What does it mean practically to keep the Sabbath holy?
Posted: February 3, 2009 Filed under: John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Video of the Week 5 CommentsAlso, read Mark Driscoll’s post yesterday on the Sabbath.
Also, read Mark Driscoll’s post yesterday on the Sabbath.
Michael Dewalt is a humanities teacher and junior high assistant football coach at Cair Paravel Latin School in Topeka, KS. There he also serves as a member of the Integrated Humanities Committee and Academic Committee. His undergrad studies are from Word of Life Bible Institute and Clarks Summit University and his graduate studies are from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and Faith Theological Seminary. He is a member of Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Lawerence, KS, the Evangelical Theological Society, and the American Society of Church History, and winner of the Zwingli Prize Award at the Calvin500 Conference & Tour in 2009. Michael blogs at Gospel-Centered Musings, has written numerous articles for Logo’s Calvin500, Place for Truth a voice of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, and Heritage Book Talk, and is published in the Puritan Theological Journal. Michael lives in Kansas with his wife, Emily, their son Wyatt Cash, two cats Nutkin and Ariel and dog Brutus.
An understanding of Biblical typology also helps put the Sabbath in its proper context. Like much of the Mosaic Law, the sabbath is “the shadow” for which Christ is “the reality” (borrowing terms from the author of Hebrews). I think Christ went out of his way to perform miracles on the sabbath to make this point — He is the one who gives us rest and makes us holy. Any kind of legalistic enforcement of a Mosaic Sabbath would be like embracing a picture of my wife and ignoring her. With that said, the sabbath has not been done away with, but has been fulfilled (like the rest of the Law) in Christ. Great commentary.
Wayne, was not the Sabbath made for man?
Certainly, since Jesus says so. The idea of resting is for our benefit. Leave it to the Pharisees to turn “rest” into “work.”
The seal of God is not on the first day as being the sabbath. The seventh day has the seal of God which makes it Law and that day is Saturday not Sunday.
Wayne, how has the whole law been fulfilled? By your definition it just goes away and doesn’t need to be obeyed anymore, right? What about the other 9 commandments besides keeping the sabbath? are we able to kill, steal and have other gods now that Jesus fulfilled the law? the law is all 613 commandments in the Torah. are we able to have sexual relations with animals now? what about matthew 5:17-19 where Jesus says heaven and earth will pass away before the smallest commandment does. well earth is still hear, so isn’t the law too? your definition of fulfillment is incorrect. in Hebrew it means ‘to make understood’, not to complete or end as you’re thinking. Jesus is the Word, the Word is Scripture, Scripture contains the Law, why would Jesus end HImself?