Observations on the Nature of Sabbath-Keeping in the Modern Church

It might come as a surprise to some that Calvin was not always in agreement with some of the positions that would later be subscribed to by the Westminster Confession of Faith. A notable example of this, which I recently came across, is his view on the Sabbath. Following are a few excerpts from his Institutes, as well as a few theses on the same topic that I had composed before, which I think are in essential agreement with Calvin.

Calvin on the Sabbath Principle

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 has appointed. But as this commandment stands in peculiar circumstances apart from the others, the mode of exposition must be somewhat different. 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…

If our sanctification consists in the mortification of our own will, the analogy between the 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 heart, and abandon all the lusts of the flesh. In short, we must desist from all the acts of our own mind, that God working in us, we may rest in him, as the Apostle also teaches, (Heb. 3: 13; 4: 3, 9.)

It is of little consequence which of these be adopted [i.e. which reason for the choice of the seventh day as the Sabbath, under the Jewish era], provided we lose not sight of the principal thing delineated, viz., the mystery of perpetual resting from our works.

Still there can be no doubt, that, on the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, the ceremonial part of the commandment was abolished. He is the truth, at whose presence all the emblems vanish; the body, at the sight of which the shadows disappear. He, I say, is the true completion of the sabbath: “We are buried with him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life,” (Rom. 6: 4.) Hence, as the Apostle elsewhere says, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ,” (Col. 2: 16, 17;) meaning by body the whole essence of the truth, as is well explained in that passage. This is not contented with one day, but requires the whole course of our lives, until being completely dead to ourselves, we are filled with the life of God. Christians, therefore, should have nothing to do with a superstitious observance of days.

…in this matter we differ widely from the Jews. We do not celebrate it with most minute formality, as 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. Paul informs us that Christians are not to be judged in respect of its observance, because it is a shadow of something to come, (Col. 2: 16;) and, accordingly, he expresses a fear lest his labour among the Galatians should prove in vain, because they still observed days (Gal. 4: 10, 11.) And he tells the Romans that it is superstitious to make one day differ from another (Rom. 14: 5.) But who, except those restless men, does not see what the observance is to which the Apostle refers? Those persons had no regard to that politic and ecclesiastical arrangement, but by retaining the days as types of spiritual things, they in so far obscured the glory of Christ, and the light of the Gospel. They did not desist from manual labour on the ground of its interfering with sacred study and meditation, but as a kind of religious observance; because they dreamed that by their cessation from labour, they were cultivating the mysteries which had of old been committed to them. It was, I say, against this preposterous observance of days that the Apostle inveighs, and not against that legitimate selection which is subservient to the peace of Christian society. For in the churches established by him, this was the use for which the Sabbath was retained. He tells the Corinthians to set the first day apart for collecting contributions for the relief of their brethren at Jerusalem, (1 Cor. 16: 2.) If superstition is dreaded, there was more danger in keeping the Jewish sabbath than the Lord’s day as Christians now do. It being expedient to overthrow superstition, the Jewish holy day was abolished; and as a thing necessary to retain decency, orders and peace, in the Church, another day was appointed for that purpose.

…nor do I condemn churches for holding their meetings on other solemn days, provided they guard against superstition. This they will do if they employ those days merely for the observance of discipline and regular order. The whole may be thus summed up: As the truth was delivered typically to the Jews, so it is imparted to us without figure; first, that during our whole lives we may aim at a constant rest from our own works, in order that the Lord may work in us by his Spirit; secondly that every individual, as he has opportunity, may diligently exercise himself in private, in pious meditation on the works of God, and, at the same time, that all may observe the legitimate order appointed by the Church, for the hearing of the word, the administration of the sacraments, and public prayer: And, thirdly, that we may avoid oppressing those who are subject to us. In this way, we get quit of the trifling of the false prophets, who in later times instilled Jewish ideas into the people, alleging that nothing was abrogated but what was ceremonial in the commandment, (this they term in their language the taxation of the seventh day,) while the moral part remains, viz., the observance of one day in seven. But this is nothing else than to insult the Jews, by changing the day, and yet mentally attributing to it the same sanctity; thus retaining the same typical distinction of days as had place among the Jews. And of a truth, we see what profit they have made by such a doctrine. Those who cling to their constitutions go thrice as far as the Jews in the gross and carnal superstition of sabbatism…

A Few Theses on the Sabbath Principle

  1. When Jesus came, he taught us to fulfill the law by obeying its essence, not simply the outward commandments (Matthew 5-7).

  2. Those elements which were only pictures of an essential reality, he did away with. For instance, as clean/unclean meats pictured the need to be separate from the world and holy to God, he did away with any distinction in actual meats, which distinction was only a shadow, or picture (Mark 7:14-23; Acts 10:9-16).

  3. The essential principle underlying the Sabbath command is that we must labor for a time, but ultimately find our rest in God. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, and the one who is resting in Jesus for righteousness, and laboring to enter his final rest in Jesus, which will be accomplished in the New Jerusalem, is fulfilling the essence of the Sabbath command (Hebrews 3-4).

  4. That the observance of a particular day of rest in each week is in itself an essential command is nowhere taught in the New Testament, and is mandated against by common reason. All moral commands are eternal; all things which are eternal and morally good will have existence in the New Heavens and New Earth; but that one day of rest in a week will not be an institution in the New Heavens and New Earth is clear, because every day will be a partaking in the same manner of the joyful Sabbath rest.

  5. In fact, Paul includes Sabbath observance in the same category as the observance of the other typical Jewish feasts, and refuses to be bound by any of those things (Colossians 2:16).

  6. Nor is it at all clear from scriptures that, because a thing is written in stone, as one of the ten commandments, that the thing itself is a moral, eternal principle, and does not merely instruct one, as by a picture, in a moral, eternal good.

  7. Although the New Testament exemplifies Sunday as a day of worship for the New Testament believer, it nowhere suggests that it is in precise continuity with the Old Testament Sabbath; and even if it were, that observation in itself leaves untouched the question of how to observe the Sabbath in the era of the substance (which is of Christ), over and against that observation of it which was appropriate for the era of shadows.

  8. That a thing is not commanded does not indicate that it would not be enjoyable, profitable, and wise to engage in it.

9 Responses to “Observations on the Nature of Sabbath-Keeping in the Modern Church”

  1. Chris Poteet says:
    June 26, 2007 at 10:09 am

    Nathan,

    Very nice! As you know I’m in a 1689 RB church that has a similar view on the perpetual nature of the sabbath in the New Covenant. I agree that it is a misunderstanding, but I’ve learned to value the convictions of those that do so out of a conscious reading of the Scriptures and don’t condemn another for not having the same theological conviction. I in fact very recently wrote about this.

  2. Bob Hayton says:
    June 26, 2007 at 1:05 pm

    Nathan,

    What’s the citation for this Calvin quote?

    Thanks,

    Bob

  3. pitchford says:
    June 26, 2007 at 8:29 pm

    Bob,

    The Institutes – isn’t that enough? Just keep reading them until you find the quotes.

    Just kidding – I should have been more precise. The quotes are from Beveridge’s translation, and may be found (appropriately) in Calvin’s exposition of the Deaclogue, particularly the fourth word. Here is a link to the section I took these quotes from.

  4. pitchford says:
    June 26, 2007 at 8:29 pm

    Chris,

    Yes, I read your article, and so I thought it was ironic that shortly afterwards we had this discussion. I definitely agree that dwelling together in true unity with someone who holds a somewhat different conviction on such matters is refreshing indeed!

  5. Bob Hayton says:
    June 28, 2007 at 5:38 am

    Thanks Nathan.

    By the way, I agree with your position here, thanks for sharing the Calvin quote.

  6. Mike Ratliff says:
    July 2, 2007 at 1:15 pm

    Nathan,

    Thank you for this post. I remember when I was growing up that my mother was extremely legalistic about Sunday being the Sabaath. She would get downright angry when people did things on Sunday other than go to church. I contend that your stand here is right and I am in full agreement with you. I was on another web stie last week where the owner challenged everyone to prove to him that God’s law on the Sabaath had been changed in the New Testament. His approach and those who contended with him though was not from this perspective at all. It was that we should still observe the Sabaath as the last day of the week and it must be a full day of rest, etc. Those who contended with him all simply transfered that to Sunday. However, this view here is what I believe is right as you stated above:

    Hence, as the Apostle elsewhere says, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holiday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ,” (Col. 2: 16, 17;) meaning by body the whole essence of the truth, as is well explained in that passage. This is not contented with one day, but requires the whole course of our lives, until being completely dead to ourselves, we are filled with the life of God. Christians, therefore, should have nothing to do with a superstitious observance of days.

    In Christ

    Mike Ratliff

  7. pitchford says:
    July 2, 2007 at 10:08 pm

    Mike,

    Thanks for the comment. Blessings in Christ!

  8. sarah says:
    July 29, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    It just so happens that I started a study on the Sabbath for two reasons: I attend an OPC who strictly adheres to physically observing the Sabbath and I was at Old Truth and many do the same and felt I was making up a doctrine unknown to anyone outside the reformed-nondispensationalist camp. I mentioned Calvin because I read a little something from him on the subject but then they found something from him that seemed to indicate he was in agreement with keeping the Sabbath. I am very happy to see that I am not the only reformed-nondispensationalist who believes this way. If you would like to check out my study for correction, I would be honored…just click on my name. If you decide to read it, it is important to start at the first post on the Sabbath for I build upon each post. I am never disappointed in your articles……I LOVE THEM!

  9. pitchford says:
    July 29, 2007 at 10:36 pm

    Yeah, I’d be glad to check them out.

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