The Sabbath day is number four of the Decalogue, commonly known as the Ten Commandments. It is found in Exodus 20:8-11 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:12- 15, and traditionally begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. For some Christians, this is an important issue that is all too often ignored. In this article, we will take a closer look at the Sabbath and whether believers today are commanded to observe it or not.
The Sabbath day and the reason for its existence is explained in Exodus 20:8-11:
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”
However, many professing Christians do not keep the Sabbath, nor do they give it much thought until confronted with those who advocate for the keeping of the Sabbath today as it was kept in the Old Testament.
Some arguments for observing the Sabbath as Christians include:
God gave the Sabbath as a sign to His people.
Jesus kept the Sabbath.
The Apostle Paul habitually went to the synagogues on the Sabbath.
History tells us that the Roman Catholic church changed the ‘day of rest’ from Saturday to Sunday.
In this article, we will examine each statement and answer it using the Scriptures.
First: ” God gave the Sabbath as a sign to His people.”
This statement is true, as we read in Genesis after the creation of the universe and all that is in it. The Israelites were commanded to keep the Sabbath holy in Exodus and we know from the Gospels that this was still the case during Jesus’ time on earth.
However, this command was not for Christians but for the Israelites, given to them in the Law of Moses. In Exodus 31:17 God said, “The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come. It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”
Second: “Jesus kept the Sabbath.”
Luke 4:16 “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read.”
It was Jesus’ custom to do this because He was Jewish. He was brought up under the law and He perfectly kept every one of its 613 precepts perfectly. However, Jesus did not repeat this command to His followers during His earthly ministry.
Third: “The Apostle Paul habitually went to the synagogues on the Sabbath.”
Why did Paul, a Christian, go to synagogues on the Sabbath?
Acts 17:2-3. “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he
reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Acts 18:4 “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.”
Paul loved the Jewish people and wanted to reach them with the gospel. Therefore, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, not to keep it as under the Law of Moses, but to reason with them from the Scriptures about Jesus being the Christ. To say
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Fourth: “History tells us that the Roman Catholic church changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday.”
Acts 20:7 “Now on the first day of the week (Sunday), when we were gathered together to break bread (share communion), Paul began talking with them, intending to leave the next day; and he kept on with his message until midnight.”
Christians meet on a Sunday because we follow the example of the Apostles and the early Church and because Jesus rose from the dead that day, not because the Roman Catholics decreed it so. What the Roman Catholics did is irrelevant to us in this case, as we follow the disciples’ example set in the biblical records.
If Christians were supposed to keep Israel’s Sabbath, it would have been recorded at least once in the entire New Testament. However, there is no New Testament commandment for Christians to keep the Sabbath.
This is often when those advocating to keep the Sabbath as a command will say “It is the fourth of the ten commandments”. Yet when looking at the Scriptures, the entire Decalogue is repeated in the New Testament except for one, the Sabbath.
Do not worship any other gods (1 Corinthians 8:6)
Do not make idols (1 John 5:21)
Do not take God’s name in vain (1 Timothy 6:1)
Honor your father and your mother (Ephesians 6:1–2)
Do not murder (1 Peter 4:15)
Do not commit adultery (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)
Do not steal (Ephesians 4:28)
Do not give false testimony (Revelation 21:8)
Do not covet (Colossians 3:5)
When examining the scriptures, Paul does the opposite of affirming the Sabbath in both Colossians and Romans.
Romans 14:5:
“In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.”
Colossians 2:16:
“So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.”
Those accusing Christians of only keeping 9 of the 10 commandments do not understand a key concept in the life of a born-again believer. Christians are born of the Spirit and thus keep the true Sabbath – God’s Sabbath, not Israel’s. The Sabbath day of Israel was modeled after God’s Sabbath day (see Exodus 20:8-11 and Exodus 31:17), the seventh day on which God rested from His work of creation.
God’s Sabbath is the true original Sabbath.
Genesis 2:1-3:
“Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so, on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.”
Each of the first 6 days of creation had a morning and evening.
Genesis 1:5: “… And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”;
8: “… And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.”;
13: “And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.”;
19: “And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”;
23: “And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.”;
31: “… And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
However, on the seventh day (the day God rested) there was no “evening and morning”. God entered it but it didn’t end. In other words, when God entered His Sabbath, it continued till this day and will continue until the end of the age. God’s Sabbath is today, tomorrow, and forevermore.
Hebrews 4:1-3:
"Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it. As for the others, it is just as God has said: ‘So I swore an oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’’ And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
Verse 4 (see below) connects God’s rest with the Sabbath day after He finished creation (see Genesis 2:2). That is the rest you enter by faith in Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:4-7:
For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.’
And again, as He says in the passage above: ‘They shall never enter My rest.’ Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience, God again designated a certain day as ‘Today,’ when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.‘
God entered His Sabbath when He finished creation and has invited us to enter into this rest.
As verse 2 in Hebrews 4 (above) states, we enter by faith in Jesus.
When did we enter God’s rest? The day you believed the Gospel is the day you entered God’s Sabbath, and you will remain in it until the end of the age.
Hebrews 4:8-11: “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.”
Christians observe the true Sabbath, God’s Sabbath, and thus keep all 10 commandments.
The Day you enter is the day you believe in the Gospel, and you remain in it as God remains in it, until the end of the age. So today is Sabbath for Christians, as the day before was, as tomorrow will be. We are observing the Sabbath every day, we are true Sabbath keepers.
We are saved by grace through faith in the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this grace we have been welcomed into God’s Sabbath and are invited to lay our burdens on Him as we strive forwards on our path to eternal life in His presence.
