– 9 Min Read
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
– Matthew 11:28
B.B. Warfield said, “Christ took the Sabbath into the grave with him and brought the Lord’s Day out of the grave with him on the resurrection morn.” [1]. Christ gives us rest here, now, and in the future glory to come. Christ gives us rest on the Lord’s Day and will give us a greater rest on The Day of The Lord. So let us rest when we assemble together on Sunday in honor of Christ’s work, collectively looking onward to our future rest when all the saints of all the ages assemble together in glory.
Since we should rest on the Lord’s Day we should then ask, “how does this New Covenant rest look?” After all, if you do indeed believe that the Christian Sabbath is Sunday, you will be accused of being a legalist. To prevent Pharisaism in the church it is important how we explain it and articulate it to our congregation. I think the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Larger Catechism help us think through that dilemma.
Q: “What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment?
A: First, that the gospel ministry and schools for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to the Lord publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.”
– The Heidelberg Catechism (Question: 103) [2]
We should be diligent in attending the assembly of God’s people as we have already discussed.
Q: “How is the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day to be sanctified?
A: The Sabbath or Lord’s Day is to be sanctified by an holy resting all the day, not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even from such worldly employments and recreations as are on other days lawful; and making it our delight to spend the whole time (except so much of it as is to be taken up in works of necessity and mercy) in public and private exercises of God’s worship: and, to that end, we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.”
– The Westminster Larger Catechism (Question: 118) [3]
What the Westminster Larger Catechism has in mind when it mentions the exception of works of necessity and mercy is seen in Luke 13.
“But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? 16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.”
– Luke 13:15-17
Jesus is making the point that God’s vision of the Sabbath was never about paralyzing His people. It was about blessing them with a day for them to find rest. It’s for us to rest from the world around us and enjoy time set aside to worship God. Do you think enjoying the blessings of God is an act of worship? Because it is. Do you think it pleases God to see His creatures enjoy His mercies? It certainly does. I hope people will stop reacting to the teaching of a Christian Sabbath on the Lord’s Day by calling it legalism. It is not legalism to require the compliance of something God asks of us.
And it is not about what you can’t do, but more about what you can do. Necessity and mercy are still to be upheld on the Christian Sabbath. If someone has a flat tire and needs help changing it, there is nothing wrong with showing them mercy by helping them. A wife cannot invoke Sabbath rest on the Lord’s Day to get out of cooking a meal to feed her children because that is a necessary thing. It is quite simple. A pastor’s job is to preach on the Lord’s day, this does not mean that he should abandon his responsibility to preach, because the preaching of the Word is a necessity and a great mercy to God’s people (John 21:15-17; Rom, 10:14; 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:1-2).
Do you delight in spending the whole of your Sunday worshiping God? If you answered, “Well I don’t spend the whole day worshiping God; for who could do such a thing?” Then I think you are not only missing the point of Sabbath rest but also the idea of worship. Resting from your work by resting in Christ’s work is worshiping God! It pleases God when we rest in Him, that is why He was pleased to offer rest one day in seven at the beginning of creation. John Stott says;
“The climax of Genesis 1 is not the creation of human beings as workers but the institution of the Sabbath for human beings as worshippers. The end point is not our toil (subduing the earth) but the laying aside of our toil on the Sabbath day. For the Sabbath puts the importance of work into perspective. It protects us from a total absorption in our work as if it were to be the be-all and end-all of our existence. It is not.”
– John Stott [4]
God has created us to be worshippers. God certainly does delight in our works of service to him, if they are done in the proper manner (1 Cor 3:10-15, 1 Cor 15:58). But it especially delights the Lord for us to worship Him. The Lord’s Day is a day of worship. It is a day that is set aside for the church so that they may prepare their hearts and set their focus on worshipping the Lord. Worship the Lord in all that you do on His sacred day. After all, it is the ordained time set apart for you to do such a thing with the saints. Assemble together and worship Christ who is seated on His throne, for He has risen!
“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
– 1 Corinthians 10:31
This is a text for all of life, for all of time. Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. This is certainly a text that no one would disagree with. Everyone loves to quote this text. This is a text used in counseling other Christians through their parenting, marriages, occupations, or anything you can think of. We love to slap this verse onto any advice we give other believers. But if you say, “Make sure everything you do is for the glory of God, especially on the Lord’s Day.” Well, now you are a legalist. It is quite annoying, to be honest, but let us be patient with our dear brothers and sisters.
“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:14
Be patient with all of them. Be patient with your idle brothers and sisters. Be patient with your weaker brothers and sisters. Admonish them towards the right attitude of the Lord’s Day. Help them in their understanding of the Lord’s Day and how it should be kept holy. But while you are doing this, be patient with them. Walk them through their ideas of Sunday and show them that the Lord is indeed delighted to give them a day of rest and worship of Him. That it is for their joy and benefit. Enjoy the Lord on His day which He has blessed. Take the view of the Puritans who referred to the Lord’s Day as “the market day for the soul.” Love the Lord’s Day for it is a sanctified day. Treat it as holy and enjoy the blessing. Not seeking to be justified from it, but to be filled and refreshed from it, for it is a day of rest. There is no shred of evidence that the New Testament requires only nine of the Ten Commandments. Derek Thomas puts it this way;
“Something of the old covenant had been fulfilled; something of the new needed a new way of demonstrating how the fourth commandment now operates. The Old Testament “Sabbath” and the New Testament “Lord’s Day” are, therefore, in principle, one and the same.”
– Derek W. H. Thomas [5]
And that principle is one of remembering it, keeping it holy, and resting on it. Enjoy the Lord’s Day brother! Enjoy the Lord’s Day sister! For Christ has provided rest for you through His glorious work and is coming back to bring you to a final resting place. Rest in the knowledge that you were purchased for God by His Son’s own blood. Rest in the knowledge that you have been declared justified from your sins by Christ’s resurrection. Rest in the knowledge that just as He has entered into His rest you too will one day enter yours. Rest in the knowledge that when you do enter that rest it will be through the door, which is Christ.
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”
– John 10:9
Read Next: The Christian Sabbath Part 11: How to Rest on the Lord’s Day
Works Cited
[1] Benjamin B. Warfield, Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield. (New Jersey, Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970) 319.
[2] The Heidelberg Catechism, Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms. (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2022), Question 103.
[3] The Westminster Larger Catechism, Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms, (Wheaton, IL, Crossway 2022), Question 118. Question 118.
[4] John Stott, The Radical Disciple: Wholehearted Christian Living. (Downers Grove, IVP, 2010), 59-60.
[5] Derek W. H. Thomas, Let Us Worship God: Why We Worship The Way We Do. (Sanford, FL, Ligonier Ministries, 2021), 24.