A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me why Christians still follow most of the Ten Commandments but don’t follow the fourth, to keep the Sabbath day.
There are a couple of answers to this.
One is that in terms of a seventh-day Sabbath, it’s true that most Christians don’t set apart Saturday as a day to rest and worship God.
However, ever since the early church began, Christians began worshiping God on Sundays.
You see this in Acts 20:7 as well as 1 Corinthians 16:2.
So Christians have effectively changed the Sabbath day from the seventh day to the first, probably as a weekly celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
But the second is that the seventh-day Sabbath is the only one of the Ten Commandments that was specifically lifted in the New Testament.
In Colossians 2:16–17, Paul wrote,
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, 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.
Two key phrases stand out.
The first is, “Do not let anyone judge you…with regard to a Sabbath day.”
In other words, we are not to judge any Christian who keeps a seventh-day Sabbath, and they are not to judge us for not doing so.
Paul could hardly say this if the laws concerning keeping the seventh-day Sabbath were still in force.
The second phrase gives the reason why keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is no longer considered important.
Paul writes,
These (dietary laws, festivals, and special days) are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
In other words, these things were a foreshadowing of Christ.
Now that Christ has come, we shouldn’t focus on the shadows. We should focus on the reality—that is, Christ.
The writer of Hebrews expands on this idea in chapters 3–4, but particularly in Hebrews 4:9–11 where he writes,
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.
Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
The point that the writer of Hebrews is making is that there is a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.
He says, “anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work.”
There are two possible interpretations of this passage.
One is that when we go to heaven, our work will be at an end. As it says in Revelation 14:13,
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
The other is that when we become Christians, we enter God’s rest in that we no longer have to work in order to receive salvation. Rather, we put our trust in the work of Christ.
Considering the context of Hebrews 3–4, I think the latter one is what the writer of Hebrews was referring to.
In the passage, he says that the people of Israel were unable to enter God’s rest because of their unbelief. Their unbelief then translated into disobedience.
So the writer of Hebrews says in 4:1–3,
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest… (Hebrews 4:1–3)
In other words, the true Sabbath is not the seventh day of the week, nor is it the first day of the week.
Rather, the true Sabbath is when we put aside our efforts to earn God’s love and acceptance and simply believe and rest in the work of Christ on the cross.
When the Jews asked Jesus what works God required of them, he replied,
The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. (John 6:29)
In other words, Jesus was saying, “Rest from all your efforts to earn God’s acceptance and put your faith in me instead.”
So the key question is not whether we worship God on the first day or the seventh day.
These Sabbath days are just a shadow of the true Sabbath God desires for us.
The key question is, “Have you entered God’s rest?”
Have you put aside your own efforts to earn God’s love and acceptance?
Have you put your faith in Christ and his work on the cross?
That’s the rest we should be seeking.
So as the writer of Hebrews writes,
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7)
Rather, put your faith in Christ and enter the rest he has for you.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 