I recently argued that one of the reasons why we should continue to keep a sabbath holy is because it is a creation ordinance. In other words, our relationship to Sabbath is based not just on the laws given in Exodus- Deuteronomy but relates to something given by God at creation.
“The Sabbath was made for man.”
This has important implications because it means not only that we as Christians should be seeking to set a day apart for rest and gathered worship but that this is something which should be available to non-Christians as well.
In other words, if there are specific things that we choose to campaign about as Christians, whether through signing petitions, writing emails, or even electing MPS to Parliament who are committed to legislating on these things, then one of those issues should be to encourage legislation that once again makes Sunday special.
It also should affect our attitude to the day, what we do and what we expect of others. I think that one of the ways that attitudes changed was that if you go back a couple of generations, then the attitude was that because we wanted everyone to have a say of rest, then Christians shouldn’t do things that create work for others. That was one reason for minimising use of shops etc. An incremental shift was to thinking that whilst we were obligated to rest, non-Christians were free to work, so it didn’t matter if they provided a service to you on the day. This was a stepping stone to the belief that we are also not obligated to observe the day. In fact, it marked a wrong turning in thinking that man was made for the Sabbath and seeing it as an inconvenience. The Law of Moses required not just that God’s people rested but that all within their households including slaves were allowed to rest from work.
Whilst this may not and probably should not involve a return to the kind of situation 50 plus years ago that reflected a more legalistic Sabbatarianism, it should state a benefit to there being one day set aside where the majority of society is encouraged and enabled to rest from usual work. If Sabbath was made for man, then this will be to the benefit of society and especially the most vulnerable, something that in the past the Trade Unions grasped.
However, we don’t just want to engage in moralism or even in offering a form of social gospel here. We want people to see that the real benefit to a sabbath day is not just that we are freed up from work and commerce but that we are free to worship. So, we will also want to encourage people to make full use of this day of rest by coming to hear and respond to the good news about Jesus.
Faithroots 