Biblical Sabbath is a “fully valid” commandment of God

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Just as it is natural for the biblical Sabbath to be described as “Jewish” and completely irrelevant for Christians, it is just as natural to point out this error just as often and to emphasize the Sabbath as one “fully valid” commandment out of a total of 10.

Popular chain of excuses

The Sabbath was established only for Israel, according to a popular explanation, as to why “Gentiles” are not required to observe the Sabbath, that is, the 7th day of the week (“Saturday”). After all, it applies to the Jewish people, not to Christians, who, after all, were formed from Gentiles. Furthermore, the Sabbath was not created for man, but the Sabbath was created for man, according to the equally common “rounding off” of the argument. All of these are reasons why “we Christians” do not have to observe the Sabbath. Furthermore, we are all under grace and not under the law. The chain of justifications for not observing the Sabbath is very, very long.

Sabbath only for Israel?

Not as easy to answer as the question about the “Lord’s Day,” but just as clearly and definitively, can it be answered whether the Sabbath was or is reserved exclusively for the people of Israel? To answer this, one only needs to look at when God established the Sabbath and when the people of Israel first appeared on the surface of the earth.

God created the heavens and earth, animals, plants, and the first two human beings in the first six days. The seventh day followed, and God declared this day holy, Genesis 2:1-3:
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.“

Sabbath since the Garden of Eden

The Sabbath was established by God to complete creation. Did the people of Israel already exist at this time? No! With Adam and Eve, 100% of humanity were still in the Garden of Eden. There was still no sign of Jacob’s descendants, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham was born approximately 1,950 years after creation, and Jacob, later called Israel, was born approximately 2,110 years after creation. Before that, there were Noah and the events surrounding the Flood (biblical Chronicle).

Using the statement, “Not man was made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man,” to justify the invalidity of the Sabbath for non-Jews raises questions. Where is the logic in this? According to Mark 2:27-28, Jesus Christ said:
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.“

“anthrópos is clearly the human

In Greek, the word for “man” is “anthrópos,” which clearly means “man.” There’s no room for interpretation here, at least. The verse does NOT say, “the Sabbath was created for the sake of the Jew/people of Israel,” but for man! This is entirely consistent with the fact that God sanctified the 7th day immediately after His creation.

Mark 2:28 also contains the statement that “the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” In other words, the Lord of the Sabbath is Jesus Christ, or rather, it is the day that belongs to the Lord, i.e., the “Lord’s Day.”

Viewing the Sabbath as “time-space”

One perspective on how the Sabbath can be viewed, thus promoting understanding, is the following:
God did not first sanctify a place, a building, or a person, but rather a period of time, a “time-space.” He thus established a temporal space for entering into rest and for fellowship with Him. The Sabbath (time-space) begins at sunset of the previous day, which, according to our calendar, is on Friday after sunset. God enters this “time-space” for fellowship with those who also enter this “time-space.” It is as if God enters into a literal space or building for fellowship with His people.

It follows that refusing to observe the Sabbath is tantamount to rejecting communion with God. It is even more consequential if, instead, a different “time-space” is entered on a different day, established by someone else entirely. This particularly applies, as it has long been a tradition, to Sunday, the first day of the week. This can be justified by any number of reasons, such as observing the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but there is no biblical support for it. The actual originator of the shifting of the Sabbath to the first day of the week is known (Info).

The Sabbath, the entry into the “time-space” established by God, is also the recognition that He is the true, living, and only Creator God. It is communion with God, who, on the one hand, established the Sabbath as a remembrance of His creation (Exodus 20:8-11) and, on the other hand, as a remembrance that He is the one who led His people out of Egypt (out of sin) (Deuteronomy 5:12-15).

Observing a different “time-space” is communion with the One who created His own “holy day” as a counterpart to God. Keeping the true Sabbath and willing communion with God is also the recognition of His authority, the Creator, the Lawgiver. Observing the “alternative day,” Sunday, is the recognition of another authority. Specifically, the great adversary, the Roman Church.

“Day of the Lord”

This also applies to the definition of the “Lord’s Day.” Revelation 1:10 is often cited to prove that the “Lord’s Day” is Sunday. But in this case, just looking at the individual verse is enough to raise at least a big question mark:
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,“

What exactly does this refer to the day of the week? “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” what else? Nothing! This verse simply speaks of the “Lord’s day” but provides no information about which day of the week it is. A classic circular argument based on wishful thinking. “Somehow” the “Lord’s day” is connected to “Sunday,” John speaks of the “Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10, so this day is “Sunday.” Does that make sense? Zero!

In fact, although the “Lord’s day” is mentioned very frequently in the Bible, it is only rarely connected to a specific day of the week. In these cases, however, it is clearly the 7th day of the week, i.e., the Sabbath (“Saturday”). The vast majority of references refer to the day on which Jesus Christ will come again. Examples of the numerous mentions of the “Lord’s Day” can be found here.

Not under the law, only grace

The thesis that the law (the Ten Commandments) is irrelevant because it has either been abolished anyway or is not applied to “heathens” is based on a chain of misunderstandings. This begins with simply lumping together clearly separate legal systems, the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial laws. This inevitably leads to confusion, although the laws of God and the laws of Moses should be viewed clearly separately (Info).

The ceremonial laws of the Old Testament have been abolished, as they were a shadow of Jesus’ work. Thus, a symbolic, yet entirely faith-based ceremony, fulfilled by Jesus. With His death on the cross, it was accomplished. The Ten Commandments of God, however, remain unaltered, as they are eternal, just, and holy. Not a single letter or iota of them will be changed (Matthew 5:18-19).

Man does not become righteous by keeping the Ten Commandments; that would be an attempt at righteousness by works. But quite specifically, as Jesus Christ himself said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.,” true faith and the associated true love for God and one’s fellow human beings automatically lead to the desire to keep the laws (the Ten Commandments) and to recognize sin for what they are: an abomination.

This is where the difference lies between whether a person is led by the Spirit or by sinful, fallen flesh (Galatians 5). Those who live in the Spirit receive the power of God through the Holy Spirit to keep God’s law. Those who live in the Spirit are not under the law (Galatians 5:18), but this does not mean that this law suddenly vanishes into nothingness (Info). Furthermore, it is an oxymoron to claim that one is not under the law, which no longer exists. For how can one “be under something” that doesn’t exist?

Fully valid Sabbath

God’s Ten Commandments describe 10(!) commandments, not 9. Fully valid are “You shall not steal,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not commit adultery,” etc., but so is the Fourth Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath!” Even the Reformation in the 16th century made the mistake of simply declaring the Fourth Commandment, which was written in stone by God himself, just like all the other 9 commandments, to be a ceremonial law. This is already recorded in the Augsburg Confession.

Luther also had a serious problem with the Jewish people, no matter how sophisticated his understanding of the gospel was, and how pronounced his anti-Semitism was. “One must not go faster than the people,” Luther said on the question of observing the biblical Sabbath, which had long since been declared a “Jewish Sabbath” by the Church of Rome (Council of Laodicea). The Sabbath according to biblical prescriptions was certainly a topic of discussion during the Reformation. But the reformers preferred to follow the tradition of the Roman Church.

Tradition or no tradition, regardless of how long a tradition has been practiced, it does not abolish God’s law. It cannot. The difference lies in whether one follows God’s law or ignores it in order to follow a tradition.

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)