We have recently written about the Sabbath in this space and published YouTube videos on the subject. One of Jim’s recent videos on the Sabbath garnered several comments so I wanted to go over the doctrine one more time. One YouTube commenter charged that no evidence can be found that God changed Sunday into the “Christian Sabbath.”
He claimed that much of the Christian world erroneously looks to Sunday, the first day, as the day of Christian rest. It’s a well-established fact that the first day of the week wasn’t known as Sunday until it was decreed by Emperor Constantine in 321 A.D. He made Sunday a public holiday and a day of rest and worship which gradually gained acceptance by “Christians” over hundreds of years. Therefore, the practice of Sunday as the “Christian Sabbath” has been mythologized from elements of the Old Testament, much like adding circumcision into the requirements of the gospel (Galatians 5:1-6).
More than once I’ve been asked the question, “Who changed the Sabbath Day from Saturday to Sunday?” The question indicates that the person asking believes two facts. First, Sunday is now being observed by Christians as the “Sabbath,” which we discussed a moment ago. Second, somebody other than God is responsible for the change. Neither of these “facts” are true. There’s four biblical reasons why Sunday isn’t the “Christian Sabbath.”
First, Sunday isn’t the Sabbath. Exodus 20:10 plainly states that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.” The calendar shows that the seventh day of each week falls on our Saturday; Sunday is the first day of the week.
Second, Sabbath keeping was required of Israelites, not Christians. Besides the fact that Sunday can’t be the Sabbath because it’s the wrong day of the week, it should also be observed that Christians who follow the Bible don’t attempt to observe Sunday as the Sabbath because they realize the Sabbath was only given to Israel. God made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai which included the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28), and one of which was “to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). This covenant, including Sabbath keeping, wasn’t given to anyone other than the Israelites — not even to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Deuteronomy 5:3 Moses stated, “The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.” In Exodus 31:16-17 God said, “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” In the New Testament, Jesus and His disciples kept the Sabbath. Why? Because they were Israelites who lived under the Old Covenant. But no Christian was ever commanded to keep the Sabbath, and we have no New Testament example of a non-Israelite Christian ever doing so.
Third, no Christian actually keeps the Sabbath today. Christians don’t keep, or even attempt to keep, all of the regulations involved in observing the Sabbath. Some may disagree with this statement. Perhaps you know someone who claims to be a Christian who also claims to keep the Sabbath. But is he or she actually keeping the Sabbath as God ordained it? Exactly what would be involved in keeping the Sabbath? Most people know that keeping the Sabbath meant doing no work (Exodus 20:8-10; 31:15; 35:2). An Israelite found picking up sticks on the Sabbath was put to death (Numbers 15:32-36). However, some may not realize that to keep the Sabbath, an Israelite couldn’t cook in the house (Exodus 16:23), kindle a fire (Exodus 35:3), or carry a load (Jeremiah 17:22-23). These regulations would prohibit you from bringing groceries home from the grocery store, carrying them into the house, lighting a gas range, and cooking dinner. However, some cooking was required in Israel on every Sabbath (Numbers 28:9-10). I know of no religious group today that keeps all of these regulations. It’s obvious that even those who claim to observe the Sabbath today don’t do so in the manner God commanded the Israelites. And, if they’re not observing the Sabbath in the way God commanded, are they observing it at all?
Fourth, God changed the Sabbath. In contrast to what many may believe, God didn’t change the Sabbath Day to Sunday. Instead, He completely abolished the entire system of Law that required keeping the Sabbath. He brought the Old Covenant (the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments) to an end. We now live under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:6-13). Colossians 2:14 states that the Old Covenant was “nailed to the cross.” Therefore, Sabbath keeping was also nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:16). So no one has a right to judge or condemn people under the New Testament for not keeping the Sabbath, because Sabbath keeping was abolished. Christians keep the New Covenant of Jesus which includes similar commands as the Old Covenant (Romans 13:9; Colossians 3:5), but it doesn’t include Sabbath keeping. Our YouTube commenter said, “Where did Christ positively teach that Sunday is the day replacing the Seventh Day Sabbath? Show me one verse in the entire Bible teaching that Sunday is the new Sabbath of the Lord.” We worship on the first day of the week because that’s what the New Testament teaches us to do (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).
Near the end of the exchange, our commenter said, “The Sabbath is of universal obligation because it is the sign that God is Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. It was given to Adam as our representative.” But we’ve shown that when you properly look at the biblical text and you understand biblical authority, the Sabbath observance isn’t required by God — worshiping Him on Sunday is.
Kyle Campbell