Is it OK to work on Sunday?
here is my thought flow process to answer the following question in preparation for SUMMER YOUth Church. it's not meant to be a complete essay, nor was it presented word-for-word, but rather as a tool that i used in my prep time.
...
Is it OK to work on Sunday?
>>>before you read the answer to my question, you must go back and read the answer to the question before this one: "Why is Church important?" [working on sunday so you can avoid being a part of a local church community is NOT what i'm talking about here - that's sin!]
I sure hope so! Because if it’s not OK to work on Sunday, then most pastors are in sin!
I think this question comes from a Christian-culture perspective that looks towards a few old testament verses for it’s source [including the almighty BIG10!!!]:
I think these verses setup the grounds upon which this question was asked. Both of these verses deal with a Hebrew concept called “Sabbath”. In order to get a better understanding to answer our questions, let’s take a closer look at SABBATH.
The Sabbath was a “practical law” given to the people of Israel to serve a few purposes:
However, when Jesus comes on the scene, we see a different perspective to the Sabbath than the Hebrew People had come to practice.
In this account, Jesus has clarified that the Sabbath was made for Man [as a gift] not that man was made to obey the Sabbath! [v. 27], he then reminds them that the Son of Man [JESUS] is LORD of the Sabbath - HE IS THE LORD OF REST!!!
He then accentuates this by finding a man with a crippled hand in the temple [where all the super-religious people are] and heals him for all to see – ON THE SABBATH – a day made for healing! This made the religious people mad because they had created extra-Biblical laws that they held themselves [and the people] to that were to serve as a hedge or a fence around real Biblical laws - like keeping the Sabbath. This hedge even went so far as to prohibit doing good, like feeding and healing people. So when Jesus healed the man in the temple on the Sabbath, not only was he breaking the Sabbath law to reveal to them that GOD’s heart was for the wounded and broken, but he was also showing the religious people that they completely missed the boat! At this point, the super religious people got really offended and instead of repenting of their sin, they banded together to demise a plot to kill Jesus.
So what does this have to do with working on Sunday? Well, not a whole lot – and that’s my point!
The Hebrew people [including Moses, David, and Jesus] practiced the Sabbath on Saturday. [From sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday.] Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and his body was removed from the cross and put in a tomb before Friday at sundown so that it wouldn’t be up during the Sabbath [mk 15:42]. He was then in the tomb for three days [Friday – Saturday – Sunday] and on Sunday He resurrected from the dead! This is the pinnacle of all of Christianity – GOD that was dead is now ALIVE! It’s even more important than the cross! The cross is a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, but the punctuation on his sacrifice, the part with the power, is when Christ conquers satan, sin and death – when he overcomes the grave and is risen to new life!
In Acts 20:7, we see the first believers of the new church begin to gather on “the first day of the week” – the day of the Resurrection – SUNDAY! From then forward, most churches choose to meet on Sunday. BUT that doesn’t mean that churches HAVE to meet on Sundays… it’s just the tradition that was started and most continue to hold today. [apparently the Sevey’s don’t have this verse in their Bible – or they don’t like the resurrection! i kid... i kid... but seriously, welcome to the New Covenant... you don't HAVE TO do it the way you guys are doing it! RELAX!]
But the most important aspect of learning about Sabbath is this:
JESUS IS OUR SABBATH REST!
Like the whole of all of Scripture, the laws about the Sabbath point to Jesus.
The Sabbath Laws in the Old Testament point to Jesus’ work for us when it calls for a reliance on faith and a stop to work. [rom 4:4-5]
The cultural extensions of the Sabbath Law are found in Leviticus 25:1-13 and seen practiced by Boaz in the Story of Ruth:
Jesus is our Year of Jubilee – all debts of sin are now canceled in him and we as slaves to sin are set free!
Jesus also came to restore the rest that was forfeited in the garden by our first father, Adam. As we mentioned briefly earlier, the curse stopped adam’s continual rest, but at the time of that cession, GOD foretold that Jesus would come through the seed of the woman to crush the serpent’s head [PROTOEVANGELION!]! And crush it, he did! And in doing so, Jesus revealed to us that the rest and the cession of work [towards salvation] is found in him:
then our final and total rest will be fulfilled in eternity with the LORD in Heaven. [rev 21:4; rev 22:1-3]
Is it OK to work on a Sunday? SURE!
The Old Testament commands to keep the Sabbath as a day of rest have been fulfilled in Jesus [matt 5:17], who IS our Sabbath rest. Nowhere in the NT are Christians commanded to keep the Sabbath.
It’s still wise to have a rhythm of rest in our life so that we don’t get overworked or forget about our families, or our mission, but it is no longer a requirement to “keep holy the Sabbath” by “not working on Sunday”.
I do feel the need, out of personal conviction, to offer some words about addiction to things like technology, work, “staying connected”, TXTing, and other innocent distractions that become the focus of our life. While it’s not “breaking the Sabbath law”, it is unhealthy and sin to allow these types of things to take over in your life and become your focus/god/idol. A sin of omission by not doing the things you should be doing. And maybe even a sin of commission, by doing things that you know you should NOT be doing. I need to repent of this in my life, as my wife continually reminds me to put down the iPhone and close the computer. I encourage you to evaluate your life along these areas and repent of sin if you need to as well!
and as for right now: [8:00p] KRISTI AND I ARE ON VACATION UNTIL MONDAY AUGUST 18!!!
...
Is it OK to work on Sunday?
>>>before you read the answer to my question, you must go back and read the answer to the question before this one: "Why is Church important?" [working on sunday so you can avoid being a part of a local church community is NOT what i'm talking about here - that's sin!]
I sure hope so! Because if it’s not OK to work on Sunday, then most pastors are in sin!
I think this question comes from a Christian-culture perspective that looks towards a few old testament verses for it’s source [including the almighty BIG10!!!]:
In the story of Creation, on the seventh day, when He had completed Creation, GOD rested and made the day “holy” – set apart/special/unique. [gen 2:2-3]
The 4th of the 10 Commandments is to "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." [exo 20:8-11]
I think these verses setup the grounds upon which this question was asked. Both of these verses deal with a Hebrew concept called “Sabbath”. In order to get a better understanding to answer our questions, let’s take a closer look at SABBATH.
The Sabbath was a “practical law” given to the people of Israel to serve a few purposes:
1. to remind them that GOD is in control and we don’t have to work-work-work to make things happen. We need to trust in him.
2. It was a “gift” from God. – no other cultures surrounding Israel practiced Sabbath. It was counter-cultural, much like it is today.
3. It points towards JESUS. In Genesis 3:17-19, when the consequences of the curse were given to Adam & Eve & the Serpent, Adam was told he would have to work the land in painful toil until he died, then he would have to return to the ground. But in GOD’s provision, he also commands RELIEF FROM THE CURSE for His People: Both in labor [Sabbath day] and love [Jesus’ sacrifice to lift the curse – gen 3:15]
However, when Jesus comes on the scene, we see a different perspective to the Sabbath than the Hebrew People had come to practice.
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."
Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
[MARK 2:23 – 3:6]
In this account, Jesus has clarified that the Sabbath was made for Man [as a gift] not that man was made to obey the Sabbath! [v. 27], he then reminds them that the Son of Man [JESUS] is LORD of the Sabbath - HE IS THE LORD OF REST!!!
He then accentuates this by finding a man with a crippled hand in the temple [where all the super-religious people are] and heals him for all to see – ON THE SABBATH – a day made for healing! This made the religious people mad because they had created extra-Biblical laws that they held themselves [and the people] to that were to serve as a hedge or a fence around real Biblical laws - like keeping the Sabbath. This hedge even went so far as to prohibit doing good, like feeding and healing people. So when Jesus healed the man in the temple on the Sabbath, not only was he breaking the Sabbath law to reveal to them that GOD’s heart was for the wounded and broken, but he was also showing the religious people that they completely missed the boat! At this point, the super religious people got really offended and instead of repenting of their sin, they banded together to demise a plot to kill Jesus.
So what does this have to do with working on Sunday? Well, not a whole lot – and that’s my point!
The Hebrew people [including Moses, David, and Jesus] practiced the Sabbath on Saturday. [From sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday.] Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and his body was removed from the cross and put in a tomb before Friday at sundown so that it wouldn’t be up during the Sabbath [mk 15:42]. He was then in the tomb for three days [Friday – Saturday – Sunday] and on Sunday He resurrected from the dead! This is the pinnacle of all of Christianity – GOD that was dead is now ALIVE! It’s even more important than the cross! The cross is a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, but the punctuation on his sacrifice, the part with the power, is when Christ conquers satan, sin and death – when he overcomes the grave and is risen to new life!
In Acts 20:7, we see the first believers of the new church begin to gather on “the first day of the week” – the day of the Resurrection – SUNDAY! From then forward, most churches choose to meet on Sunday. BUT that doesn’t mean that churches HAVE to meet on Sundays… it’s just the tradition that was started and most continue to hold today. [apparently the Sevey’s don’t have this verse in their Bible – or they don’t like the resurrection! i kid... i kid... but seriously, welcome to the New Covenant... you don't HAVE TO do it the way you guys are doing it! RELAX!]
But the most important aspect of learning about Sabbath is this:
JESUS IS OUR SABBATH REST!
Like the whole of all of Scripture, the laws about the Sabbath point to Jesus.
The Sabbath Laws in the Old Testament point to Jesus’ work for us when it calls for a reliance on faith and a stop to work. [rom 4:4-5]
[in reference to Salvation] Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
The cultural extensions of the Sabbath Law are found in Leviticus 25:1-13 and seen practiced by Boaz in the Story of Ruth:
- don’t harvest your field to the edge: so the widows, orphans, aliens, and outcasts can eat of your abundance.
- Don’t harvest your fields twice: so the hungry can glean from your fields as a modern food bank.
- Don’t muzzle your oxen: so they can enjoy the benefits of the grain they are working to provide for you.
- Every 7th year is a year where you don’t plant crops, you just eat what the LORD provides. [an echoing of the manna-gift in exodus 16]
- Every 50th year [the year after 7 Sabbath Years], all debts are cancelled, all salves set free, all land returns to it’s family.
Jesus is our Year of Jubilee – all debts of sin are now canceled in him and we as slaves to sin are set free!
Jesus also came to restore the rest that was forfeited in the garden by our first father, Adam. As we mentioned briefly earlier, the curse stopped adam’s continual rest, but at the time of that cession, GOD foretold that Jesus would come through the seed of the woman to crush the serpent’s head [PROTOEVANGELION!]! And crush it, he did! And in doing so, Jesus revealed to us that the rest and the cession of work [towards salvation] is found in him:
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" [matt 11:28-30]
then our final and total rest will be fulfilled in eternity with the LORD in Heaven. [rev 21:4; rev 22:1-3]
Is it OK to work on a Sunday? SURE!
The Old Testament commands to keep the Sabbath as a day of rest have been fulfilled in Jesus [matt 5:17], who IS our Sabbath rest. Nowhere in the NT are Christians commanded to keep the Sabbath.
It’s still wise to have a rhythm of rest in our life so that we don’t get overworked or forget about our families, or our mission, but it is no longer a requirement to “keep holy the Sabbath” by “not working on Sunday”.
I do feel the need, out of personal conviction, to offer some words about addiction to things like technology, work, “staying connected”, TXTing, and other innocent distractions that become the focus of our life. While it’s not “breaking the Sabbath law”, it is unhealthy and sin to allow these types of things to take over in your life and become your focus/god/idol. A sin of omission by not doing the things you should be doing. And maybe even a sin of commission, by doing things that you know you should NOT be doing. I need to repent of this in my life, as my wife continually reminds me to put down the iPhone and close the computer. I encourage you to evaluate your life along these areas and repent of sin if you need to as well!
and as for right now: [8:00p] KRISTI AND I ARE ON VACATION UNTIL MONDAY AUGUST 18!!!
3 Comments:
Nice post man.
I think America has a lot to learn about the wisdom behind the sabbath. we work WAY too much, and our families pay a heavy price for it.
Here's my train of thought.
Your argument is as full of holes as your Bible must be. Just because the New Testament doesn't specificaly repeat the Old means the old is no longer valid? Hogwash! If the new covenant specifically nixed the old I might believe your argument but it doesn't, the examples you give of Jesus healing were lessons in mercy, not allowance for work for compensation,the reason most people work on Sundays now. Herd mentality, even majority rule, does not give anyone the right to disobey God's commands. Sin is sin, even if everyone else does it. Get down from your pulpit, you don't belong there.
nograyarehere, you are missing the point altogether.
The point of the sabbath day is to work 6 and rest 1. Save one day to rest, to devote to scripture, prayer, family.
It is legalism and religion that mandates which of the days of the week are the one you set aside for sabbath.
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