The Christian and the Sabbath
June 24, 2024
The Sabbath is established by the fourth commandment, which we recall here:
Exodus 20:8-11
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Many Christians think that the Sabbath does not concern them, believing that Christ abolished the Sabbath or that they have entered into the rest of Christ and therefore are no longer concerned by the Sabbath. Some confuse the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week) with the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week), or believe that the two have been merged. However, if we read the verses above, we see clearly that the Lord’s Day is not treated as a Sabbath day. Some even think that since they are not Jewish, this commandment does not concern them.
The following audio provides precise insights and shows that the Sabbath has not been abolished and remains important for all Christians. This is further confirmed in the words relating to the end of the world:
Matthew 24:20
“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.”
Here, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who speaks. Why does He give particular importance to the Sabbath day when speaking of the end times if He abolished the Sabbath?
Isaiah 66:23
“And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.”
When we closely examine the Ten Commandments of God, we notice that the first four commandments fall under the first and greatest commandment:
Mark 12:30
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
While the other six fall under the second greatest commandment:
Mark 12:31
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
However, a more careful analysis shows that the fourth commandment marks a transition between the two groups, as it allows the expression of the love of God, faith in God, love for one’s neighbor, and love for oneself.
To gain a better understanding of the Sabbath,