Should i keep the sabbath

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. All this talk of rest right before a passage that deals with Sabbath? This is no mistake. What is Matthew trying to communicate here? The people were in need of rest, both in ceasing from hard work shabbat and being present together with God nuakh.

Jesus ushered in the promise and reality of both. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was about mercy and was purposeful. When followers of Jesus observe the Sabbath, we live as if this restoration has already taken place. We take a break from the broken rhythms of hustle and hardship to set aside a time of submission to his rule and enjoyment of his presence and to extend these things to the world around us.

So what does this look like practically? Does it mean attending a weekend church service, or turning off work emails, or volunteering at a soup kitchen? Does it matter what day you observe Sabbath? Your Sabbath could certainly include those activities, and it could take place on the same day every week! But the text seems to emphasize the purpose of the Sabbath, rather than telling us rules for how to observe it.

As followers of Jesus, we aren't required to follow the laws given to Israel by God exactly. These were given at a specific time to a specific people group for a specific purpose.

Yet the wisdom of those laws is enduring, and the law of the Sabbath is pure gold. Sabbath rest is an invitation to practice for eternity. When we practice this intentional stop, we make room for him to take up residence in our individual lives. Even better, we are taking part in this new creation story, setting the stage for God to make his dwelling place, his resting place, right here.

She loves to wrestle with Scripture until it lives in her in a way that she can communicate it with others richly. How to Read the Bible. Word Studies. Old Testament Overviews. New Testament Overviews. Two similar arguments in favor of sabbath observance for Christians are likewise problematic. The first of these is an appeal to the sabbath as a creation ordinance.

Most prominent among these are the sanctity of both work and marriage. Any appeal to the seventh day in Genesis —3 must also acknowledge that there is no indication in the text itself that God intends his act of seventh-day rest to be extended to mankind, especially with the force of a morally-binding command. On the face of it, then, the claim that this passage makes the sabbath a creation ordinance seems clearly an example of eisegesis—reading into the text what is not actually said in an effort to get it to say more than it does.

Rather, our intent should be exegesis—reading out of the text what the author intended to communicate. In fact, Ezekiel —12 seems to say or at least strongly imply this very thing. For this reason, I find attempts to categorize the sabbath as a creation ordinance exceedingly doubtful. Does not this language testify to the enduring nature of the sabbath commandment for all people at all times? Probably not. Does being under grace mean that there is no longer such a thing as sin for the believer in Jesus?

Clearly the answer is no, for there are many things commanded of us in the New Testament, and several passages explicitly deny this e. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ that I might win those outside the law. In other words, we are no longer under the jurisdiction of the covenant of Moses, for which the Sabbath functioned as its sign.

As already noted, this would include the Ten Commandments. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

That last statement is very important. There is a sense in which all that is contained in the law of Moses and in the Prophets is summed up by the ethic of love towards God and love towards one another. The first four deal with our love for God, and the final six deal with our love for other people although there is also overlap, e.

It is important to remember that the New Testament holds the Old Testament law in extremely high regard. Jesus did not come to abolish it, but to fulfill it Matt — However, it does this within a context that differs significantly from the sphere in which the Christian lives. There are serious cultural differences between the thirteenth century BC and the first century AD, to say nothing about the twenty-first century AD.

There are political differences between an Israelite theocracy and other forms of government—the Roman Republic, pagan monarchies, communist regimes, and yes, even democratic republics such as our own. There are differences between an agrarian economy in which land is supposed to be held in perpetuity by families, clans, and tribes, compared to capitalist, socialist, and feudal societies.

This includes the making of all foods clean Mark , Acts 10 , the accomplishment of final and perfect atonement, and the bringing about of realities of which the law was but a shadow.

Sometimes, the principles behind laws are more obvious than others. Another key element of Christian ethics is that we need to be led by the Spirit, and the fruit he brings about in our lives.

The greatest degree of clarity comes from Galatians 5. When it comes to the Sabbath, then, it seems that passages like Acts 15, Romans 14, and Colossians 2 give us sufficient indicators to say that it is not ethically obligatory for Christians in the strict sense. We are no different from animals of the field who are not given the privilege to rest — to take a break, relax, and unwind.

Even the millionaires and billionaires of this world who work every day in their lives are nothing but rich slaves. In effect, God has elevated our status from His creation. We are set apart from animals and other creatures. God confirms through the Sabbath that we are His most special creation — that we have the greatest potential to be part of His Family. No matter who you are, no matter how rich or poor, how old or young you might be, when the Sabbath comes, we all get to rest and stop from our work.

For ancient physical Israel, the Sabbath reminds them that they are once a slave in Egypt and it was Yahweh who delivered them from slavery. For us, Christians today, the Sabbath serves as a reminder that we are once part of the world and now, God has called us into His congregation.

Through the life and sacrifice of Yahshua, God redeemed us from the penalty of sin. Just like the Israelites who were freed from the Egyptians, God has also freed us from the bondage of sin.

What happens when you keep the Sabbath? Inevitably, that extra time — that extra day — for not having to work would cause people to spend that extra time with others! What a beautiful day it is to spend the Sabbath day with your spouse, children, friends, families, relatives, and spiritual brethren! Imagine, everyone is required NOT to go to work, but instead, they will spend a day with their family.

Ask anyone who has a workaholic father, mother, sibling, or spouse. Ask them how wonderful it would be if their loved one would not work for a day and simply spend the day with them. Those who argue that people can choose any day of the week to rest or serve as a Sabbath would find it hard to be together.

Because everyone has their own schedule. They would even find excuses not to rest. Unless a Higher Power would command people to stop working and set aside a specific day to rest, people would not consistently get together to spend time with each other.

As you can see, the Sabbath Day is more than just resting, but it is a day that keeps people together and strengthens their relationship with each other.

I have heard a lot of people saying that the Bible is completely silent when it comes to animal welfare. It is just sad that since people ignore the Sabbath, they also ignore its benefits to other creatures. Remember the Sabbath day , to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle , nor your stranger who is within your gates.

Technically, if you own a cattle or any beast of burden, you are not in any way obligated to give your animals a day of rest. In fact, you have the freedom to do whatever you want to do with the animals you own.

You need to be kind to them and give them enough time to recuperate and relax. People who are divinely commanded to give rest to their animals and obey this command at the same time would less likely treat their animals cruelly not just on the Sabbath, but on any day of the week.

God wants us to be responsible stewards of His creation and the Sabbath teaches us how to fulfill our role as the caretaker of that creation. You may not know it but the Sabbath is a weekly reminder of who our Creator is.

It points back to the creation week when God re-created this world after the angelic rebellion. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. God gives us a reason why we need to keep the Sabbath and that is because He made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them during the creation week. The Sabbath constantly reminds us that it is God who gives us life.

It is God who sustains us.