The Fourth, Fifth, And Sixth Commandments Series

THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT

“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 ESV)

This commandment is the only one of the ten that is not referenced in the New Testament. God created everything in six consecutive days without any gap in time, then blessed and sanctified it on the seventh day, making it holy.

“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 ESV)

God rested from all work. He doesn’t need physical rest because He is a spirit and never grows weary (John 4:24; Isaiah 40:28). God desires relationships, and He wanted a special day to spend time with Adam and Eve for all eternity, so He blessed and sanctified it, making it holy and giving it as a gift. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week which is Saturday. It starts at dusk on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.

God rested to provide an example for His people to follow and relax as well. But then, His Sabbath rest was interrupted by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and sin entered into the world, so He went back to work for their protection and redemption (John 5:17).

God made a covenant with the nation of Israel that they keep the Sabbath a day of rest and cease laboring. Israel was to keep it holy because it was a ‘sign’ between God and them that He had sanctified and set them apart from all other nations throughout their generations. The observance of the Sabbath made Israel distinctly different from every kingdom surrounding them. This was so important that the punishment for breaking the Sabbath was death! (John 31:14)

During His ministry on earth, Jesus broke the Sabbath to draw attention to His Lordship and the true meaning of the Sabbath rest. He proclaimed that He was Lord of the Sabbath because He is the Lord of our salvation (Matthew 12:8). No human being was created for the Sabbath, but rather, the Sabbath was created for them (Mark 2:27). It was upon the Cross that Jesus finished the redemptive work of God and fulfilled the law of the Sabbath rest (Hebrews 10:12).

Those who repent of their sins and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior enter into the eternal rest of salvation. Jesus said,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

The Christian is His new creation.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (1 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

Keeping the Sabbath day is not mentioned at all in the New Testament. Those who were Born-Again observed the first day of the week, called the Lords Day, for meeting together because it is the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead after breaking the curse of the Law on the Cross (Acts 20:6-7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10). The first day of the week is to be a day of celebration for everyone because Jesus:

- Rose from the dead!

- Met with the Disciples

- Gave the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22)

- Commissioned the Disciples to preach the Gospel (Acts 1:8)

- Ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9)

At Pentecost, the Church began on the first day of the week (Acts2:1-47). The ‘first’ day speaks of the natural life of creation, the eternal life of redemption, the old life of sin, and the new supernatural life found in Jesus. It is the Lord’s day. The Sabbath day speaks of the work of God’s hands and the display of His power. The Lord’s Day speaks of God’s heart and displays His grace. The Sabbath day speaks of the Law and the Lord's Day speaks of His love.

A person enters the Sabbath rest of salvation only through the Cross of Christ.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)