Sabbath

Further to my recent sermon on the Sabbath (see church website), which I also spoke on to the leaders at camp, I agree with Mr Newman, here:

Sabbath-keeping

By way of postscript, it has often been used as an argument against Christian sabbath-keeping (and indeed the Christian calendar as a whole) that Paul points to the observation of days and months and seasons and years as evidence of turning back to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world (3.9-10). I do not think that charge sticks. Paul is talking about observation of the Jewish calender, which is precisely what Christians are not doing. Christians keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath, and they order their year around the events of Christ’s life. Moreover, they are not doing so in order to be marked out as God’s people. The sabbath principle, of one day in seven consecrated for rest and blessing is, like marriage, embedded in the creation before the giving of the law (Genesis 2.3). Just as the coming of Christ has not abolished marriage, even though the relationship between Christ and the church is the ultimate reality of which marriage was created as a picture, so too the sabbath day is not abolished though Christ brings the rest of which the sabbath is a picture. As for the Christian calendar as a whole, Paul expressly gives permission for us to observe days in honour of the Lord (Romans 14.6).

The Hermeneutics of High Church Puritanism

Granted we are not under the Old Covenant, Rev'd Dr Peter Leithart rightly identifies a very important question: how, if at all, may the ceremonial, ritual and cultic aspects of the Old Covenant be used to govern the practices of New Covenant worship?

The Reformed would generally assume some continuity between the covenants while recognising differences: e.g. they circumcised their children, we baptise ours.

If you assume NT only worship you may end up in a rather different place than if you are willing to learn from the OT: e.g. you might ban musical instruments (which many Reformed people have), which you'd never do if you thought the Psalms taught New Testament believers the practicalities of how to worship.

See further Peter Leithart, 'Sacramental Hermeneutics' in Greg Strawbridge (ed.), The Case for Covenant Communion (Athanasius Press, 2006)

Shadows in their place

The Old Testament types and ceremonies are shadows. They helpfully foreshadowed Christ. In the presence of his absence they were helpful outlines. If reintroduced today wholesale they would be unhelpful shadows casting darkness on the light of his presence.

Is NT worship simpler?

Calvin argues that NT worship is simpler than OT worship. By that he means gathered public collective formal church Sunday worship, by the way, in case you are still bothered about that.

I don’t know how he knows that. It must depend on arguments from silence. If your instinct is to assume continuity between the covenants rather than discontinuity then his case seems less plausible.

And is worship at the beginning of the OT not simpler than worship at the beginning of the NT? In both cases there is growth, maturing, developing, going from one degree of glory to another.

In the New Creation I’m expecting some great colours, lovely aromas, jazzy harmonies and liturgy to blow your socks off.

Israel's Empire Policy

For understanding Biblical Theology, it is worth thinking about Israel's Empire policy (e.g. under David).

Was it more like the British system where you might have dominions, dependencies and a commonwealth or France where foreign states are incorporated into France and become little parts of France abroad? No doubt there are other options such as EU style federations.

This helps us to think about the relationship between Jew and Gentile and the nature and extent of covenant membership. For example, could one be heir of the promises to Abraham but not under the Mosaic covenant as an Israelite and yet in covenant loyalty to King David: in this case the conquored peoples of the world sound much more like New Testament believers who are not incorporated into national Israel but become part of Abraham's law-governed Jesus defining seed.