There has been some controversy lately within Christian circles (isn’t there always?) regarding certain figures and their attitudes toward the Old Testament of the Bible. Naturally, as Christians, we can learn from and value the whole of scripture as ultimately pointing to Christ and God’s work of human redemption. While we do not have to blindly accept these leaders’ views on the Old Testament, there is a sort of confusion that the general public has regarding how Christians apply the Bible to their faith. There is a common question raised from non-believers (and, quite often, new believers) regarding what parts of the Old Testament are relevant or directly applicable to Christians living under the New Covenant of Christ.
Part of the confusion that exists around this question has at least something to do with the American obsession with the Ten Commandments. This symbol of Christian morality has long been fought over within public discourse, usually in regards to some public display or monument. Many Christians still remember memorizing them in Sunday School as a child and consider them to be a convenient holdover from the Mosaic Law that can still inform the way we live today.
But this over-emphasis and dedication to the Ten Commandments can have a downside in that it muddies the actual relationship of the New Covenant Christian to God. And we need look no further for evidence of that than in the reality that the Sabbath commandment does not apply to Christians.
Just What Was the Sabbath?
The Bible does, rather explicitly, give us the bounds and purpose of the Sabbath in passages such as Exodus 31:
“You [Moses] are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.”
This passage, along with the actual language of the Sabbath commandment, like that of Deuteronomy 5:12-15, makes it clear that the Sabbath was given to Israel as a sign of the Mosaic Covenant. Those familiar with God’s Covenantal paradigm, that of signs, blessings, and curses may also recall similar signs of covenants that pre-date the Mosaic one, such as the rainbow for the Noahic covenant, and circumcision for the Abrahamic. Given its importance to Israel, the Sabbath, along with the various regulations of the Mosaic Law, certainly functioned for much of their history as a lynchpin of daily and weekly life and a number of activities were both specifically permitted, prohibited, and necessary on the Sabbath.
But what significance does the Sabbath hold for Christians who are far removed from any semblance of the Mosaic Covenant? Entire books have been written on the subject but, as a means of exploring the topic, there are a number of avenues that we can consider in arriving at an answer.
Argument from Creation
As justification for the continued keeping of the Sabbath in the Church age, some Christians would point to its association with the creation week. This at least partially originates from the original language of the commandment in Exodus 20:
“8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Indeed, the giving of the Sabbath commandment here does hearken back to the earlier account in Genesis 1 and 2 that describes the creation week and order of God. It could be argued that, if the Sabbath reflects the very work of God from the creation of the world, soon after the creation of mankind, that it is quite possibly relevant to or binding for all human beings since that time.
However, we mustn’t make unnecessary or hasty jumps in drawing conclusions from this language. For anything this text or the Biblical account until this point may tell us, there is quite a list of important things that Scripture does not tell us that are just as important.
Neither Genesis 2 nor the later chapters give any indication that Adam and Eve or early humans were told to rest, that God taught them on the Sabbath, that they were to follow God’s creation order as an example, or, for that matter, that they were even aware of any such pattern. We also do not read of God following any such repeating pattern of work and rest; in fact, we have reason to believe that God continued to rest from the seventh day onward to the present day.
Furthermore, these early humans did not work in a similar fashion to later Israel nor did they suffer from the effect of sin preventing their communion or relationship with God. They enjoyed the peace and provision of the Garden with intimate proximity to God. As Michael Morrison states it, “They did not need to rest on the second day of their lives. Nor did they need to set aside a day for communion with God, for they had it continually.” And there is not recorded in Scripture any explicit command either prior to or after the Fall commanding or instructing the Sabbath to Adam and Eve or their descendants.
Creation actually demonstrates to us some of what makes the Sabbath unique within the Ten Commandments and most likely to be considered rightly separate from the other moral laws in that God does not keep the Sabbath and it is not part of His nature. While it is natural to see the outworking of the last six commandments from the moral nature of God, the Sabbath stands alone. Unlike God’s moral nature, it is not a timeless construct, certainly non-existent prior to creation and unnecessary in the new creation, and “the six-one cycle does not describe God’s moral nature or righteousness.”
Did the Patriarchs Observe the Sabbath?
Extending from the question of whether the Sabbath was ordained in some way from creation forward, it is also important to establish whether the Biblical patriarchs prior to Moses, like Noah or Abraham, observed the Sabbath. The Sabbath was given, as a sign and part of the Mosaic covenant, to the people of Israel. So it should come as no surprise that there is no mention of the Sabbath in Genesis, before God’s relationship began with Moses or the peoples of the Exodus. This lack of mention, while not definitive, is certainly telling and consistent with its lack of observance, importance, or existence as law prior.
In fact, it is fairly widely regarded in Jewish history that the patriarchs did not observe the Sabbath. While the book of Genesis does indicate that Abraham (Genesis 26:5) and Jacob (Genesis 28:22) worshipped or obeyed God’s commandments, it is never explicit as to what they were. The Midrash texts actually note that those under the Noahic covenant were only subject to seven laws, the Sabbath being absent. In fact, it was also held by some that if the “heathen” were to observe the Sabbath, it was actually to be counted as transgression. And the book of Jubilees held that “[God] did not sanctify any people or nations to keep the sabbath thereon with the sole exception of Israel.” These extra-Biblical accounts are not as authoritative or powerful as Scripture. But they are certainly consistent with what we find in the Old Testament and provide support that, even in traditional Jewish scholarship, the Sabbath command did not have a history or precedent of extending to the gentile.
The New Testament Does Not Command It
One important aspect to keep in mind regarding the Ten Commandments is that they were, of course, given as part of the Mosaic Law itself. They are not the codification of some pre-existing set of laws or commands that have always been in force: the Ten Commandments, and the Sabbath with them as a sign, are firmly rooted in the Old Covenant.
While a full treatment on the nature of the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law, and the New Covenant Christian’s relationship to it, is not in scope here, we can certainly focus in on its ramifications in regards to the Sabbath itself.
As we have seen, there is good reason to believe that the Biblical patriarchs, Abraham among them, were not aware of nor were commanded to observe the Sabbath. With this in mind, we look to Galatians 3:15-18, wherein Paul speaks of the relationship between the Law and the Promise: “even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.”
This passage succinctly covers the relationship between those who “are Christ’s, [and] are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise,” as distinct from those who were under the Law. Followers of Christ are now part of the Abrahamic promises through Christ, a promise that is in force wholly apart from any of the Mosaic Law, which came 430 years afterward and did not fundamentally alter the underlying Abrahamic Covenant that predated it.
Another simple evidence is the testimony of Acts 15 and the proceedings of the Jerusalem Council. At the time, there was disagreement within the region regarding the expected applicability of Old Covenant signs and practices to Gentile believers, with some Pharisee believers suggesting that “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” But after much testimony by those apostles sent to preach Christ to the Gentiles, such as Paul and Barnabas, and their detailing of how the Holy Spirit was given to them in the same way as He had come to the Jews, the resulting guidance to the Gentiles was an order of magnitude smaller than anything that the Pharisees may had envisioned: “to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” No mention is made here of dietary laws, circumcision, or the Sabbath, though this would be the obvious ideal moment with which to cement any such practice.
And Paul’s writings continue this trend. In Colossians 2:16-17, he encourages us to “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Romans 14:5 continues that sentiment, in that “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”
Put simply, though many denominations of Christians would venerate the Ten Commandments or otherwise consider them a unique unit, the New Testament simply doesn’t bear this out, not in any explicit or appreciable way. In Morrison’s words, “The New Testament does not distinguish the Ten Commandments from other laws. It does not give them a special name or status.” While some commandments are repeated in substance within the New Testament, the Sabbath commandment is not, which further solidifies its place as a practice relegated to the Mosaic Law and those of the Mosaic Covenant that came before.
Argument from Beneficence
It is sometimes pointed out that it appears that many aspects of the Mosaic Law are beneficial for mankind at a purely practical level. Practices like the Sabbath rest, crop rotation or land Sabbath, the various food and dietary laws, or protocols for dealing with death and disease, seem to have some demonstrable benefits when followed or, at the very least, seem to be consistent with maintaining human health and sustainability. I actually do think that these observations are powerful but not quite for the reasons that are intended.
As a theist who believes in a good God, one that understands His creation and wishes for it to thrive and flourish, evidence that practices set forth in the Mosaic Law are consistent with that nature is important. If we were to see God prescribe circumcision for females, 18-year-olds, or 50-year-olds, situations that may be dangerous or outside of periods of high clotting factor, if He were to ordain the regular eating of foods scientifically shown to be unhealthy, or any other behavior that would be out of line with the way in which human beings are designed, this would probably lead us to casting a skeptical eye either to God’s nature or the good design of His creation. However, that the Mosaic practices point toward good design and intentions is certainly consistent with, if not supportive of, such a conclusion.
But, simply because God had ordained such practices in the past does not necessarily imply that they are the only beneficial ways to structure human behavior, that those behaviors are holy or good in and of themselves, or that God expects all mankind to observe them for all of history. Such an argument would have to be made from Scripture itself and, as we have found, is not called for as part of God’s New Covenant relationship with man. In fact, as part of God’s new commandments and mission, that of bringing in the fullness of those who would believe in Him, it is actually a consistent support that the Mosaic Law as a whole or the Sabbath in particular is not binding for the New Covenant believer. The standards of the Mosaic Law were good and holy for achieving the purity and purpose of bringing about the Messiah but do not serve the same purpose in making the Gospel accessible for all people of all cultures.
The Bottom Line
With all this said, let me reiterate some things that I am explicitly not saying in concluding that the Sabbath is obsolete for the Christian. I am certainly not saying that Christians should not seek to gather together for worship or fellowship on a regular basis. I am not saying that doing so cannot or must not be on a single, agreed-upon
My purpose and conclusions here are simply two-fold. One, to demonstrate that an improper, sloppy focus on the Old Testament or the Ten Commandments can certainly lead to confusing and unfounded conclusions and can even lead followers of Christ into an unnecessary and unhealthy fixation on Old Testament signs and law.
And two, to continue to point all New Covenant believers toward Christ and away from the shadow of things to come. As with so many other elements of the Old Covenant, these elements find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ and this is no less true for the Sabbath. Hebrews 4 tells us that, “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” Thankfully, whatever our view of the Sabbath on Earth, Christ has made a way, once for all, for us to join God in His true Sabbath rest.
Thank you for a well informed article. Clearly,to me Our Lord Jesus lived and showed how to live every day as The Sabbath. This as it was in the beginning. Thy Will Be Done on Earth as in Heaven You clarified a lot. Godspeed
Thanks!