RULES FOR THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY
COMMUNION SUNDAY
DR. JIM DIXON
EXODUS 20:8-11
MAY 19, 2002
March 4, 1849, was a very special day in American history. It was on that day that Zachary Taylor was to be inaugurated as the 12th President of the United States of America. But it did not happen because March 4, 1849, was a Sunday, and Zachary Taylor refused to be inaugurated on what he called “the Christian Sabbath.” So, the Congress agreed that he would be inaugurated the next day, on March 5, but who was to be President of the United States on March 4?
According to Constitutional Law, it was not possible to extend the presidency of James Polk, the 11th President. His presidency could not be extended even by one day, so who was President of the United States on March 4, 1849? Historians tell us that technically nobody was president that day, but practically, functionally, the President of the United States on March 4 of that year was a man named David Rice Atchison. David Rice Atchison was a Congressman from Missouri, and he was the Senate Pro Tempt and functionally the President of the United States that day. In fact, many historians refer to him as “the man who was President of the United States for one day, David Rice Atchison.”
How did he spend that one day? Historians tell us he spent that one day, the entire day, sleeping. He was so exhausted from the stress of the presidential election and from the controversy regarding the inauguration—so stressed that he spent that entire day sleeping. He slept through his presidency, slept through that Sunday, slept through that Sabbath.
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew, “sabot” and from the Aramaic, “sabbatah,” from the Greek, “sabbaton,” and the Latin, “sabbacum.” In all four languages, it has exactly the same meaning. It means, “to stop,” “to cease,” or “to rest.” The Sabbath Day is oftentimes called “the day of rest.” But rest is not the purpose of the Sabbath Day. If rest was the purpose of the Sabbath Day, then David Rice Atchison would have done things perfectly. But, you see, rest is not what the Sabbath is about. The Sabbath is about rest only in the sense that we are to rest from one thing in order to do another thing. We are to cease doing what we normally do in order that we might do something else. We are to stop doing what we would normally do in order that we might do something else. So, what is the Sabbath Day all about? I have one teaching and only one this Communion Sunday, and it is this. The Sabbath is about relationship. It’s all about relationship.
In biblical times, the Jewish people had their biggest meal of the week on the Sabbath Day. They did not prepare it on the Sabbath. That would have been a violation of Sabbath Law regarding work. They prepared it the day before, but they enjoyed their biggest meal of the week on the Sabbath Day. That’s when they ate it, that’s when they celebrated it, and it was a wonderful time of laughter. The Sabbath Day was a family time. They played games; they renewed their family relationships, their friendships within the family. It was a family time, a family relational time, but the Jews knew that the primary purpose of the Sabbath was not family relationships. They knew the primary purpose of the Sabbath had to do with your relationship with God and your relationship with the people of God. Therefore, on the Sabbath Day, the Jews went to the Synagogue. They went to the Synagogue every Sabbath that they might cultivate their relationship with God and with the people of God. “Remember the Sabbath Day to Keep it Holy.” The Hebrew word for holy means, “set apart for God.” It’s all about God and your relationship with God. “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all of your work, but the seventh shall be a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” It’s all about your relationship with God.
Now, the Jews celebrated the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, which is our Saturday. But with the dawn of Christianity, Christians and even Jewish Christians began to move from celebrating the Jewish Sabbath to celebrating the Sunday Lord’s Day because it was on Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week. Many Jewish Christians in those early days honored both the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday and the Christian Lord’s Day on Sunday, sometimes called the “Christian Sabbath.” Eventually, over time, Sunday became the day upon which the Christian world sought to fulfill the fourth commandment, this commandment to remember the Sabbath.
On Sunday, Christians have sought to cultivate their relationship with God and with the people of God. For this purpose, for 2,000 years, Christians have come on Sunday for worship. They have gone to church on Sunday. Throughout Christian history, Christians have taken Sundays very seriously. Throughout American history, Christians have taken Sunday very seriously. That is why, during the Puritan era of New England, there were Sabbath laws established which virtually enforced the observance of the Sabbath. It was mandatory.
On May 3, 1685, Massachusetts passed a law locking all church doors on Sunday. They didn’t do this to keep people out. They did this to keep people in. They locked church doors by law in Massachusetts starting in 1685 so people couldn’t leave church services early. Some people were leaving the services early because they were long. Some were leaving the sermons early. They were long. They locked the church doors by law. They took the Sabbath very seriously. They took Sundays very seriously.
It’s not so today. We don’t take Sundays so seriously today. In the State of Colorado, 80% of the people claim to be Christian. I mean when they’re given a list of religious affiliations, they choose Christian—80% nominally Christian. But only 20% on average come to church on Sunday. Surveys show that church attendance is down when the weather is bad and church attendance is down when the weather is good. In Colorado, we need to pray for mediocre weather because if it’s too bad, people just stay home, and if it’s too good, they go somewhere else. The churches in Colorado just have to pray for mediocre weather.
There are a lot of excuses that people have for not going to church. I have to read you a couple of these. These are excuses that people have for not going to church applied to other things. The same excuses that people use for not going to church, this is applied to washing and the use of soap. Ten Reasons Not To Wash.
1. I was forced as a child.
2. People who make soap are only asking for money.
3. I wash on special occasions like Christmas and Easter.
4. People who wash are hypocrites. They think they are cleaner than everyone else.
5. There are so many different kinds of soap. I can’t decide which one is best.
6. I used to wash. It got boring, so I stopped.
7. None of my friends wash.
8. The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the summer.
9. I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier.
10. I can’t spare the time.
Those are the same reasons that people give for not going to church. They don’t sound so rational when applied to soap washing. They’ve taken reasons people don’t go to church and applied them to football games and going to football games.
• I stopped going to football games because they only want my money.
• The other fans don’t care about me.
• The seats are too hard.
• The coach never visits me.
• The referee makes calls I don’t agree with.
• Some of the games go into overtime and make me late for dinner.
• The band plays songs I don’t know.
• I have other things to do at game time.
• My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
• I know more than the coaches do anyway.
• I can be just as good a fan at the lake.
• I won’t take my kids to a game either. They must choose for themselves which team to follow.
Those are just kind of excuses that people use to not go to church applied to other things, but there are many excuses. But it really all comes down to the heart. In fact, with all of the commandments of God, it comes down to the heart. Where is your heart?
Statistics show that while, in the State of Colorado, 20% are in church on a Sunday morning, in southern Denver where we are, church attendance is even lower. Because the more affluent the people, the less likely they are to go to church. That’s what the surveys show. The more affluent the people, the less likely they are to go to church, the less important spiritual things are to them. The more affluent they are, they have a lower felt need of God. That is why Jesus said, “It is harder for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.”
It’s all about the heart, what you treasure in your heart. All of the first Four Commandments have to do with relationship. The First Commandment has to do with exclusive relationship. No other Gods. The Second Commandment tells us that in this relationship, we are not to try to use idols or icons to try to control the presence and power of God. It’s a relationship where we cannot control Him. The Third Commandment tells us that we are in this relationship to honor God at all times. We are to honor even His name. Then this Fourth Commandment tells us that this relationship takes time.
It’s not going to be a problem if your heart’s right. All of the Commandments are the same. If your heart’s right, they’re not a problem. Tithing is a Commandment in the Bible, a very controversial Commandment. Some people argue even in the Christian world, “Is it still binding today?” “Do we have to tithe today or are we freed up from that Commandment today?” If your heart’s right, you won’t even enter into that argument. If your heart’s right, that’s not a problem for you. You want to give. You’ll have no problem giving 10%. In fact, if you’re able, you’ll give more than 10% because you’ll want to see the work of God and the church of Christ prosper on the earth. If your heart’s right.
In the same way, if your heart’s right you’ll have no problem with observing the Sabbath Day. You’ll have no problem with taking one day out of seven and giving it to the Lord. You’ll have no problem with taking time out of each day and giving it to the Lord if your heart is right.
The Jews understood that Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 4, summed up the first Four Commandments. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.” It’s about heart. We can’t become legalistic with regard to this Fourth Commandment. The New Testament makes that clear. The New Testament makes that clear in Romans, chapter 14; in Galatians, chapter 4; in Colossians, chapter 2. If you read those passages, you’ll see that we’re not to be legalistic in our observance of the Sabbath.
Paul says, “One person regards one day as sacred or holy. Another person regards all days as alike. Whatever you do, remember to honor the Lord. It’s all about honoring Him.” Paul says, “We honor Him because our life is in Him and even our death is in Him.” It’s all about Him. When you understand Paul’s arguments in Romans 14 and Galatians 4 and Colossians 2, you understand that we’re not to be legalistic about the Fourth Commandment, but we’re to honor its intent. Its intent is relationship—relationship with God and relationship with the people of God.
If you really honor the Fourth Commandment, it’s not that you’re always in church on Sunday, although that would be good. It’s that you’re taking time every week for God and for the people of God in some context. It doesn’t matter whether you go to church on Sunday or Saturday or any other day of the week, but are you focusing on your relationship with God? You need to come to church in some context on some day and on a regular basis in order to cultivate your relationship with God and the people of God. But the day doesn’t matter. It’s about the relationship. That’s the intent of this Fourth Commandment.
You really can’t honor the Fourth Commandment sitting in the woods communing with trees. It’s not the same. You need to join the people of God. The Bible says, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given for the purpose of fulfilling this Fourth Commandment as the body of Christ comes together. There are gifts of proclamation mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 and in Romans 12 and in Ephesians 4. Those gifts of proclamation are given so that people might be blessed by the Word of God and understand the Word of God.
We come to church because we need to hear the Word of God explained. We come to church because we need to worship. We come to church because we need fellowship with other Christians and encouragement from other Christians. We cannot forsake our assembling together. We come to church to cultivate this relationship, not only with each other but also with God.
The Jewish and religious leaders at the time of Christ did not understand the Sabbath. They didn’t understand the purpose. Jesus had that discussion with the Jewish leaders in Matthew, chapter 12, where Jesus and the disciples had picked grain from a wheat field on the Sabbath and the Pharisees had accused Him of violating the Sabbath law, telling them that they were laboring on the Sabbath which was a violation of Sabbath law.
Jesus said to them three incredible things. First of all, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” This was an amazing statement because they all knew the Sabbath was the Lord’s Day and now Jesus says, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. I am Lord of the Sabbath,” a clear claim to deity. Then Jesus said to them that the Sabbath was not established for sacrifice but for mercy. Of course, the Jews, and particularly the Pharisees, had turned the Sabbath into a burden with a long list of regulations and dos and don’ts. But God had established the Sabbath out of mercy and compassion, “eleos,” compassion. Finally, Jesus said, “Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.”
It’s a very important point. We were not created to serve the Sabbath. The Sabbath was created to serve us. We need the Sabbath. We need time for relationship with God, time for relationship with the people of God. It’s out of compassion that God has regulated this and commanded this. We need this. We need time with the Lord, time with His people; we need time in worship. You see, God doesn’t need worship. God doesn’t need my worship. God doesn’t need your worship. WE need worship. As we focus on His attributes, it changes us. As we focus on His character, it changes us. It’s all about His love for us, His compassion for us. That’s why He’s given this fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.” We need time with Him and with His people and we need to cultivate this relationship.
I love the story of a man who went to Europe. He was on a business trip. He wished his wife could be with him. She could not come. He felt kind of alone. He was in a gift shop in Paris, and he was looking for something for his wife that he might bring back to her to express his love. He found this beautiful matchbox. It was just beautifully decorated. He thought that his wife would love this, and he brought it back to the States with him. He gave her this beautiful matchbox from Paris. She loved it. He had been told that the matchbox would glow in the dark.
That night his wife sat it by the bed, but nothing happened. It didn’t glow. It didn’t shine. Nothing. They saw that there was some writing on the matchbox, but it was in French and they couldn’t read it. The next day they had a friend who was French, and they took the matchbox to the friend and asked what the inscription said. It says, “If you want me to shine at night, keep me in the sun all day.”
The next day they put the matchbox outside where the sun could shine on it, and that night it was radiant. You understand that, as Christians, we’re kind of like that. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill could not be hid, nor does one light a lamp to hide it under a bushel basket but to put it on a lampstand that it might give light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine amongst people that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
If your light is going to shine, you’re going to have to come into the sun. If it’s going to shine in the darkness, you’re going to have to spend some time in the sunlight. That’s really what the fourth commandment is all about. You need time in the sunlight. You need time in the presence of God, time in the presence of His people. That’s why God has said, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” You need to stop normal activities, cease normal activities. Rest from normal activities in order that you might cultivate relationship with God and with His people.
Let’s close with a word of prayer before we come to the Lord’s table. I want to point out that the commandments, the list of the Ten Commandments, are different in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5. Those are the two passages where they are listed. The fourth commandment is where they are different. The lists are virtually identical except for the fourth commandment. In Exodus 20, the fourth commandment is tied to the creation. “Six days you shall labor.” “And the seventh, He rested.” But in Deuteronomy 5, this fourth commandment is tied to the exodus. “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy and then remember how God brought you out of the land of Egypt by the might of His hand and by His extended arm.” The Jews understood the Sabbath Day was to be a day of remembrance when they would remember back upon what God had done for them and how He had delivered them from bondage in Egypt.
We come to this table and a time of remembrance on this Sabbath Day. We remember something greater than the exodus. We remember the cross. We remember the cross where Christ died for us, where His blood was shed for us, His body broken for us, where in grace and mercy He offered us forgiveness of sin. We remember the moment when we first gave our lives to Him. We think back. We remember the commitment we made and we renew that commitment as we come to this table. Let’s look to the Lord with a word or prayer.