The Fourth Commandment

Exodus 31.12-17

And the LORD said to Moses, ^“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

How serious is the Lord about this day? Very serious, indeed. We do not impose the death penalty on those who do not remember and guard the Lord’s Day, but they were commanded to in ancient Israel, before the day of grace and the Spirit. “Cutting off” Sabbath-breakers is a euphemism for killing them; it can also mean separation from the altar – and, hence, the favor of God – for a season.

The Lord has determined that honoring His day shall continue through all the generations of His people. Those who will not remember and guard the Lord’s Day show that they despise His Word and consider themselves better qualified to determine how Sundays should be used than the God Who made and redeemed them. If we will set aside God’s Law for this one day, will it not be easy to set it aside whenever, for any reason, we think we know better than God how we ought to live?

Failing to honor the Lord’s Day makes one liable for church discipline. That is, if his church practices discipline. If we will not discipline those who violate the Lord’s Day – first, with an admonition, then, that failing, suspension from the sacrament, and, finally, excommunication – we will have no grounds to discipline anyone for any offense.

God’s love is waiting to renew us each Lord’s Day. When we despise His day and use it for our purposes, we hurt ourselves, as well as any others who, following our example, may cut themselves off from God’s love by failing to remember and guard His day.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.