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Posted by on Sep 4, 2011 in Christian Life |

Keller on Wisdom and Sabbath Rest

Having written a series on the Sabbath in the past, and given an opportunity to teach on the Sabbath in the near future, I thought it would be worth reflecting on an article I read this past week by Tim Keller on Wisdom and Sabbath Rest.

I would encourage reading the whole article, as there’s lot of food for thought, but his conclusion neatly summarizes his point:

The purpose of Sabbath is not simply to rejuvenate yourself in order to do more production, nor is it the pursuit of pleasure. The purpose of Sabbath is to enjoy your God, life in general, what you have accomplished in the world through his help, and the freedom you have in the gospel—the freedom from slavery to any material object or human expectation. The Sabbath is a sign of the hope that we have in the world to come.

That is a helpful reminder regarding the purpose of intentionally taking a break from our “worldly employments and recreations” (Westminster Short Catechism). God has given it to us to enjoy what he has made. Keller also helpfully articles the importance of Sabbath rest in a world consumed with productivity and overworking. It was a reminder to me that overworking is as much a violation of what God has given us as are other, more common designators of breaking the Sabbath command.

Notwithstanding these helpful contributions, I felt like Keller missed or ignored several important elements of the Sabbath discussion. He give short shrift in the article to the resting of the Sabbath to be from work and to corporate worship. He briefly mentions going to church on Sunday as part of a Sabbath rest, but it seems to me that regardless of the other elements, our participation in the spiritual rest offered by corporate worship needs not less emphasis, but more in our current evangelical scene. That’s not to say that Keller thinks corporate worship is unimportant. I’m sure that he does. But it seems like that worship ought to hold a more prominent place in our reflections on the Sabbath.

Additionally, he dismisses any church guidelines on how we keep the Sabbath. I fully understand why he’s dismissive. I do believe there are many in the Reformed world who are uncharitable towards those who hold a different view of Sabbath observance. And I’m sure that there are communities that try to enforce one set of views on it in an ungracious way. But on the other hand, if the church is to help its members apply Scripture to every area of life, doesn’t it mean at a minimum giving some guidance on how Sabbath-keeping should look? Probably Keller just means that such guidance shouldn’t take the form of overly rigid rules. But nonetheless it seems that we ought to be concerned to wrestle together with how the Sabbath can be observed, not that we will always all agree, but nevertheless encouraging one another to reassess our practices in light of the implications of Scripture.

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Posted by on May 15, 2011 in Christian Life |

4 Views of the Sabbath

The June 2011 issue of Ligonier’s Tabletalk magazine features a few articles regarding the different views of the Sabbath that exist today. Entitled Four Views of the Sabbath, it features articles from the following perspectives: the Seventh-Day Sabbath (Skip McCarty), the Puritan Sabbath (Joseph Pipa), the Lutheran Sabbath (Charles Arand), and the Fulfilled Sabbath (Craig Blomberg). The articles are brief and easy to read, as is the introductory article by R.C. Sproul which explains some of the history of the controversy. It’s encouraging to see some interaction happening about this topic.

If it piques your interest, those same four authors contributed to a much longer discussion of the issue in a recent book, Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four Views. Hopefully I’ll have time to work through that at some point as well.

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Posted by on Mar 28, 2011 in Book Reviews |

Sabbath by Dan Allender

Given my own Sabbatarian beliefs, I was intrigued to read Sabbath by Dan Allender. It is not something that is discussed regularly in broadly evangelical circles, so seeing it from a broadly evangelical publisher and a broadly evangelical author made me curious.

There is some that is commendable in the book. Allender illustrates in practical ways why a Sabbath is helpful, he unequivocally argues that the Sabbath is a command to be obeyed, and he gets at the root of why many people do not observe the Sabbath in any form. Further, he emphasizes helpfully that the Sabbath is supposed to be a delight, not a hindrance. Too often we view any sort of restriction on the things we want to do as a bad thing, but in this case, in can be a healthy and wonderful thing.

Nonetheless, I cannot recommend this book for several reasons. First, he rarely lets the Scriptures speak in order to determine what the Sabbath is or how it is to be used. Most of it is practical reflections on the Sabbath–some helpful, some not–with precious little biblical interaction. Other than a brief mention of Matthew 12, he does not address the New Testament’s teaching on the Sabbath at all (Hebrews 4, Colossians 2, Romans 14).

Secondly, his presentation is quite out of tune with church history. There is a rich reflection on the Sabbath in the Reformed tradition, and he does not even attempt to interact with it. And this leads to the third problem.

Thirdly, in his eagerness to show how the Sabbath is a delight, he puts emphasis in a misguided direction. His summary of the delight of the Sabbath covers four areas: (1) “sensual glory,” (2) “rhythmic repetition,” (3) “communal feasting,” and (4) “just playfulness” (31). Neither Scripture nor church history quite puts the Sabbath in such a perspective. Glorying in God’s creation, having family rituals, enjoying meals together, and having fun through playing together can all be good, God-honoring things. They’re just not what Scripture uses to describe the Sabbath. Scripture presents it as a rest from work to both physical and spiritual rest. Thus while Allender de-emphasizes the role of corporate worship on the Sabbath, Scripture seems to put a high priority on that as a means of spiritual rest.

Thus while I am happy that some evangelicals are reconsidering the beauty of the Sabbath, I also wish that in so doing, they would connect it with Scripture rather than just personal touches for having a delightful day.

[Note: I received this book free from BookSneeze for review purposes.]

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Posted by on Jan 19, 2011 in Christian Life |

Calvin Wednesdays #9: Purposes of the Sabbath

While Calvin’s view of the Sabbath has been a matter of some discussion because of seemingly differing statements in the Institutes and his Commentary on Deuteronomy, I was encouraged and challenged by what Calvin has to say about the purpose of the institution of the Sabbath as God gave it.  In the section in which this quote if found, he mentions that many have argued that the Sabbath was fulfilled and abrogated in Christ, but nonetheless, if one accepts the ongoing validity of the Sabbath, the following thoughts are helpful:

The purpose of this commandment is that, being dead to our own inclinations and works, we should meditate on the Kingdom of God, and that we should practice that meditation in the ways established by him…

First, under the repose of the seventh day the heavenly Lawgiver meant to represent to the people of Israel spiritual rest, in which believers ought to lay aside their own works to allow God to work in them. Secondly, he meant that there was to be a stated day for them to assemble to hear the law and perform the rites, or at least to devote it particularly to meditation upon his works, and thus through this remembrance to be trained in piety.  Thirdly, he resolved to give a day of rest to servants and those who are under the authority of others, in order that they should have some respite from toil. [Institutes II.7.28]

In other words, the Sabbath was given (1) to provide spiritual rest through God’s appointed means, (2) to provide a day for worship and fellowship, and (3) to give rest from the toils of the week.  Far from being restrictive, this can be one of the greatest blessings, as it provides an opportunity to step back from the hectic pace of life and enjoy the blessings that God has given.

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Posted by on Oct 14, 2010 in Christian Life | 4 comments

Recent Articles and Posts about the Sabbath

For those studying the issue of the Sabbath, several articles and posts have been put up today representing different views on it.  First, Justin Taylor posted an excerpt from Tom Schreiner’s new book, 40 Questions about Christians and Biblical Law.  See that post here: Is the Sabbath still Required for Christians? Schreiner’s basic thesis is that the Sabbath was tied to the Mosaic covenant, and is thus no longer applicable with the coming of Christ.  This would be the common view in evangelicalism today.

Secondly, in response to that post, R. Scott Clark posted some thoughts defending the traditional (as in, Westminster Confession of Faith) view of the Sabbath: Do Reformed Christians Confess the Sabbath? One of his primary points is that the Sabbath is not grounded solely in the Mosaic covenant, but in the creational order established by God, an order that continues on to this day.  His tone towards the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” is not always helpful, in my opinion, but he nevertheless gives some helpful thoughts on the issue. [Update 10/15/10: Clark has added some more thoughts on the Sabbath, together with some suggested resources: Resources on the Christian Sabbath.]]

Lastly, Justin Taylor posted again, pointing out the fuller treatment of the Sabbath in D.A. Carson’s book, From Sabbath to Lord’s Day. While I haven’t read that book, it would likely be a helpful discussion from the more typical evangelical perspective from a pastor-scholar.  Here are some resources for the Reformed view as well: Frame’s chapter on the 4th commandment in The Doctrine of the Christian Life gives an overview of the Reformed approaches to the doctrine, Joseph Pipa’s The Lord’s Day (I haven’t read this one, but I’ve heard it faithfully explains the Westminster view), Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four Views, and of course, the chapter on the Sabbath (XXI: Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day) in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

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