So here is why I keep the Sabbath, and guess what it is not because the 4th commandment says so. Don't get me wrong the 4th commandment did play a role in why I keep the Sabbath but it is not the reason I keep the Sabbath.
Let me explain,
See I know the Law shows us sin as it is written:
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
So the law does not save or justify but gives us or shows us what sin is.
So why then is the 4th commandment there? here is what it says:
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 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:
So sin is not remembering to keep the Sabbath Holy, but why? what is so important about this 7th day Sabbath that makes it sin not to keep it? The answer I find is in the commandment itself as it is written:
Exo 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.
So the reason is because God created and on this day he rested/stopped and blessed this day and sanctified it or set it apart for Holy use.
This sparked my interest, out of all the 10 commandments 9 of them make sense as sin, don't kill, steal, put God first etc. They all make sense, but the one commandment that makes the least sense is the 4th why keep the 7th day Holy? This is why in verse 11 God gives us a reason.
God wants us to know why it is sin not to keep the 7th day Sabbath, he wants us to understand that the reason He wants us to keep it Holy is because that was the day He made Holy, that He blessed after making the heavens and the earth and us.
So I went back to see this and just as the commandment says so I found as it is written:
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
So suddenly I realized that this day did not become holy when God gave the commandment, but was already holy right back at the beginning before sin even came to this world. And it was Holy because God made it so. This day was special because it was made by God to be Holy to be set apart. Its not different because of a law, its different because God made it so.
What then is the purpose of the law on this point? It serves as a reminder, a call to remember that the day is holy because God made it so as it is written:
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
So the law did exactly what it was meant to do, it pointed out what was sin by showing what was good.
The 7th day Sabbath needs no law to apply because all the commandment does is remind us of the fact that the 7th day was made holy from the beginning. It calls us to remember that it is set apart from other days by God because He rested on that day and made it special.
So you may be wondering, why many who keep the Sabbath use the 4th commandment so much when talking to those who do not keep it. The answer is simple, It is the commandment that points out sin by what is good. To those who break it the law serves to remind and point them to the unchangeable fact that the 7th day has been Holy right back from the foundation of the world.
The law only serves to remind us and point us to why we should be keeping the Sabbath.
Let me explain,
See I know the Law shows us sin as it is written:
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
So the law does not save or justify but gives us or shows us what sin is.
So why then is the 4th commandment there? here is what it says:
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 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:
So sin is not remembering to keep the Sabbath Holy, but why? what is so important about this 7th day Sabbath that makes it sin not to keep it? The answer I find is in the commandment itself as it is written:
Exo 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.
So the reason is because God created and on this day he rested/stopped and blessed this day and sanctified it or set it apart for Holy use.
This sparked my interest, out of all the 10 commandments 9 of them make sense as sin, don't kill, steal, put God first etc. They all make sense, but the one commandment that makes the least sense is the 4th why keep the 7th day Holy? This is why in verse 11 God gives us a reason.
God wants us to know why it is sin not to keep the 7th day Sabbath, he wants us to understand that the reason He wants us to keep it Holy is because that was the day He made Holy, that He blessed after making the heavens and the earth and us.
So I went back to see this and just as the commandment says so I found as it is written:
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
So suddenly I realized that this day did not become holy when God gave the commandment, but was already holy right back at the beginning before sin even came to this world. And it was Holy because God made it so. This day was special because it was made by God to be Holy to be set apart. Its not different because of a law, its different because God made it so.
What then is the purpose of the law on this point? It serves as a reminder, a call to remember that the day is holy because God made it so as it is written:
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
So the law did exactly what it was meant to do, it pointed out what was sin by showing what was good.
The 7th day Sabbath needs no law to apply because all the commandment does is remind us of the fact that the 7th day was made holy from the beginning. It calls us to remember that it is set apart from other days by God because He rested on that day and made it special.
So you may be wondering, why many who keep the Sabbath use the 4th commandment so much when talking to those who do not keep it. The answer is simple, It is the commandment that points out sin by what is good. To those who break it the law serves to remind and point them to the unchangeable fact that the 7th day has been Holy right back from the foundation of the world.
The law only serves to remind us and point us to why we should be keeping the Sabbath.
