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*Note: This is the third installment in a three-part series. You can access part one (link to article) and part two (link to article) on the Covenant Confessions blog.

Premises 3 and 4: Moreover, God has transcribed His moral law upon the hearts of every human being, leaving man without excuse to abide by the Sabbath pattern[1] that is embedded in creation and subsequent divine revelation. Therefore, all human beings have a moral obligation to observe the Sabbath pattern that is declared through natural law,[2] and proactively safeguard the Sabbath pattern within broader cultural settings.

Thus far, we have set forth and defined the biblical-theological concepts of natural law and Sabbath pattern. In doing so, the divinely ordained purpose of these realities has been objectively demonstrated, along with their perpetuity and universal application to every generation of mankind. However, despite the arguments that have already been posited for the existence of natural law, the substance of natural law has yet to be clarified. As such, it is requisite to invest space towards discussing the statutes comprising natural law, especially in view of its relationship to the Sabbath pattern. Upon expounding the precepts engrained within natural law, in addition to showcasing the Sabbath pattern’s interrelation thereto, this article will conclude with an exhortation for the reader to observe and safeguard the Sabbath pattern.

So, what is the substance of natural law? In short, the natural law is expressly defined in the Decalogue.[3] Although the natural law is not exhausted by the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments provide “a clearer and fuller [expression of natural law] than that otherwise known to [human reason].[4] Throughout church history, theologians have referred to the Decalogue as the moral law, because these commandments are a reflection of God’s character (Ex. 32:15-16); they direct man in how he is to be holy, as God is holy (Lev. 11:44-47; 1 Pet. 1:15-16).[5]

To appraise the Decalogue as the objective promulgation of natural law being written on man’s conscience, one must first recognize how it directly stems from the imago Dei.[6] From the moment God created man from the dust of the ground and imparted the breath of life into him (Gen. 2:7), there was a bond of natural religious fellowship between the Most High and man’s primeval parents (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10).[7] In his treatise, Foundations of Covenant Theology: A Biblical-Theological Study of Genesis 1-3, Lane G. Tipton teases out the intersection between man’s natural religious fellowship with God, and how the commandments eventually revealed in the Decalogue shaped prelapsarian engagements between Creator and creature.

The triune God as self-contained and self-sufficient does not form image-bearers in fellowship with him out of any sense of need. He does not need man to complete something missing in himself. But he creates man in his image, adorning him with righteousness, holiness, and knowledge, that he might glorify and enjoy him. For this reason, [Ecclesiastes 7:29] says that man was originally constituted upright… Adam, as the image of God, was created wholly inclined toward God in true knowledge,      righteousness, and holiness. Being formed from the dust of the ground, he owed his       Creator perfect, personal, exact, and entire obedience that was to be expressed in worship… Adam, in his own natural constitution, was oriented toward God and placed in an environment—the garden and mountain of God—that was also oriented toward the same end. Adam was intended to be a mountain-ascending worshiper of the true and living God.[8]

Given the moral law’s origination in the character of God, and as a result of man being created to reflect God’s character, it can be affirmed that the moral law of God was naturally known and embraced by humanity from the moment of their creation to the moment of their Fall.[9] That is to say, despite differing in form to the Decalogue, the natural law that governed every facet of man’s behavior in the Garden of Eden is absolutely identical in substance to what is found in the 10 Commandments.[10] Whether reflecting on what has been transcribed in the pages of God’s special revelation, or discerning what God has made universally known through general revelation, the ordinances whereby man is morally accountable has not changed since creation.[11] Consequently, until the Last Day, man will forever and always be bound to the stipulations outlined in the Decalogue because the Decalogue provides a divine interpretation of natural law.[12] Following the redemptive-historical inauguration of the Mosaic Covenant, in conjunction with God’s sovereign purposes, natural law cannot be regarded as anything less than what is documented in the 10 Commandments.[13] By God’s grace, He has disclosed Himself—in the books of nature and Scripture—with immense clarity and intentionality. Accordingly, man is rendered excuseless for his sin and unbelief (James 4:17).

In conclusion, mankind is still bound to the precepts recorded in the Decalogue. For the unbeliever, the Decalogue confirms what is already manifested through natural law: it is a mirror that reveals their sinfulness and is a tutor that points them to God’s provision of a Savior in the person of Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:21-24).[14] For the believer, the 10 Commandments operate as a moral compass, guiding a lifestyle pattern of progressive sanctification for their eternal good in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:28), and to the glory of almighty God (John 14:15).[15] However, despite the consistency of these biblical-theological observations, several questions will likely arise from the aforementioned argumentation. For the purposes of this presentation, two of the most pressing inquiries will be receive brief consideration:

1. What does it look like for New Covenant Christians to observe the Sabbath pattern?

Whereas Old Covenant believers observed Saturday as the creation-based day of rest and worship, New Covenant believers are to observe Sunday as the new creation-based day of rest and worship. As noted by Robert Haldane in Sanctification of the Sabbath: The Permanent Obligation to Observe the Sabbath or Lord’s Day, the reason for the transfer of Sabbath observance from Saturday to Sunday is not arbitrary, but rather, is an extension of God’s sovereign right to do as He pleases within the created order.

On the first day of the week, being the day on which the Lord rose from the dead and rested from the work of the new creation, He appeared at different times to His disciples. “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst” (John 20:19). It is here proper to remark that the literal translation of the original,       rendered the first day of the week, is the first of the Sabbaths.[16]

As truly God and truly man, Jesus Christ was “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5) and proclaimed that He Himself is the ultimate source of rest that humanity longs to attain (Matt. 11:28-30). Thus, by virtue of Christ’s divine right and messianic work, it pleased Him to appoint Sunday as the day in which the Church gathers to worship her Lord corporately (the day of Christ’s resurrection from the dead), and to rest from ordinary weekly obligations (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10).[17]

In the New Covenant, believers are no longer bound to the cumbersome civil or ceremonial components of the Old Covenant Sabbath (Rom. 14:5-6; Gal. 4:9-10; Col. 2:16-17).[18] Rather, by God’s grace, Christians have liberty to engage in whatever activities they desire to enjoy on the Lord’s Day (Sabbath) so long as those activities are not inherently sinful, and do not interfere with the chief purpose of the day: worship and rest.[19] The freedom inherent in observing the New Covenant Lord’s Day not only prompts the believer to utilize the Sabbath pattern as a means of meditating on God’s goodness displayed in creation and new creation, but also facilitates a joyful seeking out of the physical and spiritual rest that God intended the Sabbath pattern to nurture in the lives of His image-bearers.[20]

2. How should New Covenant Christians encourage others to do the same?

Unless providentially hindered by sickness, work, or an extraordinary circumstance beyond one’s control, it is unacceptable to miss corporate worship on the Lord’s Day (Heb. 10:23-25). In the present, many self-identifying Christians view Lord’s Day worship as optional, as if being with God’s people and worshipping Him is just another “activity” that can be freely chosen or neglected on a weekly basis.[21] But gathering with God’s people each week to worship and fellowship with one another is not supposed to be viewed as burdensome, or even optional. Rather, it is to be viewed as a joyful privilege and a blessed obligation (Ps. 122:1). Indeed, being with other Christians and worshipping the living God corporately should be the high point of every week, and it should be the event that all other weekly activities are scheduled around.

In the final analysis, all Christians should be intentional to safeguard the Sabbath pattern and do everything conceivable to remove obstacles that would prevent unswerving observance thereto. Want to go on vacation? Great! Just don’t allow it to interfere with gathering with God’s people and observing Lord’s Day worship. Either schedule a vacation around Sundays or attend a biblically-grounded church so you can prioritize the centrality of the Lord’s Day while on vacation. Have kids? Wonderful! Bring them to church and set an example for them to follow after. God can use the model of Christlike parents as a means of bringing children to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4). Have extra-curricular activities that are conducted outside of church on Sundays? Awesome! Everybody enjoys different ways of resting from weekly labor, and believers are free to enjoy such activities so long as they don’t prohibit attending corporate worship and resting unto the glory of God. Have a job that requires work or travel on Sundays? Prayerfully consider doing whatever it takes to find a different work schedule or vocational role that will allow prioritization of Lord’s Day observance. In the meantime, be steadfast in pouring into the lives of other Christians, seeking out opportunities to serve within the local church around weekly work responsibilities. Perhaps attendance on Sunday evenings is a viable alternative to attending corporate worship on Sunday mornings, and there are likely opportunities to attend a doctrinally sound church during weekend traveling.[22]  

These are just a few practical ways for New Covenant Christians to encourage one another to observe the Sabbath pattern, and proactively safeguard the Sabbath pattern within broader cultural settings. There are few greater means of encouraging believers to press on in their spiritual pilgrimage, and there are few greater tools for witnessing to an unbelieving world, than adhering to the Sabbath pattern that has been established in God’s self-disclosure. In conjunction with the Great Commission mandate, it is imperative for the Church to be resolute in declaring the divine expectation for image-bearers to abide by the Sabbath pattern (Matt. 28:18-20). Whether viewed from the lens of natural law or Holy Writ, God commands humanity to set aside one day in seven for corporate worship and rest. Just as believers were faithful to submitting to this expectation before and after the institution of the Old Covenant, so also must New Covenant believers follow suit (Gen. 4:3-4; Ex. 12:15-20; 16:22-30; Lev. 23:7-8; Num. 28:18-25; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Cor. 11:26-33; Heb. 10:23-25). For the glory of God, the spiritual good of His people, and the public testimony of the Church before a predominantly pagan culture, may there be a widespread retrieval of the Sabbath pattern in every corner of the earth.

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[1] For an expansive definition of what is meant by Sabbath pattern, refer to the explanations that were provided in the first and second articles of this series.

[2] For a detailed survey of what is meant by natural law, refer to the insights that were offered in the second article of this series.

[3] Richard Barcellos, “How the ‘Uses of the Law . . . Sweetly Comply with . . . the Grace of the Gospel ” (2LCF 19.7),” 1689 Federalism, September 5, 2016, https://www.1689federalism.com/how-the-uses-of-the-law-sweetly-comply-with-the-grace-of-the-gospel-2lcf-19-7/.

[4] Richard A. Muller, Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms, Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1985), 173-4.

[5] Historically, Old Testament commentators have noted a “three-fold division” of the Mosaic Law: moral laws, ceremonial laws, and civil laws. Although each commandment within the three observable categories of the Mosaic Law ultimately points to the holiness of God, and to the creaturely commission to be holy as God is holy, it is the moral law that explicitly underscores what is grounded in natural law. For example, in his doctrinal tome, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, trans. George M. Giger, vol. 2 (Philipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1997), 145-7, Francis Turretin supplies a classical perspective on the Mosaic Law’s “three-fold division,” ultimately showing how the moral law proceeds from natural law. “The law given by Moses is usually distinguished into three species: moral (treating of morals or of perpetual duties towards God and our neighbor); ceremonial (of the ceremonies or rites about the sacred things to be observed under the Old Testament); and civil, constituting the civil government of the Israelite people. The first is the foundation upon which rests the obligation of the others and these are its appendices and determinations. Ceremonial has respect to the first table determining its circumstances, especially as to external worship. Civil has respect to the second table in judicial things, although it lays down punishments for crimes committed against the first table… Hence arises a manifold difference between the moral law and [the ceremonial and civil laws]. The moral is founded upon natural right and on this account is known by nature; but the others upon positive right and on this account are from free revelation… The former is immutable and eternal; the latter mutable and temporary. In regard to object, the [moral] is universal embracing all; the others particular applying only to the Jews (the civil, indeed, inasmuch as it regarded them as a distinct state dedicated to God; the ceremonial, however, referring to their ecclesiastical state and state of minority and infancy). In regard to use, the moral is the end of the others, while the others are subservient to the moral.”

[6] Francis Turretin uses volume 3 of Institutes of Elenctic Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1997) to delineate how the embedding of the Decalogue on man’s conscience is rooted in the imago Dei: “There is implanted in each one from his birth a sense of deity which does not allow itself to be concealed and which spontaneously exerts itself in all adults of sound mind” (3.1.18).

[7] E.V. Gerhardt crystallizes how the Reformed tradition has confessed man’s bond of natural religious fellowship with God in “The Light of Holy Scripture: Negative Aspect,” The Reformed Church Review 33 (October 1886): p. 217: “Men are by nature as truly religious as they are moral and intellectual. The life of humanity is rooted in communion with Deity. The heart discerns the presence of the supreme Being active in nature and in the human constitution. Hence there is among all nations a perception and an idea of God. We might even say that men by nature have a knowledge of things spiritual and divine. The heart recognizes the presence of a supreme Power as authority for volition and action. The Divine is seen to be law for the human… Religion is the communion of God with man, of man with God. ‘Created in the image of God, man is made for fellowship with Him. The fellowship is reciprocal. God is the joy of man. Man is the companion of God. Hence man is God’s delight; and God is the necessity and the portion of man. According to Scripture such is the original relation between God and man.”

[8] Lane G. Tipton, Foundations of Covenant Theology: A Biblical-Theological Study of Genesis 1-3 (Philadelphia, PA: Reformed Forum, 2021), 73-4.

[9]  The Westminster Confession of Faith echoes the broader Reformed consensus on man possessing a natural knowledge of God’s moral law: “[The moral law revealed in Eden], after [man’s] fall, continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness; and, as such, was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai, in ten commandments, and written in two tables: the first four commandments containing our duty towards God; and the other six, our duty to man” (19.2).

[10] Speaking in reference to how these categories were used within Protestant scholasticism, the “form” of something specifically pertained to its function within a given set of circumstances in redemptive history. On the other hand, the “substance” of something specifically pertained to its underlying principles, which were not exclusively limited to a particular set of redemptive-historical circumstances. For a more detailed analysis of this distinction, see Richard Barcellos, “How the ‘Uses of the Law . . . Sweetly Comply with . . . the Grace of the Gospel ” (2LCF 19.7),” 1689 Federalism, September 5, 2016, https://www.1689federalism.com/how-the-uses-of-the-law-sweetly-comply-with-the-grace-of-the-gospel-2lcf-19-7/.

[11] As previously stated in this series, the changelessness of God’s moral law is inextricably bound to the immutability of God’s being (Num. 23:19; Mal. 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:13; James 1:17). This principle is substantially expanded in Philip Ross, From the Finger of God: The Biblical and Theological Basis for the Threefold Division of the Law (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2010), 308-50.

[12] In Canon, Covenant and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and the Scriptures of Israel (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020), 45-6, Matthew Barrett stresses man’s utter dependence upon God to further clarify that of which He has generally revealed in creation (natural law). Stated differently, “God provides the official, authoritative interpretation of His actions, leaving no hermeneutical ambiguity… God is His own interpreter… [God’s] authoritative interpretation is the hermeneutical key to understanding [what He has providentially disclosed in creation.]” In keeping with Barrett’s conclusions, despite the clarity of natural law’s revelation in the human conscience (Rom. 1:18-21; 2:12-16), God’s provision of the Decalogue has abolished any ambiguity that man could raise in regard to what the Creator demands from image bearers.

[13] As stated above, the natural law is not exhausted by the Decalogue. Nevertheless, at the most basic level, the Decalogue epitomizes the very least of what God has revealed through natural law (as transcribed on the conscience of every human being).

[14] Historically, this function of God’s moral law has been regarded as “the pedagogical use.” In the Reformed tradition, drawing largely from the scholarship of John Calvin, this is one of three ways in which the moral law confronts sinners. For more on the threefold use of the Law, see Calvin, Institutes, 2.7.6-12.

[15] Historically, this function of God’s moral law has been regarded as “the normative use.” In the Reformed tradition, drawing largely from the scholarship of John Calvin, this is one of three ways in which the moral law confronts sinners. For more of the threefold use on the Law, see Calvin, Institutes, 2.7.6-12.

[16] Robert Haldane, Sanctification of the Sabbath: The Permanent Obligation to Observe the Sabbath or Lord’s Day (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2022), Kindle, 57. In the context of this statement, Haldane also notes several other New Testament passages where the phrase “first of the Sabbaths” is connoted in the original Greek: Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2. 

[17] Although it is certainly not in the majority within contemporary American evangelicalism, the viewpoint being espoused in this paragraph used to be widely embraced. Historically, many Christian denominations have shared the conviction that God requires observance of the New Covenant Lord’s Day (Sabbath) by virtue of it being rooted in creation (natural law) and the Decalogue (special revelation). For example, a nineteenth century Baptistic perspective on the Lord’s Day is encapsulated in the Catechism of Bible Doctrine contained at the conclusion of James Petigru Boyce’s Abstract of Systematic Theology.

Question 1: “What is the Sabbath?” Answer: “The Sabbath is one day of the week, which God requires to be kept as a day of rest, and as holy unto Him.”

Question 2: “What day of the week did the Jews observe the Sabbath?” Answer: “The Jews observed the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, which we commonly call Saturday.”

Question 3: “What day of the week do Christians observe the Sabbath?” Answer: “Christians observe the Sabbath on the first day of the week, which we commonly call Sunday.”

Question 4: “Why do Christians keep Sunday as the Sabbath?” Answer: “Because it was on that day of the week that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.”

Question 5: “What name is given to Sunday on this account?” Answer: “The Lord’s Day.”

Question 6: “Did the Apostles and the Christians of their day observe the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath?” Answer: “They did, and that is our authority for observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week instead of the seventh day of the week.”

Question 7: “What truth was the Sabbath appointed to commemorate?” Answer: “The Sabbath was appointed to commemorate the completion of God’s work of creation.” 

Question 8: “What additional truth does the Christian Sabbath teach?” Answer: “The Christian Sabbath teaches us of God’s triumphant completion of the still more glorious work of redemption.” 

[18] Each of the passages cited above have been subject to myriads of interpretations throughout church history, and it is outside the scope of this paper to delve into every interpretive issue that is associated with these texts. However, for the reader’s clarification, the provision of a positive explanation of these passages is incumbent. The author believes that these New Testament passages are referring to the “seventh-day Sabbath,” which was the sign of the Mosaic (Old) Covenant (Ex. 31:12-18). A likeminded depiction of this persuasion is expounded in The Lord’s Day: Its Presuppositions, Proofs, Precedents, and Practice (Pensacola , FL: Chapel Library, 2017), wherein, Samuel E. Waldron provides three paradigmatic arguments for those “problem texts” being a reference to the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath proper to the Mosaic Covenant: “(1) there is an allusion to Old Testament phraseology in Colossians 2:16-17 that definitely includes the seventh-day Sabbath (1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Neh. 10:33; Isa. 1:13-14; Ezek. 45:17); (2) Colossians 2:16-17 refers to those things that were a shadow of what was to come (it had a typological character); (3) The preferrable interpretation of Romans 14:5-6 [and Galatians 4:9-10] sees in it an explicit reference to the seventh-day Sabbath. In all likelihood, Paul is thinking of the holy days of the Jewish calendar, and not to the days of the week or year… The Hellenistic Jews viewed the weekly Sabbath as a creation ordinance. It is probable, then, that the specific day that Paul says some regarded as more binding than the other days of the Jewish calendar in Romans 14:5, was the seventh-day Sabbath.”

[19] Jon English Lee, “There Remains a Sabbath Rest for the People of God’: A Biblical, Theological, and Historical Defense of Sabbath Rest as a Creation Ordinance” (dissertation, 2018), 217.

[20] The Sabbatarian rhythms of spiritual worship and physical rest is explicated in J. C. Ryle, The Sabbath: A Day to Keep (Edinburgh: CrossReach Publications, 2015), SCRIBD, 19: “I am no enthusiast. I want no tired labourer to misunderstand my meaning, when I bid him to keep the Sabbath holy. I do not tell any one that he ought to pray all day, or read his Bible all day, or go to church all day, or meditate all day, without let or cessation, or a Sunday. All I say is, that the Sunday rest should be a holy rest. God ought to be kept in view; God’s Word ought to be studied; God’s House ought to be attended; the soul’s business ought to be specially considered; and I say that everything which prevents the day being kept holy in this way, ought as far as possible to be avoided.”

[21] According to a 2016 Pew Research survey, only 35% of self-identifying Christians believe attending corporate worship on a regular basis is “essential” to the Christian life. This figure is likely even lower in the post-COVID climate in American evangelicalism. “How Religion Affects Everyday Life,” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, May 30, 2020, https://www.pewforum.org/2016/04/12/religion-in-everyday-life/.

[22] In addition to Christian theologians who argue for the cessation of the Sabbath pattern (see Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom Through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), SCRIBD, 227-30), this paragraph would likely engender debate amongst those who argue for the perpetuity of the Sabbath pattern. While a thorough treatment of the intramural disputations amongst Sabbatarians is outside the scope of this presentation—especially in view of discussions pertaining to “works of necessity,” “works of mercy,” and “works of recreation”— the following volume is a helpful resource to consult for additional insight: Nicholas Bownd, Sabbathum Veteris Et Novi Testamenti: The True Doctrine of the Sabbath (Dallas, TX: Naphtali Press, 2015).