One of the arguments raised concerning Lord’s Day Sabbath observance is that the early reformers, especially Calvin rejected it seeing it as belonging to the Old Covenant. It was, according to the viewpoint only reintroduced by later, Sabbatarian puritans taking a more legalistic hardline.
It is true that Calvin did make talk in terms of the Sabbath Day being something linked to the Mosaic covenant and in some sense abrogated. There was a ceremonial dimension to it so that it requires different treatment to the other 9 commandments.
“This commandment stands in peculiar circumstances apart from others.” [1]
However things are a little bit more complex than that in terms of Calvin’s approach to The Lord’s Day and Sabbath. First, Calvin saw the Sabbath as having a typological role.
“Early Christian writers are wont to call it typical, as containing the external observance of a day which was abolished with the other types on the advent of Christ. This is indeed true; but it leaves the half of the matter untouched.” [2]
Specifically the type was this:
“First, under the rest of the seventh day, the divine Lawgiver meant to furnish the people of Israel with a type of the spiritual rest by which believers were to cease from their own works, and allow God to work in them.” [3]
The purpose of the type was to point us forward to our rest available in Christ Jesus, a rest which is about turning away from ourselves, our selfish desires and our own attempts to make ourselves right with God.
“The purport of the commandment is that being dead to our own affections and works, we meditate on the kingdom of God, and in order to such meditation have recourse to the means which he have appointed.” [4]
In that respect, this Law is fulfilled in Christ. The type has been realised, not through us keeping one day in seven but through a complete change of our relationship to God, through the Gospel. Now, our concern is with the whole of our lives being orientated to God in Christ.
“If our sanctification consists in the mortification of our own will, the analogy between external sign and the thing signified is most appropriate. We must rest entirely, in order that God may work in us; we must resign our own will, yield up our hear, ad abandon all lusts of the flesh, In short, we must desist from all acts of our own mind, that God working in us, we may rest in him.” [5]
However, there were other aspects to the command.
“Secondly, he meant that there should be a stated day on which they should assemble to hear the Law and perform religious rites, or which at last they should specially employ in mediating on his works, and be thereby trained to piety. Thirdly, he meant that servants and those who lived under the authority of others should be indulged with a day of rest, and thus have some intermission from labour.” [6]
These two further reasons suggest that Calvin saw a continuing purpose to the command, first in that it encouraged God’s people to gather for worship and secondly, to enable people to benefit from the common grace provision of rest. This was not to be treated in a superstitious manner as though the 7th day had magical qualities and nor was it a work to keep in order to earn our relationship with God or the favour of others. Noting Colossians 2:16-17 he says
“Christians, therefore should have nothing to do with a superstitious observance of days.” [7]
Yet because of the need both for order and structure in the church and to provide for the needs of others, he argued that:
“The Sabbath being abrogated, there is still room among us, first to assemble on stated days for the hearing of the word, the breaking of the mystical bread, and public prayer; and secondly, to give our servants relaxation from labour. It cannot be doubted that the Lord provided for both in the commandment of the Sabbath.” [8]
We could of course use every day to gather but this isn’t possible for all and there should be some order as to when we gather. [9] This is why Calvin encourages the setting aside of a specific time, though again he is not too concerned about whether churches opt for different days of the week. It is not however for individuals to pick and choose in line with their preferences.
Even in his time, Calvin anticipates the danger that this would be viewed as legalism. He observes that:
“I am obliged to dwell a little longer on this, because some restless spirits are now making an outcry about the observance of the Lord’s day. They complain that Christian people are trained in Judaism, because some observance of days is retained.” [10]
To which he responds:
“My reply is, that those days are observed by us without Judaism, because in this matter we differ widely from the Jews. We do not celebrate it with the most minute formality, as with a ceremony by which we imagine that a spiritual mystery is typified, but we adopt it as a necessary remedy for preserving order in the Church.” [11]
In other words, first we are not driven by superstition or legalism. Secondly that we have a different understanding of the day. We no longer need it to point forward to what we have already have in Christ. If anything, one day in seven is a base line, the bare minimum.
I suspect that Calvin would have been equally distressed by the legalistic Sabbatarianism of a generation ago and the “Couldn’t care less/it doesn’t matter” licentiousness of today’s generation. He has no place for the heavy burden of legalism but sees the answer to that as being to seek to do things in an orderly manner, for the benefit of others out of a heart motive responding to God’s grace.
[1] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII.28, (339).
[2] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII.28, (339).
[3] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII.28, (339).
[4] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII.28, (339).
[5] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII.29, (340).
[6] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII.28, (339).
[7] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII. 31, (341).
[8] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII. 32, (341).
[9] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII. 32, (342).
[10] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII. 33, (342).
[11] John Calvin, Calvin’s Institutes, II,VII. 33, (342).
Faithroots 