Reflections on the Sabbath

 Reflecting on the Sabbath

So recently I've been trying to think a bit more biblically when it comes to the Sabbath, and I think I have something that works well, both from the text and practically. So here's the summary:

Regarding the day, the Sabbath is from creation, and it's more-or-less confirmed in the New Testament, so we should take it seriously. However, the Sabbath being on Sunday is just a matter of practicality and tradition. I mean shoot, the New Testament church moved the "regular day of rest" from Saturday to Sunday. Furthermore, people in ministry often take a proper "day off" on Monday if they have obligations all day Sunday. That's a proper Sabbath too. We should also remember that the Sabbath was "made for man", and so adjusting the day to suit circumstances seems very scriptural.

That's not to take the "regular" Sunday Sabbath lightly, we should endeavor to share that rest with our Christian brothers and sisters in our local congregation, when possible. But we shouldn't get too hung up on the day. In fact, it's noteworthy that Paul specifically warns the Colossians against putting the old Jewish burdens on the Gentiles:

"see to it that nobody takes you captive... according to human tradition..., and not according to Christ. [L]et no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

As far as "what to do on the Sabbath", we should put a priority on simply "resting from normal labors", which is very consistently taught in the Old and New Testament. We can make the "rest" more spiritual, but just like the other parts of the law, it is AT LEAST what it says, a rest from regular physical labor. From scripture, we should also be VERY careful not to be quick to say, "you should do X on the Sabbath", and thus place obligations on others on their day of rest. The Pharisees were rightly condemned for such things.

Now, we do "obligate" worship on Sunday, though perhaps we can agree that it's an example of the more spiritual fulfillment of the Sabbath? We are certainly not "working", but instead receiving blessings and communion and the sermon, through no effort of our own.

Now, for a specific application that I struggled with once, should Christians go out to eat on Sunday? I think it's completely fine. The person serving my food is working on Sunday, but as I've mentioned above, I think it's unscriptural to get too hung up on WHICH day is the day of rest. This person serving food has his or her own day off, but if their employer doesn't allow them a day off, they are certainly violating God's institution of a Sabbath rest. And if going out to eat helps a Christian feel rested on the Sabbath, that sounds like a GREAT thing.

The Absence of Personal Holiness in the Ten Commandments

So, as a new Christian, I learned pretty quickly to avoid naked legalism, that I could earn God's favor and redemption through strict adherence to his commands, but I believe now that I was still suffering under incorrect thinking, not about salvation, but about sanctification. When thinking the Old Testament Law in general, and the Ten Commandments specifically, I often thought in terms of "personal holiness". That is, I felt I ought to peer into my soul and root out any impure thoughts, motives, and intentions; that is, the ones that were not in accord with the underlying principles of God's commands. And then confess, reflect, and further monitor my thoughts and desires, so that my entire being could be transformed, and so that my behavior could be called "good". I now think, however, that this is simply not very biblical, and reveals an immature understanding of God's priorities in his commands.

So what is the priority of the Old Testament laws and commands, if not this idea of "personal holiness"? Looking back to the Ten Commandments, it's noteworthy that they are not presented as a summary of all sin. They were not, for instance, given in the Garden of Eden, and not given when Noah steps out of the ark. They were given when God called out a people as his own, who needed a foundation for this new holy community. 

So the first few commandments define who and how we worship, and are not really the main thrust of my argument here. But it is noteworthy that the motivation is not rooted in God as the Creator, but as the one who chose and saved a particular people for himself. It's the community he chose, and wants to make holy.

For the commandments regarding one's obligations to each other, let's take "You shall not murder" as an example. When Jesus generalizes this command to include "anyone who is angry with a brother or sister", I think it's common for Christians to further generalize this statement into having angry or hateful feelings or thoughts. So, as a new Christian, I felt like it was my duty to "not have bad thoughts". I thought this was the fullest expression of that law. 

Is this really scriptural? Today I would say a STRONG no to that. What is the "summary of the law and the prophets"? Not "having righteous thoughts/actions", but rather, "loving your neighbor as yourself." This transforms those "underlying principles", so that instead of being focused on my own righteousness, I am invited to proactively seek the good of another. So taking the "You shall not murder" as an example, I am invited to consider, preserve, and even protect the live and well-being of my neighbor.

Some also point to the tenth commandment -- about coveting what a neighbor has -- as being a kind of summary of the later part of the commandments, and it's easy to see why: it's forbids the grasping after the blessings of another person. It's a short step from that to rejoicing in the blessings of another, of putting another's well-being even before my own, which is of course the very hallmark of love.

Now, I understand that "personal holiness" is still a good thing, but I think it's best approached as a kind of side-effect of loving others. Surely we do want our thoughts and desires to be free from sin, but as an end to itself, it seems incomplete. Perhaps such a thing was in mind by the Preacher of Ecclesiastes when the reader is warned to "not be overly righteous." Perhaps there's a temptation and danger in becoming a monk on a mountaintop, purifying our thoughts and not engaging with others in community.

So I think this is an opportunity to move beyond "straining at gnats" when it comes to examining one's own sin. Let us be set free to pursue the weightier matters of the law, of binding ourselves together in community, of accountability and confession of sins as they relate to the community of believers we find ourselves in. Surely this is the love that is the fullest expression of the law.