Holy Day or Holiday? (Part 4 of 4)

All of us) establish rules for the well-being of our children are not a formal punishment government for their good today on Truth for Life. Alastair Begg reminds us that God's plan for a Sabbath rest has a similar purpose rather than being a restriction it's ultimately for our benefit.

Back today in Exodus 20 verses eight through 11 so what then possible abiding significance is there in the Sabbath, principal, let's apply it.

First of all to society and to unbelievers in general.

First of all, because we're presumably not going to say that it's wrong or futile or irrelevant to confront unbelievers with the law of God also sends because by the law comes the awareness of sin. We must recognize that then sin can be made understandable in the minds of our unconverted friends when they see that this command remains in Scripture also sustained emphasis upon the necessity of Sabbath observance is a restraining influence which prevents other kinds of multiple transgressions. The other reason that we would want to hold up the abiding principle of the Sabbath are unbelieving friends is because the observances which the Sabbath enjoins upon us are means of grace under channels of salvation simply what we're saying is that we can urge our neighbors and our friends even from an external perspective to cultivate these observances then they will come within the sound of the word of God right and we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

So by calling them into Christ's way. They may come to know Christ physically. The outward observance of the Sabbath promotes public order and it makes for the preservation of some of our most cherished rights and liberties unrestrained violations of the economy of God's plan from all of creation destroys peace, and in our own country. Here in getting up on that which is a creation, principle, namely the Sabbath purposes of God. We introduce this integration into the civil and social order of our nation think it what about the application, not simply to society in general. But to the church and particularly to believers.

Let's say this out observance of this fourth commandment is relevant not in isolation but is relevant in the context of the whole plan and purpose of God.

Most of us know if we have lived around any kind of Sabbath unionism at all that observance of the Sabbath principle can so quickly become an instrument of self-righteousness.

It can so easily become marked by legalism and by externalism and it was that legalism and externalism which the Pharisees had championed and which Jesus addressed there in our reading in Matthew chapter 12, you may want to turn to it just once again as I mentioned these Pharisees were experts at keeping the outside of the cup clean. Remember Jesus said when the insight be allowed to be dirty there where he said like whited sepulchers on the outside were fairly impressive, but in the insight it were full of dead men's bones. They had made the commands of God rather than them being the paths of joy and of liberty they had made them burdensome. The added to them and he had destroyed the enjoyment potential in them for so many who sought to be obedient and so Jesus is making it clear here in this section. In Matthew 12 that there are certain works which Jesus defended as happening on the Lord's day, and this is a this is a quite interesting a context. For example, he says that in verse five in verses three and four.

Sorry, there are works of necessity, which are countenanced on the Sabbath. There saying you should be eating these court this corn and eating them and he says, haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry.

He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests in verse five, or haven't you read in the law that on the Sabbath the priest in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent.

What is that mean what it is the explanation as to what is happening when in the role of pastor and teacher and pastors we serve the people of God in the context of worship. We will say will that on you breaking the Sabbath yourselves on you breaking the Sabbath that you're upholding no not in the ultimate sense insofar as works of piety such as that which was carried on by the priests are where countenanced in the temple, and in verse 11 he points out that works of mercy are also defended within the framework of the Lord's day what he was addressing and rebutting and defending his disciples against was censorious next or if you like the kind of sophistry which these Pharisees were using taking their rabbinical teaching and their traditions and perverting the Sabbath institution and by doing so they had transformed it into an instrument of oppression and into an instrument of hypocrisy so they were hypocrites and they had made it something that it wasn't. And so Jesus says in works of mercy in works of necessity and in works of piety we still maintain the principle which God is established from all creation. So we need to understand the Sabbath commandment must never be isolated from God's law in its entirety, nor from the gospel in regenerating and in redeeming grace. At the same time we need to realize that the relevance of the Sabbath is tied up with a find that it is a positive requirement. It is a positive requirement. Most of our reactions to the notion of the Sabbath are because we believe it to be negative.

There is no question that many have spoken of the Sabbath simply in those terms. And there is a danger of negativism in the weariness of a kind of soulless inactivity. But as we tried to say this morning to understand the rest of the Sabbath isn't idleness. The rest of the Sabbath is not simply rest from that which marks the other days, but it is rest to and rest in our worship and our contemplation and our prayer and our fellowship when God's people understand this, then they will not see the services of the Lord's day as intrusions upon their day of rest by they will go home and close the door and thank God that since the purpose of the Sabbath is for worship and for edification and for fellowship and for rash and for contemplation.

They will thank God that they have been made part of our church family that has given itself to make sure that the people of God will be able to spend their Sabbath's with the greatest profit for one day when we get to heaven and we enjoy in all of eternity. The worship of the love the praise and the adoration we may just recall an evening communion service when somehow our hearts were lifted up within us somehow or another. The veil was pulled back as we sign. I cannot tell why he whom angels worship should set his love upon the sons of men.

Why a shepherd he should seek the wonders to bring them back. I know not how you know what that is often in the singing of those hymns of praise. It is often in those moments of holy contemplation that we get just a glimpse of what heaven might be, but no participation, no worship no: let me give to you.

Just a couple of quotes as we move towards a conclusion. Let me give you a little flavor of how traditionally people have taught their children and one another.

The nature of the fourth commandment. This is the Westminster confession of faith. Speaking as to the nature of the Sabbath. It reads as follows. This Sabbath is then Holy unto the Lord, when men after a Jew preparing of their hearts and ordering of their common affairs before do not only observe unholy rest all the day from their own works, words and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations but are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship and in the duties of necessity and nursing the shorter Scottish catechism question.

How is the Sabbath to be Holier to be sanctified. Answer the Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations is unlawful on other days and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God's worship except so much as is to be taken up in works of necessity and of mercy. The fourth commandment for bid.

If the omission or careless performance of the duties required in the profaning of the day by idleness or doing that which in itself is sinful or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works about our worldly employments or are recreations unnecessary thoughts, words, works about our worldly employments or are recreations do you know how quickly after the benediction we manifest what's really on our hearts.

It doesn't take five minutes because out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak and when when the worship is over and the praise has ended and the music has ceased to play. Then we return how quickly to the considerations that God is intended, we would leave be signed on this, of all days. It simply an act of obedience and simply an act of the will, it simply a positive perspective on the wonder of the provision that God has made in this fourth commandment, perhaps the greatest danger of all says one minister is the conversation before and after our worship. Some talk of politics and business. Some of family circumstances. Some of their cars or houses. Some of the weather and some of their neighbor. Such conversation is sure to bring a blight upon the soul. If we want to profit from public worship. Let Christ we are one glorious theme before and after.

Let us talk about him. Even if we do not have much to say plywood that closed down many of our conversations. Much of what we falsely refer to as fellowship. We so quickly returned to the vein jangling's that have preoccupied us even on the day that God gave to us to be free of such preoccupations. We say to me, Alister, is this not a lofty standard. Yes is it an unattainable standard. I don't know. Is it possible for us really to enjoy the Lord's day see people think I was weird.

I used to tell him I always go in the bathroom before I come to preach.

I did it for years. When the call came to this church to come to America.

The man who came to find me find me in the bathroom. The reason I was in the bathroom was not because I needed to make use of the facilities, but because it was the only place that I could be free from people talking about their cars in their caravans and the golf in the soccer and every other thing. Not because I'm very pious, but because I find my heart a great desire to talk about cars and caravans and golf, and soccer. So it was an act of the well on my part to shut myself away that I might come as it where to the task at hand from the framework of that kind of positive perspective, you know, loved ones, if you would endeavor to do that on the Lord's day worship would be exponentially transformed. I guarantee it. If you were to determine that in your preparation for the worship of the Lord's day you would do as much as it is in your strength to set aside every worldly concern every recreational desire, every element of that which means so much on other days simply because of the positive potential of what is about to be enjoyed and I can guarantee you that things would be radically different if we were to make our way post worship into the company of one another to speak about the greatness of God and the truth of his work on the wonder of his dealings with us in the Fort Jason glimpse of heaven, then we should begin to understand some of these one another passages in the New Testament about edifying one another and encouraging one another and speaking the truth to one another, and building one another up how in the world is that supposed to take place.

We can do it on any other day were not even together on any other day, so if, on the one day that we have the opportunity to be together, we treated as we would every other day. Then it diminishes the potential of being together and it is because we do that, we determined that there is really no validity to see the evidence. This is what it will take if were going to profit from the Lord's day with this I conclude when I tell you for things. First, if we would really profit from the Lord's day. There must be a deep and unshakable conviction of the divine warrant for the keeping of the Lord's day established an online that's where we began. And that's where we conclude until you as an individual come to that. All that I have said today. Although we have studied today will appear either to be cultural to be customary or even to be legalistic but once we come to an unshakable internal conviction as to the divine warrant of the fourth commandment, then the door opens for profit on the Lord's day, Richard Dabney, writing in an earlier century said all men who really fear God will begin to sanctify his day, and once that conviction is established. Little more remains to be done little more needs to be said little more needs to be expressed in terms of talking about the X in the box in the maybes and the dues in the dorms and the lists of things that are published by churches saying this is this and this and this and this will need to do that if once the conviction has been internalized and lives of those who love Jesus – number one, a deep unshakable conviction of the divine warrant fourth commandment.

Secondly, we must have a deep impression of the tremendous importance of the day for ourselves. We've got to come to the conviction that this is supremely important.

This is important like no other day is important. This is an opportunity like no other opportunity exists.

Think about it if it was given in creation before the fall in paradise Carafate men and women were to celebrate the Lord's day. If it was necessary for them to observe the Sabbath without sin in the pristine nature of God's creative order there in their sinless state to have a Sabbath for the development of their spiritual nature as singleness people are much more necessary for us to have this day for the development of our spiritual nature. Thirdly, if we are to benefit from it.

It must be observed as a complete day of rest.

There is no valid reason in Scripture for professing Christians to work on the Lord's day, except in cases of piety necessity and matters. The only thing that legitimizes it at this point in history is the prevailing influence of our secular culture. Fourthly, and finally the Sabbath must be a day of spiritual improvement.

That's what it's about the improvement that comes in public worship improvement that comes in families having time not around the television, not around the local sporting event for those things will come and go, and will be of relevance in heaven, but tame around the Lord Jesus's word and his purposes. The spiritual improvement that comes from religious reading.

Many of us have never read the Bible through ever.

Do you know that you could read it through. If you just determined to read if you never read any other day in the week. If you determine to read five or six chapters 3 points on the Lord's day you would read through the Bible in a whole year. If you never read it. Monday through Saturday and what of all those books that we wanted to read when you reading and what of secret prayer and what of holy meditation and what of anticipating the fact that one day the silver cord will break and in an instant, who will be in the presence of Christ. Isaiah chapter 58. If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day. If you call the Sabbath of the light in the Lord's holy day Hon. and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please. Her speaking idle words then you will find your joy in the Lord is a direct correlation between joyful Christianity and the spending of the Lord's day, and I will cause you to write on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father, Jacob, the mouth of the Lord spoke of. Once I commend to your careful consideration the issues that we've addressed today as we gather around the Lord's table now. What a wonderful privilege that is set apart one day and seven when untrammeled by the rest we may give him are totally devoted attention. We been listening to Alister Greg.

The message of our series title pathway to freedom.

This is true for life. Today's message reminds us that the Lord today.

Should be a source of joy and spiritual growth as we spend time in worship and sit under the instruction of God's word and his Alister mentioned a Sabbath observance was never intended as a negative requirement to keep us from having fun. In fact, none of the 10 Commandments were given to restrict our lives there given to set us free. You can find out more about what that means is you read Alister's book title pathway to freedom. It shares the same name as our current series and it will both encourage you and convict Peck. According to Alister, there can be no greater adventure than to live the Christian life energized by God's spirit committed to an inward and spiritual obedience to God's law. Monday is the last day will mentioned this book, so be sure to request your copy of pathway to freedom when you donate to support the teaching you here on Truth for Life. Just click the book image in our mobile app or call us at 888-588-7884 Bob Lapine. Enjoy your weekend and the time you set apart to rest and worship God with your local church and then join us again Monday as we'll discover how the fifth commandment establishes a principle that is it only foundational to a family to an entire society has to do with the behavior of our children. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg furnished by Truth for Life Learning is for Living