Many Christians believe they don’t need to keep the seventh Sabbath holy by refraining from working on it.  Some think they should keep Sunday and others think any day will do and others yet think they don’t have to keep any day holy.  What does the Bible say about it?

Let us start at the beginning.  When we read Genesis chapter 1 we see that:

• On the first day God created light.
• On the second day God created the firmament.
• On the third day God created all kinds of vegetation: plants, trees, grasses and grains.
• On the fourth day God created the sun, the moon and the stars.
• On the fifth day God created birds and sea creatures.
• On the sixth day God created land animals, and God created man in His own image.

At the end of those six days of creation God said, in Gen 2:1:

Gen 2:1  Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.

That is to say, at the end of those six days of creation, the universe with its galaxies, stars, the sun, the moon and the earth were all finished.  But God did one last thing.

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Gen 2:3  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

We see God made the Sabbath day by resting on the seventh day after six days of work.  Did God need to rest?  Isa 40:28 says:

Isa 40:28  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. …

God did not rest on the seventh day because He was tired.  God rested on the seventh day to set an example for us to follow.  On this seventh day of creation God made the Sabbath for man.  As Jesus said in Mark 2:27

Mar 2:27  … “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath day is intimately related to the Creation. 

The command to keep the Sabbath is of course mentioned in The Ten Commandments.  It is the fourth commandment.  The Ten Commandments are listed twice.  Once in Exodus 20 and the other in Deuteronomy 5. 

Exo 20:8  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exo 20:10  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

The reason God gives here for keeping the Sabbath is:

Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.

In keeping the Sabbath we recognise and remember that in six days God made the universe with its galaxies, stars, the sun, the moon and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. 

Keeping the Sabbath looks back to the Creation and honours God as our Creator.

The second place the ten commandments are listed is Deuteronomy 5. 

Deu 5:12  ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
Deu 5:13  Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Deu 5:14  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
Deu 5:15  And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

What is the reason God gives here for keeping the Sabbath?  Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm.

Some might wonder how does that apply to us?  The slavery of ancient Israel was thousands of years ago.  But is not Egypt a type of sin?  Are we not now, slaves, so to speak, held captive to sin by our own weakness in the flesh?  And is not God going to deliver us from the bondage of our fleshly weak bodies and resurrect us as glorified spirit beings who cannot sin?  The answer to these questions is yes.  In fact, the apostle Paul speaks of this in Romans.

Rom 8:21  … the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

The whole of creation is groaning, waiting to be delivered from its bondage of corruption, which will occur when Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth.  Just as the Sabbath pictures the redemption of ancient Israel from slavery, so the Sabbath pictures creation’s delivery from the bondage of corruption.  Continuing in verse 23.

Rom 8:23  Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

We also groan inwardly waiting for our resurrection.  Just as the Sabbath pictures the redemption of ancient Israel from slavery, so the Sabbath pictures the redemption of our body.  The book of Hebrews explains this further.  In Hebrews chapter 3 the writer explains that those Israelites who wandered in the desert for forty years did not enter God’s rest.  That is, they did not enter the Promised Land.  Hebrews 4 goes on to link the Sabbath day with God’s rest.

Heb 4:4  For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”;

So here in verse 4 is a clear reference to the Sabbath.

Heb 4:5  and again in this place: “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.”

The Israelites who wandered in the desert for forty years did not enter God’s rest.  The author of Hebrews links the Sabbath day with entering the Promised Land.

Heb 4:6  Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,
Heb 4:7  again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “TODAY,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.”
Heb 4:8  For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.

Joshua entered the Promised Land, so Joshua entered God’s rest.  But the author of Hebrews explains that there is another day, another rest, which is of course the kingdom of God.

Heb 4:9  There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

There is a future rest of entering the kingdom of God.  The Greek word translated rest here is “sabbatismos”, which comes from the word Sabbath.  The author of Hebrews links the Sabbath day with the future rest of the entering the kingdom of God.

What does the author of Hebrews do?  He links the Sabbath day with entering the Promised Land, which is symbolic of the millennium (the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth).  And he also links the Sabbath with the entering the kingdom of God.

Keeping the Sabbath looks forward to the millennium.

Keeping the Sabbath looks forward to our resurrection as glorified spirit beings in the kingdom of God.

So far we have seen that keeping the Sabbath looks back to the Creation and honours God as our Creator.  And we have also seen that keeping the Sabbath looks forward to the millennium and looks forward to when we enter the kingdom of God as spirit beings.

The Sabbath is also a sign between God and His people.

Exo 31:12  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Exo 31:13  “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.
Exo 31:14  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.
Exo 31:15  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.
Exo 31:16  Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
Exo 31:17  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.’ “

The Sabbath is a sign between God and His people.  The reason given is the same one found in Exodus 20.  “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested”.  God reaffirms that His Sabbath is a sign in Ezekiel.

Eze 20:12  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.

Today, the Sabbath identifies the Jews as being God’s people.  The world in general does not believe in the true God nor the Sabbath.  However, it does recognise the tiny nation of Israel as being the descendants of the ancient Biblical nation of Israel, because the Jews keep the Sabbath.  If the “lost” ten tribes of Israel still kept the Sabbath, then it would serve as a sign that they too are the descendants of the ancient Israel.

Keeping the Sabbath is a sign that identifies God’s people with God.

Keeping the Sabbath is an identifying sign, but not a unique sign.  That is to say, there are other people who keep the Sabbath such as the Jews, who are not Christians.  However, Jesus Christ did tell us a sign that does uniquely identify true Christians.

Joh 13:35  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We have seen that the Sabbath was commanded in the Old Testament, but what about the New Testament?  Do we find instruction to keep the Sabbath in the New Testament?

First, it should be remembered that Jesus kept the Sabbath.  He didn’t keep Sunday.  Here are some references.

Mar 6:2  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.

Luk 4:16  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

Luk 6:6  Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. …

Luk 13:10  Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

The apostle Paul also kept the Sabbath.

Act 13:13  Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

Act 13:42  So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Act 13:43  Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Act 13:44  On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

Act 18:4  And he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

So it’s very clear that the Jesus, the apostle Paul and of course the early church kept the Sabbath.  That was about 2000 years ago.  Will God’s people still be keeping the Sabbath when Jesus Christ returns?

Mat 24:15  “Therefore when you see the ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”  …,
Mat 24:16  “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. …

Mat 24:20  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

There could only be one reason for praying that the journey is not on the Sabbath, and that is God’s people will be keeping the Sabbath prior to Christ’s return.

Furthermore, when Christ returns all flesh will worship on the Sabbath. 

Isa 66:15  For behold, the LORD will come with fire And with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.

Isa 66:23  And it shall come to pass That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.

Christ kept the Sabbath.  The apostle Paul kept the Sabbath.  God’s people will be keeping the Sabbath prior to Christ’s return.

In summary, we have seen five key points about the Sabbath and why God’s people should keep it.

1. Keeping the Sabbath looks back to the Creation and honours God as our Creator.
2. Keeping the Sabbath looks forward to the millennium.
3. Keeping the Sabbath looks forward to our resurrection as glorified spirit beings in the kingdom of God.
4. Keeping the Sabbath is a sign that identifies us with God.
5. Christ kept the Sabbath.  The apostle Paul kept the Sabbath.  God’s people will be keeping the Sabbath prior to Christ’s return.

If you are convicted of the need to keep the Sabbath, a vital question that needs to be addressed is, how should the Sabbath be kept?  An important way is to meet together.

Lev 23:3  Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

The Hebrew word translated convocation means: a public meeting, an assembly.  An important part of keeping the Sabbath is meeting together.  There is also a New Testament scripture which supports this. 

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
Heb 10:25  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

An important part of keeping the Sabbath is meeting together.

The instruction on keeping the Sabbath day is to do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.  There is an example relating to this found in Jeremiah 17.  Jeremiah was a prophet who was sent to warn the kingdom of Judah to stop sinning and obey God.

Jer 17:21  Thus says the LORD: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
Jer 17:22  nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
Jer 17:23  But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

The Sabbath is a day when we don’t go about our normal work.  God employed a carrot and a stick technique to Judah.  Verse 24.

Jer 17:24  “And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,

Here is the carrot:

Jer 17:25  then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.
Jer 17:26  And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD.

And here is the stick:

Jer 17:27  “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” ‘ “

Sadly, ancient nation of Judah experienced the stick for disobedience.  In 589 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem, resulting in the destruction of the city and its temple a few years later.

God is serious about people keeping His Sabbath. 

Later, when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem with the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon, they had a problem with keeping the Sabbath.

Neh 13:15  In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.
Neh 13:16  Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
Neh 13:17  Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?
Neh 13:18  Did not your fathers do thus, [talking about the time of Jeremiah] and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
Neh 13:19  So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.

The people were going about their daily business of trading.  They had their shops or market stalls open on the Sabbath.  They were making money on the Sabbath.

On the Sabbath we should do no work: neither should our children or servants if we have any.  We should cease from our normal job where we make money.

Isaiah chapter 58 gives more insight on how to keep the Sabbath.

Isa 58:13  “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,
Isa 58:14  Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

We note here that we should not do our own pleasure, nor do our own things, nor speak our own words.  What does that mean?  The purpose of the Sabbath is to focus our full attention on God for one day of the week.  Doing our own pleasure, or our own things, or speaking our own words, are all things which take our attention away from God. 

• Doing our own pleasure are things like playing golf, watching sport, or doing some other hobby.
• Doing our own things are things like mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, or going shopping.
• Speaking our own words are things like talking about sports, TV shows or other worldly things.

The Sabbath should be a delight.  God designed the Sabbath to be enjoyable.  We need to have the right balance.  Not so strict that the Sabbath becomes a burden.  And not so liberal that we break the Sabbath.  We need to use wisdom.

On the Sabbath we should not do our own pleasure, or do our own things, or speak our own words.

The Sabbath should be a delight.  God designed the Sabbath to be enjoyable.

A good example to look at is how Jesus Christ keep the Sabbath.  By the time Jesus was born the Pharisees had become very strict regarding the Sabbath. 

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
Mat 12:2  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

According to the Pharisees one should not even pluck heads of grain and eat them.  Today that would be like refraining from picking an apple off your tree and eating it.  Did Jesus agree with their strictness?  No. 

Mat 12:3  But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
Mat 12:4  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

The Greek word translated “profane” means “desecrate”.  Christ said that the temple priests break the Sabbath and yet are blameless.  How is that?  The temple priests performed hard work on the Sabbath with all the sacrificing of animals they had to do.  According to the letter of the law they broke the Sabbath.  Yet, God had instructed the priests to perform the animal sacrifices, so they were blameless. 

Today, for many ministers, the Sabbath is hard work.  They have to preach, sometimes one place in the morning and another place in the afternoon.  According to the letter of the law they break the Sabbath, yet they are blameless because they are doing what God commands.  Continuing in verse 6.

Mat 12:6  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”.

The purpose of the Sabbath is to focus our full attention on God for one day of the week.  God desires Mercy not Sacrifice.  In other words when keeping the Sabbath we look at the bigger picture and do not get caught up on a technicality.  We need to ask ourselves the question: Does what we do on the Sabbath fulfil the overall purpose of the Sabbath?

Mat 12:10  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.
Mat 12:11  Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
Mat 12:12  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Mat 12:13  Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

On many occasions Jesus healed people on the Sabbath and cast out demons on the Sabbath.  The Pharisees were indignant and accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath.  But Jesus told them clearly that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

On the Sabbath it is lawful to do good.

In summary, we have seen five key points about how to keep the Sabbath.

1. An important part of keeping the Sabbath is meeting together.
2. On the Sabbath we should do no work: neither should our children or servants if we have any.  We should cease from our normal job where we make money.
3. On the Sabbath we should not do our own pleasure, or do our own things, or speak our own words.
4. The Sabbath should be a delight.  God designed the Sabbath to be enjoyable.
5. On the Sabbath it is lawful to do good.

These instructions from God about keeping the Sabbath are quite general in nature and consequently God’s people can find themselves keeping the Sabbath differently to other brethren. 

For example, some people won’t watch any TV on the Sabbath, while others might watch the news or a nature program.  Some people will not eat out on the Sabbath, while others are happy to enjoy a meal or coffee in a restaurant fellowshipping with other brethren on the Sabbath. 

There are two things that should be said about this.

Firstly, let us not be judgmental in this.  Let us not judge one another in the specifics of how we keep the Sabbath.

Secondly, whatever is not of faith is sin.  That is to say, if we believe that watching TV on the Sabbath is sin and we watch TV on the Sabbath, then we sin, even though it is not a sin in general.  This principle of what is not of faith is sin is found in the last part of Romans chapter 14.