The Sabbath Day

Whether we grew up in a Christian household or not, we are implicitly taught that there is a specific day to worship God. And, while to many, this day may be Sunday or another day of the week, the Bible explicitly teaches us to observe the Sabbath day on Saturday. The World Mission Society Church of God keeps the Sabbath day on Saturday, following the example of Christ.

Biblical Sabbath Day

God gave His people the Ten Commandments to help us lead a righteous and holy life. Within the Ten Commandments, God included the observance of the Sabbath day.

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God.”
Exodus 20:8 (NLT)

God set the seventh day apart as holy and reminds all Christians to observe the Sabbath day on the seventh day. As God’s people, we cannot stray away from God’s words or try to change or interpret them.

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29

Though it is easy to misinterpret the words of God and carry out God’s commands according to our own point of view or understanding, Christ warned us against that. In matters related to our spiritual life, we must always consult the Scriptures. Concerning which day is the correct day to worship God, the Scriptures point to the seventh day, Saturday.

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.
Mark 16:1 (NLT)

According to the Bible, the Sabbath day ended on Saturday evening. In other words, the Sabbath day, on which we should attend church to worship God, is Saturday.

Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
Psalm 103:2

Surely, God gives us His commands not to burden us, but because His commands lead us to the salvation of our souls.

God Made the Sabbath Day for Us

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”
Mark 2:27 (NLT)

Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. Therefore, as Christians, we must keep the Sabbath day. Even more, as believers and followers of Christ, we must understand the Sabbath day is when God pours out His favor on His people. And because we are sinful, God created the Sabbath day to meet our spiritual needs and cleanse us from those sins. In other words, on the Sabbath day, God makes us holy and grants us blessings that lead to eternal life.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Genesis 2:1-3

God altered the creation by adding an extra day to the week—the seventh day. Our spirits need rest. We can never get enough blessings. And we need to be made holy while we are in this world. All of this takes place on the seventh-day Sabbath. God even gives us a sign between us and God when we keep the Sabbath day holy (Ex 31:12).

Finding Our Joy in God Through the Sabbath

“This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this—the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil. . . . And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah 56:1-7

Thus, God commands us to keep the Sabbath without desecrating it. God includes everyone in the blessings that come from keeping the Sabbath: knowing God and received joy. The reason God wants us to “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Ex. 20:8) is that He wants to give us such amazing blessings in the future.

Keeping the Sabbath Is Love for God

Those who love God also His commands (John 14:15). If we believe in God and long for the kingdom of heaven, we ought to obey God’s word and keep the Sabbath holy, following the example of Christ.

The World Mission Society Church of God observes the Sabbath day on Saturday, as God commanded, as well as the holy feasts of God (Lev 23). Visit your nearest Church of God and find your joy in God by keeping the Sabbath day holy on Saturday, as the Scriptures teach.