Sabbath (Sabat) means rest. After 400 years of slavery, God rescued the nation of Israel by them leading through the sea on dry land and gave them rest from their labors. They had worked nonstop under the whips of the Egyptians (Exodus 1:14) and were treated harshly but the Lord heard their cries for help and came to their aid. Moses reminded the Israelites of the connection between their escape from Egypt and their Sabbath keeping (Deuteronomy 5:15).
On Mount Sinai, God gave the ten commandments, the fourth of which was to remember that after six days of creation, he set aside the seventh day as a day of rest from all work, not because he was tired, but as an example for healthy living. This extended beyond the Israelite families to their visitors and even the animals they used for work and thus established a pattern of behavior that was beneficial for the people, their relationships, their families and their work animals of working six days and resting on the seventh.
God also hallowed the seventh day and made it holy. In reverence to the Lord it was set aside as a day of worship. There are several religious groups today that observe the seventh day as being a Sabbath day while most Christian denominations worship on Sundays. These differences in the interpretation of scripture often are the point of contention in how Christianity is viewed and practiced.
Rhetoric regarding Sunday worship as a violation of the fourth commandment and even the mark of the beast (Revelation 13) creates division within the body of Christ (the Church) that is counterproductive and only serves to undermine the gospel. The Bible advises against quarreling within the body of believers, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.” Titus 3:9.
In the New Testament, whenever Christ appeared in his resurrected form and a day of the week is mentioned it is always on the first day of the week. The only times that the Sabbath is mentioned from Acts through to Revelation is concerning Jewish evangelism when Paul reasons with the Jews in synagogues in an effort to convince devout Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. “To the Jews I became a Jew, that I might win Jews.” 1 Corinthians 9:20.
The Apostle Paul made it clear that because of Christ, we are no longer under law but under grace and this includes the observance of the Sabbath. “Therefore, let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a religious festival or 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.” Colossians 2:16-17.
Nowhere in scripture is it more clear than in Colossians 2:13-14, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
Furthermore, Paul illustrates in his letter to the church at Galatia that the law has no power to save. “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing – if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? Galatians 3:1-5.
In Romans 14:5-6, Paul writes, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.” The early church met on the first day of the week as is evidenced by Acts 20:7 which states, ”on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” And in 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul instructs believers, “on the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” inferring an offering at a regular worship service. Christian Sunday worship dates back to the first century and did not originate with emperor Constantine in 321 AD as some assert.
The early Christians met daily to celebrate their faith without any mention of joining the Jews in Sabbath observance as is evidenced by Acts 2:46. “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” The significance of breaking bread together is in direct response to Christ’s instructions at the last supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Mark 12:22-25, Luke 22:18-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Jesus set us free from sin and from the restraints of the law. He said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36. Paul elaborates, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1.
The Sabbath also symbolizes the coming of the Messiah, who would provide rest for his followers from their labors to please God by following his laws. These included not only the ten commandments but the 613 other laws the religious establishment had added in the form of ceremonial law, Temple law, civil law and the exhaustive list of sacrifices to restore fellowship with God from not being able to satisfy all the laws.
Hebrews 10:1 tells us that the law “can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” But these sacrifices were offered in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Hebrews 10:12). As “Lord of the Sabbath,” (Mathew 12:8) Jesus blatantly broke the man-made laws by healing on the Sabbath and eating without washing his hands. He challenged the Pharisees by saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27.
By highlighting the principle that the Sabbath was meant to relieve man of his labors, he also came to relieve man of his spiritual labors to obtain salvation through works. The writer of Hebrews recalls how the Israelites that tested and tried God in the wilderness were not permitted to enter God’s rest. In the same way, the gospel of Christ offers us the pathway to enter this rest through faith in Jesus Christ. “There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” Hebrews 4:9-10.
There is no other Sabbath rest apart from Christ. He alone satisfied the requirements of the law and he alone is the sacrifice that is the atonement for sin. Those who reject his salvation are like the generation of Israelites that never entered God’s rest in the promised land. In the same way that the man that willfully broke the Sabbath law (Numbers 15:35) was to be stoned outside the camp, we stone ourselves by willfully rejecting God’s provision for our Sabbath rest in Christ. So just as the Israelites whose bodies fell in the desert never entered his rest, because of their unbelief (Hebrews 4:17-19) we must not harden our hearts towards Christ, who is the gateway to our spiritual rest.
Jesus said, “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.” Mathew 5:17. To fulfill something is to satisfy its requirements, therefore Jesus satisfied the requirements of the law on our behalf, because we are incapable of it ourselves (Mathew 5 – 7). So as Christians we put our faith in Christ and not in the law. “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4.
It is our faith in Christ that is credited to us as righteousness. “What does scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” Romans 4:3-5.
Christians who go to church on Sunday can rest assured that their reverence for Jesus Christ, the author of their faith, is accepted by God and is considered a righteous act by him. Sunday worship is not an abomination as some would have you believe, it is not the mark of the beast and it is certainly not a sin in the eyes of the Lord.
