The Sabbath Commandment
Exodus 20:8-11
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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:
- Why?
- 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.
Immoral?
immoral: not conforming to accepted standards of morality.
morality:
principles concerning
the distinction between right and wrong or
good and bad behavior.
Nehemiah 9:13-15 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven,
and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath,
and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
Romans 7:12 Wherefore
the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
To Mow or Not To Mow
As BobRyan already stated, mowing the lawn can be done any of the six work days of the week, it doesn't have to be done on Sabbath.
Sabbath for the Jews?
Regarding the Sabbath being for the Jews specifically...
If the Sabbath is only for the Jews, then...
- The other nine commandments are only for the Jews.
- There is no standard of Christian character.
- You would have to rely solely on the ministry of Jesus.
- But... If you rely solely on the ministry of Jesus...
- You would have to ignore that Jesus taught the Ten Commandments during His ministry.
- You would have to ignore that Jesus taught from what we now call the Old Testament.
- You would have to ignore that Jesus hung the law and the prophets on love, forever binding them, not separating them.
- You would have to ignore that Jesus said specifically that not one jot or tittle will pass from the law until all be fulfilled (all is not fulfilled).
- You would have to ignore that Jesus went to the synagogue every Sabbath to read, as was His custom.
- You would have to ignore that Jesus observed the Sabbath even in death.
- You would have to ignore the writings of the apostles that specifically call for commandment keeping for both Jew and Gentile.
- You would have to ignore that Jesus called for commandment keeping in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, post-crucifixion, from heaven.
- You would have to ignore that the patience of the saints is keeping the commandments of God and faith of Jesus (also found in the Revelation of Jesus Christ).
That's a lot of ignoring a Christian would have to do, just to avoid the Sabbath commandment.
Build Your House on the Rock
Matthew 7 and the parable of the house built on the rock vs the house built on sand.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
- What is doing the will of the Father, if not observing the Ten Commandments?
- Jesus did the will of the Father. They are one and the same.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
- Hear and do = house built upon a rock.
- Hear and not do = house built upon sand.
- The house built on sand will not stand the weather.
The Commandments Are the Standard
Jesus:
Matthew 5:19 For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall
do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
