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The Lord of the SabbathSunday best?THE LORD OF THE SABBATH This book takes us through some of the scriptural grounding and theological underpinning for keeping a ‘Christian Sabbath’. Taking its main cue from the fourth commandment, it argues that the moral force of that law is still relevant. More than that, the spiritual reality of keeping a day special to meet with and delight in God, in the company of other believers, is a precious privilege that too many are losing out on in their practice, or denying in their teaching. It covers issues such as the role of the law in the life of the Christian, the place of the Sabbath law in the ten commandments, the teaching of the Lord Jesus about the Sabbath, the ‘rest’ of Hebrews 4, and the ‘Lord’s day’ reference in Revelation 1.10. It does mention in the end notes that there are alternative views, and comments fairly about Carson’s ‘From Sabbath to Lord’s Day’ that it is ‘scholarly and meticulous’. In the main text, however, there is far less interaction with other points of view than I would have expected in a book that mainly talks about the theology of the Sabbath. This seems to me to be a significant weakness. The book doesn’t set out to deal with some of the old ‘practical’ chestnuts of what is not right or permitted on Sundays for believers. Nor does it discuss the kinds of contemporary issues that, for example, the Keep Sunday Campaign raised in connection to the role of the State and Sunday observance. Perhaps surprisingly, and to me disappointingly, it also has very little to say about church meetings and Sundays. All this, for me, diminished the positive view of Sunday that he describes. Though I am with Mr. Weber in the general position he takes, I did find the ‘tone’ both dated in style, and sometimes too disparaging of those who take a differing point of view. Though it may help those who already agree with his position, I suspect that those who don’t will not find him as persuasive as he might hope. Ray Evans, © Evangelicals Now - January 2008 |