EXODUS 20<\/b><\/p>\n
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy<\/i><\/p>\n
(Exodus 20:8).<\/i><\/p>\n
Historically, the church has tended to oscillate between legalism and libertinism as regards the Lord\u2019s Day. On the one hand, certain groups have turned the Sabbath into a day of morbid sterility; but on the other hand, others have treated it as a day like any other. We confront the second tendency most often today.<\/p>\n
The Sabbath day was considered both the first and the last day of the week. Man was made on the sixth day so that the seventh was his first day. He was to begin his week with the worship of God and with resting in God. He was to look forward to the next Sabbath, considered the end of his week, as a time when he would once again rest in God and worship Him. In the new covenant, the day has been shifted forward but is still both the first and last days.<\/p>\n
The Sabbath is thus a promise that God will fulfill His work. We enter it on the \u201cfirst day,\u201d here and now in our lives every Lord\u2019s Day and we look forward to its fulfillment on the \u201clast day,\u201d the great future Day of the Lord. God gives us rest now and commands us to give rest to ourselves and to our subordinates, including even our animals (Exodus 20:10). The Sabbath is therefore one of the most fundamental of all labor laws. What application may we draw from this commandment?<\/p>\n
First, the Day of the Lord is to be kept holy, which means it is to be a day of worship. God requires us to present Him as King of kings and Captain of the host on His day. We are to render obeisance and praise to Him. Failure to attend worship is a slap in God\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Second, a study of the Old Testament reveals that the Sabbath was also a day of festivity, because God is Life and joy. It is sad that the festive character of the Lord\u2019s Day has been so neglected by the secular pleasures which have crowded into our lives on that day.<\/p>\n
Finally, the Lord\u2019s Day is to be a day of rest, a time of cessation from the cares of the world. Men of good will differ over what constitutes rest on the Lord\u2019s Day. Is it legitimate to watch a football game or a movie, to read the newspaper or to go swimming at the beach? Perhaps it depends on what is restful to you and what glorifies God.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
2 Samuel 23\u201324<\/p>\n
Luke 22:39\u201353<\/p>\n
Right now may be a good time to reassess how you keep the Sabbath. Have you carefully thought through the matter? What is the teaching of your pastor and denomination on the subject? Are you genuinely seeking to keep the day as God would have you do?<\/p>\n
For further study: Exodus 31:12\u201317 \u2022 Isaiah 58:13\u201314 \u2022 Matthew 5:17\u201320<\/i><\/p>\n
TABLETALK<\/p>\n
from ligonier ministries and teaching and encouraging believers \u2022 may 1991<\/p>\n
THE LORDSHIP DEBATE<\/p>\n
Daily Studies From The Teaching Fellowship Of R. C. Sproul<\/p>\n
publisher<\/b> Ligonier Ministries<\/i> editor<\/b> Robert F. Ingram<\/i> assistant editor<\/b> Michael S. Beates<\/i> art director<\/b> David K. Freeland<\/i><\/p>\n
marketing<\/b> Gretchen L. Suskovic<\/i> production<\/b> Felicia T. Calhoun, W. David Fox, Melissa A. Prichard, R. C. Sproul, Jr.<\/i><\/p>\n
writing consultant<\/b> Sharon J. Anderson<\/i> circulation<\/b> Gwen Weber<\/i> board of directors<\/b> Bruce Fogerty, Robert Fraley, G. Richard Hostetter, Robert C. Legler, Stephen H. Lev\u00e9e, Jr., C. G. Mills, Archie B. Parrish, James M. Seneff, Jr., R. C. Sproul, John Thompson, Ralph D. Veerman, Luder Whitlock, Charles Colson (Director Emeritus)<\/i><\/p>\n
Published by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Inc. under license granted by Ligonier Ministries, Inc. Copyright 1991, Ligonier Ministries, Inc. This Bible study is based upon teaching material by Dr. R. C. Sproul. Unless noted, all Scripture quotations in this publication are from the<\/i> Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishers<\/i>.<\/p>\n
member evangelical press association<\/p>\n
Cover: Scott W. Smith<\/p>\n
robert ingram \u2022 editor<\/p>\n
Coram Deo<\/p>\n
When I put my hand up to volunteer I doubted that the circus acrobats would choose me out of the crowd. But to my delight they pointed to me and called me down to the tightrope area.<\/p>\n
In this \u201cparticipation\u201d circus I was asked to climb the tower that anchors one end of the tightrope. Wisely, they strapped me into a body harness to protect me in the sure and certain event of my falling off the wire. The only instructions they gave related to the balancing pole. My first step was unsteady, the second one unsure, and then as if running would help, I took a quick series of steps before pitching unceremoniously off to the side. I fell only a few feet before the body harness rigging caught me. Dangling like a spider from its web, I was pulled back to the platform and given a round of applause from the crowd.<\/p>\n
For some people, clearly discerning the proper relationship between the law and grace is as difficult as walking on a tightrope. Recently a new round of intense debate has erupted as the \u201cLordship\u201d controversy. The biblical doctrine involves a delicate balancing of these two terms; after properly defining both law and grace, a dynamic tension must hold the two together. While distinguishing between them is possible, they cannot be separated. Failure to maintain the balance can be far more devastating than my fall. A fall on the side of the law lands in legalism; a fall on the side of grace results in antinomianism (freedom from obeying the moral law). Each believer, however, must walk this tightrope.<\/p>\n
My willingness to try and the humor of my failure pleased the crowd, earning their applause. God, however, is not humored by our failure to maintain the proper balance between the twin concepts of law and grace. In order to live life Coram Deo<\/i>, that is, being pleasing to Him, under His authority, and for His glory, we must do so in a manner that affirms the necessary connection between saving faith and good works. To that end this issue of Tabletalk<\/i> is intended to be a balancing pole for some, and a safety harness for others.<\/p>\n
table of contents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EXODUS 20 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8). Historically, the church has tended to oscillate between legalism and libertinism as regards the Lord\u2019s Day. On the one hand, certain groups have turned the Sabbath into a day of morbid sterility; but on the other hand, others have treated it as a … Continue reading “THE DAY OF THE LORD”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}