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Sunday, June 26, 2011 pm

WHY WE DO NOT KEEP THE SABBATH

A few weeks ago someone asked me a question about the Sabbath.  The question dealt with why we don’t observe the Sabbath.  In attempting to explain this it prompted me to study it further and I mentioned that I would present this lesson.  Because it is something we all need to understand so that we can give a defense for the hope that is in us (1 Pet. 3:15) and perhaps so that we are have a better understanding ourselves.  The question we want to address today is whether or not we ought to observe the Sabbath.

I.                    What is the Sabbath?

a.        The original Hebrew word, shabbath, means “to desist, to rest”. The Greek word, sabbaton, has the same meaning, and was a derivative or transliteration of the Hebrew word.

b.       The Sabbath was a day of rest appointed for Israel, between that nation and God, in which they were given specific instructions as to what they could and could not do.  It was described as a holy day for Israel (Ex. 20:8-11, Deut. 5:12-15) and anyone who did work on that day was to be cut off or even put to death (Ex. 31:15).  Lev. 23:3 called it “a holy convocation to the Lord.”

c.        In the New Testament the term was also used in reference to the week, the actual Sabbath being the last day of the week.  When the New Testament describes days of the week (including the first day of the week) they are numbered with the Sabbath or seventh day in mind.  Hence, Sunday, “the first day of the week” (Matt. 28:1, Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2), literally reads in the Greek, “the first of the Sabbath.”  However, this makes no sense when translating it into English, so Greek scholars have correctly translated the phrase as “the first day of the week.”
There are instances where this word clearly makes reference to week such as Luke 18:2 where the self-righteous Pharisee boasted, “I fast twice a week” with the Greek word, sabbaton for week.

 

II.                  Who was the Sabbath for?

a.        The answer to this question will help us establish WHY we do not observe the Sabbath.  Scriptures are clear that the Sabbath was intended for Israel.

b.       While analogy is made to God resting the 7^th day after He created the world (Gen. 2:2), the actual observance of the Sabbath is not mentioned until Exodus 16. 
Israel had been delivered from Egypt and safely crossed the Red Sea.  They were on their way to Mt. Sinai and God begins to provide manna for them.  Each was to gather an omer for themselves and eat it that day.  Whatever was left in the morning stunk and bred worms.  But they were given instructions to gather twice as much on the 6^th day as there would be none on the Sabbath.  Exodus 16:23-26 described it as a day of holy rest.

c.        Next mention is Exodus 20:8-11 as the 4^th commandment.  WE will notice more about the 10 commandments in a few moments.

d.       Who was the Sabbath for?

                                                   i.      Exodus 31:12-18, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"  18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.”

                                                  ii.      Deut 4:11-14, where Moses is toward the conclusion of his life.  He begins to recount what God had done for Israel in the wilderness.  We read, "Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.”

                                                iii.      Deut. 5:1-5 makes an interesting observation about these laws. “And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain.” NOTICE that the Law of Moses was NOT in force prior to it being given on Mt. Sinai.  Therefore, one cannot argue that those prior to Mt. Sinai kept the Law INCLUDING the Sabbath Laws.

                                                iv.      Deut. 5:15 – it commemorated their slavery in Egypt (and the rest from that).

                                                  v.      And thus we can see that over and over, the Sabbath was emphasized as a law for the nation of Israel.  Given at Mt. Sinai for them to keep throughout their generations.

                                                vi.      Ezekiel 20:10-12, “Therefore I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, 'which, if a man does, he shall live by them.'  12 Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

                                               vii.      Ezekiel, who wrote during the Babylonian captivity of Judah said in Ezekiel 20:18-20, “But I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; 20 hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.'”

                                             viii.      Nehemiah 9:13-14, as the people confessed their sins after completing the walls of Jerusalem and seeking to restore true worship.  On behalf of the people, the Levites prayed, “You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.”

e.       Concerning the Law of Moses

                                                   i.      The Sabbath was part of the Law of Moses.  IT was part of the 10 commandments given at Mt. Sinai.  The entire law was for the children of Israel. Many of the above texts indicate this.  Also consider Deut. 4:13 as Moses was recounting his life with them and their time at Mt. Sinai said, “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.”

                                                  ii.      Note Jeremiah 31:31-34 finds Jeremiah speaking of a New Covenant that God would make with the house of Israel and Judah.  A study of the book of Hebrews reveals that this covenant is the one Jesus came to establish (cf. Heb. 8:7-13).

                                                iii.      While upon this earth, Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets (Matt. 5:17-18).  He did!  Luke 24:44

                                                iv.      Very specifically, He nailed the Old Law to the cross. Col. 2:13-14 speaks of Him wiping out the handwriting of requirements which was against us.

                                                  v.      Romans 7:1-7, Paul is explaining to that audience that the law is done because Christ died and those Jewish brethren to whom he was writing had put to death the Old Law.

                                                vi.      Ephesians 2:14-17, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”

                                               vii.      2 Corinthians 3 is a passage where Paul is explaining that the Old Law has been abolished.

1.       He begins by noting that they were epistles of Christ “written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” (Vs. 3).    Note the TABLETS OF STONE

2.       IN vs. 6 he makes a distinction between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant which he calls a letter.  OF this covenant he says, “for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”  To what does the letter that kills refer to?

3.       Vs. 7-8, “But if the ministry of death, WRITTEN AND ENGRAVED ON STONES, was glorious, so that the Children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry o the Spirit not be more glorious?”  CLEARLY, the ministry of stones was the Law of Moses INCLUDING the 10 commandments (the only part written and engraved on stones). 

4.       NOTICE that in vs. 11, Paul says, “For what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.”  A contrast between the Old Law and New Law.

5.       Then in vs. 12-18 Paul speaks of how those who still followed the Old Law were NOT following Christ.  The law was a veil that prevented the THEN AND NOW glory of God from shining through.   In vs. 14 Paul said, “the veil is taken away in Christ.” And in vs. 16 we read,  “Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

                                             viii.      Other passages could be added to these which demonstrate that the Law of Moses has been done away with.  And regardless of what arguments one might make, these passages also demonstrate that the 10 commandments, which include the Sabbath observance, have been done away with. 

                                                ix.      In conclusion, we do not keep the Old Law today which means we do not observe the Sabbath.

 

III.                What do we do?

a.        WE are under the New Law and are obligated to follow its instructions.  This is the gospel of Christ – Rom. 1:16, the New and better Covenant (Heb. 8:13), and “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3).  There are so many other descriptions we could add to these.

b.       But one might say that we keep 9 of the 10 commandments (the Sabbath being excluded).   That is untrue!  9 of the 10 commandments are REPEATED in the new law and we keep them for that reason and that reason only.

c.        And, just as Israel was required to keep the Sabbath, we are commanded to assemble to worship the Lord, on the first day of the week.

                                                   i.      It is the day our Lord arose – Matt. 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, etc.

                                                  ii.      It is the day, “the disciples came together to break bread.” Acts 20:7

                                                iii.      It is the day we are to “lay by in store as we have prospered.” 1 Cor. 16:1-2

                                                iv.      It is also believed to be “the Lord’s day” mentioned in Rev. 1:10.

                                                  v.      Early on we noticed that the expression, “the first day of the week” is accurate and descriptive of Sunday and not the Sabbath which the Jews observed.

d.       IT is sometimes argued that Christians met on the Sabbath and that it was changed by either some pope or by an emperor.  But very early on, there is evidence of when the Christians assembled.  IN addition to the above texts, historians such as Justin Martyr (103-165 AD) said the following, “But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.[1]

e.       Since we are under a New Law, let us seek to keep its statutes.

 

IV.                What about “the Christian Sabbath”?

a.        The idea of the “Christian Sabbath” is that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday.   This allows man to teach the 10 commandments as the primary moral law upon which all other laws are based.  It was from this premise that Sunday was taught to be observed as a day of rest, like the OT Sabbath. 

b.       This is not a biblical phrase or concept.  We do not keep the Sabbath at all!  God didn’t change the Sabbath to Sunday, He abolished it! WE must be careful when using phrases such as “the Christian Sabbath.”  They are contrary to scripture.

c.        Because the New Testament says so, you ought to assemble on the first day of the week.  AND if you choose to make that a day of rest and restrict your activities or a day of contemplation to God, so be it.  But you cannot bind your personal convictions and observances on others (Romans 14:5-6).

d.       One final thought, on author noted, “If there is any Biblical sense in which one could speak of a “Christian Sabbath” it would be speaking of heaven, for this is the “rest” promised to Christians” after our labors and trials are over.”  Heb. 4:9-11, Rev. 14:13, etc.

And thus we can see that we are not to observe the Sabbath.  To do so is to return to the Law of Moses for justification of our worship and actions.  Such conduct is looked upon with great disfavor by our God.  “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Gal. 5:4)  In all things, let us seek to follow only the New Covenant.  It is the covenant we live under and through which we find hope of salvation.  All other roads lead to eternal despair.