What About the Sabbath?

May 10th, 2023
by Seth Shelton
The talk about the law has been more technical than some might prefer (just one more week). But there are real-life practical applications. One of those is how we approach the 10 Commandments. Some Christians obey them because they believe these commandments are the summation of God’s moral law. Others, like me and maybe some of you, look at them and see the consistency of God’s moral character demonstrated, as it is in every covenant. So we strive against idolatry, adultery, murder, and the rest not because the 10 Commandments command it but because God has created a new heart within us that is being conformed to His image. The 10 Commandments don’t rule us, but as they reveal the consistency of God’s holy character, they provide wisdom to fight against our flesh and help lead others to recognize sin and their need for Jesus.

But that leaves us with one pesky little question. What about the Sabbath? The other nine commandments are affirmed as ways we are to continue in life as God’s people in the New Testament. So, we can see His holy character across all of the covenants. But the Sabbath, though referenced in the New Testament, is not “commanded” in the same way the others are.

So, if it isn’t a command that rules us, what do we do about it? How do we gain wisdom from it? Let me give you a couple of thoughts, but I want to point you to 3 articles for those who would like a bit more to consider.

  1. The Sabbath Is Created for Man, Not Man for the Sabbath – God designed us as a people to live in the rest He provided after completing His creative work. We would have worked even had mankind not sinned. But, we would have worked from rest. Now we work in toil and hardship. So, God wisely instructs His people to rest. We need physical rest. We need to sleep every night, rest every week, and there are seasons when we should take extended periods of rest. Until we enter His final rest and toil is put to an end, this will be a necessity for our lives. So go to sleep, take a day off every week, and take vacations. They are God’s gift of common grace in a cursed world.
  2. To Truly Sabbath Requires True Faith – when Saturday was set aside as a day of rest for Israel, they were not to gather any food that day. They were supposed to gather enough food on Friday for Saturday. Any other day of the week they gathered more than they needed, the food would rot. But, the food gathered for the Sabbath on Friday would be preserved by God. To truly find rest, they had to trust God to provide.
    Every night we close our eyes and sleep, if it is to be restful, we must entrust ourselves to the Lord. Every week we set work down and trust that we will still be provided for, we entrust our well-being to the Lord. Some of us overwork and under-rest because we don’t trust Him. Some people take days off and never truly get rested because physical inactivity will never provide what faith does. Sabbath rest has never been about inactivity. It has always been about faith that displaces toil with rest.
  3. Sabbath Rest Is Fulfilled in Christ, Not Saturday – In the Old Covenant Law, God commanded the day that prefigured the eventual and ultimate rest He would provide in Christ. That was part of Jesus’ point in saying He fulfilled the Law (Matt 5:17). He is the fulfillment of the Sabbath Law. This is why the Jerusalem council didn’t command the sabbath observance among Gentiles (Acts 15:22-29). And this was the point the author of Hebrews made when He pointed us to the true rest provided in Jesus, our great High Priest (Heb 3:7-4:11).

So, come to church on Sunday, celebrating the Lord’s death and resurrection that has secured your eternal rest (Sabbath). Devote that day to Him, not in obedience to some command that has no place in the New Covenant, but in worship and awe of His glory

For further reading, let me encourage you to look at these articles …
Posted in Alpha and Omega: Additional Notes
Posted in Sabbath/Rest