Christians and the Sabbath How should Christians observe the fourth commandment of the Decalogue? “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy” (Ex 20:8). Believers over the centuries have been uncertain about exactly what this commandment means in light of the coming of Christ. Some have insisted that the commandment means just what it says. As one of the Ten Commandments, a part of God’s eternal moral law, the Sabbath command must be followed today just as it was in the days of Moses. So Christians should worship and rest on Saturday, the “seventh day” that God himself hallowed. A modern group espousing this view is the Seventh Day Adventists. Most Christians, however, have argued that the resurrection of Christ on a Sunday justifies moving the day of worship from the seventh day to the first day of the week. The New Testament itself hints that the early church did just this (e.g., 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10). But what about the requirement that God’s people do no work on the Sabbath? Again, Christians have disagreed. Some have thought that the requirement still applies. Most have not, including most modern Christians. Probably most of us don’t observe the Sabbath work prohibition, but more out of convenience than theological conviction. Does Romans 14 have anything to contribute to the debate? I think it does. When Paul talks about disputes over “sacred days” (vv. 5–6) against a background of Jewish versus Gentile convictions, he almost certainly would include the Sabbath among those days. This is confirmed by his explicit inclusion of the Sabbath when dealing with a similar issue in Colossians (2:16). This means that Paul gives permission to Christians to observe or not observe the Sabbath as they see fit: “each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Because Christians are not under the law (Rom 6:14), Sabbath observance is no longer a requirement for God’s people. As Hebrews suggests, the Sabbath command has found its fulfillment in Christ, so that all of us who have access to God through faith live in an eternal “Sabbath rest” (Heb 4:6–11). Nevertheless, the Sabbath command suggests a principle that Christians can still learn from. One of the purposes of the Sabbath was to establish a rhythm of life in which the believer would take time off from the usual activities to worship God and to restore body and soul. There is much to be said for making such a rhythm a part of our lives. For instance, on Sundays I choose to avoid as much as possible any of my usual work. Not a word of this book was written on a Sunday! I find that a weekly break is vital to my own spiritual and physical well-being. But, as Paul makes clear in this text, we each need to make up our own mind on this matter. Moo, D. J. (2002). Encountering the book of Romans : a theological survey (p. 195). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 01:50:03 +0000
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