Christian Sabbath theology

This redirect is about different theological understandings of the Sabbath. For information about how historical and modern Christians observe the Sabbath, see Christian Sabbath and Sunday observance.

The Bible's teaching about the Sabbath has been understood differently amongst Christians. Broadly speaking, three positions are held.

• Seventh-day sabbatarianism - the Bible requires Christians to observe the Sabbath on Saturday, according to the Decalogue.
• First day sabbatarianism - the New Testament, the apostles and the early church transferred the Sabbath to Sunday, the first day of the week.
• Non-sabbatarianism - Christians are not required to keep a weekly sabbath because the requirements of the Law of Moses have been fulfilled in Christ, and therefore Christians are free from the law.

Seventh-day Sabbath theology

See also: Sabbath in seventh-day churches

The following are some of the New Testament reasons adduced for keeping the seventh day of the week (Saturday) as a Sabbath day of rest. Sabbatarians take the statement made by Jesus, before the foundation of the Christian Church, that "the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath", to indicate that Sabbath-keeping is central to following Christ: since He kept the seventh-day Sabbath, this is the true Lord's day. On the other hand, that statement was made in the context of defending his disciples from a charge of Sabbath-breaking. Further, in Matthew 24:20, Christ, in reference to the future destruction of Jerusalem, told his listeners, "Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." Sabbatarians, therefore, maintain that this indicates that Jesus expected the Sabbath to be kept after his death. Luke 23:56 recounts that, after the death of Jesus, the women who wished to prepare his body rested on the Sabbath, intending to finish their work on the first day of the week, but on finding he was risen were unable to do so. Also, on the weight of Hebrews 4:8–11, which speaks of a Sabbath rest superior to the rest that Joshua won for the Israelites, Sabbatarians say that the Sabbath remains a Christian Holy Day and that Sabbath-keeping is an abiding duty as prescribed in the fourth commandment. Non-sabbatarians maintain that this passage is instead speaking of an eternal Sabbath-rest in heaven, arguing that the context shows that God forbade those who through their time in the wilderness did not show faith for forty years would not enter His rest, but that they could enter the true rest of God if they persevered in the faith (see Matthew Henry's note quoted below); since for those forty years these rebellious people were keeping the seventh-day Sabbath as commanded, it is argued that this is not the "rest" spoken of. The letter of Hebrews is thought to have been written to Jewish Christians who were considering reverting to Judaism as well, as an argument for the superiority of the Christian faith, and in the context where this passage appears it would seem strange if the author deviated from this argument without any segue to tell Jews to continue keeping the Sabbath.

In that passage is found the word "σαββατισμός" (sabbatismós). The Authorized Version (King James Version of 1611) renders this word as "rest". Modern translations, including all those whose name begins with the word "New" have either "Sabbath rest" or "rest".

The Darby translation simply transliterates the word as "Sabbatism". The Scriptures, translated by The Institute For Scripture Research, renders it as "Sabbath observance", while The Bible in Basic English gives "Sabbath keeping".

Professor Andrew T. Lincoln, on page 213 in his symposium From Sabbath to Lord's Day, states: "The use of sabbatismos elsewhere in extant Greek literature gives an indication of its more exact shade of meaning. It is used in Plutarch, De Superstitione 3 (Moralia166A) of Sabbath observance. There are also four occurrences in post-canonical literature that are independent of Hebrews 4:9. They are Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 23:3; Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses 30:2:2; Martyrium Petri et Pauli 1; Apostolic Constitutions 2:36:2. In each of these places the term denotes the observance or celebration of the Sabbath. This usage corresponds to the Septuagint usage of the cognate verb sabbatizo (cf. Ex. 16:30; Lev. 23:32; 26:34; 2 Chron. 36:21). Thus the writer to the Hebrews is saying that since the time of Joshua an observance of the Sabbath rest has been outstanding."

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible has the following: "It is evident, that there is a more spiritual and excellent sabbath remaining for the people of God, than that of the seventh day, or that into which Joshua led the Jews. This rest is, a rest of grace, and comfort, and holiness, in the gospel state. And a rest in glory, where the people of God shall enjoy the end of their faith, and the object of all their desires. The rest, or sabbatism, which is the subject of the apostle's reasoning, and as to which he concludes that it remains to be enjoyed, is undoubtedly the heavenly rest, which remains to the people of God, and is opposed to a state of labour and trouble in this world. It is the rest they shall obtain when the Lord Jesus shall appear from heaven. But those who do not believe, shall never enter into this spiritual rest, either of grace here or glory hereafter. God has always declared man's rest to be in him, and his love to be the only real happiness of the soul; and faith in his promises, through his Son, to be the only way of entering that rest."

Non-Sabbatarians see indications in the New Testament of a special Sunday observance on the part of Christians. The work involved in gathering together and preparing this observance after the Sabbath rest ended at sunset on Saturday would not scandalize the Jews, whether Christian or non-believers in Jesus. Acts 20:7 tells of an occasion when, on the first day of the week (i.e. Sunday), the Christians in Troas gathered "to break bread" and Paul continued his preaching until midnight. According to Jewish tradition, however (and as described in Leviticus 23:32), a day begins when the sun goes down and this meeting apparently gathered in the evening. So, those who have believed that the Christians kept the Sabbath on the seventh day argue that this meeting (Acts 20:7) would have begun on Saturday night. Paul would have been preaching on Saturday night until midnight and then walked eighteen miles from Traos to Assos on Sunday. He would not have done so, if he had regarded Sunday as the Sabbath (assuming that he still regarded rest as a part of Sabbath-keeping under the New Covenant; on the grounds of Paul's writings in Romans 14:5 and Colossians 2:16 many non-Sabbatarians maintain that resting is no longer required as part of Sabbath-observance), much less boarded a boat and continued to travel to Mitylene and finally on to Chios. Sabbatarians often claim that Biblical evidence suggests that Paul was a lifelong Sabbath keeper, and if Sunday was now the Sabbath, then this journey would have been contrary to his character. Those opposed to a Sabbath claim that the practice had been abolished by this time, and thus would have no impact on Paul's actions. However, some Sabbatarians including the Prebyterian commentator Albert Barnes believe that Colossians 2:16 does not refer to the weekly Sabbath but to ceremonial Sabbaths of which there were seven in the Jewish calendar. These ceremonial days required animal sacrifices and hence were shadows of things to come, whereas the weekly Sabbath began at Creation.

Some doubt that this is an instance of Paul keeping the Sabbath, although it may be if it shows him waiting until the morning of the first day to continue his work. The focus of the story is about Eutychus, his accident, and his resurrection, not the changing of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. Also in Acts 2:46, they went to the Temple in Jerusalem and broke bread from house to house "daily". There is no mention of the Sabbath, and it is debatable whether this is a reference to Communion. There are many instances of the Gospel being taught and preached on non-specific days as well as daily. One example is in Mark 2:1–2 another is Luke 19:47–20:1, where it clearly indicates that Jesus himself taught and preached daily. Although there are many instances of teaching occurring on the Sabbath, these are all cases where Jesus or one of the Apostles went to the Jewish Synagogue to preach. Since the synagogue would meet on the Sabbath, that was the logical time to preach there.

1 Corinthians 16:2, written in about the year 57, does not mention meeting together, but does speak of the first day of the week as a day in which the apostle wanted them to lay aside their offering for a collection for the Christians in Jerusalem. Revelation 1:10 uses the expression "the Lord's day" as one that would be familiar to its readers. Non-Sabbatarians see this as indicating a day different from the Sabbath and indeed the first day of the week, as indicated in the other two New Testament passages mentioned and as quite explicitly in later writings. Sabbatarians say instead that the expression refers to the Sabbath, and quote in this regard Isaiah 58:13–14, which speaks of the Sabbath as "the holy day of the LORD". Colossians 2:16–17 speaks of Sabbath observance as on the same level as the observance of new moon festivals and rules about food and drink, merely "a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ." Nevertheless, even if such observance was seen as non-essential, Christians did continue to observe Old Testament festivals, as seen in Acts 18:21, 1 Corinthians 5:8, 2 Peter 2:13, Jude 1:12, and Acts 27:9, and, until they were excluded, often attended the Jewish synagogues on the Sabbath. Non-Sabbatarians see them as holding their specifically Christian celebrations after the Sabbath had ended.

For many Sabbatarians, keeping the seventh day is about worshipping God as Creator. For non-Sabbatarians, it is principally about celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on the first day.

First-day Sabbath theology

It was on the first day of the week, according to the Bible, that Jesus was raised from the dead (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1). The disciples of Jesus testified that on that same evening, called "the first day of the week", the resurrected Christ came to them while they were gathered in fear (John 20:19). Eight days later (i.e. the next Sunday), Jesus is said to have appeared to them a second time (John 20:26). The writer called Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, writes that "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." At the end of forty days, the Bible states that Jesus ascended into heaven while the disciples watched and worshipped him (Acts 1:9) and ten days later, at the onset of the feast of Pentecost (See: Shavuot) the Bible says that the Spirit of God was given to the disciples of Christ, establishing the Christian Church, on the first day of the week.

There are two instances in the New Testament where the first Christians are said to have come together on the first day of the week to break bread, to listen to Christian preaching (Acts 20:7) and to gather collections (1 Corinthians 16:2) for the financial assistance of others.

Non-sabbatarianism

Most modern-day Christian theologians use passages such as Colossians 2:14–17 to show that Sabbath observance for Christians has been abolished — "Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ". This is often cited as a direct parallel to Numbers 28–29, where the Sabbath is described alongside burnt offerings and new moons; all things which the New Testament claims have been made obsolete with the coming of Christ. On the other hand, many cite parallels (1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; Isaiah 1:11–14; Ezekiel 45:17) with ceremonial Sabbaths (as distinguished from the weekly Sabbath) are mentioned in conjunction with other elements present.

In conjunction with this, a second Pauline epistle is often quoted, namely Romans 14:5–6, which states "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord". Ritual observance of a weekly Sabbath is thus not required, but is optional according to the conscience of each individual Christian.

Galatians 4:9–11 is used as further justification that a Sabbath is no longer in effect under the New Covenant: "But now that you know God -or rather are known by God- how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you." Essentially, non-Sabbatarians suggest Paul's claim here is that ritual observance of days, including the weekly Sabbath, is no longer prescribed under the New Covenant. (Sabbatarians often counter-argue that Paul may have been referring to the Jewish festivals rather than the weekly Sabbath, or that perhaps Paul was targeting Gnostic beliefs which had infiltrated the church.) Paul continues in the same chapter to say that the covenant given at Mount Sinai (which includes the Ten Commandments) is "slavery" and implies that it is not relevant for Christians who have been freed by Christ.

To further support these ideas, 2 Corinthians 3:2–3 is often used, "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." Hence, Christians no longer follow a law written "in tables of stone" (that is, the Ten Commandments), but follow a law written upon "tablets of human hearts." The argument continues with 2 Corinthians 3:7–8, 3:11, "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading through it was, will not the ministry of the Spirt be even more glorious?... And if what was afading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!" Non-Sabbatarians claim this is a direct reference to the 10 Commandments; therefore New Covenant Christians are no longer under the Mosaic law, and thus Sabbath-keeping is no longer required. The New Covenant "law" is based entirely upon love, and love is considered the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10).

In addition to the Pauline teachings which appear to rescind the Sabbath, Jesus himself is recorded as redefining the Sabbath law. Some examples of this include Luke 13:10–17, John 5:16–18, and John 9:13–16. As Jesus proclaimed Himself to be "Lord of the Sabbath" who has "fulfilled the Law", this has been interpreted by many Christians to mean that those who follow Him are no longer bound by the Sabbath. In Mar 7 in his teaching regarding clean and unclean foods, Jesus argues that "there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him" [v.16]. The disciples then ask what this "parable" might mean not only because of its ambiguous nature, but because Jesus seems to be countering the Jewish belief of clean and unclean foods instituted by the holy covenants of God.

"Mark notes that Jesus' teaching, in essence, declared all foods clean. The Mosaic ceremonial laws distinguished between “clean” and “unclean” foods (see Lev. 11:1–47). Their purpose was to instill an awareness of God's holiness and of the reality of sin as a barrier to fellowship with God. But once defilement of the heart is thoroughly removed and full fellowship with God becomes a reality (through the atoning death of Jesus; see Mark 10:45; Rom. 14:14; Heb. 8:6–13; 9:10, 14), the ceremonial laws have fulfilled their purpose and are no longer required—though as seen in Acts 10–11, it took several years for the disciples to understand this. (On Christian freedom from ceremonial laws, see notes on Acts 15:1; 15:19–21; Gal. 2:11–12; 4:10; 5:1; on food laws in particular, see 1 Tim. 4:3–5.)"[1]

Finally, non-Sabbatarians frequently use the epistle to the Hebrews 3:7-4:11 to argue that the seventh-day Sabbath is no longer relevant as a regular, literal day of rest, but instead is a symbolic metaphor for the eternal "rest" that Christians enjoy in Christ, which was in turn prefigured by the promised land of Canaan.

"...the NT indicates that the sabbath followed its own channel and found its goal in Christ’s redemptive work. Here is where John 5:17 should be discussed (cf. also Jn 7:23), as also Colossians 2:16, to which we have already referred, and Matthew 11:28–12:14. It is less evident that controversy over sabbath observance gave any impetus to that treatment of the topic in Hebrews 3:7–4:11 (Laansma), yet there at least we are pointed to the ultimate goal of the creation sabbath (here an exclusively future Heilsgut) and are thus reminded that the sabbath was by no means a cul-de-sac. It is true to the NT to say that the Mosaic sabbath as a legal and weekly matter was a temporary symbol of a more fundamental and comprehensive salvation, epitomized by and grounded in God’s own creation sabbath, and brought to fulfillment (in already-not yet fashion) in Christ’s redemptive work. Believers are indeed to “keep sabbath,” no longer by observance of a day of the week but now by the upholding of that to which it pointed: the gospel of the ["Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ", Acts 8.12]."