Introduction: Do you remember concepts you learned as
children that, when you became an adult, turned out to be
wrong? Take the word “rendevous.” I knew from childhood
reading what “rends-a-vus” meant and I knew from listening
what “rond-de-voo” meant. It was only much later in life
that I was astonished to find they were the same word!
This week my secretary sent me the following statement from
an unidentified child: “In the first book of the Bible,
Guinessis [sic], God got tired of creating the world, so he
took the Sabbath off.” Aside from spelling, do we still
have that same childhood concept about the Sabbath? Let’s
jump into the Scriptures and explore an “adult’s” view of
the Sabbath!
- TIME-OUT!
- Read Genesis 2:1-3. Why did God “take off” the
seventh day? Was it because, as the child wrote,
He was “tired” by all that creation work? - Does God get tired? (Isaiah tells us in Isaiah
40:28 that our Creator does not become
physically weary. Instead, Isaiah 1:14
reveals He only gets weary about the way we
act.) - Since God was not yet tired of the way we act
when He finished creating, and He does not
grow physically weary, why would He rest? - Genesis 2:3 tells us that God “blessed”
the seventh day and “made it holy.” What
do you think God’s “blessing” and “holy”
stamp on the day have to do with rest?
(The inescapable conclusion is that God
is making the Sabbath a memorial to
Creation!) - Does the Sabbath need a memorial? (We
have discussed all quarter how the
evolutionary theory drives a wedge
between our connection with God. Not only
do we lose the kinship with our Father,
but lose the basis for our gratitude to
Him.) - Why didn’t God just create a huge
monument on the earth as a memorial to
Creation? Something, say, 5 miles high,
solid obsidian, with huge engraved golden
letters saying, “Remember I created the
world!” (He made a place in time, a
“time-out” instead.) - Is this an unusual idea? To have a
“time memorial” instead of some
monument? (If you think this is
strange, you have forgotten about
your birthday!) - If you believe that God is your Creator, what
is your obligation towards this memorial to
Creation? Or, how to do you feel when people
forget your birthday or anniversary? - Who has a vested interest in eradicating
the memory of God as our Creator? - If you believe that Satan is behind the
attempt to erase the knowledge of God as
the Creator, is the Sabbath a “line in
the sand” for those who are God’s
followers? - Assume you were kidnaped when you
were five years old. Your kidnapers
wanted to erase all knowledge of
your parents from your mind, so they
started celebrating the date of your
kidnaping as your “birthday.” What
would you say? What attitude would
you have about your real birthday? - Read Exodus 20:8-11 and 31:17. Is the Sabbath the
oldest commandment? (It certainly is the first one
mentioned in the Bible.) - What is the significance of the Sabbath being
given to man as a memorial to Creation long
before the Ten Commandments were given on Mt.
Sinai? - What is the significance of the Sabbath
commandment ( Exodus 20:8) starting out with
the word “remember?” - Notice that Exodus 31:17 says that the Sabbath
is a “sign between me and the Israelites
forever.” Is it fair to call the Sabbath a
“Jewish” institution? - Of what does Exodus 31:17 say the Sabbath
is a sign? (It says (again) it is a sign
of the Creation. Since Creation took
place a long time before any “Israelites”
ever lived, it must be a sign for
Israelites and all who believe in God the
Creator.) - If the Ten Commandments were “nailed to the
cross” (see, Colossians 2:14) would it be
logical for the memorial to Creation (see
Colossians 2:16) to also be nailed to the
cross? - This is a “gut-check” time. If you
believe that the Ten Commandments no
longer have any relevance to a
Christian’s behavior after the cross, how
do you explain Colossians 3 (the very
next chapter) which is filled with all
sorts of commands? - Does Colossians 3 suggest that it is “OK”
to violate the Ten Commandments? (Chapter
three is filled with a “to do” list of
attitude and actions modifications for
the Christian aspiring to walk closer
with God!) - If a Christian today believes that any of
the commandments should still be kept,
would there be a reason to leave the
Sabbath off that list? (No! In light of
fact that it is a memorial, and in light
of its institution at the time of
creation, it would logically be the last
commandment to leave off the list. When
we stop claiming that God is the Creator,
we can stop keeping the Sabbath!) - THE TIME-OUT AND REDEMPTION
- Read Ezekiel 20:12 and Exodus 31:12-13. Here is a
new idea. So far, we have read that God made the
Sabbath holy. Now, we read that the Sabbath is a
sign that God makes us holy. - What does it mean for God to make us holy?
- If we believe that God had the power to create
us in the first place, does that bolster our
belief that He has the power to recreate us? - Is it possible the Sabbath is also a memorial
to our salvation? Let’s explore that
intriguing idea! - Read Hebrews 3:7-11. Who are we talking about
here? (The Israelites in the Exodus.) - What would be “rest” for them? (Entering the
promised land.) - Why didn’t they enter God’s rest? (They were
rebellious and disobedient.) - Let’s read on: Hebrews 3:12-15. In light of the
Exodus example, what does God call on us to do
today? (To turn to God and not rebel or harden our
hearts.) - Let’s read on: Hebrews 4:4, 7-11. What rest are
we offered today? (It is best to read this entire
chapter which makes clear that the “rest” that God
offers us is salvation and ultimately heaven. The
“rest” “from our own work” offered by Christ is
our acceptance of the sacrifice of His life — the
perfect “Lamb of God.” We are not saved by our
works but by His works!) - Why does Hebrews refer to the Sabbath when
talking about the rest of our salvation? (This
strongly suggests that the Sabbath is a
memorial to our salvation.) - Why would we refuse to keep His Sabbath as a
memorial, not simply to Creation, but our personal
“re-creation?” (For the same reason the Israelites
died in the desert – hard-hearted rebellion.) - If you agree that the Sabbath is a memorial to
both Creation and our salvation, what do you make
of the sequence of the crucifixion weekend? (See
Mark 15:42-16:6: Friday crucifixion, Saturday
resting in the grave, Sunday resurrection. This
sequence strongly suggests that Jesus is observing
both the memorial to Creation and the memorial to
His victory over sin.) - How important is it to keep the Sabbath?
- Read Revelation 14:6-7. Is the “eternal
gospel” important? - What is the “eternal gospel?” (Fear God
because judgment is at hand and worship
the Creator.) - What does it mean to “worship” the
Creator? (Based on what we have studied
so far, this obviously refers to Sabbath
observance – the memorial to Creation!
Notice something else. If you believe
that the Sabbath is also a memorial to
our salvation, wouldn’t it be an
important part of “fearing God” because
judgment is at hand?) - SO WHAT DOES “TIME-OUT” MEAN AS A PRACTICAL
MATTER? - In light of the fact that the Sabbath is a
memorial to Creation and our salvation, and is a
central part of the “eternal gospel,” what should
we do during this “time-out?” How do you think we
should keep it? - Should we be out in nature every Sabbath
because, after all, it is a memorial to
Creation? - Should we contemplate Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection every Sabbath because the Sabbath
is a memorial to our salvation? - Let’s try to figure this out by reading a few
texts on the Sabbath. - Read Luke 6:5-6 (read the context because
these two verses are not naturally linked) and
Acts 17:2. What do these texts suggest we
should do on the Sabbath? (We see that both
Jesus and Paul attended “church” on the
Sabbath. That is consistent with the
Revelation 14:7 command to “worship” our
Creator. So church attendance is an important
part of the Sabbath.) - Read Mark 2:27-28. What does this text mean
when it says, “The Sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath?” - If we are to worship God on Sabbath,
doesn’t that indicate that man was made
for the Sabbath? (No! Jesus clearly tells
us that the Sabbath was made to benefit
us. It is not some dry, useless
regulation for us to keep. Anyone who has
truly entered into a worship experience
realizes that it is certainly a benefit
to mankind. More than that, it seems
Jesus is telling us that the Sabbath is a
time to recharge our batteries! The
Sabbath is meant to benefit us.) - Read Isaiah 58:13-14. Should the Sabbath be
just like any other day? (No. Clearly, our
normal routine should not be followed on
Sabbath. If you treat it as any other work
day, doing the tasks that you do all week, it
is no longer a memorial in time. It is just
another day. God calls us to a delightful
Sabbath, where we turn away from our normal,
everyday activities.) - Friend, the Sabbath is a test of your allegiance
to Jesus. Will you honor Him as the Creator of
the universe and the Author of your salvation? - NEXT WEEK: GOD’S RE-CREATION: THE EARTH MADE NEW
