Christ - Our Sabbath

Written by Brian Anderson, Milpitas Bible Fellowship
Used with permission

Over the past two thousand years there has been much disagreement and controversy over the subject of the Sabbath. During the 17th century, the Puritans sought to enforce the Sabbath by having the civil magistrate fine offenders. The Seventh Day Adventists have historically taught that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast, and all that bear that mark will be cast into the lake of fire. Today, many churches will not fellowship with or partner in the spread of the gospel together with those churches that don't hold their particular view of the Sabbath, although 99% of their doctrine is identical.

Why is there such controversy over the issue of the Sabbath? The answer lies in the fact that there are three major views which Christians have historically held concerning it.

1. The Seventh Day View holds that God instituted the Sabbath on the seventh day in the Garden of Eden as a perpetual creation ordinance that is still binding on believers today. Thus Christians are obligated to hold Saturday as a day of rest.
2. The Christian Sabbath View holds that Christ and His apostles changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and that we obey this command by resting and worshipping on Sunday.
3. The New Covenant View holds the position that the Sabbath was abolished when the New Covenant was ratified by the death of Christ along with all the other ceremonial laws of the Mosaic institution.

In this article, I would like to examine what the Scriptures teach about the Sabbath before the Mosaic Law, under the Mosaic Law, and finally, under the New Covenant. There has been much heat on this subject. May the Lord give us light from His Word.