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Does God Really Care Which Day We Keep?
Let's take a look at a few passages in the Bible to see if God is particular
about how people follow His instructions. As you read through these stories,
ask yourself if it was important that people were specific about how they
followed God's instructions.
The first example is about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Was
God specific in His instructions? What were the consequences of
disobeying those instructions?
Gen 2:16-17
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of
the garden you may eat freely;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die ."
God's instructions to Adam and Eve were specific and very clear. Why did Eve
disobey? Perhaps because she was deceived by the serpent. Perhaps also
because she didn't think that a bite of fruit was such a big deal. But it was a
big deal. One bite of fruit has resulted in 6000 years of sin and separation
from God for the entire human race.
Next we see Adam and Eve's son following in their parents' footsteps.
Gen 4:3-5
3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to
the LORD of the fruit of the ground.
4 And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of
their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his
offering;
5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became
very angry and his countenance fell.
Gen 4:10-12
10 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is
crying to Me from the ground.
11 "And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth
to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
12 "When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to
you; you shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth."
Prov 14:12
12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death.
Heb 9:22
22 And according to the Law, one may almost say all things are cleansed
with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness .
Cain and Able both offered a sacrifice to the Lord to atone for their sins. The
entire sacrificial system, in terms of sin sacrifices, pointed forward to Jesus
shed blood in atonement for the sins of the world. God's instructions
regarding the sin offering were clear. Hebrews tells us that a sin offering has
to involve shedding of blood. Cain's offering was of the results of his own
labor. This represents works righteousness, which is unacceptable to God.
Able's offering was according to God's instructions and pointed forward to
Jesus' death on Able's behalf. God rejected Cain's sacrifice, which led Cain to
become jealous of his brother and to eventually kill him. Little sins lead to
progressively worse sins unless repentance stops the slide.
Does the Bible say that God was particular about a specific day? Did the
Israelites have the option of deciding which day they wanted to observe as the
Sabbath? Was any day in seven good enough, as long as they set one aside for
God? No! God picked the day. He was very particular about which day it was.
He was also very angry with the Israelites when they tried to make their own
decisions about which day to keep. The Sabbath day has never changed. God
is still as particular about it now as He was then.
Heb 13:8
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever .
Mal 3:6
6 "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are
not consumed.
Matt 5:18
18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the
smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is
accomplished.
Lev 10:1-2
1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans,
and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire
before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
2 And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed
them, and they died before the LORD.
Look at Saul's excuses. First he blames it on the people rather than taking
responsibility himself. But even more interesting is the reason that he gives for
sparing some of the animals - they kept the best ones to sacrifice to God! That
sounds like a noble purpose, doesn't it? Surely God would overlook the
disobedience since they had such good intentions. But God says through
Samuel, "To obey is better than sacrifice!!"
Do you see this same issue with regard to the Sabbath? Protestants claim to
observe Sunday as the Sabbath because that is the day that Jesus rose from
the dead and that the Holy Spirit fell on the Disciples at Pentacost. Well that
sounds very good, but it is not what God instructed. Nowhere does the Bible
ever transfer the solemnity of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. God is
still the same, and He is still particular about His instructions.
Later we see that Saul didn't learn his lesson. Once again he disregards God's
instructions. The first time God just deposed him as king. Look what happens
as a result of continued disobedience.
1 Sam 28:7, 8
7 Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek for me a woman who is a
medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to
him, "Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor."
8 Then Saul disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and
two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said,
"Conjure up for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall name to
you."
1 Chr 10:13-14
13 So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD,
because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because
he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it
14 and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him, and
turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.
God is serious about His commands. There are dozens of such examples
in Scripture. Look at one more example that is significant to the
Sunday/Sabbath issue.
Remember that the temple utensils and vessels had been consecrated to God's
service in the temple. They were sanctified - or set aside for a holy purpose.
Belshazzar had used these sanctified things for an unholy purpose. This was
an abomination to God. It was compounded by the sins of pride and idolatry.
God deposed king Belshazzar, overthrew his kingdom, and killed him on
account of his sins. Belshazzar was king of Babylon. Babylon has very
significant symbolic end-time meaning in the book of Revelation. God is very
serious about things which have been sanctified, or set aside as holy.
Ezek 22:26-28
26 "Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy
things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane ,
and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the
clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths , and I am profaned
among them.
27 "Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding
blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain.
28 "And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false
visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when
the LORD has not spoken.
Gen 2:2-3
2 And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and
He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He
rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Exod 20:8-11
8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall
not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female
servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
11 "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and
all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD
blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
God blessed and sanctified the seventh day at creation. He has never done
the same for another day, nor has he changed the solemnity of the Sabbath
and moved it to another day. God is serious about that which is holy. God is
particular about His instructions. The real issue is obedience. The following
Scripture passages are presented without comment .
Rom 6:16
16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves
for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey , either of sin
resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness ?
Matt 7:20-23
20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom
of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven .
22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform
many miracles?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness.'
Matt 15:3
3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves
transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
Mark 7:7-8
7 'But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of
men.'
8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of
men."
I Jn 2:3-6
3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His
commandments.
4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been
perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same
manner as He walked.
IKing 18:21
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you
hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if
Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.
Acts 5:29
29 But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God
rather than men.
Rev 14:12
12 Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of
God and their faith in Jesus.
Rev 12:17
17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war
with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold
to the testimony of Jesus.
II Th 2:10-12
10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because
they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved .
11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so
that they might believe what is false,
12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but
took pleasure in wickedness.
John 3:19-21
19 "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and
men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the
light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds
may be manifested as having been wrought in God."
I Jn 1:6-7
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from
all sin.
Acts 17:30
30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now
declaring to men that all everywhere should repent,
John 14:15
15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments .
I Jn 5:3
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His
commandments are not burdensome.