This morning, we're continuing our series on the Christian Sabbath, reclaiming the Lord's day. Last week, we saw that the Old Testament reveals that God's Sabbath principle was rooted in creation itself. God created all things and on the seventh day he rested, he blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. We then saw how that creation principle is reflected in the moral law as it's given to us in the Ten Commandments and in the fourth commandment specifically the charge to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. And then last week we finally saw in the prophets that while Israel had regularly defied the Sabbath day and profaned the Sabbath day, and in fact because they did, the prophets say that's why God kicked Israel out of the land. So that the land could have a Sabbath of Sabbaths for 70 years. Despite all of that, God was not done with the Sabbath day. In fact, the prophets, as Isaiah, we looked at last week said, there's gonna be a time when the prophets envisioned that all flesh would come and worship before the Lord from Sabbath to Sabbath. This is in the final chapter of Isaiah where he talks about the new heavens and the new earth, the new creation language that the New Testament picks up. So I want to start this message this morning by simply asking, were the prophets wrong? Were the prophets wrong in foretelling of these things? What I'm going to argue this morning is no. They were not wrong. However, when Jesus comes, he is going to transform the Sabbath day into the Lord's day. And have you ever wondered why do we worship on Sunday rather than Saturday? Because the Sabbath in the Old Testament was Saturday, the last day of the week. Why then do we as Christians worship on Sunday? Is that just an arbitrary, evolutionary kind of thing that just happened. Why? We're going to look at that, why the first day of the week becomes the Lord's Day. We'll see that this morning as well. So we are going to get into the New Testament this morning and see how Jesus brings another kind of revolution to the Sabbath day. Last week, we saw how the Sabbath was a calendar revolution for Israel. Their whole week in life revolved around the high and holy day of the seventh day of the Sabbath. This week, we're gonna see how Jesus, in a revolutionary way, because he owns the Sabbath, transforms it for the New Testament church and until he returns. So that's where we're going. The goal of this whole series on the Christian Sabbath is that we as a church and we as families and as individuals would reclaim the Lord's day for God's intended purposes and that we would reject the poisonous and vacuous air that we breathe in this culture of turning the Lord's day into my day. or your day, the day where we do whatever we want, where we serve our own needs rather than the Lord's. And as a result of studying this, my prayer is that we would experience true spiritual rest and blessing as we learn what it means to keep the Lord's day holy. So we'll begin the New Testament study this morning by seeing that, number one, Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. In this first point, I'm gonna argue that Jesus does not abolish the fourth commandment. Far from it, he fulfills it and expands it and shows its true meaning. When Jesus went up on the mountain and the disciples followed him and he gave his sermon on the mount, one of the first things that Jesus said after he gave the Beatitudes and talked about us being salt and light is his view of the Old Testament. And he gives his position in no uncertain terms. In Matthew 5, verses 17 and 18, Jesus says, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law. until all is accomplished. The Son of God came to fulfill the law and the prophets, not to destroy them. There's been, unfortunately, in our modern times, an unhealthy view of the Old Testament that it's essentially somebody else's mail. You know, we kind of read it, you know, we dip our toe in it every now and then for background information, but it's really somebody else's mail. But what Jesus says is he is by no means tossing out what God has revealed through the law, through the prophets, but he is going to fulfill it. He's going to accomplish all of it. All of scripture points to Jesus. He is the yes and amen of the Old Testament. The Pharisees searched the scriptures, but were blind. And Jesus says, you search the scriptures, but it is they that bear witness about me. Jesus comes to fulfill the law and the prophets, where even the smallest part of a Hebrew letter will be fulfilled. The dot, the tittle, It's gonna be fulfilled. Nothing, nothing will be forgotten. This understanding of how Jesus views the law is essential for us to understand how the Sabbath is transformed in the Lord's day today. After this in Matthew 12, Jesus turns to the fourth commandment specifically. That is, when I say the fourth commandment, this is the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. And it has been argued by scholars that Jesus, by precept, by what he said, and by practice, emphasized the Sabbath more than any other commandment. by precept and by practice. Firstly, all four Gospels show that Jesus' custom was to participate in public worship on the Sabbath. For example, Luke records in his Gospel, And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day." That's Luke 4, 16. As was his custom, meaning Jesus's habit was to go to the synagogue. on the Sabbath day. We saw last week that the Jews weekly calendar revolved around the seventh day rest. In fact, I don't have time to point all of this out to you today, but they actually numbered their days according to the Sabbath. So the first day of the week would be called the first of the Sabbath. And that's how the gospel writers and Paul refer to the first day of the week, the first of the Sabbath. Their whole week, their whole calendar was built around the high and holy day of the Sabbath. And it was Jesus' custom to go to the Lord's house on the Sabbath day. Secondly, Jesus reveals that works of necessity are permitted on the Sabbath. Jesus told the Pharisees that the priests profane the temple and yet are guiltless. So there are some kind of works, particularly to maintaining the worship of God, that, in a technical way, profane the Sabbath day, And yet, like the priests, they were guiltless. One of my neighbors in America was Jewish, and his excuse for not going to the synagogue on the Sabbath is he would have to make his car work to get there. I find it's amazing how people are so creative in walking around the law to justify their lifestyle choices. But here Jesus says that even the priests, while yes, according to the letter of the law, profane the Sabbath, they were guiltless because they were doing the work of the Lord. Likewise, Jesus also talks about works of necessity could include things like meeting your needs in an extreme situation. David in the service of God had to flee from Saul and he ate the showbread in the tabernacle and yet was guiltless. Jesus goes on to tell the Pharisees that same thing in Matthew 12. So God gives us permission to do things that are necessary for the maintaining of worship on his day as well as meeting our needs or others' needs in extreme situations. I think this is why it is also just a necessary reality that we need medical workers to be available for extreme situations, or policemen. There are certain works that we have to still, still have to happen on the Sabbath day. But they do technically profane the day, which is interesting. But here Jesus says that works of necessity are permitted, particularly those related to God's service, following Jesus, just like the disciples who ate heads of grain while they were following Jesus. And they were not, they were guiltless on the Sabbath day. So we've seen that it's Jesus' custom. We've seen that he permits works of necessity. A third example would be works of mercy. Jesus reveals that works of mercy are legitimate on the Sabbath day. Speaking to the Pharisees, who were ever ready to catch Jesus, violate the law, which in fact was just violating their man-made version of the law. All the things that the Pharisees had added on to the law. They're watching Jesus to see when he'll break the Sabbath. And Jesus says to them in Matthew 12 verse 11 and following, which of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more value is a man than a sheep? So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. And then after that, Jesus went on to heal a man with a withered hand. The underlying principle when Jesus talks about works of necessity and mercy is that the Sabbath was made for man, as Jesus says in Mark 2, 27. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was never meant to be a burden to God's people. Rather, it's God's gift established for his people from the foundation of the world. Finally, the gospels show that the reason Jesus can speak with such authority on these matters is that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus says in Matthew 12, eight, for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the Lord's day. And that's something we'll return to at the end of the message. Because the Sabbath is Jesus's day, he decides what is permitted to happen on his day. And what we have seen by precept and examples that far from destroying the Sabbath rest described in the fourth commandment, he kept it and indeed elevated its meaning. He gathered for public worship. He kept the day by doing works of necessity and mercy. And likewise, after his death, His disciples continued to keep the Sabbath day. Remember, they did not anoint his body till the Sabbath was over. And on the first day, they went to anoint him. We've seen thus far that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. Let's now see a second point, number two. Jesus and the apostles give first day worship normative force. Let me say that again. Jesus and the apostles give first day worship normative force. If Jesus upheld the Sabbath rest, which was on the seventh day for the Jews, that is Saturday, Why does the church worship on the first day of the week? That is Sunday. At this point, we will see that Sunday worship takes on normative force because of the example of Jesus and his disciples after the resurrection. We're going to see here that something happened in the resurrection that transformed the Sabbath day from being the seventh day to being the Lord's day on the first day of the week, or what we call the Christian Sabbath. Something happened at the resurrection in the history of salvation that changed everything in the way we worship and gather now on the first day of the week. rather than on the seventh. To see this normative force, we need to see several things, how Jesus and how the apostles and the early church shifted in light of the power of the resurrection and what that meant for God's people in God's plan of salvation. So firstly, Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. And we see this in all four Gospels. So for example, Mark writes, and very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb and they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back. It was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. Christ's resurrection is on the first day of the week. Let me say this another way. The most significant event up till now in all of history to this point, the turning point of all of redemption history is the resurrection of Christ from the dead. His resurrection signifies the turning point in all of salvation history. Sunday becomes Resurrection Day. And it's not just Easter. Sunday, every Sunday is resurrection day. That is why Sunday is elevated to the most important day of the week. The weekly calendar revolution now spins around the memorial of the most important event in history. We memorialize that event every Sunday when we gather together. You know that earlier this year we lost a pre-born child about halfway through the pregnancy and our child Jedediah is buried at the Aigena Cemetery. I took the children there last week after church and the plaque is finally up for the area where he's buried. We go there from time to time, and I'm sure you do with your own loved ones that have gone before you. You go there from time to time to remember your loved ones that you have lost. Well, in a much greater and more wonderful way, we gather every Sunday to remember not one who simply died, and was buried, but one who rose to life and who is our very hope of our own resurrection when the Lord returns. We gather to celebrate and memorialize what Jesus has done for us every Sunday when we gather, because Sunday is Resurrection Day. Secondly, Christ's major post-resurrection appearances, did you know, also happen on the first day of the week? I find this very interesting. It's not something if you're just reading scripture that it just kind of stands out to you. But as you start to put it together, his major post-resurrection appearances, are stated as being on the first day. So, for example, Jesus chose the first day of the week to commune with and instruct his disciples after the resurrection. It was the first day of the week when he appeared to his disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. That same first day, he revealed himself to the disciples in Jerusalem in the evening. That same day he gave the disciples the keys of the kingdom and told them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. All of this stuff by Jesus's appointment happened on the first day of the week, according to the gospels. Thirdly, Jesus launched his global church planning mission on the first day of the week. Do you know when Pentecost, Happened? Pentecost, according to the law, you read places like Leviticus, happened the day after the Sabbath. While Jesus' disciples were waiting, and wondering, is this the time when the kingdom is going to come now that Jesus has rose? And they are asking him, is this a time you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He says, the times and the seasons are not up to you to know. But he says, wait in this city and you will be my witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends. of the earth. He says in Acts 1, and while Luke writes, and while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. not many days from now. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." So which day did Jesus choose to launch his great commission, church planning, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail mission? He chose the first day of the week to launch this mission. Pentecost took place the first day after the Sabbath, according to places in the law. We read, for example, Leviticus 23, 11 and following. The day hope sprung eternal for people like you and me was the first day of the week when Jesus poured out his spirit on the disciples and he came looking for people like you and me. There was a beginning point to the mission, and it was in Jerusalem, and it's here in Norway, and it's in China, in Indonesia, in Africa, and it is moving to the ends of the earth, and all of that launched. Our hope to hear the gospel launched on the first day of the week when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. We commemorate the first day because that is the day that Jesus came looking for us. Fourthly, as a result of these events, the church's apostolic practice was to assemble for public worship on the first day of the week. In other words, the Christian Sabbath became Sunday. So for example, during his missionary journey, Paul was in Troas for seven days. However, Luke records that it was on the first day of the week that he gathered the people together for fellowship and teaching and instruction. In fact, they went so late that Eutychus fell out the window and they had to bring him back to life. They were there all day. On the first day of the week, Acts 20 verses 6 to 7, Luke records there that it was on that first day that Paul gathered with the believers to break bread and to hear him preach. Another example comes from what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church when he writes in 1 Corinthians 16, verses 1 and following, "'Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up.'" as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem." These verses show Paul gathering a special offering for the relief of the Jerusalem Christians who are being persecuted brutally by the unbelieving Israelites. And in this instruction, he says, as I've been telling the churches in Galatia, that is Asia Minor or modern day Turkey, as I've been telling the churches there, you also here in Greece, set your offerings aside on the first day of the week. The only good explanation for why Paul designates the first day of the week, because they certainly couldn't just vips him money on that day, just that random day, is that that's the day they gather for worship. That's the day they come together so that they could physically collect the funds for the suffering Jerusalem Christians. Finally, we have early evidence of the first day of the week being called the Lord's Day in the book of Revelation. John writes in Revelation 1, 9 and 10, he says, I, John, your brother, and partner in the tribulation in the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. And then he says, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. The only parallel phrase we have in the New Testament of the same kind of grammatical construction of the Lord's Day is the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11 20. A resource that I commend you, and that has been very informative as I've been putting this series together, is the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's Committee on Sabbath Matters. There's a report of the Committee on Sabbath Matters that they did many years ago, and I would commend it to you. If you want a link to that, I can give it to you after the message. But the OPC's Committee on Sabbath Matters reports, to this point, The only such day is the first day of the week, the Resurrection Day, that particularly serves as a memorial of Christ. Yet it is the Sabbath over which Christ, as the Son of Man, claimed particular lordship. The one conception that fits this understanding of Kyriakos, that is of lordship, is the Christian Sabbath or the Lord's Day. As the Old Testament Sabbath was, in the words of the Lord, my holy day. and the holy day of the Lord, Isaiah 58, 13. So the New Testament Sabbath or first day of the week is the Lord's day until the Lord of the Sabbath returns on the clouds of heaven. Just to summarize this point, the post-resurrection example of Jesus and his disciples for assembly on the first day of the week gives normative force for us today, that we should be following their example. and honoring Sunday as the Lord's Day or the Christian Sabbath. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. The gospel points out that he chose the first day of the week for his appearances to the disciples. He chose the first day of the week to launch his Great Commission work at Pentecost. And likewise, the early church gathered for worship on the first day of the week, which is why this day became known as the Lord's Day. Again, by practice and precept, we see that Jesus's death and resurrection caused such a radical turning point in salvation history that the Lord of the Sabbath shifted the day from Saturday to Sunday to remember and memorialize all that he has done for his people on that day. Indeed, all that he did through the law and the prophets too, for the Old Testament saints too. We memorialize the greatest act of salvation history by worshiping on Sunday, the Lord's Day, as the Christian Sabbath. Third and finally then, we need to deal with a few texts of scripture that seem to contradict what I've just said. and what we've just seen in Jesus' words and what we've seen in the apostolic practice. So number three, three New Testament texts are problematic if read out of context. Three New Testament texts are problematic if read out of context. One of the first things you learn as a seminary student when you take what's called hermeneutics, that's the technical term, but just the interpretation of scripture, is that context is king. Context is king. To interpret one verse of scripture, we need to understand how it fits within the paragraph. And to interpret that paragraph, we need to know how it fits within the section of that book or within the whole book. To understand that book, we need to understand how it fits within the whole context of the Christian canon, the Bible. And if we don't do that, we can pull verses out and we can be like a weightlifter who says, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and completely abuse the text. That's called eisegesis when we're reading our own meaning into the text. Biblical interpretation is called exegesis, meaning we are getting our doctrine from the text. And that's something we always need to combat. And there's three passages in the New Testament that appear problematic if we read them out of context. And they seem to contradict with even what Jesus said and what the apostles did and what they said. but they're only problematic if we read them out of context. So we'll look at these briefly. And if you want to look at them in more detail, the same OPC report on Sabbath matters deals with this in a more in-depth way than I have time to on one Sunday morning, but I'll give this to you in brief. The proper meaning and context of Colossians 2, 16 and 17. This is the first one. In Colossians 2, 16 and 17, Paul writes, Some have wrongly argued that Paul revokes the fourth commandment by these words. However, they miss the point of Paul's argument. This example comes from one of three Pauline letters that particularly focus on Jew and Gentile problems. One of the biggest problems in the early church was the fact that what's up with these Gentiles now being called the people of God, and do they need to follow the law of Moses, the dietary restrictions and so forth? Do they need to follow the oral tradition of the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Or what's up? Is one group better than the other? Are the Gentiles second-class citizens in the church? And these were issues that the apostles had to deal with. We see it particularly in Galatians, in Romans, and here in Colossians. And so that context has to be in our mind as we're thinking about what Paul is saying. A correct reading of this passage shows, and of the book of Colossians as a whole, that Jesus is supreme. Jesus is supreme over the shadow of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Scholars variously debate what kind of Jews are a problem here for the church in Colossae, whether they're following a kind of Jewish mysticism, because they talk about asceticism and the worship of angels. There's some other things that don't seem to quite fit with kind of a normal, like Pharisaic kind of view of the law. But nevertheless, what Paul is showing in Colossians is the supremacy of Christ as the substance over the shadow of the Old Testament sacrificial system and other man-made laws. I should say and or man-made laws. Two phrases are key in this passage. One, the phrase, meet and drink, that Paul references, points to the offerings that the priests make in the temple. The only place where those two words are used together is Ezekiel 45, 17. And the phrase points to the idea that when the priests offered the sacrifices, they had to be careful with the meat offerings and the drink offerings, and they would violate the Lord's commandment if they did so. And so you can see here that Jews might be saying, well, should we still be participating in the old sacrificial system? even while we believe Jesus is the Messiah, do you see? It's like, yes, Jesus is the Messiah. It's somewhat of a legitimate argument, isn't it? Well, yes, Jesus is the Messiah. He's the one who will lead us, but we still need to do these other things. And they didn't get how Jesus fulfills. and does away with the Old Testament sacrificial system. The other phrase Paul uses here, a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath, is also a technical term always occurring in the context of the whole sacrificial system. It designates the whole Old Testament sacrificial system, which is derived in places like Numbers 28 and 29. And we see places in the prophets where a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath is used to speak of those things. The point of Colossians is to show that Jesus is greater than the Old Testament sacrificial system. As the writer of Hebrews will say, he's the once for all sacrifice. That system was a shadow that pointed to Christ. Now that Christ is here, the old sacrificial system is no longer necessary. But making this point, Paul is not abrogating the fourth commandment as such. I'll wrap this up shortly, but let's move on to another problematic text. Let's look at the proper meaning and context of Galatians 4, verses 9 to 11. In Galatians 4, verse 9 and following, Paul writes, but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, How can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain." Again, this is another passage that people use to say, we don't have to worship on any day. We can worship on any random day. The fourth commandment no longer applies. But what we need to understand is the context. Paul's dominant concern in Galatians is to deal with the false gospel of works righteousness. The false gospel of works righteousness, that we justify ourselves before God by doing certain things. That is what's at stake in Galatians. And Paul's saying there's only one gospel. And if me or anyone else preaches another one, let him be anathema, let him be cursed. That's Paul's concern here. There are people coming and wanting to draw the Galatian Christians back to the old system, which is no more. And Paul's saying, you're a fool. If you go back to it, if you go back to it, then Christ died in vain. He came to set us free from these things, from trying to justify ourselves before God by the law. No one can do that but Christ. So again, in Galatians, Paul is not abrogating the fourth commandment. The problem is treating days, months, seasons, and years as a system of merit. A system of merit. He argues that you are foolish to believe that observing the Old Testament sacrificial system will gain you merit before God. Then third and finally, the proper meaning and context of Romans 14, 5, and 6. In Romans 14, verse 5 and following, Paul writes, One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. Again, in the Roman church, The Jew and Gentile controversy is huge. The Roman Emperor Claudius issued an edict that expelled all of the Jews from Rome. during the fifth decade of the first century in the 40s. I'm blanking on the specific date at the moment. But Emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews. And then at some point they're allowed to come back in. In which time a bunch of Gentiles were leading the church in Rome. And now the Jews are coming back. And there's all sorts of problems. And while Paul is hoping to unite with the Roman church to be sent off to Spain, a huge part of Romans deals with how we are justified by faith, not by the law, how we are made children of Abraham by faith, how we are counted righteous by faith in Christ. And then in chapters nine to 11, what then of the Jews? Are they any better off? You know, what about them? What's God's plan for the fullness of time? It's in this context that there are going to be squabbles about days and observances and what food you can eat or what food you can't eat. Can you just imagine those problems as they would surface? Who's better? Are we the same? Are we better? Are they better? Can we eat barbecue now? Can we eat, you know, can we eat a good Pulled pork sandwich? Not that they had it, but you know what I'm saying. Can we eat these things that the Old Testament dietary law forbid? We're not. Do we still gather on Saturday? Is that a better day to gather than the first day, which they seem to be worshiping on now? Do you see what's going on here? There seems to be an issue of conscience. And Paul, I think particularly for the Jewish Christians, is saying, if you still feel like you should eat the kosher diet, if you still want to go to temple on the Sabbath day, on the seventh day, that's fine. But you don't have a right to make the Gentile Christians have to do those things. Do you see? It's in that context that we understand that Paul's dealing with issues of conscience. He's not dealing with abrogating or destroying the fourth commandment. He's dealing with inter-church relations in the body of Christ. He's not abrogating the Sabbath as such. We really see when we just, we've just kind of tipped our toes into the water of these three verses. But we've seen here that when understood correctly, Paul is not abrogating the fourth commandment. If he was, he would be contradicting his practice. He would be contradicting Jesus' post-resurrection practice. And so these things need to work together because the message of Scripture is not many, it's one. It's not many, it's one. Paul practiced first day gathering. His practice was meeting believers on the first day of the week. and commanding the churches to gather their collection on the first day of the week. Christians are no longer bound to observe the Sabbath on Saturday. We're no longer bound to certain food laws of the Old Testament. There are a few Christian groups today that would say that we should still worship on Saturday and still follow the Old Testament dietary laws, but those things have been abolished. We've not dealt with food today, but perhaps some other time we will. Viewed in the context of Jew-Gentile relations, it's easy to see how Jewish Christians may have felt pressured to observe the old calendar, or how Jewish Christians may have pressured the Gentiles Christians to follow the same calendar. But none of this abrogates the fourth commandment and the wider New Testament witness showing Jesus and the apostles use of the first day of the week for public assembly as the Lord's day. In conclusion then, were the prophets wrong to foretell of the Sabbath being observed by all flesh in the new creation, in the new heavens and the new earth? No. But just like everything in the Old Testament, Jesus radically transforms it as the whole system pointed to Christ. and his resurrection, the outpouring of the spirit and the application of redemption on the church. That's why we meet on this day. I wanna close by just reminding us of something we talked about last week, just in conclusion, how sadly many Christians continue to treat the Lord's day as my day. I have met so many people in this city Some from time to time have gathered in this church who say, I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian. Where do you go to church? I don't go to church. Now there aren't a lot of churches that are preaching the gospel. So I can be somewhat sympathetic to that. There are some in this city. I hope we're one of them. I believe we are. There's not a lot of churches preaching the word of God rather than man-made messages. But Christ owns this day. And I fear for our spiritual wellbeing if we treat this day with contempt of basically making, gathering for church a calendar appointment when there's nothing else that gets in the way. Last week, we saw that the penalty for Sabbath breaking was death. It carried a maximum penalty of the death sentence. God clearly cared about the Israelites observing the day. We've seen the New Testament teaching on how we ought to keep the Lord's day holy. Next week, we're going to look at What does the Lord's Day look like? And what did it look like for the early Christians in the New Testament? And we're going to look specifically at gathering in the evening and what the Bible has to say about that. And as you know, we are going to start our evening service tonight. And I would love to see each one of you come and join us for that. But we are going to do one final message the week after, and we're going to look at one final warning text from the book of Hebrews on what is the warning to New Testament Christians, or people who call themselves Christian, who violate and profane the Lord's day along with other days. And we're going to end on a sober note then. Remember that Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount After he said he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus, of course, is our saving righteousness. It's by faith in him that his righteousness is counted as ours. But there's nowhere in the New Testament that says, if you just believe, that's all you gotta do. None of our works saves us. Not one of them saves us. Even faith is a gift from God to believe. Not one thing we do saves us. But for those who have been given the spirit of Christ, it is our joy and our desire, as Paul will say many times, to live a life worthy of the gospel to which we've been called. And Jesus clearly does not do away with his moral law. We are still to follow his moral law today. That's something rooted in creation, not at the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments is merely a summary of the law. Paul tells the Romans in Romans chapter two that the law was written on even unbelievers' hearts. In other words, the law was given to Adam, the sense, the conscience. And that's not done away with in the New Testament. So I want to ask you a question. Do you want to be least or greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus says the one who will be considered great is the one that does the commandments and instructs others to do the same. And the one that will be called least is the one that shoves them aside and tells others it's fine too. Brothers and sisters, let's not be like those carnal Christians. And we'll see two weeks from now, Lord willing, that if that's your MO, you may not even be a Christian at all. So let's approach the Lord's day with fear and trembling, but also joy and zeal, because this is the day. This is the day we celebrate when Jesus came looking for us. It's the day he rose from the dead. It's the day he fellowshiped with his disciples. It's the day he poured out the spirit and launched the mission that eventually led to you and me. So let's keep this day well, brothers and sisters, individually and as a church family. And may God bring us true heavenly rest as we do it. Let's pray.