Sabbath Keeping - Part I - The OLD Testament

Have you run into people that are telling you how important it is to keep the Sabbath?

There is definitely a move away from Christ back to Judaism, today. Back to “Sabbath Keeping”. It is happening all around us. We all know people that say they should keep the Sabbath Holy. One of the big arguments they have is that the Roman Catholic Church instituted “Sunday Keeping” along with Constantine in the 4th century and that the Roman Catholic church attempted to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. So, we are told that when we keep Sunday instead of Saturday, we are not keeping the Sabbath.

The reality is this, Bible Believers don’t keep Sunday and they do not believe that Sunday is the Sabbath. So, we are not worried about someone changing the day from Saturday to Sunday because we have a different Sabbath and the Sabbath is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of our rest and we keep no other day holy. Bible believers don’t think Sunday is the Sabbath or is the holy day. We don’t hold any day above another. All days are equally exalted in which we walk in God’s presence and in His Spirit and worship Him.

According to Galatians 5, if you disagree with the previous statement then you have fallen from grace. There is no end to how many, many groups from Seventh Day Adventists to British Israelism to the Hebrew Roots Movements, twist the scripture and attempt to modify this thing to make it fit. Now, I say this with grace because my hope is that I can steer you away from this.

Let’s first start with Genesis 2:2-3.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Well, you say that the Sabbath is not Mosaic and it is not under the system of laws that God gave to the Jews, but it is something that God founded in the very beginning. Does your Bible say that God founded the Sabbath for Himself here, or for man? Does your Bible say that man rested or that God rested?

There is no record of God giving Adam a commandment to rest on the seventh day. All we are told is that God rested. There is no record or statement at all that God revealed this to Adam at that time.

In Exodus 31:14, we find this:

Exo 31:14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall be called a bad Christian.

Is that what it said??? No, that is not what it said.

What does it say?

Ye shall be put to death!

Exo 31:14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein,
that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Exo 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.

Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Who does the Bible say that God is talking to? The Children of Israel? That is correct.

Is this a covenant forever with the Jews or the Gentiles?

Yes, with the Jews and there is no passing away of this covenant. This is perpetual. The coming of Christ did not negate the keeping of the Sabbath for the nation of Israel.

Does the Bible say that it is a sign between God and the nation of Israel, forever? Yes.

In other words there is not going to be a future dispensation that nullifies Sabbath Keeping for the nation of Israel.

That means today in Israel and today in New York, the Jews should be keeping the Sabbath holy. It is their obligation to do so. And if they do work sometime after sundown on Friday night, then the other Jews according to God should pick up bricks and come down and bash their brains out. That is the Word of God! If they do not do that, then they are in violation of the Word of God. That is a commandment to the nation of Israel that has not passed away, has not changed.

Some people would like to make the penalty pass away but keep the law. But think hard about this. Do you have a law if you have no penalty? No! You cannot have a law without a penalty. The very nature of law is that it comes with a penalty.

I hear people dividing the law in what is referred to as the “moral commandments” and the “ceremonial commandments”. And they tell us that the ceremonial part has passed away but the moral part is not and they try to make Sabbath Keeping part of the “moral” part which has remained but the penalty part of it we are no longer under. Christ is supposed to have lifted that.

So they say that when Christ died, we are no longer punished for keeping the Sabbath but we are suppose to keep it, regardless. What?

I submit unto you that when God gave this law and it was perpetual, the penalty was part of it and the penalty cannot pass away unless the law passes away. And for the nation of Israel, the law of Sabbath keeping cannot pass away. Now, if they turn to Jesus Christ and identify with His death and resurrection in being born-again, then they will die to the law and be free from the law. But the law, cannot die.

Looking at Exodus 31:14 again, there are those that try to tell us that the Sabbath was kept prior to this. They say that when God says to “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy”, that what it means is that, they have been keeping it and to remember what I told you. Keep remembering what your duty is, to keep the Sabbath and keep on doing what you know you should be doing.

That is a bit stretching the text there in Exodus 20:8.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

If you take the whole book of Genesis, the Bible talks about Abraham being a righteous man and it describes in detail, going to places and worshipping. It describes in detail, time and again, his offering of sacrifices and his falling down and praying and it talked of his righteousness, but it never mentioned him keeping the Sabbath. That is very strange. The Bible mentions his tithing, but it never mentions his Sabbath keeping. Then we have Isaac, who was also a righteous man and no mention of the Sabbath. Then we have Jacob and all his trials that he goes through with God and God teaching him and yet no mention of the Sabbath or Sabbath keeping. Then we have the 12 sons of Jacob and we have their devotion to God and Joseph going down to Egypt, and the Bible makes a big point of Joseph’s faithfulness to God. Down in Egypt, he worships God, he prays and they try to find some fault in him and yet, no mention of him ever keeping the Sabbath.

And then we come to Moses and we see Moses fleeing Egypt and then coming back, but yet again no mention of Moses keeping the Sabbath. You find Moses dealing with the Jews for over a year and plagues coming but you find no mention of them ever keeping the Sabbath. And then when Moses tells Pharoah that he wants to take the people and go 3 days journey and worship, he never says that they want to go keep the Sabbath. Moses never said that they want to keep the Sabbath holy unto God. If they kept the Sabbath, this would be the place to say it!

There is a conspicuous absence of any Patriarch keeping the Sabbath until Moses receives it as a commandment from God. This is irrefutable from the KJV Bible and even other Bibles.

So, to tell us that God instituted Sabbath Keeping from the book of Genesis is absolutely false! He instituted nothing of the kind. The Bible tells us that He rested. That was His business! And when He got ready to reveal it, He revealed it to the nation of Israel and it was a sign between Him and the nation of Israel. Not between anyone else. A sign of a covenant. A covenant that he made with the nation of Israel. He never made that covenant with the nations of Gentiles. And the Gentiles have not entered into that covenant. The covenant that the Gentiles have entered into is the covenant that God made with Abraham to bless the world through his seed. Abraham was a Gentile not a Jew, not an Israelite and he did not keep the Sabbath.

When God made a covenant with the nation of Israel, He made it with the Jews, with the Israelites, not with Abraham and the Bible never speaks of us, the Church, as being the seed of Jacob (Israel) or the seed of Isaac. It speaks of us being the seed of Abraham by faith and that has nothing to do with the nation of Israel.

We are the seed of a Gentile that did not keep the Sabbath, not the seed of an Israelite or a Jew who was commanded to keep the Sabbath. This is powerful!! This is extremely significant.

Now what is the first mention of Sabbath keeping in Exodus 20:8? Let’s look at it.

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

Now God commands this to the Jews and says not their menservants, thy maidservants and not their cattle, in other words, on the Sabbath, they could not hitch up their buggy and go to worship. The cows and horses couldn’t work. On the Sabbath they could not kindle a fire or carry any kind of load.

In Nehemiah 9:13 we have an interesting statement about the Sabbath.

Neh 9:13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

Now verse 14 is the key: Look at this very closely.

Neh 9:14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

What did Moses do?

When he came down on mount Sinai, he made known unto them the Holy Sabbath. Meaning they did not know about it before Moses was knew about it.

So the Word of God tells us that this is when God made known unto the Children of Israel, the Jews, His Holy Sabbath. No one from Adam knew about the Sabbath or were ever commanded to observe it. How could they observe what they never knew about? And that is why we never see a record of Sabbath keeping before Moses.

God did not make known to them just one Sabbath. He made known to them many Sabbaths. And yet, most of the people today just keep one Sabbath, one weekly Sabbath.

One of the Sabbaths involved keeping 7 days of unleavened bread and another Sabbath that involved the 7th year and there was a Sabbath that involved the 7th month. And there were certain ways that the Sabbaths were to be kept in fastings and what they could eat and could not eat and the blowing of trumpets. And if you are going to keep a Sabbath you have to keep all of the Sabbaths. You can’t go and cut them in half and say, “Ok, God instituted this but I am going to observe part of it and I’m going to do it the way our church does it.” You are going to have to do it the way God commanded.

And then in Ezekiel 20:12, He says:
Eze 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 sanctifieth them.

Did the Word just say Sabbaths? Plural, right? So there are multiple Sabbath keepings.

How was the Sabbath observed? Exodus 16: 5-23 tells us that there was no cooking of food or preparation of food. You can’t use the microwave, you cannot boil a roast. You cannot cook your food, between sundown Friday (if that is the Sabbath) and sundown Saturday (if that is the Sabbath). I am not convinced that is the Sabbath. But if it is, if that is when the 7th day is, I mean it could be Tuesday or it could be Thursday. I have no proof that what we call Saturday, today is the Sabbath.

And then Exodus 16:29, “let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

In other words they did not go and have a big church meeting on the Sabbath. They did not travel. They were to stay home and rest. Sabbath was about resting. They were commanded to stay home. No one is to go to meetings on that day. I wonder how that would go over. Probably not too well.

Exodus 20:10 – No one is to work. Not the son or daughter or the cattle. Nothing!

Exodus 23:12 – The ox and the ass are to rest also.

Exodus 35:3 – They are to kindle no fire. If you get’s cold you just stay cold.

Numbers 15:32 – Gather no firewood. They could not pick up a stick of firewood on the Sabbath.

They just had to lay down and relax on the Sabbath. They could not lift a finger to go somewhere or to build a fire or to do anything.

Isaiah 58:13 – Says they are not to do their own ways, or do their own pleasures or speak their own words.

Isa 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:

In other words, you can’t sit around and talk about the good times. You cannot talk about fishing or hunting or sports or organic gardening or making bread. You can’t talk about your new building project or what the kids have been doing that week and how funny it was. You couldn’t get together with the family and friends and laugh and have a good time on the Sabbath.

You couldn’t “speak your own words”. The Sabbath was the time to speak only the words of God. So picture this, everyone is staying at home, no one is going in or out, no one is carrying a load, no one cooking anything. Everyone in a state of total relaxation, just praying, singing and speaking the words of God for the 24 hours. That is the way they kept the Sabbath.

And if they violated this in anyway, the penalty was death.

We have an example of this in Exodus 31:14.

Exo 31:14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

Exo 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.

Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

In Exodus 35:2, they are told not to kindle the fire.

In Numbers 15:32-36, the children of Israel found a man that was gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, and they brought him unto Moses and Aaron and the congregation. God had just given them this law and they found a father who was out picking up sticks so he could bring them back to build up the fire to cook a little manna to eat.

Let’s see what happened.

Num 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
Num 15:33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
Num 15:34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
Num 15:35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
Num 15:36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

They waited until after the Sabbath because they could not lift stones on the Sabbath. So they put him in jail (in a ward) until the Sabbath was over. All the congregation had to bash their neighbor in the head with stones as the wives and kids stood by and watched him die. Why? He violated the Sabbath.

God is real serious about Sabbath keeping and how dare anyone take away the penalty that God gave, and say we keep it because it is a blessing to us. Ha! If you were to
ask the Jews they wouldn’t have said it was a blessing to them. They would say it is something our God requires of us under penalty of death. That is why they observed the Sabbath.

Next: What was Jesus’ treatment of the Sabbath?

So, to tell us that God instituted Sabbath Keeping from the book of Genesis is absolutely false! He instituted nothing of the kind. The Bible tells us that He rested. That was His business! And when He got ready to reveal it, He revealed it to the nation of Israel and it was a sign between Him and the nation of Israel. Not between anyone else.

Good point. And also a good point, no one knew anything about the Sabbath until Moses brought knowledge of it down from the Sinai.

No evidence of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob keeping it.

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said..." - Genesis 3:1

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said..." - Genesis 3:1

I think like Paul said,

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The serpent is adept at bringing God's children under the law, works, rules.

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

These Sabbath Keeping posts are needed. Thanks.

For years I was confused in this matter:
When I compared our Sunday keeping to OT Sabbath keeping, the Sabbaths sure didn't look like a shadow of our Sundays(Hebrews 10:1), so the Sunday keeping didn't make sense. On the other hand, if Sabbath keeping was of such utmost importance, why did the apostles not teach the gentiles to keep it? So the Sabbath keeping didn't make sense.
Then I asked the Lord to teach me directly which day to keep holy. When His answer finally came through understanding, I was shocked to see that Christ had fullfilled the law, that our rest was now in our union with Him and it was no longer about Sabbath or Sunday keeping for true believers. I never heard anyone else say this before I came on Sermon Index and I'm very happy to see that others have been given the same understanding through the Holy Spirit. For some this is old news, for me it was a revelation. Now I understand why there was a death sentence for Sabbath breaking under the old covenant and why the Lord was so adamant about it, it is because when we "break" this union we have with Jesus under the new Covenant, the result is eternal death(hell)(Heb 6:4)

It is hard to see the deception that has come to the body of Christ on account of the catholic church practising and promoting what are nothing else but disguised old Covenant beliefs: Sunday keeping (Sabbath) instead of resting in Christ, cathedrals(temple)instead of the believers being the temple of the Holy Spirit, priests as mediators(like OT priests)instead of Christ, etc. How I wish the reformation had gone all the way instead of keeping some of those wrong practices and teachings. But God has reserved a remnant for Himself and they are returning to the truth in increasing numbers. Hallelujah.

It is hard to see the deception that has come to the body of Christ on account of the catholic church practising and promoting what are nothing else but disguised old Covenant beliefs: Sunday keeping (Sabbath) instead of resting in Christ, cathedrals(temple)instead of the believers being the temple of the Holy Spirit, priests as mediators(like OT priests)instead of Christ, etc. How I wish the reformation had gone all the way instead of keeping some of those wrong practices and teachings. But God has reserved a remnant for Himself and they are returning to the truth in increasing numbers. Hallelujah.

There you go!

Outward means nothing to Jesus when the inside is filthy. They are just vain oblations and corrupt sacrifices.

He shows us this in so many ways in the NT.

The Apostles in Acts 15, did not see fit to trouble the Gentiles with the necessity of observing the Sabbath, either.

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." - John 8:44

Some fellows were pretty nasty to the Lord when He did not keep the "Sabbath", too.

Interesting how talking about the Sabbath brings out the vilest things in people. Obviously, it's a big time idol.

The Pharisees ruled the people by using the Sabbath against them. The same thing happens today in the Protestant churches. It is one thing to not forget to fellowship with others (if you can find some Saints), and quite another thing to use the Sabbath against Christians to make them feel guilty and to manipulate them. Yup, same exact thing happens today.

The Pharisees pretty much encapsulated the entire law into the Sabbath and then used it to condemn Jesus.

Jesus even defended King David for breaking the Sabbath and eating outside of his own place on the Sabbath. The Pharisees knew nothing about love and mercy, only the letter of the law...which kills and did kill.

Christians can only be manipulated by others if they are not reading their Bibles.

Jesus was not defending King David for breaking the Sabbath or eating outside of his own place, He was showing how it is HE that is to rule the Sabbath.

Mark 2:24-28 "And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 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."

Also notice that this is clearly saying that there is TO BE a Sabbath, for how can the LORD be Lord over something that is not?

hi, i amso bored with all the sabbath talk...no one NO ONE keeps the sabbath. how about the sabbath year and the year of jubilee...legalism in action ...Jesus is the sabbath rest.jimp

I agree with Jimp, I understand this may now be a touchy subject but has arging over what your convicted to do actually bringing anyone closer to Christ? If its not then the vain speaking should cease. We obviously have a disagreement on the matter can't those frevently discussing this just agree with the fact they don't agree on this and move on to more profitable conversation?

jimp, I am sorry that you are bored. I have pretty much stayed silent on the subject and am just now getting around to talking about it.

I am planning on letting my gardens rest on the seventh year. Did you know that the nutrients in the soil replenish themselves to a very high degree if you let the land rest as the LORD has prescibed? It is a significant increase over not letting it rest. This is one of the things that the LORD showed me that helped me to see that there is a reason for the things HE says. I have not yet run across anything that speaks of what it does to our bodies to rest one day out of the week, but I am sure that the benefits are tremendous. God's law is not meant to bring us into bondage, it is intended to keep us out of bondage. It would not surprise me one bit if I end up never having to go to a nursing home because I have followed that which the LORD has prescribed. Living in a nursing home would be bondage for me.

Each person is free to do as he chooses, which is how it has always been with the LORD. As for myself, I choose to follow HIS precepts for I trust HIM implicitly. If that is what you consider to be legalism, then so be it.

"Each person is free to do as he chooses, which is how it has always been with the LORD. As for myself, I choose to follow HIS precepts for I trust HIM implicitly. If that is what you consider to be legalism, then so be it"

It becomes legalism when you call your way the correct way or a more right way and all other ways inferior also it becomes Legalism when you impose or force your convictions on others. If you aren't doing this then you should be free of "legalism". I'll let you decide on that one though because I am not your judge :)

mguldner, who are you to say whether or not what I have written has brought anyone closer to Christ? And what is it that I have said that is vain? Maybe you have not profited, but it certainly is possible that someone else has. If you do not like what I have written, you are more than welcome to ignore me.

Why is everyone so touchy about keeping the Sabbath? It is supposed to be a blessing, not a curse.

Well, it is in the Book and if that is legalism, then okay, I am a legalist.

I was asking the question has it profitted? I wasn't making the judgement as to whether or not it was profitable. Its a simple question I ask myself often to help me keep priorities in check. If its doesn't bring anyone closer to Christ or even the writer closer to Christ then it is quite vain, vain meaning nothingness or useless, Soap bubbles. You seem to be very touchy on this issue yourself. If I told you, you had to do something based off of my conviction that aren't your own then it would be a curse to you as well.

hi, do you drive your car on the sabbath. do you work in the garden or sweat on the sabbath. the world is going to hell and we are talking about the sabbath when it is so clear that we are to rest in the finished work of Jesus.jimp

hi, i am so bored with all the sabbath talk...no one NO ONE keeps the sabbath. how about the sabbath year and the year of jubilee...legalism in action ...Jesus is the sabbath rest.jimp

Arent we all.. Arent we all....

Nevertheless. For me in Christ is sabbath, circumcision and the righteous requirements of the law. The ordinances of the law where nailed to the cross (See Ephesians). So i dont see any need to grab a ladder, climb up the cross, and remove the ordinances that where nailed to the cross in order that we might practice them (How do you get to the cross in the first place and not see Jesus?). We must come into a full appreciation of what christ death actually means. If we did we wouldnt be having discussions about this. There is NO and i insist NO condemnation to those who walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. So why do we do our best to bring condemnation to the flock of christ for not fulfilling ordinances that have been nailed to the cross?

Heartsong, this is in the Book, too.

John 1:17
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

The word "but" is very important.

John 1:17 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

I was astounded the day that I listened to Exodus on my iPod. Not only did GOD want me to keep the Sabbath, but HE was most insistent that I do so as HE kept bringing it up again and again as I listened through the chapter. When I got home, I read Exodus three times and wrote out the parts about keeping the Sabbath. And then the hard part began - figuring out what it meant practically - how to actually do it in light of my current situation. The LORD slowly brought me through what it meant to keep the Sabbath and as with many things it was through trial and error.

First I tried keeping it on Sunday but it ended up that I did not even have time to pray as my whole day seemed to be filled up with social obligations. When I brought the problem before the LORD He showed me that the Sabbath was to be kept on Saturday, not Sunday. Sabbath means seventh day. The Sabbath is also from sunset on Friday, through sunset on Saturday, but where I live, sunset goes from 4:00pm in the winter to 10:00pm in the summer so I tried to just set a time so that I could kind of schedule the day. But that did not work either as no matter how hard I tried, I did not get everything done by the designated hour. So I went from sunset to sunset and everything fell into place.

Next I had to figure out what keeping the Sabbath meant. First I tried to follow rules but soon found out that that was not what the LORD required. What it all boiled down to, is that I am to do what HE wants, and not what I want. There are all kinds of temptations from the enemy to break my Sabbath - to do things that I want to do rather than what the LORD wants me to do. And there is a tendency to try and structure the day, but that is not what the LORD wants either. It is HE that is to be LORD of the Sabbath.

Unfortunately, as I was learning these things, there was no example for me to follow so occasionally I would doubt whether or not I was doing the right thing. Then one day the LORD showed me that out of all of the days of the week, Satan has defiled Saturday the most. There is more self gratification that happens on Saturdays than any other day of the week. Many people do their weekly shopping, sometimes spending the entire day doing so. It is the day that many go out for an evening meal and then out to the movies. It is the day that many people clean their houses, mow their lawn, get their hair cut and wash their car. It is often the day that the entire family goes out for a day of fun and games. And dare I mention that it is also the designated day for many sporting events, including golf.

People seem to be fixated on "Jesus is our sabbath," and I whole heartedly agree; it is in HIM that we find peace; it is in HIM that we find our rest. However, I can not see how this negates the keeping of the Sabbath day. The more people jump through hoops to prove this, the more I suspect that they really do not know what they are talking about for if they were truly resting in HIM, if Jesus Christ was truly their Sabbath, this subject would not rustle their feathers in the least.

Dear HeartSong,

Please take some time to read ManofGod0000, TrueWitness, and twayneb posts at this link.

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=31914&forum=36

Absolutely excellent posts.

Heartsong, will someone go to Hell if they do not observe and keep the 7th day sabbath?

Yes, if they do not repent. And that is the problem with all of these voices you are hearing - actually it is only one voice, the voice of the enemy and he is keeping GOD's children from repenting for the breaking of HIS commandment.

It is not a difficult thing to keep this commandment, for if you are turned unto HIM, HE will carry you through. The LORD does not command us to do something and then leave us to ourselves to fulfill it - that is why HE sent the Holy Spirit - to show us the way.

If you love the LORD Jesus Christ, and are resting in HIM, it is not a difficult thing to keep this commandment at all - in fact it has come to be my favorite day of the week - a day with my heart set entirely upon HIM - and the enemy hates it.

HeartSong, you just admitted to a very straighforward question. You were asked if someone would go to hell if they did not observe the 7th day Sabbath.

That is another Gospel, my friend. That is what Paul was combatting in Galatians. He said if anyone brings another Gospel other than the Gospel of Grace, then let him be accursed.

I don't want to go around in circles with you, and I am not going to, so I will just let you know that according to the Eternal Word of God, you are propagating another Gospel, a false Gospel, as false as the gospel of the Roman Catholic Church and there is no tolerance on SI for that false gospel. Paul, and by extension the Holy Spirit, have no tolerance for a gospel that denies the Gospel of Grace.

Everyone on SI knows now that you are pushing a false gospel for you have said that we will go to hell if we do not repent of honoring the 7th day Sabbath.

I pray that you will repent of preaching a false gospel.

I will not repent of not observing a 7th day Sabbath by staying home, not working, not speaking my own words, not cooking or building and starting a fire.

I doubt you will get many responses now that you have condemned everyone. You will be judged by the law because you try to keep it. By your own words shall you be judged. Please forsake such folly.

Before last night I would never have made such a statement, but as I was discussing this subject here on sermonindex, I somehow let the fire in my little stove get up to 400 degrees - just a few ticks off the danger zone. When I opened the door, and peered into the raging fire, I had no doubt that I was looking into hell. The little pieces of what once was wood were almost melting in the intense heat.

Now this morning, as I am again discussing this subject, I am more certain than ever, and not afraid to say it, that unless GOD's children repent of profaning HIS holy day, they will indeed go to hell for they have committed adultery and have turned their hearts unto idols.

It is not within my power to condemn another, unless bringing forth a word is considered to be condemnation. It is each ones heart that condemns their own actions.

I love my brothers and sisters here on sermonindex and would have it that none would perish. I have spoken what the LORD has given me to say. Now it is for each one of you to bring it before the LORD and hear what HE has to say on the matter.

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." - Revelation 21:8

NOTE: I have edited this by removing the first paragraph, which Miccah has most graciously pointed out as to have been in error. Praise God for His saving grace.

Heartsong. Thank you for your openness. I do appreciate it.

Heartsong, you said, "In case you have not noticed, I have not said what it is that each one is to do, or not do, on the Sabbath. That is up to the LORD for HE is the Lord of the Sabbath."

Your case is not built up on Biblical facts Heartsong. The Lord HAS in fact taught what can and cannot be done on the sabbath through the Bible. If you follow the law, it is His ways, not yours. He speaks this throughout scripture.

Think about it... you are saying that a person might have a certain freedom on the sabbath from the Lord, while another person may go to Hell because of enjoying that exact same freedom in the Lord as you, if the Lord didn't give the go ahead. That is saying that the Lord picks and chooses what one persons freedom is, and another person'sin is, even though it is the same action, thought or deed...

The Lord has given instruction already on the sabbath, yet you say that those instruction no longer apply, but (paraphrasing) "just what He tells you to do".

Why do you keep one part of the law, but not everything that goes with the law? The letter and the spirit of the law of the sabbath coinsides with eachother. You cannot hold to a sabbath day view without following the LORD's regualtions on HOW to observe it.

Respectfully, it would make more sense to me if you said that we had to follow the entire letter and spirit of the law of the sabbath instead of just what the Lord tells certain people what to do.

Brother. I again thank you for your honesty and transparency. I do pray that the Lord speaks to you.

Blessings!

HeartSong, please consider:

1) God commanded the Sabbath as a day of rest, not worship.

2) God gave no command to His New Testament Church about worshipping on any particular day.

3) The Christians in the Bible met on the first day of the week:

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

4) The New Testament explicitly states that the Sabbath was a shadow, and that Christ is the substance:

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: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The recognition that CHRIST IS OUR SABBATH is totally consistent with overall biblical teaching concerning the law as a type and shadow, which was confirmed with absolute clarity when God destroyed the Temple and the Jewish religion of sacrifice after the FINAL SACRIFICE of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Going back to types and shadows is to miss the reality of Jesus Christ. It is the error that the whole book of Hebrews was written to correct.

5) The Sabbath was a part of the Old Testament Law that is ONLY a shadow of the reality of Jesus Christ our Lord:
Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

6) The Sabbath was part of the Old Testament Law from which Christ died to set us free so we could be married to Him (NOT the Torah!!!), as it is written:

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law [including the Sabbath] by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

7) Jesus Christ is our All in all. Paul warned us about going back to the vain Jewish laws of the Old Testament:
Galatians 4:8-11 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage [to the Law]? 10 Ye observe days [Sabbaths], and months, and times, and years. 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

And again:
Galatians 5:1-5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage [to the OT Sabbath Law, circumcision, etc.]. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

I don't know of anything in the Holy Bible that suggests Christians should keep Sabbath.

God bless you Miccah! The LORD really does want us to put everything aside on the Sabbath - and what you wrote helped me to see this. I have had the most blessed day being hidden away with my Saviour!

Praise the Lord brother! All glory to the Lord!