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WHY
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” That’s the short answer to why we keep the Sabbath. The Bible is full of reasons to keep the Sabbath. The 10 Commandments have as their centerpiece a call to its rest. Paul, Peter, Jesus and countless other New Testament Christians observed it. But, in the end, it comes down to this: “In the beginning God created the heaven’s and the earth.” The Lord your God made the heavens and the earth in six days. He rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. It’s His time. It’s our privilege.
THE IRONY
It is bizarre, odd, whatever you want to call it that enemies of the Sabbath have tried to make keeping it seem like work. “Legalists keep the Sabbath,” they say. What an absurd statement. The Sabbath is a sanctuary in time where we come to rest from our works and glory in God’s works. Paul teaches in Hebrews 4 that the Sabbath is a paradigm for the rest that we find in Jesus through salvation. Jesus offers rest. He calls us to rest. The Devil seeks to take our rest away. The Devil seeks to separate us from the refuge in time that God has carved out for us.
THE TIME IS NOW
He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Rev 14:7) That hour is here, and heaven’s messenger is calling us to worship God as Creator. As Satan propagates one of his greatest lies and denies that Jesus is the author of this planet, we are reminded of who made us. You can search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will find only one institution put into place for this purpose. The Sabbath.
TASTE AND SEE
Try it. Enter the time set aside by God. Put away your work. Silence the mindless noise of everyday life. Be still and know that He is God. Immerse yourself in His nature—take a walk in the woods, go on a journey through His word, celebrate with like minded believers. Do this, and you will see why the enemy has worked so hard to separate God’s child (you) from His rest (the Sabbath).
NUTS AND BOLTS
Curious? Don’t take our word for it. See for yourself.
l. The origin of the Sabbath
A. When and where was the Sabbath made? Gen. 2:1-3
At the close of creation. The week was not finished until the Sabbath was made. What three things did God do on that day? He rested (not because He was weary; neither were Adam and Eve weary, having just been created); He blessed it (or made it a holy day, there in the Garden of Eden); and He sanctified it, or set it apart for a special use. God did not wait until He reached Sinai before making it a holy day.
B. Where was the Sabbath commandment placed when God wrote the Ten Commandments? Ex. 20:8-11
Right in the very heart of the Decalogue. It could have been lopped off either end, but it is a little hard to take a chunk out of the middle of anything.
II. Christ – The Creator
A.Who is the Creator? John 1:1-3 , 14 ; Col. 1:13-17 ; Heb. 1:1, 2
God created the world by His Son; He redeemed the world by His Son; and He will judge the world by His Son.
B. Is it not only right to honor Him for this and all the other things He has done for us? Rev. 4:11
C. Why has He made all the beautiful things in nature? Ps. 111:2-4
People go for miles just to see the beauties of this world, such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Redwood Forests, etc. He made all His wonderful works to be remembered, not the works themselves, but the Creator of them.
III. God has a Day
A. Does God have a day which belongs to Him? Rev. 1:10
There is a day called the Lord’s Day.’
B. What day is the Lord’s Day? Matt. 12:8
It is the Sabbath Day.
C. For whom was it made? Mark 2:27, 28
For man, or mankind. There were no Jews at the beginning of time.
IV. God’s seal in the fourth commandment
A. How long will God’s name and memorial endure? Ps. 135:13
Only in the fourth commandment do we find the name of the Lawgiver, the God whom we worship. A seal consists of three things: The name of the ruler or person, his title, and his territory over which he rules. The president’s seal is Barak Obama, president, United States of America. God’s seal is the fourth commandment: The Lord, the Creator, who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. If you take this out of the Law you do not know who the Lawgiver is.
V. The Sabbath the Sign
A. Of what is the Sabbath a sign? Ex. 31:16, 17
This was a sign to all the world that the Jews worshiped the God of heaven, who created them.
B. Of what else is it a sign? Ex. 31:13 ; 2 Cor. 5:17
It is a sign of sanctification or re-creation. It should mean even more to the Christian. A sign of the new birth experience.
VI. Always to be Kept
A. Did Jesus keep the Sabbath? Luke 4:16
Yes. It was His custom.
B. Did He mean for His disciples to continue to keep the Sabbath after His ascension to Heaven? Matt. 24:15-20 Luke 21:20
In the year A.D. 66 a Roman general by the name of Cestius surrounded the city of Jerusalem with his army, evidently intending to take the city. But for some unknown reason he withdrew his army and left. The Jews in the city overtook him and almost completely destroyed his army. However, the Christians in the city remembered the words of Jesus, that when they saw the city surrounded with armies they were to leave. They obeyed the warning, and when the city was destroyed four years later by Titus, not a Christian was found there. They had gone up first to the city of Pella and after that on up to Antioch where they settled and which became the center of Christianity for many years. But Jesus had told them to pray that this would not happen in the winter time as it would work a hardship on mothers and small children, nor on the Sabbath Day. It was about 35 years after Jesus’ admonition before this happened, yet they were to pray all that time that they wouldn’t have to break one Sabbath. Their prayers were answered. It happened in the fall and on a week day.
C. How many times is it mentioned in the book of Acts that the disciples had services on the Sabbath? Acts 13:14 , 42 , 44 ; 16:13 ; 17:2 ; 18:4 , 11
There is a record of at least 84 times.
D. Will God’s people keep the Sabbath in the New Earth? Isa. 66:22, 23
Yes. If God’s people kept the Sabbath before man sinned and were commanded to keep it after he sinned (it was doubly necessary then that they might never forget their Creator), and the Jews were punished severely when they persisted in breaking it; it was kept by Jesus; it was kept by His disciples; and it will be kept in the New Earth. Is there any reason why God’s people should not be keeping it now?
The First Day of the Week
How many times is the first day of the week mentioned in the Bible? Once in the Old Testament and eight times in the New Testament. Let’s examine all eight of them that are in the New Testament.
VII. First Day of the Week Referred to Only Eight times in the New Testament
Matt. 28:1 – This verse tells us is that the Sabbath was past, the first day of the week was dawning.
Mark 16:1, 2 , 9 – It was early on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the tomb.
Luke 23:54 , 56 ; Luke 24:1 – Here we have all three days in their order; Friday, the preparation day; the Sabbath according to the commandment; and the first day, on which Christ arose.
John 20:1 , 19 – Why were the disciples in the upper chamber? Were they there celebrating the resurrection of their Lord?
Mark 16:10,11 ;Luke 24:10,11 – Did they believe He had risen? No.
Acts 11:27-29 – What was taking place at this time in Jerusalem? Aside from being persecuted, they were also suffering from famine brought on by a drought. The believers from the surrounding area were sending them relief.
Rom. 15:25,26 – Paul was also concerned about them.
1 Cor. 16:1-4 – Again, this was not a Sabbath service. It was to collect a relief fund for the saints.’
VIII. Paul’s Third Journey, and His Last
Acts 20:4-14
When did the day begin and end according to Bible time? Lev. 23:32 ; Mark 1:32
From sunset to sunset.
Why did Paul preach all night to these believers? Acts 20:25 , 36-68
Because he knew it would be the last time he would ever see them in this world. Paul and Luke remained at Philippi while the rest of the brethren sailed on over to Troas. Five days later Paul and Luke met them there and they stayed there a week, which must have ended on the Sabbath. That night Paul continued to preach to them while the rest of the brethren, including Luke this time, sailed around that point of land to Assos, where they waited for Paul. The next morning after he had eaten an early breakfast, Paul walked across to Assos and joined his friends. They then sailed on down to Mitylene, a journey of about 40 miles, that Sunday morning.
We have examined all eight of the texts that mention the first day of the week and have found nothing to indicate that the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh day to the first day. You will have to look elsewhere than the Bible for this change. If you wish to find anything about Sabbath-keeping, you may find it in God’s word, from Genesis to Revelation. However, you must look at the history of man to find anything concerning Sunday-keeping.