Should We Keep The Sabbath Today?

The Ten Commandments were only for the Jewish people. Non-Jewish folks were not amenable to Old Testament laws, Deuteronomy 5:1-5 per se. The Mosaic law of the Old Testament was written for a specific time and people.

Don’t think the Gentiles, non-Jewish folk, got away with no responsibility to God. They were under a moral code, Romans 2:14-16.

One must keep all the laws to practice the Ten Commandments today. If the Ten Commandments state we must keep the Sabbath Laws, then, we must make sacrifices, keep feasts, and obey all those minute laws. No one wants to go back to slaughtering animals or setting up a priesthood (which can’t be done because the lineages of Israel were lost at the destruction of the temple in AD 70). There’s much to do if one wants to keep the commandments. The Seventh-day Adventists and other Sabbatarians say people must adhere to the Sabbath. But that’s not what the Bible states.

What Does The Bible Say About Keeping the Sabbath?

The first-century church did not meet on Saturdays, the Sabbath, for worship. Why not? Jesus had risen, on Sunday, taught the disciples, and ascended on the first day of the week, Sunday. He left, giving us a New Covenant and abolishing the Old. Those First-Century Christians met on Sundays to share the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19), sing (Ephesians 5:19), pray (1 Timothy 2:1-4), give (1 Corinthians 16:2) and hear God’s word (Acts 20:7). Sunday is the first day of the week.

The church was established on Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, on Sunday, Acts 2:1, which is not a Sabbath, not a Saturday. Note Leviticus 23:15-16. In Acts 2:42, the early Christians met on Sunday for worship. The evidence is that spiritual worship was practiced among them. It’s contextual. They [Christians] followed the Apostles’ teaching, prayed, fellowshipped, and shared the Lord’s Supper.

First Corinthians 16:2 states that Christians would give on the first day of the week when Saints met for worship.

Also, Jesus arose from the dead, on Sunday. It’s Biblical! There is to be no Sabbath keeping in the New Covenant era.

The Sabbath Was Terminated

The New Testament Scriptures state the requirement to keep the Sabbath has ended. The law of Moses (with all its requirements — including the Sabbath) has been fulfilled, Colossians 2:14.

The “law of commandments” was fulfilled “through the cross,” Ephesians 2:14ff. Similarly, the “bond written in ordinances was taken out of the way, having been nailed to the cross” Colossians 2:14-16.

A New Covenant Was In Force

God promised to make a new covenant, which would not be like the one given to Israel when the nation left Egypt (Jeremiah 31:31ff). Old Testamentlaws were abrogated when the new covenant was given, Hebrews 7:12.

The Ten Commandments passed away when the New replaced the Old Covenant, Hebrews 8:8-12.

No longer were people to sacrifice animals for sin offerings, Hebrews 10:1-10. Our sacrifice today is Jesus, 2 Peter 2:24. The sacrifice for sin by Jesus was a one time for all time event. Today, we are under a new covenant where God promises not to remember our sins, Hebrews 8:12-13.

Conclusion

We are free from the Old Testament laws, including keeping the Sabbath – we couldn’t have been saved by laws anyway, cf. Hebrews 10:1-10. We are now under a covenant of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Garland Van Dyke

http://www.matthewsstreetchurchofchrist.com

Matthews St. church of Christ, 1915 Matthews, PO Box 1522, Bay City, TX 77414

Email: garland.churchofchrist@gmail.com

You’re always welcome to attend worship with us on Sundays at 9:30 for Bible Class, Worship at 10:30, and Bible Class on Wednesdays at 7 PM.