Tuesday, October 17, 2006

The Sabbath and Education

I'd like to share a really good article that I read the other day in a newsletter I get from Veritas Press. It's written by Rev. Gregg Strawbridge, the pastor of All Saints’ Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County, PA. I don't agree with everything that I find him saying on the internet, but this article is very good. It's a little lengthy so I'm just giving you an excerpt. You can read the whole article here.

No one works to earn rest in the presence of God. It is a gift before one labors. Originally it was not a six-then-one day pattern for Adam, it was a one-then-six pattern. This should remind us of the structure of salvation. It is redemption then service. The order is always grace then faithful obedience—not works, then grace. The sabbath gift was certainly not a meritorious reward of rest for Adam’s works. At this point we may need to adjust our thinking. Many of us believe that Sunday is the last day of the week, though on the calendar and in our theology it is the first day of the week. Sunday for Christians should not be the last day of the weekend, but the first day of a new week in which to have dominion in the world. We are to be future-thinking people, not those who cling to passing hours, begrudging a coming week of fruitful labor.
Read the rest here.

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