Debate on the Sabbath

Debate Format, Thesis, and Rules of the Exchange

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Thank you so much for attending our event this evening. We have a, I'm sure to be spirited and quality debate in front of us. Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Matthew Henson.

I'll be your debate moderator this evening. My job tonight is to one, stay out of the way because I'm fairly sure you did not come to see me. The second is to be relentlessly neutral. I hope to learn very much during this evening, and so my job is to make sure that that happens in a fair and unbiased way.

In a formal debate, there exists a set of rules and formatting that are mutually agreed upon to help ensure a quality exchange of ideas. Our thesis tonight is the following statement. Sunday is the Christian Sabbath.

Now that, as a proposition, you can choose to support or to oppose. And so in debate terms, we would say that we have a proposition and an opposition. The our participants are therefore assigned the labels proposition in the case of Reverend Ham and opposition in the case of Pastor Foskey.

These terms will be used throughout the evening to refer to them. So if you get a little mixed up, I'm pretty sure it's also on your programs. As for the format of the debate, you can see on your program as well that we have opening statements, rebuttals, and intermission, cross-examinations, closing statements, and then time for audience questions.

There will be some closing remarks in prayer, and we hope to keep everything close to our laid out schedule. Before we begin this evening, the three of us engaged in a discussion of rules and expectations.

Audience Conduct and Debate Logistics

And so I just wanted to go over those in brief, so there are a few more that are gonna govern how tonight works. Each participant has to stay within their allotted time slot based upon what that particular element of the debate is allotted.

Minor deviations will be tolerated with sovereign grace, but excessively going over time will be deducted from the participant's closing statement, so if they do go two minutes over on an opener, they'll only get an eight minute instead of a ten minute closing statement.

The moderator will indicate that 60 seconds remain by raising a hand, and then verbally with the word time at the conclusion of the participant's time slot. There's also a clock up here that they can see that I will do my best to reach around and reset each time.

In the event of a technical issue, the clock will of course stop. In the event of a rapture, in case you believe in that, we'll figure out what happens then. During cross-examination and audience question and answer, we have some more specific structure, and we'll go over that once that happens.

We don't want to bore everybody with details at this time. So having covered the responsibilities and rules for us three, I wanted to move on to you, our audience. We are very happy to see you here tonight, and we're grateful that you have an interest in quality debate.

In order to allow ideas to be openly exchanged, we ask that your participation be limited to the turning of pages and checking for scriptural references, that sort of thing. We will have a time to applaud our participants at the end, because they've prepared very hard for this, I'm sure.

And so we do want to express our appreciation, just not until the very end of the event. Any sort of booing, cheering, jeering, throwing of vegetables, anything like that, projectiles, these things are prohibited.

And if your passion for the topic exceeds your self-control, we may ask you to continue to participate from out there, that's all. I do not have anything else on my notes, are we clear to begin? Okay, we will now start with our 20 minute proposition opening statement, so I'll get the mic set and the clock running, thank you gentlemen.

Okay, 20 minutes begins now. All right, can you all hear me?

Proposition Opening Statement: The Fourth Commandment as Moral Law

It's good to see you, I'm so glad to be here tonight. My name is Rob Hamm, it said Reverend Rob, just call me Rob if we hang out afterwards, please. It's an honor and it's a privilege to get to share this platform with Dr. Keith.

Keith, I consider you a friend and a faithful minister of the gospel. He was frowning, so I'm not sure what that means. And a brother in Christ, and this last Thursday, Keith and I actually got to go to Chick-fil-A.

We went to lunch together, our two families, which is Jesus' favorite restaurant, by the way. And I'm just saying, they're Sabbatarians, so I may have already just won by us going and eating. We have much in common, I think that we agree on 99 .99 of our theology.

This is less of a debate for me and more of an occasion for spiritual sharpening. And so when Keith asked me to do this debate, what immediately came to mind was Proverbs 27, 17. That says, as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

And so I hope that's what we're doing tonight, that's my heart's desire. I've been tasked this evening with representing and defending the position that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. In other words, I'm defending and promoting the theology and the doctrine of the Westminster Confession from the 17th century, in regards to their teaching on the Fourth Commandment.

And so you're gonna hear me tonight talk a lot about the Fourth Commandment. And I'm not going to read to you the Westminster Confession of Faith, cuz I said I don't really care about quoting old confessions, which I love and admire.

But if you want to, you can look up Westminster Confession of Faith 21, section 7, chapter 21, section 7. And that is my position that I'm going to be explaining tonight. I'm gonna be giving three arguments this evening for the proposition that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath.

Those three arguments are this, that the Fourth Commandment, number one, is an abiding part of God's moral law. That's what I'm gonna be speaking about tonight, that the Fourth Commandment is an abiding part of God's moral law.

And as my counter goes down, my timer goes down, you'll notice that I spend the majority of my time on my first point. The other two points, I believe, naturally follow. So number two, I will be defending the statement that the Sabbath ordinance is founded upon one day in seven.

So it's a pattern of one in seven. And number three, I'm going to make the case that after Christ's resurrection, the Sabbath was moved to the first day of the week. And so that is what I'm preparing to do this evening.

My job tonight is to explain and to hopefully do service to these three propositions, and it's your job to test what I'm saying against the scriptures. And so I don't think that I'm in an active stance tonight and you're in a passive stance.

I think that even though your only job is to rustle the pages, I'd hope that you'd be rustling the pages of your Bibles. Can I, is it okay if I ask for an amen? I'm a preacher, amen. Okay, so I want you to be like the noble Bereans in Acts chapter 17, who examine the scriptures to see if the things that are being said are so.

And so that's what I'd ask for you to do tonight. My first argument is this, that the fourth commandment is an abiding part or aspect of God's moral law. It's part of God's moral law. So I wanna define my terms as we get started this evening.

There are three kinds of law, three types of law that are contained within the scriptures. There is what is known as the moral law, there is the ceremonial law, and the civil law. So let me explain these three just quickly and briefly, just so we're all thinking about the same things.

There is the moral law, known in the Hebrew as the Mishpatim, and that's often translated in your Bibles as an ordinance of God, one of God's ordinances. The moral laws of God are laws that are based upon God's character.

They're based upon who God is, his nature and his essence and his being and his holiness. These moral laws are holy, these moral laws are just, and these moral laws are unchanging. So they deal with issues such as justice, respect, sexual conduct, purity, things like this.

These laws in the Bible, moral laws, are permanently binding on all people in all ages. And whether or not we agree that the fourth commandment is a moral law, I think that Keith and I, he'll have to share later, agree that moral laws in the Bible are permanent, that they're abiding.

So there are the moral laws, the Mishpatim in the Bible. There is also something known as the ceremonial laws. This is what's called the Hukim in the Old Testament. This is sometimes referred to as positive law.

And what this means is that these are temporary customs for the nation of Israel, okay? So as you're thinking about laws, you have moral laws which are fixed and absolute. You have ceremonial laws which are temporary customs in Israel.

They're often referred to in the Bible as statutes. And they're specific regulations that are given to distinguish the Israelites from their pagan neighbors. And so this comprises of dietary restrictions, if you remember reading this in your Old Testaments, or clothing restrictions, or sacrificial ceremonies.

These are temporary statutes which Galatians 3 reminds us have been absolutely abrogated, they've been fulfilled with Christ. And in the coming of Christ, his life and his ministry. These laws are not morally necessary.

So for example, there's nothing inherently evil about eating pork. And all God's people said, amen, I'm gonna go and have some pork tonight is the plan. So that would be an example of a ceremonial or a positive law.

They're only binding for the person or the nation to whom they were given. There's also a third, and very briefly I'll go over this, which is the civil laws, the judicial laws of the Old Testament. These have to do with the culture, they have to do with the place and the form of government that was present in the time of ancient Israel.

So they have to do with being a member of a citizen of a theocracy, for example, in the Old Testament, or a monarchy. And we're no longer a monarchy, we're a democratic republic. And so those rules, those regulations no longer apply to us.

My position tonight is that the fourth commandment is a part of the Mishpatim. It's a part of the moral law, and it's not part of the hakim. It's not part of the ceremonial law. And let me just say briefly a definition again, as this is how I'm spending most of my time tonight.

A moral law is a commandment that's given by God that reflects his nature, his character, his essence. They're based on his holy character, and so they are holy, just, and unchanging. They're permanent.

They're binding all men in all ages. And I wanna give you an example of an abiding moral law. When we think about the law, thou shall not murder. Again, I'm a pastor, I have people do this all the time.

How many of you like that law and think that it should be abiding? Thou shall not murder? Okay, good. Murder is always wrong, not simply because God's word prohibits it, but also because it's an inherently evil act that goes against God's moral nature or his character.

And so Genesis 2 -7 says that God essentially is life, that he breathes life into Adam in the garden. In Genesis chapter 2, Job 33 -4 says that the spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

We hear about Jesus in the New Testament, that in him was life, right? And the light was the light of men. And so murder, for example, is a moral law that never goes away. We should always not murder because it's a moral law that's abiding.

Why do I hold in the time remaining? Why do I hold that the fourth commandment is a part of God's abiding moral law and not part of the ceremonial or positive law of the Old Testament? Because it's my position and the position of the Westminster divines, that it's not a statute that originates in the Mosaic covenant, but that which is founded upon creation, okay?

It is a creation ordinance is my position. Exodus, as we'll see in a moment, and we'll turn in a moment to Exodus chapter 20, grounds the fourth commandment upon God's example in creation. That there is a Sabbath in the Bible is evident in the very first pages, the opening chapters of the word of God.

And so my position is that the Sabbath or the fourth commandment reveals to us a pattern that's built into creation itself. In other words, it's part of the very nature of how things are. It's instituted by God before there was a fall.

It's instituted by God before there was Moses. And so I want you, if you have your Bible, to turn with me to Genesis chapter one, because I want to point this out. What I aim to show over the remaining minutes is that the idea of a six in one pattern of Sabbath rest existed long before the 613 Mosaic commandments and the temporary typological national covenant that was made with Israel at Sinai.

So Genesis chapter one, I want to give you some examples of creation ordinances. Creation ordinances are that which is an abiding part of God's, the way that God has created the universe. It's a mandate for all of humanity and they're abiding, they last forever.

Genesis chapter one in verse 27, we read this. God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female, he created them. Verse 28, and God blessed them. God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.

And then it says, and have dominion. Here we have a creation mandate. We call it sometimes the dominion mandate, that we have the principle or the idea of work already before the fall. Adam had a job to do, right?

Eve had a job to do in the garden. We have this principle of work, of vocation. A pattern of work is an abiding and permanent ordinance for us on this earth because it's an ordinance that's founded in creation itself.

It's not something that is post fall. So for example, 2 Thessalonians 3 verses 10 through 12, Paul says that if anyone is not willing to work, let him not, remember what it says, eat, right? Sorry, I know they're not supposed to talk.

I'm a pastor. Let them not eat. And so we know that Paul agrees with the Old Testament creation mandate that work is abiding, that we are still to work. You don't need another command in the New Testament to say that we should be working.

In fact, in 1 Timothy 5, 8, Paul says to Timothy, if not provide for his relatives, especially for the members of his old household, he has denied the faith and worse than an unbeliever. This is a part of God's creation ordinance.

The other creation ordinance, if you turn to Genesis chapter two and look with me at verse 24, you'll see that we have another creation ordinance bound up in the first two chapters of Genesis. And this is the ordinance of marriage.

It says in verse 24, therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh. OK, marriage is a pre-fall ordinance. It's a pre-fall institution.

It's pre-Moses. It's pre-Sinai. It is abiding while the earth is spinning. And before God wraps everything up and creates the new heavens and the new earth, it goes on and on. Mark 10, verses six through eight, Jesus is discussing with the Pharisees whether or not divorce is permittable.

And do you remember what Jesus does? Jesus, our Lord, appeals back not to Moses. He appeals back to creation, to these creation ordinances. And he says, but from the beginning, quoting Genesis, of creation, he says, God made them male and female.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife. The two shall become one flesh. They are no longer two, but one flesh, OK? So when it comes to marriage, creation ordinance.

When it comes to work, for example, creation ordinance, I want you to notice with me Genesis chapter two, OK? Genesis chapter two, beginning in verse one. We find that the fourth commandment, which we'll look at in a moment, goes back not simply to the time of Moses and not to the administration of the old covenant, not to Sinai, but to the time of creation.

Genesis chapter two, beginning in verse one. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished as was all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done. He rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

So God blessed the seventh day and made it, what did he make it? Holy, I forget the rules all the time. He made it holy because on it, he's giving the reason now, on it, on that day, God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

What we see already in Genesis chapter two is that the Lord has created this pattern of six days of working and resting on one. This pattern is built into creation. It's built into the nature of things.

It's instituted before the fall. It's instituted before Moses. And so my contention, my position tonight is that just as the ordinances of work and marriage are permanent, so is the ordinance of the Sabbath.

You'll remember that I said that God's moral laws reflect his nature and his character. How does the fourth commandment, how does already what we see in Genesis two, one through three reflect the nature and character of God?

What I want us to see is first, he gives us an example of his own work in Genesis chapter two, look at verse two. It says, and on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done. And he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

That word rested is the word savath. It means to desist or to labor, to stop laboring and working. It's the root of the Hebrew word shabbat, which is Sabbath. Have you ever stopped to wonder why it is that God has decided to rest?

Our God is not a God who gets sleepy. He's not a God who gets winded or a God who gets tired. What is he doing? He's not a pagan Greco-Roman deity. He's not a creature, he's God. The Lord's setting a pattern for us, my friends.

He's setting a pattern as we'll see in a moment that, and that's the teaching of Exodus chapter 20, verse eight. The Lord created us for six days of working and resting on one. God's shabbat, his rest, was not a cessation, which we'll see in a moment, from all work.

We know Jesus says in John 5, 16, and 17, that my father is working till now. And Jesus says, also, I am working. God is still holding all things together by his providential hand. He's upholding all things in all places.

But he's shabbathing, he's ceasing, he's cessating, he's resting or Sabbathing from his initial work in creation. Turn with me to Exodus chapter 31 before we go to Exodus chapter 20. I want you to see there that we find out something else that was going on in creation.

Not only did he rest, not only did the Lord shavoth or Sabbath in the opening verses of Genesis chapter two, but in Exodus chapter 31, verse 17, we see this. Actually, I'll start in verse 16. Therefore, the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a covenant forever, verse 17.

It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel. Now pay attention to the reasoning he gives behind this commandment. That, here's the reason, in six days, the Lord made heaven and the earth.

And on the seventh day, he rested. And then it says he was refreshed. That word refreshed, I love. I like to be refreshed. I had some coffee and I snuck it up on the stage because I like to be refreshed.

It's the word nefesh. And it literally means to take a breath. And we know, again, that what this verse doesn't mean, we know Isaiah 40, 28 tells us that our God does not grow faint. He does not grow weary.

But instead, God is, this is an anthropomorphic term to mean that he's rejoicing, he's enjoying, he's delighting and contemplating his good creation. You'll remember that at the end of Genesis chapter one, it says, God saw that all that he had made and behold, it was very good.

In creation on the seventh day, we find God resting and we find God refreshed in the enjoyment of his finished work. You'll notice in Genesis chapter two, you're not there, but there is no morning and evening clause in Genesis chapter two.

Very interesting because the Sabbath foreshadows this eschatological rest, this future rest that we once enjoy in the new heavens and the new earth where there is no longer any work that we, it's an eternal rest.

I lost my train of thought, sorry. This is what the author of Hebrews refers to in Hebrews chapter four, which I'll get to soon. I want you to look with me at Exodus chapter 20. The commandment itself, okay?

The commandment itself, the fourth commandment, claims its origin in creation, not Moses, not at Sinai. Exodus chapter 20, beginning in verse eight says, remember, that's a very important word for tonight, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who's within your gates, for, here's the reason behind the command, behind the imperative, in six days, the Lord made, goes back to creation.

He made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh. Therefore, meaning for that reason, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day. I want you to notice something about this commandment, how this commandment stands apart from all the other of the 10 commandments, the other nine.

Notice that instead of commanding or forbidding something in this commandment, it doesn't say thou shalt, and it doesn't say thou shalt not, God tells us to do what, what's that first word? He tells us to remember this.

See, while the rest of the 10 commandments are apodictic laws, it means they're imperative commands, thou shalt do this, or some of the civil and ceremonial laws are causistic laws, meaning if this happens, then do this.

The fourth commandment is a call simply to remember something that the Lord has already instituted. Deuteronomy 5 .12 says that we are to observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you, past tense.

I want you to notice Exodus 31 .18. If you have your Bibles, you can turn there. In Exodus 31 .18, and I see I'm running out of minutes, but it's okay, we'll do this, I'll have more time later. The fourth commandment, we see, was given to us by God's own hand.

I want you to notice tonight that all the other civil or ceremonial laws, those positive laws, those temporary laws, under the administration of the old covenant, they were given to Israel via a mediator, that mediator's name was Moses.

We all know who that is. However, when it comes to the Decalogue, when it comes to the Ten Commandments, I want you to notice that these are abiding moral commands that are provided to Israel in a unique fashion.

Exodus 31 .18 says this, and he, talking about the Lord, gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, and notice what it says next.

These were written with the Ezba Elohim. These are written with the very, what does it say? The finger of God. My friends, I think it would take a very strong exegetical argument, an argument from the scriptures, evidence, to make the case that these 10 words, the Decalogue, are not moral, which is the opposition side, and therefore abiding perpetual commands applying to all men in all ages.

Time. I can go one more minute, right, if I want? Okay, sure. It would be off the closing statement, yes. Okay, here's what I wanna do. Last thing, in Matthew, this is how I'll end. Matthew 12, in verse eight.

Here's my evidence, again, for the perpetual, moral-binding nature of the fourth commandment in the New Testament. I want us to notice tonight that Jesus does not ever, we don't find one instance of him abrogating or abolishing the keeping of the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, but instead, he claims that he has the one who has authority over that day to interpret how it is to be used.

Matthew 12, eight says, for the Son of Man, Jesus referring to himself, his favorite designation, referring to himself as the one from the book of Daniel, for the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath. He's the Kurios over the Sabbath.

He's the one who has authority over it. Hebrews chapter four. This is where I'll take us last, and this is how I'll wrap up. Hebrews chapter four. In Hebrews chapter four, in the first 10 verses, we have New Testament teaching on the Sabbath, and some will say, I need a verse.

I need some verse in the Bible that says that the fourth commandment still applies, that the Sabbath is still there. If you can't give me one verse, then I don't believe it. Here's the verse. Hebrews chapter four.

In the first 10 verses, and we'll get into this later, I'm sure, in cross-examination, it says that, it keeps using this word, it keeps repeating, that we're looking forward to our future eschatological one day in the new heavens and the new earth, this rest.

The rest word there is katapausis. It's from the root word katapao, and it means to be quiet, to be still, to give rest over and over again. Eight times in verses one through 10, we see this word rest used, but notice verse nine.

If you have an ESV, the ESV translates this correctly. In verse nine, we do not find the word katapao anymore. We find, in verse nine, a different word. It says, so then. In other words, because we're looking forward to this eschatological future rest, so then there remains a Sabbath.

Rest for the people of God. Remains. It's the word apolio. It means to leave something behind. Sabbath, the word sabbatismos is there, different from the word that was used before. My three main arguments, as I wrap up my long minute over whatever I've gone over.

The fourth commandment is an abiding part of God's moral law. Number two, the Sabbath ordinance is founded upon one day and seven, which I'm sure will come up later. And after the resurrection, number three, the Sabbath was moved to the first day of the week.

And so I do not think that Saturday is the Sabbath for believers. I think Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, and I'm sure we'll get into that later. Thank you so much.

Opposition Opening Statement: Christ as the Fulfillment of Sabbath Rest

OK, now go to our 20 minute opposition opening statement. Let me get our clock arranged here.

Sure, whenever you're ready. All right.

Well, I want to again reiterate what Rob said at the very beginning that I'm thankful for everyone who attended and I'm so thankful to see so many seats filled tonight. I'm most thankful to you, brother, for coming, for doing this.

It's important again to affirm that we are brothers in Christ and we are strong brothers in Christ. We believe so much that is the same and we maintain unity in the gospel. And when we had that fateful lunch on Thursday, I found out he is a fan of Superman, which makes him the best.

That was really a bonding moment for us. We're planning a trip together now as a result of that. So please don't think there's any animus. We love each other and we do disagree, but it is a gentle disagreement.

The topic of tonight's debate is Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. I do not believe Sunday constitutes the Christian Sabbath. Christians have a Sabbath rest, yes, but it's not found in a day. It is found in Christ himself.

I believe everything that the Sabbath signified pointed to what we enjoy as members of the new covenant. Please don't think that this debate is about Sabbath versus no Sabbath. If the subject were sacrifice, and I said that the sacrifice of Christ fulfilled the Old Testament sacrifice, you wouldn't say I was anti-sacrifice.

Any more that if I say Christ fulfilled the Sabbath, you should say I'm anti-Sabbath. It's not fair to label that and I'm thankful that you didn't do that. The question tonight is what is the Sabbath?

Not is there a Sabbath? Sabbath was a day in the old covenant, but it pointed to something greater than a day in the new covenant. It pointed to a state of being. It pointed to the person himself. We had a shadow.

Now we have the substance. Someone might well ask, how do we have the Sabbath in Christ? Well, to answer this, I too will go back to Genesis, because in Genesis, the Bible says that God rested in the garden.

Why did he rest? My brother was right. He didn't rest because he was tired. I submit to you, he rested because he was done. The work was finished. The word Sabbath there means to cease. You said that.

It means to stop. It was finished. The work of creation was done, and so he stopped. But then came the fall. And when the fall came, a new work began. Not a work of creation, but a work of redemption.

With that, a new work began. Genesis 3 .15 tells us when the work began, God says, there is going to come a seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. That work of redemption began in Christ and was completed when he said, it is finished.

All the things that happened from that time into the time of Christ pointed to Jesus. Luke 24 .27 says that he explained to the two on the road to Emmaus, all the things that were written that pointed to him.

The animal skins that Adam and Eve were given in the garden pointed to Christ. The promises given to Abraham pointed to Jesus. The sacrifices made pointed to Jesus. The festivals were pointing to Jesus.

Even Matthew 11 .13 says the law prophesied of Jesus. And yes, even the Sabbath day pointed to Jesus. The Sabbath pointed to the rest that Christ would ultimately bring. Not only a future eschatological rest, yes, we look forward to that, but also a rest that we have now, a rest from the work of redemption.

When Jesus was on the cross and said, it is finished, the work of redemption was done. You can add nothing to it. It was fully completed. Therefore, he says, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, for you will find rest for your souls. The writer of Hebrews does use the word Sabbath, but I would contend tonight that he uses the word Sabbath in a different way than my brother has mentioned.

And I know this isn't the time for rebuttals, but it was part of my... I didn't know you were going to say that, so I'll say this. I want to read a portion of this. If you have your Bible still open to Hebrews 4, I'd encourage you to look at it.

I am in the ESV. I'd encourage you to look at it with me. It says in verse one, therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

Right there, that tells us the context of the rest. The rest is not a day that we're going to enter into over and over and over and over again, but it's a state of being. It goes on to say in verse three, for we who have believed enter that rest.

The only time a day is mentioned here is in verse seven. He appoints a certain day. Today, saying that through David so long ago, and the words already quoted, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

Beloved, this is not about a Sabbath day. This is about a state of being in Christ that you can enter today through faith and repentance. Verse 10. Actually, I'll read verse nine, because it's where the word Sabbath.

So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest. It's not a day.

It's a state of being. That's the point of chapter four of Hebrews. And that's my point tonight. I contend the Sabbath referred to here again is not a day. It points to Christ, like so many of the other things of the Old Testament.