The Law and Sabbath in the Life of the Modern Christian: Part 4
Conclusion
In looking at the law and how it relates to the Christian, it was important first to look at the purpose of the law and what we might be able to discern from that. Once clear about the law’s purpose, we then addressed its applicability to the life of the Christian. Understanding the law’s place in the life of the Christian then enabled us to relate that particular aspect of the law, the Sabbath, to the Christian as well.
In the Old Testament, the law was a covenant exclusive to the Jews.[30] It addressed moral, civil, criminal and ceremonial responsibilities of the theocratic nation. The law demonstrated God’s grace, revealed His character, outlined rules for worship, sanctified Israel and was the constitution for theocratic Israel. Salvation was not found in the law, but God’s blessings were assured from its obedience.
In the New Testament, the purpose of the law changed, heralding a change in dispensations. The law was still good, but it served now in a different capacity, to define God’s ethical standards for mankind. “Its effect [was] simply to demonstrate the existence of our sin, to condemn us as a result, and also to provoke our sin. Because of the weakness of the flesh, it can have no other effect on us when we read its righteous demands.”[31] In 1 Timothy 1:9, Paul makes it clear that the law’s purpose is to indict the un-righteous.[32] Additionally, the law was to be a custodian, or schoolmaster, until the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.[33]
Once the function of the law was redefined for the New Testament believer, it was apparent that it was no longer binding.
The Mosaic Covenant was good, but it had a temporary
function. It did not change God’s way of working or make
his promise based on works. It was a positive program for
a time when things needed to be spelled out, when safe-
guards were needed to protect Israel from falling easily
into Canaanite practices. The Law was like a disciplinarian
in charge of your training as a minor.[34]
Throughout Romans and Galatians, Paul made it clear “that the law no longer played any role in the life of a Christian.”[35]
Although Paul preached the termination of the law, Jews and Gentiles still tried to specifically impose the Sabbath on believers in the various ways discussed above, forcing him to address the Sabbath in particular.
Paul discusses the controversy in the church surrounding
Sabbath observance several times and never prescribes
obedience to the Sabbath command or even to Sunday as
the recipient of the Sabbath shift (Rom. 14:5; Gal. 4:10-
11; Col. 2:16-17)… Very early in its history the church
worshipped on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1
Cor. 16:2).[36]
It is also important to note that the actual observance of the Sabbath has been reinterpreted. From Hebrews 4:10 we gather the following:
The Sabbath observance in which the New Testament
people of God are to participate is to enter God’s rest by
faith and thereby cease from their own works. Since
“faith” in Hebrews refers not just to an initial commit-
ment but is an attitude which requires perseverance and
endurance (cf. 6:11, 12; 10:36 ff.; 11), this cessation from
dead works is not mere inactivity but an ongoing process
of dying to self and mortification of sinful deeds… In short
the physical rest of the Old Testament Sabbath has be-
come the salvation rest of the true Sabbath… The way in
which Christ transforms the Sabbath law guards against a
legalism about a particular day, on the one hand, and a
lack of concern about relating one’s time to God on the
other.[37]
The topic of the law and the Sabbath distilled leaves us with this: The law was a parenthesis between the promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in Christ. It was directed toward the nation of Israel specifically for a finite time. It was abrogated in its entirety with the coming of Christ. It is still instructive concerning God’s moral character and our unrighteousness, but is no longer binding on the believer. The Sabbath, as part of the law, was abrogated as well, and attempts to salvage it by tying it to a creation ordinance or transfer of the Old Testament Sabbath to the New Testament Lord’s Day are misguided at best. The Sabbath has been redefined by Christ to be an eschatological rest, not a literal physical rest.
[30] Ibid., 163.
[31] Ibid., 175, emphasis mine.
[32] Strickland, Five Views on Law and Gospel, 159.
[33] Carson, From Sabbath to Lord’s Day, 166.
[34] Baylis, From Creation to the Cross, 137, author’s format maintained.
[35] Carson, From Sabbath to Lord’s Day, 175.
[36] Strickland, Five Views on Law and Gospel, 81.
[37] Carson, From Sabbath to Lord’s Day, 396, 398.