January 27, 2008

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 Scripture KJV

Reverend David S. Huffer

Westwood Baptist Church - 2124 Davis Road
 Waynesboro, VA

Exodus
20:8    Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
20:9    Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
20:10    But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
20:11    For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

 

Ten Commandment #4 – Making Time For God

Exodus 20:8-11

 

We have been looking at the passage of Scripture we refer to as the 10 Commandments.

·         It is God’s standards for living

The first 4 commandments deal with our relationship with God while the remaining 6 have to do with our relationship to others.

Commandment #1 - Our lives – No other gods before me

Commandment #2 - Our hearts – No graven images

Commandment #3 – Our lips – “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain”

TODAY – Commandment #4 – Our time – “Remember the Sabbath”

 

The Sabbath day was the special sign of God’s covenant with Israel.

·           Given at Mt. Sinai (31:12-18) – Go to and read!

·           With this command, God set Israel apart from its neighbors

·           Other peoples had their own various patterns of work and rest,

·           But – Israel was to set aside one day in seven for rest.

WORD STUDY - Sabbath – means “rest”

·           The day was to be kept holy by ceasing all labor on that day

·           The Sabbath was specifically “the Seventh day” – Saturday

·           It was patterned after the seventh day of rest following for God following the six days of creation.

During the Sabbath, the Israelites worshiped God and recalled His deliverance of them from slavery

THE REQUIRMENT OF THIS COMMANDMENT

A.   Note the two-fold declaration of this commandment

1.       We are commanded to work

·           This part of the command gets overlooked at times

·           It is the purpose for the second part which has to do with rest

Genesis 2:15 – “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

John 5:17 - But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."

2.      We are commanded to rest

·           This is just as important as the command to work

·           God intended that there be a period of time that was set aside in our life when we were not to work, but to spend that time resting and worshipping God

A.   How the Commandment was distorted

1. By Jesus’ day, Jews had taken this wholesome instruction to extremes

·           The Mishnah (a specific work of Rabbinic literature: that which is memorized by rote) contained 39 acts forbidden on the Sabbath

·           EX. Separating 2 threads; tying certain knots; writing two or more letters of the alphabet.)

·           Plus: precautionary measures – Ex. – Tailors were not allowed to take their needles home on Friday, or a scribe his pens.

DEAR FRIEND – Jewish legalism made a beautiful event into a harsh ritual.

Mark 2:27-28 – Listen to Jesus’ words: “And He said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

THERE WERE FOUR BASIC REASONS FOR THE SABBATH COMMAND

A. To Memorialize Deliverance

Deuteronomy 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.”

B. To Memorialize Creation

Exodus 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.”

B.    A Special Sign To Israel

Exodus 31:16-17 – “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 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.”

D. A Day of Rest

Deuteronomy 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.”

OUR RESPONSE TO THIS COMMAND

A. Not To Return To A Sabbath Observance as a Ritual

1. All of the Ten Commandments are reiterated in the N.T. except this one

2. We are no longer under the law but grace

B. We are to follow the pattern of the N.T. Church

·           The early church did not worship on the Sabbath – but bon the first day of the week – Sunday

·           The responsible Christian approach means to take time at least once a week to gather with other Christians and worship God as Creator and redeemer.

Hebrews 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.”

 

WHY DO CHRISTIANS OBSERVE SUNDAY AS THE DAY OF WORSHIP RATHER THAN SATURDAY?

The practice of observing our day of worship on Sunday was not taken from Judaism and gradually given Christian significance.

A.   It was a special day for Christians from the beginning

  1. The Lord was raised on Sunday

Matthew 28:1 – “NOW after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.”

  1. The church was empowered on Sunday

Acts 2:1 – “WHEN the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

  1. The Lord’s Supper Was Taken On Sunday

Acts 20:7 – “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”

  1. The Collection Was taken On Sunday

1 Corinthians 16:1-2 – “NOW concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”

 

B.    The Lord’s Day was Sunday

Revelation 1:10 – “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I

heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet…”

·           Sunday did not become a state holiday until the time of Constantine

·           But it was a special day for Christians from the beginning nof the church

·           It is not correct to refer to Sunday as “the Christian Sabbath”

·           The Sabbath was distinctly Jewish

C. Our Behavior on Sunday should not be governed by Sabbath Law

1. Some forbid any kind of work or play on Sunday

2. Misapplication of the principle of the Sabbath

3. On the other hand, It is not just business as usual

·            It is the Lord’s Day

·            A day to worship and honor the Lord

·            But not because of the Sabbath laws

 

CLOSE

HEAR ME CHURCH – God wants our:

1.       Worship

2.       Love

3.       Witness

4.       Time.

Each of the first four commandments deal with our personal relationship with God.

 

Do you have Christ as your personal Savior?

·           Have you accepted His willing sacrifice on Calvary as the atonement for your sins?

FRIENDS – He loves you today – won’t you come and place your trust in Him?

 

CHRISTIANS – Do we honor God with our time?

·           Are we worshiping Him as we should?

 

God established one day a week for His people to remember Him as their creator – Deliverer- Redeemer – and the One who gives rest to the weary.

 

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