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In his autobiography, C.S. Lewis told a story about how his father would spend his Sundays:
He had been a Presbyterian and was now an Atheist. He spent Sunday, as he spent most of his time on week-days, working in his garden. But one curious trait from his Presbyterian youth survived. He always, on Sundays, gardened in a different, and slightly more respectable, suit. An Ulster Scot may come to disbelieve in God, but not to wear his week-day clothes on the Sabbath.
Despite his lapsed faith, Lewis’ father retained from his upbringing the idea that there is something different about the Sabbath day. This idea is almost anathema today. Sunday is just part of the weekend, meant to be filled with work or play as one sees fit. It’s just another day, but with more time to do what you want.
For Christians, at least, this idea is tempered with the knowledge that we are obliged to attend worship. But many times, we Christians treat the rest of the day the way the rest of the world does. Since we as Christians live our lives in joyful submission to our Lord and Savior, it is worth reflecting on how He sees the Sabbath day.
The Westminster divines looked at the Sabbath through the lens of the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8; see Deut. 5:12). Their conclusions, found in Westminster Confession of Faith 21, Westminster Larger Catechism 115–21, and Westminster Shorter Catechism 57–62, are all worth reading, but here are a few helpful insights.
This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. (WCF 21.8)
We see that the Sabbath has two primary aspects: worship and rest. The idea of dedicating at least part of our time on the Sabbath to worship is uncontroversial for most Christians. What is more controversial is the divines’ counsel on rest.
The aspect of rest is rooted in the creation narrative: “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” (Ex. 20:11). God worked and then rested, so we are to work and then rest. As we rest from our labors after God’s pattern, we sanctify, or set apart, the Sabbath day. The Larger Catechism explains:
Q. 117. How is the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day to be sanctified?
A. The Sabbath or Lord’s Day is to be sanctified by an holy resting all the day, not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even from such worldly employments and recreations as are on other days lawful; . . . and, to that end, we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.
Note that the emphasis is on differentiating this day from other days. Works that are lawful on ordinary days are to be set aside on this day. Why? Because this day is holy to the Lord. We are called to spend it in a way that accords with His purposes rather than our own (see Isa. 58:13–14).
This requires planning; it doesn’t happen by accident. That is why the confession urges “ordering of [our] affairs beforehand” and the Larger Catechism calls us to “prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business.” Things that can be done ahead of time should be done ahead of time. Things that can wait should wait. If we practice such preparation, we will be “free and fit for the duties of that day,” unburdened from ordinary cares and able to joyfully engage in worship and rest.
The world demands that we never rest. There is always something to focus on. Work never lets up. Free time must be filled with sports, hobbies, and entertainment. To reject this mindset is to send a powerful message: Our time is not our own. We serve a God who created time and who has called us to redeem it. We will not be dominated by anything, but we will serve our Lord with freedom and joy.
Many times, discussions of Sabbath rest devolve into questions about what is or is not allowed. Yet this approach misses the point, which is to see God’s intention for the day and how it contributes to a blessed life. To have one day in seven set apart for rest and worship is an enormous blessing, as Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). We too often take this for granted. So, then, the question is, How can I set this day apart? Or in other words, How can I make it different?
The seventh-day Sabbath looked back on creation. The first-day Sabbath looks back on the new creation. God hallowed this day when He raised His Son from the dead. Resting on the Lord’s Day testifies to the world that our God is a God who saves, and it points to the ultimate rest that we will enjoy one day in the presence of our Savior (Heb. 4:11).