# Sabbath Absences



## WAWICRUZ (Feb 2, 2011)

How many failures to attend the Sabbath meeting would warrant church discipline?

I missed two straight Sundays due to unavoidable circumstances and I've missed sporadically in the past and I feel very guilty.

I have a high view of the Sabbath and desire to keep it holy.


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## Scott1 (Feb 2, 2011)

There is no explicit number in Scripture.

The principle is it is sin to not keep the fourth commandment in its broad application (like all other commandments). Remember, though there are exceptions for necessity and mercy established in it (not for convenience, but for necessity and mercy).

Try, by God's grace to worship Him individually, in family and corporately each Lord's Day unless in some aspect providentially hindered. Prepare in advance to do that, wherever you are. 

Ask God to help you understand and desire the delight and blessing that the sabbath is.


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## Jack K (Feb 2, 2011)

I imagine you're a pretty good judge of your own heart. You know whether or not your missed meetings were sinful. Getting us to lay down a rule for you is not likely to be helpful. That's because what you really need (and it's the same for myself and everyone else here) is neither an allowable excuse nor an order to shape up and meet minimum requirements.

My concern is that you're seeking a rule because you "feel very guilty." Let me first say that your honesty is great! Many of us feel such things and I'm glad you admit it. But my answer must be to tell you that you sound a lot like the lawyer in Luke 10 who asked "who is my neighbor" because he wanted to justify himself. Jesus' answer did not allow that guy to justify himself, and neither will I give you an answer that allows you to feel either better or worse for having met or fell short of some standard.

The Christian response to having sinned is to confess it and know your Father's complete forgiveness. No more feeling guilty! The Christian response also is to repent; to change your ways. These two are always connected. If you try to repent without also delighting in your no-more-guilt forgiveness you'll just get stuck in the kind of insecurity that leads to asking for rules you measure yourself by. But when you have joy that in Christ your guilt is gone, you also become more able to live a life of joyful gratitude—to repent.

Take your sin to your Father. Find joy in his absolute forgiveness. Then go and sin no more.

And, oh yes, don't feel guilty about repeating the process as often as necessary. It's how the Christian life is lived and how growth occurs.


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## E Nomine (Feb 2, 2011)

The strict expectation regarding church attendance is one of the reservations I had before joining a conservative, reformed church. I still believe the sabbath should be a day of rest from our labors, not a day of stress, e.g. feeling guilty for missing a service due to unavoidable curcumstances, or feeling guilty for not attending a second service in the evening. I think conviction in this area needs to come from the Lord. I understand the Biblical mandate for church discipline, but I'm not always comfortable with some reformed churches' application of said discipline.


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## awretchsavedbygrace (Feb 2, 2011)

WAWICRUZ said:


> How many failures to attend the Sabbath meeting would warrant church discipline?
> 
> I missed two straight Sundays due to unavoidable circumstances and I've missed sporadically in the past and I feel very guilty.
> 
> I have a high view of the Sabbath and desire to keep it holy.



There is no answer, like the others have said.

I feel bad about missing as well, I had a very bad headache on Sunday that left me unable to even get up from my bed. 

Maybe it would be a good idea to approach your pastor the following Sunday and explain to him why you missed service.


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## Pergamum (Feb 2, 2011)

The heart can either excuse sin or it can manufacture false guilt, both are bad. If you are not sick, you can convince yourself that you are sick enough to miss church; and sometimes when you are sick, you can think that it is still "possible" to go to church even when most terribly inconvenient due to illness.

Plus, the issue of church discipline is not the main reason to go to church. 

Finally, any church worth its salt would contact you personally before applying any discipline so as to check out your state and try to help you, due to their care for you. If they apply discipline before they check out your needs and your situation in life and seek to help, then watch out for a church like that.


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