Calvin says that God
gave the law for three reasons: 1) to
bring “the elect to salvation” into repentance by the work of the Holy Spirit
(2.7.6); 2) to restrain those who seek to do evil and care little or nothing
for justice or mercy (2.7.10); 3) to teach the godly “the nature of the Lord’s
will” (2.7.12).
In 2.8, Calvin introduces the
Ten Commandments and gives a short explanation of each. The law of God, summarized in the Ten
Commandments, is God’s pure grace extended to us. The law was given to show us how God wants us
to live as His covenant people. We are
to consider each commandment to determine why it was given to us knowing that “each
commandment and prohibition always contain more than is expressed in words” (2.8.8, pg 374).
Humans are sinful. We fail to live in trust, love, and obedience
to God. But, God’s law contains God’s
promise of salvation addressed to the people of Israel. "...the Jews not only learned from the law what the true character of godliness was; but also that, since they saw themselves incapable of observing the law, they were in dread of judgment drawn inevitably though unwillingly to the Mediator" (2.8.1, pg 367).
Calvin said the law contained God's promise of salvation and continues to function as a positive teacher for all believers. Calvin believed that the Old Testament taught the story of how God reached out to His people and promised to be their Savior. This promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ – the Mediator. He is the one that reconciles us to God. He is the only one who can bring salvation.
Calvin said the law contained God's promise of salvation and continues to function as a positive teacher for all believers. Calvin believed that the Old Testament taught the story of how God reached out to His people and promised to be their Savior. This promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ – the Mediator. He is the one that reconciles us to God. He is the only one who can bring salvation.
The fourth commandment, says
Calvin, is in a different category then the others, for three reasons: 1) a
day of spiritual rest; 2) a day to be trained in piety; 3) a day for servants
from labor. The word sabbath
means “to cease” or “stop.” We are to stop striving and turn our heart to
God. We are to reflect on the fact that
God reigns over the world and puts us in our place as creatures and not
creator. Christians moved the day of
worship to Sunday in order to highlight Jesus Christ and his resurrection as
the ultimate sign of God’s reign, and anticipates the ultimate rest God gives
to us all. 
In Galatians Paul said,”For
the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself’.” Calvin states
that “our life shall best conform to God’s will and the prescription of the law
when it is in every respect most fruitful for our brethren” (2.8.54, pg 417). Jesus Christ is the foundation of our ministry. We are to be "little Christs", carrying out the task of reflecting the mind of Christ in our relationships, both corporately and personally.
Lane Question: How does the law in general, and the fourth
commandment in particular, function in our Christian lives? Calvin believed that the law functioned as a
teacher for us all. In particular, the fourth
commandment, is meant to direct us to a day of rest and worship. However, since the revocation of the “blue
laws”, many have turned to a less disciplined observance of one particular day
a week to an observance of “sabbath” in which we consciously cultivate ways of
renewal, rest and worship.
My Question: Is Sabbath a “legalistic requirement” that
isn’t practical today? Are we succumbing
to the pressures of society when we no longer devote one day to “public and
private worship of God?”
Pam your summation is nicely done and sums up well how the Ten Commandments point to a much needed mediator for humanity as explained by Calvin. I am intrigued by your question, “Is Sabbath a “legalistic requirement” that isn’t practical today?”
ReplyDeleteWell, it does sometimes feel that way… When you’re in Grad School. I personally play mental gymnastics with this commandment. I allow myself to work on Sunday, because it is related to studying God’s word… And I certainly can’t take the true Sabbath off (Saturday)… got to finish that sermon. And the rest of week… Maybe, if I add cumulatively the hours throughout week I can get to a day off. All this sounds like a Pharisee talking to me.
But here I like what Calvin says at the end of 2.8.29 “We must be wholly at rest that God may work in us; we must yield our will; we must resign our heart; we must give up all our fleshy desires. In short, we must rest from all activities of our own contriving so that, having God work in us, we may repose in him, as the apostle teaches.” Here I also hear the words of Jesus, “The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath.”
Now here is my question, Calvin writes at the end of 2.8.30, “It would seem, therefore, that the Lord through the seventh day has sketched for his people the coming perfection of his Sabbath in the Last Day” Is Calvin talking about Judgement day and the Resurrection of the Dead?
Calvin is talking about the Last Day, but what exactly he meant by that (how he viewed eschatology) is a somewhat complicated question. This article provides a helpful introduction: http://www.politicaltheology.com/blog/the-kingdom-of-christ-is-spiritual-john-calvin/
DeleteThanks for your thorough post, Pam! I don’t think “Keeping the Sabbath” is a legalistic requirement, but it is definitely impractical. (Of course following Jesus is also impractical and countercultural.) I don’t find Sabbath-keeping legalistic because of its life-giving quality. God modeled a rhythm in life that actually breathes life into our tired souls. God worked six days creating the world and then He rested on the 7th day. That always sounded like physical rest to me. (This actually sounds kind of funny since God doesn’t have a physical body and therefore wouldn’t actually need physical rest!) Calvin mentions the physical rest needed from toil, especially for servants and those under the authority of others. But we so desperately need the spiritual rest, where we “allow God to work” in us. And then Calvin says that Sabbath gives us the much needed time to gather as a community of faith to worship God, hear the Word, to grow and learn together. Sabbath is a gift from God. Resting in the Lord is a gift. Calvin calls is a foreshadowing; maybe we can call it a foretaste of the feast to come.
ReplyDeleteNow do you want to talk about impractical? We are living in a 24-7 culture, where we are always connected to our work and the world through the devices we carry on our bodies. Every store in my town is open on Sundays, except for Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby. Kids have soccer and baseball games on Sunday. And here’s the real kicker: I work on Sundays! I arrive at church by 7:00 a.m. and I leave around 1:00 p.m. I get to be with the gathered body of Christ, but leading in Worship is not the same as being a participant in worship! Not to mention all of the other work that gets done on a Sunday morning. So I don’t really have a Sabbath on Sunday. However, I try to take time on Fridays, which is my day off, to “rest in the Lord.” For me Sabbath is not a full day of rest, but it is an intentional time with God. My departure from a traditional Sabbath time, is part of why I don’t consider it legalistic. My Sabbath often includes a run with my dog, where I am out in nature and really noticing and appreciating God’s creation. This is a time of prayer and a time of delight…a mini foretaste. I would like to have more time for Sabbath rest. Like Tim mentioned, being in Graduate school (while working full-time and having a family) makes this season of my life a bit crazier than what I imagine and hope it will be in just a couple of years. In the meantime, I hope God is patient with me and waits for me in that green pasture where he is calling me to lie down.
Pam, great analysis/summary of this chapter of 2.8 of the Institutes. I find it interesting that most of us take the 4th commandment least seriously of them all. I certainly have never put it on a par with the first or the 6th or 7th, but more like the 10th, one that we inevitably and almost unavoidably violate.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet it is arguably the most positive of all the commandments. Taking a Sabbath is something we have to consciously do, not avoid doing. We have to break our work-a-day routine in order to rest, to (as has been said above) let God work in us. All the other commandments are prohibitive.
Is this a legalistic commandment? I would say, "no". I don't get the sense it is like some law passed centuries ago, (like no spitting on the sidewalk - which maybe still ought to be enforced). I think of it more like a doctor's prescription, that if you or I don't do it, will bring about a general decline in our mental, physical, and spiritual health. If anything, it is the most forward looking and least obvious of all the commandments. Like daily exercise, I wish I practiced it more often.
Thank you Pam for this wonderful summary of Calvin's institutes chapters regarding the ten commandments. To answer your question I don't see the Sabbath as a legalistic requirement. It is easy to turn it into one saying that we must keep one day dedicated to the Lord. God recognizes that we cannot keep going in the 24x7 culture with our own agendas and ignoring the time to "rest" from our labors and "rest" in the lord. As someone who also leads worship on a Sunday morning it does seem like a challenge to be worshiping while leading but in fact as we discussed in Foundations of Worship and then later in Reformed worship, it is God who is the audience. No matter if we sit in the pew or preach the sermon, the time we are present as a gathered body offers everyone the opportunity to worship. It can be a challenge to see ourselves in this way but it is in fact where we are called to be. Like others have said, Sabbath is more about "resting in the Lord" and has less to do with time than we might originally think.
ReplyDeleteCalvin as you state upholds the Sabbath, and as far as I understand Calvin, the repealing of the Law is constrained to the condemnation of the law rather than the elements within the law itself. More over, Calvin seems to be upset more with the ceremonies and sacrifice of Levitical Law than the 10.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it is important to keep a Day Holy, which day of the week to me is not as important as setting aside a day. This proves to be difficult because of the culture of today, and I am not adamant about the Sabbath. I end up only setting aside half a day and then portions of my day the rest of the week, to pray and meditate and to enjoy the Lord and the Word. I think it is important and I do not think it is legalistic to do so, I just our culture today, even in the Midwest makes it very difficult to do so.
The essence of the Sabbath deduced from the fourth law are three fold. First – to give the people of Israel spiritual rest in which day God works in people, second – a day on which to congregate to hear the word of God as the law teaches, thirdly, a day on which everyone gets some rest from their labors.
ReplyDeleteNehemiah and the Prophets and many others carefully observed the Sabbath because it was of greater importance to the Lord in which the Israelites are commanded t observe from generation to generation – which day all must rest so that “God may work in us” (Institutes, 2. 8. 29). But with the coming of Christ, according to Calvin, at least the ceremonial part of this law was abolished. In Christ, in sharing in His resurrection, we may walk in newness of life in which case our walk in Christ is not confined to any particular day. Calvin states further that, though the Sabbath under Jesus Christ was abolished we still have the opportunity to congregate to hear the word and break the bread, and pray and to give rest.
Paul also declares that it is “superstition for anyone to distinguish one day from another” (Romans 14: 5), because the people he addressed observed Sabbath to foreshadow spiritual things. The substitution of the Sabbath lies in the Lord’s resurrection. A day on which the shadow came to an end. Christians are therefore not to cling to the shadow rite nor the number seven so as to bind the church in subjection to it.
Hi, Pam. Thank you for your great summary of this portion of the Institutes, as well as your question on Sabbath-keeping. As others have noted, Sabbath-keeping is difficult in our modern day, especially for pastors and those of us pursuing graduate studies. My official day of rest is Monday, which is the beginning of the week for most. Usually, I am interrupted on this day by emails, phone calls, text messages...the list goes on. With the world at our fingertips by means of those little boxes most of us carry around, I can imagine that it is difficult for anyone to spend an entire day alone with God. One possible solution to this is to power down the smartphone for a day, but I must confess that the last time I was able to do this was Thanksgiving! The bottom line is that the command comes from God, and I am in violation.
ReplyDeleteI know that I am echoing what others have said and are saying, but I am not sure that I can totally agree. After a couple decades of not having a choice of work or not on Sunday (military service can be unpredictable), I find it difficult to believe we all don’t have better choices (as I find myself writing Sunday evening). I am really just solidifying this week’s podcast on freewill (Lanes explanation of Calvin’s use of freewill, meaning we can choose evil).
ReplyDeleteCalvin tells us that the fulfillment of the law is impossible for us (Institutes, 2.7.5). It seems like a dismal forecast, but it really drives home the point of the need for a mediator. I like Calvin’s explanation of all the saints, who has attained to that goal of love so as to love God (Institutes, 2.5.4). It is comforting to know that when we fail (according to Calvin), we are in pretty good company. I think it is important to also note that the saints Calvin was writing about confessed and proclaimed their need for a mediator.
Thank you for this lovely summary. I think it is important to consider what is meant by the 4th commandment. Does not work meaning, not being at a place that pays money, or does it mean what Calvin says, “We must be wholly at rest that God may work in us; we must yield our will; we must resign our heart; we must give up all our fleshy desires. In short, we must rest from all activities of our own contriving so that, having God work in us, we may repose in him, as the apostle teaches?”
ReplyDeleteI live in the heart of Seventh-Day adventist land where Saturday, their Sabbath is taken very seriously and anyone who owns a business who belongs to this tradition does not have the store open. Not being 7th Day Adventist, I can see the community-building aspect of this. Furthermore, the devout adventists will not participate in any sporting event or cultural event on Friday after dusk and Saturday either. So, we had 2 boys of our baseball team from this tradition, who would not play Saturday games, period. Furthermore, they claim they will not "cause" anyone to work on that day. On the other hand, what about the women (yes, I mean women in this tradition) who continue to cook, clean and care for children. So, my answer is, I don't know. I miss the protection of Sunday for worship. It is no longer sacred and it gets more and more difficult to protect worship time together. On the other hand, we are given the responsibility as Christians to carve out this time of renewal. For us, working in the church, this is difficult to identify as our avocation and vocation are one and the same.
Thank you for this lovely summary. I think it is important to consider what is meant by the 4th commandment. Does not work meaning, not being at a place that pays money, or does it mean what Calvin says, “We must be wholly at rest that God may work in us; we must yield our will; we must resign our heart; we must give up all our fleshy desires. In short, we must rest from all activities of our own contriving so that, having God work in us, we may repose in him, as the apostle teaches?”
ReplyDeleteI live in the heart of Seventh-Day adventist land where Saturday, their Sabbath is taken very seriously and anyone who owns a business who belongs to this tradition does not have the store open. Not being 7th Day Adventist, I can see the community-building aspect of this. Furthermore, the devout adventists will not participate in any sporting event or cultural event on Friday after dusk and Saturday either. So, we had 2 boys of our baseball team from this tradition, who would not play Saturday games, period. Furthermore, they claim they will not "cause" anyone to work on that day. On the other hand, what about the women (yes, I mean women in this tradition) who continue to cook, clean and care for children. So, my answer is, I don't know. I miss the protection of Sunday for worship. It is no longer sacred and it gets more and more difficult to protect worship time together. On the other hand, we are given the responsibility as Christians to carve out this time of renewal. For us, working in the church, this is difficult to identify as our avocation and vocation are one and the same.