A Sneaking Suspicion about the Sabbath
The Sabbath is something few Christians think about. It is something I’ve thought wrongly about for a long time. A friend of mine encouraged me to write a blog post about the Sabbath because of a recent conversation we had that was helpful to him. It may also be helpful to you.
So let me begin by giving you three differing views on the Sabbath and then four reasons why I am persuaded to adopt the last of the three views.
3 Views
1) The Saturday Sabbath View
This view is the view that the Sabbath established for Israel under the Old Covenant is still necessary today. This viewpoint is often not simply concerned with keeping Saturday as the Sabbath, but also with other various Old Testament laws, such as the dietary restrictions of Leviticus.
The argument for this position maintains that God created in six days and rested on the 7th, and therefore forevermore, the 7th day is the Sabbath. Because of this, you should rest on that 7th day. And under the Old Covenant, that day is Saturday, not Sunday. Saturday is the 7th day. Sunday is the 1st day. This is a fairly straightforward argument.
This Old Covenant view is still held by Jews today. It also has adherents throughout church history. Some would be the Seventh-Day Baptists or Seventh-Day Adventists. Seventh-Day Baptists have their own problems and Seventh-Day Adventists have even more, theologically speaking. There are several reasons that I and other Christians would reject this view and maintain that the soundest biblical argument is not the Old Covenant Sabbatarian view. One reason is that this view is not preferred is that Christ has fulfilled the Old Covenant law and Christians are no longer bound to live under the laws of Israel. See Acts chapter 15 for an explanation of that statement.
2) The Sunday “Lord’s Day” View
This is a view I held for a long time. This view states that the Sabbath command as contained in the 10 commandments is no longer enforced today. The spirit of this commandment is obeyed whenever the church gathers for worship on the Lord’s Day. This view asserts that what is expected of Christians is to observe the Lord’s Day, which does not come with the same explicit requirements as the Old Testament Sabbath does.
Proponents of this view would be those who hold to a hermeneutical system called Progressive Covenantalism. Here is a handy chart that David Schrock has made available at his website, Christ Over All. I think it lays out the distinctions nicely.
There is much to appreciate about this view. I appreciate the brothers and sisters who hold to this view and seek to honor the Lord by worshipping him each Sunday. Essentially, that’s all this view articulates as it relates to the fourth commandment. It’s a kind of bare-bones “go to church” argument. Let me be clear, I am all for people going to church! However, I do see the issue a little differently. Our viewpoints are distinct, but I don’t doubt that our Sundays look very similar. All that being said, let me address a third view.
3) The Sunday Sabbath View
This is the view that I hold. This would state that the Sabbath Command as contained in the 10 commandments is a part of the Moral Law of God and therefore is perpetual and unchangeable. Remembering the Sabbath, keeping it holy, and resting from worldly labors are all ways Christians glorify the Lord. This view asserts that the Bible commands all people to gather on the 1st day of the week, Sunday, to worship the Lord Jesus and commands rest from worldly labors except for acts of mercy and necessity.
I want to share four reasons why I have been persuaded personally by this Sabbatarian viewpoint.
1) The Biblical Argument
This argument is weighty, but rests almost entirely, from my point of view, on Hebrews 4:9-10
Hebrews 4:9–10 (ESV)
9 So then, 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.
There are a myriad of interpretations about this point, but it is important to note that the words in Greek for “rest” and “Sabbath Rest” are two different words. Sabbath rest (Σαββᾰτισμός) is distinct from rest in general (κατάπαυσις). Even if you are not a Greek scholar, you can note that the use of these two words is unique. All along the author of Hebrews has been using the more general term for rest until he gets to verse 9, where he changes the noun to include Sabbath rest. This is the only time in the Bible the noun “Sabbath Rest” is used.
While we are not commanded to obey the whole Levitical Law as regards the Sabbath Day, it seems to me to be clear that the author of Hebrews wanted his readers to know that the Sabbath was a perpetual command from God. The ceremonial aspects of Sabbath keeping have fallen away, but the Sabbath command remains intact.
Sabbath rest, then, looks backward and forwards. It looks backward in two ways. First, to God’s rest in the work of creation. Second, to Christ’s rest in the work of redemption. It is not simply that God has rested from His work of creation, but more importantly that Christ has rested from his work of redemption and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. When we as Christians observe the Sabbath, we are looking backward in faith to what Christ has done and looking forward in faith to what Christ will do, when he comes again to take His bride home to himself. Then we will live in perfect harmony with the Creator and Savior of our souls. I am not sure what that rest will look like, but I am sure it will be better than we can anticipate.
There is an entire Old Testament background I have not dealt with here, but to give a succinct answer to the question, Hebrews 4:9-10 convinces me of the perpetuity of the Sabbath. (I was helped on this point by a great podcast featuring Dr. James Renihan. You might enjoy listening to it as well).
2) The Historical Argument
The New Testament is silent as to the day of Sabbath keeping. We are told in the New Testament that the church gathered on the 1st day of the week, the same day that Jesus rose from the dead. All the gospels are clear that Jesus rose on the 1st day of the week (Sunday). Additionally, Acts 20:7 says that the church gathered together on the 1st day of the week to break bread. Further, 1 Corinthians 16:2 encourages Christians to give an offering on the 1st day of the week.
Another reference to the gathering of the church on Sunday is Revelation 1:10, where John says he was “in the spirit” on the Lord’s day. We may not understand everything that is meant by being “in the spirit,” but I think we can all understand and agree that the Lord’s day is Sunday, the 1st day of the week. This is the day that Christ rose from the dead.
We see very early in Church History that the church gathered on Sunday rather than Saturday. While some Jewish Christians still likely celebrated the Sabbath or even some Sabbath feasts, these were more cultural reflections than biblical directives. We would never fault an American for celebrating the Fourth of July. In a similar way, the Christian Jews celebrated the Sabbath as a way to remember their heritage. We know that this can become a legalistic error and will eventually get Christians into trouble in Galatians and in Colossians. Nevertheless, Christians are not forbidden to celebrate their heritage or culture as Christians. We must be citizens of Christ’s kingdom first. Nevertheless, it is surely appropriate for a Christian to celebrate his or her own earthly heritage as well. This is not an ungodly thing in and of itself.
We must note that there were many who continued to keep the Sabbath strictly on the 7th day, but these individuals were not Christians. These were unbelieving Jews. They knew their Old Testament but didn’t know Christ. The historical argument shows us that there is a distinction between Old Covenant Sabbath keeping and New Covenant Sabbath keeping, just like there is a measure of discontinuity between circumcision and baptism. For Christians, it appears that the Sabbath day is simply changed from the 7th day to the 1st day because of the resurrection.
3) The Theological Argument
The theological argument rests on the fact that Jesus was God incarnate. Just as God is said to rest from His works of creation on the 7th day, we see Jesus, the God-man, resting in the tomb on the 7th day. A theology of Holy Saturday is important here, as we consider the descent of Christ. Nevertheless, we must recall that the God-man does not cease to be either God or man as he lays in the tomb on Saturday.
This means that when Jesus gets up from the grave on Sunday morning, he is arising as the firstborn of the new creation. He will never die again. One day, all believers will be as he is. Jesus is forever possessing a glorified human nature by virtue of the resurrection.
What’s more is that Jesus, who is God, rests from His work of redemption on the 7th day and rises on the 1st day of the week as one who has accomplished all the works he was sent to do by His Father. The resurrection causes a whole new economy to be enforced, one where the work of redemption is accomplished and where the Redeemer sits down at the right hand of God.
Jesus’s mediatorial role still persists, as he lives to intercede for all the saints of God. However, the work of redemption is complete. How do we know? Because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday morning. When he cried out “it is finished” on the cross, He proved it was really finished by rising from the grave, never to suffer again.
If Jesus is God, and He is, then God the Son rested from his work appointed to Him by God the Father by rising from the dead on the 1st day of the week. Therefore, Christians gather on the 1st day of the week to worship because they are a community of new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). Christians also gather to worship and sanctify the Sabbath day (Sunday) because we see a pattern given to us by the Lord Jesus. When we take a Sabbath rest each Sunday, we are looking backward to the empty tomb and forward to the New Creation.
There is a soteriological component in this theological argument. Christians do not work so that they might find rest in Christ. We do not obey all week so that we can enjoy a day off on Sunday. No, we Sabbath on Sunday so we can seek to obey all the rest of the week. Our works do not merit our rest, which is how I and many Americans tend to think about the weekend. Rather, our rest is won for us by Christ, and we rest in Him. One way we rest in Him is by giving Him praise and obeying his commands in gratitude to Him. The Sabbath is one of those commands. To say it another way, no one will be saved because they keep the Sabbath. Rather, all those who are saved will long to rest in Christ on the Sabbath Day by keeping the Sabbath.
4) The Metanarratival Argument
This is the last argument I want to make, but I think might be the thing that convinced me most assuredly. This point is that the whole Bible is contained in a microcosm in Genesis 1-3. What we see fleshed out on the pages of Scripture in Genesis 1-3 is foundational for understanding the rest of the Scripture. Moreover, when Paul or Jesus really wanted to make a point in the New Testament, to what did they appeal? It is often Genesis 1-3. Consider Romans 5, where Paul says we are either in Adam or in Christ. Or consider Jesus’s appeal to marriage in Matthew 19:5-6. In both places, it is the creation account that is appealed to.
This means that what happens in Genesis carries major exegetical weight. I was helped by reading Richard Barcellos’ book, Getting the Garden Right. He argues for the perpetuity of the Sabbath by an appeal to the patterns seen in the Garden of Eden. Let us consider how this point plays out.
First, God created in six days and rested on the 7th. There should be widespread agreement with this point. Second, God wanted that pattern to inform the way his creation lived. Third, his people are disciplined when they don’t keep the Sabbath. I don’t think I need to demonstrate the first point, so allow me to attempt to demonstrate these final two points.
For these final two points to be answered, we must ask the following question: Did Adam keep the Sabbath? I assert that the answer is yes. He did not keep it in a perfect manner or in a manner which inherited righteousness. Rather, after the fall, it seems that he worshipped the Lord on the 7th Day, the day in which God rested from His works of creation.
The pattern of 6 + 1 is important. It seems to set aside 6 days of “secular” time and 1 day of “sacred” time. Did God expect Adam and Eve to worship him on the 7th day? It appears that Genesis 4 tells us that Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord “in the course of time (Genesis 4:3).” While this is not a firm exegetical point, I believe it is most likely that this time of worship occurs on the 7th day of the week based on the Hebrew text. Why? Because the patterns of creation make proclamations about creation.
The major objection at this point might be “the text does not say that.” To this, I would say you are correct. This point is not explicit but implicit in the narrative.
For example, let us consider Cain’s sin. Cain murdered his brother Abel. To this point in the Genesis narrative, no one has told Cain that it was wrong to murder (at least not that the text records for us). Yet it seems that Cain, Adam, and Eve all knew it was a sin to murder another human. How? Because the moral law of God was written upon his heart. Murder is a sin before God long before the 10 commandments are ever given. This is what Paul refers to in Romans about the law of God “being written on our hearts” (Romans 2:15-16).
So if the command not to murder is clearly enforced prior to the giving of the 10 commandments, does the fourth commandment apply? If it applies before the 10 commandments are given, should it not also apply after they are fulfilled in Christ? No other commandment of the 10 commandments is disregarded like the fourth, which is interesting. It seems clear that God gave the 10 commandments as a unit, and yet it seems clear that all 10 commandments were expected to be obeyed long before Moses brought the tablets down from Mount Sinai. Consider a few other examples pertaining to the Sabbath.
In Exodus, God tells the people to gather a double portion of manna on the 6th day so that the people will rest on the 7th day. Yet the people still go out and try to gather on the 7th day. To which God replies:
Exodus 16:28 (ESV)
28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?
How did the people know they were to keep the Sabbath in Exodus 16 when the 10 commandments weren’t given until Exodus 20? It seems that the pattern of Genesis 1-3 was authoritative for them as God’s people even prior to the giving of the 10 commandments.
Exodus 20:11 appeals to creation as a reason the people should rest on the Sabbath.
In the prophets, God’s people are often charged with Sabbath-breaking. Amos 8:5 condemns the people of Israel for using the Sabbath to make money. This would be expected under the Old Covenant just like breaking the command prohibiting murder or adultery.
Jesus regularly argues with the Pharisees about the Sabbath. But the issue for Jesus is not whether or not the Sabbath should be kept. Jesus kept the Sabbath as a Jew throughout His ministry as the one who was to fulfill the Law of God. Rather, Jesus didn’t want the Sabbath to become a legalistic tool. In fact, this was profaning the Sabbath in a different way. Pharisees were more concerned about Sabbath regulations than Sabbath keeping. That is, the traditions of men got swept up into the commands of God and eventually were treated with the same kind of authority, regarding the statutes of men as words from God. Jesus never had an issue breaking man’s Sabbath rules. Nevertheless, he always upheld God’s Sabbath commands. This distinction is important.
Finally, consider that Jesus was raised on the 1st day of the week. While Genesis 1-3 gives us the pattern for all of creation, Jesus’s resurrection gives us the pattern for the New Creation. I think we are prone to think thoughts that are too low when we consider the glories of the Resurrection. Jesus did not simply rise from the dead in a way that was comparable to someone dying on the operating table and then being resuscitated. He is not alive in the same sense that human beings are alive today. He is raised incorruptible. He is the firstborn from the dead. Jesus’s resurrection is the pattern after which all things in heaven and on earth will be patterned after (Romans 8:19-25). Jesus’ Resurrection is not just a historical fact but a new reality into which all Christians are already swept into, though we long for the consummation of all things. This means that everything Jesus did after he was raised is significant. We are not told that Jesus did anything miraculous after the resurrection, but we are told that he ate fish (Luke 24:41-43). This is a pattern, telling us that the marriage supper of the Lamb will not simply be a metaphorical meal, but will be a meal where the people of God will eat real food, just like the resurrected Jesus ate fish. Applying that same logic, we must consider the Sabbath post-Resurrection. Just as Genesis gives us a pattern for creation and redemption, Christ’s resurrection is a pattern for us for the New Creation. This pattern begins with Jesus doing very human things, like talking about Scripture, eating bread, appearing to the disciples, and so forth. Kinda sounds like a Sunday, doesn’t it?
Conclusion:
The older confessions of faith all have similar remarks concerning the Sabbath. Here is what the 2nd London Confession says concerning the Sabbath:
The sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common affairs aforehand, do not only observe a holy rest all day, from their own works, words and thoughts, about their worldly employment and recreations, but are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.
While the Sabbath is not explicitly commanded in the New Testament, it has been my attempt to argue that the Sabbath command is still enforced today by virtue of God’s moral law displayed in creation and codified in the 10 commandments. Therefore, the command is implicit or assumed in the New Testament. While the civil and ceremonial aspects of the Sabbath day have been fulfilled by Christ, the pattern ordained by God in Creation and then revealed by Christ in the New Creation endures to this day. By implication, this means that Christians should not celebrate the resurrection for simply a few hours on Sunday, but should set apart the whole day to the worship of God.
If you are a Christian, what could be better than that? A whole day devoted to thinking about God, praising Him, worshipping Him, and glorifying Him? Isn’t that what heaven will be like? Could it be God has given Christians a little taste of heaven once every week?
How can you keep the Sabbath? It’s not too complicated. Go to church. Have another family from church over for lunch. Read your Bible. Pray. Visit the sick or the lonely. Love your family. Take a nap! These are some of the ways Christians can please God as we keep His Sabbath.