THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Your Word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens, and Your laws endure to this day. Help us, O God, by the grace of Your Spirit, to love Your Law. Direct our footsteps according to Your Word, and let no sin rule over us. May the Law from Your mouth be more precious to us than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. May Your Law be our delight, that we may faithfully follow Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfilled Your Law, and who gave Himself for us to redeem us from the curse of guilt under the Law. Grant us this grace, we pray, that we may truly glorify you and enjoy you forever; through the saving grace, mercy, and power of Jesus Christ, whose holy name is above all names. Amen.

THE ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE

 "Now to Him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by His blood, to Jesus Christ be praise, honor, and glory, now and forever. Amen."

THE SERMON

Most of all, it is my prayer that God by the power of the Holy Spirit would so work in us by the truth of His Word, that we would "no longer be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds " (Romans 12:2). I pray that this sermon would be used by God to grant the gift of repentance to us with regard to the Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." And when that repentance truly takes place in our minds, hearts, and wills, then, in the words of Isaiah, we will "call the Sabbath a delight" (Isaiah 58:13). "Call the Sabbath a delight" — that’s what this sermon is all about.

Let me review, very quickly, the foundational principles for understanding and obeying God’s Moral Law in the Ten Commandments. First of all, God is good, and God’s Law is good, and God’s Law is for our good. God did not give the Ten Commandments in order to burden us or to punish us; He gave the Ten Commandments in order to bless us and our children.

Secondly, God’s Law is not the way of salvation — we cannot be saved by obeying the Law, because we all have already broken it [Romans 3:20]— but God’s Law is the way of life for those who have been saved by Jesus Christ. Remember that Prologue of Grace which comes before any of the commandments: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Therefore, as God’s people, saved and delivered and set free by Jesus Christ, and filled with His Spirit, we are called to live no longer as slaves to sin, in rebellion against God’s law, but as a slaves of righteousness, living in holiness, according to God’s holy Law, faithfully following our Savior Jesus Christ [see also Romans 6:15-23; Romans 8:5-11].The Law of God is not the way of salvation, but it is the way of life for those who have been saved by Jesus Christ.

And, therefore, for the Christian, obedience to the Law of God is not legalism. Obedience to the Law of God is an expression of gratitude to God for His sovereign, saving grace, and an expression of trust in God as we live according to His Word, and an expression of humble submission to God as our Creator, our Redeemer, and our eternal King. And so, as Christians, our prayer should be, in the words of Psalm 119, "direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight."

So, with regard to the Fourth Commandment, out of love for God, and gratitude for His grace, we are to "call the Sabbath a delight" (Isaiah 58:13). But I think that in contemporary American Christianity, there is hardly any better public evidence for the worldliness of the church, the secularization of God’s holy people, than in our neglect of keeping the Lord’s Day holy. As Walter Chantry has written,

A basic problem for us contemporary American Christians is that, since the "blue laws" have been repealed, and our society in general no longer observes the Sabbath, and we consider Sunday to be the "weekend" — our "free day" — we really don’t know what it means to "keep the Sabbath holy" other than to "go to Sunday School and church" on Sunday morning. Just in the same way that we contemporary Christians do not recognize blasphemy when it stares us in the face, so we do not realize how we desecrate the Sabbath and violate the Fourth Commandment. To a large degree, it is really a problem of honest ignorance. But honest ignorance is no excuse.

I will never forget the day I visited in the home of an elderly gentleman, who was a true elder, in the church of my first pastorate. He lamented the modern mindset. He said, "When I was a child, we called it ‘the Sabbath.’ Then, they started calling it ‘Sunday.’ Now, they just call it ‘the weekend.’" And how many times have I heard it said, "But Sunday is my day ... Sunday is my only day to ... ." No, it’s not. The LORD God has given you six days of the week on which to do all that you need to do in this world. But one day a week is His day, the Lord’s Day. It belongs to Him, in a special way.

In the space of one generation, we American Christians have lost the knowledge of what it means to hallow the Lord’s name and to hallow the Lord’s Day. And our children are growing up in a society that knows neither and cares for neither. Are they growing up in a family that knows neither and cares for neither? Are they growing up in a church that knows neither and cares for neither? True repentance is a change in our minds (what we think), a change in our hearts (our affections and desires), and, therefore, a change in our will (how we act, what we do). Do we "call the Sabbath a delight?" Do we "Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy?"

Before we go any further, I want to address two technical questions. The first is, Is the Fourth Commandment still in force, still valid, now that Christ has come? Or was it one of those ceremonial laws in the Old Testament that has passed away now that Christ has come? We know that Jesus Himself got into a lot of trouble with the scribes and pharisees by doing "work" on the Sabbath. Does that mean that He, "the Lord of the Sabbath," has repealed the Fourth Commandment? No, it doesn’t. Jesus did not break the Fourth Commandment. Jesus violated the traditions and the legalisms of the scribes and pharisees, but He did not break or repeal the Fourth Commandment. His "works" on the Sabbath were works of mercy and of necessity — works of mercy done to bless those in need, and works of necessity for His ministry or for those who were following Him in ministry. A simple, modern illustration of this is that, since it is necessary for me to lead corporate worship and to preach the Word on the Lord’s Day, even though it is my work, I am not violating the Fourth Commandment in doing so; nor is a physician or a nurse or the medical technician who makes his or her necessary rounds at the hospital on the Lord’s Day for the good of those patients in need; nor is the police officer who, out of necessity, for the public good and order of society, is called to work on the Lord’s Day. And there are other illustrations, but remember this: "works of necessity" are not works which I need to do for myself, but works which are absolutely necessary for the good of others and for the maintenance of human society. And the point is that Jesus’ works on the Sabbath were works of mercy and necessity which did not break the Fourth Commandment, and did not repeal the Fourth Commandment. It still stands.

But, the second technical question is, "Why don’t we Christians observe the seventh day as the Sabbath? After all, that’s what the Fourth Commandment says." Yes, but there is clear evidence in the New Testament that the Lord has changed the day of rest. There is still a day of Sabbath rest, for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9), but under the New Covenant in Christ, it is not the seventh day of the week, but the first day of the week. (You know, don’t you, that Sunday is not the weekend, but the first day of the week!). It is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. Therefore, we Christians, gather on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, just as did the apostles and the other first-century Christians. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week and appeared to His followers; and then, one week later, on the first day of the week, He appeared again to the disciples as they were gathered together (John 20:1, 19, 26). Then, those first Christians began to gather regularly on the first day of the week, as we see from Acts 20:7, First Corinthians 16:2, and Revelation 1:10, which refers to "The Lord’s Day."

This follows the pattern of changes from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The Old Covenant had two sacraments: circumcision and the Passover. The New Covenant has two corresponding sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Old Covenant had a Sabbath day remembering God’s work of creation, and celebrating His rest on the seventh day; and the New Covenant has a Sabbath day, remembering God’s work of redemption in Christ and celebrating His resurrection on the first day of the week. And so on the first day of the week, The Lord’s Day, we cease from our work, celebrating the fact that we rest — listen to this! — we rest in the work of Christ accomplished for us by His death and resurrection!

Our Sabbath rest on the Lord’s Day is a sign that we rest in Christ for our salvation, a sign that we are not saved by our works but by the work of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose again on the first day of the week. Every Sunday, every first day of the week, is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a celebration of His work accomplished for us by His resurrection from the dead, and so it is called, "The Lord’s Day," and so we are called to rest from our work that we might rest in and celebrate His work of salvation for us. And so the Lord’s day, the first day of the week, as our day of holy rest, is our day of celebration and our foretaste of the glorious eternal rest that is promised through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now, in tonight’s sermon, Part 2: "Celebrating and Delighting in the Sabbath," I’m going to include some practical teaching about what it means for us to keep the Sabbath holy. (And, we really need a Sunday School Class or special "how to" workshop on Sabbath-keeping, and, Lord willing, we’ll have one in the future). But I want to begin Part 2 now by pointing out what a blessing the Fourth Commandment is to us. The LORD God commands us not to work on the day of Sabbath rest. To rest from our work is to rest from all worldly engagements, entanglements, burdens, activities, and distractions. This commandment is for our good! God is giving to us one day out of every week on which we are to break the routine of work and worldly activity and go on a spiritual retreat and enjoy a spiritual feast for the refreshment of our souls. God is calling us, so-to-speak, to leave the world behind — that is, in terms of our mundane, worldly cares and routine — and to enjoy a whole day of unencumbered, undistracted worship and fellowship with Him and His people. The Lord commands us to keep the Sabbath holy because He does not want us to be bothered with the things of this world on His appointed day of Sabbath rest. He doesn’t want you worrying about how much you’ve got to do, or how much you didn’t get done, or about your dirty laundry, or your taxes, or your home repairs, or the bills you’ve got to pay, or whether your grass needs cutting, or sorting through your junk mail, or anything else that would hinder you or distract you from Him, His Word, His fellowship and your fellowship with His people. The whole day is the Lord’s Day and is to be devoted to Him. And there is great and refreshing freedom in that, rest and refreshment of body, mind, spirit, and soul.

And what about our children and youth, and their "homework." I am of the firm conviction that our children and youth need Saturday as a free day, (just as much as adults), and Sunday is to be observed as the Lord’s Day; and therefore, especially Christian schools and Christian teachers ought not to assign homework that is due on Monday; and in any school situation, as much as is possible, by way of self-discipline and preparation, homework on the Lord’s Day ought to be avoided, so that children and youth, together with their families, can enjoy the whole day as a spiritual retreat.

What the Lord is saying, in His goodness and grace to us, is, "On my Day, none of this other stuff matters. I command you, on My Day, to forget the things of this world and to focus on Me, and to enjoy My fellowship and to delight in My Word, and to rest in the promises of the gospel, and to be free — to be free from the burdens of your labors, to be free from the demands that this world places upon you." Now, do you see how good and gracious God is? Do you call the Sabbath a delight?

But it is His day — the whole day, and the whole day is to be kept holy. And when God commands us not to "work," He commands us to rest from all "worldly activity." In other words, Sunday is not a "holiday"; it is a holy day — a day "set apart," a day which belongs to the Lord, which He has declared to be used for His holy purposes. Now, for example, why would we, as God’s holy people, worship Him on His holy day, and then go inundate ourselves in the world, plunge our hearts and minds into a flood of worldly distraction, by going shopping for the things of this world, or by surfing the web, or by watching the television on Sunday afternoon and sit through a barrage of million-dollar commercials designed to motivate us by greed, covetousness, envy, gluttony, lust, and pride? Why would we do that on the Lord’s Day, when we have been commanded and called to leave the burdens and distractions of this world behind in order to rest and feast in fellowship with God and His people, and to meditate on His Word, and have special time to spend in prayer, and have special time in which to do deeds of mercy in Christ’s name, on this holy day of spiritual retreat?

Or why do we let our lives be legalistically oppressed by the world on the Lord’s Day? Your daughter’s soccer coach informs you that she has soccer practice on Sunday afternoon: So? Has that coach ever created the world in six days, or risen from the dead on the first day of the week? Do you remember the movie, Chariots of Fire? It’s a true story about Eric Liddell, who refused to run a qualifying heat in the Olympics because it was scheduled on the Lord’s Day. Can you imagine passing up the opportunity to win a gold medal in the Olympics because your qualifying heat was scheduled on Sunday? But he wouldn’t run. He wasn’t some "wacko." He was a Scottish Presbyterian --- one of our spiritual forefathers. He later died on the mission field in China. Think about Eric Liddell and the Olympics, the next time your son or daughter has an athletic activity, or any other worldly activity on the Lord’s Day. You, and your children, are not obligated to do anything on the Lord’s Day, except to worship the Lord with His people, and to spend the whole day free from the activities and busy distractions of this world, meditating on God’s Word, resting in body and soul, spending time in prayer, and in spiritual fellowship and conversation with His people, or reading the Scripture or a book that is spiritually upbuilding, and doing deeds of mercy to others, and enjoying other family activities which build you and your family up in faith and love. You are free to call the Sabbath a delight. And the Lord will bless your family life if you honor Him on His Day.

Well, the rest will have to wait until Part 2, in evening worship. But that’s precisely my last point. Rivermont Presbyterian Church has maintained the historic Christian practice of Evening Worship on the Lord’s Day. It’s not an add-on; it’s not just another activity or program here at the Church for those who "like it." It is the historic practice — the normative practice — of historic, evangelical Protestant Christianity, but which most American Christians have simply abandoned in the last half of the twentieth century. Evening Worship is simply the continuation of our worship on the Lord’s Day, in order to keep the whole Sabbath holy. It is our way of delighting in the Sabbath — gathering again with God’s people to honor His name, to hear His Word and to sing His praise, and to offer our prayers to Him, keeping our hearts and minds focused on things above, things eternal. I want especially to exhort our young adults with young children to keep the whole Sabbath holy, and to bring your children to evening worship. Think of the impact in their lives, of learning from early childhood, to keep the whole Sabbath holy, simply as a way of life under the grace of God. Think of the impact that that could have on the future of this nation.

I have a vision of this sanctuary filled-up on Sunday evenings, with the youth after the youth group meeting, joining together with their families, and the little children coming happily along with their parents, and the senior members of this congregation in fellowship with young adults, and the elders of this church leading in worship and prayer. Think of the impact that this congregation could have on this community, simply by its witness and example, if on Sunday evening it were as hard to find a parking place as it is on Sunday morning. And the watching world would ask, "What’s going on at your church on Sunday nights?" And all you would have to say is, "We call the Sabbath a delight, because on the first day of the week our Lord Jesus rose from the dead, and so we spend the whole day celebrating His resurrection, and the promise of eternal life through Him." To God be the glory. Amen.