The Bible teaches that the Sabbath was given only to Israel, and only from the time of Moses until the cross of Christ. It was never meant to be a law for all people across all generations. Today, under the New Covenant, Christians live under the Law of Christ, not the Law of Moses. The following points briefly explain why Christians do not observe the Sabbath.
- Because the word “Sabbath” is not found in Genesis—there was no Sabbath command, example, or punishment for anyone from Adam to Moses, indicating it was not a universal law for all people of all periods.
- Because the Sabbath was not revealed until the time of Moses—it was officially made known at Sinai, not at creation (Nehemiah 9:13–14; cf. Genesis 2:1-3, written by Moses; Exodus 16:23–30).
- Because the Ten Commandments were the covenant and special sign given to Israel, not the entire world (Exodus 31:13-17; 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 4:13-14; Ezekiel 20:10-12, 20).
- Because the Sabbath was given to remember Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15).
- Because there was only “one law” for Israel (Exodus 12:49; Leviticus 7:7; Numbers 15:16, 29), and that entire law was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14-17).
- Because the Sabbath was part of the Law nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14-17), and Paul said Christians cannot be judged by whether they keep the Sabbath (Colossians 2:16).
- Because the Old Covenant—including the Sabbath—has been replaced by the New Covenant, and Christians are under the Law of Christ, not the Law of Moses (Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 2:11-19; Romans 7:4-7; Hebrews 7:11-14; 8:6-13; 10:8-9; James 1:25).
- Because Old Testament feasts like Firstfruits and Pentecost (Leviticus 23:10-12, 15-17) foreshadowed the significance of the first day of the week—pointing to Christ as the firstfruits from the dead on that day (Mark 16:9; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23) and to the firstfruits of the kingdom on Pentecost, also on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1, 41, 47).
- Because Jesus rose, the Holy Spirit was given, and the church began on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Acts 2:1; Leviticus 23:15-17).
- Because the church assembled on the first day of the week—not the Sabbath (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
- Because the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) listed several things required of Gentile converts, but Sabbath-keeping was not one of them.
- Because the Bible never says that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday or that Sunday should be a day of rest.
- Because if Sunday were the new Sabbath, Christians would be under Sabbath-day travel restrictions—meaning many congregations could not assemble and therefore would not exist!
- Because binding the Sabbath rest is failing to understand that the Christian’s rest is after this life (1 Corinthians 15:58; Galatians 6:9; Hebrews 4:9-11; Revelation 14:13).
- Because binding the Old Law (including the Sabbath) on people today is rejecting the sufficiency of the New Covenant Law of Christ and minimizing the price He paid to establish it (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
- Because binding the Old Law will cause one to be separated from Christ and fall from grace (Galatians 5:1-4).
Christ has set men free from the Law of Moses and has given us a much lighter yoke (Matthew 11:28-30; Galatians 5:1-4). Will we follow Moses, or will we follow Christ? (Deuteronomy 18:18-19; Matthew 17:1-5).
For more in-depth studies, see: