father, if thou hast commanded a Sabbath for thy people still, and if in my arrogance I rejected the notion, forgive my foolish ignorance and show me thy truth. I will keep thy Sabbath to the end of my days and teach my house the same for thy glory and honor."

It is with such a heart that I seek the truth of the matter. And if truth continue to be told, I can say gladly that a good part of my desire would be to find that such a Sabbath day is given to the Christian to keep. I cannot tell you for certainty as to why, but if this is indeed the case my heart would delight in it and run eagerly now to obey without hesitation and without any grief at all. I love the Lord Jesus and desire with all my heart to obey His commandments. Concerning the truth of Jesus' own teaching we have the promised that "If anyone will do to His will he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority." John 7:17 It is my hope and prayer that God tests my heart and sees that it is my desire to do His will and that He would be pleased help my understanding to know the truth of the matter.

What is before my mind is to answer the question that is taught and practiced by many holy brethren today and has been taught by many more who came before me regarding the Sabbath Day. Is one day in seven still binding upon the people of God? Has this day been moved from the 7th day to the 1st (from Saturday to Sunday) by the Lord Jesus? Are Christians to keep holy one day in seven as the people of God did under the Old Covenant did, but now to keep this under the New Covenant showing the Law truly written upon our hearts to now keep the Lord's Day as a Sabbath? So that my reader may know that this has been taught and believed for centuries, consider that great and wonderful confession of the Westminster divines. Taking an early version of this, The Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646, in Chapter 21, under the heading "Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-Day" we read: 

VII. As it is of the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath.

VIII. This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations; but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

So far I have taken a conscientious objection to these points. My personal statement of faith is the 1689 London Baptist Confession which contains the identical language as this concerning the Sabbath-Day. Now I wish to re-examine my view in light of Holy Scripture. When J.C. Ryle wrote of the life of John Wyclif he exhorted his reader that Wyclif ought to be remembered as one of the first Englishmen who maintained the sufficiency and supremacy of Holy Scripture. I give the following quote from Ryle's work:

The importance of this great principle can never be overrated. It lies at the very foundation of Protestant Christianity. [...] The true Christian was intended by Christ to prove all things by the Word of God, all churches, all ministers, all teaching, all preaching, all doctrines, all sermons, all writings, all opinions, all practices. These are his marching orders. Prove all by the Word of God; measure all by the measure of the Bible; compare all with the standard of the Bible; weigh all in the balances of the Bible; examine all by the light of the Bible; test all in the crucible of the Bible. That which can abide the fire of the Bible, receive, hold, believe, and obey. That which cannot abide the fire of the Bible, reject, refuse, repudiate, and cast away." -Light from Old Times

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. I believe there is a small danger in presuming at times that all our beliefs are gold, silver, and precious metals having survived the fires of Holy Scripture. I acknowledge that there is a genuine openness in my heart to believe the old Reformers and Puritans and follow them in this teaching. However, my present viewpoint does not think this teaching stands to the teaching of the Bible. It is my present belief that I wish to put on trial again. I wish to pass it though the fires of the Scriptures once more and beg God's mercy to correct my thinking if He will (and if needed!) My only desire in this, as best as I can tell, is to obey the Lord in all His ways, commandments, statues, and judgments. I trust wholly in Him and lean upon Him alone. I am clinging to him for this grace. May the Lord Jesus be pleased to show me His truth that I might more fully walk in His ways and teach my home the same.

Prayer before Study 
Truth in Jesus 
Life-Giving God, Quicken me to call upon thy name, for my mind is ignorant, my thoughts vagrant, my affections earthly, my heart unbelieving, and only thy Spirit can help my infirmities. I approach thee as Father and Friend, my portion for ever, my exceeding joy, my strength of heart. I believe in thee as the God of nature, the ordainer of providence, the sender of Jesus my Saviour. My guilty fears discourage an approach to thee, but I praise thee for the blessed news that Jesus reconciles thee to me.

May the truth that is in him illuminate in me all that is dark, establish in me all that is wavering, comfort in me all that is wretched, accomplish in me all that is of thy goodness, and glorify in me the name of Jesus. I pass through a vale of tears but bless thee for the opening gate of glory at its end. Enable me to realize as mine the better, heavenly country. Prepare me for every part of my pilgrimage.

Uphold my steps by thy Word. Let no iniquity dominate me. Teach me that Christ cannot be the way if I am the end, that he cannot be Redeemer if I am my own saviour, that there can be no true union with him while the creature has my heart, that faith accepts him as Redeemer and Lord or not at all.- The Valley of Vision


The Study

The title of this blog post is from Hebrews 4:9 "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." The word here in the original, as best as I understand it, is Sabbatismos, which means "to keep the Sabbath" and is the same word used in Exodus 16:30 and Leviticus 26:35 in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and so this shows that the meaning is consistent and understood correctly. This is indeed a Sabbath. The next question we may ask is which Sabbath is it referring to? There were many Sabbaths under the Old Covenant. For example, in Leviticus 16:31 we read of a Sabbath regarding the sin offering for the whole congregation of Israel that took place "In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month.." I believe the context of the passage in Hebrews supplies the answer.

In verse 4 of chapter 4 we read, "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works." This quotation is from Genesis 2:2 where the Scriptures declare that after God had completed all his creative works he ceased from His works of creation and hallowed the 7th day. In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he ceased, or rested, from His work.  I think our first point is clear: This is the the 7th Day Sabbath that is referred to in Hebrews. It may serve us well now to look at a slightly larger context than the the few verses we have just looked at. Our text is found in Hebrews chapter 4 which before this the apostle has been teaching us regarding the supremacy of Christ Jesus. If there is one great theme of epistle of Hebrews it is that Jesus is highly exalted. in every sphere of creation, from everything in heaven and on the earth, Jesus has the preeminence. In comparison to Moses, who indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, Jesus was faithful as a Son over His own house. It is on this testimony that the apostle says "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me, tried me, and saw my works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, they always go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways. So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest." Heb. 3:7-11

Here the great apostle lays at the feet of everyone, Jews in particular, the words of God found in the 95th Psalm to warn and exhort us to beware. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." v. 12 "But exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

Friends and brethren, there are a multitude of applications that could be made from these texts and a thousand sermons that might be preached from them. I do not want want to lose sight of our topic for them, but if God by chance may bring some poor sinner along to read this obscure and unknown blog who may need to hear these things then I will not have wearied my reader with a small digression. We are seeing the broader context here of our text in chapter 4 and we are seeing much more. There is a solemn atmosphere with these verses as in a moment when all seems to pause and time stands still for a second. "Beware, brethren.." He speaks to us as fellows citizens. Surely the apostle had in mind his Hebrew brother. And if I be permitted, I could have in my mind my fellow American. Beware my fellow citizen...take careful heed and pay strict attention here unless there be in any one you the same evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. When you hear the great and glorious news that some 2,000 years ago how this Jesus from Nazareth came and lived and did miracles and wonders, was crucified, and rose again. That He, Jesus, is the promised Messiah. Jesus is the one God told Eve about at the very beginning of time. The first woman was tricked by Satan and it grieved her heart I am certain. But God made a promise to her, the mother of all the living, and to Adam, the father of all mankind, that He would through the woman's seed, through a child from mankind, bring in a Savior who would destroy the power of Satan and save mankind from the destruction of sin we all were plunged intro through their disobedience.

This Jesus is that Savior, that holy Child promised by God from the beginning of time, foretold and prophesied by all the prophets, given testimony to by all the Law and Psalms. He has come. The Son is has come and redeemed us and His Name is Jesus. Today, dear sinner, if you are lost yet and separated from God. If your sins have not been washed away. If your guilt and the guilt of your father Adam still abides upon you, today...if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. Do not allow an evil and unbelieving heart prevent you from entering His rest. Jesus is that Savior and He is alive from the dead. Our sins were born by Him on the cross and He speaks to you today: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:15

But this day is not for you alone dear sinner. It is also for you my backslidden brother or sister. "For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence to the end." Any who are truly the followers of Jesus Christ, any who are really His disciples, are the ones who hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast to the end. O backslider, I have been where you are. I have wearied along the path from the city of destruction to the celestial kingdom. I have stepped out of the way and grew slothful and returned to the mire. If you are in this awful condition, hear me! Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart! Stop from your sinning and return to your Savior. Remember from where you have fallen and come back! The promise is still for you, but only while it is still called 'Today.' He will not be angry with you forever if you repent! "With who was He angry forty years?" "to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest?" "Was it not with those who sinned, with those who did not obey?" "So we see that they could not enter because unbelief." (see verses 18-19 of chapter 3).

And so we have our slightly broader context and some needed application. There are many in America today possessed of an evil heart of unbelief and many brethren who have fallen back into sinning. In this context, after showing the supremacy of Christ Jesus and announcing the day to hear the Voice of God and enter His rest, we are exhorted this:

"Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of your seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heart it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He said: 'So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest' although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

There are several things we must note from these words. The first, that the gospel was preached to them as well as to us. Those whom the apostle refers to, of course, are the people of Israel whom the Lord brought out of Egypt by a mighty hand with signs and wonders, and who promised good and glad news to them of a land flowing with milk and honey, but that generation did not inherit those things because they did not believe the Lord by keeping His commandments, His ways, His statutes, and judgments. But Caleb and Joshua did enter. Why? Because they believe the Lord, because they wholly followed the Lord. As it is written, "Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb the son of Jephuneh, and Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord. So the Lord's anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone." See Numbers 32:11-13

Friends and brethren, it was unbelief that kept that generation out of the land of Canaan and it will be unbelief that keeps us out of heaven. It is most certainly unbelief that leads to disobedience. If you were in a store one day, and a man came running inside yelling that a meteor was about to strike the store, would you not run out and seek shelter? Only if you believed the man. If you did not believe him you might continue shopping or even laugh. And yet if he were right then you would perish when the meteor struck. Many preachers have preached for years of a terrible destruction, one far worse than death, and that is the second death. The second death is what the Bible calls Sheol, the lake of fire, what we know as hell. Hell is a place of everlasting burnings and everlasting death. And it is the place every wicked evil person will go. It is the place where those with an evil heart of unbelief will go. Be sure that you do not go there. Be certain that you do not perish here in this wilderness of the world and fail to enter that great Canaan rest promised by God.

Good news was preached to them and good news has been preached to us. The word did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith. "So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter my rest" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Why does the apostle add here "although the works were finished from the foundation of the world" ? I believe the very next verse supplies the answer, "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works; and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest." v.4-5 The apostle is tying two Scriptures together, one in Genesis 2:2 and the other in Psalm 95. One by Moses and the other by David, far removed from each other. Why? Because line upon line, little by little, God reveals His truth. Isaiah 28:10-13 teaches us this great principle,

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, to whom He said, This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest, And, This is the refreshing. Yet they would not hear. But the word of the Lord was to them, Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught."

For anyone who may doubt that these passage speaks of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and in particular the miracle of the gift of tongues and their purpose, may refer to 1 Corinthians 14:20-22. This is why tongues are a sign for unbelievers and not for believers. 'That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.'

The apostle contends that some must enter God's rest, This is His Holy Sabbath spoken of in Genesis and later spoken of again in David. "again He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." So we can see the point made plainly. The rest spoken of in David is His rest. That is, it is God's rest that He first spoke of at the dawn of creation and after a long time spoke again of in David which we find in the 95th Psalm. The apostle, I think, then anticipates that some may have supposed that it was Joshua who gave the people rest because he is the one who by God's hand brought Israel into the promised land. "For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day." says the apostle in verse 8. The rest spoken of here was not what Joshua the son of Nun did.

And now we come to our text "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." There remains therefore a Sabbath keeping for the people of God. "For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

This is quite an extraordinary statement. If I may phrase it is this way, 'There does remain a keeping of the Sabbath for the people of God. And when we keep this Sabbath we cease from our works as God did from His. The remaining verses of 11-16 I will leave for another blog post. For now it is good after such a long path to re-trace our steps and follow where we all should want to go: into the Sabbath of the Lord. Let us enter into His rest. There are five things that I think are noticeable from the text.

The first is to take notice of is the warning, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." It is plain that our first step is to believe. We are to trust in the living God and not be like those who did not trust or believe in Him.

The second is to take notice of is the day. "Today, if you will hear His voice." The day is not tomorrow, is was not yesterday. The day is Today. "again, He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

The third is to take notice of is those who are partakers are partakers to the end. There is no such thing as a half-way road to heaven. A road that does not lead all the way is not a good road to take at all to any place. And the pathway to the Kingdom of God is path of holding steadfastly to the end.

Fourth, we can take notice and find comfort and hope that good news has been preached to us also, and we who have believed do enter that rest. The good news, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, has been preached to us. It has been preached to you this day as you read these words. Therefore, the promise is to you who hear His voice and do not harden your hearts. If you believe, you have entered His rest.

Fifth, that a Sabbath-Day keeping is taught in this passage. There is indeed a Sabbath that remains for the people of God, which is His rest, and is the clear teaching of the passage. That the seventh-day rest spoken of by God found in Genesis 2:2 is His rest is also clearly taught in this passage. That the day in our text in Hebrews is designated as "Today" is also plain.

What remains is to see is how we might arrive to moving from "Today" to one day in seven. Perhaps that the Scripture here unite Genesis with the Psalms is sufficient. If then taken with other Scriptures we can arrive that the Sabbath-Day is still indeed binding on the people of God. If I have any readers I would welcome any comments.

My next course of action will be to continue to pray and think on these Scriptures, compare Scripture to Scripture, and then to make use of some good commentaries and works by proponents of Sunday Sabbath-Day keeping to see how those holy men treat these texts. I will be considering John Own, John Bunyan, Matthew Henry, and perhaps a few others.

For my next texts I will examine how the Lord Jesus treated the subject in the Gospels.

Till the next post,

Soli Deo Gloria

New Era of Spiritual Decline - The "Unprotestantizing of Protestantism"

Christianity Today posted an article yesterday reporting on meeting between Pope Francis and the general secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance, Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe. Dr. Tunnicliffe is quoted in the article as saying, 

"Evangelicals are a very diverse group that includes peoples and churches from Pentecostal traditions, Reformed, Baptist and independents. We share a common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and a desire to serve God's kingdom, we have a heart to encourage personal spiritual renewal and transformation and a passion to make Jesus known around the world. As we seek to obey Christ, we see this time as a new era in Evangelical-Roman Catholic relations."

The "we" Dr. Tunnicliffe is referring to is listed on his website: Converge Worldwide, Evangelical Assembly of Presbyterian Churches in America, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Evangeliska Frikyrkan, Fellowship of Evangelical Churches, Korea Evangelical Fellowship, Presbyterian Church in America, Talitha Koumi Evangelical Churches, The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, The Convention of Evangelical Churches in Israel, The Salvation Army, The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC)The Wesleyan Church, and The World Reformed Fellowship. 

There are other affiliations and alliances within this group. The statement of faith these groups have agreed to is as follows:

We believe

...in the Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy; and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct...One God , eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...Our Lord Jesus Christ , God manifest in the flesh, His virgin birth, His sinless human life, His divine miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, His mediatorial work, and His Personal return in power and glory...The Salvation of lost and sinful man through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith apart from works, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit , by whose indwelling the believer is enabled to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ...The Unity of the Spirit of all true believers, the Church, the Body of Christ...The Resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

The reason for including this statement of faith is to show that sometimes what isn't said is as important is what is said. There are few of us who hold fast to the true faith of the Bible that would deny anything contained in the above statement of faith. It is agreeable to many. But I think this is the purpose of such statements of belief. They are bereft of enough biblical truth as to be agreeable to the orthodox and heterodox alike. Both the heretic and faithful can shout a hearty Amen! But hold up a standard such as the Westminster Confession, The London Baptist Confessions, or the three forms of unity (Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort, Heidelberg Catechism) and you will find much less "unity" among these groups. The main divergence and dissent will be between the Protestant/Reformed Churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

But someone may say, 'But look! The Presbyterian Church in America is there! And look, there is the World Reformed Fellowship! How can you say such things?' I can say them because I have read their confessions and catechisms. There are strong statements in them regarding the papacy. One can only conclude that these groups are moving away from their own creeds for those still holding the ancient confessions. Sadly, most have departed from them. 

The Pope's full address to world evangelicals is found online. I am a bit of a "Johnny-come-lately" to this dialogue learning from the Vatican's website that discussions have been going on for the last five years. The Christianity Today article summarizes the gist of the desire, I think, on behalf of the Vatican and WEA as well as other groups that are working toward this ecumenical alliance with the Papacy: 

"The effectiveness of the Christian message would no doubt be greater were Christians to overcome their divisions, and together celebrate the sacraments, spread the word of God, and bear witness to charity."

The appeal to unity has been a desire of many believers throughout the centuries. Divisions in the Christian church have existed from its inception being brought upon it by false teachers and the antichrist spirit. It is expected by Bible-believers that these things will continue until the Lord Jesus returns. The Pope, I think, would like to see all these groups celebrating the sacraments together. I do not think many evangelicals today understand what the papacy means by sacraments. There is a lengthy article on New Advent (Roman Catholic Encyclopedia online) but this statement is helpful in highlighting the difference: 

"Protestants generally hold that the sacraments are signs of something sacred (grace and faith), but deny that they really cause Divine grace. Episcopalians, however, and Anglicans, especially the Ritualists, hold with Catholics that the sacraments are "effectual signs" of grace."

This seems to me to highlight the important distinction between papal and "popish" views on the "sacraments," I have been reading a most wonderful book by the late J.C. Ryle entitled "Light from Old Times." The beginning chapters recount succinctly the Marion Persecutions and highs the martyrdom of nine eminent protestants of that day. This work by Ryle was first published in 1890 and still speaks to us today. I wonder if it were not an act of Providence itself that I should be studying the Papal burning of our Protestant forbears and then happen upon this great call from the Papal throne to join with them in a "common faith" and to celebrate sacraments with them. 

Listen to the goodly Ryle comment from the Church of England some 124 years ago when the Ritualists referred to from New Advent were rising: 

"I simply give it as my opinion that no plain main in his senses can read the writings of extreme Ritualists about the Lord's Supper and see any real distinction between the doctrine they hold and downright Popery. It is a distinction without a difference, and one that any jury of twelve honest men would say at once could not be proved." p.50

It seems that New Advent would heartily agree with the old Dr. Ryle. In Ryles book, "Light from Old Times" he clearly shows that the sacrament that the Papacy in that day burnt our Protestant brothers and sisters over was the Lord's Supper. To my knowledge this Pope nor any other have changed their position on transubstantiation. In the Pope's address he spoke of the sacrament of baptism. It is no wonder that this one might have preeminence by the papacy as they hold it first among the seven sacraments and without which one cannot be saved, is properly administered to infants to remove original sin, and is only recognized if done by the Roman Catholic Church or by her principles. 

The minister of this sacrament is the priest, to whom it belongs to baptize, by reason of his office. In case of necessity, however, not only a priest or deacon, but even a layman or woman, nay, even a pagan orheretic can baptize, provided he observes the form used by the Church, and intends to perform what the Church performs. - The Decree for the Armenians", in the Bull "Exultate Deo" of Pope Eugene IV

Yet, while the recent commentary from the Pope references baptism, it references the sacraments and certainly intends all that the Papacy holds. Brethren, the Papacy does not wish mutual respect with Protestants or Evangelicals. It intends submission to itself. It sees itself as the Universal Bishop still. It sees itself as still Head of the Church. I will close this exhortation to not be deceived by this Papal pageantry with the words of Ryle which though he be dead, still speaks. (but not to in any way diminish the blood of the martyrs which suffered under the Papal teachings still promoted by them to which I think cries out from the ground against he Papacy even to this day): 

"But what are we going to do? The danger is very great, far greater, I fear, than most people suppose. A conspiracy has been long at work for unprotestantizing the Church of England, and all the energies of Rome are concentrated on this little island. A sapping and mining process has been long going on under our feet, of which we are beginning at last to see a little. We shall see a good more by and by. At the rate we are going, it would never surprise me if within fifty years the crown of England were no longer on a Protestant head, and High Mass were once more celebrated in Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's. The danger, in plain words, is neither more nor less than that of our Church being unprotestantized and going back to Babylon and Egypt. We are in imminent peril of re-union with Rome." p.52

While Ryle certainly had his nation in mind in these things, he was not too far off. The Papacy was working on "unprotestantizing" Protestants 125 years ago and continue her labor to this day.