Honor The Sabbath Series

4th commandment

So Far In The Series:Review 1st 3 commandments

Exodus 20 (NKJV)The Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words, saying:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor [b]serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting[c] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Then The Fourth Commandment Is Probably The Most Difficult Of The Ten Because The Issue Of The Sabbath.

Exodus 20:8-11 (NKJV)

8 “Remember [ don’t forget this one] the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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. 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.

Definition of hallowed

1. made holy; consecrated.

synonyms:holy · sacred · consecrated · sanctified

The Way People Observed Sunday Has Changed Over Several Generations:

''Our Great-Grandfathers Called It The Holy Sabbath; Our Grandfathers, The Sabbath; Our Fathers, Sunday; But Today We Call It The Weekend.

In The Fourth Commandment God Gave Instructions About The Observance Of One Day In Our Week That Is More Than A Weekend. ''Remember The Sabbath Day.''

Some people say We Don’t Have To Observe The Sabbath, Because We Are Not Hebrew. The Bible Says,

Exodus 31:16 (NKJV)

16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

Because of this , It’s Tempting To Ignore This Commandment Altogether.It’s Tempting To Say, "Well, Since I’m Not An Israelite, I’m Not Bound By This Commandment. It Really Has No Relevance In My Culture Or My Life." Does This Commandment Have Significance? Is It Relevant For Us Today?Our Culture Says No. It Doesn’t Have Any Relevance Today. Every Day Is The Same As The Next. There’s Nothing Special About A Day, Except That The Weekends Are "Mine." "Sunday Is My Only Day Off. I Should Be Able To Spend It The Way I Want."

This Commandment Is Relevant.Yes, It Is Significant.

Why? Because We Are Still God’s People.

You Might Remember In Ex 20:Verse 2 That God Said, Exodus 20 (NKJV)20 And God spoke all these words, saying:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [a]bondage.

The Letter Of The Law Might Not Apply, But The Principle Of The Law Is Just As Valid And Relevant. Today As It Was When God Gave It To Moses and the Is. We Observe Sunday, The First Day Of The Week As The Day We Set Apart For God Because That’s When , Jesus Christ, Rose From The Dead.

There Are Two Extremes Governing The Work Ethic In Our Culture Today. The First Extreme Is To Work 12 To 16 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week.That’s Not Good.

The Other Extreme Is: That God Did His Work In "6 Long Periods Of Time"

Rather Than 6 - 24 Hour Periods. You Might Buy Into What Some People Call "The Gap Theory" Where God Worked For A While, Then Waited For The Dust To Settle, Then Did Some More Work.

You Might Believe The Earth Is Millions Upon Millions Of Years Old.I Do Not. I Believe That When God Says In Genesis That He Did It In 6 Days, And He Continually Confirms Those 6 Days Throughout The Bible,

He Did It In 6 Literal Days. God Set An Example For Us. Work 6 Days, Then Rest. Work 6 More Days, Then Rest. And So On, And So On...

Why Did He Do That?

Two Reasons:

1. He Understands Better Than All Of Us How The Human Body Works. After All, He Built It From The Ground Up! The Body Needs Rest.