JONATHAN WRITES: I’m reading Exodus right now, and this morning I read chapter 20 (the Ten Commandments) and I was wondering if resting on Sunday is still applicable today. Especially since we live in a world where Saturday and Sunday are often the only times to clean, organize, and generally get ready for the week.
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Well, biblically meeting with the body of believers is super important and you wont want to miss that.
But if we’re talking like just a day of rest then no and yes. We’re not under the law but under grace, which means you aren’t sinning to work on that day. But I think the principal is helpful, and it definitely shows that God values rest.
For me, I usually do laundry and clean a bit on Sunday after church, but it’s pretty restful since I don’t study as much (or at all) and sometimes just read or sleep instead.
Yes, I do think that church is a very important part of Sunday.
If you mean the Sabbath as in Sunday, then I would say YES. It is very important to be going to a strong biblical church. It is way to learn, and be instructed in the gospel. Although if you mean the Sabbath as in Saturday, I tend to think that Saturday is in preparation for Sunday. You are doing all the household chores and preparing for a day of rest. I always tend to thing of the protestant on Saturday, and how they observed it. They had to make all of the food ahead of time, and on Sunday they did not do any thing besides go to church, read the bible, or rest. And the only toy the children were allowed to play with was a little arc with Noah and his animals. Hope this helps. Interesting question. Just curios, but are you reading your bible through in a year? I am, and I am about where you are.
Yes, I am. It’s a great idea to understand at least basically how all the stories of the Bible relate to each other as teens.
I agree
Okay, it seems like you are not asking about going to church but about resting. For me, that one is difficult because my Sunday’s consist of church, eating with family and/or friends, going to Student Leadership Team meeting, youth group, and I finish off with small group! Although I’m keeping my day holy, I’m not resting much!
The thing is, we wouldn’t question any of the other commandments; “you shall not murder” – no question there! But now in the 21st century when it would be so much easier for us to not take the commandment literally, I think it still holds up, just like the other 9. Those are just my 2 cents! 😉
Jesus gives a lot of light on this in Matthew 12, if you want to study it more.
Okay, so cool question. I know a couple people who rest in certain ways on Sunday. For instance, I know that some take a break from electronic devices, TV, video games, etc. Although, some people just don’t do that in general, and that’s totally awesome. For some, electronics is all they do for work, and Sunday is a break from all that. TheRebelution takes a break on Sunday! My dad is the director of operations at a software company, and I know he HATES talking on the phone because of it. It can be a nice relief from all the screens and stress, so they take the opportunity. I’m sure it also helps when you’re trying not to forget what was spoken at church that day, and to help keep your mind clear.
I am a Seventh-Day Adventist. I believe that God wants us to rest on the seventh day Sabbath. The bible says “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath day of the Lord your God.”
I’m also a Seventh-Day Adventist. Are you in a pathfinder group?
That’s great! No, unfortunately I’m not. 🙁
(to whoever is reading this) Why do you keep Sunday as the Sabbath?
Personally I don’t think it matters what day this happens. The command seemso to read more like “do this once a week” rather than “on this day”. Sunday is just the tradition in my culture, so I do it then. I’ve heard Christians in some other countries do Friday since they have the day off.
Well, since God specifically says to rest on the seventh day, I’d say it’s pretty important. It’d be different if God didn’t give us a specific day, but He did.
Well, tbh I don’t know the original language and haven’t asked anyone who does, so I can’t say for sure. That was just my thought from reading the passage.
I haven’t read the original language either, but even the newer translation Bibles say 7th day. Anyway, I’m not trying to argue or anything. I hope nothing came across that way. 🙂
Right. I’m just not sure if it’s 7th day like, “every 7 days” or “on this specific day”. And I’m also a little conflicted adopt whether of not this still applies under the new covenant. I don’t really know.
Here are a couple of things that you might be interested in looking at. https://www.sabbathtruth.com/free-resources/article-library/id/928/100-amazing-facts-about-the-sabbath-and-sunday
https://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/media/e/1156/t/how-do-we-know-from-the-bible-which-day-of-the-week-is-the-sabbath-
I hope these help you understand where I’m coming from a little bit 🙂
We keep Sunday as the Sabbath because it is the day that Jesus rose from the grave.
I am not arguing, I just want to understand your perspective. 🙂 Where in the Bible does it say to keep Sunday as the Sabbath because of the day Christ rose from the grave?
Just a random thought as well: When Jesus lay in the tomb, he even rested on the Sabbath (saturday) and didn’t rise till Sunday.
Hi Nicole!
The Bible doesn’t specifically say, “Keep Sunday as the Sabbath because Jesus rose on that day.” However, in the Bible you read in Acts 20:7, which says, “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.” and 1 Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
These verses both say that the first day of the week is when the early Christians gathered to worship and rest. What is the first day of the week in our culture? Sunday. That is why Sunday is our day of rest, according to God’s Word.
Hopefully I answered your question! God Bless!
P.S. Having a day of rest doesn’t mean not doing anything, so Jesus rising from the grave on Sunday doesn’t mean it was an act of work. Hope that makes sense! XD
👍👍
Hi Rachel,
You are certainly correct in stating that the Bible contains no explicit mandate or statement of transfer in Sabbath importance from Saturday to Sunday.
The two verses you have quoted I believe are self-evidently not suggesting Sunday observance. To address the first:
If the breaking of bread was what suggests that the day was holy, Acts 2:46 states that they were “daily…breaking bread”. As the breaking of bread commemorates our Lord’s crucifixion and was instituted on the evening that the day of the crucifixion began, when Jesus and all the apostles were present, it is evident that the day of the crucifixion present greater claim to the celebration of this ordinance than does the day of the resurrection. As our Lord designated no day for this ordinance and as the apostolic church is recorded to have celebrated it daily, it is evidently presumption to argue the change of the Sabbath from a single instance of its celebration on the first day of the week.
It is a remarkable fact that this, the only instance of a religious meeting on the first day of the week recorded in the New Testament, was a night meeting. This is proved by the fact that many lights were burning in the assembly and that Paul preached until midnight. From this follows the important consequence that this first day meeting was upon Saturday night; because the days of the week were reckoned from evening to evening (as seen in Genesis 1:5), and evenings begin at sunset.
Paul, therefore preached until midnight on Saturday night; for the disciples held a night meeting at the close of the Sabbath, as he was to depart in the morning. Then, being interrupted by the fall of the young man, he went down and healed him. After this, he went up and attended to the breaking of bread; and at the break of day, on Sunday morning he departed.
In regards to the second verse you mention, the words that eliminate the suggestion of a church gathering, is exactly, “let every one of you lay *by him*”. If this is not easily understood to be what it implies, the Greek, Latin, Spanish, German, Swedish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch Bible translations all make it clear that this means “at home”, “in his own house” and “with one’s self”.
I see evidence of the Seventh-day Sabbath’s remaining importance by Jesus long-continued and powerful effort in behalf of the Sabbath, to vindicate it as a *merciful* institution and to rid it of Pharisaical traditions, by which it was perverted from its original purpose. The Sabbath is the Divinely-designated, weekly appointment with the Creator: encompassing rest from our physical labors and the spiritual rest in Christ’s work and atonement for us.
Wishing you all God’s blessings as you seek to do His will as expressed in His Holy Word,
Christella
Hi Rachel,
You are certainly correct in stating that the Bible contains no explicit mandate or statement of transfer in Sabbath importance from Saturday to Sunday.
The two verses you have quoted I believe are self-evidently not suggesting Sunday observance. To address the first:
If the breaking of bread was what suggests that the day was holy, Acts 2:46 states that they were “daily…breaking bread”. As the breaking of bread commemorates our Lord’s crucifixion and was instituted on the evening that the day of the crucifixion began, when Jesus and all the apostles were present, it is evident that the day of the crucifixion present greater claim to the celebration of this ordinance than does the day of the resurrection. As our Lord designated no day for this ordinance and as the apostolic church is recorded to have celebrated it daily, it is evidently presumption to argue the change of the Sabbath from a single instance of its celebration on the first day of the week.
It is a remarkable fact that this, the only instance of a religious meeting on the first day of the week recorded in the New Testament, was a night meeting. This is proved by the fact that many lights were burning in the assembly and that Paul preached until midnight. From this follows the important consequence that this first day meeting was upon Saturday night; because the days of the week were reckoned from evening to evening (as seen in Genesis 1:5), and evenings begin at sunset.
Paul, therefore preached until midnight on Saturday night; for the disciples held a night meeting at the close of the Sabbath, as he was to depart in the morning. Then, being interrupted by the fall of the young man, he went down and healed him. After this, he went up and attended to the breaking of bread; and at the break of day, on Sunday morning he departed.
In regards to the second verse you mention, the words that eliminate the suggestion of a church gathering, is exactly, “let every one of you lay *by him*”. If this is not easily understood to be what it implies, the Greek, Latin, Spanish, German, Swedish, French, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch Bible translations all make it clear that this means “at home”, “in his own house” and “with one’s self”.
I see evidence of the Seventh-day Sabbath’s remaining importance by Jesus long-continued and powerful effort in behalf of the Sabbath, to vindicate it as a *merciful* institution and to rid it of Pharisaical traditions, by which it was perverted from its original purpose. The Sabbath is the Divinely-designated, weekly appointment with the Creator: encompassing rest from our physical labors and the spiritual rest in Christ’s work and atonement for us.
Wishing you all God’s blessings as you seek to do His will as expressed in His Holy Word,
Christella
Hey Faith! Obviously we disagree on this issue, and I don’t want to argue. I will just present you with a link to an article that is really helpful.
God Bless!
Hi Rachel,
Thank you for your response. I have visited the page you recommend and do not see that it substantiates its claims regarding the passages it quotes. Especially the claim that Luke used the Roman method of counting days. There is no reference of Scriptural evidence of this. Truly, Luke’s mention that Paul preached until midnight does not state or suggest that this was when the day began, in the least.
Even the verses from Romans and Paul’s epistles can be clearly demonstrated to refer to the feasts and holy days associated with them, rather than the 10 Commandments.
Certainly, a man or woman convinced against their own will is unconvinced still, so I understand that I cannot change anyone’s mind. Yet the Bible says that iron sharpens iron. If you would be willing to explain to me my mistake in understanding these passages, I’m willing to reconsider.
Blessings,
Christella
Oops! It looks like the link didn’t work. Here it is again. Sorry!
I would like to add something else to this. Your comment on the second verse that I mentioned does not seem to refute what I stated originally. I don’t see how you can disagree that the Bible states that they gathered to worship on the first day of the week.
The Sabbath is the 7th day of the week (starting at sunset Friday, ending at sunset on Saturday). The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week, observed as Sunday in modern times. This distinction is never confused in the Bible. There are other Sabbaths other than the weekly one. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread is one that comes immediately to mind.
Jesus’ practice was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and at some point, the early church moved to gathering on the Lord’s Day. In Acts, it is recorded that there were gatherings on the Lord’s Day, but no where does it say “replace the Sabbath with the Lord’s Day.”
Jesus did say if we loved Him, we’d keep His commandments. Most Christians have somehow decided that He didn’t mean keeping the Sabbath, even though they would never believe He decided it was now okay to commit adultery, yet both commandments appear in the same passage of Scripture.
There are various arguments about verses that can be construed to mean an end to Sabbath keeping, but none of them are explicit. When I see how seriously God took the topic, I think it is only reasonable to expect that, if He wanted us to stop, He would have said so explicitly.
This is not a salvation issue. We are saved by grace through faith, not by obedience to the Torah. I do think it demonstrates a weakness in church practice, where we do so many things without question, sometimes in conflict with what the Bible says.
Hmm, I think it has a lot to do with your views on the new covenant.
I believe that we must follow all 10 commandments so we have to see what Exodus 20:8 says ““Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
I believe the Sabbath is on Saturday. I also believe that we should not work on it or go shopping (making others work) as the Bible says above. I believe great resting options include family time, hiking, Bible study, Christian fellowship, nature time. It’s a great day to truly REST with God.
I agree with you! I also believe that Saturday is meant to be kept holy and I look at it as a special day that God has given me!
I will be honest and say that I do not observe the Sabbath. It isn’t because I don’t think it is important(the Ten Commandants are kind of a big deal for a reason), but more because my family has not ever observed the Sabbath strictly. It should also be noted that my family has a very difficult time to just rest (hi Brett. Yes, we’ve talked about this. :D). That being said, I look at the Sabbath and think, Hmm. A whole day of rest. Every week. That sounds amazing.
Yet my family is guilty of what so many others are, where we are so busy we have no time to rest. While I am usually home on Sunday afternoons, there was a period of time during last semester where I was not. Sunday did not ever feel restful, even if I didn’t work(perhaps noting how just because you are not working does not mean you’re resting…). To give you a picture, I would get up early, drive the half hour to church usually by myself so I could be at church at 8:50 to get the run-down on the sixth grade small group I lead, lead it, finish 1st service, sit in worship for 2nd service with my peer group, and occasionally have a meeting after church about serving(I’m also on the worship band). I would then go to my grandparents house(because driving back and forth to my house was a waste of time, not to mention gas money) and spend the afternoon there before going to small groups at night. I would then drive home.
I will be honest, I did not feel terribly rested after all of that. This semester I actually decided to cut my small groups, which is a long story, but the short of it is that I didn’t ever feel rested or prepared for my week when Monday rolled around, and I was already overcommitted, so I cut it.
My point in all of that is to say this: There are two ways of looking at this. The first is from the view that, of course, we should obey the ten commandments and obviously Jesus adhered to the Sabbath, so shouldn’t we? I don’t disagree. Jesus is clearly our ultimate example, and so clearly we SHOULD take time to rest and spend time with Him on the sabbath.
The other point of view is this: Romans says we are no longer under the law, that we are free from it. There is an entire passage in Galatians that talks about how we are free from the law, not to mention most of Romans and Hebrews. Is it, then, a huge problem if we do not adhere to the Sabbath? Are we still bound to that part of the Law?
I don’t know which view I agree with. I lean towards agreeing with the Sabbath, but I also take into account how difficult it is for people to follow it. This is no excuse, I know. Busyness never in any circumstance excuses ignoring Scripture. But have we looked at it both ways? Have we considered everything? Are we bound by the Law still, or is it an act of obedience in following Christ’s example? I don’t have any answers, but I hope, if you have by some miracle managed to read this far, you have at least had some food for thought.
Hi Regan, I can relate with Sunday being a busy day. Our Sundays are usually Morning service, afternoon service in squatter camp, and then evening service.
God knows every situation; if it’s out of your hands, it’s comforting to know that it’s better to do good than to do evil on the Sabbath (Mark 3:4), whether it’s Saturday (the OG), or Sunday. I definitely think if you can take a break from routine, do it. It’s a way to honor God with the first -or last- of your week,
Most of all, whatever the circumstance, honor God. Love him and serve him, and love others.
Wow! This is really incredible because yesterday’s sermon at our church was on the fourth commandment! We’re working through all 10 before Easter.
Let me type out some of my notes on the sermon. Again, these are just my notes from the sermon. These are NOT my words!
“Sabbath” is of Hebrew origin meaning “cease” or “stop working”.
The idea of the sabbath has been modeled since the beginning when God rested on the 7th day.
The word “sabbath” is first mentioned in Exodus 16:21-26. This passage is talking about when God was providing manna daily for the Israelites and He told them to gather double before the Sabbath and He would make sure it stayed fresh for the next day.
^^In other words, the word sabbath was associated with trust in that context.
Sometimes we refuse to rest and take a sabbath because we lack trust. We fear the work won’t get done if we don’t do it NOW; but we need to trust God’s sovereignty in providing us with a day of rest and not try to overwork ourselves.
God designed us for rest. If we don’t rest, we are consequently claiming an affinity with God we can’t claim. As humans, we HAVE to rest and when we try to act as if we don’t need it, we are claiming an equality with God we cannot claim.
Some reasons why we refuse to rest:
-lack of trust (as already mentioned)
-We enjoy being busy and subconsciously feel arrogantly taht the world can’t go on without us.
-Insecurity
-People pleasing
The Sabbath is a time when we should *remove all distractions from God* (<I LOVE that!!)
Four Aspects of Sabbath:
1) Stopping work (paid or unpaid)- if it distracts us from God, we need to stop.
2) Resting- doing activities that feel restful for us
3) Practicing Delight- do something we enjoy
4) Contemplating God- intentionally spending a great amount of time with the Lord and dedicating the day to Him.
Sabbath is God's way of slowing us down so we can spend time with Him and those we love.
It shouldn't be legalistic! A parent still has to help their child. Someone still has to cook. Emergencies happen. We can't be to stringent.
A couple verses: Mark 2:27 and Matthew 11:28-30
I know this is probably out of context with what you said and not sure if I used that word wrong but I always thought that the Sabbath day was something that we were expected to always keep holy remember that it is a special day but I don’t really know a lot about it other than that. another thing is that one of the commandments says that we have 6 days of labor and we must use the Sabbath day of no labor and notice the fact that it is the seventh day is the day that god rested from making the heavens the seas and the universe basically in 6 days. which brings me to another fact that the Sabbath day is forgotten a lot not by adults but by young Christians, because if I were to go to my youth group and ask some of the kids about the Sabbath day they would either ignore me or they would shrug and walk away which makes me confused because shouldn’t all Christians know about the Sabbath day? also you said we should remove all distractions on this day does that mean when I am playing video games or texting or watching movies or hanging out with my friends I am not honoring the Sabbath day? thanks for taking the time to ready this Megan I would have made my own comment but I kind of wanted some light shun on this cause I am very uninformed about this and to be honest your the only person I actually have talked to directly ( other then the discussion writers) since ive been on the rebelution. which I know I have not been on for a long time. thanks again. sincerely Jesse 😀
In my family, Sunday is a busy day with getting ready for church and driving to and from church. That doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t rest. For us, homework and chores are not an option on Sundays. Those things can be done on Saturday. We personally will sit in the afternoons and watch TV or nap. That is how we honor the Sabbath by resting. I don’t think that being on electronics is not resting, so long as you are using them for something other than work. Hope this answers your question!
it does answer my question thanks for explaining
I totally agree with you! Except I believe Saturday is the Sabbath. The Bible says “6 days thou shalt work, but the 7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.”
that is true the Sabbath is on Saturday but on the original Hebrew calendar so it looks like Sunday is actually the 7th but actually is the beginning of the week “shhhhh don’t tell my mom or she’ll start making me do school on Sunday 0_0 🙁
Do you keep the 7th day as the Sabbath? 🙂
Hey everyone!
I believe that the Sabbath is something God meant for us to observe always. No where in the Bible does it say that God told us not to keep it anymore.
As for cleaning and such, as long as you are striving to follow God and keeps His commandments, I’m sure He will make known to you a way to get your work done without breaking the Sabbath.
Don’t look at it as a burden! It’s a privilege! God actually gave us a day to rest and spend time with Him and each other. I can’t imagine not having that.
Something to consider: God said to rest on the 7th day, right? I keep the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) and would encourage you to study out the Bible for what day the Sabbath is and why we still keep it.
Here are a few verses that have helped me:
1) Exodus 20:8-11
2) Genesis 2:3
3) Matthew 5:17-19
Hope this helped!
~Kayla
While we’re trying to understand and obey God’s word, let me just mention that the Sabbath isn’t a central in scripture and it’s not worth causing a ton of division over.
The Sabbath is central just as “Thou shalt not kill is central”. It is the 4th of the 10 commandments after all…
Yeah, but scripture isn’t *mainly* about things we should and shouldn’t do. It’s about God being glorified through saving sinners. (Romans, especially the first part of chapter 8 explains this.)
I just meant that we shouldn’t let ourselves get distracted from the bigger picture.
Yeah, and it’s also not just important because it’s on the ten commandments. God made the Sabbath at creation as a sign of his wonderful and awesome power. It’s his ultimate symbol of power, because it takes a God to create complex, God-designed creations like plants, animals, sky, earth, sun, moon, stars, galaxies, universe(s) and, lastly, us!
Because this world is so crazy and fast-paced, I think it’s even more important to respect and protect the Sabbath day as a day of rest. There’s really no rest in this world, and I think that’s partly why God gave us the commandment to honor Sundays as days of worship and rest and down-time. 🙂
Now, “resting” doesn’t have to mean napping for 5 hours–although if you can nap for 5 hours, go you!!– I think rest means concentrating more on family and on God. Go to your Sunday worship services, read the Scriptures (or any other form of God’s word), write in your journal, listen to uplifting music, refrain from too much screen time, spend time with family. Just wholesome, recreational activities. I find that when I separate the Sabbath from the other days of the week, and leave my homework alone, leave other worldly things alone for just 24 hours, I’m often more refreshed than when I don’t.
There’s not exactly a strict rule on Sabbath day observance, just as long as you can feel the Spirit and are resting from your normal, day-to-day activities.
I believe we should, but because of society now, it is physically impossible for a human to not do any kind of work on any day of the week, unless they are really hurt. I think it is sad that they have turned the Sabbath into a day of working. I pretty much work the most on Sundays, getting ready for school, whatever music thing I have going on, etc.. So yes, we should, we just can’t.
Truthfully with proper scheduling, it is VERY easy not to work on The Sabbath.
With proper scheduling yes.
Not to sound judgmental, but if it is possible to go to church on Sabbath, why not? Why willingly go on the wrong day for the sake of fitting things in time? And remember, the Sabbath is a day to relax, breathe in, and thank God for what He has given us, rejoice in what he will give us, and learn and accept what he gives us, each and every week.
I believe resting on the Sabbath is also critical for physical and mental health. During the French revolution there was a great reform and the government decided to make a 10 day week. (They were trying to disconnect EVERYTHING from God) It didn’t last because people were physically and mentally drained.
Absolutely, not only is it one of the Ten Commandments, scientists have proven that one day of rest per week is important to a persons health!
Hi everyone,
When Paul is talking about stylistic differences in the church, my reading of scripture is that this is one example. It really depends on one’s heart: are you working for selfish gain, or to advance God’s kingdom? I cannot remember a Sunday I took “off”; God has given me an indescribably large zeal for serving Him in a particular way and there are simply not enough hours in the day to even do it all — so I make use of every minute that’s available as best I can.
Some verses to consider that provide the scriptural basis for my worldview:
(1) Colossians 2:16: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Lesson: whether we formally celebrate the sabbath or not is irrelevant — our identity is in Jesus and obeying Him.
(2) John 5:16-17: “So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, “My father never stops working, so why should I?”
Lesson: pretty self evident.
(3) Luke 6:1-3: “One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?”
Lesson: if what you’re doing is to honor God (and barring some convoluted story that’s inconsistent with scripture), then great. We should not allow man-made laws get in the way of genuine obedience.
(4) Hebrews 4:4-10: “As for those who didn’t believe, God said, ‘In my anger I made a vow: they will never enter my place of rest’ even though his place of rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because the Scriptures mention the seventh day, saying, “on the seventh day God rested from all his work. But in the other passage God said, ‘They will never enter my place of rest. So God’s rest is there for people to enter. But those who formerly heard the Good News failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his place of rest, and that time is today… So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God’s rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world.”
Lesson: Jesus is our rest given the sacrifice He made.
The “studies” about the “health benefits” of resting are not nearly as unambiguous as some have characterized them as (and feel free to provide links if you’d like to share). Obviously we should get at least 7 hours of sleep per day and eat enough since we have physical constraints, but the remainder is really up to us and how much we put in God’s hands versus trying to have control on our own end. While I work all the time, there’s never a point where I feel stressed because in the Lord there is no stress.
That said, if for anyone here you feel that a day completely set aside is one of the ways you honor God, keep that up because God wants our hearts — not our sacrifices — so lets just be sure everything we do is an authentic worship to the one who deserves our praise, rather than a formula we follow.
People who keep the Sabbath, myself included, keep it because we believe that God specifically told us which day we should especially dedicate ourselves to worship him. I don’t mind, and I fully accept some of the insights you’re bouncing around, but in the point of view I share with others, we believe that a specific day of rest is required to let our lives fully shine for him. I’m not saying it’s VITALLY ESSENTIAL for our salvation, but is like a part of our toolbelt that Christians use to spread God’s truth, without giving the benefit of the doubt too much to non-Christians, because, as humans, we still don’t understand all the questions we have of God. So I’m going to explain why I believe that the Sabbath should have a specific day.
The Sabbath, as it says in Genesis 2, was “blessed” and “sanctified” by God, for in it he rested from all his creating. It’s his symbol, his seal, his special mark of power, because on that week, he created, to us, everything! In Exodus 20, God implores Israel to remember this day, the Sabbath, and keep it holy, and rest on it. Sabbath is not just a break from everything for God, it’s a sign of everything God did, God does, and what He WILL do. It’s also a sign of his relationship towards mankind. The Sabbath points us directly at God, and if we don’t keep looking at Him, we will end up at the foot of destruction.
It’s so important, God made it a permanent day in our week, the 7th day, so we could spend more and more time resting in him and learning more about him. That’s why God implemented such strong consequences to Israel if they disobeyed the moral laws! Israel was chosen to be the light in the known world, and if they didn’t shine their light right, and broke the Sabbath, that would be putting their relationship with God, and their light to the people at risk, regardless whether they broke the Sabbath or another moral law. So by this point, God clearly wants the Israelites to keep the moral laws, including Sabbath.
When Jesus came to earth, the Pharisees and Sadducees, like us, were hearers of the word, and not doers, and hypocritically added laws to the Sabbath, and other moral laws, which led Jesus to rebuke them. Look those laws up for yourself. The point is, he still kept the Sabbath, even though the Pharisees and Sadducees broke the Sabbath. And he was raised a Jew, so he still kept the Sabbath that Moses kept, and David kept, and what orthodox Jews keep all around the world. It never changed, though people did the wrong thing.
Side note: Paul was still having an issue with this, though not regarding The Sabbath, but the ceremonial “sabbaths” that Jews in those days kept (they even had yearly sabbaths!). Paul’s simply saying there in Colossians is that those days don’t matter to Gentiles, because they were shadows for the Jews and for the rest of the known world that the Messiah was going to come. Too bad they missed the point of it.
Now I hope this clears why people who share my perspective (namely, 7th Day Adventists) go to church on Sabbath. We go to church on Saturday because we believe that God firmly and clearly instructs us that Sabbath. God made the Sabbath and specified the 7th day, and it has appeared unchanged, even to Paul’s time. So who changed it? That’s a question for another time.
The real question you are asking is “do we have to follow the WHOLE Bible or are we allowed to cherry pick it to make it easier to fit with our society and social norms?” If you believe the Bible is true and without error , then yes you MUST follow the Sabbath. It is a commandment, not a request or an option. You are not allowed to cherry pick just because it makes you uncomfortable or because it is “too hard.” This means you have to follow commandments no matter how strange they may sound. For example, if for whatever reason you are a male without a penis, you cannot go to church (Deuteronomy 23:1). Also, parents are commanded to not only punish, but to kill their disobedient sons (I guess daughters can disobey their parents and are off the hook.) (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
Hi Paul!
You are completely correct that cherry picking the Bible is wrong. We are supposed to obey God’s Word even if our old self tells us to not obey. However, in Romans 7, Paul writes about how we are not tied to Moses’ law, but are to follow Christ and His new law. So the examples you gave from Deuteronomy are not things that we still follow today. If you need more clarification, please let me know.
Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are saying, but what about the Ten Commandments then? Are we supposed to still obey them? Also, what about the verse where Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law, but to uphold the law.
Would be useful to read my references to scripture. The rituals and laws of the Old Testament are very distinct from the relationship we have with God in the New Testament.
But you are cherry picking. You are ignoring the reference to scripture I made. Jesus himself quoted from Old Testsment laws during his teachings. This is an important debate. Either we follow the laws from the Old Testament or we do not. Should we follow the ten commandents? If so, how did you decide that we should obey the Ten Commandments but that we do not have to follow he other laws? If we are not tied to the Old Testament laws, does that mean it is now ok to murder, steal, and have graven images?
The key to understanding the relationship between the Christian and the Law is knowing that the Old Testament law was given to the nation of Israel, not to Christians. Some of the laws were to reveal to the Israelites how to obey and please God (the Ten Commandments, for example). Some of the laws were to show the Israelites how to worship God and atone for sin (the sacrificial system). Some of the laws were intended to make the Israelites distinct from other nations (the food and clothing rules). None of the Old Testament law is binding on Christians today. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23–25; Ephesians 2:15).
In place of the Old Testament law, Christians are under the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). If we obey those two commands, we will be fulfilling all that Christ requires of us: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40). Now, this does not mean the Old Testament law is irrelevant today. Many of the commands in the Old Testament law fall into the categories of “loving God” and “loving your neighbor.” The Old Testament law can be a good guidepost for knowing how to love God and knowing what goes into loving your neighbor. At the same time, to say that the Old Testament law applies to Christians today is incorrect. The Old Testament law is a unit (James 2:10). Either all of it applies, or none of it applies. If Christ fulfilled some of it, such as the sacrificial system, He fulfilled all of it.
“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The Ten Commandments were essentially a summary of the entire Old Testament law. Nine of the Ten Commandments are clearly repeated in the New Testament (all except the command to observe the Sabbath day). Obviously, if we are loving God, we will not be worshipping false gods or bowing down before idols. If we are loving our neighbors, we will not be murdering them, lying to them, committing adultery against them, or coveting what belongs to them. The purpose of the Old Testament law is to convict people of our inability to keep the law and point us to our need for Jesus Christ as Savior (Romans 7:7-9; Galatians 3:24). The Old Testament law was never intended by God to be the universal law for all people for all of time. We are to love God and love our neighbors. If we obey those two commands faithfully, we will be upholding all that God requires of us.
I hope that this clears it up for you.
100% and just to emphasize, Paul the counterexample you gave is not valid since it is inconsistent with the two commandments Jesus reiterated. Jesus did not come to take away the law — you are right — but to fulfill it. We clearly do not sacrifice lamb the way the Israelites did before, and that’s because Jesus was our perfect lamb, so there is no need for such sacrifices. The Levitical Law was for the Israelites for a specific period of time; we are not bound by that law — give Paul’s letters a read.
I’m sorry, but I am confused by your comment. @Christos Makridis Could you clarify again what is inconsistent?
Oh no, I meant Paul’s reply – yes 100% what you said
Oh okay! I somewhat assumed that you were referring to him, but I wanted to clarify that we weren’t talking about the biblical Paul. XD
So…why are some bible verses inconsistent with the Bible?
Thank you for your well thought out response Rachel, however, what you are offering is an interpretation of the Bible. The Bible doesn’t even mention the word Christian, so you cannot say that the Old Testament was only for Israelites and not for Christians. And you are still cherry picking. Either the old testsment is relevant to today or it is not. You do not get to decide which verses you like the most and say “those are the ones I will follow”. Also ask yourself, why did Jesus not explicitly say which laws to follow and which were irrelevant. Do not tell me he did, because he did not. That is why Jews and Christian’s disagree on trivial things like eating pork. Honestly, I could have done a better job being Jesus cause I could have written the Book myself to avoid all the silly interpretations. God is pretty dumb to leave this up to interpretation rather than simply explicitly laying down the law. The question of “should we follow he sabbath” should not even be a question because Jesus, in his 35 years on earth, should have told us what the answer was. It would have avoided church divisions. But I guess God was too dumb to make things clear to us. And do not say I am being disrespectful cause the Bible is MUCH more rude and vulgar then me. Since when is the story of millions of people and animals drowning considered appropriate for children? Open your eyes. Christianity is a myth. In 100 years I doubt religion will excist. Look at the data, Christianity is on the decline and it will continue to decline. People will look back on it in the sa,e way that we look back on Roman Mythology. I mean it is pretty crazy to believe in talking daunkies, talking plants, flying chariots, witches, gods impregnating virgins, world wide flood, condoned rape of women and children, slavery being ok, homosexuality being a sin, the heart having emotions, the earth being created before the sun, people turning to salt, talking snakes, I mean seriously. If you never heard of Christianity till you were 25, the things I just mentioned would seem so ridiculous.
Well, responding to this in detail would imply that it dignifies a response. I am sorry you feel this way and I just pray that God has a personal encounter with you so that you see the bounty of His love.
Unfortunately, you do not seem to be understanding. You obviously have not studied the Bible or Christianity. You are being extremely disrespectful to Your Creator, the One who puts breath in your lungs, to say that you would make a better Jesus or that God is dumb. I will not argue anymore because you will not consider my comments. I pray that God will open your eyes and that you can come to have a personal relationship with Him.
I am sorry Rachel and Christos. I was in a REALLY bad mood yesterday, just a lot going on. I needed an outlet for my anger and unfortunately used this site. I am so sorry. I deleted my previous comment. It will not happen again.
You are forgiven. Thank you for deleting your comment. I am sure you have already done this, but make sure you repent and ask God for forgiveness for what you previously wrote. He has already forgiven you on the cross, and when you turn from your sin, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) Thank you for the apology!
Also, the Bible does use the word Christian. look at 1 Peter 4:16 or Acts 26:28.
Hi everyone, ,
It seems to me that I joined this discussion late and I have observed that the question raised has been amply dealt with. I might just want to add to all that has already been said.
Jesus came to uphold the Law, I’d like to repeat again. He fulfilled every Law even though many religions leaders of His day consider him blasphemous. Every written edict and ordinance in the Old Testament Law was a shadow of the contents of the New Testament. And everything around Christ’s death and resurrection has proven that Christ is the totality and completion of the Law.
In the same breath, I say that the Sabbath, an important part of the Law was fulfilled by Christ and is explicitly explained in the Letter to the Hebrews. In fact, the rest described in this book portrayed Christ as our rest: a divine and lasting solution to life and it’s struggles. Christ represents the Rest of the Father and the portal by which man gets the same.
Proven, physical rest is advised and required. But much more, spiritual rest is not only a suggestion but a command.
What I am driving at is to expose us, if we already haven’t been, to the fact that
1. The Law wasn’t done away with. It was fulfilled.
2. Rest is a spiritual New Testament commandment to relinquish our strength and vigour to the Father through Christ and see Him as the Ultimate power in all. By this, we can enjoy life to it’s fullest and be ‘far above’ life’s peculiar struggles.
3. We should not let this provision of God in His Son left untapped. We should let Him be true and go through in us
It seems to me that I joined this discussion late and I have observed that the question raised has been amply dealt with. I might just want to add to all that has already been said.
Jesus came to uphold the Law, I’d like to repeat again. He fulfilled every Law even though many religions leaders of His day consider him blasphemous. Every written edict and ordinance in the Old Testament Law was a shadow of the contents of the New Testament. And everything around Christ’s death and resurrection has proven that Christ is the totality and completion of the Law.
In the same breath, I say that the Sabbath, an important part of the Law was fulfilled by Christ and is explicitly explained in the Letter to the Hebrews. In fact, the rest described in this book portrayed Christ as our rest: a divine and lasting solution to life and it’s struggles. Christ represents the Rest of the Father and the portal by which man gets the same.
Proven, physical rest is advised and required. But much more, spiritual rest is not only a suggestion but a command.
What I am driving at is to expose us, if we already haven’t been, to the fact that
1. The Law wasn’t done away with. It was fulfilled.
2. Rest is a spiritual New Testament commandment to relinquish our strength and vigour to the Father through Christ and see Him as the Ultimate power in all. By this, we can enjoy life to it’s fullest and be ‘far above’ life’s peculiar struggles.
3. We should not let this provision of God in His Son left untapped. We should let Him be true and go through in us.
What do you mean when you say “The Law wasn’t done away with. It was fulfilled.”? So should we or should we not observe the Sabbath? And why did Jesus fullfilll the commandment to rest? If Jesus died for our sins why did he also die for Saturday? And why did it require such a huge price, couldn’t he have just said “you don’t need to rest on Saturday anymore.”?
I meant to say, Paul, that Christ came to fulfill the Law. He did not discard it.
The Sabbath should definitely be observed, but much more as a spiritual principle; not in observing a particular day. Mark 2:27 and 28 (NET) says “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” The Good News Bible might also be a very helpful rendition.
To answer the question about Jesus fulfilling the commandment to rest; His death and the reason for the huge price he paid could be best explained in the words of the writer of Hebrews. I always advice that the Bible should read in context and not ‘cherry-picked’. But please try to read the whole book. But if you cannot, please read Chapters 4,5 and 6. That’s Hebrews 4, 5 and 6.
But, I will attempt to give an abridged version:
Sin is forgiven only when blood is shed. And God, having sufficiently proved that sacrifices offered by men could not remit sin entirely, He Himself offered Christ up on His altar. He sent him to the earth to physically demonstrate this and also prove that man, as a man, can live without sin. Let me also mention that sin was the reason that the Law was given but it failed curb it in it’s entirety. We actually see men like David and Moses living above the Law in many instances. Every Law, as much as it strove to help man’s sin and hardheartedness, could not present a man blameless. Even after the High Priest offered his sacrifice, IT COULD NOT REMIT OUR SIN. Why? Because sin was inputted to us. Jesus Christ proved that man can live above sin and he also came to input righteousness to us. That was how and why He became the The High Priest of Our Profession(Salvation). Romans 5,6,7 and 8 could be very helpful too.
Let me also remark that He did not abolish rest, He became our rest.
Me and my family are Torah observant Christians. We follow the Hebrew holidays, we do the Sabbath (which is something I always look forward too), we call God YAVH and Jesus Yeshua, we don’t eat unclean foods, etc etc. You get the point. But tell me. Tell me one time that YAVH has changed his mind on one of His commandments. He’s changed his mind on punishments. You know, like when He was saying that He was going to destroy the Hebrews because they were not following his law (aka. the Torah) and everything. Moses begged for YAVH to forgive his people, and he did. But he has never, ever, ever, said, “Oh yeah. Remember when I said don’t eat pork? Which is, like, totally unclean because they literally eat everything, even their own dying young, dead humans, and feces. Yeah you remember that? Yeah I changed my mind. I mean, I was going to destroy My people because they weren’t following My law and everything, but hey. It’s a new time and age. So go eat your pork.” I mean really. Does that even make sense? No. Not really. If YAVH was going to personally punish His people for breaking His law in the desert, then who says we won’t get punished for doing the same? Whether it be going to church, or eating unclean foods, or not doing His holidays, or whatever. We MUST follow His law. Because it doesn’t just apply to the Hebrews.
Hi Brenna! You’re right. God doesn’t change (James 1:17). However, through Jesus Christ, our relationship to him has. Through Him, we have died to the law and to the written code and have been made alive in Christ. (Romans 7:4) The Law that God gave with all of its requirements was never sufficient in the first place to make anyone holy. Rather, God graciously accepted those who obeyed in faith. Even though their works could not cleanse them, he withheld his wrath until the day that Jesus would bear their sins, our sins, in himself, on the cross.
So many of the laws in the Old Testament had to do with reconciliation to God (do this, and you will be clean). But they weren’t enough, because they only covered the sin, didn’t change the nature of the sinner, and the sin was daily. That still hasn’t changed. We sin against God daily when we refuse to love him wholeheartedly or refuse to love our neighbor as ourselves, and in so doing insult, mock, and rebel against God. Each and every sin deserves eternal condemnation. But Christ came, died once for all, and through his death and resurrection has brought us into everlasting union with God.
Brenna, please don’t reject Jesus. He is sufficient for all things. Our righteousness is but dirty rags covering a skeleton. Jesus said that it’s not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out of the heart shows that he is. We’re dead without him, and nothing that we do on the outside can change that. Only He can bring us back to life. Jesus said, “The work that God requires is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” Enter his rest, delight in the work that he has accomplished. We were once bound by the Law, but now that we have died with Christ, we are set free from the Law so that we might serve in the way of the Spirit. (Romans 7:6)
Romans 8:1-4 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
God gives us his Spirit so that we will obey his commands, and what was external becomes internal. This is something that we could never work in ourselves. God is so gracious to us.
This subject is something that I’ve wondered about myself, and the books of Romans and Hebrews have been really helpful, as well as Galatians and Colossians.
I know all this wasn’t particularly eloquent, but I want you to know that I love you, and because of that I want to encourage you to love Jesus with full dependence on him. He is our rest, our Sabbath.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
This was brought up by my dad in Jaunary to our family. We now (on Sundays) don’t watch TV, read fictional books, (we still read either the Bible or other books, i.e. This Changes Everything) but we do take time to meditate on the sermon that morning and read our bible. It was very hard at first but it’s gotten much better. 🙂
Interesting comments. I pose a question. Should Christians still obstain from murder, adultery, baring false witness, convetting, worshipping other gods? Why is it that Christians question keeping the Sabbath day holy (7th day) but don’t question any other of the commandments? Jesus kept the Sabbath day by attending services in the temple, Jesus rested on the Sabbath in his death, the apostles kept the Sabbath, and we will keep the Sabbath holy in heaven.
My question is, should we only follow the ten commandments of the old testament or should we also follow the rest of the Torah? After all, Jesus said that he had not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. Does this mean that Christians should’t eat bacon and that slavery should be legal? Or, if we should only keep the ten commandments, why? Simply because they’re the most important commandments does not mean that the other commandments don’t matter.
In the New Testament Jesus was asked about the commandments and he said of all the greatest 2 or to put God 1st and to love your neighbor so that would pretty much cover saying that slavery would not be acceptable. Now, as far as eating bacon I think that a lot of christians use The Bible verse that says what enters the man does not defile him pretty much saying that it’s not our works that make us righteous it is our faith. A lot has changed since the Old Testament the Old Testament is our schoolmaster . We live under a new beautiful covenant.
Not to bash your point (in fact I agree!), but some of the Old Testament laws were ceremonial and as Christians we are not bound by them (i.e. Circumcism).
To Carol Ford,
to who is your question/statement directed to, exactly?
To John Chang,
we can tell the laws we should and shouldn’t follow by judging if they are a ceremonial or moral law, generally. For example, circumcision is, by Paul’s definition, “nothing”, and killing someone, well, is morally wrong. Circumcision and ceremonial laws are mere shadows, reminders of what Jesus was going to do, circumcision specifically on the fulfilling of the law, which is a whole other subject altogether. Bear with me on this.
Let’s apply this, shall we, to the question on “unclean” meat. When trying to figure out what food to eat, you need to ask yourself why God chose specific animals with seemingly unnecessary similarities. (God, seriously, cloven hooves?) Is there another connection between these animals other than what kind of foot they have? Certainly. And it’s all on what they eat. (Oh, I forgot to mention that God also chose animals by what food they eat. Cud.) Though I’m not a dietitian, by any means, I do know that what some “unclean” animals eat are truly disgusting. I mean, who wants to eat vultures???? They basically eat the leftovers???? Much like other animals I know… including pig. I mean, they eat anything that looks even the least bit edible- http://www.wideopenpets.com/anything-pig-cant-eat/ , even their faeces. You know what that is. Anyway, their bodies adapted to handling the poison, unlike humans, who eat pigs food second-hand. You see what I mean? This is why God chose the other animals: because they didn’t eat bad stuff. (Also, I can’t explain fish right now, but it should be the same or a similar answer.)
And Slavery in those times couldn’t be helped, because it was so widely accepted in society that the Christians thought this would hinder the spread of the gospel, especially towards slave masters. So, until the time was right, Paul told the slaves to accept this and to be obedient to their masters. Still, it’s a lesson we can still learn from today, especially us who are (still) students.
These commandments are still vital to us, and I believe that by keeping the ten commandments and moral laws, which I believe includes the health laws, we can become lights to the world.
Sorry it’s so lengthy. I get carried away!
We should keep one day for Sabbath day. I mean we really don’t know What day God rested. All he says he rested on the seventh day.
Jesus grew up and was raised as a Jew. Jew’s to this day keep Saturday as the Sabbath.
Amen!
The 7th Day Adventists call anyone who doesn’t go to church on Saturday ‘un-Christian’. I think it’s very important to come together on A DAY, whether Saturday or Sunday, to participate in fellowship with other believers. It fills us with passion for God. So to answer your question, YES, it is important.
I am a 7th Day Adventist and I’m sorry that your experience with us was negative in that manor. The majority of us that aren’t narrow minded believe that God will be the judge in the end. I believe many non-Saturday keeping Christians will be saved in the end.
As a Christian, you do not have to observe the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday). Our day is the Lord’s Day (Sunday).
Jesus is our rest.
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
He came and fulfilled a perfect law that none of us imperfect humans could ever do. The Bible says we are not justified by works but by faith in Jesus.
Jesus gave us commandments. Two of those is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” If you keep those two commandments then your are less likely to break the Ten.
Jesus broke the Sabbath as did others in the New Testament.
Peter and Paul had an argument over Gentiles being circumcised and when Paul gave commands to the Gentiles, observing the Sabbath was not one of them. Peter was allowed to eat unclean meat. (Book of Acts)
The Law was given in order to reveal man’s sinful nature.
All of this is in the New Testament.
If you want to rest from your labors on Saturday then do so. But if not, don’t worry, we are under the Law of Grace.
Jesus never broke the Sabbath. Unless you call healing on the Sabbath day breaking the sabbath. Jesus argued that that was not breaking the sabbath. He is LORD of the Sabbath and so decides what can and can’t be done.
“Then Jesus told them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27, 28
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17
If the Sabbath commandment isn’t binding today, then neither is Thou shalt not kill or steal or commit adultery. Remember that Jesus came to save us FROM our sins, not in them. Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
As a Christian, there are several benefits to observing the Sabbath day, I personally believe that taking a break and reflecting upon Jesus Christ and the gospel before a new week helps to influence my thoughts and actions for the week to come.
This is always a fun topic. People love to argue about the sabbath. People like to argue about the unimportant details (like whether sabbath is part of the law and “done away with”). I’m no bible scholar but I remember Jesus saying the sabbath was made for man…and if you think about it…God “commands” us to take a day off once a week and we’re bummed about it? No words.
Hey Jonathan, as you study the Bible you’ll find that there are moral laws that are binding to all people (such as, “Do not covet, steal, bear false witness, commit adultery, kill, etc.) and ceremonial laws (remember the sabbath day to keep it holy; don’t wear clothing with different types of fabrics; sew a ribbon of blue on the bottom of your clothes; let your land rest [i.e., don’t plant anything] every seven years; don’t eat pork, rabbits, shellfish, camels, etc.).
God’s moral laws are written upon the heart of every person (Romans 2:14-15); the ceremonial laws were given to Israel as part of God’s special covenant with them.
Context is key to understanding the scriptures. You must understand that the ceremonial laws were given in a specific historical context to a specific people: the children of Israel. “Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 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 for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” (Exodus 31:14–17)
So, who was to keep the sabbath? The children of Israel. Keeping the sabbath was a covenant between God and which people? The children of Israel. Observing the sabbath day as a holy day was part of the ceremonial law given to Israel.
All those who have trusted in the death, burial, and resurrection as the complete and final payment for their sins are free from the demands of the law (See Romans 8:1-14 and Galatians 2:16-3:26). This, of course, does not mean we are free to sin (we still have to keep the moral law) but we are not under the ceremonial law of Moses.
The most important question is, are you trusting in Jesus Christ alone to be your Saviour? “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)
I hope this helps.
~Pastor David
The Sabbath was instituted on the premise of God setting an example for mankind who possessed his image and likeness from the beginning (Genesis 2:3). Jesus said it was made for man. Exodus 20:8-11 restates that the reason for it is to follow the example God set in Genesis 2:3. It is a command to remember it, sanctify it (regard it as Holy), and to rest or cease from work. It was not changed by God but a law under penalty of death was passed by the Roman government rejecting resting on the Sabbath and commanding resting on Sunday instead (Constantine Emperor of Rome). It is immoral and a slavery mentality to work a servant or employee seven days a week so that they can spend no quality time loving God and their neighbors (family and community). Today government has attempted to eliminate prayer from the public arena as a shared experience. Remember the New Covenant (or New Testament) is only made with the house of Israel and the house of Judea (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Heb 8:8-13) Jacob was named after Israel (Exodus 4:22), who is the vine. Eternal Life is based upon trusting in the blood of the Lamb of God (Yehoshua, Jesus). Love for God and neighbor is based upon the Law and the Prophets. Jesus gave us his view on the Law and the Prophets in Matt 5:17-19. Don’t aim to be the least or lowest in the kingdom of heaven. Aim for greatness in love and service.