Remember The Sabbath Day

Of all of the Ten Commandments it is the fourth Commandment that is, without doubt the most controversial, the most argued over and the most often broken.  There are many people who will tell you that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross with Jesus.  That those laws no longer apply because we are now under a New Covenant, living under Grace and not the Law.  In one sense they’re completely correct but in another they could not be more wrong.

The laws of the Old Covenant were not ‘done away with’ at the cross – that is not what was nailed to the cross with Jesus.  The penalty for breaking the Old Covenant was certainly nailed to the cross because God in His infinite mercy knew that human beings living in a fallen world under the sway of Satan were simply incapable of keeping God’s everlasting laws.  That every single person, man, woman and child, everywhere broke the laws and ordinances of the Old Covenant.  Under the Old Covenant this effectively meant that not one single human being who ever lived would qualify to become an adopted child of God.

God had not created mankind so that we would fail – He created us so that we would become His true children and live with Him forever.  Therefore, after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, there had to be a New Covenant created.  You might ask the question that if God knew mankind would never be able to fulfil the Old Covenant then why not simply start at the beginning with the New Covenant?  The answer is simple – God knew that human beings, once given the ability to choose for themselves good from evil or right from wrong would need to live under the Old Covenant, at least for a time, in order to understand God’s message and His ultimate plan.  Simply put we had to walk before we could run.

Living under the Old Covenant and all its’ inbuilt penalties was God’s way of teaching mankind the true way to live and the consequences of choosing the wrong path.  The Old Covenant was vital to demonstrate that there is a right way to live and a wrong way to live and the costs involved in the choices we make.  The creation of a New Covenant certainly never, at any time, meant there was anything wrong with the Old Covenant or that the laws and ordinances of that Covenant were in any way defective or needed to be changed.  God knows humanity to be a stubborn and stiff-necked people and knew we would need several thousand years of seeing and living the consequences of our actions before He could implement His New Covenant with its rule of Grace.

The New Covenant was finalised with the death of Jesus but while He lived and preached on earth Jesus taught us what the New Covenant would be, how we would live under the New Covenant and how we would eventually, at His crucifixion, be covered by Grace.  Christ demonstrated through His earthly life how to live the laws of God.  When Christ said ‘love God and love your neighbour as yourself’ He was not giving a new law, He was simply summarising the whole of the Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments, the laws which teach us how to love God and how to love each other remain eternal; including the fourth Commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Christ did not change the Sabbath day, which commenced Friday sunset and ended on sunset Saturday, to Sunday.  Sunday is, was, always has been and always will be the pagan day of celebration of the sun god and NOT a holy day to the true God.  What Christ did do during His earthly ministry was demonstrate to the people that they had bound the Sabbath Commandment around with unnecessary restrictions.  The Jews at the time of Jesus had created so many man-made rules and regulations regarding the Sabbath that the day had become a burden instead of the blessing and joy God intended it to be.

Jesus lived His earthly life keeping the Sabbath holy, and showing all of us how we too could keep the Sabbath holy.  Yes it is a day for contemplation and communion with God, a day for preaching but do not forget that God is infinitely merciful.  If your donkey falls in a ditch on the Sabbath, get it out.  The same principle applies today – if you see someone, or even an animal, suffering on the Sabbath day, stop and assist.  That is holy to God because you are keeping the law by showing love.  Likewise if you or a loved one is ill, see a doctor – just as Jesus healed the man’s hand on the Sabbath, the principle is one of love first.

All of God’s laws and most especially the Ten Commandments, including the fourth Commandment remain eternal but all of God’s laws are based on love.  Love God and love your neighbour as yourself.  Does this mean that you do not have to attend a church and worship on the Sabbath?  Of course not, God wants us to meet with like-minded people and come together on the Sabbath to worship Him and learn about His ways.  However that doesn't always have to be in a building – Jesus taught many Sabbath services outside, by a river or under a tree, for example the Sermon on the Mount.  That sermon was no less valid because it did not take place inside four walls of a temple or church.

Does this mean that if you have been going to church on Sunday that your worship is in vain?  In some ways yes, because you have, unknowingly and unintentionally, not been worshipping the true God but rather following Satan's counterfeit religion.  However do not forget God's mercy and that He looks on the heart to determine if your worship is in vain.  

Sunday is nothing more than the first day of the week and does not demonstrate true worship of God.  It is true that every single day of our lives we should spend in worship of God but He has, in the fourth Commandment, issued us an invitation to spend one particular day a week with Him and that day is Saturday.  Neither God nor Jesus ever changed that day; that day was changed by a man.  That is the reason the fourth Commandment starts with ‘Remember’ – do not forget which day is the true Sabbath and do not forget to keep that appointment with God.

Saturday, the last day of the week, was chosen by God because that was the day He rested from His labours of creation.  He invites us to share that rest with Him each Saturday, in remembrance of His awesome creation, in celebration of His love and to worship Him.  This is not a Jewish law; this is a law for all who want to have a close, loving and personal relationship with Him.

In God's Truth,

Tracey