THE SABBATH QUESTION
By Pastor Jack Hayford
The Sabbath, which we usually think of as Saturday,
literally means "the seventh." It has to do with the seventh
day—the day the Lord set apart, or "sanctified,"
in the first chapter of Genesis and elaborated on in the second
chapter.
I came to realize early in the Lord's dealing with
me on this subject, that the question of the Sabbath does not have
to do so much with a specific day of the week as it has to do with
one out of seven (Romans 14:5 & 6). In other words, the Bible
says that if you keep the Sabbath, you keep the day unto the Lord
by observing a break in your schedule, not necessarily by observing
a specific day.
The Sabbath is viewed in different ways. Some people
think of it as the seventh day of the week, or Saturday, and they
fervently treat it as the day that must be observed for worship
of our Lord. I don't have any quarrel with people who choose to
do this. A number of traditions do—most notably our friends,
the Seventh Day Adventists. I have many friends in that tradition
who know and love Jesus Christ dearly, and I respect their choice
of that day. Surely we could learn from them the wisdom of setting
aside a regular day for worship and rest.
Others will insist that Sunday is the "Christian
Sabbath," but that is not accurate either. The Bible refers
to Sunday as "the Lord's Day." On this day Jesus rose
from the dead, and we celebrate on the first day of each week to
renew the covenant of His Resurrection and live out His Resurrection
life for another week. However, in observing Sunday as their day
of worship, many devoted believers do not experience it as a day
of rest. It's a day of worship, spiritual enterprise, devotion,
enjoyment, and much activity, but it certainly is not a day of reprieve.
Of course, for some it is. They attend church in the morning and
take the remainder of the day to rest or pursue recreational activities.
Still others consider the Sabbath a day to be set
aside each week for the sake of the human body. And that's what
I want to talk about: the principle of keeping a Sabbath for the
sake of your body.
Worship is unto the Lord. But according to the
Bible, God, at creation, made holy or "sanctified" the
Sabbath as a day to be kept for the purpose of fulfilling one of
man's basic needs.
Several years ago, the Lord showed me what an idolatrous
(that's a tough word to use) thing it was to suppose I could
live on this planet and survive with strength and effectiveness
without observing one of the ordinances God set forth at creation.
In calling us to observe the seventh day, I understand the Lord
to be saying not only that we need to worship and honor Him, but
that we also need to recognize our finiteness. And God has made
that finiteness very clear. He said we must observe one day in seven
as a day of rest—a day for a change of pace.
The basic idea of Sabbath, by the way, is not to
be a "couch potato" for 24 hours. The Hebrew word means
"to cease or rest," literally "to stop." The
idea is beautifully expressed in the word "intermission"
as the interruption of one's own effort. That definition comes from
the meaning of the Hebrew word in the original language of Scripture.
The Lord says "... if you keep your feet from breaking the
Sabbath and doing as you please on My holy day, then you will find
your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights
of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father, Jacob"
(Isaiah 58:13,14).
Look at what’s wrapped up in that verse:
"You will find your joy in the Lord."
(You will find joy and refreshing that transcends burn-out.);
"I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land."
(You will experience spiritual triumph.); "You will
gain the inheritance of your father, Jacob." (You will find
the fulfillment that the Lord has in store for those who purpose
to walk in His covenant.)
But you will not find that fulfillment on the terms
of your own power or will to accomplish it!
When the Lord dealt with me about this, I was 42
years old. I felt as though I did not need a day of rest. It wasn't
arrogance. I was still feeling the vibrancy of youth. (I still do
at times but my body needs a bit more rest than it did then!) I
thought, "As long as I feel strong, I don't need to take a
day off. And besides . . . " (Here's the clincher!)
"There is so much to do." That was when the Lord asked
me, "Do you think I observed the Sabbath because I was tired?"
That was a revelation! God was not telling me to
observe a change of pace because I was tired. He was showing me
that I need to do it! We are finite beings. Our emotions, our mind,
our body, our soul—everything about us needs a change of pace.
So Sabbath became for me the acknowledgment that I need a change
of pace because I am human. To try to live any other way
is to presume that I can serve God on my own terms and in my own
strength. And that is idolatry! So our challenge in understanding
the Sabbath is to learn God's pattern for our rest and then to live
by that pattern—not just because we feel like it—but because
He is our loving Creator and He knows what is best for us.
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Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233