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This blog is meant to encourage you to do the good works, which were prepared beforehand for those who are saved by grace through faith.  It was for these good works that the Lord created us.

As the Scripture says:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:8-10)

Resting from Work	Keeping Sundays Holy	Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday
The Lord's Day	Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II	Famous Christian Sabbath Observers
Sabbath Period	The Origin of the Sabbath	Righteous Deeds and White Robes
Doing What is Right	Your Rewards Are Based on Your Practice	The Law Established Through Faith
Law of Love in the New Testament	Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?	Why Paul Lived Like a Jew Among the Jews
Is Obedience Optional?	The Cost of Discipleship	Obedience by the Spirit
The Law Fulfilled in Us	The New Covenant	Costly Grace
Partaking of the Divine Nature -- Part I	Partaking of the Divine Nature -- Part II	God Has Not Rejected His Jewish People, Has He?
Faith Works!	The Spirit's Law of Life	The Spirit of the Law
Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?	Righteousness by Faith not Law	The Ebb and Flow of Ministry for the Lord
Compelled by Love	God's Idea of Work	What Then Must We Observe
The Law is Good if Used Lawfully	The Sale of Christian Music and Art -- A Robbers' Den?	Remember the Eternal Law of God
All Our Deeds Are Known to the Lord	Practicing Your Righteousness	The Righteous Will Shine Forth as the Sun
The Ways of Life	Followers of the Way	Judging with Righteous Judgment
Holding Fast the Faithful Word	Whatever You Do, Do All Like This	The Conditional Security of the Believer
No Flesh Will Be Justified by Works	Wesley's Sunday Sabbath Keeping	Running from God
Spiritual Do-It-Yourself	Life by the Spirit, Not Under the Law	Walking by Faith
Obedient to the Heavenly Vision	The One Another Commandments	When the Lord was Angry with Moses
What Shall We Say to These Things	Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work	House of Idleness
Leaving Your Family for the Love of Christ	Overcoming the Fear of Death	Equipped for Every Good Work
Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law	Run with Endurance	Faith in Action
Seven Things That Accumulate Building Materials	Was Paul Speaking of His Past or Present Life in Romans 7?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The Good Samaritan by Dan Burr of Dan Burr Illustration copyright 2013 used by permission.

You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Wesley's Sunday Sabbath Keeping

John Wesley

Since the earliest days of the church, immediately following the resurrection, the Church has been meeting for worship on the first day of the week (Joh 20:19; Ac 20:7-8; 1 Cor 16:2), and the apostles recognized the first day of the week as the Lord's Day. For example, the apostle John wrote, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev 1:10), which is a reference to his worship on the first day of the week. Although some who believe in Saturday sabbath teach that the expression used in this verse refers to the seventh day, that view contradicts the evidence from early Christian writers that wrote in the days immediately following the apostles. Dr. Stephen Flick has written an article containing quotes from those writers, called Sunday Worship or the Lord’s Day in the Early Christianity, proving that "the Lord's Day" was always synonymous with the first day of the week.

As I mentioned in my previous article, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, John Wesley was a famous preacher who kept the Christian Sabbath. I read a comment made by a reader of one of his sermons posted online about the Sabbath, in which the reader wondered why the Methodists worship on Sunday, since their founder Wesley was a Sabbath keeper. The reason is that he believed Sunday was the Sabbath day of the New Covenant, and it is clearly evident throughout his journals that he kept the Lord's Day holy. This can easily be proven by doing a search on the word "Sunday" in his journals posted online.

One of John Wesley's favorite Bible commentators was Matthew Henry (October 18, 1662 – June 20, 1714), who was a Nonconformist minister and author, born in Wales but spending much of his life in England. Incidentally, Henry happens to be my favorite Bible commentator, as well. John Wesley was a great preacher, teacher, evangelist and the founder of Methodism. He was born June 17, 1703 in Epworth, England. In his own commentary of the Bible, John Wesley's Explanatory Notes, he often quoted Henry without using quotes or crediting Henry. He shared many of the same views as Henry, just as I do. So my beliefs are very much in harmony with both of these men. For the sake of today's topic, let's look particularly at the commentaries of these two men on the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8, in order to understand what they believed about the sabbath. The Scripture says:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who [a]stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 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." (Ex 20:8-12).

Matthew Henry	John Wesley
The fourth commandment concerns the time of worship. God is to be served and honoured daily, but one day in seven is to be particularly dedicated to his honour and spent in his service.	The fourth commandment concerns the time of worship; God is to be served and honoured daily; but one day in seven is to be particularly dedicated to his honour, and spent in his service.
It is taken for granted that the sabbath was instituted before; we read of God's blessing and sanctifying a seventh day from the beginning (Gen_2:3), so that this was not the enacting of a new law, but the reviving of an old law.	It is taken for granted that the sabbath was instituted before. We read of God's blessing and sanctifying a seventh day from the beginning, Gen_2:3, so that this was not the enacting of a new law, but the reviving of an old law.
They are told what is the day they must religiously observe - a seventh, after six days' labour; whether this was the seventh by computation from the first seventh, or from the day of their coming out of Egypt, or both, is not certain:	They are told what is the day, they must observe, a seventh after six days labour, whether this was the seventh by computation from the first seventh, or from the day of their coming out of Egypt, or both, is not certain.
How it must be observed. First, As a day of rest; they were to do no manner of work on this day in their callings or worldly business.	How it must be observed; As a day of rest; they were to do no manner of work on this day, in their worldly business.
As a holy day, set apart to the honour of the holy God, and to be spent in holy exercises. God, by blessing it, had made it holy; they, by solemnly blessing him, must keep it holy, and not alienate it to any other purpose than that for which the difference between it and other days was instituted.	As a holy day, set apart to the honour of the holy God, and to be spent in holy exercises. God, by his blessing it, had made it holy; they, by solemn blessing him, must keep it holy, and not alienate it to any other purpose than that for which the difference between it and other days was instituted.
Who must observe it: Thou, and thy son, and thy daughter; the wife is not mentioned, because she is supposed to be one with the husband and present with him, and, if he sanctify the sabbath, it is taken for granted that she will join with him; but the rest of the family are specified. Children and servants must keep the sabbath, according to their age and capacity: in this, as in other instances of religion, it is expected that masters of families should take care, not only to serve the Lord themselves, but that their houses also should serve him, at least that it may not be through their neglect if they do not, Jos_24:15.
Even the proselyted strangers must observe a difference between this day and other days, which, if it laid some restraint upon them then, yet proved a happy indication of God's gracious purpose, in process of time, to bring the Gentiles into the church, that they might share in the benefit of sabbaths. Compare Isa_56:6, Isa_56:7.	Even the proselyted strangers must observe a difference between this day and other days, which, if it laid some restraint upon them then, yet proved a happy indication of God's gracious design, to bring the Gentiles into the church.
God takes notice of what we do, particularly what we do on sabbath days, though we should be where we are strangers.	By the sanctification of the sabbath, the Jews declared that they worshipped the God that made the world, and so distinguished themselves from all other nations, who worshipped gods which they themselves made.
A particular memorandum put upon this duty: Remember it. It is intimated that the sabbath was instituted and observed before; but in their bondage in Egypt they had lost their computation, or were restrained by their task-masters, or, through a great degeneracy and indifference in religion, they had let fall the observance of it, and therefore it was requisite they should be reminded of it.	A late pious Writer seems to prove, That the sabbath was changed, when Israel came out of Egypt; which change continued till our Lord rose again: But that then the Original Sabbath was restored. And he makes it highly probable, at least, That the sabbath we observe, is the seventh day from the creation.
Note, Neglected duties remain duties still, notwithstanding our neglect. It also intimates that we are both apt to forget it and concerned to remember it. Some think it denotes the preparation we are to make for the sabbath; we must think of it before it comes, that, when it does come, we may keep it holy, and do the duty of it.
The reasons of this command. [1.] We have time enough for ourselves in those six days, on the seventh day let us serve God; and time enough to tire ourselves, on the seventh it will be a kindness to us to be obliged to rest.
This is God's day: it is the sabbath of the Lord thy God, not only instituted by him, but consecrated to him. It is sacrilege to alienate it; the sanctification of it is a debt.[3.] It is designed for a memorial of the creation of the world, and therefore to be observed to the glory of the Creator, as an engagement upon ourselves to serve him and an encouragement to us to trust in him who made heaven and earth. By the sanctification of the sabbath, the Jews declared that they worshipped the God that made the world, and so distinguished themselves from all other nations, who worshipped gods which they themselves made.
God has given us an example of rest, after six days' work: he rested the seventh day, took a complacency in himself, and rejoiced in the work of his hand, to teach us, on that day, to take a complacency in him, and to give him the glory of his works, Psa_92:4.	God has given us an example of rest after six days work; he rested the seventh day - Took a complacency in himself, and rejoiced in the work of his hand, to teach us on that day, to take a complacency in him, and to give him the glory of his works.
The sabbath began in the finishing of the work of creation, so will the everlasting sabbath in the finishing of the work of providence and redemption; and we observe the weekly sabbath in expectation of that, as well as in remembrance of the former, in both conforming ourselves to him we worship.	The sabbath begun in the finishing of the work of creation; so will the everlasting sabbath in the finishing of the work of providence and redemption; and we observe the weekly sabbath in expectation of that, as well as in remembrance of the former, in both conforming ourselves to him we worship.
He has himself blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. He has put an honour upon it by setting it apart for himself; it is the holy of the Lord and honourable: and he has put blessings into it, which he has encouraged us to expect from him in the religious observance of that day. It is the day which the Lord hath made,	He hath himself blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it. He hath put an honour upon it; it is holy to the Lord, and honourable; and he hath put blessings into it which he hath encouraged us to expect from him in the religious observation of that day.
let not us do what we can to unmake it. He has blessed, honoured, and sanctified it,
Let not us profane it, dishonour it, and level that with common time which God's blessing has thus dignified and distinguished.	Let us not profane, dishonour, and level that with common time, which God's blessing hath thus dignified and distinguished.

As you can see, their views were very similar, if not identical. John Wesley practically copied and pasted everything Henry had to say about this topic.

Matthew Henry

I would like to draw particular attention to one comment that John Wesley made here. He said, "A late pious Writer seems to prove, That the sabbath was changed, when Israel came out of Egypt; which change continued till our Lord rose again: But that then the Original Sabbath was restored. And he makes it highly probable, at least, That the sabbath we observe, is the seventh day from the creation." Wesley believed that the sabbath we observe on Sunday is the true seventh day from creation, if you were to compute the day back to the original week of creation. He mentions a "late pious Writer" as his reason for believing this. Since we know who his favorite Bible commentator was, and since his views on the sabbath were essentially identical to Henry's, we can assume that he was referring here to Henry.

In Henry's commentary, he stated: "A particular memorandum put upon this duty: Remember it. It is intimated that the sabbath was instituted and observed before; but in their bondage in Egypt they had lost their computation, or were restrained by their task-masters, or, through a great degeneracy and indifference in religion, they had let fall the observance of it, and therefore it was requisite they should be reminded of it."

Henry was saying that God commanded the Israelites to remember the sabbath, which implied that the sabbath already existed from the beginning, and had been observed at some point prior to the giving of the Ten Commandments. He cited three possible reasons why the Jews needed to be commanded to remember the sabbath. One possible reason was that while they were slaves in Egypt, they lost track of which day the sabbath occurred. Another possibility is that their task masters prevented them from keeping it holy. A third possibility is that they degenerated spiritually or became indifferent, and simply stopped observing it. It seems certain that one of these three would have happened, and that is why Wesley says that this "pious Writer seems to prove that the sabbath was changed when Israel came out of Egypt."

The day on which the Jews observed the sabbath remained the same from the time of their wilderness wanderings until the time of Christ, although it was not the seventh day from the Creation. But then at our Lord's resurrection, which according to their calendar at that time was on the first day of the week, the original Sabbath was restored. At that point, God knew exactly which day the true sabbath should be kept, based on the computation of weeks dating back to the Creation. Wesley said that Henry made it very probable that now the sabbath we observe on Sundays is the actual seventh day from the creation. I believe this is very possible. In fact, it is quite probable, and is perhaps the best explanation I have ever heard. 

I also believe that God might have simply changed it so that instead of giving God the last day of the week, we now give Him the first day of the week in worship. Instead of resting after we have worked for six days, we rest on the first day before we begin our work week, as a reminder that now our whole life must be spent in a state of rest and trust in Him. It is also a reminder that we are not returning to observing the Law of Moses, or becoming Jewish, and by resting on the first day, it sets us apart. Likewise, since God created light on the first day of the week, we remember that Jesus is the Light. We are reminded to walk in the light as He is in the light. Just as He rose again from the dead on the first day of the week, we celebrate His resurrection on that day. We are reminded that if we have died with Christ, we will also live with Him (Ro 6:8).

In all likelihood, the explanation I have just given and the ones Henry gave are both correct. Not only was God restoring the original sabbath when Christ rose again, but He was also making all things new (Rev 21:5). This would be consistent with other things that God instituted with the New Covenant. Not only did He give us a New Covenant, (Jer 31:31; Heb 8:8; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), but He has also given us new wine, which flows from the Father in heaven by the Spirit (Mt 9:17). He also gave us a new life (Rom 6:4) and a new self (Col 3:10; Eph 4:24). 

Likewise, when Jesus instituted the New Covenant at the Last Supper, which took place on the Last Passover (Mt 26:17-20), He did not use lamb's meat as the emblem of his body. He used bread and wine, which was new symbolism. The bread represents his body, not lamb's meat, because He is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29; Rev 6:16;17:14; 21:27; 22:3). Otherwise we would have to slaughter a lamb every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, and He has not called us to return to animal sacrifices. He sacrificed His body once for all as the final sacrifice (Heb 7:27; 10:10,12). We now have a better sacrifice. When Jesus fulfilled the Passover, He changed it and gave us the Lord's Supper as a new ceremony instead, and said that whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim His death until He comes (1 Cor 11:26). 

Moreover, instead of circumcision, we now have water baptism as the ceremony for those who decide to follow Jesus and become His disciples. Instead of this ceremony being done as a baby, eight days after birth, it is now done to newborn believers. "All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:3-4).

Similarly, just as Jesus fulfilled the Passover and gave us a New Covenant with new elements, as well as water baptism to replace circumcision, so too, when He rose again, He gave us a new sabbath day of worship -- the Lord's Day. Since He is the Lord of the Sabbath, He has the authority to do this (Mt 12:8; Mk 2:28). Old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17). While we must obey God's commandments, we do so according to the Spirit, rather than the letter. "We serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter" (Rom 7:6). Let this be an encouragement to us all to keep Sundays holy, just as Wesley, Henry, the first Christians, and the apostles did.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. 

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this message, you may also be interested in the other posts on this blog, available through the Home page, especially Resting from Work , Keeping Sundays Holy -- Part I, Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, and Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday. I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, which I discovered after writing this article, as well as Zipporah Mushala’s Second Testimony of Hell, in which she saw a man of God in hell for relying on His obedience to the Law to save him. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday

I've written previously on the need to keep Sundays holy.  If you have not read those posts, please do (see note at the end of this blog).  I know that some people are very opposed to this teaching.  Some feel it is not biblical to keep the Sabbath, which I have already addressed in my previous posts.  Others believe the Sabbath is supposed to be celebrated from Friday evening to Saturday evening.  So I'd like to address that question here in this post. I will be borrowing largely from research done by someone who identifies herself as "ursinsrforgiven" on the official website of brother Yong Doo-Kim.

She provided the following information, which I have revised here, explaining that the true Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday.  I will quote her piece directly, as much as possible, interjecting my own comments in between hers:

Emperor Constantine did not change the Christian Sabbath
Some people claim that Emperor Constantine changed the Sabbath from Saturday to the first day of the week. "A little knowledge of history can easily dispel that myth."

First, consider the common practice of Christians before the time of Constantine, who became emperor in the fourth century. "For Christians two important events happened on Sunday. First, the Resurrection of Christ occurred on Easter Sunday (John 20:1ff). Secondly, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:1ff). Also after His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the Apostles twice, each on Sunday (John 20:19, 26). As a result, Sunday became known as the Lord's Day for Christians." Let's take a close look at those two instances when Jesus appeared to His disciples on Sundays after His resurrection:

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!'” (Joh 20:19).

Matthew Henry, a famous Sunday Sabbath keeper, stated in his commentary on this verse:

"Here is a Christian sabbath observed by the disciples, and owned by our Lord Jesus. The visit Christ made to his disciples was on the first day of the week. And the first day of the week is (I think) the only day of the week, or month, or year, that is ever mentioned by number in all the New Testament; and this is several times spoken of as a day religiously observed. Though it was said here expressly (Joh_20:1) that Christ arose on the first day of the week, and it might have been sufficient to say here (Joh_20:19), he appeared the same day at evening; yet, to put an honour upon the day, it is repeated, being the first day of the week; not that the apostles designed to put honour upon the day (they were yet in doubt concerning the occasion of it), but God designed to put honour upon it, by ordering it that they should be altogether, to receive Christ's first visit on that day. Thus, in effect, he blessed and sanctified that day, because in it the Redeemer rested."

"A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!'" (Joh 20:26, NIV).

Matthew Henry commented on this verse:

"He deferred it so long as seven days. And why so? (1.) That he might put a rebuke upon Thomas for his incredulity. He had neglected the former meeting of the disciples; and, to teach him to prize those seasons of grace better for the future, he cannot have such another opportunity for several days. He that slips one tide must stay a good while for another. A very melancholy week, we have reason to think Thomas had of it, drooping, and in suspense, while the other disciples were full of joy; and it was owing to himself and his own folly. (2.) That he might try the faith and patience of the rest of the disciples. They had gained a great point when they were satisfied that they had seen the Lord. Then were the disciples glad; but he would try whether they could keep the ground they had got, when they saw no more of him for some days. And thus he would gradually wean them from his bodily presence, which they had doted and depended too much upon. (3.) That he might put an honour upon the first day of the week, and give a plain intimation of his will, that it should be observed in his church as the Christian sabbath, the weekly day of holy rest and holy convocations. That one day in seven should be religiously observed was an appointment from the beginning, as old as innocency; and that in the kingdom of the Messiah the first day of the week should be that solemn day this was indication enough, that Christ on that day once and again met his disciples in a religious assembly. It is highly probable that in his former appearance to them he appointed them that day seven-night to be together again, and promised to meet them; and also that he appeared to them every first day of the week, besides other times, during the forty days. The religious observance of that day has been thence transmitted down to us through every age of the church. This therefore is the day which the Lord has made."

Moreover, with a bit of research, I easily verified that the first Pentecost in Acts 2 was on the first day of the week (see here).  And the early church continued to assemble together on the first day of the week to break bread, as we read in the book of Acts:

"On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.: (Ac 20:7)

"The Romans had an 8 day week with the 8th day being a market day. The Romans never ceased working on their 7th day which they called Dies Solis. In 321, Emperor Constantine issued an edict forbidding work on the Christian Sabbath. That edict never became part of Roman law. In the Theodosian Code, all Constantine did was close the courts on the day he called Dies Solis which just happened to coincide with the Christian Sabbath."

"Constantine and his advisers noticed that the Christian Sabbath corresponded with the Roman Dies Solis or Day of the Sun so they used that to merge Christianity with Roman paganism."

"Christians by this time were already meeting together for worship on the first day of the week. Many, if not most, had been doing so for at least a couple centuries before Constantine arrived on the scene. They did not call this day Sunday, but rather referred to it as the Lord's Day, in honor of Christ's resurrection from the dead. And history does not support statements by the Catholic Church that they changed the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday. This is an inconsistent argument that fails to make any sense."

Emperor Leo I was the first truly Christian Emperor—not Constantine.
"In 469, the Emperor passed legislation outlawing work on the Sabbath and commanding all to observe the day of the Resurrection with reverence. Obviously he wanted all the people to keep the 4th Commandment."

"Leo's coronation as Emperor on February 7, 457, was the first known to involve the Patriarch of Constantinople.  In 469, Leo issued an edict concerning the 'Christian Sabbath or the Lord's Day.' Here is Constitution LIV (54) from the Constitutions of Emperor Leo:"

A law was in force among the disciples of these distinguished men which directed that every kind of labor shall be suspended on the day of the Resurrection. There is, however, another which contradicts this, and provides that all persons shall not be prevented from working upon that day, but that some should be indulged in this respect; for it declares that judges, the inhabitants of cities, and all artisans should rest on this venerated day, but that persons residing in the country can freely engage in the cultivation of their fields, which exception is not founded upon reason. For although, in this instance, the pretext that the crops must be saved can be alleged, this excuse is of no weight, and indeed is futile, as when God gave Us the fruits of the earth he intended that they should be preserved by the effect of the sun, to which, rather than to the industry of the cultivators of the soil, is due the abundance of the crops, and should be so attributed; and as the existence of a law of this kind dishonors the worship of the Lord, and is contrary to what was prescribed by those who, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, obtained a victory over all their adversaries, We hereby decree, in accordance with the 'wishes of the Holy Spirit,' as proclaimed by Jesus Christ and His Apostles, that, during the sacred day when Our redemption is celebrated, everyone shall desist from labor, and neither farmers nor anyone else shall be allowed to perform any unlawful work. For if those who observed only the shadow and semblance of the laws had so much respect for the Sabbath as to strictly abstain from every kind of labor, how can those who are enlightened by divine grace, and cultivate the truth, fail to exhibit the same reverence for the one day out of seven which has been consecrated to the glory of God, and on which he has honored Us, and delivered Us from death? And when one day of the seven has been dedicated to Our Lord, does it not evince contempt for religion to refuse to be satisfied with working during the other days and not preserve this one sacred and inviolate for God, nor make a distinction between it and the others by using it for the same purpose? (Constitution LIV).

"We can directly cite the writings of Christians who lived in the first century - centuries BEFORE Eusebius or Constantine. Even though these writings do not have the same authority as the Bible, they are still reliable historical sources - preserving the thoughts, beliefs and lifestyle of Christians during the first century. These writings include the Didache (a church manual written by the Apostles during the 1st century), the Epistle of Barnabas (c. 100 A.D.) and the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred in Rome before 110 A.D. Translations of these classic Christian writings can be found at the local public or university library. The following quotes were cited from Early Christian Writings (Penguin Classics, 1987). According to the Didache, the Apostles wrote:"

Assemble on the Lord's Day, and break bread and offer the Eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one. [The Didache 14:1]

"This passage is very similar to Acts 20:7. Also note the connection between the breaking of bread and the Eucharist (cf. Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 10:16; 11:23ff). St. Barnabas in his epistle devotes a whole chapter on the issue of the Sabbath. He concluded by writing:"

And we too rejoice in celebrating the eighth day; because that was when Jesus rose from the dead... [Epistle of Barnabas 15]

"St. Barnabas in using the phrase 'the eighth day' was referring to Sunday. Perhaps the most powerful statement was made by St. Ignatius of Antioch. Before 110 A.D., St. Ignatius wrote to the Magnesians:"

We have seen how former adherents of the ancient customs have since attained to a new hope; so that they have given up keeping the Sabbath, and now order their lives by the Lord's Day instead - the Day when life first dawned for us, thanks to Him (Jesus) and His death. [Epistle to the Magnesians 9]

"This passage indicates that early Christian converts from Judaism began to observe the Lord's Day in honor of Christ's Resurrection. From their writings it is clear that Christians already during the first century were observing the Lord's Day on Sunday."

"As baptism replaced circumcision (Col 2:11-12) for Christians, so does Sunday replace Saturday. Observance of the Lord's Day is not a 'mark of the beast' but the mark of being Christian."

Early Church Fathers' Writings

Epistle of Barnabas 2:4-6 (c. 130 A.D.)

For He has made it clear to us through all the prophets that He needs neither sacrifices nor whole burnt offerings nor general offerings, saying on one occasion: 'What is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?' says the Lord. 'I am full of whole burnt offerings, and I do not want the fat of lambs and blood of bulls and goats, not even if you come to appear before Me. For who demanded these things from your hands? Do not continue to trample My court. If you bring fine flour, it is in vain; incense is detestable to Me; your new moons and Sabbaths (Saturday) I cannot stand.' Therefore He has abolished these things, in order that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is free from the yoke of compulsion, might have its offering, one not made by man.

Epistle of Barnabas 15:8-9 (c. 130 A.D.)

Finally, He says to them: 'I cannot bear your new moons and sabbaths(Saturday).' You see what He means: it is not the present sabbaths that are acceptable to Me, but the one that I have made; on that Sabbath, after I have set everything at rest, I will create the beginning of an eighth day, which is the beginning of another world. This is why we spend the eighth day in celebration, the day on which Jesus both arose from the dead and, after appearing again, ascended into heaven." (11)The Didache (or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) 14:1 (c. 70 A.D.)"On the Lord's own day gather together and break bread and give thanks, having first confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure." (12)

"The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus (c. 260-339 A.D.) is probably one of the most important works on early Church history available, covering the events of its first three centuries. As one born during the early Church period, Eusebius was an able historian who had a close view of the events that helped shape the historical and theological developments of the early Church."

Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chapter 5 (c. 315 A.D.)

For as the name Christians is intended to indicate this very idea, that a man, by the knowledge and doctrine of Christ, is distinguished by modesty and justice, by patience and a virtuous fortitude, and by a profession of piety towards the one and only true and supreme God; all this no less studiously cultivated by them than by us. They did not, therefore, regard circumcision, nor observe the Sabbath (Saturday), neither do we; neither do we abstain from certain foods, nor regard other injunctions, which Moses subsequently delivered to be observed in types and symbols, because such things as these do not belong to Christians. (13)

Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, Chapter 23 (c. 315 A.D.)

The churches throughout the rest of the world observe the practice that has prevailed from apostolic tradition until the present time, so that it would not be proper to terminate our fast on any other but the day of the resurrection of our Savior. Hence there were synods and convocations of the bishops on this question; and all unanimously drew up the ecclesiastical decree, which they communicated to all the churches in all places, that the mystery of our Lords resurrection should be celebrated on no other day than the Lords day. (15)

Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (c. 178 A.D.)

The duty of celebrating the mystery of the resurrection of our Lord may be done only on the day of the Lord. (16)

Justin Martyr (c. 100-165 A.D.)
"Justin Martyr lived during the reign of Antonius Pius and suffered martyrdom in 165 A.D. during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He was an enthusiastic evangelist of the Gospel, and after traveling widely throughout the Roman Empire settled in Rome as a Christian teacher. While there, neighboring philosophers plotted against him because of his Christian profession, brought him up before the Roman authorities, who carried out his execution by beheading him."

The First Apology of Justin, Chapter 67

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things ... But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead. (17)

"This is the Church of which Christ said 'the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.'" The Lord is quite capable of preserving and/or restoring Truth in His Church over the centuries. "Also, the men who wrote letters such as these to the early Christians were the type of people of whom were spoken of in Hebrews 11. (Hebrews 11:35-40)." 

"Many early Church leaders and followers of Christ such as Ignatius, Polycarp and Justin Martyr, to name a few, suffered severe persecution and eventual martyrdom at the hands of the Romans for spreading the Gospel of Christ. But to keep to the main point, Sabbath-keeping was not a requirement (talking about Saturday, the old Sabbath.) in those days for all Christians, nor was it generally observed."

In the fourth century, John Chrysostom cited Acts 20:7 as testimony. According to this verse in the Bible, the disciples assembled together on Sunday, the first day of the week, to celebrate the Lord’s Supper:

Scripture never mentions any Sabbath day (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week.  "And on the first day of the week, when we were assembled together to break bread [the Lord's Supper], Paul discoursed with them, intending to leave the next morning; and he kept on with his message until midnight." (Acts 20:7)

"Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food or drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath (Saturday). These are only a SHADOW of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Col. 2:16-17)"

"According to these verses, the Hebrew diet, festivals and Sabbaths are no longer obligations for Christians. These were only a FORESHADOWING of things to come in Christ. The focus now is Christ (2 Cor. 3:7-17). Elsewhere Paul told the Corinthians to contribute money to the Church each Sunday (1 Cor 16:1-2)."

"NOW CONCERNING the money contributed for [the relief of] the saints (God's people): you are to do the same as I directed the churches of Galatia to do.On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come." (1 Cor 16:1-2).

"This would be a strange request, if Christians assembled on Saturdays...According to Rev. 1:10, John was 'in the Spirit on the Lord's day.' This is the only place in the Bible where the phrase 'the Lord’s day' occurs. If his vision occurred on Saturday, St. John would have written 'the Sabbath' instead of using a new [expression]. Even though the disciples may have attended the synagogues on the Sabbath to evangelize (Acts 18:4), there is already a definite transition from the Sabbath to the Lord's Day in the New Testament."

[end of article by "ursinsrforgiven" accompanied by my comments]

The Days of the Week in Other Cultures
Obviously, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, Sunday is considered to be the first day of the week. In this tradition, biblical Sabbath corresponds to Saturday, and the day following Sabbath is the first day of the week corresponding to Sunday, which the Hebrews call Yom Rishon (literally "First Day").  Certainly this is the pattern followed throughout all of the Scriptures, including the New Testament.  Both the ancient Jews and the early Christians designated the days by numbers (as was first done in Genesis 1), while the sixth and the seventh were also called ‘the Preparation’ and 'the Sabbath’ respectively.  However, it is interesting to note that not all cultures consider Saturday to be the seventh day.  Some consider Sunday the seventh day of the week and Monday as the first day.

For example, we spent nearly five years in Hungary, where Sunday is the seventh day.  According to Wikipedia, "The Slavic, Baltic and Uralic languages (except Finnish and partially Estonian) adopted numbering [the days], but took Monday rather than Sunday as the "first day".  Therefore, when people become dogmatic that the biblical Sabbath day of worship must be on Saturday, they are doing so from a culturally-centered or traditional point of view.

Moreover, there is further evidence that other cultures of the world consider Sunday to be the day of worship. For example, Wikipedia states that one "Chinese numbering system, found in spoken Mandarin and in southern dialects/languages (e.g. Wu, Yue and Min), refers to Sunday as the 'day of worship' and numbers the other days 'first [day after] worship' (Monday) through to 'sixth [day after] worship' (Saturday). The Chinese word used for 'worship' is associated with Christian and Muslim worship."  Likewise, many European languages, including all of the Romance languages, have changed the name of Sunday to the equivalent of "the Lord's day" in English (based on the Latin dies Dominica). In Russian and Portuguese, their word for Sunday means "resurrection."

These are just a few examples of how certain aspects of the world's languages point to the Truth of God's Word.

The Sun of Righteousness
The fact that Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, rose from the dead on Dies Solis (the "sun's day") is another such redemptive analogy.  The prophet Malachi prophesied four hundred years before Christ:

"But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves." (Mal 4:2)

As I wrote in my article, Light of the World, "The word for sun in this passage is the Hebrew word , שׁמשׁ, 'shemesh' (sheh'-mesh). It comes from an unused root meaning to be brilliant; the sun. So while the expression 'Sun of Righteousness' sounds like the English expression 'Son of Righteousness,' this is not the case in the original Hebrew language the Scripture was written in. This Hebrew word shemesh is the same word used for the actual sun in our sky, which is the closest star to the earth." It sounds nothing like "ben," the Hebrew word for son.  But the Scripture does not confuse God with the sun, and never does it teach that the sun is God or that we should worship the sun.

The Psalmist wrote, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Psa 84:11)

The apostles, as well as the Church fathers, from Justin downward, and nearly all the earlier commentators understood the "Sun of Righteousness" to be Christ, who is described as the rising sun.  The apostle Paul wrote, "Christ will shine on you" (Eph 5:14b). The apostle Peter wrote of the day dawning and the Morning Star (a figurative reference to Christ as the sun) rising in your hearts (2 Pe 1:19). The apostle John wrote about the New Jerusalem in heaven: "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Rev 21:23). Jesus refers to Himself as "the Light of the World" (Jn 8:12) and "the Bright Morning Star" (Rev 22:16).  Clement of Alexandria wrote of "the Sun of the Resurrection, he who was born before the dawn, whose beams give light". The prophet Isaiah also wrote:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." (Is 60:1-3).

Therefore, it's no coincidence that Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, known at that time in the Roman empire as Dies Solis (the "sun's day").  He alone is the only sun to be worshiped, which the prophets foretold. Anyone who takes issue with the fact that we worship the Lord on Sunday has missed the intended prophetic significance.

In Conclusion
I think the article by the sister I have quoted above was well-done and sums up my own thoughts on the matter succinctly. 

I acknowledge that there are different opinions in the Body of Christ about which day is the Lord's Day or Christian Sabbath according to the Bible.  I have my opinion, which is that the Christian Sabbath is on Sundays. Unfortunately Seventh Day Adventists teach that keeping Sunday's holy is or will become the mark of the beast, and they dogmatically insist that the Christian Sabbath is on Saturdays (see Seventh-day Adventist Heresies).

However, the focus should always be on the Lord, not on passing judgment on others regarding which day they believe is the Sabbath day.  You cannot rely on your obedience to the Law to save you, because it is only by grace that you are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-10).  Always remember that we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5).

I think the main reason why it is so important for us to assemble ourselves together for worship on the same day -- the Lord's day -- is for the sake of unity.  When we assemble together in the Lord's name, there is greater power in the spirit than when we pray separately, and the enemy fears this. 

As a believer in Christ, you have a great deal of freedom in this matter, but with that freedom comes a great responsibility.  You will be accountable to God for your decision, and subsequent actions, so make your decision wisely.  If you are a pastor, I recommend you diligently search the Scriptures, pray and ask the Lord for guidance, and then be led by the Spirit in obedience to the Word.  If you are not a pastor, then submit to your leaders and honor the day they designate for worship.

I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, which I discovered after writing this article.

Please also see my previous posts on this blog about keeping Sundays holy:
Resting from Work
Keeping Sundays Holy - part I
Keeping Sunday Holy - part II
Famous Christian Sabbath Observers
The Lord's Day
Sabbath Period
Light of the World

Seventh-day Adventist Heresies

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.  

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Lord's Day

I realize that a vast number of Christians today think the Sabbath has been repealed in the New Testament.  Here are some Scriptures about the Sabbath that I read this morning:





Lord of the Sabbath
Let's start with the basics. The fourth commandment says: "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 of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the 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." (Exo 20:8-11)

So what about the New Testament.  Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man...” (Mar 2:27).  In saying this, He did not repeal it, but affirmed the need for the Sabbath.  In fact, he declared, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mar 2:28).  While Jesus taught that certain emergency situations may be necessary on a rare occasion on a Sabbath, and he taught that it is lawful to do good and to save life on the Sabbath, he never taught that it is an ordinary day like every other day.

Even in speaking about the last days, Jesus expected the Sabbath to be observed.  When he spoke about the time of great tribulation upon the earth, he said that His people would need to flee.  "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will." (Mat 24:20-21).  It's clear from this passage that His heart was for His people to keep the Sabbath day holy until the very end of the age when He returns.

The Lord's Holy Day
He says, "If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isa 58:13-14).  So through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord taught the following practices regarding ways to keep the Sabbath day holy:

1. Turn you foot from seeking and doing your own pleasure.  Desist from your own ways. This includes sports, fishing, hiking, shopping, television, internet surfing, Facebook, eating out, and anything else you might enjoy doing to please yourself on Sunday. 
2. Call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable.  Be careful not to speak disparagingly about the Lord’s holy day, but speak about it with delight and honor.
3. Honor it.  This means to hold it in high esteem, as the Lord’s holy day.  Here are the kinds of things that will honor the Lord on the Sabbath: evangelizing the lost, preaching the gospel, teaching the Word, assembling yourselves together for worship and service to the King, visiting the sick and imprisoned, praying for the sick and healing them.
4. Desist from speaking your own word. Be careful that your conversations are not about worldly things or mere idle talk.  Speak lovingly about the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit with great honor.  Praise the Lord! Take delight in Him.  Encourage one another with Scriptures.  Share testimonies of His faithfulness and power in your life. Sing spiritual songs to one another and make melody in your hearts to the Lord.  Let your conversation be heavenly, from above, not earthly.

If you do these things, then the Lord will make you ride on the heights of the earth, and He will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.

Moody and Wesley upheld the Sabbath
I recently read portions of two articles by famous preachers about keeping the Sabbath holy, which upheld this teaching.  One was by D.L. Moody and the other was by John Wesley. They were among the many Famous Christian Sabbath Observers that I have written about elsewhere. By the way, these famous preachers both believed that the Christian Sabbath is on Sunday, not Saturday, as I have covered in my article by that title (see here).

Personal Testimonies
I'd also like to share a couple of personal testimonies.

1. The first one is in "Baptized by Blazing Fire," Book 5 (p. 213-216).  This testimony is given by a pastor, who had attended the all night prayer meeting at the Lord's Church and read the book.  Gok Sung, Mok Sa dong Full Gospel Church - Testimony by brother Gong, Tek Mo:

"After a short time, an unexpected accident occurred to one of our church members. It was on February 18th, 2007, Sunday, a Korean new year. This member was a high school student who had just graduated and was about to enter his freshman college. This student was a drummer on the worship team and he also served as a Sunday school teacher. On the day of the accident, he had played drums on the worship team for the service on Sunday. After the service, I went to look for him to have lunch with him but I could not find him. When I asked another member if he knew the where abouts of the student, he replied and told me that he had left during the middle of the sermon. The student had left to attend a student gathering with the other former high school classmates. I was perplexed and could not believe what I was hearing. Before this accident had occurred, I was emphasizing to the congregation of the seriousness to live a Holy life. Even after I had read the fire books, I was now emphasizing it to a greater degree. I was emphatic about keeping Sundays Holy and Christians living according to the Word of God. This student had violated the Sunday and got drunk at the student gathering. He was killed from his injuries in a vehicle accident. The other students were seriously injured as well. Once I was informed of the accident, I rushed to the emergency room at National University Hospital. When I arrived in the emergency room, the doctor was performing mouth to mouth resuscitation. It looked hopeless. As I was thinking, I knew if he died right now he would end up in hell. I felt like the world was falling apart. I left the emergency room and earnestly prayed. 'Lord, this is my fault. I did not teach and nurture him correctly. I could not lead him to live a righteous Holy life.'"

"Even though I prayed and beseeched the Lord to give him another chance, the student eventually died. I was in much mental suffering from this episode. As I got into the car to return to church, the Lord opened the spiritual eyes of Deacon Cho. God showed the deacon the path of the student in which he was walking forward to."

Brother Gong, Tek Mo later testifies that individuals in his church visited hell in the spirit and the Lord made sure to show them this young man suffering their in torment: "In our all night prayer service, the Lord granted the church members to experience hell. Of all the experiences, the most painful to experience is to witness the student who was in the car accident. He was a brother who had church with us not too long ago. Now, when I see him tormented in the fiery flames of hell, I am in pain and frightened myself. I was thinking that I must live a faithful Christian life. Whenever I witness the scenes of hell, I am not able to sleep and usually lose my appetite."

"Deacon Cho works at a company. Ever since he witnessed the sight of the souls being tormented in hell, he fiercely clings on to his job. He is now constantly reminded of the souls tormented in hell. He tries to forget what he has seen by intently focusing on his job. He said that he can not stop thinking about how he must live a faithful Christian life. This is reminded to him through the student who is now experiencing misery in hell. This is the brother/student who had only worshiped and had service with him several days ago. The deacon then had to witness the student in hell more than ten times even after his previous visitations. Even now, when he visits hell, the Lord will show the student to the deacon. The Lord's intention was to reinforce to the church members that hell was a serious place of torment and that they should not come to hell. When the deacon hears the student, the student would ask, 'Deacon Cho, I am thirsty, please give me some water.' The deacon's heart is torn up. As I even journalize all this, I write with streams of tears running down my face."

2. The second testimony was posted on the website of The Lord's Church, by a lady who identifies herself as "Sammy Sam."  She states:

"My husband owns his business so he thought that success meant working 7 days a week. He would rush to church on Sundays.. rush back.. eat his meal in a rush and then rush to work until sometimes 10 or 11 pm... I prayed and begged him not to work on Sundays because I wanted to keep the Sabbath day holy. He took me for granted to say the least.....but I continued in prayer and fasting. One day his friend asked him to use his truck to help him with moving some heavy equipment, he went to the company as as soon as he was about to go through the gate the gate slammed shut without any one closing it... everyone was in awe and they said that that has never happened before. He then told his friend that he does not think that he should be here on Sunday working."

"He kept the Sabbath a few times but he then got a huge job promising him BIG money and that he could not refuse so he decided to work that Sunday and I went to church without my husband. That morning his truck would not start for some reason he rushed to the store to purchase the parts that he thought was the problem but upon changing the part he realised that the issue was not what he thought. He went back to the store bought different parts, which helped him move his truck and headed to work. As he was heading to work.... he was involved in a minor accident with a fire truck. The police was called to the scene; that earned him some demerit points.... blah... blah.. blah... NOW he does not venture out on a Sunday... goes to church comes home and attempts to keep the Sabbath holy to the best of his ability."

"GOD is not mean. He hears the cry of the righteous and heeds those cries. If we seek him diligently about the Sabbath which is so dear to his heart, then he will make ways for us to keep it holy. He is a just GOD. We may just need to spend some more time on our knees."

Putting it All Together
It's my hope that this post on the Lord's Day has helped you to see the importance of keeping it holy.  The fourth commandment has not been abolished.  Sabbath observance was not repealed by Jesus.  Rather He upheld it! He's the Lord of the Sabbath, and it is His holy day.  We are commanded to remember it and keep it holy until He returns.  While that may have become unpopular today and faded from common practice among Christians, famous preachers during the 18th and 19th centuries, like D.L. Moody and John Wesley certainly taught it.  The testimonies given here are a stark reminder that God will not be mocked.  That includes the observance of the Sabbath.

If you are a pastor, I recommend you diligently search the Scriptures, pray and ask the Lord for guidance, and then be led by the Spirit in obedience to the Word.  If you are not a pastor, then submit to your leaders and honor the day they designate for worship.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Beautiful sun rise photo from HD Wallpapers

Author's note: I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, which I discovered after writing this article, as well as Zipporah Mushala’s Second Testimony of Hell, in which she saw a man of God in hell for relying on His obedience to the Law to save him. If you enjoyed this post, you may also like my other posts in this blog available through the Home page, especially Resting from Work, Keeping Sundays Holy, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, and Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?  You can find more articles like this on the Home page for Working God's Way. You may also access a collection of my most popular blogs at "Writing for the Master."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Keeping Sundays Holy

I previously wrote about Resting God's Way.  In that post, I tried to explain the need to keep the Sabbath holy, and proved from Scripture that God expects us to do so.

Since that time, I have been reading an amazing book by brother Yong-Doo Kim, called Baptize by Blazing Fire.  In Book three, he documents how he inquired of the Lord about the matter of Sundays, and the answer he received from the Lord Jesus Christ will probably shock you.


I would like to now include an excerpt directly from his book about this:

Excerpt from the book:
*Keeping Sunday Holy, Do Not Spend Money On Sundays

    I decided to ask the Lord about Sundays, the Sabbath day: how we should keep it Holy and if we are to spend any money on Sundays. I wondered how He thought about it. “Lord! Currently, I see many churches and saints not keeping Sundays holy. Sundays are utilized by families to eat out, as a day for recreation, and to spend time on their hobbies. They say that if those things are done for the sake of the gospel, it is justified. Their conviction of keeping Sundays holy is lackadaisical at best. Moreover, their faith has no convictions to God‘s Word. The servants of God are not emphasizing the importance of this subject in their sermons. Furthermore, Sunday evening services are gradually decreasing and being eliminated. Most only have day services. Please give me your thoughts on this subject.”

    As soon as I asked, the Lord became quickly angry. His expression changed and His anger showed on His face. The Lord wanted me to reference and document scripture: scripture that described kindling a fire to those who do not keep Sunday holy.

        “But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates of thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and it shall not be quenched.” (Jeremiah 17:27)

        “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call a Sabbath a delight, the Holy of the Lord, honorable and shall honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words. Then shall thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58:13-14)

        “For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day” (Matthew 12:8)

        “Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” (Matthew 12:12)

    The Lord had commanded us to keep Sundays Holy in every way. He rebuked watching television, dining out with family, and other secular activities. Furthermore, the Lord did not permit Christians to run any business of any kind for profit on Sundays. He also did not approve Saints to do any shopping on Sundays.

    As a matter of fact, only a few saints barely made it to heaven that did not keep Sundays properly. And on the contrary, there were an over flowing number of saints who were in hell for not keeping Sunday holy. The saints in hell were shouting in anguish. They were experiencing countless degrees of torment.

    The Lord commanded: “Look at those souls! Those souls did not consider my day with much relevance. They had made my day unclean. Look very closely.” The church congregation and I had witnessed a shocking scene. We were in total shock. After witnessing the scene, I concentrated on repenting of not keeping Sundays Holy in every way.

    We need to adjust our concept of Sundays. There are numerous saints who think that spending money on Sundays is justified if it is for the sake of the gospel. With that thought, they spend money on Sundays.

        “And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)

    If we simply justify spending money for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of people, then everybody will validate with their own reasoning to spend money on Sundays. Eventually, they will continuously create more special cases or reasons to spend money. Within time, people will create their own excuses to spend money on Sundays.

    The Lord had clearly clarified the reality of the church’s deception.

    The Lord stated. “People obfuscate, misuse, and abuse the commandment of Sunday for the sake of the gospel. They do it consistently. Do not spend money on Sundays! Once men have decided to do what is in their hearts, they present their reasons or justifications to break the commandment at any cost.” The Lord looked very serious. His majesty overflowed. His seriousness and majesty vividly touched me.

    Moreover, on Sundays, Jesus did not want us to spend any money on the coffee machine before or after a meal in church. The Lord desired us to raise money for missions and missionaries on weekdays and not on Sundays. The Lord told me to document this problem. Currently, the people throughout the churches cry out for revival and reformation but the ministers and church congregations must first be changed. They must fearfully repent. They do not properly teach or proclaim keeping Sunday Holy. In fact, they treat this matter with negligence. The Lord had given a stern warning.

    Any kind of events held in the house of God must be free of charge. Many churches today sell meal tickets since they have numerous attendants. Purchasing meal tickets is not keeping Sundays Holy. The Lord meticulously showed me how Korean churches and the saints therein are not approved by our Holy God -- just by not keeping Sunday Holy.

    The Lord also wanted the church to feed any guest speakers at either the Pastor’s house or a saint’s house if the special event is held on Sundays. The Lord did not want the church to take the guest speaker out to a restaurant on Sundays. If the church had a kitchen, the guests could be fed there. The Lord ended His admonition by stating that He forbade us to spend money on Sundays....

     As a Pastor, I had never properly taught my congregation about keeping Sundays Holy. I, myself, have not kept Sundays Holy as well. Therefore, I repented. Now with a fearful and trembling heart, I wholly keep Sundays Holy. My family and I, including the church congregation, avoid going out for personal pleasures of any kind. Now on Sundays, we gather together in church to have service and evangelize. We gain rest from it.

[End of excerpt from Baptize by Blazing Fire, Book 3.]

You can read more of a Scriptural explanation for keeping Sundays holy on my other post called Resting from Work.  And Part II of this article is now posted online at Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II. 

Putting it All Together

Here are the lessons I've learned from this part of the book, which are essentially quotes:

• We entangle ourselves with various kinds of business and/or recreational activities and give the excuse that we are too busy for the Lord. We then often forget the Lord. Rather than relying on the Kingdom of God, we rest on our current physical world. As a result, we miss hearing the voice of God. Slowly and gradually, we change and follow the life that is irrelevant to the Lord.
• Always put the Lord and His business first.
• We need to adjust our concept of Sundays.
• People obfuscate, misuse, and abuse the commandment of Sunday for the sake of the gospel. They do it consistently. Do not spend money on Sundays!
• If we simply justify spending money for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of people, then everybody will validate with their own reasoning to spend money on Sundays. Eventually, they will continuously create more special cases or reasons to spend money. Within time, people will create their own excuses to spend money on Sundays.
• The Lord desires us to raise money for missions and missionaries on weekdays and not on Sundays.
• The Lord also wants the church to feed any guest speakers at either the Pastor’s house or a saint’s house if the special event is held on Sundays. The Lord does not want the church to take the guest speaker out to a restaurant on Sundays. If the church has a kitchen, the guests could be fed there. The Lord ended His admonition by stating that He forbade us to spend money on Sundays.
• The Lord had commanded us to keep Sundays Holy in every way. He rebuked watching television, dining out with family, and other secular activities. Furthermore, the Lord did not permit Christians to run any business of any kind for profit on Sundays. He also did not approve Saints to do any shopping on Sundays.

It's time for us to repent, church!  I have not kept Sundays holy, although I may have thought I was doing so.  Up until now, I have justified my own actions, and assumed that what I was doing was alright.  But the Lord has used this book to bring me to repentance, and as I write this, I am still in the process of repenting.  I hope you will allow it to do the same in your heart, too.

You cannot rely on your obedience to the Law to save you, because it is only by grace that you are saved through faith (Eph 2:8-10).  Always remember that we can do nothing apart from the Lord Jesus (Jn 15:5), but if you keep His commandments, you will abide in His love (Jn 15:10). 

If you are a pastor, I recommend you diligently search the Scriptures, pray and ask the Lord for guidance, and then be led by the Spirit in obedience to the Word.  If you are not a pastor, then submit to your leaders and honor the day they designate for worship.  

Author's Note: Please see Opportunities to Serve the Body of Christ.  I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, which I discovered after writing this article. If you enjoyed this message, you may also be interested in the other posts on this blog, available through the archives on the Home page, especially Resting from Work, Faith Works!, Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday, and Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?
I also recommend Restored Truth, Pleasing the Lord, and invite you to visit my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master. 

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Resting from Work

IMPORTANT PREFACE:  Since writing this, I have since had my understanding clarified about keeping Sundays holy, as I have read Baptized by Blazing Fire, by brother Yong-Doo Kim. Please be sure to read my blog about that, called Keeping Sundays Holy!

If you're tired of working and need a rest, this is for you. If you feel like you're on the treadmill of life, running at a breakneck pace, and your about to get pulled under the spinning machine, you need to read this. You deserve a break today!

Many years ago, I was taught that the only one of the Ten Commandments that was not reinstated in the New Testament was the fourth commandment, which required us to honor the Sabbath. But is that true?

I believe that we are no longer under the Law. We are saved by grace alone, and we are free in Christ. But how do we apply that, especially as it relates to the Sabbath?

Due to the length of this post, I realize you may not have time to read it all in one sitting. So let me encourage you to plan reading it over the course of two or three weeks on your days off or whenever you can find the spare time. This is a key message for your life, it's not a minor side-point. So meditate on it and pray about it until the Lord reveals it to you, so that you can get it down into your spirit.

Now grab something to drink, and find a comfortable spot to relax while you read. Let's begin now and see what the Scripture teaches.

Jesus fulfills the Law and Prophets

Jesus did not abolish the Law, in other words, the Ten Commandments. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Mat 5:17)

He fulfilled the many types and shadows of Him found in the Law. This included the temple and its furnishings, as well as the temple sacrifices. He fulfills what the prophets said, including every Messianic prophecy.

On the other hand, did the apostle Paul contradict Jesus in His teaching, by saying that Christ abolished the Law? No, he didn’t. Paul wrote, “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” (Eph 2:14-16)

The two groups he referred to were the Jews and the Gentiles. In Himself through the cross, Jesus established peace for us with God, as well as between the Jews and Gentiles who are in Christ. He broke down the wall that divided the two groups and acted as a barrier between them. He made all who believe in Him from both groups into one new man or single group, which is His Body. And He did this by “abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances.” The enmity is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances. That is what He abolished. He abolished the ordinances and regulations that stood against us, which were opposed to us. These were the hundreds of ceremonial laws, including animal sacrifices that God required under the Law. But Paul never said that Jesus abolished the Ten Commandments.

Jesus upheld the Law and Prophets
Jesus upheld the Ten Commandments, whenever anyone spoke about them. He said to keep the commandments and teach them. "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:19)

“And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’” (Mat 19:17)

Here is yet another example, “As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'" (Mar 10:17-19). He always upheld the Law and never cast it aside.

But as He did with the religious leaders, He also taught this man that there was an even higher standard. The man had kept the Ten Commandments, and thought that by doing so he would inherit eternal life. And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up. Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” (Mar 10:20-22). You see, while the Law is good, and we must obey it, no one can be justified before God by keeping the letter of the commandments. That’s why Jesus said this man needed to follow Him. He is our standard.

When you truly understand that God’s standard goes much higher than the letter of the law, you come to realize that every single one of us has failed to meet the standard. We can only be justified by faith in Christ.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;” (Rom 3:19-24)

First we must be forgiven for our sin and justified or made righteous by faith in Christ. Then we need to continue to follow Him, doing what He commanded and living as He lived. Everything Jesus commanded is in perfect harmony with the Ten Commandments.

The Letter of the Law vs. the Spirit
Paul said, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Co 3:6). So we always need to keep that in mind when we talk about keeping the commandments. So what is the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter?

When the religious leaders evaluated themselves, it was based upon the letter of the law. For example, they would know whether or not they had actually ever committed murder. If they had not, they would assume they had never broken the sixth commandment. However, Jesus taught them that the spirit of the law is a much higher standard. He said, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Mat 5:21-22)

The religious leaders may have also considered upon self-evaluation that they had actually never committed adultery. In doing so, they would assume they had never broken the seventh commandment. However, once again Jesus taught them that the spirit of the law is a much higher standard. He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mat 5:27-28)

Whenever we consider the intent or spirit of God behind any of the commandments, we will see that He’s looking inside of us at our hearts. The Lord expects us to live according to the spirit of the law, which is a much higher standard than merely the letter.

And once we have a personal relationship with Jesus, His law will actually be written upon our hearts. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Heb 8:10). When the Law is written upon your heart, the Holy Spirit shows you what is pleasing to the Lord. And He will never lead you to violate the Ten Commandments.

Summing up the Law and the Prophets
Jesus summed up the entire Law and the Prophets in two commandments. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Mat 22:36-40)

It is interesting that He summed it up this way, since neither of these is explicitly stated in the Ten Commandments. Of course, the Hebrew Schema, taken from Deut. 6:4-9 and 11:13-22, and Num. 15:37-41, contained the part about loving God. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deu 6:4-5). Yet on the surface, these summary statements from Jesus about love do not seem to be part of the Decalogue. So let me show you that, in fact, they are. The first four commandments relate to loving God, and the last six relate to loving your neighbor. So if you want an easy way to remember the commandments, just remember the way Jesus summarized them with regard to the Royal Law of Love (James 2:8; Mat 22:36-40). He also fulfilled this, as well.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
In the natural, the Sabbath day begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends at sunset on Saturday. It's an actual twenty-four hour period of rest. The Lord commanded that we "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 of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the 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.” (Exo 20:8-11). So it's basically giving God one-seventh of your time, because you are giving Him one entire day out of every seven. On that day, you should not be doing your own work, but keeping it holy and set apart for the Lord. That's what Jesus did.

As with the rest of the commandments, He also upheld the fourth commandment regarding the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. But His teaching went beyond mere words. He used many demonstrations, and these made the religious leaders angry. He often healed people on the Sabbath, which the religious leaders considered work, something forbidden by God on the day of rest. In doing so, He demonstrated that there is no law against any act of love, such as healing someone (Gal 5:23). God’s Law never forbids you from committing acts of love, even on the Sabbath. While the religious leaders focused on the merits of making a sacrifice not to work on the Sabbath, Jesus taught that God desires compassion, not sacrifice (Mt 12:7).

When Jesus taught about the beginning of the great tribulation that would come upon us in these last days, He spoke of our need to immediately flee to a place of refuge provided by the Lord.  And even though He spoke of the end times, He still expected us to keep the Sabbath holy.  He said, "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath." (Mat 24:20).  Why else would he instruct us to pray beforehand that our flight would not occur on a Sabbath, unless He expected is to keep the Sabbath holy to the very end? 

Like Jesus, the apostle Paul remembered the Sabbath. He prayed and taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Ac 13:14-15; 17:17; 18:4, 19, 26; 19:18). So did the early Christians. In fact, before Paul came to know Christ, he used to pursue them in the synagogue, in order to imprison and beat anyone who followed Jesus (Ac 22:19).

So we must also remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Those of us who know and follow Jesus must obey the fourth commandment, just as we do the rest of the commandments. But what does that exactly mean? How do we do so?

First, we must do so out of our love for God, in obedience to His command, not as a means to earn God's love. We must realize that it's God's way for us to live, and is primarily for our own good.  We must never do it to try and be justified.  No one can obtain righteousness by observing the Law.

Some people today teach that we must observe the Sabbath on the correct day of the week, which is known on our Roman calendars as Saturday. They point out that this is how Jesus, Paul, and the early disciples did so. After all, this is what the Law of Moses commanded. So let’s consider this in light of my previous points about the spirit of the law.

If someone wants to observe the Sabbath between sunset on Friday and sunset on Saturday, they are free to do so, but will be accountable to God for that decision.  The same goes for those who celebrate the Lord's Day on Sunday, which begins at sundown on Saturday and ends at sundown on Sunday.  But they should not judge others with regard to the Sabbath day. As Paul wrote, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Col 2:16-17). According to him, the Sabbath day is a mere shadow of Christ, but the reality itself is found in Christ.

This is also what Jesus taught. He said, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Mat 12:8). My friend, I don’t serve the Sabbath. I serve the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ. I don’t worship the Sabbath, but the Lord of the Sabbath. There’s a big difference. “Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’” (Mar 2:27). You see, God made the Sabbath for me. It was to give me a break from my work, so that I could focus on Him. It’s meant to be a chance for me to worship, pray, fellowship, rest, and be restored. How kind of Him to create the Sabbath for me like that!

On the other hand, when people stress the importance of the day on which I observe the Sabbath, I think the focus is in the wrong place. Then their focus is on serving the Sabbath. But don’t forget that man was not made for the Sabbath.

If you belong to a loving church that worships Jesus in Spirit and in Truth, and the Lord has provided loving relationships there, as well as solid preaching of the full gospel and accurate teaching of the Word, then this is the most important thing.  It would be foolish to disconnect you from all your relationships with brethren in that church, who love the Lord, simply because they meet on Sunday, rather than Saturday, or vice versa.

When the Body of Christ is in unity, assembled together in one place in a given location, that is much more powerful than when individuals meet separately.  The assembling together gives it more power, so that's why the enemy works hard to keep us divided.  This is also why we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves. 

I think the Lord is more concerned that we be in unity and fellowship with the Body of Christ, taking communion with them, praying and worshiping together. This is more important to Him than whether we meet on Saturday rather than Sunday.  But if we cannot agree on which day Jesus considers the Lord's Day, or the Christian Sabbath, then we will remain divided and meet separately from one another.

Jesus had a similar discussion with the woman at the well. She was focused on the geographical location of our worship, which is the same type of pettiness. It was a focus on the outward ceremonial aspects of worship. Jesus didn’t care about that. He showed that the important thing the Father desires is that we worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

Jesus identified Himself as the Truth (Jn 14:6). So the Father is looking to see if we worship Him in a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s central! And when we do, we must worship in the Spirit, not just according to some man-made agenda. We must be led by the Spirit of God in our worship, not by man. Paul taught us a lot about worshiping in Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God (Rom 8:14).

It doesn’t matter what geographical location your worship meetings are located in. It doesn’t matter if it is a historical landmark of some significant biblical event. If you are not worshiping in Spirit and Truth, then your worship does not touch the heart of our Heavenly Father. The same goes for the day of the week on which you worship. What matters most is that you worship in Spirit and Truth, not whether you worship on Saturday or Sunday. In a separate post, I explain why I believe Sunday is the Christian Sabbath (see here), and in yet another post I explain when that day begins and ends (see here).

Entering His rest
Man is naturally a doer. It's normal to want to strive to get things done. Martha was like that when Jesus came to her home. She was all stressed out making preparations for Him and His disciples to eat there. She was distracted by that. In fact, she was upset that her sister Mary was not doing the same thing. Mary was not helping her sister. But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." (Luk 10:41-42). You see, Mary did well to sit and relax at His feet. As far as Jesus was concerned, that was the one thing that was necessary.

Religion is a lot like that. It's hard work! The religious leaders of Jesus day were always stressing out about some thing that people should be doing. They were always putting more burdens on the backs of the people, making life more difficult. They got angry with Jesus, because on the Sabbath He healed people, and because His disciples picked heads of grain from the fields to satisfy their hunger (Mt 12:1, 10). What a heavy load it was for the people to carry all that these men put on them. And religious leaders are a lot like that today. They often use manipulation and psychological pressure to get people to do things. They make emotional pleas that can leave you feeling guilty if you are not part of their program or agenda. It's not just the leaders, but the whole religious system that does this. It drives people to do things supposedly for God, which the Lord has not required. It encourages you to strive in the flesh. It's really unfortunate and does a lot of damage!

But relationship with Jesus is not like that at all. Knowing Jesus is restful. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mat 11:28-30) Yokes are used for doing work. They are those wooden things that animals put their necks into when they labor in the fields. This is also how the animals pull burdens behind them, such as large stones or wagons loaded with cargo. Jesus wants us to labor with Him. But His yoke is light and his burden is easy. When you work with Him, it doesn't weigh you down like religion does. You find rest for your soul.

The writer of Hebrews explained that there is a Sabbath rest that we need to enter. We can only enter it by faith. “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” (Heb 4:9-11). In short, the Hebrews in the wilderness who failed to enter God’s rest did so because they did not combine the message of God’s Word that they heard with faith.

Faith is all about trust. Trust is all about relationship. In our relationship with Jesus, we demonstrate our trust in God. If you want to enter God’s rest, then stop trying to earn God’s love and acceptance by your performance and good works. Instead receive His love for you, His forgiveness, and His grace. Receive His gift of righteousness. You need to believe that Jesus died on the cross for you and rose from the dead, and confess with your mouth that He is Lord. Then you will be saved (Rom 10:9-13).

Anyone who knows the Lord this way will do the works of God. But the way to do the works of God is the same way to rest. It’s by faith. “Therefore they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’” (Joh 6:28-29). To do the works of God, believe on Jesus Christ. Everyone who ever did the works of God did so by faith, including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David (Heb 11).

So whether we work or rest, we trust the Lord. We rest by faith and we work by faith. And we work from a place of rest. When you get to the place where you do that, then you are enjoying a continual Sabbath rest. It’s wonderful when you can trust the Lord while you are working, thanking and praising Him as you go about your business, singing in the Spirit with joy and making melody in your heart to Him. This is what pleases the Lord.

If you’re focus is on simply obeying the letter of the fourth commandment, then here’s how it plays out. You think to yourself, “All I have to do is give God one day each week. Once per week I need to pray, worship, visit God and hope He touches me.” Then the rest of the week is yours and you forget about the Lord, neglecting worship, prayer, fellowship, and communion. That’s human nature and it’s what happens when you live by the letter of the law.

But if you understand the heart of God and His intent in creating the Sabbath, you will not only honor Him once per week. Of course, you will take a day of rest and worship each week. But you will go beyond the letter of simply giving Him one day per week. You will live for Him every day. You will rest from your own work by ceasing from striving to make things happen. You will be led by the Spirit in everything. You will understand that He desires a habitation, not a visitation. He doesn’t just want a weekly visit. He wants to be God with us, Immanuel. That’s a twenty-four seven, non-stop, loving relationship.

Putting it all together
Jesus did not abolish the Law. He fulfilled it. And he upheld the Ten Commandments, teaching us to keep them and teach them.

But He taught us to live according to the spirit of the law, a much higher standard than the mere letter. The entire Law and Prophets are summed up in two commandments about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. James called it the Royal Law of love. Jesus lived that way. He is love, and He is our standard. We must follow Him.

But our works cannot justify us. No matter how we try to follow the Ten Commandments and live as Jesus did, we can never be good enough. We're not under Law, but under grace. It’s only through faith in Him that we are made righteous.

And once you have a personal relationship with Jesus, the law will be written upon your heart. The person who has such a relationship with Jesus will want to obey His commandments from the heart. Certainly we should do what He said, building our house on the rock. But our desire to obey Him comes from within, not from the outside, such as the tablets of stone.  Devoting a day each week to worship the Lord and rest is all about our relationship with Him, not a rule to keep. If you know that this pleases the Lord, you will gladly do it with joy.

The fourth commandment, which concerns the Sabbath, is no different than the other commandments. We need to obey it, honoring the Sabbath, keeping in mind that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and that it was made for man. We are not created for the Sabbath. It's the Lord's day, so we must not do as we please on that day.  

The focus should always be on Trinity God. The main reason why it is so important for us to assemble ourselves together for worship on the same day -- the Lord's day -- is for the sake of unity.  When we assemble together in the Lord's name, there is greater power in the spirit than when we pray separately, and the enemy fears this.

I acknowledge that there are different opinions in the Body of Christ about which day is the Lord's Day or Christian Sabbath according to the Bible.  I have my opinion that Sunday is the Lord's Day, and you can read my explanation in the article called "the Christian Sabbath is Sunday, not Saturday" (see here).

As a believer in Christ, you have a great deal of freedom in this matter, but with that freedom comes a great responsibility.  You will be accountable to God for your decision, and subsequent actions, so make your decision wisely.  I recommend you diligently search the Scriptures, pray and ask the Lord for guidance, and then be led by the Spirit.

When we come to Him, we find rest for our souls. We trust the Lord and enter into His rest. We not only rest from work, but we even work from a place of rest. His yoke is light and His burden is easy. When you get to the place where you do that, then you are enjoying a continual Sabbath rest, thanking and praising Him as you go about your business. You enjoy making Him the center of all you do.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. 

Author's note: As I mentioned at the top of this post, I strongly urge you to read my follow up post about Keeping Sundays Holy, in order to more accurately understand what God expects of us.  I also recommend reading David Wilkerson's message, Honoring the Sabbath, which I discovered after writing this article. If you enjoyed this post, you may also consider Keeping Sundays Holy - Part II, Famous Christian Sabbath Observers, and Led by the Spirit. You may visit the Home page for this blog, as well as my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  "Resting in His Arms" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist. You may visit the Danny Hahlbohm Gallery.  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?" 

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.