How Can We Keep the Sabbath in Our Current Culture?

By Dave Martin

November 6, 2013

Question from a reader:

God tells us to “keep the Sabbath”, but I have a lot of Christian friends who go shopping or out to dinner, or do other kinds of work on Sundays. What is an appropriate way to keep the Sabbath in our current culture?

Answer from Dave Martin, EPM volunteer:

I remember things being much different here in the US when I was young (a long time ago!). Most businesses were closed on Sundays, and most Christians did observe it as a day of rest from normal activities. Now it appears that the concept of the Lord's Day as a day of rest and worship has almost been lost in our culture.

But making a new set of rules is not the answer! The New Testament cautions us not to replace the old legal system of Moses with a new legal system of rules and regulations. In fact, Paul wrote the book of Galatians because this was already beginning to happen.

Each of us believers needs to consider the reason behind the Sabbath principle and decide how we are going to faithfully honor that principle, keeping God central in our lives – not as a dreaded duty, but as a matter of delighting in Him!

Here are 3 resources on the Lord's Day from pastor/teacher John Piper. You'll find many other excellent materials on his website, desiringgod.org.

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