Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy - Fellowship with God and Believers

by Rev. Jai Mahtani

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Rev. Mahtani is pastor of Bethel Protestant Reformed Church in Roselle, IL

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Introduction

This particular sectional will focus on the purpose of the Sabbath Day, namely the worship of God. The worship of God is the chief activity that must fill the Lord’s Day because it is for this purpose that the Sabbath was ordained. Furthermore, the worship of God which is required on the Lord’s Day is not private but public, not personal but corporate. Therefore, the keeping of the Sabbath Day holy involves not only fellowship with God but also with God’s people who join in covenantal worship with the saints.

Worship of God

To keep the Sabbath Day holy means to consecrate the day to God by praising and adoring Him for Who He is and for all He has done for us. While of course we should cease from evil works all the days of our lives, God has been pleased to give us the Sabbath Day, now the Lord’s Day in the New Testament, for the worship of His Holy Name. The 4th Commandment calls us to find our rest in God, to set aside Sabbath Day from all the labors to which we are called during the rest of the week by finding spiritual rest for our souls in our Creator (Exodus 20:8) and our Redeemer (Deuteronomy 5:15).

Psalm 92, a Psalm or Song for the Sabbath Day, describes in the opening words the crux of the matter: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High: To shew forth Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night.” The words of Psalm 118:20 also make this plain: “This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

The Heidelberger tells us in LD 38 that the 4th commandment requires the believer on the Sabbath to be diligent in the worship of God. The crux of the Reformed view of the Sabbath is beautifully described in QA 103. The catechism calls first of all for the maintenance of “the ministry of the gospel and the schools” so that the Church might continue to worship God under chief means of grace, the lively preaching of the Word. Secondly, we are reminded that the Sabbath Day is the Day of Rest, for that indeed is the basic meaning of the word “Sabbath”. This rest is not simply ceasing from all activity but rather the consecration of ourselves to the spiritual rest which we must find in Jehovah our Redeemer. Thirdly, the catechism specifically describes what is becoming of true Christians regarding Sabbath-keeping: we must “diligently frequent the church of God to hear His Word, to use the sacraments, publicly to call upon the Lord, and contribute to the relief of the poor.”

In focusing on the worship of God, the Reformed faith focuses on the true purpose of the 4th commandment and indeed of all the Law of God. The Law mirrors to us our misery pointing us to the need of our Savior so that through Him we draw nigh to God with thankful worship. We must therefore heed the exhortation given in Heb 10:25: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”. This is how we promote the Sabbath in the 21st century: call the people of God to be faithful in worship, reminding them of the main purpose for which God ordained the Sabbath Day.

Fellowship with Believers

It stands to reason that the Sabbath Day must also be filled with the fellowship of believers who join together to worship the Lord. After all, the Sabbath Day was never ordained simply for private and individual use but for the corporate worship of the people of God. The entire household including domestic help and even strangers who come within our gates must cease from labor (Exodus 20:10). This is so that all God’s people, young and old, of whatever status they might be, have the opportunity to come before the Almighty God in worship. This is so that the entire Church might gather to hear the preaching, partake of the sacraments, and commune together as the body of Christ. And, remembering that we too by nature were strangers (Deut. 5:15, Leviticus 19:33,34), we must include the stranger that comes into our midst, and treat such a one with love.

The idea that one may simply stay home and worship God on Sunday privately at the expense of the corporate worship of God is simply wrong. Fellowship with believers through congregational prayer, mutual admonition, use of hospitality one with another, and many other duties of Christians are thus neglected. Even when one cannot find a church of like precious faith, as when one is isolated, or perhaps on travel, one should locate the best church around and seek fellowship with the saints on the Sabbath Day.

Besides, such isolation from the body of Christ is spiritually very unhealthy. We are never called in Scripture to be pilgrims and strangers in the singular but always in the plural. The Church is the body of Christ with many members (1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12) and the Temple of God with many lively stones fitly framed together (Ephesians 2:19-22) The whole body is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies and thus the entire body edifies itself in love (Ephesians 4:16).

While such fellowship with believers can and must exist all the other days of the week, God has ordained the Sabbath Day especially for such fellowship. It is as God’s people heed the call: “let us go to the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122) that they will know these blessings of the Sabbath. It is when they dwell together in unity that they will experience the anointing oil of the Spirit, for there the LORD commands His blessing (Psalm 133). The early NT saints understood this, gathering on the first day of the week to break bread, hear the preaching, and bring alms for the poor (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:2).

Delighting in the Sabbath

God abhors the keeping of the Sabbath which is merely outward; the same warnings that are given in Isaiah 58 against formalistic Sabbath-keeping in the Old Testament apply of course to the NT Church. When the saints would fast without repentance, or call upon God in prayer whilst walking in hatred and cruelty against each other, or when they would insist on exacting judgment yet walk in dishonesty; then they must be warned that Jehovah abhors worship which is mere lip-service. So also it is with Sabbath-keeping as Isaiah concludes in that very chapter:

“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”

It is not the mere observance of the Sabbath Day out of custom or tradition that is pleasing in the sight of God; it never was, not even in the Old Testament. We must love the Sabbath Day; we must so delight in worship of God and in the communion of saints that the keeping of the Sabbath Day actually motivates and stirs us in everything we do with our lives, so that the Spirit of God uses the very love of the Sabbath to direct our labors, our thoughts, guide our plans, lead us in our travels, even our vacations, and our leisure, so that when Sunday comes around, we never count it a burden, but a great joy!

Cultivating Good Habits

As with everything else, if we are to keep the Sabbath Day holy, we must learn to cultivate good habits. It is very hard to break bad habits. If we allow ourselves laxity in Sabbath-keeping, we and our children are going to follow in that way. For example, if we look to the Sabbath Day to catch up on filling our bellies and getting enough sleep, then those bad habits are going to stay with us and affect the way we observe the Sabbath. If, on the other hand, Sabbath observance is merely a formal outward behavior, we will likewise engender a cold despise of it in our households. For example, if there is a long list of do’s and don’ts, without a deep appreciation and love for the Sabbath, we will engender a legalistic and even a pharisaical attitude towards the Sabbath.

What are some of the good habits we ought to encourage with regards to Sabbath-keeping? I would propose a brief list, only in the hopes of stirring up further discussion. Instead of going in the direction of what we may not do, I suggest we talk about the wonderful things that we could do on the Lord’s Day which we are privileged to enjoy. Here are some ideas which my family and I have developed over the years:

1. Prepare for the Sabbath by concluding all labor or leisure activities on Saturday earlier.
2. Pray about the Sabbath Day during the week stirring in the soul anticipation & longing.
3. Make the Sabbath Day restful by singing, spending quality family time, reading, etc.
4. Show hospitality to the saints and to strangers and develop a love for such fellowship.
5. Show kindness to one of Christ’s sheep: visit a widow, write someone who is ill, etc.
6. Talk about the Word preached after service and during the week with fellow believers.
7. Tell others about your hope in Christ and invite them to join with you in worship.

Much-Needed Discussion

God’s people, also those in our own churches and mission fields, face many temptations and pressures and could use much-needed encouragement, godly direction and distinctly Reformed leadership in this area of Sabbath keeping. All around us the Sabbath is either entirely forsaken and despised, or treated in a very nonchalant manner.

Mockingly we are asked the following questions: Why must you go for two worship services? Is one service not enough? Aren’t you going to watch the Super bowl Sunday night? Why can’t we include you in the afternoon schedule at work after you go to church in the morning? Don’t you care about your family enough to join us for the picnic at the beach Sunday afternoon? How do we answer? What is our answer? My church does not allow it? Is that a good enough answer? Are we ready give the reason of the hope within us regarding the Gospel of the Sabbath?

There is also the danger that we ourselves become wishy-washy and cold and negligent with regards to Sabbath-Keeping in this fast paced, materialistic, pleasure-seeking world. We begin to argue: Why must we go to two services when on vacation? After all, though we are in the area to visit one of our mission-fields, we have spent all that money and time to see a certain tourist spot, and nobody will notice anyways! Ah, but we do not usually go to a ball game whilst at home, but we will make this an exception. And pretty soon, Sabbath-keeping becomes a matter of tradition and custom, and we keep the Sabbath Day outwardly, but not with spiritual motivation and devotion.

If we do not promote the Sabbath by equipping ourselves and our people with Biblical answers to these questions, we too will easily give in to the temptations and pressures they face. The battle against the Sabbath rages on. It is true of course that throughout the history of the Christian Church there has been a constant battle to defend and promote the keeping of the Sabbath Day. But the 21st century brings new questions to the table, and opens up many battle fronts for us to assist our people in keeping the Sabbath Day holy. More and more the working world is going 24/7, more and more Christians think they can stay home and listen to a good Christian program like the Reformed Witness Hour, and many in our own circles think attending one worship service is sufficient to keep the Sabbath Day holy. May we stem the tide against all of this by promoting Sabbath through worship and through the communion of the saints.

Some Personal Reflections

Before concluding, I would like to quote for you some reflections shared by a new family that joined us at Bethel PRC in NW Chicago. The Olssons joined Bethel last year and have four young children. They were at our home Sunday evening and in anticipation of this conference, I asked if they would share with us in writing how the keeping of the Sabbath has proven to be a blessing to them and to their children. This is what they wrote, and I quote it with their permission:

“When, in God’s providence, the time came for my family and me to begin searching for a new church, one thing we were looking for was an early service time. Why? Because we wanted to get church “out of the way” so we could get on with the rest of our Sunday. We had been raised to believe that honoring God’s Sabbath was something that was not meant for Christ’s New Testament Church. Then, God, in His providence, led us to Bethel Protestant Reformed Church.

“Now that we have been attending for close to a year (and having been members since November), we look back at the effect of keeping God’s Sabbath has had on our family and on our faith.

“I asked my children what they liked best about honoring the Sabbath. One of my sons said that he likes hearing the preaching and being able to visit our friends in the church. My oldest son said that he really likes the time we take at home to talk about the sermons we heard that day, reviewing what was said and finding ways to apply what we’ve learned to the upcoming week.

“When I posed the same question to my wife, she said that she really likes having one day when she does not have to worry about having some housework to do or something else like that. She can spend longer time reading the Scriptures. Or, she can finish up the latest Standard Bearer that she wasn’t able to finish during the week. Laying aside the typical cares and devoting the entire day to family and studying and worshipping is what she enjoys about keeping the Sabbath.

“After we had been attending Bethel for several months, someone asked me why we meet for worship twice on the Lord’s Day. My immediate thought was, “what, you don’t?” It was then that I realized how much I have come to love meeting twice in God’s house on the Lord’s Day. My answer to him was that we begin and end the Lord ’s Day in His house, worshipping Him. The picture I have in my mind is of the worship services acting as bookends to the Sabbath.

“Honoring God’s Sabbath has strengthened our family. It is the one day per week when Dad is home, and he doesn’t have a lot of work to do. The entire focus of the day is on God and His house. Also on that day is the joy of the communion of the saints. The rest that God gives His people on that day is truly a gift that should not be spurned, but rather embraced with gratitude.”

Concluding Remarks

The above testimonial, in my opinion, has the fragrance of first love; it bespeaks the love and delight that all of God’s people ought to have for the Sabbath Day. May we be encouraged to walk in our first love by keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

The Day is soon coming when Christ shall usher in the Eternal Sabbath. In the new heaven and the new earth the tabernacle of God will forever be with man and there shall be so more separation between heaven and earth (see Rev. 21:3). In that Paradise of God we will have perfect fellowship with God. Besides that, in the new heaven and new earth there shall be no more sea (Rev. 21:1); all separation between the nations will be removed and we will be forever with the saints in perfect communion. May we already now keep the Sabbath Day holy through the worship of God and the fellowship of saints.

Thanks be to God our Creator and our Redeemer who has given us the Sabbath in which to rejoice and be glad. Thanks also to the organizing committee for making us focus on this subject this year at our office-bearer’s conference. And finally, thank you all for your attention and participation in the discussion that will follow these remarks.

The mortal enemies of the Church have always recognized that Sabbath Keeping is one of her mighty bulwarks, and so have always sought the demise of the Sabbath. But God’s Word shall abide forever, and therefore also the Sabbath will continue to the end of the ages, and yes, even into all eternity. Amen.

 

Questions for Discussion*

1. How should we treat the stranger who comes into our midst on the Sabbath Day, not knowing whether he or she is a Christian?
2. What ought to be our example when we are visiting one of our mission fields on the Sabbath Day?
3. Is it ok to worship in a non-PR congregation whilst on vacation or traveling for work?
4. What are some ways we have found fellowship with the saints on Sunday edifying?
5. What are some ways we can help those who are ill or have undergone surgery in our congregation who are unable to attend worship with us for a season?
6. Do you see a trend in our churches where the 2nd service is less and less attended?
7. Can you suggest ways you and your family have found useful in preparing for and keeping the Sabbath Day holy?

* I just put these questions together this morning to get us started, please add your own.