Theology of theWestminster Confession

Adult Sunday School

2017

Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day

Worship

WCF 21

Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

The light of nature shows that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all, that he is good and does good to all, and that he ought therefore to be feared, loved, praised, prayed to, trusted in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God has been instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations or devisings of men, or the suggestions of Satan, or under any visible representation, or any other way not commanded in Holy Scripture. [WCF, 21.1, MESV]

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Worship by the light of nature

• By reflecting on nature, we know God deserves our worship• There is a God who created all things

• God has lordship and sovereignty over all

• God is good to all

• God ought to be feared, loved, praised, prayed to, trusted in, and served completely and unreservedly

• We are God’s creatures, and our Creator has left his mark of ownership on us

• God is majestic and great, therefore we must approach him appropriately

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The acceptable way of worshiping

• Not nature, but Scripture teaches us that the only way to offer acceptable worship to God is his prescribed way

Deuteronomy 12:32 Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

• Embedded in the Lord’s instructions throughout Scripture is the idea that what we do in worship is actually limited

• God has identified areas where we must go and some where we must not. No guessing is required! No liberty to change is allowed!

God (not man) institutes the practices of worship

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There is such a thing as“false worship”

• Matthew 15:9 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

• Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

• Exodus 20:4-5 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…

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God is deadly serious about his worship: Nadab and Abihu

• Leviticus 10:1-3 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace.

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God is deadly serious about his worship: David and Uzzah

• 2 Samuel 6:3-7 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the LORD, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

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Regulative principle of true worship

• This attention to biblical prescription usefully keeps us from promoting in our churches any non-prescribed activities that:• Sound practical• Appear beautiful• Smell wonderful• Feel comfortable• Taste vaguely theological

• This is hard for us because many religious practices (including worship) have the appearance of wisdom but are self-made, have no value, and are offensive to God

In worship we do what is prescribed in the Bible and avoid what is proscribed in the Bible

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

Religious worship is to be given to God alone—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is not to be given to angels, saints, or any other creature. And since the Fall, worship is not to be given except through a mediator, nor is it to be given through any mediator other than Christ. [WCF, 21.2, MESV]

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Trinitarian worship

• Our worship must be Trinitarian, for the only God who has ever lived is one and three (Father, Son, Holy Spirt)

• It is impossible to worship the Father unless we also worship the Son and the Spirit (Jn 5:23)

• We must worship only God, and not angels, saints, or anything else

• “We” and “our” Bible passages teach that Christians worship God together and corporately

• Christian worship is to God through Christ the mediator

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

Prayer with thanksgiving is a special part of religious worship and is required by God of all men. In order that prayer may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son, by the help of his Spirit, and according to his will. Prayer is to be offered with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and perseverance. If vocal, it must be offered in a language that is understood. [WCF, 21.3, MESV]

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Prayer as worship

• Prayer is a special part of worship as an expression of fellowship with God

• Prayer is required of all

• Prayer is empowered by the Holy Spirit

• Prayer is acceptable to God only as offered through Jesus Christ

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How we pray

God cares about the manner of our prayers to him

• With understanding and not done rashly (Eccl 5:1-2)

• Reverent (Ps 47:7; Heb 12:28)

• Humble (Gen 18:27)

• Fervent (Jas 5:16)

• Faithful (Jas 1:6-7)

• Intended for good (Mk 11:24)

• Persevere with patience (Eph 6:18; Col 4:2)

• Loving and forgiving (Mt 6:12, 14-15)

• If vocal, then understandable to hearers (1 Cor 14:14)

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

Prayer is to be made for things that are lawful and for all kinds of men now alive or who will live at a later time. But it is wrong to pray for the dead or for those known to have committed the sin unto death. [WCF, 21.4, MESV]

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For what and whom are weto pray?

We can pray for anything that is in accordance with what God has revealed about himself and his will for Christians

• For ourselves

• For all sorts of people (1 Tim 2:1-2)

• Even for people not yet born (Ruth 4:12; Jn 17:20)

• But not for people who have died (2 Sam 12:21-23; Lk 16:25-26; Rev 14:13)

• And not for people who have committed “the sin unto death” (i.e., the sin of unrepentant opposition to God; 1 Jn 5:16). Note: be careful in judging the spiritual state of others. Normally we continue to pray for the lost no matter what their circumstances.

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

The various elements of the ordinary religious worship of God are the reading of the Scriptures with reverence; the sound preaching and conscientious hearing of the Word in obedience to God, with understanding, faith, and reverence; the singing of psalms with grace in the heart; and the proper administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ. Also, on special occasions and at appropriate times, there are other elements of worship, namely, religious oaths, vows, solemn fasts, and thanksgivings. These are to be used in a holy and devout manner. [WCF, 21.5, MESV]

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Elements of public worship:Reading, Preaching, Hearing

If God prescribes his worship, what does he prescribe?

1. Reading Scripture with godly fear is central

2. Preaching Scripture with faith and soundness

3. Listening to Scripture read and preached with• Reverence (Isa 66:2)

• Care (Acts 10:33)

• Obedience (Jas 1:22)

• Humility (Mt 13:19; Heb 4:2)

Scripture must play a central part to public worship in its reading, preaching and listening

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Elements of public worship:Singing

• Ears are for hearing, tongues are for singing!

• Sing with your whole heart. Half-hearted singing (or only listening to others sing) does not please the Lord• Sing psalms (but not exclusively)

• Sing hymns (but not exclusively)

• Sing praise and spiritual songs (but not exclusively)

• Music accompanies our singing, not vice versa

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Scriptures on singing

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Psalm 22:22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

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Elements of public worship:Sacraments

• What are the sacraments? Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (cf. WCF 27-29)

• Due administration (by ministers) and worthy receiving (by members) of the sacraments

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

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Elements of public worship:Special occasions

• Elements of public worship appropriate for special occasions• Religious oath (calling God as our witness)

• Vow (making a promise to God)

• Solemn fast (not crash diet, but prayerful abstention from food and/or water)

• Thanksgiving

• All elements of worship should be used in a holy and devout manner

Not all prescribed elements of worship are regular, but all true elements of worship are divinely prescribed

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

Under the gospel, neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship is now limited to—or made more acceptable by—any particular place where it is performed or toward which it is directed. On the contrary, God is to be worshiped everywhere in spirit and truth. He should be worshiped daily in families, and privately by individuals, and with greater solemnity in public worship services. Such worship services are not to be carelessly or willfully neglected or forsaken when God by his Word or his providence calls people to them. [WCF, 21.6, MESV]

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No place for prayer?

• In the OT era, place was an important consideration for our prayers• The patriarchs prayed at altars

• Israelites before/during the monarchy prayed at the tabernacle/temple

• Jews during/after the exile prayed toward Jerusalem

• In the NT era, no place is prominent as the provenance or direction of our prayers

John 4:21, 23 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."

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Worship everywhere all the time

We must prayerfully worship God on all occasions, and in every place and context

• In the assembly of God’s people (Isa 56:6-7; Heb10:24-25)

• In families led by the family head (Dt 6:6-7; Job 1:5; Mt 6:11; Acts 10:2)

• By individuals secretly (Mt 6:6; Eph 6:18)

• When and where God providentially calls us (Prov1:20-21, 26)

• From sunrise to sundown (Mal 1:11)

Worship is more than just corporate worship

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

As it is the law of nature that, in general, a proper proportion of time ought to be set apart for the worship of God, so God in his Word—by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages—has specifically appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy to him. From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, the appointed Sabbath was the last day of the week. Beginning with the resurrection of Christ, the Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the Lord's day, a day to be continued until the end of the age as the Christian Sabbath. [WCF, 21.7, MESV]

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A law of nature, a perpetual commandment

• It is a “law of nature” (understood from creation and conscience as part of the Moral Law) that time should be set aside for the worship of the Creator

• The fourth commandment says the creative work and rest of God are to shape the patterns of all human life—especially for his covenant people

Exodus 20:8-11 "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, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 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 LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

God has specially appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him

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For clarification: Sabbaths and the Sabbath

Biblical Sabbaths came in two different kinds, but the WCF only addresses the second of these

1. A holiday Sabbath, almost always beginning a special agricultural festive time on the first day of the week or on an appointed feast (Lev 23).• Except for Passover and the Day of Atonement, these were

celebrated on first days.

• The high point of all first-day Sabbaths was a year not a day. Yearly feasts culminated in the Sabbath (7th) year, and the Sabbath years culminated in the Jubilee (7th cycle of seven Sabbath years) year.

2. A last-day Sabbath (the weekly Sabbath addressed in WCF)• Usually referred to in the singular (“the Sabbath”)

• The day of rest marking the completion of God’s creation

• The day the Lord chose to honor

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The case for Sabbath change of days

• From the beginning, the pattern of the Sabbath as “the last day of the week” defined the first week and all weeks

• But Christians believe from the resurrection of Christ the Sabbath was changed into the first day of the week. Why?

• Simply because Jesus—the one who was the fulfillment of every OT celebration, feast, and Sabbath—was raised from the dead on the first day of the week

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The last is now first

• History records that Christians immediately began to worship Jesus on the first day of the week

• The Apostle Paul expected Christians everywhere to meet to worship on the first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1-2; Acts 20:7)

• The Apostle John taught the Church to call the first day of the week “the Lord’s Day” (Rev 1:10) and thus to observe it to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath (Ex 20:8, 10; Mt 5:17-18)

The Lord’s Day is the new day of rest—the Christian Sabbath

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Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day

This Sabbath is then kept holy to the Lord when men, after due preparation of their hearts and arranging of their common affairs beforehand, not only observe a holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts concerning their everyday occupations and recreations, but also devote the whole time to the public and private exercises of God's worship and to the duties of necessity and mercy. [WCF, 21.8, MESV]

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Keeping a day holy

• Keeping the Sabbath does not start on the Sabbath, so we need to plan ahead• Prepare your heart of your need and desire to worship

• Order your many personal and vocational tasks

• Get needed recreation during weekdays and Saturday

• Neglecting to prepare is preparing for restlessness

• Keeping the Sabbath is a form of resistance against the world, the flesh, and the devil• Trust God will bless and provide for you as you rest from

worldly employments and recreations

• Working and playing harder for six days and resting more thoroughly for one day is a pattern God blesses (Isa 58:13)

• Rats fall behind in the rat-race, but humans flourish when we differentiate and structure the days (Neh 13:15-22)

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The character of the day

• This God-focused day will look somewhat different from family to family and person to person

• But every Christian’s Sabbath day should be characterized by• Public (corporate) and private (family and individual)

worship• Fellowship and rest• Duties of necessity and acts of mercy (these activities

should be those best suited to the day)• Help the sick, feed the poor, aid in emergency• Practice hospitality, visit the lonely

Sabbath activities should be worship, fellowship, mercy, rest, and things truly necessary

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How to observe the whole day as Sabbath?

• Christians who plan and structure their days as such can easily devote the whole day to the Lord

• Be aware that pious efforts to justify some sensible Sunday activities are often far too fancy, and ultimately undermine the uniqueness of Sabbath worship and acts of mercy (e.g., you don’t need to say “My walk in the park is an act of worship/mercy” to make it legitimate)

• If keeping the Sabbath is the longing of your heart, with God’s help, you cannot go far wrong

• But if you sin or err, you can turn to the Lord of the Sabbath who rose from the dead so sinners would find life and look forward to an eternal rest with him and all his people

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Summary of key points

• God (not man) institutes the practices of worship

• In worship we do what is prescribed in the Bible and avoid what is proscribed in the Bible

• Scripture must play a central part to public worship in its reading, preaching and listening

• Not all prescribed elements of worship are regular, but all true elements of worship are divinely prescribed

• Worship is more than just corporate worship

• God has specially appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him

• The Lord’s Day is the new day of rest—the Christian Sabbath

• Sabbath activities should be worship, fellowship, mercy, rest, and things truly necessary

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Consider and discuss

1. Most churches adhere to what has been called the normative principle of worship (anything not prohibited is allowed). Why is this insufficient to govern biblical worship?

2. Name some common aspects of corporate worship in other Christian traditions (e.g., broad evangelicalism, Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy) that do not seem to fit the regulative principle. Are there any “unfit” common worship practices in our tradition?

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3. How does the regulative principle of worship constrain? How does it liberate?

4. Observing the Christian Sabbath used to be quite common, but it is now a distinct Presbyterian and Reformed doctrine (if not always in practice). Is it worth keeping? Why or why not?

5. How is God calling and challenging you to reform your Sabbath observance? How is he calling your church to the same?

Memorize

If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the 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 LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 58:13-14

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Going deeper

Books

• Pipa, Joseph. Is the Lord’s Day For You? (Beginner)

• Ray, Bruce. Celebrating the Sabbath. (Intermediate)

• Martin, Robert. The Christian Sabbath. (Advanced)

Articles

• Hyde, Daniel. The Lord’s Day is a Gift From God.

• Articles on Sabbath at Monergism.com.

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