Expert: Elder Greg Madden - 12/2/2006

Question
Why does most churches keep Sunday as the sabbath day?  After throughly searching the Bible I have come to the conclusion that the sabbath day is Saturday.  I have read that the Catholic admit to changing the keeping of the Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday, but I don't think that what God consecrated, set apart, and made holy can be changed to any other day.  man can't make anything holy, we just simply don't have the power to do that.  

Answer
Nikki,

Thank you for your question, I will do my best to answer you.

It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God.  Of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only nine of them were reinstituted by in the New Testament. (Six in Matthew 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, honor parents, and worshiping God; Romans 13:9, coveting. Worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments) The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8).

In creation God rested on the seventh day. But, since God is all powerful, He doesn't get tired. He doesn't need to take a break and rest. So, why did does it say that He rested? The reason is simple:

Mark 2:27
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:  

In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people, not because He needed a break, but because we are mortal and need a time of rest, of focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed.

The O.T. system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2).

But with Jesus’ atonement, and justification by faith (Rom. 5:1), we no longer are required to keep the Law and hence the Sabbath which was only a shadow of things to come.

Colossians 2:16
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:  
2:17
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.  

This passage is critical to understanding how the New Testament sees the theme of the Sabbath, together with its sub-themes of rest and worship, are fulfilled in the person of Christ. Paul declares that the old Sabbath law is no longer applicable, because the reality to which the law pointed has arrived. The rest which the Sabbath promised is found in Jesus and his finished work, the worship which the Sabbath enjoined is offered through Christ. We are not under Law, but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus because in Him we have rest.  

Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Therefore we are not under obligation to keep the Law and this goes for the Sabbath as well.

However Nikki, we would all do well to recall the words of Paul, who warned against divisions over these matters, saying that the "strong" should bear with the "weak", not causing them to stumble, and that while two may disagree over whether one day is more sacred than another, each should be fully convinced in his own mind (Rom. 14:1–8).  

Please let me know if this helps, or if you have any further questions.
Elder Greg Madden