Recommendation: Read the article ‘Is the Sabbath Still Valid According to the New Testament?’ before starting this study.
That which is done away
Haven’t the Ten Commandments – including the Sabbath – been done away with?
2 Corinthians 3:7, 11 – But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away … / [11] For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Matthew 5:17-18 – Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Romans 3:31 – Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Romans 7:12 – Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Remark: Jesus clearly stated that His mission was not to abolish the moral law but to fulfill and magnify its true purpose. Besides, Paul contrasts in 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 the old and new covenants, emphasizing not the abolition of the law itself, but the transition from the letter (the law written on stone, which brought condemnation) to the Spirit (the law written on the heart, which brings life). Jesus even practically expanded the moral law, by revealing its full principles (i.e. the spirit of the law; see Matthew 5:21-26 and 5:27-32). While the old covenant, symbolized by the Ten Commandments written in stone, had glory, it was a fading glory meant to be surpassed by the greater, lasting glory of the new covenant, which transforms believers from within. The moral principles of the Ten Commandments remain intact but are now empowered by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the promise of a law written on the heart, allowing believers to live righteously rather than merely being condemned by the law’s external demands.
Doesn’t keeping the law mean that we are still stuck in the Old Covenant?
Revelation 14:12 – Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Hebrews 8:10 – For this is the {new} covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people …
Would it even be possible to abolish the Ten Commandments – the summary of the moral law?
Psalm 119:142 – Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
1 John 3:4 – Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
James 2:10-12 – For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Remark: No, because sin is the breaking of the law, and as long as sin exists, the moral law remains in effect. Those who did not accept Jesus will be judged according to this moral law. Those who claimed to accept Jesus but continued to break the law (e.g., by lying, stealing, or killing) demonstrate by their actions that they have not genuinely accepted Him, as true faith in Christ leads to a life of obedience, following His example (see James 2:24). Only those who truly accept Jesus, as evidenced by their obedience to God, will be counted righteous through the righteousness of Christ.
Let no man judge you
Doesn’t the Bible say that we should not permit anyone to judge us if we do not keep the sabbaths?
Colossians 2:16 – Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days …
Remark: To fully grasp the context, it is essential to read the following verse.
Colossians 2:17 – Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Remark: First, it is not the task of Christians to judge others anyway. Second, Paul refers to “a shadow of things to come,” indicating symbolic practices that were fulfilled in the life and death of Christ. The word “sabbath” in this context is often translated in the plural in many Bible versions, as it refers not to the weekly Sabbath (singular) found in the moral law of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11), but to the ceremonial sabbaths described in Leviticus 23. These ceremonial sabbaths were part of the ceremonial law, which pointed forward to Christ, rather than the moral law, which expresses God’s eternal principles.
What sabbaths was Paul referring to in Colossians 2:16?
Leviticus 23:1-5, 15-16, 24, 27, 32, 38-39 – And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover. / [15] And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. / [24] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. / [27] Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. / [32] It {day of atonement} shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath {day of atonement}. / 38 Beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Remark: Leviticus 23:3 briefly mentions the weekly Sabbath, but only for completeness and because it plays a role in calculating certain feast days. The chapter (please read it in its entirety) focuses not the weekly Sabbath, but primarily on other sabbaths: the Passover (v. 4-8), the Feast of Firstfruits (v. 9-14), the Feast of Weeks (v. 15-22), the Feast of Trumpets (v. 23-25), the Day of Atonement (v. 26-32), and the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 33-44). For example, the Feast of Trumpets (v. 24) includes a yearly sabbath completely distinct from the weekly Sabbath. Moreover, the weekly Sabbath cannot be placed in the same category as these festival sabbaths, as it stands apart as a Creation memorial (Genesis 2:3), part of the moral law (Exodus 20:8-11), and for the reasons discussed below and elsewhere in this study.
Isn’t the Sabbath also “a shadow of things to come”?
Deuteronomy 5:15 – And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
Hebrews 3:16, 18-19; 4:1, 3-6, 8-10 – For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. / [18] And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest {promised land, Canaan}, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. / [1] Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest {eternal rest with God}, any of you should seem to come short of it. / [3] For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: / [8] For if Jesus {Joshua} had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day {eternal rest with God}. There remaineth therefore a (sabbath)rest {sabbatismos} to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Remark: Yes, the Sabbath can be understood as a ‘shadow’ of the coming salvation from sin. It was primarily given as a commemoration of Creation (Genesis 2:2-3) and will continue to be kept and celebrated in the New Heavens and the New Earth (Isaiah 66:22-23). Additionally, the Sabbath holds a profound secondary meaning as a symbol of salvation and deliverance, represented by ‘rest.’ Initially, this rest symbolized deliverance from slavery in Egypt (see Deuteronomy 5:15), but ultimately, the weekly Sabbath points to the eternal rest with God from the slavery of sin and Satan (see the entire passage in Hebrews 3:7 – 4:11). This eternal rest has not yet been fully realized, which is why “there remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). This means that the weekly Sabbath remains significant for at least these two major reasons (Creation and “shadow” of Salvation) and additionally because it is part of the eternal moral law, unlike the ceremonial sabbaths in Leviticus 23, which were fulfilled and set aside by Christ’s sacrifice.
The keeping of times
Doesn’t the Bible condemn the “keeping of months, times and years”?
Galatians 4:9-11 – But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Remark: In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul is clearly addressing Christians with a Jewish background, warning against the continued observance of feasts and holidays that were fulfilled and set aside by the sacrifice of Jesus. In contrast, in Galatians 4:9-11, Paul appears to be speaking to Christians with a Gentile background (see Galatians 4:8), addressing the superstitious observance of days, months, and seasons (possibly linked to astrology), with no clear indication that he is referring to the weekly Sabbath. Thus this verse cannot be used to argue against the Sabbath.
Doesn’t the New Testament give us liberty to choose whether we should keep the Sabbath?
Romans 14:5-6 – One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Exodus 31:16-17 – 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.
Luke 4:16 – And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Remark: While Romans 14:5-6 encourages mutual respect regarding personal convictions about days, it should not be interpreted as abolishing the Sabbath, which is explicitly part of the moral law. The broader passage refers to personal scruples related to fasting and special feast days, not the moral requirements of the Ten Commandments. Paul is addressing disputes over Jewish traditions and dietary practices, not the divine, unchangeable Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The Sabbath is uniquely identified as a sign between God and His people, meant to last throughout generations. This covenantal significance sets it apart from the ceremonial concerns likely in view in Romans 14. Additionally, Jesus Himself observed the Sabbath regularly, establishing it as a practice for His followers to continue. He declared, “The Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:28), affirming its ongoing importance. While Christians are encouraged to respect one another’s personal convictions, this principle does not extend to abolishing a commandment directly established by God at creation and reaffirmed by Christ.
Keeping the Sabbath sounds so out-of-date. How can it be done in the modern world?
Acts 5:29 – Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Mark 2:27-28 – 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.
Matthew 15:3 – But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? / [6] And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Remark: Keeping the Sabbath does not mean observing it as the Pharisees did or as some modern (Jewish) traditions prescribe, with countless rules and restrictions. Instead, the Bible emphasizes a few core principles: refraining from work (both professional and housework) and using the day to physically rest and most importantly spiritually reconnect with God and meet with other believers.
