Sunday vs. the Sabbath
The First Sabbath
A. It was observed by God.
B. It was a rest from the work
C. It was different from the other days
1. It wasn’t introduced by “God said” 2. There is no evening and morning 3. It is the only day blessed by God 4. It has no pair within the days of creation.
The Law of the Sabbath Exodus 20:8
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.
A. It was a sign of God’s covenant with Israel. Exodus 31:16-17
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.
Ezekiel 20:12
12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
B. It was designed to be a day of rest.
Relevance of the Sabbath for the N.T. believer.
A. The old covenant Sabbath is non-binding for the N.T. Christian.
Colossians 2:16-17
16 Let no man therefore judge you xin meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
B. The old covenant Sabbath is fulfilled and finished. Hebrews 4:9-10
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.
Why Sunday?
It was observed by the early church.
It was observed in commemoration of Jesus resurrection.
It is through the Lord’s resurrection that we we find our rest.
How should we spend our time on the Lord’s Day?
A. Make worship with other believers a priority. Hebrews 10:25
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
B. Observe it as a day uniquely for the Lord, remembering that it is His day, and evaluating our activity by this fact. Revelation 1:10
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,