Ang Ikaapat na Utos: Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 38

Question 103. What does God require in the fourth commandment?

Exodus 20:8–11 ESV

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Different Views on the Sabbath

Hindi na applicable ngayon

Sabadista

Sunday (the Lord’s Day) is the new Sabbath

Applicable pa rin ang Sabbath principle

Genesis 2:2–3 ESV

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Exodus 31:12–17 ESV

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.’ ”

Kevin DeYoung: “The issue was one of trust. The Sabbath reminded Israel of God’s sufficiency and supply…Sabbath-keeping was a weekly reminder that the Lord was God and they were not.”

Mark 2:27–28 ESV

And 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.”

Matthew 5:17–19 ESV

“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. 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.

Colossians 2:16–17 ESV

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Institutes of the Christian Religion 28. General Interpretation

bThe purpose of this commandment is that, being dead to our own inclinations and works, we should meditate on the Kingdom of God, and that we should practice that meditation in the ways established by him. But, since this commandment has a particular consideration distinct from the others, it requires a slightly different order of exposition. b(a)The early fathers customarily called this commandment a foreshadowing because it contains the outward keeping of a day which, upon Christ’s coming, was abolished with the other figures.36 bThis they say truly, but they touch upon only half the matter. Hence, we must go deeper in our exposition, and ponder three conditions in which, it seems to me, the keeping of this commandment consists.

First, under the repose of the seventh day the heavenly Lawgiver meant to represent to the people of Israel spiritual rest, in which believers ought to lay aside their own works to allow God to work in them. Secondly, he meant that there was to be a stated day for them to assemble to hear the law and perform the rites,36x or at least to devote it particularly to meditation upon his works, and thus through this remembrance to be trained in piety. bThirdly, he resolved to give a day of rest to servants and those who are under the authority of others, in order that they should have some respite from toil.

Question 103. What does God require in the fourth commandment?

First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained and that, especially on the day of rest, I diligently attend the church of God to hear God’sWord, to use the sacraments, to call publicly upon the LORD, and to give Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that all the days of my life I rest from my evil works, let the LORD work in me through his Holy Spirit, and so begin in this life the eternal Sabbath.

Tanong 103. Ano ang hinihingi ng Diyos sa ikaapat na utos?

Una, na ang ministeryo ng ebanghelyo at ng mga paaralan ay mapanatili, at lalong-lalo na sa araw ng pamamahinga na ako’y buong sigasig na dadalo sa iglesya ng Diyos upang pakinggan ang Salita ng Diyos, gamitin ang mga sakramento, lantarang tumawag sa Panginoon at magbigay ng mga Kristiyanong tulong para sa maralita. Pangalawa, na sa lahat ng araw ng aking buhay ako’y mamahinga sa aking masasamang gawain at hayaang kumilos ang Panginoon sa pamamagitan ng Banal na Espiritu at nang sa gayon masimulan sa buhay na ito ang walang hanggang sabbath.

Three abiding Sabbath principles (DeYoung, reflecting on Calvin):

It is fitting for one day in seven to be appointed a day set aside for worship.

We trust in Christ enough to rest one day in seven.

The most important: Cease from our works and rest in Christ.

Hebrews 4:9–11 ESV

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”