I want to talk to you tonight about sabbath keeping, true sabbath keeping. I will begin my message in Matthew 11:28-30. Here the Son of God, the Lord of glory, the God-man Mediator, our all glorious Christ bids everyone in this building to come to him.
Whether we hear these words as a command, or hear them as an invitation, it matters not. The only thing that matters is that we hear them.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
1. Here is Christ's word to lost, ruined, guilty sinners. – "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."There is no salvation to be had, but by coming to Christ. There can never be any true, peaceful, satisfying rest for your soul, except you come to Christ, trusting him alone as your Lord and Savior. Trusting his blood as your only atonement and his obedience as your only righteousness. Only Christ can give you rest.
2. Here is the Master's word to us all, both to the unbeliever and the believer. – "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls."
In all circumstances of life, we find rest unto our souls only as we voluntarily submit to the rule and dominion of the Son of God as our Lord and King. The only way to find rest is to willingly slip your neck under his yoke. When you do, and only when you do, you will find that his yoke really is easy and his burden really is light. I bid you now, everyone of you – Take the Master's yoke upon you, and find rest unto your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
Psalms 31:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness…..5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth…..7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities…..15 My times are in thy hand.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I have begun my message by calling you to rest, calling you to the blessed rest of faith in Christ, because that is exactly the reason the law of the sabbath was given. I want to show you from the Word of God what was required for the keeping of the in the Old Testament law, what the purpose of that law was, and why we do not and must not keep the Old Testament sabbath today.
I. First, I want you to see that SABBATH OBSERVANCE IS NOT ESSENTIAL IN THE WORSHIP OF GOD.
Turn to Genesis 2:2-3. Here is the first observance of a sabbath day mentioned in Holy Scripture.
Genesis 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
This is the first place in the Bible where the sabbath is mentioned. Though it is not mentioned by name, here we see the first observance of a sabbath rest. The Lord God himself rested on the seventh day from all his work. That is what it is to keep the sabbath. It is to rest from all your work. Though he kept the sabbath, there was no other mention of it for 2,000 years.
Throughout the days of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, though God was believed, worshipped, loved and honored by his people, not one of them kept a sabbath day. Even Joseph, that great, eminent type of Christ, never once observed a sabbath day.
Were these men antinomians? Were they evil, licentious, wicked men? To even suggest such nonsense is offensive. These were men, all of them, who walked with God. These were holy, righteous, believing men. The did not keep a sabbath day because God did not require them to do so. Yet, they worshipped God! My point is just this – Sabbath observance is in no way essential to the worship of God.
II. Second, THE ORDINANCE OF SABBATH OBSERVANCE WAS ESTABLISHED BY GOD IN THE WILDERNESS AT THE SAME TIME THAT MANNA WAS GIVEN FROM HEAVEN (Ex. 16:22-30).
The manna portrayed God's provision of life in Christ, the Bread of Life. The sabbath portrayed God's provision of rest in Christ.
Exodus 16:22-30 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. (23) And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. (24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. (25) And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. (26) Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. (27) And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. (28) And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? (29) See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. (30) So the people rested on the seventh day.
The children of Israel were commanded not to do any work on the sabbath. They were not even allowed to pick up manna on the seventh day of the week! Then, in Exodus 20:8-11, we read God's law commandment, forbidding any man to work on Saturday, or even to have anyone under his authority to work for him.
Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: (10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Now, listen carefully – Those who would impose upon us the carnal ordinance of sabbath keeping, those who would bring us back under the yoke of bondage to the law, compelling us to keep the sabbath day, compel us to do what they themselves cannot do.
I know many who preach sabbath keeping as a rule of life, many who would impose upon God's saints strict rules and regulations for sabbath day observance. But all their teaching and preaching in that regard is sheer hypocrisy. Not one of them observes the sabbath day, Their teaching regarding the sabbath are just "a fair show in the flesh" (Gal. 6:12-13). Their pretended reverence for the law of God, when closely examined, reveals a total disregard for God's law. They sift through the commandments, pick out what they like, and simply ignore the rest. Let me show you what I mean. Here are four things required in God's law for the observance of the sabbath day. If the sabbath day is observed, it must be observed in such a way as to include all four of these things.
A. The sabbath day must be observed on Saturday, the seventh day of the week (Ex. 20:10).
Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Sunday is not the sabbath day. It never has been. Sunday is the Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection; but nowhere in the Bible are we commanded, or even permitted, to observe the sabbath on Sunday.
B. No work can be done on the sabbath – NONE! (Ex. 20:10)Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Works of necessity and works of mercy were permitted on the sabbath; but no one was allowed to do any work of any kind for himself, or to benefit himself. If you want to keep the sabbath day, in accordance with God's holy law, then you must not, under penalty of death…
Anything which might be construed as a matter of personal profit or pleasure was expressly forbidden on the sabbath day (Isa. 58:13; 56:2; Ezek. 20:12, 21).
Isaiah 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Ezekiel 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
Ezekiel 20:21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
The essence of sabbath worship was absolute, unreserved, unconditional, all-encompassing self-denial. It was an utter renunciation of self and an utter dedication of one's self to the Lord God.
C. In addition to these things, any genuine observance of the sabbath day necessitates a return to the ceremonial law of the Old Testament (Num. 28:9-10).
Numbers 28:9-10 And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof: (10) This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
The sabbath day cannot be observed without the offering of a double sin-offering, a double meal offering, and a double drink-offering; and those offerings must be made in the temple at Jerusalem!
Do you know anyone who observes the sabbath day this way? I don't. Not even the most orthodox Jew, the most strict Adventist, or the most heretical Russelite in the world observes such a sabbath. And those who pretend to observe a Sunday sabbath do not even come close to the requirements of God's Word regarding sabbath observance.
D. There is one more point which cannot be ignored – Those who insist upon keeping the sabbath must also demand the execution of all sabbath breakers (Ex. 31:15).
Exodus 31:15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.The very same law that required the observance of the sabbath also required the death of those who broke the sabbath. If a man wants to keep the sabbath, he must also be willing to stone to death anyone who breaks the sabbath, even his own son or daughter.
It is obvious that no one observes the sabbath day in a literal sense, and no one has for 2,000 years! Jews do not observe it. Catholics do not observe it. Protestants do not. Reformed people do not observe it. Not even the members of The Sabbath Day Observance Society observe the sabbath day. Those who pretend to observe it only make a mockery of the sabbath by their hypocrisy. Their sabbath-keeping is nothing but a fleshly show!
III. WHY DON'T WE OBSERVE A SABBATH DAY?Why do we refuse to observe a literal sabbath day? What can be wrong with sitting aside the first day of the week and requiring God's saints to keep it as a sabbath day unto the Lord? Should we not at least allow the observance of a sabbath day by those who want to do it?
Listen carefully – We do not and must not observe any literal sabbath day for precisely the same reasons we do not and must not observe the Jewish Passover or any other legal ceremonies of the Old Testament.
A. The sabbath day which God required the Jews to keep was, like all the other carnal ordinances of the law, only a temporary, typical ritual of the law, which represented, portrayed, and typified the Lord Jesus Christ and our redemption by him.
When the Lord God established the sabbath, when he instituted that ordinance of worship, he gave two reasons, and only two reasons, for its observance.
1. The sabbath day was to be observed by Israel as a symbol of God's rest (Ex. 20:8-10).
It represented the completion of God's work, the finality of creation, and God's total satisfaction with it. Though God's creation has been marred by sin, though the slime of the serpent's trail has polluted it, the Book of God speaks of a time called the time of restitution. The sabbath day portrayed that day when all things shall be restored to God; and that restitution began when Christ died and rose again (Acts 3:21; Col. 1:20).
Acts 3:20-21 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: (21) Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
2. The observance of the sabbath was designed by God to be a constant reminder to Israel of her redemption out of Egypt, a picture of our redemption by Christ (Deut. 5:15).
Deuteronomy 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
Like all other aspects of the Mosaic law, the sabbath was a picture prophecy of our perfect redemption by Christ. As the Jews rested from all their works on the seventh day of the week (eating the manna, the bread of life, which God gave them without any works of their own being done), believers find perfect rest in the Lord Jesus Christ.
B. We do not and cannot observe a legal, literal sabbath day because CHRIST IS OUR SABBATH, AND WE REST IN HIM!
In the New Testament epistles (Romans - Revelation), the sabbath is only mentioned in two places. It is mentioned in the four gospels and in the Book of Acts many times in connection with the Jews and Jewish worship. But in those Epistles which prescribe all ordinances of divine worship in this gospel age, it is mentioned in just two places.
Colossians 2:16-17 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Here the Apostle Paul, writing by divine inspiration, forbids the observance of a legal sabbath day on the basis that in Christ every believer is completely, totally, entirely, and forever freed from the law (Rom. 7:4; 10:4).
Hebrews 4:3-9 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (4) For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works…..(9) There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
The word "rest" in these verses is the word normally translated "sabbath". Here we are told that all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ keep the sabbath spiritually, truly keep the sabbath by faith in him. How do we keep the sabbath by faith? Just like our God kept the first sabbath – COMING TO CHRIST, BELIEVING ON THE SON OF GOD, WE CEASE FROM OUR WORKS AND REST!
Application: Now, I bid you come to Christ and keep the sabbath of faith!
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
*