Reasons believers should keep the Sabbath:
1. Scripture tells us to. We could stop the list right here and call it good, because if our Creator tells us to do something then we should, plain and simple. Honoring the Sabbath day is one of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:10), as I'm sure you've heard before these are commandments, not suggestions or principles. We are accountable for our decisions, and there are consequences to choosing to honor or ignore something that Scripture says.
2. YHWH himself rested on the Sabbath. One of the first things that Scripture tells us in Genesis 2, is that YHWH rested on the seventh day. It wasn't because he didn't have anything left to do, and it wasn't because he physically needed rest. I think there is a significance here that we miss, when the Creator literally set the example for us. Genesis 2:3 says that YHWH blessed the seventh day and set it apart because that's when he rested from his work. If he did it, we should too.
3. The Messiah kept the Sabbath. The authors of the Gospels made it plain that Yahusha honored and rested on the Sabbath day. And he always spoke of it highly! Are we followers of him and his ways? 1 John 2:6 says that if we are then we should live as he did! Observing Shabbat is a practical way to do that, no matter where or when we live. We should work to follow the Messiah's example.
4. New Testament believers kept the Sabbath after the resurrection and ascension of Messiah. Those that spoke with and walked with the Messiah continued to honor this commandment, even after he ascended from the earth. These were people that were obedient to the Messiah even unto torture and death, if he had told them to stop resting on the Sabbath then I'm sure they would have. But they kept on following his example in this manner, and not one of them ever suggested they wanted that to change or that we should do things differently.
5. Because you're busy. I know many of you are thinking that you're way too busy to set aside 1/7 of the week for rest and worship. Hear this though: you're too busy, not to do this! Life will always be pulling at you from a million different directions; it's time to take a stand against that. I think every Sabbath keeper I know would agree with me when I say that I accomplish a lot more now that I keep the Sabbath. Resting one day of the week helps me to have more energy and use my time better. If I'm not willing to keep this instruction from Scripture, that holds me back from living the abundant life that he has for me...because I'm too exhausted and overwhelmed from not letting myself rest to enjoy his fullness.
6. Your soul needs this. Do you want more peace in your life? Do you find yourself aching in need of refreshment? Are you weary and burdened? Is joy hard to find? Are you struggling with your faith or with not feeling close in your relationship with the Messiah? Do you feel like there has to be more to life? Sabbath rest helps with all of that an so much more. It's time to stop believing the lie that Sabbath keeping is too hard or not for us or a burden. It is none of those things. I'm closing in on a decade of Sabbath observance and it is joy, freedom, refreshment, and peace. You owe it to yourself and your family to walk in this gift from our Creator.
Here are fifteen things Scripture says about it.
This is what the Messiah taught about Shabbat.
And why I started keeping Shabbat.
We love the Sabbath day. It was an adjustment at first, years ago, and sometimes still can be, but we look forward to this day all week! We need it!
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