************ Sermon on Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 103 ************
Doctrine: The Fourth Commandment
By: Rev. Adrian Dieleman
This sermon was preached on May 5, 2002
Q & 103
Psalm 84
"The Fourth Commandment"
I Attend Worship
A A letter from me to Ryan Tos, guy's basketball coach at CVC:
Dear Ryan:
I've decided I no longer will attend basketball games. I have twelve reasons for this decision:
1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
2. The people with whom I sat didn't seem very friendly.
3. The seats were too hard and not comfortable.
4. You, the coach, never asked me for my advice.
5. The referee made a couple of decisions with which I could not agree.
6. I was sitting with some hypocrites--they came only to talk or to see what others were wearing.
7. Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home.
8. The band played some numbers that I had never heard before.
9. The games are scheduled when I want to do some other things.
10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
11. I get more out of a walk in the woods than a basketball game.
12. I don't want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.
Sincerely yours
Adrian Dieleman
What ridiculous reasons. Either I like basketball or I don't. And, if I do, I attend games; and, if I don't, I don't attend.
Many people give ridiculous reasons like this to stay away from worship services. But, as with basketball, either you love the Lord God or you don't. And, if you do, you faithfully attend worship services; and, if you don't, you keep away from worship.
What does God say to us today? He says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." This means, says the Catechism, that we are to "regularly attend the assembly of God's people." Notice that word "regularly." We are to "regularly" attend the assembly of God's people. In Trinity we "regularly" meet twice each Lord's Day. Needless to say, not everyone is that regular: some are confirmed oncers, some don't even come once every Sunday. But, if we truly love the Lord, then we make every effort to come together when God's people "regularly" meet.
Let me tell you about a man in one of the previous churches that I served. A decision was made to hold our second service at 4:30 in the afternoon. Consistory knew this would create problems for him so two elders were assigned to visit him. You see, he was the church's only dairy farmer and the time of the service was in the middle of his chores. I have to admire the man for what he said: "I don't care when the second service is, for I will be there." And he was, faithfully, every single Sunday.
B The Catechism defines the shape and pattern of that worship for us. On the festive day of rest,
I regularly attend the assembly of God's people
to learn what God's Word teaches,
to participate in the sacraments,
to pray to God publicly,
and to bring Christian offerings for the poor.
According to this, our worship is incomplete if it does not include preaching, praying, giving, and sacraments. We come to church to hear God's Word. We come to church to pray to God. We come to church to bring our offerings to God. And we come to church to participate in the God-ordained sacraments. Some churches have started the most regrettable practice of moving away from the sermon or of neglecting prayer. Instead, they have a film, or a hymn sing, or a musical program. All of this may be beneficial but that is not why we gather together on Sunday.
Did you notice what the Catechism calls Sunday? It calls Sunday "the festive day of rest." Festive implies celebration, joy, happiness. Sunday is a day to celebrate God's wonderful deeds of salvation, a day to celebrate the greatness and wonder of all that God has done. Our Sundays, our worship, is to be festive. Our worship should not be full of frowns and long faces; rather, it should be a time of smiling and rejoicing.
C Worship lies at the heart of our Sundays. This being the case, it only follows that ministers who lead worship and seminaries that train ministers are very, very important. That's what the Catechism has in mind when it says that "the gospel ministry and education for it" is to be maintained. Laid upon God's people here is a two-fold calling. First, we need to pray for and support our ministers. Second, we need to pray for and support and encourage Seminary education. We need to encourage men in the congregation to consider the call to enter the Gospel ministry.
A couple of weeks ago the Finance Ministry Team of Classis met to discuss aid for Seminary students. For devotions I read the first 4 lines of Q & A 103:
Q What is God's will for you in the fourth commandment? A First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained.
I told the team that the fourth commandment means we need to support our seminary and seminary students. Each of the members of FMT have spent 40 or more years with the Catechism – yet none of them have ever taken note of this point before.
Here in Trinity we take this line about seminaries and seminary students very seriously. That's why we support Chris Gordon in his studies. And, that's why we are providing Chris Gordon an opportunity for field education this Summer.
D When we turn to Psalm 84 we see that the psalmist holds the proper or right attitude towards Sunday. The psalmist looks forward to worship. He could hardly wait for the Sabbath to come:
(Ps 84:2) My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
If this psalmist was given a choice between going to church for worship or going somewhere else, he would pick church. Name any Sunday activity you care to: visiting friends or family, going to the beach, playing basketball or baseball or golf, going for a walk or a bike-ride or a drive, taking a nap – the psalmist would rather be in church than doing any of these other things. Listen to what he says:
(Ps 84:10) Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
How many of us have this sort of attitude? Boys and girls, teenagers, young adults, parents – how many of you actually look forward to coming to church?
Why does the psalmist talk this way? He doesn't talk this way because the preacher holds him spell-bound; he doesn't talk this way because the music is so magnificent; he doesn't talk this way because the prayers are so meaningful. The psalmist talks this way because in church he meets God and is with God.
The psalmist, I would say, has the right "Sunday attitude." He views Sunday as a festive day of rest in which he can regularly attend the assembly of God's people and meet with God.
Contrast the psalmist to today's world. To most people the words of the psalmist sound completely foreign, alien, even strange. Ours today is what I call the "weekend culture." One of the most popular phrases today is known by its acronym "TGIF: Thank God It's Friday." There is even a restaurant chain with this name: TGI Fridays. TGIF indicates that modern man divides life into two basic categories: work and leisure, drudgery and indulgence, doing what we have to do and doing what we want to do. "TGIF." "Thank God," says this insincere prayer, "that my five days of obligatory drudgery are finished and my two days of personal pleasure have begun."
There are two things wrong with this sort of thinking. First, the "weekend culture" rejects the important Christian teaching that my work is given me by God to be done with joy and gratitude as my contribution to His Kingdom. The TGIF syndrome encourages me to think of work as a necessary evil, a curse, a public demand, that takes time away from my own personal pleasure.
Second, the "weekend culture" promotes an idea of leisure quite different from the Christian concept of rest. Leisure time is seen as a debt I owe myself to balance the time I have spent at work. Leisure time is earned. I have given of my time, my energy, my skills for five long days of work each week. Now I have the right to spend freely the rest of the week for myself. And, whatever takes from that leisure time is an intrusion, a robbery, an injustice. The weekend is for doing what I want to do, for personal pleasure and refreshment.
Do you realize what the "weekend culture" is doing to our Sundays? Instead of being the pattern-setting first day of the new week equipping us to live and work for God during the coming week, Sunday has become the second day of the weekend. And, when I think of Sunday as part of my leisure time, then even Sunday worship and other church activities can be seen as an intrusion.
Dear people, we must never permit our Sunday to be swallowed up by our weekend. We should all look at ourselves to see if we need an attitude change from the "weekend culture" of the society around us to the "Sunday attitude" of the psalmist.
II Sunday Activity
A It is very clear what the fourth commandment meant for Israel: the people were not supposed to do any work on the seventh day, the Sabbath Day, the day of rest. God Himself gave several reasons for this: God's own creation pattern of working six days and resting the seventh (Gen 2:3; Ex 20:11); so that beasts of burden and slaves could have a day of refreshment (Ex 23:12); to show reverence for the tabernacle (Lev 19:30); and to remember God's great acts of salvation and redemption (Deut 5:15). In this light we need to ask what the 4th commandment says to us today about Sunday work and activity.
B The easiest solution to the issue of Sunday work and activity is to do what the Seventh Day Adventists have done: namely, a return to the laws and regulations of the Old Testament. The fourth commandment, they say, is to be taken quite literally. It is to mean the same for us as it meant for Israel. The Law clearly forbids any work on the Sabbath, and it specifies that God is to be worshiped on the seventh rather than on the first day of the week.
At first this may seem to be an easy solution. But this means that we must obey all the laws of the Old Testament, even the ones about sacrifices, feast days, and pig meat. This would nullify the Christian confession that Christ has fulfilled the Law. This would mean a return to legalism. All of life, then, becomes a series of "do's" and "don'ts." This is always the easiest thing to do. That way you never have any problems. You just take your law book and look up the answer; you just follow the rules.
Most of you, I am sure, know how the Pharisees tied up the Sabbath with their hopelessly complicated system of human traditions. They actually had a list of 1521 do's and don'ts for the Sabbath. Some of their Sabbath don'ts: don't rescue a drowning man; don't light a candle (but a Gentile could be hired to do this); don't walk any farther than is absolutely necessary; don't pluck heads of grain; and, what is my personal favorite, don't give birth.
C Jesus fought against this legalism. Mark's Gospel (Mark 3:1-6) tells us of the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue when a man with a shriveled hand was there. The Jews were looking for a reason to attack Jesus and accuse Him of breaking God's Law, so they watched closely to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus could have avoided the problem easily; there were six other days He could have done His healing work. But, in this instance, He chose to heal the man in order to make a point. So Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Everyone must see and hear what Jesus is going to do. Then Jesus asked, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" That question was not difficult at all, yet everyone was silent. No one uttered a word. This made Jesus sad and mad at the same time. Those people were so obstinate and hard. They knew what was right, yet they wanted to stick with their cold, hard, legalistic system of do's and don'ts.
Jesus needed to remind the Pharisees that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27). The Sabbath was meant for man's well-being and enjoyment. It was never meant to be a day shackled in by rules and regulations. Sunday, in other words, is not a day of do's and don'ts.
D I am sure you notice that the Catechism, following Jesus, does not buy into this legalistic approach to Sunday work and activity. There is a reason for this, of course. In the Old Testament God's people found rest in a day – the Sabbath day. In the New Testament God's people find rest in a person – the Lord Jesus Christ. Our rest is in a person, not in a day. Remember what Jesus said:
(Mt 11:28) "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
This totally changes the orientation of Sunday. Instead of a day of do's and don'ts it becomes a day that rejoices in the person and work of Christ. Instead of a day of inactivity it becomes a day to celebrate again the resurrection and resurrection power of Christ. In fact, if you look carefully at what the Catechism says, it emphasizes what we can do instead of what we cannot do on Sunday.
I need to say something about our Sunday traditions. Most of us have a number of traditions when it comes to Sunday: no shopping, no restaurants, no travel, no movies, no organized sports. Most of what we do and don't do on Sunday is based upon tradition. These traditions are our way of applying the fourth commandment and of keeping Sunday as a festive day of rest. I happen to think these are great traditions. But, I need to remind you, they are only traditions. And, as good as traditions may be, you cannot elevate them to the level of a command or principle and say everyone has to follow them.
We need to remember that there is a difference between our principles and the applications of those principles. And, when we forget that there is a difference we usually run into trouble. For instance, Jesus teaches us the principle of service – we need to have a servant attitude and serve one another in love. His application of this was to wash the feet of His disciples. Some Christians get confused here and elevate the application to the level of a principle and decree that foot-washing should be a regular part of worship services. Another principle that Paul teaches us is reverence in worship. His application of this was head-coverings for the women. Again, some Christians get confused here and elevate the application to the level of a principle and decree that all women need to have head coverings in worship. Still another principle is the holiness of the Lord's Day. Our application of this are those Sunday traditions I mentioned earlier regarding shopping, travel, restaurants, and organized sports. Again, some Christians get confused here and elevate the applications to the level of a principle and decree that all Christians of all times and all ages need to abide by this.
III Every Day and Sunday
God's will for our lives in the fourth commandment is more than regular attendance at worship and support for seminaries. The Catechism also adds that the fourth commandment has something to say about every day of our life. The fourth commandment means,
that every day of my life
I rest from my evil ways,
let the Lord work in me through his Spirit,
and so begin already in this life
the eternal Sabbath.
Do you realize what the Catechism teaches us here? It teaches that it is impossible to be a Sunday Christian without also being a Monday Christian. You can't live one way on Sunday and another way throughout the week. Or, to put it another way, the Lord must be worshiped not just on Sunday but on Monday as well.
In Israel there were those who thought they could go to the temple on the Sabbath and offer sacrifices, give gifts, and pray prayers that were pleasing to the Lord while during the week they robbed the poor, bribed judges, and cheated on their wives. To these people God said:
(Amos 5:21-23) "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. (22) Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. (23) Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
God will not accept our Sunday worship unless we live for Him and according to His will throughout the entire week.
Conclusion
Finally, let us remind ourselves again of the place of the law in the lives of God's children. Don't forget, God gave it as a guide for gratitude. We obey the law not to gain salvation but out of thankfulness for salvation. Remember the preface to the Law:
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.
Or, to put it into New Testament language:
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of your slavery
to sin and evil.