Are Christians supposed to keep the Sabbath?
There are multiple reasons why Christians should keep the Sabbath:
Natural Revelation:Natural revelation teaches us that at least 9 of the 10 commandments are valid for all time. Not having any God's before YHWH was wrong in Genesis 3. Murder was wrong in Genesis 4. Adultery was wrong in Genesis 20. Coveting has always been wrong. But what about the Sabbath? Did God toss one "arbitrary" command in there, right in the middle of 9 eternal laws/truths ? I don't think so. Just on the face of it, we should at least question such an idea. If the Sabbath was just arbitrary and for the Jews only, then why did God include it smack dab in the middle of 9 eternal commands?
Natural revelation teaches us that some time (however much that may be) should be reserved for the worship of God. That much I think is clear. It is not clear whether it should be every other day, or once a week, or once every 10 days, or once a year. However, logic alone might help us put at least some rough boundaries on it. We would probably agree that every other day would be too often, and would painfully hamper our ability to work and provide for the families God has given us. Rest/worship once every two days is too often. And logic also seems to suggest that once a year is far too little. God certainly deserves our undivided attention more often than one day out of the year. And surely we can provide for our families, while giving God more than 1/365 of our time. So once a year is not enough. But what is the "right" amount of time to give to God? How often should we rest from our labors and give God our undivided attention for an extended period of time? Natural revelation cannot answer this question. Only special revelation will do.
Set Apart at Creation:First, consider the fact that God "sanctified" the Sabbath and made it holy in the initial creation, all the way back in Genesis 2:3. It's one thing just to say that God "rested". But it is quite another thing to say that he "sanctified" it and set it apart. What did God set it apart for, himself? Or for man? Should we believe that the church is supposed to worship God corporately with undivided attention at least once a week (Sunday), and that Israel was supposed to worship God corporately with undivided attention at least once a week (Saturday), but that there was no weekly worship practice for mankind prior to the nation of Israel? That is hard for me to believe. I don't think God "sanctified" the sabbath for his own private pleasure in Genesis 2 . . . Instead, I would argue that God set it apart for man. Jesus did not say that the sabbath was made for *Israel*. Rather, Jesus said that the sabbath was made for *man* (Mark 2:27). I think this means that the sabbath was made for mankind, starting all the way back at creation. Furthermore, in our record of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, the creation-sabbath is given as a *reason* to keep the sabbath holy. Should we not believe that people living prior to Mt. Sinai were not also supposed to remember the creation-sabbath and keep it holy?
The Ten Commandments:Next, let's think about the 10 commandments themselves. Let's focus on the first 4:
Is it really logical to assume that the first three are indespensable, but that the 4th one is merely arbitrary?
God explicitly stated that the proper time of worship is one day per week. We are commanded to work for six days, and then to rest the seventh day in honor of God. The seventh day is the proper day of worship.
Also, remember that the Sabbath was kept *prior* to the giving of the 10 commandments on Mt. Sinai. Exodus 16 records this. So that Sabbath isn't unique among the commandments . . . All 10 of them were in effect prior to Mt. Sinai, and all 10 of them remain in effect to this day.
Clear Statements from Scripture -- Note that Scripture itself reveals the perpetuity of the Sabbath:
The Mosaic law banned eunuchs from the assembly. However, Isaiah 56:4-5 points forward to the time when all such laws would become moot, and even eunuchs will be welcome in the assembly. This prophecy was fulfilled in the Church; specifically note Acts 8 where Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch. So Isaiah 56 points forward to the new covenant. However, notice what did NOT pass away: God said that only "eunuchs that keep my sabbaths" can "take hold" of his "covenant". The anti-eunuch law passes away. But the sabbath does not pass away!
And look at Matthew 24. Jesus is prophecying regarding what *Christians* would need to do at the end of the age, and he told them to pray that their "flight not be on the sabbath". If the sabbath was abrogated at Christ's resurrection, then why would Jesus want Christians to honor the sabbath many years later?
So far, we have seen the following:
When/where is the weekly sabbath *ever* abrogated? In the face of all the Scriptures above, is it possible that Colossians 2 is just talking about the sabbath feasts, and not the weekly "seventh day" sabbaths? This is what I would argue.
Parallels Between the Old Sabbath and the New Sabbath:
Now compare the disparate *reasons* given for keeping the sabbath, in the two accounts of the 10 commandments, given in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5:
In Exodus 20:11, the reason given for sabbath-keeping is creation: "for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
But in Deuteronomy 5:15, the reason given for sabbath-keeping is the Israelites' release from Egypt: "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day."
So, before Christ came, people were supposed to keep the sabbath (on Saturday) in rememberance of two things:
Similarly, after Christ came, Christians keep the sabbath (on Sunday) in rememberance of two things:
These parallels are striking to me!
The Specific Wording in the 10 Commandments:
Finally, let's closely note the specific sabbath-command wording in the 10 commandments: "Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work. . . ."
Notice that the *day of the week* is NEVER mentioned in the command! This really bowled me over when I read this and it dawned on me. There is a pattern given of 6 work days, and 1 rest day. But *nowhere* are we told in the 10 commandments to start the 6 days of work on any particular day! The "seventh day" is not "the seventh day of the week". Instead, it is just the "seventh day", because it comes after "six days". Start any day of the week, work 6 days, and then the next day will be the "seventh day", because it comes after the 6th day of work. Start the 6 days on Sunday, and the seventh day is Saturday. Start the 6 days on Monday, and the seventh day is Sunday. God wrote the 4th commandment *perfectly*, so that NO abrogation would be necessary in the New Testament. No specific day of the week was set in the commandment . . . only the "6 days work plus 1 day rest" pattern is commanded. In the Old Testament, this command was fulfilled with a Saturday sabbath. In the New Testament, this command is fulfilled with a Sunday sabbath.
The Old Testament Pointed Forward to a Sunday Sabbath:
But does any Scripture in the Old Testament point forward to keeping Sunday as holy instead of Saturday? Yes, I believe so. Check out Psalm 118: 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
So, Psalm 118:22-23 was fulfilled on a Sunday. And the very next verse (118:24) says, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
Was that clear to Old Testament people? Of course not. They didn't know on what day the Psalm 118:22-23 prophecy would be fulfilled. But we do know. And we are told to "rejoice and be glad" in THAT day . . . Sunday. And this is corroborated by the practice of the early church, recorded in Acts 20:7.
--- article by Joseph M. Gleason - March, 2005
Want to read some really good articles about the Sabbath? --- Click here for Dr. McMahon's "Lord's Day" page. --- Or click here to go to the Decalogue section of the Monergism.com website; you will need to scroll down to the "Fourth Commandment" section on the page.
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