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Over fifteen
years ago, my wife and I both felt convicted to keeping holy The
Sabbath Day (*Sunday in USA culture – Friday/Saturday in
Israel). We didn’t perform any research at the time, we just
responded to the conviction. At that time and over the years we
thought this was just a personal conviction. Several years later
we realized that all Christians should observe and keep holy the
Sabbath Day. We performed research on this subject in an attempt
to clear this up for ourselves and other Christians.
In the Old Testament the
first mention of the seventh day rest was in Genesis after
creation (Genesis 2:2-3)(a). God blessed, sanctified, and rested
from His work on the seventh day. Looking at these verses we
realize that we must treat this day as blessed, sanctified and a
day of rest. God did not need the rest but He showed by example
what He wanted us to do on that day which was rest. He spoke to
mankind which made it relevant for all of us.
The next mention of the seventh day as being blessed, holy or
sanctified, and day of rest is in the Ten Commandments. The Ten
Commandments were given audibly by God and the fourth
commandment establishes its prior existence (Exodus 20:1-19)
(b). In verse 8 God clearly states to “remember” this means that
He had made this command prior to this event. In verse 11 He
tells where this command originated which was at creation.
Some theologians indicate that this particular command is only
part of Jewish Law.
The first verse of chapter 21 in Exodus clearly states "These
are the laws you are to set before them:” this is after the Ten
Commandments were given and the start of Jewish Law. When you
read the next few chapters (21-31) you find the laws given to
Moses, not the commandments of God. The Ten Commandments were
inscribed by God’s finger (Exodus 31:18) (c). We then know that
those tablets were broken and God inscribed another set of
tablets (Exodus 34:1) (d). God placed incredible emphasis on
these commandments. He said them verbally and He wrote them
twice.
The Ten Commandments are God’s law. Through the interpretation
of these commandments many Jewish laws were created but God’s
original commands must always remain unchanged. Common sense
dictates that we would never consider the elimination of one
commandment as being irrelevant or immaterial. We would never
say that murder, committing adultery, or stealing etc…are
unimportant; the same can be said about the Sabbath Day. God is
far too intelligent to give us Ten Commandments knowing that one
of them is really not significant.
God states again that we are to remember that it is a blessed,
holy, day of rest. There are three characteristics to this day.
God blessed the day and made it holy. This requires us to treat
this day with respect on an individual, intimate, personal
level. The way in which God leads you to spend this day as a
blessed, holy day is a personal conviction. The third
characteristic of this day is not a personal conviction; it is
clearly defined. God explicitly states we are not to work nor
cause others to work, including strangers, servants and animals.
We are required to act upon this command. We should not work
neither should we force others to work on this day especially if
you love them. There are scriptures in the Old Testament which
describe the way in which the Israelites were to obey this
command and about Sabbath offerings (Num. 15:32-36; Num.
28:9-10) (e). This can be considered Jewish law but the fourth
commandment is not a Jewish law it is a commandment.
In the New Testament, we find that Jesus and the disciples
honored God the Father on the same Sabbath Day (the seventh day)
as Jewish tradition. This makes sense because if they had
changed the Sabbath Day in that culture, the Jewish people would
not have been gathered at the synagogue to hear or listen to
their messages (Luke 4:14-16) (f). Jesus never abolished the
Sabbath. He never stated that it was not important or
irrelevant. However, He does address areas of concern with the
Pharisees.
Jesus encountered conflict with the Jewish laws when it came to
the Sabbath. Jesus’ disciples picked heads of grain from the
field and ate them (Matthew 12:1-6 & Mark 2:23-28)
(g). Jesus
reminded them of two episodes in the Old Testament in which
Jewish laws were broken and judgment was not passed on those
individuals. Please take specific notice that these individuals
did not repeat these actions on a daily basis which means God
extended mercy to those people mentioned. God desires mercy not
sacrifice. Jesus never said that He abolished the Sabbath. Jesus
concludes by saying He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
After Jesus or the Son of Man declares His title as Lord of the
Sabbath, He declares that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath
(Matt. 12:9-13 & Mark 3:1-5) (h). He healed the sick. His
motivation was to glorify His father and help man. Everything
that Jesus did was to benefit us and our relationship to God.
What do you think that means?
In our daily lives when you go to the grocery store, department
store, gas station, restaurant, or mall on Sunday you are making
a statement. You are saying in a loud and clear voice that your
needs, wants and desires are more important than the people who
are serving you. You don’t feel it is a priority for them to go
to church, fellowship with other Christians nor spend time with
God. They can seek God on their own time but not on “your”
Sunday. Regular attendance at church has decreased but it is not
because people have to work. Nobody could possible expect you to
make your own food, get your own coffee, wait to pick up
groceries, get gas in advance, and buy clothes on any other day
of the week. The Lord of the Sabbath (Jesus) states “it is
lawful to do good” are you doing good for God and others on the
Sabbath?
Even if you don’t believe the Ten Commandments or that the
original mention of rest to Adam are not for Christians, you
should still keep this day holy. Jesus said “ ‘You shall love
the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and
with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself (Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:28-31)’(i). He then said “on
these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matt
22:40)”(i). Jesus was very clear about the two most important
commandments. Therefore, if you love your neighbor, you should
allow one day a week to be set aside to allow your neighbor to
attend Church services and fellowship with other Christians.
In Dr. D. James Kennedy’s book “Why The Ten Commandments Matter”
he gives us some insight that was given to him while enjoying a
meal at a restaurant one Sunday evening. During the meal, Dr.
Kennedy had struck up a conversation with the cook and found out
the man was a Christian. He then asked him where he went to
church and the man replied “I don’t go to church.” Dr. Kennedy
informed the man that it is really important to for him to
attend church and asked the man why he didn’t go. The cook told
Dr. Kennedy that he doesn’t go to church because of people like
him go out to eat on Sunday which requires him to work. Dr.
Kennedy was Speechless. So remember, the things you do such as
shopping and eating out may be keeping others from spending the
day with the Lord.
We pray that this information does not condemn you but convict
you. We believe that we show love to God and to our neighbor by
not making purchases on Sunday. We would rather have people in
church listening to the word of God and fellowshipping than
performing acts of service for us.
God is intelligent. When He said we should not work on that
seventh day, it was for a reason. He not only wanted us to
physically rest our bodies but He wanted us to gather together
and have fellowship with other Christians in church. My wife and
I have been observing this for the past fifteen years out of
obedience to the conviction from the Holy Spirit and love for
God. We have come to realize that it really shows love for
others.
We each have to give an individual account to God. There is no
room in the Christian life for spiritual complacency. The
seventh day is God’s blessed, holy, day of rest please pray and
seek God’s will for your life in this particular area.
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(a)Genesis 2:
2-3
2And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had
made.
3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and
made.
(b)Exodus 20:1-19
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of
the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before, me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the
waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the
children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a
thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the
LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you
shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or
maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long
in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not
covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant,
his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the
trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.
They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us
yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or
we will die."
(c)Exodus 31:18
“When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he
gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone
inscribed by the finger of God.”
(d)Exodus 34:1
1The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the
first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the
first tablets, which you broke.
(e) Numbers 15:32-36
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they
found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.
33And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto
Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what
should be done to him.
35And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to
death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without
the camp.
36And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and
stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded
Moses.
(f) Luke 4:14-16
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news
about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He taught in
their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the
Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And
he stood up to read.
(g) Matthew 12:1-6
1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.
His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain
and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the
Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his
companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and
his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful
for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read
in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple
desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one
greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these
words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have
condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath."
Mark 2:23-28
23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as
his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of
grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing
what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"
25He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and
his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of
Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate
the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.
And he also gave some to his companions."
27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man
for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath."
(h) Matthew 12:9-13
9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a
man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to
accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the
Sabbath?"
11He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into
a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it
out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore
it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
13Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he
stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound
as the other.
Mark 3:1-5
1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a
shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a
reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he
would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the
shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."
4Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do
good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained
silent.
5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at
their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
(i) Matthew 22:36-40
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the
first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it:
'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the
Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Mark 12:28-31
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,
"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O
Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. ‘There is
no commandment greater than these."
These verses are from the King James Version and the New
International Version. |
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