A Concise Case for the Sabbath (and why it matters)

Hopefully, this reading venture you have just started will seem a bit more like a Bible study than a blog post. My goal is to display that the Sabbath still applies today by guiding you on a journey to observe five scriptural truths regarding this holy day of rest and worship.

OBSERVATION #1: God Rested on the Seventh Day of Creation

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1-3)                                                                                                                                  

God rested on the seventh day at creation. He also made it holy. When Moses commanded the people to “Remember the Sabbath,” he was telling them to remember what God did in Genesis 2:1-3. The fact that God made the seventh day holy at creation was the exact reason why Moses was able to tell the people in Exodus to “keep it holy.” You cannot keep something holy if it were not already made holy. 

OBSERVATION #2: The Fourth Commandment is Founded in Creation

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8- 11)                                  

This commandment is modeled after God’s pattern in Creation. Today, we confess that marriage is a monogamous union between one man and one woman because that was God’s design at Creation (pre-Fall). Likewise, we adhere to the pattern of resting one day in seven because that was God’s design at Creation too.

OBSERVATION #3: Jesus Clarified the Meaning of the Sabbath

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)                                                          

And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. (Matthew 12:10-13 - emphasis added)  

Jesus did not abolish the Sabbath – he clarified and deepened its meaning. Instead of a day of slothful legalism, Jesus displayed it was a day for thoughtful rest, corporate worship, and communal mercy. Jesus was at Creation and partook in rest on the seventh day (Col. 1:16). He designed the pattern of resting one in seven days. He does not contradict himself during his life on earth, but rather reaffirms that his design for rest is good. 

OBSERVATION #4: The Christian Sabbath is on Sunday and is  called “The Lord’s Day”

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7)

Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. (1 Cor. 16:1)              

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. (Rev. 1:10)                   

Some may think that corporate worship on Sunday is only tradition, but the above verses display it is a Bible-based practice that began in the first-century church. Jesus resurrected on the first day of the week and so it is solemnly referred to as: “The Lord’s Day.”

OBSERVATION #5: A Temporal Sabbath Day Points Us to an Eternal Sabbath Rest

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us, therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11) 

The weekly Sabbath reminds the Christian that he or she is headed toward eternal rest with God. There will be no harassment from the enemy and the presence of sin will be no more. Just as we put off the affairs of our lives on Sunday in exchange for rest and worship, so we will put off this world and enter eternal rest.[1]

Why the Proper View of the Sabbath Matters Today  

This day was designed for God’s people to partake in rest and corporate worship. God made it holy at Creation, yet many remain at home, profaning the day of rest. The proper response for the group of people who claim to be Christians, yet remain at home on Sunday is to obey the following statement:

            Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

                                                                                    Exodus 20:8

The Lord’s Day is for worship and rest. Omitting one part violates the whole commandment.

Looking at our current situation, a right view of the sabbath becomes all-the-more relevant. COVID-19 has caused churches worldwide to restrict their meetings to online services only, and some churches currently remain in this state. However, as the months pass by, pastors and elders are opening their doors for in-person corporate worship, but many find that their attendance is lower now than when they first closed the doors. This is because many are content to watch the service online, despite being physically fit and capable of attending church. One of the root causes of people not returning to corporate worship is a low view of the Sabbath. Therefore, let us be people who seek diligently to please the Lord and observe the Sabbath with faithfulness and without fear.

God is faithful.

[1] To be sure, Adam worked before the Fall. We will work for God’s glory in eternity. However, the rest we enter into on the Sabbath is a picture of our entrance into eternity.