If I am a law-abiding citizen and live in exact accordance with every requirement of the constitution and the laws of the country, will government officials praise me for it? I think I will be of no particular interest to them. But if, despite all my obedience, I begin stealing a little money from the state treasury—after all, there is a great deal of it there, and no one will notice—then, when this crime is discovered, will my overall righteousness in everything else be credited to me and cover my minor violation? And if I am compared with those who brazenly steal billions and openly break the laws, I will look virtuous against their background.
I think you have correctly answered this question with James 2:10: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Does this statement apply to the whole law of God, or does it concern only a few important commandments? There are only ten of them, and they were spoken aloud personally by God. It was not Moses who gave this Decalogue to those living on Earth, but the Creator Himself. And this law is the foundation of every person’s righteousness, for it defines sin.
In God’s Law there are two commandments that some people consider invalid. These are the second commandment, concerning the worship of idols, and the fourth, concerning the worship of God. And the pattern is that those who violate these commandments, making such violation a doctrine of their church, become guilty of violating all the other commandments as well.
If I replace God with various images or statues, or put a human being or an animal in His place and call people to worship it, then in spirit I become a spiritual adulterer, a murderer of your purity, a thief of your salvation and my own, a false witness, and a blasphemer of God. I make you a slave to tradition and sin, and I become guilty of all. Many people will agree that idolatry is harmful and violates God’s commandments. But as soon as the fourth commandment is discussed, a prepared answer immediately follows: “It was given only to the Jews.” “That was the Old Testament, but now we are in the New.” Or: “We are not under the law, but under grace.” But if we reason this way, then we must declare the entire Law invalid. Why tear out of it something inconvenient while keeping what I consider right?
The command concerning the holiness of the Sabbath was spoken by the same God Who said, “Thou shalt not kill.” And the very first verse of Exodus 20 is the key to correctly understanding Whose Law this is.
But the most interesting thing is that people did not abolish the fourth commandment, understanding that this would leave a breach in the law; instead, they changed it. And when representatives of this teaching are asked to provide a biblical basis for such changes, no one can find one. More educated people claim that the first disciples made Christ’s resurrection a weekly celebration and that this became a good tradition that has continued to our day. But they offer no evidence.
Let us be honest: Are we building our faith upon the solid foundation of God’s Word or upon the shifting sand of human traditions?
Once, while conducting seminars, I announced a prize of €1,000 for anyone who could present even one Bible verse concerning the holiness of Sunday. No one came forward, nor can anyone do so, because the Bible does not say a single word about it.
But the commandment concerning the holiness of Sabbath time does exist, and it was given to the world; there is no escaping this fact. Yet some dare to teach others that Sunday is now our Sabbath and that it should be kept holy, as the Bible says of the Sabbath, and that under no circumstances should anyone work during this sacred time. But the Bible teaches us to keep the Sabbath holy, not another day. We are given very detailed explanations of what should be done on the Sabbath and what should be avoided. And if the Sabbath is only for the Jews, then to what nation do the cattle, donkeys, oxen, and strangers clearly mentioned in this commandment belong? (Deuteronomy 5:14). Strangers are foreigners, people from other nations, and certainly not Jews.
The Bible does not teach me to observe Sunday, and therefore any attempt to keep this day holy becomes merely a human ordinance or a good tradition. And if, in a particular country, this rule has been elevated to the status of a law prohibiting work, then wisdom from above is needed so as not to enter into open confrontation with the representatives of that country’s highest authorities. At the same time, a correct understanding is also needed of how to remain obedient to God’s commandment if everyone around me is working and going about their ordinary business, while trying to involve me in that process.
I have also heard it said that by keeping the Sabbath I am saved by works. Nowhere does the Bible teach that salvation comes from works. Salvation is exclusively by grace—not in sin, but from sin. The commandment itself says in 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.” “Thou shalt not do any work” is a call to rest. But no one preaches salvation by idleness.
Furthermore, God calls us not only to rest on the Sabbath, but also to keep this day holy—to set it apart from other time in a special way and spend it worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
There will be little benefit from observing the letter of the law. If there is no love in the heart, the meaning of this commandment—and of every other commandment—is lost. The Pharisees’ scrupulousness in this matter led them into fanaticism, which Christ opposed. The Lord was free from the unnecessary rules with which the Sabbath day had been burdened, and He showed how this sacred time should be kept holy—not by abolishing the commandment, but by fulfilling it in the spirit of truth. Jesus loved His neighbors and did everything possible to relieve their suffering and teach them obedience. The Bible describes only seven miracles that Jesus performed on the Sabbath. Even this detail contains symbolic meaning.
Keeping the Sabbath does not save a person from death. Salvation is God’s prerogative, and He decides who will live eternally and whom He will punish. But obedience to the law carries a blessing in itself for everyone who chooses to live this way. For example, if I decide not to kill anyone, I will have peace in my heart in this area of thought; I will not tremble with fear while awaiting retribution for shed blood. By keeping the Sabbath, I rest physically and emotionally, and this will benefit my overall health and thinking. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
I am sometimes accused of speaking only about the Sabbath. What a strange accusation. All this time we have been speaking about love. And I understand that if there is no love in a person’s heart, that person will violate the Sabbath in spirit, even though its outward form may be observed. In marriage, which is important—the stamp in the passport or the relationship? Both. Without the stamp, we are fornicators; without the relationship, we are unhappy formalists.
If I have no relationship with the Creator and do not allow His love to dwell in my heart, I will not be able to keep the Sabbath holy according to the commandment. I will observe it according to the letter, and this is sin. Although I will receive physical and mental rest and relief, that is not all God desires to see.
The Sabbath is the very commandment that, like a sign, shows the whole world Whose I am, if I am united with God in the spirit of love and truth. Love is the fulfilling of the Sabbath.
Homework 250
In the light of our lesson, please read Genesis 2:1–3; Exodus 20:8–11; 31:13–17; Leviticus 23:32; Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Isaiah 56:5–6; 58:13–14; 66:23; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; Matthew 12:1–12; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:16; 1 John 3:22; and Hebrews 4:8–11. Did you learn anything new from this lesson? Do you believe that keeping the Sabbath saves me from eternal death? If, having a knowledge of the truth, I continue to violate the fourth commandment and observe another day out of love for God, honoring His resurrection, will this truly bring me under condemnation? How can I understand whether I am obedient to God and whether I am correctly keeping the commandment concerning rest? Why was the Sabbath given to humanity? If I dedicate every day to God, why do I need to keep the Sabbath holy? Can the whole world be mistaken by violating the fourth commandment while receiving abundant blessings in everything, and at the same time be under the curse of the law and have no hope of salvation? Will God truly refuse to save good people merely because they did not rest on the Sabbath? What blessing does the Sabbath bring you? In what way does God sanctify the people who are faithful to Him and keep the Sabbath? What should I do if the teaching of my church does not allow me to keep the Sabbath holy and the pastor has no intention of changing his views? I love my brothers and sisters and want to continue believing in God together with them. What is the right way for me to act? Are you certain that you are obedient to the requirement of the fourth commandment in spirit and in truth? What role does love play in obedience and in keeping the Sabbath? Share your understanding and experience of keeping the fourth commandment.