Consider How to Treat the Seventh Day
Is the seventh day a day like all others? Or is it a special day set apart? That is, is the Sabbath sacred? (And don’t be concerned with which day of the week is the seventh one.)
A Day Like All Others
Jesus says he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). This suggests we can disregard what the Old Testament teaches about resting on the seventh day. Implicitly, we also don’t need to treat it as holy.
Given this understanding, we can, therefore, view the Sabbath like any other day. In this regard, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for our benefit and not the other way around (Mark 2:27).
Yet right before Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, he warns us to not assume he came to abolish them (again, see Matthew 5:17).
This suggests that instead of doing away with (abolishing) a sacred Sabbath, Jesus’s fulfillment elevates it to a higher, more enlightening understanding.
A Special Day
Yet pinning the Sabbath as a holy day of rest to the Law overlooks one critical point, a precedence.
At creation, God worked for six days and then rested from his labors on the seventh. Not only did he rest, he also proclaimed the day as holy (Genesis 2:2-3).
From the creation account, we see God exemplifying the seventh day as a holy day of rest. Though he doesn’t command us to follow his example, it seems foolish not to.
Paul’s Perspective
Paul touches on this in his letter to the Romans. He notes that one person considers one day more sacred than another, while another views them all as the same.
Either way, we should do what our conscience tells us to do and not let someone dissuade us otherwise; we should be fully convinced in our own mind. If we treat one day as special, we do so for God (Romans 14:5-6).
Paul covers this idea of sacred days within his teaching on eating meat sacrificed to idols.
He writes that we should keep this between ourself and God, who will bless us if we hold fast to what we have decided (Romans 14:22). We should align our actions with our beliefs (Romans 14:14).
To the Corinthians, Paul writes to not let the exercise of our rights be a stumbling block to others (1 Corinthians 8:9). This means that if we judge the seventh day as sacred, we should not criticize those who do not.
Conversely, if we hold that the Sabbath is like all other days, we’re wrong to encourage others to change their mind—their conviction—to agree with us.
We should strive to not be the cause for anyone to stumble. Instead of seeking our own good, we should pursue what is good for others (1 Corinthians 10:32-33).
One Response
Personally, I set aside the seventh day as a holy day of rest. But I don’t do this with an Old Testament legalism.
Instead I look for what will honor God and give me a respite from six days of labor. I do things to rejuvenate me. I prioritize time with family or in community. I seek activities that give me joy. This is how I keep the Sabbath sacred.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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