How should I keep the Sabbath?

HOW SHOULD I KEEP THE SABBATH?

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Dr. Paul Manuel—Youth SS Class—2000

Although you have not lived very long, your responsibility as well as the freedom you have to choose the direction of your life has changed over the years.

• When you were little, your parents decided most of what you would do and where you would go.
• As you get older, you decide more of what you will do and where you will go.

Right now, you may think your folks should let you decide a lot more than they do but, I assure you, that will change. In fact, you are going to be making some important decisions over the next few years.

• Will you date and, if so, whom?
• Will you have sex before you get married?
• Will you get married and, if so, to whom?
• Will you use drugs or alcohol?
• Will you go to college and, if so, where will you go and how will you pay for it?
• What job will you take?
• Where will you live—someplace near or far away?

Your friends will be glad to help you make some of those decisions, but their advice may not always be the best, depending on the kind of friends you have. Your parents also may help you with some of those decisions, and their advice usually has your best interest at heart. Still, the choices will ultimately be yours, because that is part of growing up. One of the decisions you will face is whether or not you will serve God.

• You may say, "I've already made that decision. I've been baptized. I come to church every week."
• That is true. You have all been baptized, and you all come to church regularly.
• Would you continue to come, though, if your parents did not bring you? Is worshiping God and being with other Christians on Saturday more important to you than staying in bed or watching TV or hanging out with your friends?
• In other words, if someone did not make you come or drive you here, would you come? One day, you will have to make that decision.

It is important for you to know what God has said about this matter, especially as you encounter conflicts with other activities on the Sabbath. School activities, for example, things you enjoy doing, often happen on Friday night. Right now, your parents may be "discouraging" you from participating in those activities. Suppose they left the decision up to you? How would you decide the right thing to do? Is that even be a question you would ask?

If you want to please God, then you need to know what He thinks about the matter.

• You probably already suspect what His answer would be.
• You may figure it is better not to know what God thinks. (Maybe He will not hold you responsible, then.)

But if God has revealed what He thinks about a matter—as He has about a lot of issues in the Bible—He expects us to look into it. We are going to look at four passages and try to answer four questions about the Sabbath to understand what God says and to decide how it may apply to you.

I. What is the Sabbath?
II. When is the Sabbath?
III. Why should I keep the Sabbath?
IV. How should I keep the Sabbath?

Afterward, I will try to answer any other questions you may have about this issue.

I. What is the Sabbath? (Is it just a day off?)

Lev 23:3 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.

• The Sabbath is a day of rest and worship.¹

II. When is the Sabbath? (Is it just Saturday morning?)

Gen 1:5b And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Gen 1:8b And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Gen 1:13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
Gen 1:19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Gen 1:23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Gen 1:3 lb And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Gen 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

• The Sabbath is the seventh day and lasts from sundown Friday evening to sundown Saturday evening.²

III. Why should I keep the Sabbath? (Is it necessary for my salvation?)

Exod 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." ...27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? 29 See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

• The Sabbath is not necessary to be saved, but it is a test of my willingness to obey God.³

IV. How should I keep the Sabbath? (What should I do or not do?)

Isa 58:13 If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your [own] pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy [day] of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your [own] ways, from seeking your [own] pleasure and speaking [your own] word, 14 then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you [with] the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

• The Sabbath is a time to focus on God instead of on me.⁴

For most people, there is nothing special about Friday evening and Saturday, except that it begins the weekend and a chance to do what they want instead of what their boss wants or what their teachers want. It is an opportunity to do things they do not have time for during the week, and there are plenty of interesting and enjoyable things to do. If you do not care about serving God, then you will do whatever you want. But if you do care about serving God, how do you decide what is appropriate?

• God says you should not work, so that eliminates a part-time job to make some spending money.
• God says you should not buy or sell, so that eliminates shopping and going to the movies.

What about hanging out with your friends or watching TV? What about being in the band, playing football or basketball? The Bible does not mention those things. In fact, the Bible does not mention a lot of things. So, if the decision were up to you, how would you decide what is appropriate? ...What does God say through Isaiah? To decide if something is appropriate on the Sabbath, I should answer the question: Is this activity "doing [my] own pleasure" or is it "delight[ing] in the LORD"?

You all know that I have been studying the martial arts for many years. It is an activity I really like, and I have gotten a lot benefit from it. I had to decide, though, if karate is an appropriate activity on the Sabbath. Not only do most dojos have classes on Saturday, there are weekend seminars that offer opportunities to study with top instructors from all over the world. The Bible does not say anything about martial arts training. Teaching karate is not my job, so it is not work for me, something I have to do to make a living. I do it because I enjoy it. Is it okay, then, for me to teach or study karate on the Sabbath? ...When I asked the question from Isaiah...

• I decided that practicing karate on the Sabbath is "doing [my] own pleasure" and not "delight[ing] in the LORD," so I do not train on the Sabbath.

What if it is a special occasion? The head of our Shotokan organization (Koncho Kanazawa) comes to the US only once a year, sometimes only once every other year, and he is coming this June to give a special seminar. Could I not go to that if it is on Saturday? Yes, I probably could. God is not forcing me to keep the Sabbath. But if I do go, what am I saying to God? "Sensei Kanazawa is more important than You are."

• I decided that practicing karate on the Sabbath is "doing [my] own pleasure" and not "delight[ing] in the LORD," so I do not train on the Sabbath...even for special occasions.

Instead, I am hoping there will be a seminar with Sensei Kanazawa in the middle of the week.

In certain cases, the choice about keeping the Sabbath is clear, because the Bible addresses the particular situation in question. For most cases, though, you have to make hard decisions and even make certain sacrifices. It would be easier if, like your parents, God just said, "You're not doing this or that." But He does not. Instead, He leaves the decision up to you, because that is part of growing up and of maturing as a Christian. You must answer the question for yourself: "How should I keep the Sabbath?"

For the Endnotes, see the pdf here.