I see comments by a number of people online who call themselves Christian who believe in keeping the Sabbath Old Covenant style. Is this a good thing for New Covenant Gentile believers? A necessary thing? Is God honored by Gentile believers becoming more Jewish in our religious observances? It is significant that the council in Jerusalem did not include Sabbath keeping in their list of requirements for Gentile believers, and neither should we.
Since the fall of mankind in the garden, we have learned to evaluate ourselves and everything else through the lens of our own judgment, instead of accepting what God says. We seek some standard by which we can measure ourselves. Sometimes that standard is other people. It looks like this: “Well, I am not as bad as _________. Other times we set up a religious standard, that might be positive or negative. For Christians, we might hold ourselves to not drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or using recreational drugs. On the positive side, we might think that going to church three times a week is a noble standard. We can sometimes discover what standards people use by asking them two questions.
- If you were to die today, would you go to heaven?
- Why do you think so?
I have heard all sorts of self-justifying answers. I am not a bad person. I go to church. I try to be nice to people. Some even acknowledge that they are headed to hell. Still others give what Christians consider to be the correct answer: I believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.
The observance of the Sabbath hearkens back to creation, when God rested on the seventh day after spending the previous six days making earth, the seas, the firmament, and everything contained therein. God made a very big deal out of requiring the Jewish people to “keep” the Sabbath in the Old Covenant. Work was strictly prohibited. It was a day of rest from all labor, even cooking. Violators could be stoned to death. By the time of Jesus, all sorts of extra rules had been put in place to ensure that people would not violate the Sabbath. Paradoxically, according to Jesus, these man-made rules sometimes contradicted God’s original intent for the Sabbath.
Jesus infuriated the Jewish leaders by regularly violating these Sabbath regulations. It was clear that he did so deliberately. Why? On one particular Sabbath, Jesus healed a person, which the Pharisees said was a form of prohibited work. Our Lord embarrassed them by asking if they would rescue an animal out of a pit on the Sabbath. Of course they would, since the emergency need of the animal trumped the regulation. The loving thing to do would be to help a beleaguered animal. Jesus insisted that it was even more appropriate to rescue a human being from Satan’s oppression on the Sabbath. In fact, such a rescue fulfilled God’s original intent for the Sabbath – giving rest to people. Sadly, when we descend into religious observance as our means of trying to be righteous, we almost always end up in some form of sterile rules that lack any compassion.
Jesus made the following insightful comment about the Sabbath.
…“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28 (ESV)
These words shocked his hearers on at least two counts.
- Jesus claimed to be the lord of the Sabbath, which made him God and gave him the authority to set the record straight about the purpose and meaning of the Sabbath.
- God intended the Sabbath to have life-giving flexibility rather than be a set of joy-robbing rules.
The original purpose of the Sabbath was to celebrate God’s finished work, demonstrate our trust in his faithfulness to provide for us, and to provide physical and spiritual rest that refocused us on the Lord and prepared us for another week of labor.
Setting aside religious considerations, people need a day of rest to maintain mental, spiritual, and physical health. Those who work seven days a week will eventually pay for it. That being said, we come to the question related to this article. Does God intend for us Gentile believers in Christ to continue to observe the Jewish Sabbath, or has the New Covenant released us from this and other elements of Judaism?
This question soon arose in the early church as more and more Gentiles became followers of Christ. Many in the church in Jerusalem, which was mostly composed of Jews, insisted that Gentile converts must observe the Law as a way of showing devotion to Christ. These “Judaizers” as they became known, saw the new “Way” (Acts 9:2) of serving God as a subset of Judaism, or, perhaps as modern “messianic” Jews think of themselves, the fulfillment of Judaism. Nevertheless, they believed that to be a dedicated follower of Christ, one had to practice Judaism.
The first church council at Jerusalem settled this matter, imposing only a few conditions on Gentile believers, not as a religious duty, but in order to avoid unnecessarily offending Jews who lived near them. (Acts 15:28-29) This is because, under the New Covenant, there is no moral or ceremonial reason to observe the Jewish rituals any longer since the Law was fulfilled by Christ.
For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. Romans 10:4 (NLT)
This means, of course, that the Jewish observance of the Sabbath is no longer required, since Christ fulfilled it.
The principle that has passed over into the New Covenant is that we are to “rest” in God’s promises, provision, and protection.
9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. Hebrews 4:9–11 (NLT)
The Old Covenant week began with six days of labor followed by a day of rest. In the New Covenant, the resurrection of Christ took place on what we call Sunday or the Lord’s Day (Acts 20:7, Revelation 1:10), the first day of the week.
As New Covenant believers, we begin our work week by resting in Christ’s finished work. Then we go to work. We recognize that God already completed the work of our salvation in Christ. When Jesus announced on the cross that his work was finished (John 19:30), it ended the power of the Law over the lives of believers. (Romans 6:14)
O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. Isaiah 26:12 (ESV)
To put it another way, Christ already has completed the work of our salvation. Now we “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12) from a position of its already having been accomplished.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
In the New Covenant we are no longer under the Law of Moses. We do not earn or maintain our right standing with God by keeping rules and regulations. Jesus already perfectly kept all the rules for us.
For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. Romans 10:4 (NLT)
Jesus lived in complete obedience to his Father, all the way to the cross. He lived and died as the obedient Son, thus fulfilling the Law perfectly. By dying, he also paid the penalty for our violation of that same Law.
In other words, Jesus accomplished two huge things on our behalf. He provided forgiveness for our covenant violations of the Law and he provided us with his perfect right standing with God the Father that resulted from his being absolutely obedient. He took our place in death, and we share his place with the Father in life.
Under the New Covenant, our responsibility is no longer to “keep the law.” Now we are told to “walk in the Spirit.”
He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:4 (NLT)
When a person confesses that Jesus is Lord, he agrees to live the rest of his life in obedience and submission to Jesus. This is worked out by learning to listen to the Holy Spirit on a daily, even moment by moment, basis.
Our challenge is to learn how to live in faithful dependence upon God’s leading and direction, instead of simply doing whatever we want or decide. This is what it means to keep the Sabbath in the New Covenant.
Isaiah the prophet said it wonderfully.
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV)
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews said it another way.
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 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. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:6-11 (ESV)
Keeping the Sabbath in the New Covenant means resting in Christ’s finished work on the cross while consciously attempting to live in obedience to the Bible’s teachings and the voice of God’s Spirit.
Solomon said it perhaps better than anyone else.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
This is no small matter. It is not an option for Christians. It goes to the very heart of what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we are not led by the Spirit, according to Paul, we cannot even claim to belong to Christ.
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:12-14 (ESV)
Let us make it our purpose today and every day to live in communion with and obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit. Let us learn to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Let’s keep the Sabbath New Covenant style and not revert to the old way of living under the Law.
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