Christians and The Sabbath

Introduction

I am writing this presentation in response to a question asked by a brother from Paraguay.

The subject of the sabbath is very controversial and it has extremes on every side. On one end you have preachers who have made sabbath keeping a salvation issue, telling saints that if they break the sabbath they are sinning against God and will not enter heaven. This is wrong. On the other hand, we have preachers who say that the sabbath has no place in the life of a Christian and on yet another side, you have churches that keep their own Sunday sabbath.

Let us go into the scriptures to rightly divide the word of truth.

What is the definition of Sabbath?

There are three key Hebrew words to keep in mind.

a) SHABATH

b) SHABBATH

c) SHABBATON

a) SHABATH

SHABATH is a verb which refers to the act of stopping, to cease or to desist and it can also be used to simply mean, to keep the sabbath.

In our bibles we first find this word in Genesis 2:2 where it says:

Genesis 2:2 (ESV) 2: And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested [SHABATH] on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

It is important to note that God does not get tired, so God did not rest in the sense that we as humans rest, but he ceased, he stopped the activity and work of creation. Indeed, to cease, or stop is the main meaning of the word Shabat.

b) SHABBATH

SHABBATH is a noun which is used to name a specific time dedicated to stopping, to ceasing or to rest from work. A time of ceasing, a time of rest.

We first find it used in Exodus 16 when God is instituting a Sabbath day rest on every seventh day in Israel.

Exodus 16:23 (ESV) 23: he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath [SHABBATH] to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”

b) SHABBATON

SHABBATON can be translated as Sabbatism, which is the act of observing the time of sabbath.

Which Day is The Sabbath Day?

There were several Sabbaths, but in terms of the weekly Sabbath, the Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week which according to the Roman calendar corresponds to Saturday.

The biblical week has seven days, as revealed in Genesis 1. The names of those days were First Day, Second Day, Third Day, Fourth Day, Fifth Day, Sixth Day and Seventh Day.

Jewish days and months were numbered. Most names of months were later adopted by the Jews by copying the Babylonian calendar. However, the original Jewish days and months were known by numbers.

This numbering is not random. You can’t just take any day and call it the first day. 

A) THE FIRST DAY

The first day is the day that God created light and brought it onto the earth. It corresponds to the day that Jesus resurrected from the dead, and brought life to the world.

Genesis 1:3-5 (ESV) 3: And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4: And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5: God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Luke 24:1-3 (ESV) 1: But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2: And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3: but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

On the Roman calendar, the biblical first day corresponds to the day that the Romans called the Day of the Sun, or Sunday.

This is the day of the week that Christ appeared to his disciples after the resurrection. 

He revealed himself on that first Sunday:

John 20:19 (ESV) 19: On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:26 (ESV) 26: Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Jesus then Baptized the church with his Spirit on another Sunday.

Acts 2:1-4 (ESV) 1: When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2: And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3: And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The day of Pentecost was the fiftieth day. You counted seven Sabbaths, and the day after the seventh sabbath, would be the day of Pentecost, which would be on the first day of the week. So according to the Roman calendar it would fall on a Sunday.

The church continued to gather on the first day of the week, because Christ had not only appeared to them on that day, but had also gave his spirit to them on that day. The church was born on the day of Pentecost, it was born on the first day of the week, it was born on what the Romans call Sunday. The church is now the light of the world, and so it made sense for it to be born on the first day of the week.

Acts 20:7 (ESV) 7: On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.

1 Corinthians 16:2 (ESV) 2: On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come

So, the First day of the week is a special day, it is the day when light came into the world, it is the day that Jesus resurrected from the dead, the day when he gave us new birth, and the day that he brought his spirit into us. However, it is not the Seventh day of the week, and it is not the Sabbath day.

b) THE SIXTH DAY

The Sixth day is the day in which God created man. It is a special day. It corresponds to the day that Jesus died for the sins of man, so that man could be recreated in God’s image. This day according to the Roman calendar, corresponds to what the Romans called Friday.

Genesis 1:27,31 (ESV) 

27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

 31: And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

John 19:30-31 (ESV) 

30: When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus’ Side Is Pierced

31: Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

The day of preparation was the sixth day, the day before the Sabbath. The day they prepared the meals that they would eat on the sabbath.

Exodus 16:22-23 (ESV) 22: On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23: he said to them, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”

c) THE SEVENTH DAY

The Seventh day is the day that God stopped his work of creation. He rested from his work of making the world. This corresponds to the day that Jesus lay dead in the tomb, having accomplished his mission of salvation to the world. This day on the Roman calendar is called Saturday.

Genesis 2:2 (ESV) 2: And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Luke 23:52-56 (ESV)

52: This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53: Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54: It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. 55: The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56: Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Christ is found and honored in every day of the week. Each day reveals an attribute of him, and tells us something about his work of creation, both in the old and new creation.

However, the day that is called the sabbath, is the Seventh day of the week, which corresponds to the day that the Romans call Saturday. You cannot just make up your own calendar. You cannot just decide that today is now the seventh day. If you want to know God’s sabbath day, then you have to look at God’s calendar and not your own.

There are some Christian who observe Sunday as a sabbath day. It is their own sabbath, and God will receive them in that, but it is not the biblical Sabbath, and I shall explain the difference later.

ARE CHRISTIANS COMMANDED TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH DAY?

There is no commandment in the new testament asking Christians to observe the Sabbath. Gentile Christians, or Christians who are not of Jewish descent, were released from the commandment to observe the Sabbath.

The Apostle Paul explains:

Colossians 2:16-18 (ESV) 16: Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17: These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18: Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

Here, the apostle Paul explains that we should not allow people to pass judgment on us based on food or on the observance of festivals or a sabbath. These are shadows. Our Salvation and standing as Christians is not based on these things.

Paul then says something interesting, he says the person who judges people based on these things, is worshipping angels, and is basing their doctrine on visions that they had. What you will find is that at the base of most denominations that insist that people should observe the sabbath to be saved, you will find a prophet who claims to have been told this in a vision.

The bible has warned us.

This question arose in the early church and gave rise to a huge debate. There were Jewish Christian converts who saw that the gentiles converted by the apostle Paul were not following the law of Moses. As a result, they began to command that these gentiles cannot receive salvation unless they are circumcised and follow the law of Moses.

After much debate, the apostles came to this conclusion.

Acts 15:28-29 (ESV) 28: For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

James and Paul later meet and James makes it clear that that though the Jewish converts were still keeping the law of Moses, the gentile Christians had been given no such commandment.

Acts 21:18-25 (ESV) 

18: On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19: After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20: And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21: and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 

25: But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

So, the Holy Spirit only took these four things from the law, that gentiles were to observe. They should abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled and from sexual immorality

So, in churches that had both Jews and gentiles, there would be clashes. Some observing, and others not observing the sabbath. Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the church of Rome. The church of Rome was planted by apostle Peter according to tradition. It was a largely Jewish church among the gentiles. I would regard the letter to the Romans, as Paul’s letter to the Jews as he addresses issues specific to Israel from the very first chapter to the last.

Romans 14:5-6 (ESV) 5: One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6: The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

WHAT ABOUT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?

The bible tells us that we must follow the commandments of God. In the ten commandments, the sabbath is given as the fourth commandment, how can you pick nine and leave one?

The ten commandments are not for people who are born again. The ten commandments are good, they are holy, they are perfect but they are not for people who are in the New Covenant of Christ. 

When we say, OLD COVENANT, we are actually referring to the Ten commandments.

Exodus 34:27-28 (ESV) 27: And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28: So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

So, the covenant between God, Moses and Israel, is in the Ten commandments. When we speak of the old covenant we are speaking of the Ten Commandments. The rest of the law, proceeds from that.

However, as Christians we are not under the old covenant, we are under a new covenant of Christ, which is not like the first.

The new covenant makes the ten commandments obsolete.

Hebrews 8:13 (ESV) 13: In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The apostle Paul explains.

Our ministry as Christian believers is not according to what was written on the tablets of stone but according to the spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (NIV) 3: You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Paul then goes on to refer to the ten commandments as the MINISTRY OF DEATH.

2 Corinthians 3:7-8 (ESV) 

7: Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8: will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?

In the above scripture the apostle Paul is referring to the time when the Ten commandments were revealed. Moses face shown with glory, and yet the apostle is saying, it was a glory that would be brought to an end. The ministration of the spirit is even greater than the ministration of the ten commandments.

The instructions and commandments of the spirit, are greater than those which were written on the stones. We do not follow the ten commandments because they are the OLD COVENANT, but we follow the instructions and commandments given to the church by the Spirit.

The apostle refers to the ministration of the ten commandments as something that would come to an end, but the ministration of the spirit as something that is permanent.

2 Corinthians 3:9-11 (ESV) 9: For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10: Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11: For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

SO WHAT COMMANDMENTS SHOULD WE FOLLOW AS CHRISTIANS

When Jesus completed his mission, he told the apostles to make disciples of all nations, and commanded that they must teach those who believe in him, to observe everything that he commanded THEM.

Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) 

18: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20: teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Christ received ALL authority in heaven and earth, and by that authority he told the apostles that those from the nations who have been baptized, must observe the commandments he gave to the APOSTLES. 

There are commandments that God gave to ADAM.

There are commandments that God gave to NOAH.

There are commandments that God gave to ABRAHAM.

There are commandments that God gave to MOSES.

There are commandments that God gave to DAVID.

There are commandments that God gave to the Apostles through Jesus.

You can’t just randomly take a commandment from the bible and start observing it. It is true that God commanded Noah to build an ark, but you can’t build an ark today and expect to receive salvation through that.

It is true that God commanded Abraham to circumcise his children, but you can’t start circumcising children and expect to receive salvation through that.

It is true that Good commanded Moses to observe the sabbath, but you can’t just start observing the sabbath and expect to be justified through that.

Jesus is instructing that the Christians must follow the commandments that HE HIMSELF gave to the apostles.

So as a Christian, if you want to know which commandments to follow, you look to the apostles.

JESUS AND THE APOSTLES NEVER COMMANDED THE CHURCH TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH.

SALVATION DOES NOT COME FROM OBSERVING THE LAW.

When the bible speaks of THE LAW, it is speaking of the 613 instructions, commandments, statutes and laws given to Israel through Moses. 

The law came through Moses.

John 1:17 (ESV) 17: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The law was not always there, it was given 430 years after Abraham.

Galatians 3:16-17 (ISV) 16: Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn’t say “descendants,” referring to many, but “your descendant,” referring to one person, who is the Messiah. 17: This is what I mean: The law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified.

As Christians, if we seek to be declared as righteous before God by observing the law, we nullify the death and resurrection of Christ.

The church of Galatians, had received teachings from the rogue Jewish Christians, and they started to observe months and days. The Apostle says this to them:

Galatians 4:10-11 (ESV) 10: You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11: I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

He also says:

Galatians 3:10-14 (ESV) 

10: 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.” 

11: Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 

12: But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 

13: 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”— 

14: so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The word justified means to be declared righteous. The apostle is saying no one will be determined as righteous because they have followed the law of Moses. Christ died, to redeem us from the law of Moses. But we receive our right standing with God, by standing firm in our faith in Jesus Christ through his spirit.

IS IT GOOD OR BAD TO REST ON THE SABBATH?

Jesus told us that The Sabbath was made for man. This means God created it to benefit human beings.

Mark 2:27-28 (ESV) 

27: And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28: So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus is Lord even of the Sabbath meaning he himself oversees and rules the Sabbath. 

People do need to rest every week. You can rest any day you like, and that is good. However, God placed a special blessing on the seventh day at creation, and separated it as unique.

Genesis 2:3 (ESV) 3: So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

This is why Jesus is saying the sabbath was made for man. The blessing that God placed on the seventh day, is seen in the lives of the Israelites. When they rested on the seventh day, they would not lose out on their work. They would also receive a double fold of provision on the sixth day.

Exodus 16:4-5 (ESV) 

4: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5: On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

For us as Christians, we are free. However, we can still take advantage of the blessings that God has placed for us. If I am to choose a day of the week to rest, I would choose the one that God set aside for resting and blessed. However, this is not a law, it does not earn you special favor with God, it does not make you more righteous, it has nothing to do with salvation, and if you have the faith, all things are possible to you. And God will honor you, if you do whatever you do in faith to him and his word.

What does the Sabbath Fore-shadow?

The apostle Paul says that the sabbath is a shadow of things to come.

Colossians 2:16-17 (ESV) 16: Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17: These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

The first fulfilment of the sabbath was in the death of Christ. When we enter into Christ, we die with him, and enter into rest from sin, and from our own works of the flesh.

This rest is entered on the day called TODAY. And as Christians when we stop living in the flesh, we enter into and walk buy the spirit, we enter into that rest. So, we must strive to enter that rest.

The book of Hebrews explains.

Hebrews 4:4-11 (ESV) 

4: For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5: And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

6: Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 

do not harden your hearts.”

7: again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice,

8: For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.
9: So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10: for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

11: Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Stay Blessed in all things. AMEN.