The Example of Christ
Advocates of the view that the Sabbath is one of God's moral laws perpetually binding upon all mankind, find reinforcements for their position in the fact that Jesus habitually worshipped in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read" (Luke 4:16). It is true that this text teaches that Jesus regularly attended the synagogue on the Sabbath day. However, we must remember certain facts. Jesus lived before the New Covenant was inaugurated through His blood, and thus was "made under the Law" (Gal.4:4). Jesus was circumcised, offered animal sacrifices, and observed all the Jewish festivals. Does that mean that we should too? No, just because Jesus may have kept the Sabbath, that does not necessarily mean that we should do so also. In order to find God's will for a Christian under the New Covenant, we must go to the clear teachings of Christ's apostles in the epistles - not the example of Christ in the gospels.
Romans 14:1-6 "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God."
The apostle Paul's emphasis in this section of his epistle to the Romans is that believers must not judge one another in disputable matters. In verse 5 he states that "one man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike." The "day" Paul is referring to would most likely be Jewish holy days under the Mosaic Law, including festivals, new moons, and Sabbath days. In this passage Paul is clearly teaching that to judge another believer for keeping or not keeping a certain day is wrong. Thus, it is wrong for someone to judge another person because he keeps the Sabbath. Similarly, it is wrong for someone who keeps the Sabbath to judge a person who does not.
Galatians 4:8-11 "However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain."
In verse 10 Paul refers to "days and months and seasons and years." Most Bible commentators believe that the "days" refer to the Sabbath days; the "months" refer to the new moons; the "seasons" refer to the Jewish feasts, such as Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost; and "years" refers to sabbatical years and the year of jubilee. Judaizers had been teaching the Galatian believers that circumcision, as well as obedience to all the Jewish holy days was necessary to be saved. In contrast, Paul states that they are "weak and worthless elemental things" and that they will only "enslave you all over again." Rather than encourage New Covenant believers to keep certain holy days, Paul speaks disparagingly of the keeping of holy days.
Colossians 2:16-17 "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day -- things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."
Paul begins verse 16 with the word "therefore," which tells us that he is drawing a conclusion based on something he has said previously. If we look back to verse 14 we will see what he is drawing his conclusion from - "having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." What are these "decrees which were against us and hostile to us"? If we examine a parallel book to Colossians, the book of Ephesians, we read that Christ "abolished in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace" (Eph.2:15). The decrees, which were against us and hostile to us, are explained as the Law of Commandments that were contained in ordinances. In other words, Paul is describing the Mosaic Law. This Law, according to Paul, was taken out of the way because it was nailed to the cross. Believers are not under the Mosaic Law. Therefore, since believers are not bound to observe Old Covenant law, they are not to let anyone judge them in regard to things like food, drink, observance of festivals, new moons, or Sabbath days. Although Israel was bound to strictly observe various food laws, and holy days, the Christian has been released from them, because those decrees were nailed to the cross, having been abolished in the cross of Christ. Paul states very clearly that these Old Testament observances of food, drink, and holy days were only shadows. They all pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Imagine that a young husband has to leave his new wife very soon after they are married to serve in the United States Army. Day after day, the young woman looks longingly at her husband's picture, clutching it to her bosom, trying to recapture the fond memories of her sweetheart. One day as she is staring wistfully into his portrait, the doorbell rings. When she opens the door, there stands her husband in full military uniform. Upon seeing her husband, the young wife shuts the door in his face, and goes back to gazing fondly into her husband's portrait.
Of course the scene is preposterous, but that is exactly what we do when we cleave to our outward observance of the Sabbath without realizing that it was only a shadow or picture of Jesus Christ who is the true substance. Now that Christ has come, it is vain to continue clutching the picture!
Hebrews 4:10-11 "There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His."
In Hebrews 3:7 - 4:11 the author compares the Hebrew believers he is writing to, to Israel in the Old Testament. He shows how both the land of Canaan (3:7 - 4:3) and the seventh day Sabbath (4:4) were types of a rest that the people of God enjoy today. How does a believer today enter this rest? "For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest" (Heb.4:2-3). The author of Hebrews is clear that we enter this rest today through faith. What kind of rest is it? Verse 10 tells us, "For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His." The Sabbath rest that still remains for the people of God (4:9) is a rest that comes through believing God's Word (4:3) and resting from our own works (4:10). We enter this rest when we cease to work for our salvation but instead rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note what the New Testament does not say about the Sabbath. The New Testament never lists the Sabbath as a command believers living under the New Covenant must keep. The New Testament gives plenty of moral imperatives we are bound to obey, but Sabbath-keeping is never listed as one of them. Furthermore, Sabbath-breaking is never listed as sin in the New Testament. In Romans 1:29-32 twenty-two sins are listed. However, Sabbath-breaking is conspicuous by its absence. This fact is even more arresting given the fact that the immediate context describes the worship the gentiles should have offered to God (Rom.1:18-23). Surely, if the Sabbath was still binding upon all men, Paul would have written of it in this place. In Galatians 5:19-21 seventeen sins are listed, however Sabbath-breaking is not one of them. Why this notable absence? The reason is because Sabbath-keeping is not carried over from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. It was a shadow pointing men to the true substance, which is Christ - a ceremonial law directing men to their true rest, the Lord Jesus.
Having noted the Biblical teaching on the Sabbath before the Mosaic Law, under the Mosaic Law, and under the New Covenant, let's examine the three major views of the Sabbath held by Christians today.