The Sabbath that Remains

It can be easy to overemphasize the disagreements in the church regarding how the Christian Sabbath is to be kept. Yet we should not overlook the significant areas of agreement. Believers have mostly agreed that the Sabbath commandment continues to apply today in at least some manner. For instance, Christians almost universally set apart the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day, gathering for corporate worship and fellowship on that day. Only a few groups continue to insist that the seventh day is the Sabbath, and often those groups hold other heterodox beliefs. Furthermore, there has been widespread agreement that the first day of the week should be a day of rest. Until very recently in the West, most businesses were closed on Sundays. Even today, while shops and restaurants are often open on the Christian Sabbath, commercial and government offices tend to be closed on the first day of the week. That is a legacy of a Christianized culture that understands Sunday to be the Christian Sabbath.

Yet some Christians argue that there is no such thing as a Sabbath under the new covenant. Generally speaking, they understand the fourth commandment as part of the ceremonial law that has passed away with the coming of Christ. Such believers might say that having a day of rest each week is good for our health and that Sunday is a fitting day for corporate worship, but they also argue that there is nothing special about Sunday and that any day of the week would suffice as a day off and as a day for gathered worship. Many of these individuals might also argue that to insist on keeping a Sabbath is legalistic.

Certainly, we should beware the danger of legalism, lest we forget that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28). Still, there are at least two good reasons to believe that the fourth commandment is still in force. First, the Sabbath was given in creation, before the ceremonial law, suggesting its abiding validity even under the new covenant (Gen. 1:1–2:3). Other creation ordinances, including marriage and labor, have not passed away, so why should we think the Sabbath has passed away? Second, Hebrews 4:9 says that a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. Christ has brought us rest, but He has not yet consummated this rest. We have not yet entered the new heaven and earth, and many troubles, toils, and snares plague us. In light of this, observing Sabbath rest on the Lord’s Day is a vital part of anticipating and preparing for the final rest to come when Jesus returns to usher in the new creation.