As we studied in a previous lesson we learned that the way of salvation comes only through Jesus Christ. Jesus’ perfect righteousness becomes ours only through faith in Him. God has given us a special symbol that reflects not only His Creatorship but also His special relationship with us. In this lesson we will explore what the Bible teaches on this very important topic.

Note: God blessed the seventh day so that it would be a blessing to His creatures, then He made it holy. In other words, God proclaimed the seventh day to be a special day to continually remind man of his beginnings, his roots. God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh day. Notice the Jewish nation had not yet been formed. God created the entire human race at this time.

Note: God created everything else before He created man. The creation of God was a gift to Adam. Adam celebrated with God in His creation by resting or keeping that day holy. Adam did not help God with creation. However, they celebrated together by resting on the seventh day. Notice that this was God’s seventh day but it was man’s first day. Man began his existence by resting in the perfect and holy gift of God’s creation.

Note: Jesus died on “preparation day” commonly referred to as “Good Friday.” Jesus completed our salvation, a complete and perfect work on the sixth day just as God as our Creator also completed His creation for us on the sixth day.

Note: Jesus was resurrected on the first day or what we call “Easter Sunday.” Just as God rested on the seventh day after His complete and perfect work of creation, God as Jesus once again rested on the seventh day after His complete and perfect work of salvation. Just as God gave us creation as a gift once again God gives us salvation as a gift of which we had no work or effort in helping God with.

Note: According to God, evening and then morning constitute a day. The setting of the sun ushers in a new day to God. Therefore the Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday evening and ends at sunset on Saturday night.

Note: The same day that was Sabbath at creation is the same day we call Sabbath today. Any calendar will tell us that Saturday is the seventh day of the week. Any dictionary will tell us that Saturday is the seventh day of the week. If the Sabbath day had been lost between Moses’ time and Jesus’ time, Christ would surely have set the record straight. (See attached Royal Greenwich Observatory correspondence)

Note: If God changed the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday why would He be concerned about the Sabbath 40 years after His death when Jerusalem was destroyed?

Constantine the Great who was emperor of Rome joined the church and became a bishop. He enacted a law that first enjoined Sunday keeping in 321 AD.

Note: The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 AD, enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday, with the exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor.

Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition, “Sunday”

After this, other ordinances came in through human instrumentality. Most people today do not even realize that they are following a man made law first enacted in the fourth century. Is it any wonder that God said “Remember the Sabbath?”

Note: The Hebrew word “Sabbath” is translated into English by the word “rest.” When we enter into God’s rest by faith, we strengthen that relationship by keeping holy God’s seventh day.

Conclusion: The Sabbath is a sign to His people that they may know that it is He who makes them holy. Not only is He their Creator but Savior. We rest in the perfect and complete work that God has done for us. God did not alter or change the fourth commandment. In fact He says that if you love me, you will obey my commandments. He wants to have a special time with us each week so He can pursue a loving relationship with us. He longs to be our Savior and Friend!