Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
What Makes the Sabbath Holy?

What Makes the Sabbath Holy?

In November 2024, I was privileged to travel to Australia for the fourth time and present a series of meetings. During my time there, I was able to have a lively discussion with a local pastor regarding God’s law. During that conversation, the question came up about what makes the Sabbath holy. I told the pastor then—and if he reads this blog, I want him to know now—that I really appreciated our spirited discussion because my mind has been processing it and such discussions are part of what helps me grow, examine different perspectives, dig deeper into the Word, and advance my understanding. I hope our conversation was equally beneficial to him.

What our different views boiled down to was the pastor took the position that the Sabbath is holy because God declared it to be holy. It was made holy by God’s executive action as Sovereign of the Universe at the end of creation week to set it apart by His declared word.

But this explanation did not sit well with me, for my understanding, my reality, is that God is the Creator and His laws are design laws, the protocols built into reality, like the laws of physics, health, and the moral laws. What I understand the pastor to be saying is that the Sabbath is holy not because of some inherent aspect of its creation, not something built into the Sabbath by God’s actions that objectively sets it apart, but because God used His Sovereign right as Creator and Ruler to make an edict, a ruling, a proclamation, a declared statement.

Such an action is the type of authority, methods, mode, and law used by created beings, the artificial use of position, of office, of power, to set something apart arbitrarily because the ruler said so, not because it is so.

For instance, declaring that green lights mean go and red lights mean stop is an arbitrary use of authority to set one color apart from another, not by something inherent in the two colors, but by an external rule that is declared by the ruling authority and then enforced by external judicial process. This is the law of creatures, imposed rules with externally imposed penalties.

My view of the Great Controversy, the war between God and Satan, is not over who has power but over whether we can trust God with His power. Satan first undermined trust in God by alleging God governs through the use of made-up rules and externally inflicted punishments for rule-breaking. In other words, Satan alleged that God’s laws function no differently than a creature’s law, and, therefore, God ultimately functions like a creature, imposing rules and using power to punish rule breakers.

So the Sabbath is a great test case—are all of God’s laws truly design laws, protocols built into reality, or are some of His laws arbitrary, simply made-up rules imposed by God by His declaring it to be so?

The pastor who took the position that God’s declaration makes it holy referenced creation week and God’s setting apart the seventh day:

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And 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 2:2, 3 NIV84).

The pastor’s interpretation of this passage is that God’s actions are the actions of a ruler imposing a difference by His word or authority.

But consider the following evidence in the very narrative of creation, when God made another declaration:

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18 NIV84).

Was it good for man to be alone until the Lord said this? Was it only when the Lord said it was not good that it became not good? Or did the Lord say it because there was something missing and He had not quite completed His creative work yet—and it was, in reality, not good to leave it uncompleted? Did God’s declaration make it so, or was it already so, and thus God, who always speaks truth, declared it to be so?

The issue I am disentangling is this: Which comes first—reality, the way things are, or God’s verbal description, or declaration, of the way things are? In regard to the Sabbath, was it holy the moment God created it? Was there something about its creation, something built into it or associated with it by creation, that objectively set it apart from all other days—and God’s verbal statement about it announced the reality of what was already true, or was it that God’s verbal description made it so?

Those who operate upon the human-law model automatically think that God’s verbal statements are the legal edicts that make it so. Whereas those who see God’s law as design law understand His statements are announcements of truth, of the way things actually are.

At the Second Coming, when Jesus separates the “sheep” from the “goats,” does His action, His judgment, His proclamation, make some into sheep and some into goats, or is He separating them based on reality, on who they have chosen to become? (Matthew 25:31–33).

In the last days, it is declared:

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still (Revelation 22:11 NKJV).

Is it that this declaration causes some to be unjust and filthy and others to be righteous and holy, or does this declaration describe what already is?

Consider this Bible commentary, which describes the author’s view of Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, how Lucifer had been making allegations about equality with Jesus and the unfairness of how Lucifer was being treated; this is God’s response:

The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. … There had been no change in the position or authority of Christ. Lucifer’s envy and misrepresentation and his claims to equality with Christ had made necessary a statement of the true position of the Son of God; but this had been the same from the beginning. Many of the angels were, however, blinded by Lucifer’s deceptions (Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 36, 38, emphasis mine).

Did Jesus become fully and equally God only when and because God said it, or did God say it because Jesus was, in fact, fully and equally God and always had been? When God declares something to be so, does His declaration make it so, or was it already that way, and God, who is truth, will speak or declare it to be so because it is the truth, because it is that way?

And this is true of God’s law. God’s laws are design law, the protocols reality is built upon, emanating from His being, sustaining all things. God’s verbal description of His law does not establish it. He states it because it is the way things are, as He created reality to exist and operate.

The Sabbath Sanctified

So is the Sabbath holy because God said so, declared it holy, or did God declare it holy because it was holy?

The Bible says God blessed and sanctified the Sabbath day—what does that mean? Does it mean that God blessed it by legal declaration, making an imposed law that requires external enforcement through inflicted punishments? If that is what God did, then that would not have been a blessing but a curse, for that is the way Satan’s kingdom works; that would have sustained Satan’s charges against the government of God rather than refute them. No, God did not make a legal rule, an imposed law.

God blessed and sanctified the Sabbath by action, conduct, and creation—by reality. The Sabbath was made, created, built into time by the God who controls space and time, whose laws are the basis of the operations of all reality. And the Sabbath was made in the context of a war against God’s rulership. The Sabbath was set apart from the other six days not when God used power but when He stopped using power, when He rested, when He refused to enforce law by the use of power and, instead, left all His creatures free to think and decide for themselves!

The Sabbath was created at the end of the creation week of this planet and is invested, made, created, and built by God with the revelation of truth, love, and freedom—when God refused to use external power to punish Lucifer, to force Satan to comply, when God refused to operate in the way of a creature. Thus, the Sabbath is holy, made and created as a sign, evidence, revelation, and demonstration of God’s character of love and design-law methods. It exists because God exists and because God is love—and love exists only in freedom. Thus, for the same reasons God found it necessary to declare the true position of Jesus, God also declared the reality of the sacredness, holiness, and blessedness of the Sabbath day, for in six days God created but on the seventh day He rested! The Sabbath day is special, distinct, set apart but not by God’s declaration; it is so by God’s action in its creation—for it reveals the glory and holiness of God. The Sabbath is not holy because God declares it holy; no, He declares it holy because it is holy!

God does not choose might and power as the attributes He glories in. No, God glories in His character of love. The Bible doesn’t say “God is power” even though He is all-powerful; the Bible says that “God is love”! (1 John 4:8).

God has demonstrated that the attribute He prefers to be known by is not power, but His kindness, love, mercy, gentleness, and self-sacrificing character. When God showed Moses His glory, He said,

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6, 7 NIV84).

Solomon’s temple was blessed by the Shekinah glory of God’s presence on the day of its dedication (2 Chronicles 5:13), yet the Bible tells us Herod’s temple was more glorious despite it being so puny compared to Solomon’s that the elders who saw the foundations for Herod’s temple wept (Haggai 2:7–9; Ezra 3:12). How could the smaller temple be more glorious? Because Jesus walked the courts of Herod’s temple! And God identifies Jesus, who is selfless, meek, and humble, as the more glorious manifestation of Himself than the brightness of His own Shekinah. God glories in His character of love, and love operates only in freedom.

On days one to six of creation, we learn that God is powerful and the Creator, but day seven is set apart by Him as the day He reveals His character of love, the day He says is His day because it is the day He rested. Again, God does not identify power as the attribute that He personally glories in. No, God glories in being love, and love exists only in freedom. Thus, the Sabbath is set apart by God’s investing it with His character when He refused to use power to put down a rebellion. And God created the Sabbath for humans; He foreknew we would be caught up in a war for our hearts and minds, a war in which might and power would be viewed as being right. But God says to His faithful through history, “Remember the Sabbath—remember that I rested; remember that even though I am the Creator, I don’t use my power to force, to coerce, to punish; I give you real freedom, so each week remember the freedom you have when you return to love and trust in me, for it is by trusting me, loving me, and choosing my methods of truth, love, and freedom, all invested in the Sabbath, that remove your fear, cleanse your guilt, give you new hearts and right spirits, and make you a holy people who represent Me.”  

God wants His people to be faithful to Him, like Job, Daniel, and the three worthies who would not bow to the golden idol, but such faithfulness, love, and loyalty cannot be obtained by God using imposed rules with threats of external punishments. Such love, devotion, and loyalty happen only through the design laws of God—truth, love, and freedom (Zechariah 4:6). All such friends of God (John 15:15) are those who have rejected the imposed-law lies that creatures use and have returned to worshiping God as Creator and have become so settled into the truth that they cannot be moved. They are the loyal, the faithful, the righteous who are fully persuaded in their own minds (Romans 14:5).

In His foreknowledge, God knew the need of humanity, knew how deeply we would fall for the imposed-law legal system and, before the fall of Adam and Eve, gave human beings a special gift, an evidence, built right into time and that cannot be removed—the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign, evidence, proof, that God is love and that He gives us real freedom. It is a reminder that God is the one who makes us holy through His methods of truth, love, and freedom, which win us back to love and trust.

I encourage you to reject the imposed-law lies and return to worshiping God as Creator, recognize the Sabbath is holy because it is invested with the design law aspects of God’s character of love—truth, presented in love, while leaving us free. And all true “Sabbath-keepers” are those who have God’s living law written upon their hearts and live out God’s living law in how they treat others; they present the truth, in love, and always leave others free to decide for themselves.

Email me the blog whenever a new one is published.

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 40

I was brought up in a different faith and have been petrified my whole life of God. I believed that I would burn in hell for eternity. When I was 12 I started pursuing the things of this world, but for the next 45 years the Spirit was always calling me, as I knew there was a God through nature. I could see the vast sea of stars in the universe and knew there was something bigger out there. Five years ago, through a Revelation seminar, I was blessed to learn about God’s character and government.

Then I found Come and Reason Ministries and have come under some extreme pressure when I speak about the ministry. One time a member sent me an internet article titled “Whats wrong with Tim Jennings?” I asked her what she thought of it and she said “I don’t know, I didn’t read it.”

I have always wanted to find out for myself the truth about God, so I stayed with the Design Law construct and have been liberated to understand the big picture. Once we consider Design Law, all other Bible stories and prophecies seem to fit perfectly. It is truly beautiful to see people grasping how God operates this Universe of Love and the liberation it has provided in their lives. It blows my mind to see how consistent Design law is with what our founders believed. I hear statements like “This makes so much sense.”

Tom W., Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA

 

Testimony 31

It was very touching to hear the testimony of your class share how viewing God’s true character has changed their lives. My feelings are the same – there is so much freedom in knowing that God LOVES me – regardless of my… just, REGARDLESS! I’m still blown away by the true gospel, the fact that God is not ready to strike us when we fail. He is not arbitrary. He simply loves us and warns of the natural consequences because He can’t stand to see us suffer. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS GOD!!!

Ceil V.,  UT, USA

 

Testimony 8

Thank you for the ministry you are sharing with us, it is a real blessing to us and especially to my husband and myself! You are encouraging us to think for ourselves and not just to except everything, without thinking it through, with God’s word!

M.K., USA

 

Testimony 23

I would just like to add my voice to the many people who, I believe, must have contacted you to express their appreciation for the “Healing the Mind” DVDs. I’ve been listening to your Bible study class discussions for many years and I’ve been personally blessed by your research and teaching about the character of God.

L. G., Oakland, MI, USA

 

Testimony 5

We listen to your bible studies lessons in our class in Montana. You actually were the main reason I decided to get a laptop, so I can go to your site and listen, read, learn, and print the class notes. I am so grateful to learn the correct view of God and his character. Now, to just have others have an interest in knowing, so I can share it with them. Good thoughts your way.

R. N., MT, USA

 

Testimony 34

I was introduced to Come and Reason Ministries by accident, via a passing comment made in a bible study class we were visiting. I checked this website out and my life was changed. The understanding of the truth of God’s character, and how we apply it, is so right. The tricky part is consistently applying which “lens” to look through. As I began to understand, I started sharing the basics of this understanding with a discussion group I was leading and, suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense that never used to. At the same time, I enjoyed an amazing opportunity. I was able to conduct a full bible study at WORK! What an amazing experience! It is such a joy to share the truth about God and to share how it all fits in the war between God and Satan. So many people benefit when we have a correct understanding about how God works and who He really is! Thank you for this transformational understanding. Keep up the good work! God Bless you!

Tony P., CA, USA

 

Testimony 66

I am incredibly grateful for the transformative impact you’ve had on my life, and words cannot fully express my appreciation. Over the years, I have been an avid listener and follower of C&R and extend my heartfelt thanks for creating the C&R mobile app. It has allowed me to immerse myself in your lessons repeatedly, enabling me to grasp the profound significance about the Character of God, Design Law, the protocols for life, the reasons behind the current chaos, and Christ’s mission to restore everything. They have deeply touched me. Having studied with various churches, I came away with the perception that God is no different from the deities of ancient Greek or Roman mythology—demanding sacrifices and taking pleasure in bloodshed. Thanks to your transformative teachings, I have experienced a profound awakening to the true nature of God and the immense power of His love. It is truly a remarkable and liberating sensation to finally grasp the truth and embrace the empowering nature of God’s laws. My self-perception has become brighter and more infused with love. My journey of growth continues on a daily basis.

Chris P., Lake Mary, FL, USA

 

Testimony 4

I’m a youth leader in South Africa. We as a youth group are currently using a lot of the material on the Come and Reason site. Since we’ve started using the material, our youth group has grown.

R. V. N., South Africa

 

Testimony 6

I got the book “Could It Be This Simple?” a few months ago and the reading was wonderful and I was fascinated. I lent the book to a friend at work. She is having a difficult time and the book is helping her to find Jesus and I found this very exciting. She has asked me questions and I can see her life changing.

H. S., Australia

 

Testimony 15

I have been sharing Come And Reason Ministries Bible study lessons with several folk. You have such a beautiful view of the plan of salvation. If we had this message preached when I was young, my generation would still all be in church.

H. R., New Zealand

Testimony 67

I was introduced to Come And Reason by a friend of my mother-in-law, who gave me several CD’s of Dr. Jennings. The clarity of the message and recognition that God’s is a God of love was so clear, advancing beyond Dr. Maxwell’s message. However, grappled with Maxwell saying God used emergency measures for the fallen world. Now after several years of being a regular listener of the Come And Reasoning bible study class and attending Jennings’ meetings in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, things are becoming clearer for me. Design law versus imposed law has added so much to my personal understanding of theology. This message has really impacted my work in counseling so many people miserable because they are searching for and trusting human governments to create order and peace or believing in a God who says love Me or I will kill you. I am grateful that I have an alternative view to offer my clients that makes sense. I teach a bible study class on a semi-regular basis and I value the materials that Come And Reason so freely offers to aid me in presenting this vital message. Thank you for continuing to provide advancement in our very limited understanding of a Infinite God that is rational and believable.

Dr. Roger D, Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 63

I’ve been very blessed by “The God Shaped Brain” and this ministry, through video and podcast, over the last few years. It’s truly opened up my eyes more to the truth about God and the importance of that truth in the present world. The message is so inviting, freeing and enlightening and MORE people need to know about it. I believe it is the last message that can truly, not only prepare a people for salvation and translation, but vindicate the character of God.

Michael V., Yonkers, NY, USA

 

Testimony 50

After coming into contact with Come And Reason Ministries, I can finally say that many of my unanswered questions have fallen into place. I discovered that my view of God’s Law was “imposed laws and rules” with “imposed punishments” and that this was the major culprit of my many unanswered questions. Thanks be to God for using you and those around you to help us who have struggled with this “infection” of thought. I have now rejected the “imposed law” concept to fully embrace “Design Law”… to look thru “Design Law,” instead of “imposed law,” is a relief.

Viliami L., Australia

 

Testimony 70

I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

Testimony 36

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

Joleen H. GA, USA