Keeping the Sabbath

January 17, 2024

Keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments. For Christians today, has the Sabbath been fulfilled through Jesus, and is Jesus now the Sabbath? This writing will explain the true purpose of the seventh-day Sabbath and how it is relevant to us today.

Jesus is our Sabbath?
God worked for six days creating the earth and all things in it (Genesis 1:31). On the seventh day, God ceased His labors and rested (Genesis 2:2). God, being God, didn’t need to rest and was setting an example for us. The seventh-day Sabbath was made for us and what each week should look like for us. God also blessed and sanctified the seventh day (Genesis 2:3), making it the primary day of worship. The Sabbath was established before sin entered the world and before Christ needed to come to earth to offer his perfect life as a ransom for the sins of mankind. This makes keeping the Sabbath a perpetual and everlasting commandment.
Through Jesus, everything in the world was created (Colossians 1:16; John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2), including the seventh day after the six days of creation. Since Jesus existed during the establishment of the Sabbath, it is illogical to conclude that He is or has become the Sabbath. Jesus is our rest meaning that we no longer have to slit a lamb’s throat to be forgiven for our sins, as required by the works of the law under the Old Covenant. The Sabbath day in current times is the physical manifestation of the spiritual rest that we find in the promise of salvation for us through Jesus. Jesus gives us the Sabbath (Exodus 16:29; Hebrews 4:9-11), but nowhere does He become the Sabbath.
The Sabbath day was part of the original plan for the perfect earth that Jesus had created and was made for man entirely (Mark 2:27; Isaiah 56:6-7), not just for the Jews. The Sabbath in current times is a memorial of creation, reminding us to worship the Creator who created everything (Revelation 14:7). On the new earth, all the righteous will come to worship God every Sabbath (Isaiah 66:22-23).

How to keep the Sabbath
The seventh day starts Friday sunset until Saturday sunset (Leviticus 23:32), just as any other day of the week. We are instructed to not work on the Sabbath day, but what exactly is work? Many people have different definitions of work because they have different duties from others throughout the week. An explanation that applies to everyone would be to refrain from activities you regularly do throughout the week. If it can wait, let it wait until the next day. Work is only permitted if it is an emergency or must be done and cannot wait until the next day. For example, a farmer would need to feed his livestock every day. Doing so on the Sabbath day would not break the commandment because it would be a sin to neglect the care and the needs of the farmer’s livestock (Proverbs 12:10).
It is also always right to do good works on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:12). Jesus healed many on the Sabbath day and gathered grain because the disciples were hungry (Matthew 12:1-2), even though both acts were forbidden according to the pharisees' traditions.
The Sabbath day should also be your primary day of worship because God blessed and sanctified the seventh day and made it holy (separate) from all other days of the week (Exodus 20:8).

"But Paul says..."
The apostle Paul wrote various epistles to the Gentile churches to help settle disputes amongst Jewish rabbis and condemn typical heathen practices. Many people today use Colossians 2:16 (see Ezekiel 45:17) to support why Christians no longer need to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. However, after reading the context of the verses beforehand, Paul is referring to the “handwriting of ordinances” that are “against” and “contrary” to us (Colossians 2:13-14). “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not kill,” and resting from your weekly labors on the Sabbath day are not against us. Therefore, Paul is not speaking about the commandments. Paul commands the church to keep the commandments of God (1 Corinthians 7:19). The “handwriting of ordinances” is a direct reference to the book of the law, which was added because of transgressions against the commandments (Galatians 3:19). The book of the law (Mosaic law) was placed outside the Ark of the Covenant (Deuteronomy 31:24-26). The sabbaths that Paul was referring to are the annual sabbaths held every seventh month of the year (Leviticus 23:24-25), the Jubilee sabbaths (Leviticus 25:8-9), and the seventh-year sabbaths (Leviticus 25:3-4). All were special ceremonies to point to Christ (Colossians 2:17).
Many people also argue that since Paul never commanded the Gentiles to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, we are no longer subject to that commandment. This idea assumes that whatever Paul commanded to the Gentiles only applies to Christians today. Nowhere does the Bible support this idea, and it is merely an excuse for not doing God’s will. There is only one lawgiver, who is God (Isaiah 33:22; James 4:12), not Paul. Paul’s writings are hard to understand, and the early disciples of Christ knew that they would be twisted and distorted from their actual meaning, such as in current times:
”And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction“ (2 Peter 3:15-16).
The Bible is more than just Paul’s epistles. All scripture is relevant to Christians today for reference and “instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Is the Sabbath day on Sunday?
Some Christians also believe that the seventh-day Sabbath has been transferred to the first day of the week, on Sunday. The disciples of Christ met on the first day of the week for communion (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2), but not for holy convocations. The apostles held congregations and prayer on the seventh-day Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3; Acts 13:14, 13:42-44, 16:13, 17:2, 18:4). Jesus taught on and kept the seventh-day Sabbath (Luke 4:31, 6:6). You may worship every day of the week if that is what you choose to do. However, the seventh-day Sabbath should never be neglected. Neglecting the only true Sabbath day and making any other day of the week your primary day of worship is idolatry since only the seventh day was blessed and sanctified (Exodus 20:11).