An exposition of Jeremiah 17:19-27. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, March 30, 2008.
The question of how we handle the commands of God is worth very serious thought. In Jeremiah’s day, the people of God had turned the Sabbath day into market day, revealing their stubborn, hard hart against God. When they were walking in obedience to God they were unique in all the world concerning resting one day in seven, and they were a blessed people.
Today’s people of God are called to live by a different set of standards too. If we do follow in God’s ways we will prosper in our souls. So how do we observe a “Sabbath rest” today? Paul gives us a clue in Colossians 2:16, 17.
First, lets lay down some presuppositions:
- You must come to this text believing that God exists.
- That God has spoken. He has revealed himself in Scripture
- God has a people; one, not two.
We would do well in our own personal lives to consider the following principles to honor the Lord’s day:
- We should honor the Lord’s day as a day of worship. The Puritans use to call it “the market day of the soul.” This can take on many forms, inside and outside the church walls.
- We should honor the Lord’s day as a day for showing mercy.
- We should honor the Lord’s day as a day of rest. That is the way he has made us.
Each Christian will have to figure out on his own how best to honor the Lord on his day. One over-arching principle applies for Christians today: We should enjoy it as a loving gift from him, not as a duty.