The 4th Commandments(2) Sabbath Day Controversies 03/19/2023

First Baptist Church Leominster

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for us that testify to us what a life of faith looks like or should look like, and then in Hebrews 12 it speaks about our need to persevere in this faith and in doing so we must consider the

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Lord Jesus and how he endured suffering, hostility, and we're to consider this and if we refuse or fail to consider the

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Lord Jesus in his sufferings we will become weary and discouraged in our souls and so here is really the spiritual remedy for what's commonly referred to as depression in today's world, a psychological term, but becoming weary and discouraged in your soul, this is the biblical corrective to that, and then there is an exhortation to be aggressive and faithful in our

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Christian walk, our pilgrimage, as we are making our journey to our heavenly Zion and not just as individual

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Christians but collectively and therefore we are to encourage and assist one another in this

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Christian walk, Hebrews chapter 12, therefore we also since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking on to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God for consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and discouraging your souls you have not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons my son do not despise the chastening of the

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Lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives if you endure chastening

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God deals with you as with sons for what son is there whom the father does not chasten but if you are without chastening of which all have become partakers and you are illegitimate and not sons furthermore we have had human fathers who corrected us we paid them respect shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father spirits and live for they indeed for a few days chastened us has seemed best to them but he for our prophet that we may be partakers of his holiness now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it and therefore strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather be healed pursue peace with all people in holiness without which no one will see the

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Lord looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defiled lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau who for one morsel of food sold his birthright for you know that afterward when he wanted to inherit the blessing he was rejected for he found no place for repentance though he sought it diligently with tears for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched that burned with fire and to blackness and darkness and tempest the sound of a trumpet the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the words should not be spoken to them anymore for they could not endure what was commanded and if so much a beast touches the mountain it should be stoned or shot through with an arrow and so terrifying was the sight that Moses said

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I am exceedingly afraid and trembling but you have come to Mount Zion into the city of the

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Living God the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels to the

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General Assembly in the Church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven to God the judge of all to the spirits of just men made perfect to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of able see that you do not refuse him who speaks for if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven whose voice then shook the earth but now he's promised saying yet once more

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I shake not only the earth but also heaven and now this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken as if things that are made that the things which cannot be shaken may remain and therefore since we're receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us have grace by which we may serve

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God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire what a glorious chapter that is so rich let's pray father help us we pray to persevere this pilgrimage of faith as we journey to our heavenly

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Zion we thank you our God that we are assured to faith in Christ that we will arrive there and that you will welcome us we thank you our

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God for our salvation in Jesus Christ and yet so many our God at times are weak and feeble and somewhat lame and get discouraged and perhaps want to drop out of this pilgrimage his journey we pray our

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God that you would just fill our hearts with a fresh desire and a resolve our

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God to be faithful to you to follow you in faith with one another our

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God is your people in this pilgrimage to our heavenly home our heavenly and eternal destination we pray our

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God that your word would be blessed of you to assist us in this and so for this cause our

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God we pray that pastor Jason now who comes and opens your word to us that you will instruct us and guide us encourage us motivate us our

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God to live holy life before you bless him our God help his voice our

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God has been weak we pray you'd help him now as he brings forth your word to us help us to receive it our

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God and to go forth in faith with the resolve to be faithful for we pray in Jesus name

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Amen remember the

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Sabbath day to keep it holy six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is a

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Sabbath to the Lord your God on it you shall not do any work you or your son or your daughter your male servant or your female servant your livestock or the sojourner who is within your gates for in six days the

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Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day therefore the

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Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy the fourth commandment is to remember the

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Sabbath day to keep it holy one whole day and seven is to be set apart and sanctified one whole day and seven should be treated differently from the other six days of the week this means that in your life as you strive to balance your personal life family life church life and work life the

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Sabbath day is to be remembered it must be taken into account it must be observed the

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Sabbath day is kept holy when we celebrate the day as a day that is distinct and different from every other day in his infinite wisdom and grace the

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Lord God has given mankind six days to labor six days to do all our work but the seventh day is a

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Sabbath to the Lord your God on the seventh day you shall not do any work you or your son or your daughter your male servant your female servant your livestock or the sojourner who is within your gates or anyone whom you have authority or influence over six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is to be a day of rest a

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Sabbath to the Lord your God the reason attached to this commandment is taken from the

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Lord God's own observance of it the Lord God rested after six days of creation and the

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Lord God blessed the seventh day and made it holy thus we too must work must rest from our work and set aside the day as special the

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Sabbath day must be kept distinct and holy from every other day of course we do not celebrate the

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Sabbath the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath we celebrate the first day of the week as the

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Christian Sabbath from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ the appointed day to celebrate the

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Sabbath was the seventh day of the week Saturday but after the resurrection of Christ it was changed to the first day of the week

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Sunday which we call the Lord's Day in recent years the fourth commandment has fallen upon some very hard times and commonly there are two contrasting responses to the fourth commandment there is the response of lawlessness the fourth commandment has been abandoned it is ignored it is entirely disregarded the other response is legalism the fourth commandment is observed but it is heavily burdened and has been overlaid with the traditions of men both of these responses should be avoided well what is the proper response to the fourth commandment and how are we specifically to practice the fourth commandment how are we to specifically practice the

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Christian Sabbath in a manner that honors and pleases the Lord God and is a benefit and a delight to us well the answer to these questions comes from the instruction an example that was given to us by the

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Lord Jesus Christ please turn with me to the book of Luke Luke chapter 6 verses 1 to 13 on a

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Sabbath while he was going through the grain fields his disciples picked plucked and ate some heads of grain rubbing them in their hands but some of the

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Pharisees said why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath and Jesus answered them have you not read what

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David did when he was hungry he and those who are with him how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the presence which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and also gave it to those with him and he said to them the

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Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath on another Sabbath he was entering the synagogue and was teaching and a man was there whose right hand was withered and the scribes and the

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Pharisees watched him to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath so that they might find a reason to accuse him but he knew their thoughts and he said to the man with the withered hand come and stand here and he rose and stood there and Jesus said to them

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I ask you is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm to save a life or to destroy it and after looking around at them he said to them stretch out your hand and he did so and his hand was restored but they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus here in this passage we see two conflicting views regarding the practice of the

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Sabbath there's the view of the scribes and Pharisees and there is view of Jesus the

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Lord of the Sabbath from this passage there is a lot that we can learn about our practice of the

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Christian Sabbath on a Sabbath verses 1 to 6 we see that the actions of Jesus and his disciples result in a question being asked by the

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Pharisees and then the Lord Jesus Christ answers their question on another

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Sabbath verses 6 to 11 the Lord Jesus Christ goes on the offensive and he asks the scribes and Pharisees his own question which results in their silence he then performs a miraculous work the scribes and the

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Pharisees were filled with fury and then they conspired against him seeking to destroy him let's look more closely at the setting of this instructive narrative

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Luke 6 verses 1 to 2 on a Sabbath while he was going through the grain fields his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain rubbing them in their hands but some of the

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Pharisees said why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath on a

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Sabbath day while the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples were walking through the grain fields they were plucking the disciples became hungry and they plucked some of the heads of grain rubbing them in their hands to clean off the husk and eating them and some of the

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Pharisees who were present asked why are you doing what is not lawful on the

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Sabbath well what was it that was unlawful about these actions walking through the grain fields plucking the heads of grain and rubbing the grain in their hands was not unlawful the action of the disciples were entirely lawful according to a provision that was given in the book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 23 if you go into your neighbor's vineyard you may eat your fill of grapes as many as you wish but you shall not put any in your bag verse 25 if you go into your neighbor's standing grain you may pluck the ears with your hand but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain the action of the disciples while being in full accordance with the

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Mosaic law clashed and opposed the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees because these actions were performed on the

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Sabbath the Scribes and the Pharisees were fervent and zealous not for the law of God but for their own traditions for the traditions of men the

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Scribes and the Pharisees were staunch defenders of an external legalistic and rigid observation of the

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Sabbath day these men had created thousands and thousands of burdensome rules and regulations that complicated and overshadowed the

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Sabbath day and this was the one day that was meant to be a blessing this was a day that was meant to be for rest indeed the

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Lord Jesus Christ rightly condemns these men as blind guides these men had the outward appearance of righteousness but within were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness they were straining out the gnat and swallowing whole a camel

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Alfred Edersheim in his work the life and times of Jesus the Messiah wrote in connection with the conduct of the disciples and rubbing the ears of corn on the

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Sabbath it is interesting to know that all work connected with food would be classed as one of the told author categories of binding into sheaves if a woman were to roll wheat to take away the husks she would be guilty of sifting with a sieve if she were rubbing the ends with ends of the stock she would be guilty of threshing if she were cleaning what adheres to the side of the stock she would be guilty of sifting if she were brushing the stock she would be guilty of grinding if she were throwing it up in her hands she would be guilty of winnowing according to the

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Scribes and Pharisees the disciples having engaged in that which was forbidden were guilty of sifting threshing grinding and winnowing on the

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Sabbath day and the Lord Jesus Christ was not doing anything about it

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Luke to look Luke 6 2 through 5 some of the

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Pharisees asked why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath and Jesus answered them have you not read what

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David did when he was hungry he and those who are with him how we entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the presence which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat and also gave it to those with him and he said to them the

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Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath you know as Christians there will be times most assuredly when you will be approached and confronted by the hypocrite by the legalist by the formalist how did the

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Lord Jesus Christ address these hypocritical and legalistic formalists he directs them back to the scriptures have you not read what

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David did when he was hungry and those who are with him beloved the best way to deal with the hypocrite the legalist and the formalist and those with exaggerated zeal is to point them back to the truth of the scriptures you don't need to use fancy arguments or eloquent speech or rhetorical language you just need to know and proclaim the truth of the scriptures beloved you need to know your

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Bible well enough to be able to use it in a sound and practical manner you need to know your biblical history you need to know the life lessons learned from Abraham Moses David and all the kings of Israel and Judah you need to know the prophets the poetry the gospel narratives and the

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Pauline and general epistles you need to always be ready and prepared to make a defense you need to always be ready and prepared to give an answer to anyone who confronts you or asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you and this must be done with gentleness and respect in Luke 6 3 through 5 the

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Lord Jesus Christ directed the Pharisees back to the Old Testament to the historical account of David in the book of 1st

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Samuel David and his men were fleeing from King Saul and they came to knob to a Heimlich the priest and David said to a

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Heimlich now then what do you have on hand give me five loaves of bread or whatever is here and the priest answered

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David I have no common bread on hand but there is holy bread if the young men have kept themselves from women and David answered the priest truly women have been kept from us as always when

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I go on an expedition the vessels of the young men are holy even what is when it is an ordinary journey how much more today will their vessels be holy so the priest gave him the holy bread for there was no bread there but the bread of the presence which is removed before the

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Lord to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away now what does this account have to do with the disciples plucking and eating the heads of grain and rubbing them in their hands what was the point of the

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Lord Jesus in sharing this particular account if the

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Lord God made an exception or an allowance for his law to be broken for the physical well -being of David and his men then surely there must be an exception or an allowance for the

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Lord Jesus Christ and his men in their violation of a burdensome foolish and man -made tradition

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William Hendrickson in his commentary on the book of Luke's writes the point is this if David had a right to ignore a divinely ordained ceremonial provision when necessity demanded it then would not

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David's anti type namely Jesus God's anointed in a far more eminent sense have a right under similar conditions of need to set aside a totally unwarranted man -made

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Sabbath tradition the obvious answer is yes the

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Lord Jesus Christ did have a right after all who is the Lord of the

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Sabbath who has authority over the Sabbath who has the sovereign right to establish the guidelines and principles that govern the

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Sabbath day the Son of Man Jesus is Lord of the

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Sabbath and it is the Lord of the Sabbath who directs the day the

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Sabbath was never meant to prevent works of necessity the Sabbath was never meant to be a heavy burden it was never meant to be a restrictive and binding force in our lives the

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Sabbath day is a blessed day the Sabbath day is to be our joy it is to be our delight

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Thomas Watson in his book the Ten Commandments wrote this the

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Sabbath is the market day of the soul the cream of time it is the day of Christ's rising from the grave and the

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Holy Spirit's descending upon the earth it is perfumed with a sweet odor of prayer which goes up to heaven as incense on this day the manna falls that is angels food this is the soul's festival day on which the graces act their part the other days of the week are employed about earth this day about heaven then you gather straw now pearl now

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Christ takes the soul up into the mount and gives it transfiguring sights of glory now he leads his spouse into the wine cellar and displays the banner of his love beloved do you view the

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Lord's Day in this manner is it the market day of your soul is it the cream of your time is it your soul's festival day is the

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Lord's Day the high point of your week it ought to be and your actions and your thoughts should reflect it our gathering together on the

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Lord's Day is but a mere shadow of the glorious eternal rest that awaits us in heaven in our weekly gatherings together we are given a glimpse of the incomparable glory that will one day be revealed to us when we worship the

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Lord Jesus Christ together for all eternity the Sabbath day is a blessed day and it should be our joy it should be our delight in the

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Gospel of Mark we're given an added detail that further helps us in our understanding of the

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Sabbath day mark 227 and he said to them the

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Sabbath was made for man not man for Sabbath the

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Sabbath was made for all mankind to enjoy it was made for our benefit it was made for our good the

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Sabbath day was made it was instituted to give mankind rest from all their labors but when was the

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Sabbath made it was made at the very beginning of creation Genesis chapter 2 thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them and on the seventh day

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God finished his work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done so God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it

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God rested from all his work that he had done in creation this is another very compelling reason why we are currently obligated to observe and keep the

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Sabbath day as holy all men are required and obligated to keep the

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Sabbath because it is a creation ordinance the fourth commandment did not originate in Exodus chapter 20 or Deuteronomy chapter 5 but in Genesis chapter 2 immediately following the sixth day of creation well why is this significant what is a creation ordinance dr.

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J Ligon Duncan defines a creation ordinance as mandates commands or principles that God gave to us in our original pre -fallen and unfallen state they are designed to promote

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God's glory and to practically express what it means for us to be made in God's image in other words there are certain things ordinances commands or principles that have been with us since the very beginning of creation before the fall of man into sin for example in Genesis chapter 1 we see the ordinance of procreation be fruitful and multiply we see the ordinance of labor fill the earth and subdue it in Genesis chapter 2 we see the ordinance of marriage therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh and in Genesis 2 3 we see the ordinance of the

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Sabbath so God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it God arrested from all his work that he had done these four fundamental principles have been intertwined into the tapestry of creation and these four principles clearly reveal the

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Lord God's original purpose in creation man and woman were to marry they were to procreate they were to work and they were to rest and thus these purposes will continue to apply to all men until the very end of days in fact this was the reason that was given to us for our keeping the

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Sabbath in Exodus chapter 20 for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day therefore the

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Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy the Sabbath was not instituted when the

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Lord God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses the Ten Commandments were merely enforcing the example that the

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Lord God set at the very beginning of creation and ever since the Sabbath was meant to be a blessing for mankind the

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Lord God blessed the Sabbath day and he set it apart as holy the Sabbath day was made for man not man for Sabbath continuing

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Luke 6 we're given further instruction on Sabbath keeping in verses 6 to 11 the

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Lord Jesus Christ asks the scribes and Pharisees a question Luke 6 6 on another

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Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching and a man was there whose right hand was withered and the scribes and the

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Pharisees were watching him to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath so that they might find a reason to accuse him but he knew their thoughts and he said to the man with the withered hand come and stand here and he rose and stood there and Jesus said to them

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I ask you is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm to save a life or to destroy it and after looking around at them all he said to him stretch out your hand and he did so and his hand was restored but they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus on another

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Sabbath day as was his custom Jesus was teaching in the synagogues and the scribes and the

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Pharisees were watching him closely to see if he would violate their

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Sabbath Day laws and traditions by healing a man whose right hand was withered so that they might accuse him of violating their laws the

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Lord of the Sabbath however knew the intent of their hearts the Lord of the

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Sabbath knew their innermost thoughts and so he asks the man with the withered hand to come near to him and stand in the midst of all the congregation for every man to see and in this public setting the

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Lord Jesus Christ then asked them all a question I ask you is it lawful on the

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Sabbath to do good or to do harm to save a life or to destroy it now

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I really enjoy the irony of this passage to the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was a man who was born of fornication he was a man who frequently shared his table with tax collectors and sinners he was said to have a demon he was said to perform miracles by the power of Beelzebul he was constantly upsetting and confronting the religious order of the day to the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was a sinner specifically he was a

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Sabbath breaking sinner and to the scribes and Pharisees to those who sat in the highest places of authority and honor to the teachers of the law to the experts of the law

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Jesus asked a direct and simple question is it lawful on the

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Sabbath to do good or to do harm to save a life or to destroy it and no answer was given to his question the religious elites fell silent because they already knew the answer to this question is it lawful on the

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Sabbath to do good yes of course it is lawful is it lawful on the

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Sabbath to do harm no it's never lawful to do harm is it lawful on the

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Sabbath to save a life yes is it lawful to destroy life no it's never lawful to destroy life why did the

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Lord Jesus Christ phrase the question in this manner again

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William Hendrickson remarked what Jesus is saying therefore amounts to this is it right on the

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Sabbath to do good and to save a life as I am doing or to do harm and to destroy as you right now are doing in the book of Matthew in the parallel account of this narrative we're given further details of this interaction

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Matthew chapter 12 verse 9 he went from there and he entered their synagogue and a man was there with a withered hand and they asked him is it lawful to heal on the

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Sabbath so that they might accuse him he said to them which one of you who has a sheep if it falls into a pit on the

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Sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out of how much more value is a man than a sheep so it is lawful to do good on the

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Sabbath upon hearing these questions the scribes and the Pharisees were cut to the quick because every one of the scribes and every one of the

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Pharisees would indeed if any one of their animals had fallen into a pit would reach down and pull it up they would take hold of the animal and they would lift it out even if it had occurred on a

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Sabbath day and if this would be done for a sheep then how much more should be done for a man a man is of far greater value than a sheep and healing a man with a withered hand is of far greater value and far greater importance than lifting a sheep out of a pit mark 3 5 and he looked around at them with anger grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man stretch out your hand and he stretched it out and his hand was restored and having just witnessed a miracle rather than rejoicing and glorifying the

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Lord God over the work that the Lord Jesus Christ had just accomplished the scribes and the

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Pharisees were filled with fury and they conspired against him having just witnessed the miraculous healing of the man with the withered right hand their hearts were further hardened and they held counsel together as to how they might destroy the

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Lord Jesus Christ this ends the narrative of Luke 6 verses 1 to 11 what principle does this specific narrative teach us regarding the practice of the

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Sabbath day well clearly it teaches us that it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good it is lawful on the

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Sabbath to do good and serve others it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good to serve others and perform works of charity and mercy to practice any of these things on the

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Sabbath is not a breach of the fourth commandment but a fulfillment of it the 1689

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London Baptist Confession of Faith article 22 paragraph 8 the

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Sabbath is kept holy to the Lord when people have first prepared their hearts appropriately and arranged their everyday affairs in advance then they observe a holy rest all the day from their own works words and thoughts about their secular employments and recreation not only that but they also fill the whole time with public and private acts of worship and the duties of necessity and mercy the

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Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples plucking and eating the heads of grain is an example of a work of necessity and the

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Lord Jesus Christ healing the man with the withered hand is an example of an act of mercy both are allowed and should be practiced on the

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Sabbath day in Luke 6 verses 1 through 11 we see that it is lawful and right to perform works of necessity and works of mercy the

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Lord's Day is a day for doing good and for serving others as well as a day for worshiping the

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Lord God which is what we covered last month in Exodus 20 verses 8 to 11 public and private acts of worship and the duties of necessity and mercy should occupy the bulk of our

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Lord's Day however while these principles of keeping and observing the

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Lord's Day are clear it's not always clear on the actual practice of these principles recognizing the command to keep the

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Sabbath day holy and Sabbath day practice are two very different things not everyone who agrees that the is to be kept holy for worship necessity and mercy will necessarily agree over every application of these principles for example what you consider to be a work of necessity may not be what

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I consider to be a work of necessity now almost everyone agrees that medical care the military police work fire service water service electrical service and the like are essential and necessary works most would agree that these are lawful activities that should be carried out on the

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Lord's Day but what about transportation services such as airlines buses and taxis what about gas stations

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I mean your car needs fuel yes but you should fill it up the day before the

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Sabbath well what if you were sick the day before and you didn't have the physical strength to go and fill up your car with fuel then can you fill your car up on the

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Sabbath what if you loaned your car out the day before and it was brought back to you empty you need to get to church so can you fill it up then and if you do end up buying fuel then can you pick up a cup of coffee at the same time it's right there at the counter the gas station attendant is already working and if you are filling up your car with fuel and you are picking up a cup of coffee then can you pick up a few groceries at the same time how about if the food you're picking up is for the church potluck as you can see there are endless questions regarding the practice of Sabbath keeping now there may only be one right answer to each one of these questions but the answers are not always going to be straightforward the answers are not always going to be easily determined and the answers may produce more questions and less clarity the

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Scribes and the Pharisees asked thousands and thousands of such questions in an attempt to determine what was lawful and what was unlawful and the fruit of their labors resulted in long and arduous lists of rigid and burdensome commands at the time of Christ keeping the

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Sabbath day meant following an oppressive and frustrating list of do's and don'ts the day was anything but a time of rest on these endless controversies and questions again

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Alfred Eddersheim writes the following in no less than 24 chapters matters are seriously discussed as a vital religious importance which one would scarcely imagine a sane intellect would seriously entertain through 64 and a half folio columns in the

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Jerusalem Talmud and 156 double pages of folio in the Babylonian Talmud the enumeration and discussion of possible cases drag on almost unrelieved even by Haggadah the

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Talmud itself bears witness to this when it speaks no doubt exaggeratively of a certain rabbi who spent no less than two and a half years in the study of only one of those 24 chapters is strict adherence to a burdensome and taxing list of rules and regulations really what the

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Lord God had in mind when he made the Sabbath day for man beloved when it comes to differing convictions regarding the specifics of keeping the

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Sabbath day we must accept and we must recognize that there will be differences of opinion and in light of these differing opinions we must exercise grace patience and compassion each one of us must recognize that my

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Lord's Day rest may not look exactly like your Lord's Day rest because our convictions differ on what we consider to be necessary and good and restful thus in humility we must lovingly extend charity and tolerance to one another in light of these differences the

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Lord's Day should not in any way be a disruptive and divisive issue lastly

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I want to address one very common question that is always asked when it comes to Sabbath keeping what about recreation our recreational activities a legitimate form of rest taking or are they a violation of Sabbath keeping am

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I allowed to play sports on the Lord's Day am I allowed to go for a walk a hike a swim a bike ride or for that matter any other recreational activity on the

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Lord's Day 1689 London Baptist Confession again article 22 paragraph 8 the

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Sabbath is kept holy to the Lord when people have first prepared their hearts appropriately and arrange their everyday work affairs in advance then they observe a holy rest all day from their own works words and thoughts about secular employment and recreation in the

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Westminster Shorter Catechism question 60 how is the Sabbath to be sanctified answer the

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Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days and spending the whole time in public and private exercises of God's worship except so much as is taken up in the works of necessity and mercy both the

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London Baptist Confession as well as the Westminster standards promote arrest from our worldly recreations on the

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Lord's Day and these worldly recreations may be acceptable and lawful on other days of the week but not on the

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Sabbath not on the Lord's Day this is one of the few areas in which

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I disagree with both the London Baptist Confession and the Westminster standards and honestly

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I don't even like saying that out loud but it's true both of these confessions prohibit recreational activities on the

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Lord's Day and both of these confessions use the following passage to support and validate their position

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Isaiah 58 13 through 14 if you turn back your foot from the

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Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the

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Lord honorable if you honor it not going your own ways or seeking your own pleasure or talking idly then you shall take delight in the

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Lord and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth I will feed you with a heritage of Jacob your father for the mouth of the

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Lord has spoken now notice this passage does not mention or prohibit recreational activity what this passage prohibits is doing your own pleasure going your own ways and seeking your own pleasure but to what are these phrases referring the

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Puritans thought that these phrases were referring to recreation but I'm not so sure the term recreation is not mentioned anywhere in this passage nor is it mentioned in the preceding verses nor anywhere in the context of this passage in the entire

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Old Testament there are no passages that prohibit recreation on the Lord's Day in every passage that gives instruction on the

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Sabbath the prohibition is work six days you shall labor six days you shall do all your work but the seventh day is a

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Sabbath to the Lord your God on it you shall not do any work and this is the pattern that we see throughout the scriptures work is the prohibition not recreation

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R .C. Sproul is of the same mind he remarks the distinction in Isaiah 58 is between doing what is pleasing to God and doing what is pleasing to ourselves in opposition to what is pleasing to God presumably what is in view is the prophetic critique of God's judgment against the

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Israelites for violating the Mosaic law with respect to the Sabbath day particularly regarding involvement in commerce there were

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Israelites who wanted to be able to buy and sell seven days a week not simply six days a week therefore they violated the

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Sabbath Commandments by seeking their own pleasure which was to do business on the Sabbath rather than do that which was pleasing to God my conviction is that recreation is not unlawful on the

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Lord's Day but lawful provided you are keeping and observing all of the other Lord's Day principles the

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Puritans and a host of other reformed Christians would disagree and I could be wrong so make sure to be a

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Berean and examine the scriptures yourself to see if these things are so always line up the words that you hear from this pulpit with the scriptures and if there is a conflict side with the scriptures

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I want to close with a very insightful passage it's a very helpful passage when it comes to these matters this subject may have created more questions than I have answered and really

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I've only scratched the surface of Sabbath keeping you may still have questions regarding the particulars of Lord's Day observance can

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I do my homework on the Lord's Day is watching a movie okay on the Lord's Day is watching the

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Super Bowl okay how about playing board games or other such forms of entertainment this is how

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Paul addressed these types of questions Romans 14 verses 2 through 6 one person believes he may eat anything while the weak person eats only vegetables let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats for God has welcomed him who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another it is before his own master that he stands or falls and he will be upheld for the

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Lord is able to make him stand verse 5 one person esteems one day is better than another while another esteems all days alike each one should be fully convinced in his own mind the one who observes the day observes it in honor of the

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Lord the one who eats eats in honor of the Lord since he gives thanks to God while the one who abstains abstains in honor of the

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Lord and he give thanks to God what specific works of necessity are acceptable on the

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Lord's Day what specific good works are acceptable on the Lord's Day what kind of recreational activities specifically are acceptable on the

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Lord's Day beloved each one of you should be fully convinced in your own mind be fully convinced in your own mind if you observe the day observe it in honor of the

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Lord if you eat eat in honor of the Lord if you do good to your fellow man do good to your fellow man in honor of the

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Lord in other words your practice of the Lord's Day is between you and the

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Lord your God each one of us will give an account of himself to the

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Lord God so do not pass judgment on those with differing convictions convictions do not despise one another for each one of us will stand the judgment seat of the

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Lord God and each one of us will give an account Romans 12 22 the faith that you have keep between yourself and God blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves but whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats because the eating is not from faith for whatever does not proceed proceed from faith is sin in all of these things in all of these questions there is one primary question that each one of us must reflect upon and meditate upon on the

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Lord's Day how can I best pursue the worship of the

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Lord God how can I best pursue the doing of good how can

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I best pursue serving the Lord God and serving my fellow man while doing that which needs to be done works of necessity beloved if you make the

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Lord God your top priority and if you set the day as separate and distinct from every other day not working but resting and if you prioritize worship and fellowship and service and the doing of good works then the

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Lord then the Lord's Day will be your delight the

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Lord God will make you in the words of the prophet ride on the heights of the earth and you will be fed with the heritage of Jacob for the mouth of the

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Lord has spoken the fourth commandment is applicable for today it is perpetual in binding it was written in stone along with the other nine commandments and it equally stands with the other nine commandments beloved remember the

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Sabbath day and keep it holy let's pray Lord God we thank you for the gift of the

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Sabbath we thank you that it is a blessing Lord one whole day in seven is a day of worship it's a day for doing good it's a day for serving others it's a day for gathering together in fellowship and exalting your name

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Lord we thank you for this gift and we confess Lord that probably each one of us at one time has violated these principles we've gone our own way we've done the things that we want to do and so Lord we pray that you would correct each one of us we pray that you would line each one of us up to how we should be spending the

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Sabbath in a manner that pleases you and glorifies you Lord please help us in all these things help us to dig into the

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Word of God when we have questions help us to to dig into the Word of God when we are approached by hypocrisy and formalists

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Lord help us to be able to give the right answer in a gentle and loving way to those who need to hear the truth

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Lord give us wisdom in all of these things help us to be charitable to our brothers and sisters we pray

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Lord that this would never become a divisive issue but only one where we can be unified over it and rejoice and call the day a delight thank you