Thomas Schreiner in his magnificent commentary on Romans argues that Paul speaks of the righteousness of God that comes to us in and through Jesus Christ in a very foundational way in chapters 1-4; he then speaks of this righteousness of God in a very functional way in chapters 5-8. Schreiner may cringe at my verbiage in describing the connection, foundational and functional righteousness, but that for me is a simple way of seeing and saying what he is addressing in his commentary. He is making this point: The real and radical Spiritual Transformation that God produces when a human being turns in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as Lord is then expressed for the rest of this believers life in a growing and changing moral transformation. What God does for us, He then does in us and through us. He declares by His grace that we are His children and He delivers His Spirit to us to begin to work out in us and through us who we really are. Put simply, to be right with God though rooted in God’s declaration is never to be separated from the ongoing and life-changing work of real moral transformation in our lives.
It has struck me for some time that two of the issues raised continually by the prophets concerning Israel and Judah that reveal the disconnect between their declaration that they are the people of God and the visible evidence among them that they are not who they say they are is seen in how they see marriage and how they use the Sabbath. You may want to quibble, or do more than quibble with me about the Sabbath, but what the Bible means by marriage is clear. Marriage is the joining of one man to one woman for life in order to live productive lives that reflect the rule of God in their lives as particularly seen in the presence of children, and pouring into these children the truth of God. Marriage for a believer is a mission. And it begins with the clear and uncompromising commitment of believer to be sure that he or she marries a believer.
Some would argue that the teaching in the Bible about the Sabbath has ended, just as some would teach as well that the teaching in the Bible about tithing has ended. Some see “sabbath” as a time that we designate for ourselves and our families for worship and for rest. It can be any time and for as long a time as we determine. I don’t see it that way because I do not think that the Bible teaches it that way. The Sabbath for the Believer is called in the New Testament, “The Lord’s Day” or “The first day of the week.” It is designated by those terms because this is the day that Jesus was raised from the dead. It is the day that since the early days after the resurrection the church has gathered to celebrate His resurrection. It was for most of the Christian era a day when all but necessary work ceased and the day was given by the people of God to worship and to rest. No more. Good and godly people violate the biblical principles that govern the Lord’s Day almost every Lord’s Day. Good and godly families have seasons of the year when they are gone for some traveling sports team almost every weekend. Many families show up on Sunday for the time of worship in the morning but nothing else on the Lord’s Day and assume that God is pleased.
Read the Bible. Listen to what it says. To be right with God is to live with the help of His Spirit righteously before God. To be truly born again is expressed equally as truly in a real and increasingly changed lifestyle. And that lifestyle is seen in how we see and treat marriage and how we see and treat the Lord’s Day. And both are on display in our lives for us to know and for others to see. Do not see these two truths as God throwing the rulebook at us. It is God putting His compassion for us on display. He is making it really simple for us. This reality about marriage and the Lord’s Day is God making sure that what we need to know and to have for assessing our lives is not in some thick manual on the top shelf that we cannot reach; it is right there in front of us for all who have eyes to see.