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Originally Posted by Grace Alone  Our pastor was preaching on Joshua 1:10-18 today and the title of the sermon was "Rest: Then, Now, and Forever". He talked about the Sabbath of the OT and the rest in the Promised Land. Then he went on to the rest we have in the completed work of Christ. And we look forward to the ultimate Sabbath rest: Heaven.
What I really grasped from the sermon is that looking for a list of do's and don'ts for the Lord's Day is not the right approach (although I always wanted a list so I could be sure I was following them!). He favors the view that we set aside that day to worship and focus on the Lord and our future rest. I think proper observance of the Lord's Day is 100% heart attitude. Just making a list of all the things you won't do on that day is more like the approach of the Pharisees. But if we set our hearts and mind on our Lord, then we should have no greater desire than to set aside a day where He is the primary focus of our affections. |
These were some of the my thoughts as well, Janis. We are going through Genesis right now, and today we covered the first part of Genesis 3. One of the points the pastor made is that the serpent convinced Eve that God is not good. This false idea is at the base of all our sin. We don't believe God is good, we know we have to obey Him, so our obedience becomes a weary list of do's and don'ts rather than a heart attitude (as you put so well).
Sabbath is a day where we can focus on the goodness of our God (and all the other wonderful aspects of His nature). Or put another way, it is a day where we can enjoy and glorify God and contemplate what it will be like to enjoy and glorify Him forever.