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Applying the scriptural standard of the four types of permissible Sabbath work, answer whether the following are proper or improper Sunday works: - Clearing the church parking lot after a heavy snowfall the previous evening - Trimming the church lawn - Being employed as a doctor, nurse, or policeman - Visiting a hospitalized grandfather - Playing softball with friends - Serving as a volunteer fireman - Presenting a youth group topic - Washing the car - Washing the dishes - Leaving Sunday afternoon for an early start on a week's vacation - Studying your catechism lesson |
The four types of work permitted by God on Sunday are mentioned in the chart below:
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1. Works of piety - religious works; works performed to facilitate the proper worship of the Lord |
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath Days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? - Matthew 12:5 |
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2. Works of necessity - works that are necessary for the preservation and sustenance of life |
At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath Day through the corn; and His disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. - Matthew 12:1 |
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3. Works of mercy - works of charitableness, of kindness to others in special needs |
If a man on the Sabbath Day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at Me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath Day? - John 7:23 |
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4. Works of emergency - works of unexpected necessity |
And He said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath Day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? - Matthew 12:11 |
To know if a work or activity is permissible or not on Sunday, a person must ask himself this question: "Is it a work or activity of piety, necessity, mercy, or emergency?" This question distinguishes all right from wrong Sunday activities.
Finally, the Sabbath rest is a foretaste of the heavenly rest - a rest from other labors, a rest in God. Those who observe their Sundays with delight shall also rejoice in the eternal Sabbath to come. Those who dislike Sunday observance, however, would be out of place in heaven where it is "Sunday" continually. Do God's people, God's house, and God's day reflect your heartfelt desire and joy?
