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Thirty-One Reasons for Sabbath-Keeping

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 24, 1907

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 84, No. 4.

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Thirty-One Reasons for Sabbath-Keeping

By J. H. Woods

J. H. WOODS
1. God gave the Sabbath to man at creation. Gen. 2:2, 3.
2. The Sabbath was given before the fall, hence before man needed a redeemer. Consequently any remedial system instituted toward buying back what was lost could not affect that holy day.
3. It was observed by the Israelites thirty-three days before Sinai was reached. Ex. 16:30.
4. It was confirmed on Mount Sinai when the ten commandments were spoken by God. Ex. 20:8-11.
5. “The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. Therefore it is not simply a national institution.
6. It is a sign between God and his people, that they may know him. Eze. 20:20, 12. Such knowledge is still needed.
7. There is but one Sabbath law in all God’s Word. It has never been repealed. The blessing and sanctification placed by the Lord upon that day has never been removed. See Amos 3:7.
8. Christ observed the Sabbath. Mark 1:21. We are to learn of him. Matt. 11:29.
9. He called himself Lord of the Sabbath. Mark 2:28. Then the seventh-day Sabbath is the Lord’s day. Ex. 20:8; Isa. 58:13; Rev. 1:10.
10. It was Christ’s custom to preach on that day. Luke 4:16. His steps led to the house of God on the Sabbath. If we “follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21), our feet will be guided in the same direction.
11. It was also Paul’s manner, or custom, to keep the Sabbath, and preach on that day. Acts 17:2; 24:14; 28:17.
12. The Saviour rested on the Sabbath after finishing his work of creation. He also rested on the Sabbath in Joseph’s new tomb, after finishing on the earth his work of redemption.
13. The disciples rested on the Sabbath while Christ was lying in the grave, and after his life’s blood had sealed the new covenant. Luke 23:56; Gal. 3:15; Heb. 9:16, 17. Observe, this was “according to the [fourth] commandment” after all types and shadows had ceased at the cross.
14. The evangelists who wrote after the crucifixion, spoke familiarly of the Sabbath as an existing institution. Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 23:54-56.
15. Christ caused the early church to remember the Sabbath through prayer, for about forty years after his resurrection. Matt. 24:20. Praying at least twice a day for forty years equals 29,200 times. Could they ever forget God’s memorial of creation? Ps. 135:13.
16. The Gentiles, saved by grace, observed the Sabbath, and no other day. Acts 13:42, 44.
17. Paul preached by a river side, amid the scenes of nature, and where there was no synagogue, on the Sabbath day. Acts 16:13.
18. The great apostle to the Gentiles “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath” (Acts 18:4) until cast out through persecution (verses 6, 7), and continued in Corinth “a year and six months,” or seventy-eight Sabbaths. Verse 11. He also broke bread with that church. 1 Cor. 11:23. It was a Sabbath-keeping church.
19. The Sabbath is mentioned fifty-seven times in the New Testament. It is always spoken of by inspiration as the Sabbath of the Lord.
20. Three steps are necessary in order to make a holy day; namely, resting, blessing, and sanctifying. Gen. 2:2, 3. Simply holding a religious meeting on a day does not constitute it a Sabbath.
21. The Sabbath is placed in the center of the law that sets forth God’s righteousness (Ps. 119:172), and “shall not be abolished.” Study Isa. 51:6-8.
22. The ten-commandment law is the foundation of God’s throne. It was under the mercy-seat in the earthly sanctuary. 1 Kings 8:9; 2 Chron. 5:10. It is now under the mercy-seat in the heavenly sanctuary. Rev. 11:15, 18, 19.
23. The Sabbath was given in Eden by the Lord, the Sunday-sabbath in Rome by the “man of sin.” Dan. 7:23-25.
24. Prophecy foretells a reform on the Sabbath in the last days. Isa. 58:1, 13; 56:1-6; Rev. 12:17.
25. The Sabbath law is connected with the “everlasting gospel”—God’s last call to repentance and obedience. Rev. 14:6, 7, 12, 14.
26. The same law is the basis of the new covenant, of which Christ is minister. Heb. 8:6-13.
27. The ten-commandment law is also the basis of the final judgment. Eccl. 12:13, 14; James 2:11, 12, margin.
28. It is binding on “whosoever committeth sin” (1 John 3:4, 5); and as “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23), its claims must affect every one.
29. God, Christ, and angels; patriarchs, prophets, and Israel’s singers; the apostles, and the early Christian church, all observed the seventh-day Sabbath. We should do the same.
30. The last blessing in the Bible is pronounced upon those who keep the ten commandments. Rev. 22:14.
31. The Sabbath will be kept in the eternal state, where all will be Sabbath-keepers. Isa. 66:22, 23.
For the reasons given above, Seventh-day Adventists observe the seventh day of the week (Saturday) as the Sabbath, instead of the first day, Sunday.
Melbourne, Australia.