Episode 23: Should Christians Observe Sabbath?

Sabbath was instituted by God on the Seventh day of creation when he rested from all of his works. God later gave it as a command to the Israelites that they also should rest on the Sabbath day in honor of God and his ability to provide for them. This is the Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six day shall you labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. " (Exodus 20:8-10a)

In the New testament, after the arrival of Jesus, we receive this massage from Paul. He says "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. " (Colossians 2:16) Does this mean that we are no longer required to keep the Sabbath? The answer is sprinkled throughout the New Testament scriptures and can be thus difficult to apprehend, The answer is that we do not need to observe the Sabbath in the same way that it was laid out in the Fourth Commandment. How can this be? Let's look at Paul again.

Colossians 2:17 - "These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

And Jesus speaks:Matthew 5:17 - “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.The Sabbath provided a temporary rest, one day a week. Now we find our rest in Jesus, whom we have access to 24/7.

If you want to take a dedicated Sabbath day, you are permitted to do so, but it is not a requirement of God any longer.

"One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord." (Romans 14:5-6)

"The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. " (22)I am making this episode so that others will see that TODAY is the day of rest, as David wrote in his Psalms.

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness," (Psalm 95:8)

"Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

'Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.'

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his." (Hebrews 4:6-10)

Our rest can be found daily in God because of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the Law. We do not have to wait for Sunday or Saturday to find our rest, we can find it here, now, in this present moment. When everything is going wrong, when you are full of stress and anxiety, you can find rest in Jesus Christ.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." (Psalm 23:1-3a)

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