8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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]
Whilst this is another contentious commandment, the Ten Commandments are very specific about what day should be kept holy. Whilst the vast majority of Christians worship on the first day of the week, Sunday, and see no objection, the scriptures seem to tell us something different. We must first realise that God NEVER changes, He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow [James 1:17] and the word of God stands forever [Isaiah 40:8]. So what God says is not up for change, it is constant and stands, because He is perfect and His promises are true [Psalm 18:30]. Because, as we have established, God exists outside of our time, 'eternal' [Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8] what God says through His scripture is also forever, because He exists in all places and in all times at once. This obviously applied to Jesus Christ, “"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" [Hebrews 13:8].
Let's start at the beginning, during creation, at the end of His six day creation He rested on the seventh day, at that point He gave His first decree, He blessed the seventh day and made it Holy [Genesis 3:3] As God's very first command to man it may be significant that it was the first, something that He gave us as a priority ordinance. That seventh day was called the 'Sabbath' the Hebrew word meaning 'rest', Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath [Mark 2:27]. God knew that man could not labour continuously, so He gave man the Sabbath both to rest and to worship Him, it was made 'Holy' [Genesis 3:3]. Moreover it says that not only is the Sabbath a day of solemn rest but it was ordained 'forever' [Leviticus 16:31]. Jehovah did not say it was to be observed until after the resurrection. The word used in Leviticus is the Hebrew 'ôlâm' literally meaning 'to the vanishing point' or to infinity, so when God ordained the seventh day as holy He meant it eternally. God's Word makes it clear that Sabbath observance is a special sign between God and His people.
The Gospels also make it clear that Christ and His disciples, as well as first-century Christians kept the seventh-day Sabbath as commanded—the day we now call “Saturday” [Mark 2:28; Luke 4:16], if Jesus is our role model why do we not observe the seventh day Sabbath? (discuss) There are no verses in the entire New Testament that suggests that God, Jesus, or the apostles ever changed the Sabbath to Sunday—no text, not one word, not the slightest hint or suggestion. Paul or any other apostle ever taught about a change from the seventh day to Sunday, if it had the Jews themselves would surely have protested loudly and at the very lease would have executed Paul or the disciples.
Emperor Constantine, who at the time was a pagan sun-worshipper, came to power in A.D. 313, he legalized Christianity and instigated the Sunday-keeping law. This now infamous Sunday enforcement law of March 7, A.D. 321, reads: “On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” (Ref: Codex Justinianus 3.12.3, trans. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 5th ed. (New York, 1902), 3:380, note 1.) The Sunday law was later officially recognised by the Roman Papacy, and the Council of Laodicea in A.D. 364 decreed, “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday but shall work on that day; but the Lord’s day they shall especially honour, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ” (Ref: Strand, op. cit., citing Charles J. Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church, 2 [Edinburgh, 1876] 316). This is obviously a decree of man as it does not fit with God' character. Which seems to be confirmed by a statement by the Catholic church the 'Catholic Record of London', Ontario, on Sept 1, 1923 stated “Sunday is our mark of authority… the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact” (my emphasis).
It is obvious from the Gospels that Jesus observed the Sabbath, but He told the Pharisees, that it was not a day when absolutely nothing could be done. He healed a woman much to the distress of the Rabbi who told Jesus off, Jesus said that if people could take their animals to water, surely a person could do good and heal someone on the Sabbath [Luke 13:10-17]. What essentials do you think we would be allowed to do on a Sabbath? Jesus, however, devoutly observed the Sabbath, as did His disciples, not only that but Paul, a Roman citizen also conformed to observance of the seventh day. Was it not the apostle Paul's "manner," even as it was Christ's custom, to keep the Sabbath [Acts 17:1-2]. There is much evidence in the early New Testament that the Church of God observed the Sabbath. [Acts 13:14-15; Acts 13:42; Acts 13:44; Acts 18:1-11]. Just as the church did right through to Constantine's edict.
If we look back to the Old Testament we can quickly see that all of these changes against the Bible were prophesied. Daniel prophesied that the church would loose it's way and change the times ordained by God and speak out against Him. Interestingly, Daniel also says that the saints (us) will be worn out (meaning to give up and comply), this seems to be by worldly pressure and the leaders of the church [Daniel 7:25]. Even the New Testament supports this, Jesus stated that His church would stop worshipping Him and obey the commandments of man [Matthew 15:9 & Mark 7:7]. Therefore if we do not speak according to the scriptures and the law, there is “no light” in us [Isaiah 8:20]. One of the reasons that observing the Sabbath is important is because it was to be a sign by which God's people would be identified, meant to continue through all generations. Many say that Abraham's promise and covenant is not for us Christians but for the Jews, only, Israel, however, Galatians 3:28-29 makes it clear that God's law is for everyone. The verses state that there is no difference between Jew or Greek (gentiles) and that we are ALL Abraham's offspring according to God's promise to him. Of course in Paul's time there were people who fell away, but far less than today, because people do not fear God [Romans 3:18]. His statement concludes a vivid and fairly detailed overview of human attitudes and conduct toward God. Are these the same as today, read Chapter three? Much of this attitude can be traced to individuals or persons in authority over parishioners who believe what they are told. Frank Sheedy, a Catholic priest, made the following statement [Our Sunday Visitor, August 12, 1984, p. 11]
“First, there is no commandment that Saturday should be the Sabbath. The six days when we labour and the seventh when we rest [Deuteronomy 5:13] is the commandment. The Jews chose what we now call Saturday to be their Sabbath.”
Is this statement correct? According to this priest, God was not involved in this commandment; it was entirely the work of the Jews. What do you think of this stance?
Do we today have a fear of God? In Old Testament times God ordained that if someone ignored the Sabbath they were to be put to death [Exodus 31:14-15]. This shows just how important the Sabbath really was to God, so why are we not continuing to observe the Sabbath? Does this show that almost ALL fear in God has gone? As the society has been liberalised, over the centuries, civilisation has wandered farther from God, and His devotion by His people has waned.
Because the Sabbath was decreed as a part of the creation of the universe, to which we will always be a part of, the Sabbath reminds us of our Creator-God who not only created this material universe, but who is also creating in Spirit-begotten Christians His holy, righteous spiritual character that will endure forever when they are born into His family. Thus the Sabbath reminds us every day of the Creator God of all the universe and reminds us that His Laws remain in force for ever, as a integral part of His wonderful purpose for mankind.