Sabbath Observance

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days. Col. 2:16

Before we enter our discussion of the passage quoted above, I ought to insert a remark or two for our readers who may be disappointed that the questions they have submitted have not be treated in our bulletin. The reason is that, while we are deeply appreciative of the many questions which have been sent in, we cannot possibly treat them all because we would have to publish the Newsletter every week for over a year to succeed. I have nearly 50 questions in front of me which need answering. The result is that I try to choose those questions which will have the widest possible interest and which are, as much as possible, matters which concern our readers as a whole. I hope our readers will be understanding and patient. But this does not mean that you should quit sending in questions. Please do and we will get at them when it is possible.

The following question was sent in for discussion in connection with the verse quoted above: "In the light of the fourth commandment and the fact that many Christians also do sport, etc. on [the Lord's Day], is it right to quote Rom. 14:5 and Col. 2:16 in defense of such a stance? It seems to me that Col. 2:16 refers to Jewish sabbaths."

Sabbath observance is in decline in our day. It is a dreadful departure from the law of God which will not go unpunished. The evidences of it are legion. Towns and villages in which all places of business used to be closed on the Lord's Day now are open for business and are as busy (if not busier) on the Lord's Day than on a week day.

Churches once full are now nearly empty, especially if a second service is held, and people no longer go to church. People engage in every kind of activity which is a normal part of their life on weekdays and think nothing of watching sports on TV, going to parks and beaches, shopping in the open stores, eating in restaurants, doing work around the house such as mowing the lawn, and desecrating the Sabbath as if it is their day and not the day of the Lord.

Theologians are partly to blame for this. It is current thinking among many pastors and teachers in the church that no difference from any other day of the week can be ascribed to the Lord's Day. This position is rather piously described in this way: "Every day of the week is Sabbath in the New Dispensation." This rather pious expression is, in fact, a mere ploy by means of which people are told, not so much that every day is Sabbath, but that the Sabbath is like every other day.

God has set the first day of the week apart as the New Testament day of rest. We are, on this day, to obey the fourth commandment. We are to lay aside the work that occupies us on the other days of the week and spend the day in spiritual activities, chief of which is that we spend as much time as possible in church to worship with the saints, call upon the name of our God, and be fed with the everlasting gospel of our salvation.

There is good reason why the New Testament Sabbath is kept on the first day of the week instead of on the seventh -- as in the Old Dispensation. We cannot go into that in this article, but our readers are urged to order from the Protestant Reformed Churches a pamphlet with the title: "Proper Sabbath Observance." (Write to the address on the heading of this bulletin.)

Many keep asking the question: "May we do this on the Sabbath?" or, "May we do that?" This is the wrong question. We must ask ourselves: "What good can I do on the Sabbath?" If we ask that question, we will indeed find that there are so many things to do that we are busier on the Sabbath than during the week. We can (and must) go to church. We can visit the sick and shut-ins. We can go to the homes for the aged and ease their loneliness with good words from the gospel. We can read books that have to do with heavenly and spiritual things. We can spend time in prayer and meditation. There is no lack of things to do.

The texts quoted (Col. 2:16, Rom. 14:5) indeed refer to the keeping of prescribed feasts in the Old Dispensation which was the time of types and shadows. These feasts are no longer required of us, and those who insist on keeping them would bring us back to the bondage of the law.

But the fourth commandment remains in force -- as do all the commandments. Although the day was changed from Saturday to Sunday, from the last day of the week to the first day of the week, the keeping of the day is still our joy and privilege.