The Sabbath Day

We believe that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath of the Lord our God. On this day we are commanded to rest from our labors and worship God, following the teachings and example of Jesus, the apostles and the New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation. Church (Genesis 2:2-3 [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.
[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.

See All...; Exodus 20:8-11 [8] 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.

See All...; 31:13-17; Leviticus 23:3Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
See All...; Isaiah 58:13If 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:
See All...; Hebrews 4:4-10 [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.
[5] And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
[6] Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
[7] Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in DavidKing of Israel, killed the giant Goliath with a sling and stones, a man after God's own heart, only turned from God in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5), had an affair with Bathsheba, Messiah would come from line of David, main author of Psalms and highly musical., To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
[8] For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
[9] There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
[10] For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

See All...; Mark 1:21And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
See All...; 2:27-28; 6:2; Acts 13:42-44 [42] And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
[43] Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
[44] And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

See All...; 17:2; 18:4; Luke 4:31And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
See All...).

The weekly Sabbath day, the holy time of rest that falls every seven days—from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset—was made and set apart for man at the time of man's creation. God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, and in it He rested from all His works of the creation week prior, as recorded in Genesis 1.

The sunset-to-sunset reckoning comes from the fact that the preceding six days each began in the evening (verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), and in Leviticus 23:32It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
See All... God explains that He still reckons days this way. (The custom of beginning and ending days at midnight dates back to practices established in pagan Roman society and is contrary to God's method of determining time.)

The first Sabbath was the day after the formation of the first man and woman, an ordained time for human beings to focus on a close personal relationship with their Maker (Genesis 1:26-2
See All...:3).

Jesus Christ declared Himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
See All...), and indeed He is the One who actually instituted the Sabbath, God the Father having created all things through Him (John 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

See All..., 14; Colossians 1:16-17 [16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
[17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

See All...; Hebrews 1:1-2 [1] God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
[2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

See All...).

As Jesus also explained in the same instance, the Sabbath was intended to directly benefit all mankind—not just one particular cultural, religious or ethnic group (Mark 2:27And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
See All...). It is a very special time to deepen and broaden man's devotion to and relationship with God. When we turn from seeking our own way, we find pleasure in that which pleases God (Isaiah 58:13-14 [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:
[14] Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

See All...).

God gave instructions concerning the observance of the Sabbath when He listed it with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Thus it is an important aspect of God's law, which we are to obey.

In Exodus 20:8-10 [8] 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:

See All..., God said that man is to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." We remember and hallow the Sabbath by refraining from work during that time and instead using it to seek after God and worship Him.

Leviticus 23:3Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
See All... lists the seventh-day Sabbath as one of God's appointed times and declares it a period of solemn rest and of holy convocation—a mandated sacred assembly. As Christians follow this pattern of observance and worship, they are reminded of the Creator God, the One who brought them into being.

In Deuteronomy 5:12-15 [12] Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
[13] Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
[14] 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, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
[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.

See All... God reemphasizes the need to keep the Sabbath. He explains that the Sabbath is to be a reminder not only of Him as the Creator, but of the fact that He is the One who frees from bondage (see also Luke 4:18-19 [18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
[19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

See All...). Ancient Israel remembered being freed from physical bondage in Egypt. Christians remember being freed from spiritual bondage and liberated through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:16-18 [16] Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
[17] But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
[18] Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

See All...).

Exodus 31:13-17 [13] Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
[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.
[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.
[16] Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
[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.

See All... points out that the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people and constitutes a perpetual covenant. This is in addition to the instruction given at the time of man's creation and in the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath is to be kept holy as a reminder to those called of God that He is the one true God who sets them apart and that they are His children who have surrendered their lives in obedience to Him.

When Jesus returns to the earth and establishes the rule of the Kingdom of God over all nations, the Sabbath will be regularly observed by all humankind as a means of worshipping and serving Him (Isaiah 66:23And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
See All...).

Jesus Himself set a righteous example in His life of observing the Sabbath (Luke 4:31And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
See All...), and the New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation. records that His followers continued that practice long after His death and resurrection.

Paul taught the gentiles (non-Israelites) on the Sabbath (Acts 13:42-44 [42] And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
[43] Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
[44] And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

See All...), following both the law of God and the example of Christ. Wherever Paul went he taught on the Sabbath, as was his custom, and established churches that kept the Sabbath (Acts 17:2And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
See All...; 18:4). No example can be found in the writings of the apostles or the practice of the New TestamentThe 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels of Christ, Acts (a history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation. Church that shows any hint of change in the example and teaching they received from Christ.

Hebrews 4:9There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
See All... declares that "there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (NASB). The context of this passage, Hebrews 3-4, presents the seventh-day Sabbath as symbolic of the rest that the ancient Israelites sought—fulfilled in part in their settlement in the Promised Land, but to be ultimately fulfilled in the future rule of God over all nations, when all peoples will find true rest. Nearby verses show that Christians now are to be diligent to enter God's future rest as well as the weekly rest that prefigures it (Hebrews 4:4For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
See All..., 9-11).

In conclusion, the Sabbath looks back to creation and reminds man of his Creator. In the present, it recalls for those who keep the seventh day holy that God is the One who has delivered them from the bondage of sin. Finally, the Sabbath looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, when there will be true rest for all humanity.