“WE LIVE IN A FAST PACED WORLD, WHERE MACHINES AND TECHNOLOGY TEACH US THERE IS NOT TIME FOR IDLENESS AND REST. HOWEVER, DO YOU KNOW THAT OUR VERY DESIGN, EVEN THE ENTIRE CREATION TELLS US THIS IS NOT SO!”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about the modern day controversial call and command in the Bible for keeping the Sabbath. Stay with me for I’m going to share with you perhaps the best answer you’ve ever heard concerning this raging controversy…

…Friend, do you know that there hasn’t been a day in the life of Christians and Jews where the teaching of “Keeping the Sabbath,” hasn’t caused controversy and  separation of mind and heart? Indeed, this has been a thorny issue that for the most part is irrelevant to most secularists in our 21^st century. However, for those who believe in God, a God of creation, the issue is an important one to know and understand. First of all let me set the record straight. I’m not going to give you warmed over spiritual hash, or try to lay a guilt trip on you, or saddle you with a burdened load of past teachings on this subject. Sound interesting? Well, I hope it is, for after we pause one more time for another moment of music, I’ll return with a fresh look at an old subject forgotten by many, abused by others, and yet more timely for our generation than ever before. So don’t go away, give me the next twenty minutes of your time and you’ll never regret it…

…In the Bible almost everyone knows what are called the Ten Commandments. Although the order may differ according to your religious upbringing, the Bible makes clear these are the commandments God gave to Israel to keep in their relationship with their Creator God (Exodus 20).

1.  You shall have no other gods before me.

2.  You shall not make for yourself a graven image to worship or bow down to them or serve them.

3.  You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

4.  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5.  Honor your father and your mother.

6.  You shall not commit murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8.  You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, or his neighbor's wife, or anything that is your neighbors.

In one way or another, all of us have heard them, maybe memorized them, or at the least come across one or more of these prohibitions God decreed for His ancient people, Israel , as conditions for their keeping and blessing. However, most controversial of all is the fourth commandment, “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY.” I believe of all the commandments, this has been the most misunderstood beginning with the people of Israel to whom it was given to, as well as modern day Jews and Gentiles alike. So today I would like to make some sense, common sense, or biblical sense of it to give you a handle on appropriating its promises and joy God meant it to be. Let’s begin…

These eight words in the 4^th Commandment, carry much meaning and command. Unlike all the other commandments this is a positive one rather than a negative command. All the other commandments call us to not do something that either displeases God, or will result in God’s disciplines to fall upon us. Why the difference? I think it is because God wanted this command to be considered in a positive, joyous light at the start. God did not say, “Thou shalt not labor on the Sabbath day” within the context of these Ten Commandments. Rather, God did say, “Remember to keep the Sabbath holy.” Now let’s break down these words in this phrase.

 1. REMEMBER – This word is a call to reflect on something else that is most important in fulfilling this command. The word “remember,” calls us to look back at some important happening. The answer is to remember, to dwell upon, to consider, to relive the event of God’s Creation of the world and universe. We discover this in

Gen 2:2-3 (NIV)  By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Here we are told that upon the completion of God’s work to bring into existence and fashion the stars, the worlds and universe, God ceased from His labors and rested. Of course, God does not need rest. The idea here is He simply stopped because it was done. Mankind from the beginning and especially the Israelites in covenant with God, were to take time one day out of their week to dwell upon the completed creation. As far as the 4^th commandment goes, the Israelites were to remember this period of time in a special way. So when God calls us to remember something, He wishes us to stop whatever activity we are doing to take time to relive, review and dwell upon this. Why? Because all that we have, all the more our existence to this day depends upon the fact that God created it, including us, and therefore we are accountable to Him. In fact, everything created still requires keeping and care. We read that God the Son continues to do this for us,

Col 1:15-17 (NIV)  He [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

John 1:3 (NIV)  Through him [Jesus Christ] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Israel by this 4^th commandment was to take time, a day out of their lives every week to remember this great moment of history. Now the next word to define is the word,

2. SABBATH –

 Here we have much abuse and confusion. This is a Hebrew word “Shabbat” which means “to cease something or end it.” God said mankind is to take time to think on, to dwell upon with good thoughts and thanksgiving God’s creation and the fact that He stopped His work after a period of time, and then after that time of ceasing, He continued the work of keeping it sustained. God sets a pattern in creation – working six days, ceasing for one, then continuing on. The time of ceasing was on the 7^th day of Creation. We believe this was literally a 24 hour period of time as the text of Genesis One can only be translated. So the Sabbath was a special day, the 7^th day of our “circadian rhythm” of life, that was to be honored in the same way. It strongly appears all mankind is to stop our daily everyday work and labors to dwell upon, and think about God. Now I’ll not get into whether we are to keep the 7^th day for this or not. The 7th day is of course is our Saturday. Some demand we worship on the 7^th day, or else. Others teach the 1^st day is for worship. This controversy rages in Jewish and Christian circles, but it is needless as I’ll show you. The point so far is God commanded His created peoples of the earth to set aside one 24 hour period of our seven day week, to cease our labors and to use the time to dwell upon God’s creation work and the God who made it all possible. Now the next word in the fourth commandment is the word,

3. HOLY – 

God said “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” Here God tells us what we are to do when we cease our daily labors. The Word holy means, “different, or uncommon.” It is a word closely connected with God. He is holy, we are not. He is far above us all. In this command we are to “keep this day holy.” In other words, all of God’s humanity is to set aside one day for God. For the Jew it was the 7^th day of the week, where they were to stop their every day labor, to pause enough to dwell upon the work of God’s completed creation, and the God who made it so! By doing this, the day would be uncommon as compared to the other six. It was “holy” unto the Lord God. Now let put it all together.

What did God want from us by this commandment? Did He want us to feel sad that we could not continue in our routine and daily grind? Did God want us to stumble over 613 rules and definitions of what it meant to cease from our labor? The Jewish scribes of Jesus’ day came up with unbelievable definitions of what it meant to cease from work. However, Moses defined the Sabbath day when he wrote in,

Exo 20:9 (NIV)  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

Exo 20:11 (NIV)  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.

Exo 23:12 (NIV)  "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

Here the Bible gives further definition of what this ceasing of daily labor is for. It is for “refreshment,” or “rest.” All of us need this time. Godless cultures have in the past tried to circumvent a six day work and one day rest cycle only to their detriment. It seems all life operates and function properly when this cycle of life is observed. So what is it to “Keep the Sabbath?” For the Jew under the Law of Moses, it meant exactly what it said. The seventh day of the week was a time for the Jew to cease unnecessary labors and rest to be refreshed.

By keeping it holy, the Jew later discovered it was the appropriate time to give it back to God in worship. In later years the Sabbath Day was the day Israel worshipped God. Elaborate temple rituals and patterns formed where God’s people came together to honor and remember the great God Jehovah who created all things, especially them, and governed and blessed them as individuals and a nation. The Sabbath Day was duly engrained as belonging to God, who gave it back to them for rest, and refreshment. However sadly, the Israelites turned it into a day of slavery to interpretations of the Jewish sages, and it became a burdensome day where joy was lost, and grief accompanied it. Jesus of course set the record straight one day when he was accosted for breaking the Sabbath laws as defined by the Pharisees,

Mark 2:27 (NIV)  Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

What was He saying? The Jews created a day whereby God’s people were to be enslaved to the concepts set forth by the religious community.  Most of it was utterly ridiculous. Jesus corrected this when He said that God gave us the Sabbath law for our good, our joy, our refreshment and rest. Now from this comes the argument - are we today to keep the same law? The Christian community which rightly interprets the Word says no. Why? The answer is when Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of the world and paid the final and full sacrifice, Jewish offerings were representative of, His day of resurrection changed a portion of this eternal rule. Rather than remembering the 7^th day of the week, the rest cycle was transferred to the 1^st day of the week. The particular day of the week was never the issue, the issue God set forth from the beginning was mankind was to take one day out of the week to rest, be refreshed, and to worship God. 

The Church chose the 1^st day to celebrate and honor the fact that Jesus rose from the grave on this day completing the work of Salvation, just as the Triune God of creation completed the work of Creation on the 6^th day. The early church quickly say that the Law of Moses was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and now only the principles behind the 4^th commandment, were to be remembered and obeyed. Do you know that ALL the Ten commandments are repeated in the New Testament, except keeping the Sabbath, yet the church kept the principle of it but changed the day to the

 LORD’S DAY. This phrase in the New Testament is a reference to the 1^st day of the week, a day that replaced the Sabbath Day or 7^th day in honor of God’s final work, the cross of Christ which atoned for the sins of the world.  Note the Scriptural use of this phrase,

Rev 1:10 (NIV)  On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

Acts 20:7 (NIV)  On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight .

1 Cor 16:2 (NIV)  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

The first day of the week is Sunday, it became known as “the Lord’s Day.” Tradition and practicality surrounded this day in the first century. To the pagan peoples it was the day of honoring the sun god, thus “Sunday.” Slaves were freed from labors in the evening to worship. So it was convenient in Roman society to use this day off for worship of the one true god, Jesus Christ. So Sunday became the day when those who honored God now revealed as Jesus Christ, to honor this eternal principle of the Sabbath to this first day of the week.

So let’s be quick about it. Are we today to “keep the Sabbath?” The answer is yes and no. We are not obligated in any way to keep the Laws of Moses for it belonged to ancient Israel exclusively, and was abolished by Jesus Christ fulfilling the Law and God’s promises they pictured. However, today the principle of the Sabbath was established before the Law of Moses, and as such it is something God expects us all to keep today, yet not in any specific day of the week. Paul the apostle shared this one time when he wrote,

Rom 14:5 (NIV)  One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

The point is today God has told us that we can set aside whatever day we wish to honor the principle of the Sabbath. The principle  of the Sabbath is this. God wants us to stop our every day labors to rest, to be refreshed, to recuperate from the daily grind, so we can keep our health mentally and physically. The rest and refreshment can come in different ways. It can come by relaxing in a comfortable chair and reading a good book, newspaper or periodical, lying on the beach, swimming in the pool, ocean or lake. It can be for others working on a hobby, enjoying a sport or recreation. Whatever it is, God wants you to take one day out of your week to recharge your physical and emotional batteries. Why? Because He created you this way and unless you do this, you will not enjoy the fullness of health and happiness. Now saying all that, in addition to the day being a time of “REST, RECUPERATION AND REFRESHMENT.” For the believer in God, Jesus Christ, it is also the time for “WORSHIP.” Thus, “REST AND WORSHIP” goes together.

As ancient Israel rested from their daily labors, they also worshipped corporately together. The Bible says in the New Testament,

Heb 10:25 (NIV)  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

God wants us to come before Him and our worship is not to be a burden, or a sad, mournful, and boring time. It is so sad that many of our bible believing fundamental churches have gone astray due to the years of formalism, and false piety that overtook worship. Many saints come to church worship where they are to be “spectators only,” to be very quiet, and just sit there until the hour is done, putting in their time. That is not what God wanted from us. He wants our day of rest to be a day of joy too in meeting with Him. Worship is to be a time of joyous participatory praise, and adulation. It’s not wrong to lift our hands, to clap them with joy, to shout “amen,” to move our bodies and to sway to a joyous song of praise and worship. It’s not wrong to pray with joy and to sit under the sound of dynamic bible teaching, or to hear beautiful orchestral music with wind, yes, “percussion,” and brass instruments sending up to heaven our praise of His creation and more God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. Oh my friend, the LORD’S DAY is kept only when we truly take time to REST and WORSHIP.

Do you? Or do you distort God’s principle by resting and recreation but little to no worship? Or do you distort the day by worship and no rest or recreation or joy for you. God forbid you would enjoy a sport event, or go fishing, swimming, play ball with the kids, go hiking, biking, or sleep under the stars by camping? Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, for your joy, your rest, your recuperation, and most of all a time for you to set aside everything else to worship God!

I think it’s time we got back to reinforcing the “principles” of the 4^th commandment.

Indeed the “Sabbath,” I use the word only in its meaning, it should be a day of JOY! For as it is we can truly be rested to face another week of work before us all. God never desired that our “Sabbath” be a day of rules, regulations, burdensome tasks to satisfy some spiritual guru(s).

It is not a day of gloom and doom, but a day of rejoicing, praise, peace, tranquility and above all REST FROM YOUR LABORS AND WORSHIP OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Honor the Lord this way and you’ll be blessed to overflowing. Why worship? Because God not only completed the creation of all things at the end of the 6^th day, but Jesus Christ God the Son completed the work of redemption and rose on the 1^st day of the week.

Do you know Jesus? What I mean is, have you done business with Him? We do business by coming to Him in prayer acknowledging His Person and work. Jesus Christ is “Jehovah Jesus,” the God of the Old Testament revealed in human flesh, and His promise to be our sacrificial lamb and Savior. His death on the cross at Calvary bought us our salvation, full and final forgiveness of all our sins, and the hope and promise of life eternal in the presence of God. Oh thanks be to God He has finished the work of our salvation. The Bible says,

Gen 2:2 (NIV)  By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his [creation] work.

John 19:30 (NIV)  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Yes the triune God of Eternity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit together finished all that was necessary for you and for me to be saved from our sins and enjoy the wonders of His creation. Moreover, that you are honoring God’s Sabbath principles of KEEPING THE LORD’S DAY. In it you will always be blessed, failing to do so you will suffer the loss it will bring. May God add His blessing to these words for Jesus sake, Amen.