THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF THE LORD THY GOD

What is Sabbath? It is rest. Who rested on the seventh day? The Lord thy God. Mark well this fact: The seventh day is never in the Scriptures called the Sabbath of the Jews, nor of the Greeks, nor of the Russians, nor of theTFNOS 9.2

Romans, but always and invariably, the Sabbath of the Lord. It was his; and he made it for man (Mark 2:27), to glorify him; the Creator, and to benefit man, the creature. We know that the Jews are men; but the Gentiles are also men. Jacob (Israel) was a man; so was Enoch. Moses was a man; so was Noah. Solomon was a man; so was Pharaoh. Daniel was a man; so was Nebuchadnezzar. Peter was a man; so was Cornelius. English, French, Germans, Turks, Chinese, Africans, etc., are all men—all are descended from Adam; but no one class or nation can be called men to the exclusion of others. Can you find in God’s word that the Sabbath was a national institution? You cannot. It is right to be strictly just toward our fellow-men, and to render to all that which is their due; but while we render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, let us be very careful to render unto God that which is God’s. The Sabbath is the Lord’s. He himself hath said so; and so let it be.TFNOS 10.1

It is commanded in plain terms in God’s law that the seventh day be kept holy. We are commanded to keep holy that day which God made holy. Now it must be admitted that laws, as they are designed to define our obligation, should be most definitely and clearly stated. If a law be ambiguous or indefinite, it necessarily leads to confusion and injustice. And it is equally necessary, to a correct understanding of our obligation, that the repeal or amendment of a law should also be stated in plain terms. Now the law enjoining the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is as clearly and definitely expressed as language can be made to express ideas. But on the other hand, the Bible does nowhere say that the sanctity has been taken from the seventh day, or that the law has been altered or repealed. Therefore we truly believe that the most solemn obligation rests upon us to observe God’s holy rest-day—the memorial of his great work of creation. And its importance as a memorial cannot be too highly valued. “It is the great safeguard against atheism and idolatry. If men had always kept the Sabbath, they never could have forgotten God—never would have doubted the existence of the Creator; for this institution was designed to point them back to the time when he created the heavens and the earth. And they never would have worshiped other gods; for this institution points out the true God, who created all things in six days, and rested the seventh.”TFNOS 10.2