Is There A Lord's Day?

One of the strangest things, I think, going on in modern evangelical Christianity is the wave of new approaches to observance of the Sabbath, or Lord's, Day. I love my ESV Study Bible. It is a fantastic resource and guide for reading through any section of Scriputre. But it has the most bizarre and misguided note on Romans 14:5&6. Those verses read:

"One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honour of the Lord..."

The ESV Study Bible comments:

"Given the Jewish background, the day that is supremely in view is certainly the Sabbath.... Each person must follow his own conscience. What is remarkable is that the Sabbath is no longer a binding commitment for Paul but a matter of one's personal conviction. Unlike the other nine commandments... the Sabbath commandment seems to have been part of the "ceremonial laws" of the Mosaic covenant, like the dietary laws and the laws about sacrifices, all of which are no longer binding on new covenant believers. However, it is still wise to take regular times of rest from work, and regular times of worship are commanded for Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25; cf Acts 20:7)."

I found this quite incredible. I had always taken Paul to be referring here to the various "mini sabbaths" that had built up in Jewish tradition and custom - virtually any holiday or feast was known as a"sabbath" - and of course these and the sacrificial demands certainly are done away with after the finished work of Jesus. But surely the Sabbath is not invalid! What sort of theology do we have when we start claiming which of the ten commandments is still valid and which isn't!

Browsing through the Desiring God website, I was interested to see that John Piper had dealt with the issue fairly recently. As one of the leading reformed pastors in America today - and a contemporary and role model for many of the reformed leaders who seem to have developed a very loose theology concerning Sabbath observance - I suspected he too would dismiss the subject as no longer relevant after the Lord's life, death and resurrection.

Instead he preaches a great sermon on the theme of Christ as our rest and the need to remember that on the Lord's Day. He begins with the text in question, Romans 14:5, and moves through the creation account, the receiving of the Mosaic Law, through to Jesus taking on the Pharisees in Matthew 12 and John 5. Halfway through I wasn't sure about his phraseology or where he was going, but he tied it altogether brilliantly. His central point, partly based on Jesus' words in John 5:17, is that Jesus came and completed God's work on the cross, thus providing eternal rest for those He would save. In that sense, Christ is our Sabbath. He is the reason we have rest and security. In another sense of course, no one will experience true rest until they reach Heaven. So there is a Lord's Day, and it has its purpose in resting in recognition of what Jesus has done. We will rest eternally in Him, not in our work or earthly pursuits. The implication from Piper, though he is careful not to get bogged down in do's and don't's, is that we should set those things aside on the Lord's Day. I found that line of thought wonderfully refreshing and encouraging.

So I would heartily recommend this sermon both to the Christian who thinks the Lord's Day ends with the benediction, and to the Christian who has lost sight of why they do and don't do this or that on the Sabbath Day. I know I was convicted of both to varying degrees after listening to this. Watch and discuss!