It’s not often that a promising athlete retires from the sport he loves at the age of 22, but that’s just what Silvan Wallner did in October 2024. The professional Swiss soccer player had signed a two-year contract with Austrian club Blau-Weiß Linz only two months prior. His exit from the sport left soccer fans scratching their heads.
So, why did he give up the path of stardom and riches?
In his own words, as found on the Blau-Weiß Linz website, Wallner states, “I am a devout Christian and read the Bible. … I want to follow Jesus Christ, and the biblical day of rest has become important to me. For me, as a pro, this means that from now on, I don’t want to play football on Saturdays for profit. It is my personal conviction that I have come to in the last few days.”
Some have praised Wallner’s bold move to stand for his faith, while others, perhaps out of ignorance, have criticized him. Regardless of the world’s response, God promises, “Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed” (1 Samuel 2:30).
Remembering God’s Day
The Sabbath is not just an ancient Jewish holy day. Long before there were Jews or Christians, God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:2, 3).
God didn’t rest on the seventh day because He was tired. Rather, His “works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:3), meaning that mankind’s purpose to rest in and receive God’s fully prepared provisions for life was established at creation. The Sabbath served as a weekly reminder to Adam and Eve and future generations that humanity lacked nothing at the end of creation week.
Centuries later, God found it necessary to remind Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8–11). Had they consistently honored the creation memorial, their faith would have continually increased as they contemplated God’s infinite power to sustain them.
In a sin-cursed world, the Sabbath has taken on an additional facet as a sign of God’s power to redeem that which was lost (Deuteronomy 5:11–15). “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (Exodus 31:13). Only the One who made humans in His image is able to restore them.
For Wallner and many other Christians, honoring God’s holy day speaks volumes to the onlooking multitude. Each Sabbath keeper is effectively saying, “I trust in the power of the one and only Creator God. I acknowledge Him as my Maker and my Redeemer. I accept His full and free gift of eternal life. I rest in His completed works on my behalf. I rely on Him to sustain me.”
A Decision for Everyone
The book of Revelation reminds us of the vital importance of Sabbath-keeping as we approach the end of the world. An angel says with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Revelation 14:7). This verse quotes directly from the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8–11), which teaches us to keep the seventh-day Sabbath in honor of the Creator. In other words, worshiping God includes Sabbath observance.
Revelation 14:12 says that God’s true end-time followers will “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). Keeping the commandments includes all of them. Christians are not given a license to break any of God’s commandments.
Sadly, the vast majority of Christians disregard the seventh day and instead attend worship services on the first day of the week. And although many arguments are advanced for Sunday observance, none of them are biblically sound. Jesus’ words are well-suited in response to this custom: “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9). Additionally, very few attempt true Sabbath observance, resting from work, commerce, and other secular activities on Saturday or even Sunday.
Silvan Wallner made the right decision to forego worldly prosperity and “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). What does the biblical Sabbath, the only Sabbath, mean to you? If you are not already keeping it, will you do so in honor of Jesus, your Creator and Redeemer?
“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 58:13, 14).
Learn more about the Sabbath with “The Lost Day of History” Study Guide.
This article contributed by John Cloud