Sabbath

From time to time I am asked about the importance of the “Sabbath” in our world today.  Unfortunately, there are many who feel the ministry of Jesus completely abolished the Old Testament and the teachings and principles that God placed for His people.  To a degree this would be correct, but it is also true that Jesus completed or fulfilled what we find in the Old Testament.  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17 (NIV) Some would say this verse means Jesus completed the requirements of the law which we could not complete.

Today, we see people who follow Christ who have completely done away with the “need” for rest, worship and fellowship with fellow believers.  The thought is that everyday in Christ is a day of rest, so one is not any more important than another.  Likewise, coming to church on Sunday is a point of convenience since we find our rest in Christ.  We find many who attend church if not out of town, visiting with family, traveling with ball teams, working, decorating tomb stones, visiting parents, seeing the kids, going to cheerleading competitions…even though there is not a team around, gone on business, attending family reunions, going to football games, going on church trips, getting home from football games, gathering with friends, taking a Sunday School class trip…well you see the point. These are not bad things—but if we’re not careful, we may eventually find ourselves not attending church at all. Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages us to be very careful to protect our time together as the body of Christ.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The issue of concern centers on two perspectives on Sabbath keeping: one physical and one spiritual. The physical aspect centers on our bodies being creations of God and the rest requirements of the Sabbath being His operations manual for the refreshing of His created bodies. The specific day and time each week is determine by the individual but the manual says we should do it for our health. That is the physical side of the Sabbath.

The spiritual side of the Sabbath stems from the law of Sabbath observance. The purpose of the law was to reveal the requirements of a holy God and the inadequacy of any man to measure to that standard. The work of Christ was not to erase all biblical requirements for a holy life before God but rather to accomplish those for us. We find our rest in Him because our position before God no longer rests on our ability to carry out the demands of the law but rather on Christ carrying out those demands for us. Both Colossians and Hebrews refer to Sabbath in that spiritual sense.

Jesus said in Mark 2:27-28 that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”  Simply put…we need the Sabbath.   We need the rest, worship and fellowship.

The Old Testament Sabbath was on the last day of the week.   After the resurrection of Christ we see believers worshipping together on the first day of the week, Sunday. Why? …because they were gathered together to worship a risen Christ, which occurred on the first day of the week.  Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. John 20:1 (NIV)

A few examples of this new practice in the early church would be:

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. Acts 20:7 (NIV)

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NIV)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” John 20:19 (NIV)

Even in this day God desires for His church to set aside a day each week to worship and fellowship together. He also desires individual believers to set aside time each week to rest physically and to renew that personal relationship with Him.