Must Christians keep the Sabbath?
Paul was in the synagogue on the Sabbath again and again, and Luke calls it his custom, but the New Testament never lays the day on a Gentile believer's conscience or makes it the test of another man's standing. Gentiles heard the gospel on Sabbaths and were never commanded to keep them. The Sabbath was a covenant sign given to Israel and a shadow whose body is Christ, and the rest it pointed to still remains for the people of God.
This question arose from studying Why did God give Israel the law at Sinai? and How can I rest when my mind won't stop?.
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The Sabbath was given to Israel as a covenant sign
The seventh day is older than Sinai: at creation 'God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.' The command itself repeats that ground: 'in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.' But when God writes it into the covenant at Sinai, He gives the day a specific role: 'It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.' Ezekiel says the same, that the Sabbaths were given 'to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.' Deuteronomy ties the day to redemption rather than to creation: 'You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.' Seventh-day readers press this language honestly: the Sabbath is called 'a perpetual covenant' (Exodus 31:16), God hallowed the day before Israel existed, and the command itself begins with 'Remember.' The covenant-theology answer is that the same permanence belongs to the whole order God was giving Israel, and that order has now been replaced: circumcision was also called 'an everlasting covenant' (Genesis 17:13), the priesthood was promised throughout their generations (Exodus 40:15), and Hebrews says the first covenant 'is becoming old and grows aged' (Hebrews 8:13).
God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, 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, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 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.
Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’”It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.
You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.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.
He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and He defined it by doing good
Jesus never treated the Sabbath as nothing; He treated it as His. When the Pharisees challenged His disciples for plucking grain, He answered with two sentences that reframe the whole command: 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.' The day exists for human good, and its Lord was standing in front of them. He pressed the same point with the sheep in the pit: 'Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.' So the Sabbath is not abolished here. It is claimed and interpreted by the One who owns it, and He bends it toward the good of man.
He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it, and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.”And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Paul was in the synagogue every Sabbath, and the text shows why
Luke records it again and again. At Antioch 'they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.' At Thessalonica 'Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures.' At Corinth 'he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.' So yes, Paul kept showing up on the Sabbath, and Luke calls it his custom. But notice what the custom is: he is reasoning from the Scriptures, and the synagogue is where the Scriptures were read and where Jews and God-fearers gathered. Luke uses the very same phrase of Jesus, who 'entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day,' so the custom in view is synagogue attendance on the day the synagogue met. The hardest datum for that reading is Philippi, where there was apparently no synagogue and Paul still sought the Sabbath gathering: 'On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer.' Even if that shows Paul honoring the day as his own, no letter he wrote imposes it on anyone else. When the door closed at Ephesus, the pattern changed immediately to 'reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus,' and that continued 'for two years.' His own explanation of motive is 'To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews.' And when he was accused of teaching Jews to forsake Moses, he went with the temple vow so that all would know that he himself continued to 'walk keeping the law.' That is the point: his Sabbath habit was Jewish identity, freely kept, and never imposed on his churches.
But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together.And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all those who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those who are under the law;And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law.Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Gentiles heard him on the Sabbath and were never required to keep it
The Gentiles in these cities were not all proselytes who had taken the covenant's obligations on themselves; many were God-fearers already attending the synagogue, the people Paul addressed directly when he stood up: 'Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.' They heard the gospel in the place they already went. At Antioch 'the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath,' and 'the next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.' That is a crowd of Gentiles on a Sabbath, listening. Then look at what the church actually required of them. The Jerusalem council wrote that 'it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things,' and the list is four items with no Sabbath in it. Paul later restates the ruling: 'concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.' Isaiah's promise is a strong argument on the other side, and it reaches past this age: in the new creation 'from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me,' says Yahweh. Seventh-day readers hear there a day that never ends. That reading is serious, and this study does not settle it. What the New Testament does settle is obligation.
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
The next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell.”For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.”As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to minister to him, and to love Yahweh’s name, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
It shall happen, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me,” says Yahweh.And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
The day is now a matter of conscience, and the rest it pointed to remains
This is where the New Testament lands. Paul tells the Romans, 'One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind,' and then forbids the judging that turns the day into a test: 'let’s not judge one another any more.' To the Colossians he is blunt: 'Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.' Seventh-day readers hear that list the way the Old Testament groups its own rites, 'on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts,' so they take Paul to be addressing the festival calendar and not the seventh day. That reading deserves weighing. What does not change either way is his refusal to let a day become the test of another man's standing. And to the Galatians, who were sliding back into observance as a way of standing with God, he writes with alarm, 'You observe days, months, seasons, and years. I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.' None of this means the Sabbath was a mistake. Jesus said, 'I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill,' and Paul insists that faith does not nullify the law: 'No, we establish the law.' Matthew's next sentence is the reply that carries farthest: the law does not pass away 'until all things are accomplished,' and in Christ it is accomplished. That is why the shadow gives way to the body it promised. Hebrews says the rest itself is still open, that 'There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God,' and then calls us to enter it. In Troas the disciples were gathered 'on the first day of the week' to break bread, and John writes from 'the Lord’s day,' but the New Testament never turns Sunday into a new law either. What was a covenant sign for Israel, and a shadow of Christ, becomes a rest you enter by faith in Him.
One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks.One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling.Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh;And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord:
Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.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.
You observe days, months, seasons, and years. I am afraid for you, that I might have wasted my labor for you.Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
“Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letteror one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law.Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpetI was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
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Does James contradict Paul? Is it faith or works?→Our Walk with Him trail“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”How is the new covenant different from the old one?→Jesus Christ trail“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”What are God's people supposed to do when they gather?→Worship trail“They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”Is all of life worship, or only what happens on Sunday?→Worship trail“Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”We haven't written this one yet. Take it to your church or small group: the Word answers it wherever it is asked. If we study it here later, all the better.
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Verses to meditate on
He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.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.
One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
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