"For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his." Hebrews 4:10

What it Really Means to 'Keep' the Sabbath

-- Worship Jesus ALL week, ALL days,

He is our Sabbath Rest and our Peace

The Sabbath Day

Intro: If you've been a Christian for a while you've met a member of the 7th Day Adventist Church or you will soon. This article is about the Sabbath in the Bible, what it means, and is not per se about the S.D.A. Church. The Sabbath is a beautiful thing as we'll see shortly here. Going to church on Saturday doesn't make or prove you to be a Christian anymore than going to Sunday meetings, water baptism, tithing, speaking in tongues, or church attendance/membership. --But we should be "trees of righteousness" --and a subsequent lack of good 'fruit' is never a good thing. So we're not saved by water, a certain day of the week, or glossalia (the tongue) -- those things are of creation. The Savior is the Creator Jesus, and we're saved by grace (an unearned gift) through faith in His blood and resurrection alone.

Both Catholicism and the Adventist churches are a mess of man's rituals and legalism, that is, "do this" or "don't do that" til the day you die, and then you'll be OK with God, so they say.

To the credit of both of these denominations, they each claim to believe that Jesus Christ is the one true God, and that a man can only be saved by grace through faith.

Their problem is -- the doctrine of "saved by grace through faith" in the Catholic church and the S.D.A. Church -- is in a back room in a "booth in a corner, in a bag in a box, underneath the rags" -- the filthy rags of self-righteousness and dead works. The S.D.A. Church see themselves as purists and as the only ones who are really obeying God, when really they are in bondage to legalist pride.

Many old-time 7th Day Adventists despised Catholics: the S.D.A's say the Catholics started the practice of Sunday worship. (More about that later.) Much of the S.D.A end-time doctrine, that is, their interpretation of Revelation, Daniel, and the Gospels -- is an effort to show that the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon. Some S.D.A. teachers have claimed that 'Sunday worship is the Mark of the Beast'. Frankly, reading any S.D.A. eschatological material will give you a head-ache -- same as Jehovah's Witnesses literature, though I repeat, "S.D.A. is not a cult". Why? --because they believe Jesus is God, unlike the J.W.'s., which is a cult.

We could say all manner of evil about their 'messenger of light', Ellen White, as she called herself, just as we could say bad things about Joseph Smith or Mohammed. Ellen White did not start the S.D.A. movement, but was a dominant influence before and around year 1900. She plagiarized some of her written material (material now wisely unavailable) and she advocated all manner of 'health' foods, though she did not practice what she preached because of personal illness which necessitated other types of food in her diet. However, since there are a lot of good things to say about the S.D.A. church, if you trash Ellen White, an S.D.A. person feels you are trashing the church, so you just alienate the members. So it is always better to point people toward Jesus, Who is the Sabbath, rather than away from 'Jane or John Doe'.

Lastly, I just want to add on a positive note that the Seventh Day Adventists are serious about their faith and have reverence for the Bible and for obeying the Ten Commandments. We could learn a bit from them as to obeying God, but they do not understand the Sabbath Day and its significance!

[1] S A B B A T H ... D A Y

The First Sabbath -- Gen.2:2,3 "And 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. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made"

The sabbath day is blessed; Those that participate in it partake of the blessing.

[2]

Sabbath in the Hebrew is SHABBATH derived from SHABATH; it means: to cease, to desist, to rest.

It is noteworthy that it does not mean Saturday, or relate to the number seven or seventh.

Many languages use some form of the word sabbath to mean Saturday;

But the key word is REST -- stop work!

[3] The First Use of the word 'Sabbath' in Scripture:

Exo.16:23 "This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning"

The Lord was talking about cooking manna -- the miracle bread from heaven.

[4] Exo.16:29 "See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day"

You see here how the sabbath was a blessing, not a burden; there was no need to collect manna that day, for the Lord had provided doubly on the previous day. It was a day for 'workaholics' to rest in the Lord, trusting Him for provision.

[5] The Sabbath Is Listed in the 10 Commandments

Exo.20:8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy"

A short-but-sweet statement. We will have to look at the Old and New Testaments, to grasp the spiritual intention of the words 'remember' and 'keep it holy'. What is 'holy', and how does one 'remember' the sabbath, and to what extent?

[6] Deut.5:14 "But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man- servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou."

[7] Note: "...thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou." Here, the Lord is looking out for the welfare and benefit of his people. Even if the boss wanted to work that day, the Lord protects the servants and beasts of burden from the greed or over-zealousness of their employer.

But the major implication is that the boss hypothetically might take a rest while those under him continued to labor -- another case of the rich oppressing the poor, and the strong oppressing the weak.

[8] How Does One 'Defile' the Sabbath, or NOT keep it Holy? The answer it simply -- to Work that day:

Exo.31:14 "Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people"

So playing golf on the sabbath or sleeping-in or general foolish conduct is not nearly as serious as 'working' on the sabbath.

[9] The Penalty for Working on the Sabbath

Exo.31:15 "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death"

Previously Exodus 31:14 said the soul that works on the sabbath shall be cut off from among his people.

[10] One of the Few Bible Records we have of this Actual Severe Penalty in Action:

Num.15:32,35 "And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp"

We can conclude from this that the Lord is indeed serious about the sabbath.

[11] We saw previously that they were not to gather the manna on the sabbath. And also:

Exo.35:3 "Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day".

So now we're not just talking about cooking, but heating the home. At first this doesn't make sense -- the Lord doesn't want to discomfort you on the sabbath -- it's a day of rest, so why not heat the home?:

The answer is simple:

[12] CONVOCATION -- a calling together -- Hebrew: MIQRA means 'sacred assembly'; a gathering of the saints; reading the Word

Lev.23:3 "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation"

The people didn't NEED to heat their home because they weren't THERE! They were in the assembly.

[13] What Else Did they do to 'Keep the Sabbath Holy' and 'Remember' It?

Lev.16:31 "It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever"

'Afflicting the soul' means to repent, to examine oneself, to be humble before God, to remember the gravity and results of sin and the subsequent costliness of salvation.

[14] Is it wrong to play golf or play video games, etcetera on the Sabbath?

Isai.58:13 "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words"

[15] "... not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure"

We honor the Lord by doing His things on His day. We call the sabbath 'delightful'. It is a pleasant thing, not a chore.

Ps.133:1 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

Ps.16:11 "..In thy presence is fulness of joy..."

[16] Jer.17:22 "Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers"

The obvious Old Testament meaning here is that one shouldn't work on the sabbath,

But in a deeper New Testament sense --- Leave your burdens at home and focus on the Lord, and He will lift your burden and carry you as well.

[17] Since the Jewish temple is gone, and Jesus has replaced the sacrifices with His own personal sacrifice, should the sabbath still be observed?

Exo.31:16 "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant"

It is a perpetual covenant. The sabbath is in effect forever!

[18] The problem is that many do not understand the intent of the Law or the Sabbath.

Jesus is the 'end' of the Law. That doesn't mean He ended it, but He is the purpose of the Law and the embodiment of the Law and Grace, because Jesus is the Word Incarnate. He said that not one jot or tittle of the law would pass until all be fulfilled. Whoever breaks these laws or teaches men to break them will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.

The Law is Spiritual and so is the sabbath.

[19] When Jesus fulfilled the Law and Prophets this means He did all things necessary to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Father. He blotted out our transgression of the Law. He did not blot out the Law. He continues to fulfill the Law in the Spirit, or through the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2)

If the Spirit of Christ be in you, He is fulfilling the Law in you right now! It isn't bondage; it's the law of liberty. (James 1:25)

[20] This is why Hebrews 4:3 says: "We which have believed do enter into rest"

4:10 "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his"

3:18 "And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

Men trying to keep the law apart from Christ have not quit trying to work their way to heaven. They are unbelievers!

[21] If being in Christ is God's rest, then Jesus Himself is the Sabbath -- our rest. He is our peace, Who has broken down the wall of partition between us.

He keeps the sabbath within us, and we abide in Him as He abides in us.

To 'keep' the Law or 'keep' the sabbath means to 'treasure it as a keepsake', a priceless gemstone.

[22] The Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus for doing physician's 'work' on the sabbath. They didn't understand the spiritual intent of the sabbath or the Law in general.

Jesus said, Jn.5:17 "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work". In other words, God works on the sabbath.

"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?" (i.e. the priests worked.)

[23] Jesus went on to say that the Pharisees were hypocrites because they were inconsistant or partial in their judgments:

Luk.13:15 The Lord then answered and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 16 And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

[24] So the Pharisees wanted to kill the Lord of the Sabbath for doing good works:

Mark 2:27 "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day" - the sabbath doesn't 'lord it over' Jesus.

In the next verse Jesus says, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath".

In other words, the Lord rules over the sabbath; the sabbath does not rule over man; the sabbath is for man, not against man.

[25] There are religious sects that teach that something in addition to Jesus is needed for salvation:

Some say:

1. Jesus plus church membership, others say

2. Jesus plus water baptism, others say

3. Jesus plus speaking in tongues, or

4. Jesus plus 'sabbath keeping'

Now, if you talk with these legalists, they will say, "We are not saying you're saved by membership...water...tongues... or sabbath-keeping ...

[26] ... we are saying that if you are really Christian, you'll prove it by doing these things. If you don't, you're not saved!

NO! Listen, it's Jesus, Jesus, Jesus alone! -- Author and Finisher; if it's Jesus plus something else to be saved, it is another gospel, not the True gospel.

If a person needed water, tongues, or a day called Saturday to finish the work of salvation, this would make creation greater than the Creator!

[27] About the Seventh Day Adventist sect:

The 7th-day Adventist church keeps the deity of Jesus at its core, but burdens its members with a glut of legalism and spurious endtime teachings. They do claim to believe in salvation by grace, however.

They teach that if you don't worship on Saturday, you prove that you are not saved. They also teach that sabbath-keeping is the sealing of the 144,000; and that those that worship on Sunday will one day take the mark of the beast, unless they change days.

[28] Paul said in Colossians 2:16,17 --

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ"

The 7th-Day Adventist answer to this verse is "Since weekly sabbath-keeping is in the 10 Commandments, Paul is talking about only the annual festivals as 'optional' sabbaths".

[29] This argument doesn't hold up, because it says 1."holyday" (i.e. annual festival), 2."new moon" (monthly), and 3."sabbath days" (the WEEKLY sabbath on Saturday).

Paul covered all three types of sabbaths in the one scripture verse.

The weekly sabbath is only a 'shadow of of things to come', but the Body which projects the obsolete 'shadowy' image is Jesus, the fulfillment of all things.

[30] And in Romans 14:5,6 --

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it"

So we shouldn't judge the 7th-Day Adventists. Neither should they judge us. If we proudly exalt ourself above another brother, we break the sum of the Ten Commandments, which is "Love" (Gal.5:14)

[31] "This is the day that the Lord hath made; I will be glad and rejoice in it"

Each day is the Lord's day. The early church was daily in the houses breaking bread and sharing in the apostles' doctrine.

On the first day of the week, they laid in store their alms and offerings, which implies that Sunday was the main meeting.

[32] The Church traditionally worships on Sunday, because Jesus emerged from the grave early the first day of the week, not the seventh. It could be possible that Jesus was 'resting' asleep on the sabbath if He died at 3 o'clock Wednesday. The Bible is clear that He died at 3 o'clock. Was it Wednesday?

Wednesday afternoon to Saturday afternoon would be "three days and three nights" in agreement with prophecy.

[33] In Revelation 1:10, John writes: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet".

Though the "day of the Lord" is synonymous for the 2nd Coming, this day in verse 10, "the Lord's day" (different phrase) -- is considered to be Sunday, because the subject in chapters 1 to 3 was the current state of the 1st Century church, not the return of the Lord. The vision of the future had not yet begun when John said 'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day'.

[34] And so we consider Sunday to be the Lord's day. The early church was not only daily gathered in various houses, but they were also at the synagogues on the sabbath. They just couldn't get enough! And they were probably at Denny's Sunday night too!

Conclusion:

There is an analogous situation in John 4: 20-24

[35] The Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews

[36] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

The question was about the proper 'place' or venue for worship - -

Our question today deals with the proper 'time' or 'day' of worship. The children of God worship at all times and places in Spirit and in Truth. END

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