 IS SUNDAY THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH?
Dear John:
Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? - Ken
Dear Ken:
The Ten Commandments were a central part of the law of Moses (Deut. 5:1-21). The law, including the Ten Commandments, governed every aspect of Hebrew life: religious, social, cultural, political and judicial. Reading of this passage specifies the Law and the Commandments were given to the Hebrews whom Moses led out of Egypt (vss.1-3), not to the Gentile nations.
We who are Christians are subjects of Christ. He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:28). He is head over all things to the church (Eph. 1:22). He gave us a new covenant that is superior in every way to the old covenant of Moses (Heb.8: 6-9). Today, followers of Christ are expected to obey him (Heb. 5:9).
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus. Moses was the great lawgiver of Judaism; Elijah was the greatest of her prophets. Peter would have built tabernacles, or houses of worship dedicated to Christ, Moses and Elijah. But God spoke from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, hear ye him" (Matt. 17:1-5).
In his death on the cross, Christ "blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.... Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day, or a new moon or a Sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come...." (Col. 2:14-17). Notice that no one can judge the Christian regarding the Sabbath because it, along with all the other regulations of the Law of Moses, was blotted out by Christ's death.
That explains why Christ gave us a new day of worship. He was raised on the first day (Sunday) of the week (John 20:1) and the church began on Pentecost which always came of the first day (Acts 2:1-5, 47; Lev. 23:15-21). The early disciples communed on the first day (Acts 20:7) and on that day gave God their gifts (I Cor. 16:1-2).
The regulations and restrictions of the Sabbath law worked well in a nation where everyone was Jewish and lived by the Law of Moses, but when the church was established it was designed to be a world-wide kingdom for all people of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20). In the pagan world, Saturday was not a day of rest. Christians could however, meet on the first day and worship and still meet their obligations in the secular world. Thus we read in the early historical records that the disciples often met before dawn or at night for their worship. They had no options.
All of the precepts of the Ten Commandments are found incorporated in the teachings of Christ (See for example Rom. 13:9), save for the Sabbath command. It is nowhere found in the New Testament. Given the above facts, there is good reason for this. On the first day we assemble and worship, that is our obligation. But we are not bound to observe the restrictions of the Sabbath law.
While many denominational teachers mistakenly call Sunday, "the Christian Sabbath," such terminology is not biblical and is confusing. We can be sure that none of them observe Sunday according to the rules of the Jewish Sabbath.
Interestingly, in days past some Protestant groups tried to enforce partial obedience to the Jewish Sabbath laws on our society by getting ordinances past that forbade business from operating on Sunday, but even those champions routinely violated by the Sabbath laws by preparing their meals, and traveling on Sunday.
John Waddey |
