“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). This command was given to the children of Israel as part of the 10 commandments, the backbone of the Law of Moses. In remembering the Sabbath, the Israelites were to rest (v. 10). Whatever work they had to do was to be done during the other six days (v. 9). The basis for this command went back to creation. “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth… and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy” (v. 11). The Jewish people under the Mosaic Law were to “remember the sabbath day.” But is this a day that Christians are to observe? Are we required to keep the Sabbath? Some believe we are. What do the Scriptures say?

The Law has Changed

First we need to notice that the command to keep the Sabbath is contained in the Old Law. By God’s design, the Old Law was temporary. It’s purpose was to “lead us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24). The Lord spoke of the temporary nature of the Law of Moses through the prophet Jeremiah. “‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord. ‘But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people’” (Jer. 31:31-33). There was going to be a “new covenant,” different from the old one, and better in that it made forgiveness available (v. 34). This new covenant was going to be God’s new law. The law would change.

This prophecy in Jeremiah is quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12. The Hebrew writer stated that Jesus Christ was “the mediator of a better covenant” (v. 6) and then uses this prophecy to show that the Old Testament pointed to this happening. This new covenant was the gospel. It was the message Jesus commissioned His apostles to preach (Mt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-16). Since the gospel had come and was being preached, the Old Law was now “obsolete” (v.13).

The fact that the Old Law is “obsolete” does not mean that it is of no value to us. The Old Testament is useful in showing principles and examples for us to see God’s attitude toward righteousness/unrighteousness. And as we mentioned, the Old Testament was in place to lead men to Christ. The Old Law talks about Christ and helps prove the case that Jesus was who He claimed to be. But the Old Testament does not constitute law for us today. The Old Law was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14).

Many people have the idea that the 10 commandments are the bedrock of Christianity. I said earlier the 10 commandments were the backbone of the Law of Moses. But they were given to the nation of Israel, not Christians. Does that mean we shouldn’t keep the 10 commandments? We should keep most of them. I say that because most of them are repeated in Christ’s new law. But the command about keeping the Sabbath was never repeated. Therefore, it remains as part of the old covenant that is now obsolete. For one to seek to be justified by doing things that were left in the Old Law causes him to fall from grace (Gal. 5:3-4). The law has changed. The Sabbath is not part of the new law.

The Sabbath was between God and the Jews

The 10 commandments, including the command to keep the Sabbath, are recorded in Exodus 20. Later in the book, further instructions are given regarding the Sabbath (Ex. 31:12-17). Here we see the penalty for failing to keep the Sabbath — death (v. 14). We even find where one man was put to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36). Do those who advocate Christians keeping the Sabbath enforce this punishment on those who don’t? If not, why not?

The instructions in Exodus 31 also explain who is to observe the Sabbath. “So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant” (v. 16). The next verse further explains, “It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever” (v. 17). The Israelites were to observe the Sabbath. The earlier command included those who dwelt among the Israelites (Ex. 20:10). But the Law of Moses states that this was a sign between God and the Jewish people. It was not designed to be observed by Gentiles.

Despite this fact, those who advocate Christians keeping the Sabbath today impose this rule upon Gentiles. Most Christians are Gentiles. The Sabbath law was God’s law during the days of the Old Testament. But since it was not brought over into the new law — the law of Christ, it is no longer God’s law for us today. Therefore, those who promote it today are not teaching the commandment of God, but the precept of men. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for this very thing. Their worship was “vain” because they were “teaching as doctrines the precepts of men” (Mt. 15:9).

We see an example in the New Testament that is similar to the idea of Sabbath keeping among Christians. As some today are teaching that Christians should keep the Sabbath, a sign between God and Israel, some in the first century were teaching that Christians needed to be circumcised, also a sign between God and Israel (Gen. 17:10-11). Circumcision, like the Sabbath law, was not carried over into the new covenant. Paul wrote about this to the churches of Galatia. He told them, “if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:2-4). Paul says that if one wants to go back and hold onto one part of the Old Law (in this case, circumcision), then he must keep the whole law. In going back to that, they are severed from Christ and therefore have no means of forgiveness for their failing to keep the whole law. The same consequence exists for those who want to bring the Sabbath into the new covenant. If they want to go back to that, they must keep the whole law and lose the means of forgiveness (Christ). We should leave God’s covenants and laws for the Jewish nation in the Old Law where they belong and focus on serving God according to His new covenant.

The New Testament Church Did Not Observe the Sabbath

In addition to the fact that we do not find the Sabbath law being brought over into the new covenant of Christ, we also see no example or indication that the early church observed the Sabbath. Yes, it is true that men like Paul went to the synagogues on the Sabbath to teach. Paul did this when he came to Thessalonica in Acts 17. “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas” (Acts 17:2-4). But notice that Paul did not assemble with the saints on the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue to teach the Jews. The Jews assembled there on the Sabbath, so that was the day Paul went. He was merely looking for an audience. Nowhere do we read of Christians observing the Sabbath.

Instead, we see the early church meeting on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7 tells us it was “on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…” In writing to the Corinthians, Paul instructed them to take up “the collection for the saints… on the first day of every week” (1 Cor. 16:1-2). While the first day of the week was certainly not the only day Christians could assemble and worship, it is the day in which they were instructed to assemble regularly.

So is Sunday the “Christian Sabbath”? Some call it that. But really it’s not. That terminology (”Christian Sabbath”) is not used in the Bible. In addition, the concept is not supported by Scripture. Christians are to assemble to worship on the first day of the week. But other “Sabbath” regulations such as keeping it as a day of rest are not mentioned. We need to strive to follow the pattern for the church contained in the New Testament and leave out the doctrines of men.