Sabbath

This morning I am going to answer a question that many people ask.  The question is, “Why don’t we worship on Saturday rather than on Sunday?”  When we read the Ten Commandments it states very clearly, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”  Why are we supposed to keep the other nine but not the tenth?

When we look at the religious landscape, we can drive by churches that say “Seventh Day Adventist,” or “Seventh Day Baptist” or “Seventh Day Methodist.”  The people who attend these churches believe that they are faithful to keeping the Ten Commandments and that those who don’t are breaking God’s law.

That is a serious accusation.  I have been advised that when someone makes a serious accusation that we should listen first to see if it is true and then deal with the manner in which it is made against us.  How can we learn and grow if no one challenges us? 

Let me give you the Biblical rationale why we worship on Sunday rather than on Saturday.

First, we do not worship on Saturday because Saturday was not designated as a day of worship.

Exodus 20:8–11 (NIV84) 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.

The Sabbath was originally designated as a day of rest, not a day of tabernacle or a day of temple.  Regulations existed to tell a person how far they could go, what kind of labor could be done.  But there were no commands to worship, no commands to congregate on a weekly basis.  People were to rest as a reminder that God rested on the seventh day.

Second, we do not worship on Saturday because the Sabbath was for Israel.  I want to show you this from scripture, but before I do, I want to explain where I am going with this. 

God chose the nation of Israel from all the nations of the world.  He chose Abraham, then Isaac and then Jacob.  Jacob’s name was also Israel.  He had twelve sons from which we get the twelve tribes of Israel.

God wanted Israel to know that they were special, set apart, holy.  He wanted them to know that the source of their existence as a nation was God.  Many nations were formed out of tribal groups or through conquest.  Israel was formed and created by God.

As a reminder of the fact that it was God who made them holy, they were commanded to observe the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:12–17  12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ ”

Notice how specific God is.  The Sabbath, according to verse 17 was to be a sign between God and Israel forever.  It was the sign of a lasting covenant or agreement between God and the nation of Israel.

Third, we do not worship on Saturday because the Gentiles were never under the written law.

If this was a sign between Israel and God, does this mean spiritual Israel or physical Israel?  Is this a sign that applies to every Christian or is it a sign restricted to the Jewish people?

Ephesians 2:14–22 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

What is the dividing wall of hostility?  Notice in verse 16 that he speaks of “their hostility.”  This is the hostility of Jews towards Gentiles and Gentiles toward Jewish people. The Jews were hostile to the Gentiles because they did not keep the law.  The Gentiles were hostile to the Jews because they acted superior to them.  So what did God do?  He abolished the law with its commandments and regulations. 

What does this mean?  The written law is not the standard we use to accept or reject one another.  In the Old Testament, people were accepted who kept the law, rejected who broke the law.  By law, I am talking about the written law.

If the written law is not the standard we use to accept or reject people, what is?  “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation…” We do not ask if a person is a law-keeper, we ask if they trust Christ. 

So what is the role of the law?  The document does not apply to us.  What is contained in the document is interpreted in a higher scale by this question, “Do we love God and one another?”  So the terms of the law are still wrong, but the document has been abolished.

Let me try to illustrate this.  Let’s say that your spouse died.  You are dealing with your children, so you set up some rules.  Included are some things like: clean your room, do dishes, take out garbage, be home by eight, do homework before you watch TV or call your friends.

These rules are written down and the children are expected to follow them.  If they don’t there are punishments.  If they do, they are either free from punishment or perhaps you give them an allowance.

What is wrong with these rules?  Nothing.  They are all good and it makes clear the expectations.  If someone does something wrong, you, as a parent, point to the piece of paper and say, “You did wrong.”

That is what the law is.  It is a written document of what God expected from Israel.  It was given to them on top of Mt. Sinai for them to follow.  The rules are good.  If someone breaks them, they are condemned because you can go back to Exodus 20 and say, “See you broke this commandment.”

Now lets say that next door is a member of the opposite sex who is a Christian and has lost their spouse.  In their home there were no written rules, though the expectations were about the same.  There were some modifications, but the children were expected to clean their rooms, do dishes, take out garbage, be home at a certain hour and do their homework before goofing off. 

This pictures the Gentiles.  Sin has always been sin, but the Gentiles were never under the written law.  The Ten Commandments are followed by other commandments about what to eat, how do deal with livestock and boundaries and other issues.  The Gentiles were never under these rules.  The rules were not bad, but the Gentiles in one sense, lived in a separate home.

The two people meet, fall in love and get married.  In this new home, they decide that they will not use written rules, but instead encourage responsible behavior.  They bring the children from both homes together and say, “This is a new home, we want you to be responsible for taking care of your space and respectful to everyone else in the home.”

What changes?  No one in the new house is under the written rules of the first home.  It’s a new home.  Instead of asking people to follow rules, they are asked to follow principles, the principles of responsibility and respect.  These principles will cause the same behavior, but from a more mature vantage point.

The church is a new body made up of Jew and Gentile.  We are not under a set of rules, we are called instead to love God and to love one another.  Instead of knowing we are right because we follow rules, we know we are right because we are forgiven through Jesus Christ for sinning against God.  Instead of using the rules to guide our lives, we now look at the law of Christ, which is the law of love.  Do we love Jesus and show it?  Do we love others and show it? 

This does not mean that the law was bad.  We find ourselves doing much of what was written under the law, but for a different reason. 

When we move from law to faith, faith in Christ will lead us to fulfill the law of loving God and loving one another.  We do not see the document in front of us, what we see is Christ and his love for us.  We will not break the commandments, not because they are written, but because we now have a new motivation.

God created a new man out of this union of Israel and the Gentiles.  Do you want to honor God?  Then set aside time for him.  But don’t do it because you are focused on the letter of the document.  The document has been abolished.  Honor God, give him your time, because you love him.

Which leads to the fourth reason why we do not worship on Saturday.  We do not worship on Saturday because we do not want to.

This is an “in-your-face” statement.  But let me show you in scripture where this comes from.

Colossians 2:13–17 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

We are not to judge a person by what day they celebrate.  This is what the Bible teaches.  We are not to criticize people who worship on Saturday, or Friday or Monday.  Nor do we need to accept criticism from them.

So what if we worship on Sunday?  God is pleased when we do.  We are not breaking any written commandment because the written commandment was for Israel, not the Gentiles and because the written commandments were abolished by the death of Jesus on the cross.   Scripture teaches us clearly not to judge nor to be judged on this issue.

So what does God want from us?

First, he wants us to meet together.  The fact that the law is abolished is not a license. 

Hebrews 10:19–25 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 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.

Notice that this passage in Hebrews hits on the two major reasons for the law.  First, we are to draw near to God.  Loving God is the greatest commandment.  Second, we are to draw near to other Christians.  Loving your neighbor is the second great commandment.

We are to meet to consider how we can spur one another unto love and good deeds.  Got any ideas on how we can do this?  Are you willing to be part of the solution?  This is why we meet.  We encourage one another by letting needs be known and encouraging people to step up to the plate.

So what does God want from us?  He wants us to meet together and he wants us to do it daily.

Hebrews 3:12–13 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

The early church met every day, often more than once a day.  They had great enthusiasm and wanted to be with one another.  They loved Jesus and supported each other as they worshiped and evangelized the community around them. 

Notice how important the fellowship was.

First, daily Christian fellowship fosters our faith. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

Second, daily Christian fellowship softens our hearts.      13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Third, in order for daily Christian fellowship to foster faith and soften our hearts, our fellowship needs to be encouraging.

What do we encourage people to do?  Hebrews 10 gives us some ideas.  We are to encourage one another to love and good deeds. 

When a group of men get together and talk about how they can be better men and husbands, the church is working effectively.  When a group of women get together to see how they can help a single woman with young children, the church is working effectively.  When we meet and help someone resist temptation, the church is working effectively.  When a group of us pick someone up who has fallen and give support and counsel, the church is working effectively.  When someone prays for someone else, the church is working effectively.  When we miss people and let them know they are missed, the church is working effectively.  When we visit someone in the hospital or someone who is homebound and share spiritually and pray with them, the church is working effectively.

Don’t we all need encouragement!  Some of you are going through some very difficult times.  Your temptation is to shut yourselves off from others.  That is just the wrong thing to do.

Let me ask you this question, “If someone came to you and shared a struggle, would you be an encourager in the Lord?”  Sometimes people don’t approach us because they expect criticism, judgment, or think we will think less of them if they share. 

Paul encouraged people. Acts 14:21–22 (NIV84)21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

The book of Hebrews gives an example. Hebrews 12:5 (NIV84) 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:  “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Do you see people who need encouragement?  Encourage them.  That is what God wants from us.  God is able to really help each one of us.  We can forget that when we are under stress, when we are under pressure.  We need to both give and receive encouragement, encouragement from God.

I close with this benediction from 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 (NIV84) 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.