Thoughts on Sabbath-Keeping

In the light of my lateness with this post, I thought I would make use of something I wrote earlier this year on Sabbatarianism. For many Christians, this may be a moot issue since keeping the Sabbath has fallen on hard times lately. However, it remains a continuing question for confessional churches like the PCA, whose pastors strive to remain true to the Westminster Confession. I do not hold to a strict view of the Sabbath, however, I take a more historical view on the issue than some. I thought it might be of some interest to those who may struggle with the issue. And, no, I do not have any interest in dialogging about which day of the week is the true Sabbath. If we understand the Sabbath commandment as being fulfilled in Christ, then every day ought to be "a festive day of rest:" resting in Christ's work on our behalf.


As to the keeping of the Sabbath, The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 21.8 specifically prohibits “works, words and thoughts about our worldly employments and recreations.” Leaving aside the question of whether it is even possible to obey this prohibition, on this issue I believe the Confession and Catechisms are more reflective of 17^th century English politico-ecclesiastical struggles than of the NT teaching on the Sabbath rest. During the early 17^th century, the issue of Sabbath-keeping became one of the major battlegrounds within the English Church. The Puritans supported strict Sabbatarianism, while the moderate Calvinists took a more lax view of the Sabbath. This laxity was encouraged – even recommended - by the English monarchy through the re-publishing of King James’ Book of Sports, which encouraged so-called healthy recreation on the Sabbath. Eventually, under Archbishop Laud, pastors were required to read from the Book of Sports on the Lord’s Day. The Puritans were outraged by this requirement. They saw it as a violation of the crown rights of King Jesus and they dug in their heels on this issue. Consequently, the Puritan position regarding recreation on the Sabbath moved from being a question of Biblical interpretation to being a rigid defense of their position in reaction against the king’s assertion of royal authority in the Church. As the two wings of the Church became increasingly polarized and as the English Civil War loomed, strict Sabbatarianism became one of the identifying marks of a “true” Puritan – i.e. it became a Puritan shibboleth. With the temporary ascendancy of the Puritans during the Commonwealth period, the victorious Puritans in the Westminster Assembly enshrined strict Sabbatarianism in their masterful Westminster Standards. And we have inherited the position with the Confession. Several other sections of the WCF, such as certain statements in Chapter 23, “Of the Civil Magistrate” and Chapter 25, “Of the Church,” similarly reflected the political and ecclesiastical conflicts of the 17^th century church. They were later recognized for what they were, and were edited to reflect a more Biblical position. I believe strict Sabbatarianism falls into that same category, although we in the PCA have yet to officially recognize it as such. In my experience, however, it seems that our practice already concedes that strict Sabbatarianism is an anachronistic holdover from 17^th century Puritanism.
I believe that Reformed believers on the continent maintained a much more balanced and biblical view of the Sabbath Day. To a great degree, this is because Sabbath-keeping never became a political football on the Continent. Consequently, the brethren there were free to consider the Sabbath in the full light of Scriptural teaching. Compare the wording of the Heidelberg Catechism, Question 103: “What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment? First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I regularly attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to God publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that in every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath.”
This answer effectively describes my view of the Sabbath as well as my practice. I believe that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, that it is to be celebrated as a “festive day of rest,” and that it is most valuable for God’s people when it is understood and kept in this life as a resting in Christ’s works on our behalf and as a foretaste of our eternal Sabbath rest.