To Rest in God

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

• Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 
• Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 
• But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; 
• you shall not do any work—
• you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 
• For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, 
• but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.

What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment?

First, 

• that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, 
• and that, especially on the festive day of rest, 
• I diligently attend the assembly of God’s people 
• to learn what God’s Word teaches, 
• to participate in the sacraments, 
• to pray to God publicly, 
• and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. 

Second, 

• that every day of my life 
• I rest from my evil ways, 
• let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, 
• and so begin in this life 
• the eternal Sabbath.

For the Bible Tells Me So...

Deuteronomy 5:15 — You shall remember that you were a slave[a] in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from therewith a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 

Hebrews 10:23-25 — Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

1 Corinthians 16:2 — On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

Hebrews 4:9-11 - There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

The Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 38