Positive about Sunday

The Taste of Sabbath:
How to Delight in God's Rest


Notes on Ch 2 From Sabbath to Lord's Day
Bryan introduces the following distinction: 
Moral law (sometimes called natural law) describes those scriptural commands which proceed from the very nature of God and can never be changed. Positive law describes laws that proceed from the will of God (such as circumcision) and can be changed 

In making such a distinction I sense we quickly enter into deep water, and should proceed with caution and probably some further distinctions! But with that acknowledged Bryan says that the Sabbath is positive law not moral law. Given the context of the chapter (concerning the change of day from Saturday to Sunday) and given the content of Ch 1, I am certain he only means this with regard to the when of it: 

Worship on a specific day is not intimately intertwined with the nature of God any more than circumcision. God commanded His people to observe Saturday as the seventh day of the week -as the day or rest and the Sabbath - and so it became obligatory. He could have chosen a different day in seven or even created the world in a different number of days. 

And this means: 

There is nothing incongruent, therefore, in some changes or modifications being made to the Sabbath commandment. The form of the command can be altered without implying any change in God's character or in the heart of the command. 

That this change of day is likely is demonstrated when we consider the OT Sabbath. 

The OT Sabbath is linked to Creation [Exodus 20:8-11, esp v11]

• Isaiah 51:16; 65:17-19; 66:22-23 make it clear that the return from exile accomplished by the Servant of the Lord will be a re-creation of the world
• Mark 1:1-3 picks up Isaiah’s language (Isaiah 40:9; Isaiah 40:3) and declares that God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus.

The OT Sabbath is also linked to Redemption [Deuteronomy 5:12-15]

• Isaiah 43:14-21; 49:7-12 makes it clear that the return from exile accomplished by the Servant of the Lord is a new exodus.
• Mark (and the whole NT) declares that this redemption has come to fruition
  

So, two questions emerge from this:

Since Exodus associates the 7th day Sabbath with the old creation, is the Sabbath transformed by the dawn of this new creation?

What happens to the Sabbath with the arrival of the new redemption?

Well, when we turn to the New Testament we find:

-    Jesus rose on the first day of the week: Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19

-    Jesus appeared to the disciples as a group on a Sunday (John 20:26)

-    Jesus pours out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost, a Sunday (Acts 2)

-    The disciples began meeting on the 1^st Day of the week:

-          upholding concern for the poor (Galatians 2:10; 1 Cor 16:1-2)

-          establishing a regular time for corporate worship (Acts 20:7)

-    John says in Revelation 1:10  ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.’

And here is a tit-bit Bryan throws in for good measure. Look at Psalm 118:22-24 in the light of all this we see in the NT.

v22-23 happened on the 1^st Day of the week when Jesus rose, vindicated, from the dead. In other words, on Sunday.

So what? Well now read v24

Mmmm. Interesting, isn't it? 

True, we find Paul saying that no day is inherently superior to another (Romans 14) and that we are to let no-one stand as our judge regarding a new moon, or a festival or Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16).

But Romans 14 seems to be about all the feasts and festivals in addition to the Sabbath. With the coming of Christ these are not obligatory, but neither are they banned. Jewish Christians who have celebrated them all their lives are free to continue that practice provided that they didn’t require their Gentile brothers to do the same.  BUT even if Paul were addressing the weekly Sabbath, he is certainly addressing it’s abuse. So in Colossians Paul argument is with those who want to add rituals and experiences to Jesus Christ FOR SALVATION. Since only Christ can reconcile us to the Father, all such stuff, including the Sabbath, is useless when we try and use it that way. Which isn’t the same as saying we can’t use it rightly as those God has approved and delivered only through Jesus Christ.  BUT in any case, Christians don’t observe the Jewish Sabbath but the Lord’s Day or Christian Sabbath. 

Conclusion:

Through Christ the new heavens and the new earth, as well as the new redemption have come. There is a New Creation and a New Exodus, and it is this we celebrate every Lord’s Day. 

The Taste of Sabbath: How to Delight in God's Rest