God has revealed to me the importance of keeping a weekly Sabbath day of rest, which is the original Saturday and seventh day of the week, rather than a Sunday. Here’s a full explanation of this, along with three key reasons I believe it.
Firstly, it originated with God at creation and was intended to be eternal. Secondly, God blessed it and therefore should be enjoyed. And thirdly, He has commanded it in the Ten Commandments, still under the New Covenant.
So, back in 2017, God clearly revealed to me the importance of the weekly Sabbath rest (there’s a post here about it). From a church position, this means I now fellowship with a Seventh-day Adventist church that God has led me to, although I still observed the Sabbath before then.
This post is meant to be a go-to guide on the subject, covering everything as concisely as possible. There is an introduction and background on the Sabbath topic, an explanation of the three reasons I think born-again Christians nowadays still need to observe (and enjoy) this day, and a final summary.
Introduction and background to the Saturday Sabbath
This concerns the weekly Sabbath day, specifically the seventh day of the weekly cycle, which falls on a Saturday and was originally ordained by God at creation. It was observed by God’s people in the Old Testament and, I believe, remains applicable to Christians today under the New Covenant.
There are two other types of ‘Sabbath’ in Scripture which this doesn’t apply to, both part of the ceremonial law under the Old Covenant, which was fulfilled and therefore ‘cancelled’ at Christ’s Death and Resurrection:
1. Yearly Sabbath rest of the land
God instructed the Israelites to even let the land itself rest every seven years (Leviticus 25:1-4), which they didn’t do, resulting in them being taken into exile in Babylon for seventy years to match the missing number of yearly rests over 490 years (2 Chronicles 36:21).
There was also an additional jubilee year of rest every fifty years, immediately after seven times seven years (forty-nine), when everything was reset (Leviticus 25:8-9).
2. Special High Sabbaths
In Israel's annual calendar of festivals, seven special holy convocations and feasts included Sabbath days (Leviticus 25:4).
These are in addition to the usual weekly ones, and often fall just before or after the festival.
Agreed Sabbath facts
Before delving into the details about the weekly Sabbath day of rest and whether it’s still applicable, here are four facts about it that people won’t really dispute once they begin looking into (just the further implications of these are then open to debate).
These points are progressive and build on each other.
1. The week has a seven-day cycle
Of course, we all know that life follows a weekly cycle of seven days, from Sunday to Saturday. The point is that this cycle has always been assumed, dating back to biblical times, and is seen as a repeating cycle.
From a scientific perspective, leading astronomers agree that the weekly seven-day cycle has never changed, as confirmed by the US Naval Observatory and the Royal Greenwich Observatory. This daily cycle is the same rotation pattern of the Earth as it has always been, even though there have been changes in the yearly calendar from 360 to 365 (or 366 for leap years) days, reflecting the moon's linear cycle; the core seven-day weekly cycle has remained the same.
There have been some historical attempts to change this, such as the eight-day week during the French Revolution, but they haven’t come to fruition.
2. God specifically numbered the seventh day of this weekly cycle as the one to rest on
This is clear in the Old Testament, back at the creation of the Earth in Genesis, and later throughout the Old Testament (and notably in the Ten Commandments).
There’s even a reference to it in the New Testament and Hebrews.
The question then is whether this was changed in the New Testament under the New Covenant by Christ’s Death and Resurrection – God’s ‘original’ selection of the seventh day is not disputed.
3. Saturday is the seventh day of the week
Even when you believe that Sunday is a new day of rest, this is accepted as falling on the first day of the weekly cycle, not the seventh one. This means a change to a different numbered day of the week, assuming Sunday, not simply the same old seventh-day relabeled (even if the word 'sabbath' is still used in the first day designation).
The word 'Sabbath' is also the same word for the day of 'Saturday' in at least twenty-four languages.
4. The start and end of each day are based on the sunset
The assumed change of days from midnight to midnight is based on modern time systems.
Back in Genesis, when God first created all days of the week, not just the seventh, there is a reference to one day ending when the sun set, therefore, the next one begins at the same time Genesis 1:31. There are also other biblical references to this in Leviticus 23:32, Nehemiah 13:19, and Mark 1:32.
When applied to modern times, this means that Saturday technically begins as the seventh day of the week when the sun sets on a Friday evening, not at midnight (and something the Jewish community still observe).
The actual time, therefore, changes throughout the year and seasons and is more likely to be late afternoon in winter or later evening in summer in the UK.
The different interpretations of the Sabbath
I personally believe there are three positions to take on the issue of weekly Sabbath observance for Christians. Even if an individual Christian doesn’t explicitly state this, they will, by default, tend to fall into number two or three.
1. Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is still to be observed
This is the position I now believe. As mentioned above, I believe that the seventh day in the Old Testament was, and still is, Saturday, which remains unchanged in the New Testament.
This is what the rest of this post then explores, organised into three main reasons.
Of course, this is not the norm nowadays; although there are some formal church denominations and groups of believers that do, the most popular one is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Judaism is another religion that still follows this pattern and emphasises the Old Testament and Torah in particular.
2. Christ changed the day of rest to Sunday at the cross
This assumption is that a day of rest remains applicable to Christians today, as outlined in the Ten Commandments and other commandments, as well as good practice. However, the day was changed to Sunday to reflect the New Covenant and the meaning of new creation and salvation in Christ.
This is effectively assumed to supersede the Old Testament principle of observing the Sabbath on Saturday, which simply points to a new first Lord's Day after Christ's sacrifice.
3. Christ ended any obligation to follow a weekly day of rest
His sacrifice at the cross is seen to go a step further and was assumed to end any weekly Sabbath day observance, in particular the Ten Commandments, which were cancelled at the cross, and a new 'Law of Christ' was formed.
This assumes the new general rest we do indeed have in Christ all the time, when we become born-again Christians, is all we need, not an ongoing weekly day of observance.
In reality, Christians may still observe Sunday as a day of restful activities and church attendance, but more for convenience than necessity.
Three reasons for the Saturday Sabbath
Discerning whether to observe a day of the week as a rest, and it being the ‘original’ seventh-day Sabbath, is based on what the Scripture says.
Although it’s clearer in the Old Testament, it’s less so in the New Testament, with, in fact, no clear commandments either way.
Here are three general ways I think it is still applicable from the Bible for the Christian faith today.
1. God originally created the Sabbath to last forever
Genesis is clear that on the seventh day of God's creation of the world, He rested (Genesis 2:1-3).
This may well mean that the seventh-day Sabbath rest had never existed before this point of creation in heaven.
Some people say these are not literal days of creation as we know them now as twenty-four-hour slots (although I believe they are, with God as the ultimate creator, able to do anything in whatever time frame, simply at His Command).
Additionally, each day is defined by the evening and morning times, and therefore, sunsets, as mentioned earlier (interestingly, there is no mention of the seventh day ending in this way in the evening).
This creation and seventh-day rest was before the fall of Adam and Eve, and therefore, before sin entered the world —an original condition of the created Earth.
Moving into the formation of God’s people, Israel, God describes the Sabbath as being a 'perpetual covenant' and lasting forever (Exodus 31:16-17). Even if you argue this was only applicable for the Jews at that time, as an entity, it was clearly meant to last forever.
Scholars do debate over original words like 'olam' meaning 'forever' and 'perpetual'. Some interpret this as just being as long as can be foreseen, rather than literally never-ending, therefore, assuming only for the Israelites at the time.
Additionally, the world and Sabbath day were created through and for Christ and not just God the Father and assuming Christ does something different after the cross (John 1:1-3, 1 Corin 8:6, Heb 1:1-2, Eph 3:9). In fact, Christ goes a stage further and states He is specifically the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt 12:8):
So, Christ created and is Lord over a day that was made to last forever.
Another linked theme is found in Revelation at the end of time, when God’s people are called to follow God’s commandments and worship God as their Creator (Revelation 14:12).
Also, when God refers to this as a ‘sign’ to His people, He describes it as lasting forever. This sign can be symbolically compared to a royal seal and sign, stating that God Himself is the 'sealer', has the title of 'creator', and His territory is heaven and Earth (Ezekiel 20:12 & 20; Exodus 31:17-18).
A final thought is an intriguing prophecy at the end of Isaiah, which refers to Sabbath observance in the new heaven and Earth and, therefore, beyond this Earth after God first created it (Isaiah 66:22-23). This passage also mentions 'all flesh' rather than just the Israelites, and monthly cycles (which could also be inferred as applicable).
Although there is no other specific mention in Scripture, Revelation does reference the monthly eating of the Tree of Life and the principle of a timely routine (Rev 22:2).
2. God blessed the Sabbath to be enjoyed
Going back to the creation in Genesis, God says that He rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3). This seems illogical at first, as God clearly does not need a rest even after six days of 'working' to create the Earth, as He has infinite power (as Scripture confirms eg Isaiah 40:28).
When this point of creation is referred to later in the book of Exodus, it refers to God being 'refreshed' (Exodus 31:17), and the Hebrew word is 'Nuach,' meaning the quality of rest, compared to the word 'shabbat' in Genesis, which more closely means 'ceasing from something.'
This is more descriptive than simply needing rest. It is almost like a breath of appreciation and interaction with His newly formed creation, like an artist sitting back after painting a masterpiece and breathing a sigh of relief and appreciation for the finished piece. After all, Genesis says that His creation was very good (Genesis 1:31).
However, Genesis goes further than just saying 'rest' to specify that He 'blessed' and 'sanctified' this seventh day (with some debate over when in the day this occurred, namely at the beginning or end) - Genesis 2:3.
Infact, earlier in chapter one, there is also a reference to God creating day and night to mark 'sacred times' (Genesis 1:14).
Building on this, God later pronounced a blessing on Israel for observing this weekly Sabbath day, affecting their whole lives, not just the Sabbath day (Deuteronomy 28:1- 2, 15 & Isaiah 56:12). In contrast, God also pronounced a curse if they didn't follow the Sabbath, including being cut off and death (Exodus 31:15).
This was before the Ten Commandments and was later highlighted by people like Nehemiah and Amos because the Israelites continued not to fully observe and 'sanctify' the Sabbath when they returned from Babylon to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13:15-22 & Amos 8:5).
Even in the Ten Commandments, it's described as 'holy' and an instruction to keep it like this, and it links back to how God originally 'hallowed it' (Exodus 20:8-9). It's also described as a 'holy' thing later in Ezekiel 22:26, and a 'delight' to us when we honour it as God's, not our day in Isaiah 58:13-14.
In short, being 'holy' is being separated for God and His worship, and reflecting His Holy and righteous character. Practically, this is seeking God through reading, studying, and meditating in His Word, the Bible, with worshipful prayers and a thankful heart.
Other aspects to the day being blessed
This blessing that God prescribed on the Sabbath also extended to the whole household, including servants and immediate family members (Isaiah 56:6 & Exodus 20:10).
Plus, in the above prophecy about the Sabbath in the new heaven and Earth, it is for 'all flesh' (Isaiah 66:23), and later Christ refers to it as being for 'man' generally (Mark 2:27).
God also explained to the Israelites that the Sabbath was a sign to them as His people, set apart for His glory and purposes.
How to observe the blessed day
Drilling into the details of what God expected people to do on the Sabbath, there was to be no work or trade as a focus away from the busyness of daily life.
The sixth day before (Friday) was a specific 'preparation day' to prepare for the seventh day of rest.
Also, although the priority in the Old Testament about the Sabbath appears to be rest within a household, there is a reference to a form of fellowship with others and a ‘holy convocation’ and ’sacred assembly’ being part of this expression (although different interpretations of what this means) in Leviticus 23:3, and a general encouragement of fellowship in the New Testament (Hebrews 10:25).
Turning to the New Testament, the Sabbath theme emphasised by Christ Himself was that it was a day to do good for others, rather than just a time of spiritual rest with God alone (Matthew 12:11-13, Mark 2:23-28). Many recorded miracles in the Gospels occurred on the Sabbath, which angered people like the Pharisees, who saw this as a rebellion against their strict religious rules for the day.
Christ also specifically said that the Sabbath was meant for man, and therefore logically something that is a good (and blessed) thing to be enjoyed by man (Mark 2:27).
What this blessed day means
In summary, the Sabbath day was intended to be a blessed and Holy day, enjoyed by God's people. This was before sin entered the world, and I believe it continued after Christ's Resurrection in the New Testament.
Therefore, what has really stood out for me is how there is no evidence that this has been 'unblessed' in any way.
Even if Sunday became a new special Lord's Day to be observed by Christians nowadays, there is nothing specifically stating that God removed a blessing from the seventh-day Sabbath (and added it to another day).
As an aside, women and marriage were created and declared by God at this point of creation as well, and of course are still not seen as unapplicable or changed nowadays.
There were also other natural forces created that are still taken for granted today, for example, the sun, moon, and stars, forming times, seasons, and appointments.
3. God commanded the Sabbath to abide in Him
The last point is about what was specifically commanded by God (and Christ) regarding observing a weekly day of rest, whether generally or as a specific law.
The bottom line is that there is no specific New Testament commandment to observe any day of rest in the week, which is why there are different interpretations of this.
Therefore, I view this as the seventh day of the week by default, as per the first two points and this one: it was created as an eternal and blessed day, with no clear commandment to either stop this or change it to Sunday.
Seeing the theme through history
From the beginning of Scripture, one can see how the theme of Sabbath keeping and its commanded observation evolves.
Back at creation in Genesis, there is admittedly no specific commandment by God for Adam and Eve to observe this day. It just describes how God himself rested on the seventh day and blessed it.
However, I believe it can be logically seen to be something that Adam and Eve and future generations also followed by points such as:
1. As mentioned earlier, God didn’t need to rest Himself; therefore, who else was this for.
2. Adam and Eve were with God on that first Sabbath day of rest after being created the day before. Although we can assume they had not done any or very little work to rest from, they were in God’s presence all the time and therefore experienced this day with Him.
3. They lived many centuries afterwards with overlapping generations. They would therefore surely have recited the story of this seventh-day rest with God and the seven-day cycle, which was later recorded in Genesis.
4. Later, Christ says how the Sabbath was made for man and not just God for the sake of it (and not stating a specific group like the Israelites)
Later in the Old Testament, before we reach the specific Ten Commandments, there are references to God’s general laws and commandments being known and observed (as a general principle, not just the Sabbath) - Exodus 16:28; Genesis 26:5.
People right back from Adam & Eve must have instinctively known God's way, and therefore will have 'sinned' by not following it (1 John 3:4). As examples, Noah discerned between clean and unclean animals for the ark, Joseph knew that adultery was wrong, and Cain knew that murder was wrong. Rachel realised that stealing was not right, and Abraham that lying was bad.
As an aside, King David got into trouble and sinned against God with Bathsheba when he was resting on a day and in a way that God had not ordained when he should have been out working with the troops (2 Sam 11:1-2)
Also, when God led the Israelites out of Egypt into the desert on the forty-year journey, the first thing he taught them was a seventh-day rest routine (and ironically, after having no rest from slavery in Egypt - Exodus 5:3-5). This was to ‘prove’ that they would follow His ‘law’ by providing extra food on the sixth day so they didn't need to collect any on the seventh, although they failed (Exodus 16:4-6).
Then, just before the Ten Commandments are given through Moses on Mount Sinai, there’s a coincidental reference to a seven-day pattern again (Exodus 24:16).
The Ten Commandments
We come to the obvious reference of the Ten Commandments, where Sabbath keeping is the fourth commandment of these.
These were specific commandments given to Moses, and although there were other more detailed ones transcribed on Mount Sinai (613 in total), these were unique in several ways:
* They're described as being written by God's finger, which, even if it isn't literal, does at least symbolise a greater importance (Deuteronomy 10:4&9:10).
* The audible voice of God.
* The first ones recorded.
* Noted on separate tablets that were then placed inside the ark (whereas others were kept outside) - Exodus 25:16, Hebrews 9:4, Deuteronomy 10:2 & 31:26).
Also, these Ten Commandments were written by God twice, as Moses broke the first set of stone tablets when he saw how God’s people had turned to idol worship while he was receiving them.
As an aside, there is a different version of the Ten Commandments from the Catholic Church, which, although keeps the principle of a day of rest, rewords it to the 'Lord's Day' and moves it to position three.
Focusing then on just the fourth commandment on the Sabbath, this is unique among the other nine in several ways:
* The largest of the commandments.
* In the middle of the ten.
* Part of the top five, not just the top ten.
* The only one referring to holiness.
* It says both what to do and what not to do.
* It's the only one that says remember, almost highlighting how this is prone to 'forgetting' what it is and being assumed not applicable or changed.
This fourth one states how the seventh day should be kept as a Sabbath rest, with no work. However, the two descriptions of these have a different focus on this in Exodus 20:8-11, on creation when God first made it, and in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, on the Israelites' redemption from slavery in Egypt.
The Sabbath is therefore both an acknowledgement and celebration of God's original creation and the redemption of His people.
There’s actually no dispute that this applies to God’s chosen people of Israel at the time – the issue is whether this changed after Christ came and was resurrected, and we entered into a New Covenant with God.
What's also interesting, and I see as a big factor, is the fact that the ark of the covenant held these 'testaments' in there (namely the Ten Commandments), therefore emphasising the importance of these still in the New Covenant (and even still being mentioned in the End Times in Revelation).
Christ’s response in the Gospels
There appear to be two themes about Christ and the weekly Sabbath rest in the Gospels and the New Testament which, at first glance, seem to contradict each other.
On one side, He was criticised by many for not observing the Sabbath correctly. Many of His recorded miracles occurred on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16, Mark 1:21 & 29-31, John 5:18), which apparently broke the detailed Sabbath laws of the time, and He even encouraged His disciples to break these in one instance, when they ate wheat in a field (Mark 3:23).
There were also instances when Christ appeared to be opposed to the Sabbath (e.g., Matt 12:5-6 and John 5:18), and when the circumcision eight days after birth was still permitted on a Sabbath day (John 7:23).
However, these concerned additional man-made laws introduced by the Pharisees and Sadducees beyond what God first prescribed in the core Ten Commandments and further ceremonial and civil laws given on Mount Sinai.
However, on the other side, he emphasised the general principle that the Sabbath is a good and enjoyable thing that involves helping people. Most of His recorded miracles and healings in the Gospels were on a Sabbath day, emphasising the impact of loving God and your neighbour on this day.
There is a popular reference by Him, as mentioned earlier, that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (plus another how He was Lord of this day).
There are then four other specific references from Christ about the Sabbath worth noting.
1. Start of His ministry
The start of His public ministry appears to have been on a Sabbath day in the synagogue, where He declared that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to preach the Gospel and bring good news (Luke 4:14-19).
2. Future awareness of the Sabbath
There is a one-off mention from Christ for future believers after He was no longer on Earth to be watchful of this day’s observance when fleeing from trouble later on (seen in the destruction of Jerusalem in approximately 70 AD) - Matt 24:20.
Although critics argue that He was merely referring to a day when Jewish society would still be complying with the law that may hinder their exit plans, I see a more straightforward reading of this as something that His believers would still be observing themselves at this point.
3. Christ's death in the tomb
The third point is that Christ remained dead in the tomb until His Resurrection. So He died on Good Friday, and Scripture is clear that people made sure He was taken off the cross and buried in a tomb before sunset, at the beginning of the Sabbath on this 'preparation day' (Luke 23:54-56).
After the Saturday Sabbath, Christ is seen risen early Sunday morning (Luke 24:1). While the mainstream position sees this as emphasising a new Lord's Day on the first day of the following week, I see this as Christ still observing the Saturday Sabbath after His death.
Of course, it was His death that gained the victory over sin, death, and the Old Covenant and law. Therefore, surely He could (and hence would) have risen on the Saturday to show how this seventh-day Sabbath commandment was no longer applicable.
Plus, He could still have specifically stated a new day of rest on the following Resurrection Sunday, if that indeed was to be a new 'Lord's Day' in memory of His ‘new’ creation.
4. Christ's commandment
Fourthly – and very importantly – is what Christ expected and even commanded His followers to do going forward.
This is where things can get confusing.
He indeed commanded new things as born-again believers, for example, being baptised and taking communion to remember His sacrifice at the cross and victorious Resurrection.
He also specifically emphasised two of the greatest commandments: to love God and to love your neighbour (Matt 22:36-39), which refers back to two Old Testament commandments (Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 10:18). All other laws then 'hang' and are based on these two core commandments (i.e. they're connected to not replacing them).
Plus, Scripture says that Christ came to fulfil the law, not destroy or do away with it like the ordinances (Matt 5:17-18), and the law is described as being fulfilled and established by love (Rom 13:10).
Christ also warned that no one should break such commandments or teach others to do so (Matt 5:19).
The writers of Hebrews then say how God actually places His law on the hearts and minds of believers in Christ (Heb 8:9 & 10:13) - Paul reinforces this in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3.
Elsewhere, Christ also emphasises the theme of His disciples and future believers following His commandments out of love and right standing with him (1 John 2:4 & 5:2, John 14:15, James 2:20). Paul also highlights how keeping God's commandments is more important than the old ceremonial law like circumcision (1 Corin 7:19).
Reference to not being 'under the law' concerns not being under the law's penalty, which is death, not the law itself (Galatians 3:13). Christ's atoning sacrifice has satisfied this and paid the penalty, meaning Christians can now follow the Moral Law with a new spirit-changed heart by the ability of Christ.
The question is – did these overrule the former Mosaic and Old Testament law (including the Ten Commandments with the Sabbath commandment), or were some of these kept intact?
Historic Christianity has seen these Ten Commandments as God's Moral Law, which is still applicable for Christians today, even if they then assume the seventh-day one changed to the first day (e.g., Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and statements like the Westminster Confession of Faith). This is justified by assuming that the fourth commandment has both a moral aspect in substance and a ceremonial one in circumstances, therefore being okay to reapply the same moral principle to a new, more appropriate day after Christ's resurrection at His Resurrection.
But if Christ had meant to change this, why isn't anything mentioned to His disciples in His three-year ministry with them or even at the Last Supper, and to clearly turn on a seventh-day He had originally created and blessed at creation?
However, modern Christianity appears to assume something more direct - that everything was cancelled at the cross, and a new 'Law of Christ' emerged afterwards. This means no Sabbath day is now applicable, and Sunday observance is more for convenience and general fellowship. This new 'Law of Christ' assumes a specific new commandment recorded in the New Testament that brought back to life any old laws mentioned in this context.
And by coincidence, all other nine of the Ten Commandments are seen to be mentioned by Christ to some degree and therefore back applicable, but the seventh-day Sabbath one wasn’t and therefore assumed not relevant now.
However, I don't believe the Ten Commandments did change, as they summarise the core Moral Law of Christ and were given special treatment in the Old Testament by being placed inside the Ark of the Covenant (and written by God Himself).
This is even emphasised in Revelation and the New Covenant era (Revelation 11:19), which I find important to emphasise the importance still of the Moral Law (aka Ten Commandments) up to Christ's Second Coming.
Also, if you take the position of Christians being ‘grafted’ into Israel (and a new Spiritual Israel), then these original commandments to them become applicable to us now.
Plus, considering previous points, the Sabbath day was created by God before any commandment was given to the Israelites, and even before sin entered the world. It was made for ‘man’ generally, not just a specific group of people in the Old Testament, and applicable to ‘all flesh’.
In summary, the Ten Commandments are God’s core Moral Law, which haven’t changed, and which Christ came to fulfil and add to it, not change. This specifically refers to the seventh day of rest, not an assumed transfer to a first day one. It was only the additional ceremonial and civil laws given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai that fell away at Christ’s death and Resurrection (as only applicable for the Israelites), pointing to this ultimate sacrifice of Christ.
The New Testament take on the Sabbath
Moving into the rest of the New Testament after Christ’s life on Earth, as mentioned earlier, the bottom line is that there is no specific commandment either way to:
• Continue following the seventh-day Sabbath as a day of rest
• Change the day to the first day of Sunday (a new Lord’s Day) and continue observing
• Have no applicable day of rest at all.
But without such clarity, I don’t believe you can assume it has changed or ended, as God originally created it eternally, blessed, and then commanded.
The most significant piece of New Testament evidence on the matter for me is the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15 and Galatians 2). In short, former Jewish Christian believers assumed that new Gentile believers should continue to follow specific Jewish laws and practices.
There was a significant meeting at the church HQ in Jerusalem with the Apostles to decide the outcome, which was that none were applicable; however, they did advise them to at least refrain from blood-containing meat, fornication and idolatry (Acts 15:20).
Although Sabbath observance is not mentioned, that’s the point.
If it had really been abolished and changed to a Sunday, then surely this would be a significant issue that former Jewish believers would still be tending towards more than the issues discussed at the Council. In fact, even more so with life still revolving around this in society.
No mention surely means it wasn’t changed and therefore an issue, leaving arguably lesser issues like circumcision and food as the hot topics.
In terms of other connected references in the New Testament, some relate to the seventh day itself, and others arguably suggest a new Lord's Day on the first day of the week.
The seventh-day Saturday Sabbath references
There are several times where Scripture mentions how Paul and the Apostles/Disciples did meet on (or at least acknowledge) the existence of the seventh-day Sabbath even after Christ had risen and ascended:
• Paul teaching and preaching on the Sabbath day in the synagogue (Acts 17:2 & 18:4)
• The disciples were involved in a city-wide congregation of people (Acts 13:42-44)
• Paul meeting with believers in the countryside in Philippi, probably because of there being no established church yet, but still having fellowship (Acts 16-12-13)
Admittedly, these are general with no specific commandment to follow, and critics say this is essentially just working around the Jewish culture at the time to be able to fellowship and spread the Gospel.
However, if this day had been changed, I would have thought there would have been a greater effort not to follow it to stop believers (and in particular former Jewish ones) from falling into ‘old’ ways.
You then have John in Revelation 1:10 saying how he received visions from Christ, specifically on the 'Lord's Day', while on the island of Patmos, although the mainstream sees this new name as meaning a new first day (a huge assumption).
(Also, some actually interpret this Lord's Day as a general one in the Roman Kingdom that John is referring to, and nothing to do with the Sabbath and first-day issue).
Even if you assume he means this topic, it makes sense that he's simply using a general reference to the seventh-day Sabbath as the Lord's Day, after all, Scripture does say that Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. If this was defining a new 'Lords Day' in the New Testament, why isn't itclearly commanded and explained elsewhere in Scripture)
This also highlights the importance of making one day a week special, rather than the modern take that no weekly day of rest is applicable.
We then have four specific references to the seventh-day Sabbath in the New Testament.
1. To not judge someone observing 'sabbath days' (Colossians 2:16-17)
This is Paul explaining how 'handwriting of ordinances' was 'nailed' to the cross by Christ, meaning you should not be judged in certain matters which are now inferior.
Therefore, in the context of the old ceremonial law, these are logically referring to the old special high sabbath celebrations, which were done away with at the cross, not the weekly seventh-day Sabbath in the moral Ten Commandments (the word 'sabbath' as plural 'days' suggests multiple ones under the ceremonial law).
2. To not esteem one day above another (Romans 14:1-6)
There is an assumption that the seventh-day Sabbath is only a matter of preference, not an obligation to follow under one's own conscience, but this isn't stated.
Also, Paul is addressing the old ceremonial holy days again with a focus on eating and fasting, not Sabbath rest.
3. To not be in bondage to observing days (Galatians 4:9-11)
This is similar to the previous point but focuses on the timing of the old ceremonial events rather than topics like eating and fasting.
4. God's rest on the seventh day of creation (Hebrews 4:4-6 & 9)
This is clearly talking about a new overall rest in Christ as believers, and specifically addressing Jewish believers who were falling back into old religious ways.
This Sabbath analogy helps illustrate that this new rest in Christ is not a shadow of it, but rather a comparison to and the substance of it (and general references to this rest like in Matthew 11:28-30).
Verse nine in particular then highlights the importance of such a weekly Sabbath day to express and enjoy this overall rest in Christ.
The first-day Sunday references
There are references to the first day of the week in the New Testament, but there is no specific reference to these either being a new day of rest or the 'old' seventh-day Sabbath now being unapplied (and unblessed). The early believers were actually meeting daily in each other's homes rather than assuming a first-day one as something more (Acts 2:46).
Three important happenings in the New Testament that could or do fall on a Sunday (the first day of the week) are:
1. Resurrection Sunday
This is when, first thing in the morning, Mary and then the disciples discovered that Christ had risen, and specifically stated as the first day of the week (discussed earlier).
Also, there is specific mention of the disciples gathering together at the end of this day; however, the reason for meeting is stated as being for 'fear of the Jews' not a new form of worship (John 20:19).
Furthermore, this was literally hours after seeing the resurrected Christ, with no time to process this into any agreed-upon new weekly celebration day.
Plus, earlier that day, there is the story of the two people walking on the road to Emmaus, unaware that a new first-day rest principle was just beginning (Luke 24:13).
2. A week after the Resurrection
Jesus appears to the disciples again a week later, this time with Thomas (John 20:26). This doesn't specifically state that it fell on the following first day, but even if it did, there are no unusual happenings or declarations to indicate it was a new 'Lord's Day'.
3. Pentecost
The date of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was outpoured to the disciples, has been calculated to fall on the first day of the week, forty-nine days from Resurrection Sunday and linked to feasts and festivals on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and this day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
But as above, there's no specific mention of it being the first day of the week (which surely would be the case for such an important event), and the focus is on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to empower the disciples to spread the gospel.
There are then three specific references to the first day of the week in the New Testament that people imply as a new day of fellowship and rest. However, as above, this is being assumed with no specific commandment to change the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday.
1. Weekly collection for believers (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
Paul instructs such a collection on the first day of the week, which people infer as meaning a gathering of believers specifically on this new day.
However, this would probably have been done separately in each household as part of people's personal finances on the first working day after the seventh-day Sabbath rest, also indicated by the phrase 'by him'.
Also, it sounds like this was a one-off for when Paul visited to collect all these, rather than a weekly redistribution amongst themselves.
2. Paul's preaching (Acts 20:7-11)
There is a reference to Paul preaching to the disciples specifically on the first day of the week, although when you consider that each day begins and ends at sunset each evening, not midnight, this changes things.
This must have begun Saturday evening to still fall within the first day, stretching into Sunday and going past midnight (when it was dark, needing lights on) into the early hours of Sunday morning. Maybe the disciples were already together earlier on Saturday on the seventh day.
Paul then began his journey straight after on this first day, which is surprising if this was a new day of rest.
3. The disciples breaking bread (Acts 20:7)
There is a reference to the disciples meeting to break bread and hear Paul preach again on the first day of the week.
However, this was a regular pattern, with references elsewhere to breaking bread at houses daily (Acts 2:46) and not a specific new weekly form of worship.
Church history after the New Testament
There is disagreement on what the practice of the early church and Christians were both within and after the New Testament. With no direct scriptural reference, people look to early non-canonical writings and forefathers, and various interpretations of key terms such as 'Lord's Day'.
What is clear is that Sunday-keeping became more mainstream in the early fourth century, when Constantine allegedly converted to Christianity and, as the Roman Emperor at the time, brought in the obligation to keep Sunday as a day of rest.
Final summary of the Seventh-day Sabbath
In summary, as a born-again Christian believer, I believe in the importance of observing a weekly day of rest on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. God’s people followed this in the Old Testament, and it remains applicable to New Testament and New Covenant believers today.
I believe this from personal testimony of and then study into.
This post attempts to summarise this position through three points. The first is that the seventh-day Sabbath was created by God when the Earth was formed and before sin or the formal establishment of God’s people, Israel, and was intended to last forever.
Secondly, this is a blessing from God, made Holy; something to be enjoyed as we rest, both physically and spiritually, from our daily routine.
Thirdly, I believe God still commands it as an expression of the rest we now have in God through Christ, embedded in the moral Ten Commandments, and with no sign that either is no longer applicable or has been changed to Sunday, the first day of the week.
