Sabbath Day

The fourth commandment states in Exodus 20:8, Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Is the church supposed to keep the Sabbath Day on Saturday the last day of the week, like they did in the Old Testament? If not, then did the Sabbath change for the church and get switched to Sunday, the first day of the week? There are different positions on these questions, but a close study of Scripture reveals clear answers.

The Sabbath civil code is no longer in effect for the New Testament church. That means we do not observe the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday or any other day. The Sabbath Day was directly linked to the civil and ceremonial laws in the Old Testament that were binding only on the nation of Israel before Christ came. Activities such as gathering sticks, gathering food, kindling a fire, buying and selling, harvesting fields, or any other kind of work were forbidden; even doing pleasurable activities were prohibited (Isaiah 58:13-14). These prohibitions are not binding on the New Testament church today (Romans 7:6). Hebrews 10:1 puts it succinctly, The law (referring to the civil and ceremonial law including the Sabbath Day) is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. The law pointed forward to the Person and work of Christ and when Christ came He fulfilled that law perfectly. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Jesus fulfills the law in the sense that the whole Old Testament points to Him. He brings the Law to its divinely intended goal. He brings the consummation of all that God has purposed in the Old Testament. Everything in the Old was a foreshadowing of the New in Christ. Thus the Sabbath Day has no place in this age (Colossians 2:16-17).

In the New Testament era, the church is to worship corporately on the first day of the week or Sunday. This is so because Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week (Mark 16:2). Scripture reports that the New Testament church gathered to worship on this day (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). Therefore, we follow that example in the church today. The early Christians called it the “Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10). However, that does not mean that Sunday becomes the new Sabbath; nowhere does the Bible say that. The Lord’s Day is simply the day believers gather together in local churches to worship the resurrected Christ.

Is there any application to the Sabbath Day for the church today? Yes, the church can take the concept of worship on the Sabbath in the Old Testament and apply that to how we worship God today. The church can understand how blazingly holy God is and how He desires pure reverential worship from the heart. Believers in the church can also take the concept of rest from the Sabbath Day and apply that to their individual lives. God commanded that the Jews work six days and rest one day a week. In fact, this application goes back to God’s work in the creation week (Genesis 2:2). In six days God created the universe and rested on the seventh. This is a pattern for our work week. However, there is no legalistic rule Christians must follow. Romans 14:5 gives the balance, One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. This makes it clear that Sabbath principles are a matter of spiritual freedom, not a command from God in the New Testament. Christians should not judge each other over these matters but show grace toward one another in the spirit of love.