Counsels on Church Life

Counsel #3 — The Purpose Of The Sabbath

Picture: Counsel #3 — The Purpose Of The Sabbath CCL 50.1

The fourth commandment comes across as a demand from God. But a closer reading reveals it is meant to be a blessing.^[78] After all, God doesn’t need to rest. But we do. God doesn’t need to be reminded to think about or care for us. We need reminders to think about and love God. Beyond this, the commandment emphasizes the equality of all people. Everyone is asked to rest and worship—servants and masters, men and women, Jews and non-Jews. The Sabbath protects the physical and spiritual rights of all humanity. Sabbath, truly kept, makes the world a better place. CCL 50.2

"And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27 CCL 50.3

“The Sabbath was made for man, to be a blessing to him by calling his mind from secular labor to contemplate the goodness and glory of God.” Ellen White in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 583.1, 2 CCL 50.4

Reflect: Are you receiving the blessings of the Sabbath as God intended, or have you made it a burden for yourself? Do you protect the rights of others in your observance of the Sabbath? CCL 50.5