Sabbath

:This article concerns the Sabbath in Christianity. For the Sabbath in Judaism, see Shabbat. For other uses see Sabbath (disambiguation)

Sabbath in the New Testament

Some Christian theologians use Colossians 2:14-17 to show that Sabbath observance for Christians has been abolished — "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." This is often cited as a direct parallel to Numbers 28-29, where the Sabbath is described alongside burnt offerings and new moons; all things which are claimed to have been made obsolete with the coming of Christ. In conjunction with this, a second Pauline epistle is often quoted, namely Romans 14:5-6, which states "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day . Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard ." In other words, the non-Sabbatarian argument is founded upon the concept that anything which does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Ritual observance of a weekly Sabbath is thus not required. Nevertheless, if one believes they are sinning when they break the Sabbath, they are condemned, however if their conscience does not condemn them, they have done no wrong. To further support this idea, 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 is often used, "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." Hence, the idea is that Christians no longer follow a law written "in tables of stone" (that is, the Ten Commandments), but follow a law written upon "fleshy tables of the heart." Finally, the cumulative argument often continues with 2 Corinthians 3:7 and 11, "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious,...which glory was to be done away... For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." Non-sabbatarians claim this is a direct reference to the 10 Commandments, namely that New Covenant Christians are no longer under the law (antinomianism), and thus Sabbath-keeping is no longer required. The New Covenant "law" is based entirely upon love, and love is considered the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). Finally, Galatians 4:9-11 is used as justification that a Sabbath is no longer in effect under the New Covenant: "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." Essentially, non-Sabbatarians suggest Paul's claim here is that ritual observance of days, including the weekly Sabbath, is no longer prescribed under the New Covenant. Sabbatarians often point to the fact that Paul may have been referring to the Jewish festivals rather than the weekly Sabbath, or that perhaps Paul was targeting Gnostic heresy which had infiltrated the church.

Related Topics:
Ten Commandments - Antinomianism

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A practical distinction sometimes arises between The Lord's Day and The Sabbath. Saturday observance has become common, for example in the United States, among Jews and other seventh-day sabbatarians, whose conscientious keeping of Saturday is considered mandated by the Law of God. This is often distinguished from Sunday observance, "first day sabbatarianism", or "eighth day sabbatarianism", according to which Sunday is kept because it is the "day of light", the first day of the new creation, and the traditional day on which many Christians have met. Alternatively, many Christians suggest that on the weight of Biblical evidence such as the aforementioned, Sabbath-keeping is not a prescribed duty for Christians under the New Covenant and thus worshipping on Sunday is acceptable.

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To be non-sabbatarian doesn't necessarily equate to making all days alike. A member of a non-sabbatarian church may nevertheless be very conscientious about avoiding certain kinds of activities, and doing others, because it is the day for the church to gather, a day for prayer and for works of mercy.

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However, in many cases, there are those who keep the seventh-day as the Sabbath day of rest. Some of the New Testament reasons for this are as follows. From Mark 2:28 and Matthew 12:8, the statement made by Jesus, "the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath," indicates that Sabbath keeping is central to following Christ. In other words, since Christ kept the seventh day Sabbath, this is the true Lord's day. Further, in reference to the future destruction of Jerusalem, Christ states in Matthew 24:20, "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." Sabbatarians maintain that this indicates Christ expected the Sabbath to be kept subsequent His death. Also, on the weight of Hebrews 4:8-11, the Sabbath remains a Christian Holy Day, and Sabbath-keeping is an abiding duty as prescribed in the fourth commandment. The gospel of Luke, written by a gentile, states in 23:56 that when the body of Christ was being prepared by His followers, they would not break the Sabbath to finish their work. The first mention of the Sabbath in Genesis 2:3 establishes the day even before the fall of Adam, and is therefore unlikely to be restricted to just an Old Testament, Jewish holy day. While a clear mandate is given for the Sabbath in Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the New Testament is lacking in anything by comparison to suggest a change of this day. While it is true that several times the apostles met on the first day of the week, there is neither prohibition nor command in the Bible to do so. And in the book of Acts, also believed to be written by Luke, meeting on the Sabbath is referred to eight times. Generally the religious festivals, new moons, and accompanying high sabbaths of Leviticus 23, Numbers 28-29, Isaiah 1:13-14, Hosea 2:11, Ezekiel 45:17 and Colossians 2:16-17 are not observed, as these are understood to have been fulfilled by the coming of Christ and their misused practice condemned by Isaiah and Hosea.

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