Appendix B: Common Objections Answered
This appendix answers twelve common anti-Sabbath arguments, separating the text of Scripture from later interpretations.
Twelve objections are consistently raised against seventh-day Sabbath observance. This appendix examines each using Scripture, Greek lexical analysis, and scholarly commentary (distinguishing between direct textual statements and interpretive positions).
Contents
- Objection 1: "Jesus Rose on Sunday"
- Objection 2: Colossians 2:16
- Objection 3: Acts 20:7
- Objection 4: "Any Day Kept Holy Is Fine"
- Objection 5: "We're Under Grace, Not Law"
- Objection 6: Romans 14:5
- Objection 7: Hebrews 4:9
- Objection 8: Galatians 4:10
- Objection 9: 1 Corinthians 16:2
- Objection 10: Matthew 12:1-8
- Objection 11: "What About the Feasts?"
- Objection 12: "Christ Is Our Sabbath Rest"
Objection 1: "Jesus Rose on Sunday"
The claim: Since Jesus rose on Sunday, Christians should worship on Sunday to commemorate the resurrection.
What Scripture Says
All four Gospels record that Jesus rose on the first day of the week:
"In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre."
"And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun."
The resurrection on the first day is a biblical fact. No dispute exists on this point.
What Scripture Does Not Say
Scripture contains no command, apostolic example, or teaching that the resurrection transferred sanctity from the seventh day to the first day. The fourth commandment remains unchanged:
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy... the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God."
No verse states:
- "Keep Sunday holy because of the resurrection"
- "The Sabbath is changed to the first day"
- "Honor the resurrection by observing Sunday"
What Does Commemorate the Resurrection
Scripture prescribes a specific memorial for Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, namely baptism:
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Baptism (not a change of worship day) commemorates the resurrection.F.F. Bruce, Romans, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 128. Bruce notes baptism serves as "a token burial" symbolizing identification with Christ's death and resurrection.
The Calendar Principle
Biblical memorials commemorate events on their date, not their day of the week. Passover falls on the 14th of Nisan regardless of which weekday that date falls on (Exodus 12:6). If God intended Sunday to memorialize the resurrection, Scripture would say so explicitly, as it does for Passover, Pentecost, and the Sabbath itself.
Objection 2: Colossians 2:16
The claim: Paul says "let no man judge you... of the sabbath days," proving the Sabbath is abolished.
The Full Text
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross... 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: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
Greek Analysis
The Greek word translated "sabbath days" is sabbaton (σάββατον, Strong's G4521). This word has multiple meanings in the New Testament:Walter Bauer et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. "σάββατον," 909-910.
- The weekly seventh-day Sabbath
- A week (as in "first day of the sabbaton")
- Ceremonial sabbaths connected to Jewish festivals
Context determines which meaning applies.
The "Festival, New Moon, Sabbath" Sequence
The sequence in Colossians 2:16 ("holyday [festival], new moon, sabbath") appears multiple times in the Old Testament describing ceremonial observances:
This pattern (annual festivals / monthly new moons / periodic sabbaths) describes the ceremonial system, not the weekly Creation Sabbath.
Ceremonial vs. Weekly Sabbath
The Old Testament distinguishes between:
Ceremonial sabbaths (connected to the sanctuary system):
"It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even..."
Leviticus 23:32 (Day of Atonement)
The weekly Sabbath (rooted in Creation):
"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."
The ceremonial sabbaths were "shadows" pointing to Christ's sacrifice. The weekly Sabbath memorializes Creation, an event already completed, not a future fulfillment.
Scholarly Acknowledgment
[Interpretive position] Scholars disagree on whether Colossians 2:16 refers to ceremonial sabbaths, the weekly Sabbath, or both. Ron du Preez surveys this debate extensively, concluding that the context points to ceremonial observances rather than the Creation Sabbath.Ron du Preez, "Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can't Be Found in Colossians 2:16," Ministry Magazine, November 2009. Available at: ministrymagazine.org Other scholars interpret the passage differently. The reader should examine the evidence and context.
Objection 3: Acts 20:7
The claim: The disciples met on "the first day of the week," proving Sunday was the Christian worship day.
The Full Text
"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."
What the Text Actually Describes
This was a farewell meeting because Paul was departing the next day (v. 7). He preached until midnight (v. 7), then until daybreak (v. 11). This was not a regular weekly service but a special occasion before Paul's departure.
Time Reckoning Question
[Interpretive position] Jewish time reckoning begins each day at sunset. Under this system, "the first day of the week" would begin at sunset Saturday (making this a Saturday evening meeting).I. Howard Marshall, Acts, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 325. Marshall notes Luke may use Roman time reckoning (midnight to midnight), making this a Sunday evening meeting. The text itself does not resolve this question definitively.
Whether Saturday evening or Sunday evening, this was an evening farewell gathering, not a Sunday morning worship service.
Breaking Bread
"Breaking bread" does not establish a worship day. The early church broke bread daily:
"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart."
If breaking bread on the first day proves Sunday sacredness, then Acts 2:46 proves every day is sacred.
Paul's Sabbath Practice
The same book of Acts records Paul's regular Sabbath practice:
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures."
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."
Paul stayed in Corinth eighteen months (Acts 18:11), reasoning in the synagogue "every sabbath." One farewell meeting on the first day does not establish a pattern; Paul's consistent Sabbath practice does.
Objection 4: "Any Day Kept Holy Is Fine"
The claim: It doesn't matter which day you keep, as long as you keep one day holy.
What the Commandment Says
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God."
The commandment specifies "the seventh day," not "a" day, not "one in seven," but the seventh. God was specific.
The Logical Problem
If "any day" satisfies the fourth commandment, the same logic could apply to other commandments:
- "Any spouse is fine, as long as you're faithful to one" (seventh commandment)
- "Any god is fine, as long as you worship one" (first commandment)
- "Any amount of honesty is fine, as long as you're generally truthful" (ninth commandment)
The commandments specify particulars. We don't get to substitute our preferences for God's specifications.
The Relative Sabbath Objection
A more sophisticated version asks: "Whose seventh day?" If a community starts its work week on Wednesday and works six days, wouldn't Tuesday be their Sabbath? The argument frames Sabbath as relative to work cycles, not absolute from Creation.
Three facts counter this:
First, the weekly cycle never broke. The same Saturday that Jews kept in Jesus's time, they keep today. No calendar reform in history has disrupted the seven-day weekly sequence. The Julian-to-Gregorian transition (1582) skipped dates within a month but preserved the weekly cycle: Thursday, October 4 was followed by Friday, October 15. Saturday remained Saturday.Pope Gregory XIII's 1582 calendar reform dropped ten days from October to correct seasonal drift. The week continued uninterrupted. For detailed analysis, see the Week Unchanged study.
Second, Jesus confirmed which day. He went into the synagogue "on the sabbath day, as his custom was" (Luke 4:16). The day Jesus kept is the day the Jews were keeping. If there were any ambiguity about which day was the seventh, Jesus's practice resolved it. He did not establish a new cycle; He observed the existing one.
Third, Creation established the cycle before any community existed. God rested on the seventh day and sanctified it (Genesis 2:2-3) when there was no human work week to measure against. The Sabbath is not defined by human labor; it is defined by divine rest. A commune's Wednesday start creates a communal work schedule, not a new Creation week.
The practical test: Desmond Doss, the Seventh-day Adventist combat medic who saved over seventy-five lives at Okinawa without carrying a weapon, did not ask the U.S. Army for "any day off that works for my conscience." He insisted on Saturday specifically. The military eventually accommodated THE day. If any day were equivalent, Doss's insistence would have been irrational. His faith recognized the difference between a convenient rest day and the seventh day the Creator blessed.
The Roman Catholic Church's Own Position
The Catholic Church does not argue that "any day is fine." They claim authority to change the day, which requires acknowledging that the original day was specific:
"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify."
Cardinal James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 1876James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (Baltimore: John Murphy, 1876), 111.
The Roman Catholic Church admits the seventh day is the biblical Sabbath. They claim they changed it by their authority. "Any day is fine" contradicts even the Roman Catholic Church's own position.
Objection 5: "We're Under Grace, Not Law"
The claim: Romans 6:14 says we're "not under the law, but under grace," so the Sabbath doesn't apply.
The Full Context
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
Paul's argument is not that grace permits lawbreaking. His argument is that grace empowers obedience. Being "under grace" means sin no longer has dominion, not that commandments no longer apply.
Paul's Own Clarification
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."
Faith establishes the law; it does not abolish it.
What Is Sin?
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
If the law is abolished, there is no sin. If there is no sin, there is no need for grace. The existence of grace presupposes a law that defines transgression.
The Law of Liberty
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."
James quotes two of the Ten Commandments (adultery, murder) and calls this "the law of liberty" by which we will be judged. The moral law remains binding for those under grace.
Objection 6: Romans 14:5
The claim: Romans 14:5 ("One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike") proves the Sabbath is optional.
The Full Text
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it."
What Scripture Says
Romans 14 addresses disputes between the "weak" and "strong" in faith regarding dietary practices and observance of certain days. Paul's instruction is that these are matters of personal conviction where believers should not judge one another.
What Scripture Does Not Say
The Sabbath is not mentioned in Romans 14 (or anywhere in the book of Romans)."Does Romans 14:5-6 Say That the Weekly Sabbath Is Optional?" Revelation by Jesus Christ, accessed November 2024, revelationbyjesuschrist.com. The author notes, "There is no mention of the Sabbath day in this scripture, and the Sabbath is not mentioned even once in the whole book of Romans." Paul describes the issue as "doubtful disputations" (v. 1): matters about which Scripture does not give clear guidance. The fourth commandment is neither doubtful nor disputable.
The Context: Food, Not the Sabbath
The word "eat" appears ten times in Romans 14 (vv. 2, 3, 6, 15, 20, 21, 23). The primary controversy was dietary:
"For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs."
The "days" in question appear to be voluntary fasting days (Jewish practices not commanded by Scripture but observed by some believers). Paul's point is that these are matters of personal conviction, not divine command.
Greek Analysis: "Alike" Added by Translators
The word "alike" does not appear in the Greek text of Romans 14:5. The phrase reads, "one judges every day" (not "judges every day alike"). The Greek construction indicates valuing days differently, not making all days identical."Understanding Romans 14:5-6," Defend My Faith, May 17, 2020, defendmyfaith.org. The analysis notes the word "alike" was added by translators and is not present in the original Greek.
Paul's Own Sabbath Practice
If Paul taught that Sabbath observance was optional, his own practice contradicts this interpretation. Acts records his consistent Sabbath observance as his "manner" or custom (Acts 17:2). Romans 14 addresses voluntary practices, not the Ten Commandments.
Objection 7: Hebrews 4:9
The claim: Hebrews 4:9 ("There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God") means we rest in Christ spiritually, not literally keep the Sabbath.
The Full Text
"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
Greek Word Choice: Sabbatismos
The Greek word translated "rest" in Hebrews 4:9 is not the common word for rest (katapausis, κατάπαυσις) used earlier in the chapter. The author deliberately chose a different word: sabbatismos (σαββατισμός).Walter Bauer et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. "σαββατισμός." Also cited in "Sabbatismos: Does Hebrews 4:9 Teach Rest on the Sabbath?" Life, Hope & Truth, accessed November 2024, lifehopeandtruth.com.
Lexical Definitions
Thayer's Lexicon: "A keeping sabbath"
Arndt and Gingrich: "Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance"
Strong's (G4520): "A keeping sabbath"
This word appears only once in the New Testament. In extra-biblical Greek literature, sabbatismos consistently refers to literal Sabbath observance, never generic rest."What Basis Do We Have for Defining Sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9?" Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange, accessed November 2024, hermeneutics.stackexchange.com. Notes usage in Plutarch and other ancient sources always denoting Sabbath observance.
Context: Creation Sabbath
Hebrews 4 quotes Genesis 2:2, linking God's rest at Creation to the believer's rest:
"For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works."
The author connects the Creation Sabbath (past) with a continuing observance ("remaineth"). Verse 10 parallels God's rest with the believer's rest, both involving ceasing from works.
Both/And, Not Either/Or
[Interpretive position] The passage does not present spiritual rest and Sabbath observance as alternatives. Believers enter spiritual rest in Christ and observe the weekly Sabbath as the sign of that rest, just as God's creative work was finished and He rested on the seventh day. The text supports continuity, not abolition.
The False Dichotomy
Hyper-grace theology presents spiritual rest and physical Sabbath observance as mutually exclusive. Believers must choose one or the other, it claims. Scripture recognizes no such dichotomy.
When Jesus was asked which commandment is greatest, He answered:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Internal motivation (love) empowers external obedience (commandments). Paul writes the same principle:
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Love does not abolish the law; it fulfills it. Love provides the motivation and power to keep the commandments. Applied to the Sabbath: believers enter spiritual rest in Christ's finished work (internal reality) and observe the weekly Sabbath as the appointed sign of that rest (external practice). These are complementary, not competitive.
"Bondage to Shadows": A Categorical Error
Some teach that Sabbath-keeping constitutes "bondage to shadows," a return to obsolete ceremonial observances that pointed forward to Christ. This commits a categorical error by conflating two distinct types of sabbaths in Scripture.
Colossians 2:16 mentions ceremonial sabbaths associated with Israel's feast system:
"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: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
These ceremonial sabbaths (Leviticus 23:24, 27, 32, 39) were indeed shadows, prophetic types pointing forward to Christ's redemptive work. They found their fulfillment in Him.
The Creation Sabbath functions differently. Established at Creation before sin entered the world (Genesis 2:2-3), it memorializes God's completed creative work. A memorial pointing backward to what already happened cannot simultaneously be a shadow pointing forward to future fulfillment. The Creation Sabbath commemorates the Foundation, not the Redemption. It predates the Fall and therefore cannot be classified among ceremonies instituted because of sin.
Shadows point to what is yet to be fulfilled. Memorials commemorate what has already been completed. The weekly Sabbath belongs to the second category, not the first.See discussion in Sabbath in Christ by Dale Ratzlaff (Glendale: Life Assurance Ministries, 2003), 157-162, where even critics of Sabbath-keeping acknowledge the distinction between Creation ordinances and ceremonial shadows.
Fulfillment vs. Abolition
Hyper-grace theology often conflates two distinct concepts: fulfillment and abolition. Christ's statement in Matthew differentiates them:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Christ fulfilled ceremonial law by becoming what the types represented (the Lamb, the sacrifice, the atonement). He kept the moral law perfectly, never violating a single commandment. Luke records His Sabbath practice:
"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read."
Jesus declared the moral law remains binding until conditions explicitly stated in Matthew 5:18 occur: "till heaven and earth pass" or "till all be fulfilled." Heaven and earth remain. Therefore, the commandments (including the fourth) remain in force.
The claim that Christ's rest fulfills and therefore abolishes the Sabbath applies a category intended for ceremonial shadows (fulfilled at Calvary) to a Creation ordinance (established before sin). If the Sabbath is obsolete because Christ fulfilled it, then by the same logic, marriage is obsolete (also a Creation ordinance, Genesis 2:24). The parallel fails. Christ fulfilled redemptive ceremonies. He did not abolish creational ordinances.
Objection 8: Galatians 4:10
The claim: Galatians 4:10 ("Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years") condemns Sabbath-keeping as legalism.
The Full Text
"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain."
What Scripture Says: Returning to Paganism
Paul's concern is that the Galatians are returning to something they practiced before knowing God:
"Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods."
The Galatians were Gentiles who formerly worshiped "them which by nature are no gods," meaning pagan deities. The seventh-day Sabbath was never part of pagan worship. These "days, and months, and times, and years" refer to the Galatian pagan calendar, not the biblical Sabbath."Is the Sabbath Part of the 'Special Days and Months and Seasons and Years' Paul Is Referring to in Galatians 4:10?" Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange, accessed November 2024, hermeneutics.stackexchange.com. Scholarly discussion notes the Sabbath "was never practiced by people that 'did not know God' and who worshipped 'those who are not gods.'"
God's Law vs. Pagan Observances
God's law prescribes the weekly Sabbath and annual festivals. It does not command observance of "months" or generic "times." The sequence "days, months, times, years" matches pagan calendar systems, not the biblical pattern.
If Paul condemned the Sabbath here, he contradicts his own practice:
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."
Paul kept the Sabbath consistently. Galatians 4:10 addresses syncretism (mixing Christianity with pagan practices), not obedience to God's commandments.
The Motivation Question
Paul's concern is why they observe these days: as a means of earning favor with false gods. The issue is not the calendar but the theology behind it. Keeping God's Sabbath in obedience to His command differs fundamentally from observing pagan festival days to appease idols.
Objection 9: 1 Corinthians 16:2
The claim: 1 Corinthians 16:2 ("Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store") proves the early church gathered for worship on Sunday.
The Full Text
"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."
What Scripture Says: A Famine Relief Collection
This passage concerns a collection for famine relief in Jerusalem, not a worship service. Verse 1 specifies: "the collection for the saints." Paul was organizing relief funds for believers suffering from repeated famines in Judea."Why Did Paul Collect and Deliver an Offering for the Church in Jerusalem?" Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange, accessed November 2024, hermeneutics.stackexchange.com. Historical context of famine relief ca. A.D. 46-47 and following.
Greek Analysis: "By Him" (Par Heautō)
The Greek phrase par heautō (παρ' ἑαυτῷ) means "by himself" or "at home.""1 Corinthians 16:1-2, a Study," Bible Questions Answered, accessed November 2024, biblequestions.org. Greek analysis showing par heautō indicates private action, not corporate gathering. Paul instructed each person to set aside funds privately, not to bring offerings to a Sunday service.
The phrase "in store" comes from the Greek thēsaurizō (θησαυρίζω), meaning to treasure up or lay aside."1 Corinthians 16:1-4 Providing for the Poor in Jerusalem," Enter the Bible, accessed November 2024, enterthebible.org. Discusses thēsaurizō and the Jerusalem collection context. Individuals were to save money at home during the week, proportionate to their income. When Paul arrived, the accumulated funds would be ready, avoiding a rushed collection.
No Mention of Worship Elements
The passage contains no mention of:
- Preaching or teaching
- Lord's Supper
- Prayer or singing
- A gathering or assembly
Paul simply instructed believers to budget weekly for the relief fund. The first day of the week served as a practical accounting day, following the Sabbath rest when believers would know their week's income.
Paul's Instruction: "No Gatherings When I Come"
Paul's stated purpose is "that there be no gatherings when I come" (v. 2). He wanted the funds collected in advance to avoid a rushed, disorganized effort at his arrival. This contradicts the interpretation that verse 2 describes a Sunday worship gathering.
Objection 10: Matthew 12:1-8
The claim: Jesus' "Lord of the Sabbath" statement and His defense of the disciples picking grain proves He loosened or abolished Sabbath restrictions.
The Full Text
"At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day."
What Scripture Says: Jesus Defended the Disciples
Jesus did not admit the disciples broke the Sabbath. He defended their actions using three arguments:
1. David's example (1 Samuel 21:6); hunger justifies actions that would otherwise be forbidden
2. Priestly service (Numbers 28:9-10); necessary work on the Sabbath is lawful
3. Mercy over sacrifice (Hosea 6:6); God desires compassion, not rigid legalism
Jesus declared the disciples "guiltless" (v. 7) because they had broken no commandment.
Pharisaic Additions vs. God's Law
The issue was not God's fourth commandment but Pharisaic additions to it. The Mishnah lists 39 categories of forbidden work on the Sabbath, developed through oral tradition."The Thirty-Nine Categories of Sabbath Work Prohibited by Law," Orthodox Union, accessed November 2024, ou.org. These categories derive from rabbinic interpretation, not biblical command. Reaping ranked third on this list. The Pharisees accused the disciples of "harvesting" and "threshing," violations of human tradition, not divine law.
God's Sabbath command prohibits work, the labor by which one earns a living (Exodus 20:9). Picking grain to satisfy immediate hunger is not work; it's the exercise of a biblical right:
"When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn."
The disciples used their hands (permitted), not a sickle (harvesting tool). They violated Pharisaic tradition, not Scripture.
"Lord of the Sabbath": Authority to Interpret Correctly
"For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day."
Jesus claimed authority to interpret the Sabbath correctly, not to abolish it. As Lord of the Sabbath, He has the right to distinguish between God's commandment and human additions."What Does It Mean That Jesus Is the Lord of the Sabbath?" GotQuestions.org, accessed November 2024, gotquestions.org. Discusses Jesus' authority to interpret the Sabbath correctly versus abolishing it.
Jesus' Sabbath Observance
Jesus kept the Sabbath throughout His ministry. Scripture records it was His "custom" to attend synagogue on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). He never broke the fourth commandment, He broke only the Pharisees' hedge around it. His statement "it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days" (Matthew 12:12) affirms the Sabbath's ongoing validity.
Objection 11: "What About the Feasts?"
The claim: If we keep the weekly Sabbath, shouldn't we also keep Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and the other annual feasts? Either all the laws apply or none of them do.
What Scripture Shows: Physical Separation in the Tabernacle
God distinguished two categories of law through their physical placement in the Tabernacle:
The Moral Law (inside the Ark):
"And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark."
The "testimony" (the Ten Commandments written by God's finger, Exodus 31:18) was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, directly beneath the mercy seat where God's presence dwelt. The weekly Sabbath is the fourth of these commandments.
The Ceremonial Law (beside the Ark):
"Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee."
The "book of the law" (containing the ceremonial system including feasts, sacrifices, and annual sabbaths) was placed beside the Ark, not inside it. This physical distinction reflects a theological distinction.
Origin and Purpose: Creation vs. Exodus
The weekly Sabbath predates sin, predates Judaism, and predates Moses:
"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it."
The Sabbath was "made for man" (Mark 2:27), meaning all humanity, not just Israel. It memorializes a completed past event: Creation.
The annual feasts were given at Sinai after the Exodus (Exodus 12:1-14; Leviticus 23). They were given specifically to Israel and pointed to future events: Christ's sacrifice, resurrection, and work of salvation.
Shadow vs. Substance
"Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
The ceremonial system (including feasts, new moons, and ceremonial sabbaths) served as "shadows" pointing forward to Christ. When the reality arrived, the shadows fulfilled their purpose:
- Passover: Christ became "our passover... sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7)
- Firstfruits: Christ rose as "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20)
- Pentecost: Fulfilled when the Spirit was poured out (Acts 2:1-4)
- Day of Atonement: Christ entered "once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12)
The weekly Sabbath cannot be a "shadow" because it points backward to Creation, not forward to Christ. It memorializes what God already completed, not what He would do.
What the New Testament Commands
The apostles did not command feast observance. When Gentile converts asked what was required, the Jerusalem council answered:
"For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication."
Feast observance was not listed. The moral law (including the Sabbath) was assumed; the ceremonial requirements were not imposed on Gentile believers.
Paul explicitly addressed calendar observances:
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."
This freedom applies to ceremonial days, voluntary observances where Scripture gives no command. The fourth commandment is not optional; annual feasts are matters of personal conviction.
Passover Specifically: Transformed, Not Abolished
The Passover has three components with different New Testament statuses:
1. The sacrifice (lamb slaughter): Ended. "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). No more lambs.
2. The memorial meal: Transformed into the Lord's Supper. Jesus took the Passover elements and gave them new meaning: "This do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).
3. The timing: Made flexible. "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup" (1 Corinthians 11:26). No calendar date specified; instead, the timing can be weekly, monthly, or annually, according to conscience.
The memorial continues with new meaning; the timing is free.
The Sabbath in Eternity
The weekly Sabbath extends into the new earth:
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."
No such statement exists for the annual feasts. The weekly Sabbath persists because it memorializes Creation (an eternal reality), while the feasts fulfilled their prophetic purpose at the cross.
Summary: The Distinction Matters
| Element | Weekly Sabbath | Annual Feasts |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Creation (Genesis 2:2-3) | Exodus (Exodus 12; Leviticus 23) |
| Location | Inside Ark (Exodus 40:20) | Beside Ark (Deuteronomy 31:26) |
| For whom | "Made for man" (Mark 2:27) | Given to Israel specifically |
| Points to | Past (Creation completed) | Future (Christ's work) |
| Duration | Eternal (Isaiah 66:23) | "Till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26) |
| NT Status | Fourth Commandment binding | Freedom given (Romans 14:5) |
This is why Sabbath-keepers observe the seventh day while treating annual feasts as optional. The weekly Sabbath is moral law, written by God's finger, placed inside the Ark, rooted in Creation, and continuing into eternity. The annual feasts are ceremonial law, written by Moses, placed beside the Ark, given after sin, and fulfilled at the cross.
The objection assumes all laws are identical. Scripture demonstrates otherwise through physical placement, historical origin, prophetic purpose, and apostolic instruction. The Sabbath remains; the feasts find their rest in Christ.
For an interactive exploration of this distinction, see the Law Types Decoder study tool.
Objection 12: "Christ Is Our Sabbath Rest"
The claim: Christ Himself is our eternal Sabbath rest. Physical observance of a specific day is therefore obsolete, a return to external legalism when we have the internal reality.
The Claim Examined
This objection represents hyper-grace theology's core argument against Sabbath-keeping. Teachers promoting this view assert that believers should "rest in Christ" spiritually rather than observe a literal seventh-day Sabbath. Keeping Saturday is characterized as "bondage," "works-righteousness," or "returning to shadows."
Some claim: "There is no limited atonement any more than there is limited incarnation," arguing that Christ's work was so complete and universal that observing specific commandments (including the Sabbath) undermines His finished work. This reasoning extends to universalism: if Christ's sacrifice reconciled all things, commandment-keeping becomes either unnecessary or evidence of unbelief.
Two Different Concepts
Scripture presents two distinct realities, not competing alternatives:
1. Justification rest: Ceasing from attempts to earn salvation through works. This rest comes through faith in Christ's finished work on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is spiritual, continuous, and internal.
2. Sabbath rest: A weekly memorial of Creation and sign of the covenant relationship (Exodus 31:16-17). It is physical, weekly, and external.
The context of Hebrews 4 encompasses both:
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Spiritual rest (trust in Christ) and Sabbath observance (weekly memorial) are complementary, not contradictory. One provides the motivation; the other provides the sign.
The Greek Distinction
The author of Hebrews uses katapausis (κατάπαυσις, generic rest) in verses 1, 3, 5, 10, and 11. In verse 9, he deliberately switches to a different word: sabbatismos (σαββατισμός).
"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."
Sabbatismos appears only once in the New Testament. Its meaning is not ambiguous:
Thayer's Lexicon: "a keeping sabbath"
Strong's Concordance (G4520): "A keeping sabbath"
BDAG (Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich): "Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance"
In extra-biblical Greek literature, sabbatismos consistently denotes literal Sabbath observance. Plutarch uses it to describe Jewish Sabbath-keeping. Justin Martyr employs it when discussing the weekly Sabbath. The Apostolic Constitutions use it to mean seventh-day observance.For detailed analysis of sabbatismos in extra-biblical literature, see Andrew T. Lincoln, "Sabbath, Rest, and Eschatology in the New Testament," in From Sabbath to Lord's Day, ed. D.A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 213-214. Even scholars who argue against Sabbath-keeping acknowledge the word's primary meaning is literal observance.
If the author intended to communicate generic rest, he would have continued using katapausis. The deliberate shift to sabbatismos in verse 9 indicates a specific type of rest (Sabbath-keeping) remains for God's people.
Jesus' Teaching and Practice
Jesus never taught that He fulfilled the Sabbath in a way that abolished its observance. His statements and practice indicate the opposite.
He declared:
"The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
"Made for man" indicates permanence and universality. Jesus claimed authority over the Sabbath's proper observance, not its abolition.
Luke records Jesus' consistent practice of Sabbath observance (Luke 4:16).
Forty years after His resurrection, Jesus warned believers about Sabbath observance in the future destruction of Jerusalem:
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day."
If Jesus intended the Sabbath to end at His death, this instruction makes no sense. He anticipated His followers would still observe the Sabbath decades after the cross.
Paul's Practice
Paul, the apostle of grace, kept the Sabbath consistently. Scripture records this was his "manner" or custom (Acts 17:2). He reasoned in the synagogue "every sabbath" and persuaded both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) on the Sabbath (Acts 18:4). If the Sabbath had been abolished or relegated to Jewish custom, Paul's practice and teaching contradict this.
The Sign Remains
The Sabbath functions as a sign identifying God's covenant people:
"Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."
"And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."
A sign identifies relationship. The cross did not eliminate the need for identification; it expanded who qualifies as "Israel" to include believing Gentiles (Romans 11:17-24, Galatians 3:29). The sign of that covenant relationship (the Sabbath) remains in force.
Sabbath in the New Earth
Isaiah prophesies Sabbath observance continuing in the eternal state:
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD."
"From one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship." If the Sabbath ended at the cross, why does it persist in eternity? The Sabbath memorializes Creation, an eternal reality that predates sin and will outlast redemption.
Both Are True
The error lies in presenting these as either/or alternatives:
Spiritual rest IN Christ: Daily, moment-by-moment trust in His finished work for salvation. This is internal and continuous.
Physical rest WITH Christ: Weekly cessation from labor on the appointed memorial day. This is external and periodic.
These are not competing realities. They are complementary expressions of the same truth. Believers rest in Christ's work for justification (spiritual) while observing the Creation memorial He established (physical). Love provides the motivation (John 14:15); obedience provides the evidence (1 John 2:4).
Hyper-grace theology's false dichotomy (spiritual or physical, internal or external, rest or observance) finds no support in Scripture. God instituted both. Christ affirmed both. The apostles practiced both. The new earth will maintain both.
The question is not whether Christ is our rest. He is. The question is whether Christ's rest abolishes the weekly memorial He established at Creation, practiced during His earthly ministry, and prophesied would continue into eternity. The answer, from Genesis to Revelation, is no.
Summary
None of these twelve objections provides biblical authority for transferring sanctity from the seventh day to the first. Each reveals the same pattern:
- Resurrection Sunday: True fact, but no command for Sunday observance
- Colossians 2:16: Context points to ceremonial system, not Creation Sabbath
- Acts 20:7: One farewell meeting, not a weekly pattern
- "Any day is fine": Contradicts the commandment's specificity and the Roman Catholic Church's own position
- "Grace not law": Grace establishes the law; it doesn't abolish it
- Romans 14:5: Addresses voluntary practices (fasting days), not the Sabbath commandment
- Hebrews 4:9: The Greek word sabbatismos means "Sabbath-keeping," not generic rest
- Galatians 4:10: Paul condemns return to pagan calendar worship, not obedience to God's law
- 1 Corinthians 16:2: Private budgeting for famine relief, not a Sunday worship service
- Matthew 12:1-8: Jesus defended disciples against Pharisaic additions, not against God's commandment
- "What about the feasts?": Weekly Sabbath (Creation ordinance) differs categorically from annual feasts (ceremonial shadows)
- "Christ is our Sabbath rest": Spiritual rest in Christ and physical rest with Christ are complementary, not competitive
The seventh-day Sabbath stands on its own foundation: Creation, the Ten Commandments, Jesus' practice, apostolic example, and the silence of Scripture regarding any change.
Before We Discuss the Sabbath
Three foundational objections often prevent readers from engaging the Sabbath question. These deserve answers before proceeding.
Objection: "Why should I trust the Old Testament when God commanded harsh things?"
The concern: If God is love, why did He command capital punishment, allow slavery, and order conquest in the Old Testament? Doesn't this make the Bible morally unreliable?
The Pattern Skeptics Miss
You're confusing ignorance with investment.
A child is easy to teach because they have nothing to lose. An ancient society is invested in the corruption. If you teach human rights to a tribe whose economy relies on slavery and plunder, they don't misunderstand you; they kill you to protect their wealth.
God wasn't unconvincing. He was threatening entrenched power structures. You can't persuade a cartel to stop selling drugs through better arguments; you enforce law against a system that refuses to lose money. The Old Testament wasn't coercion of the innocent; it was containment of a civilization that built its economy on brutality.
Ancient Near Eastern economies depended on conquest, slavery, and temple prostitution. These weren't individual sins; they were systemic foundations. God didn't design those systems. He stepped into nations already corrupted, establishing laws that constrained the damage while respecting human free will.
Progressive Revelation: Stone to Heart
God's method was always progressive. The goal was never external law enforcement forever. The goal was internal transformation.
Jeremiah prophesied this explicitly:
"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."
The plan was always to move from stone tablets to transformed hearts. Paul confirms the fulfillment:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."
Stone → Heart. External → Internal. That was the curriculum.
Here's the irony: the fact that you're offended by Old Testament brutality proves the process worked. You are using the very conscience God built to criticize the methods He used to build it. Your moral intuition isn't natural; it's the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy. The law is written on your heart, exactly as Scripture predicted.
The Golden Calf Diagnosis
But why such severe methods? Why not better teaching?
The golden calf answers that question. The Israelites had maximum proof: daily miracles, pillar of fire, manna from heaven, the Red Sea parted before their eyes. They still rejected God and built an idol (Exodus 32:1-6).
The problem was never information. It was the heart:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
Paul confirms this was the Law's purpose all along:
"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
The Law was diagnostic, not remedial. It was designed to prove the disease was terminal, not to cure it. A diagnostic cannot be faulted for revealing the severity of the condition.
The objection "Why not better teaching?" assumes God's goal was optimal moral instruction. But Scripture says the goal was to demonstrate human inability, preparing hearts for the only remedy that could work: Christ.
Objection: "How can you be so certain your interpretation is right?"
The concern: With thousands of denominations interpreting Scripture differently, how can anyone claim certainty? Shouldn't we be humble about our interpretations?
Certainty vs. Sufficiency
You're right that mathematical certainty is impossible for historical and textual claims. But certainty isn't the standard; sufficiency is.
I can't prove with absolute certainty that the sun will rise tomorrow. But the evidence is sufficient to live as though it will. Same with Scripture. The question isn't "Can you achieve 100% certainty?" The question is "Is the evidence sufficient to act on?"
For the seventh-day Sabbath, the evidence is overwhelming:
- Creation ordinance: God blessed and sanctified the seventh day before sin existed (Genesis 2:2-3)
- Written in stone: Fourth Commandment specifies "the seventh day" (Exodus 20:8-11)
- Jesus' practice: "As his custom was" on the Sabbath day (Luke 4:16)
- Apostolic example: Paul preached on "the sabbath day" (Acts 17:2)
- Prophetic warning: A power would "think to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25)
- The Roman Catholic Church's admission: The Catholic Church openly admits it changed the Sabbath without biblical authority (see Appendix E)
- Scripture's silence: No verse commands, exemplifies, or teaches Sunday sacredness
We interpret Scripture to teach seventh-day Sabbath observance. We acknowledge this is a minority position among Christians. We acknowledge sincere believers hold different views. But we base our position on the weight of evidence, not on majority consensus.
Epistemic humility doesn't mean refusing to take positions. It means holding positions proportional to the evidence while remaining open to correction. The Sabbath evidence is sufficient, not because we've achieved omniscience, but because God made His will plain enough for those willing to see it.
When to Be Humble, When to Be Certain
We express humility where Scripture allows genuine debate (eschatological timelines, creation chronology, minor textual variants). We express confidence where Scripture speaks clearly (the seventh day is the Sabbath, Jesus is the way, salvation is by grace through faith).
The fourth commandment doesn't say "Remember a sabbath day" or "Keep one day in seven." It says "Remember the sabbath day" and "the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God" (Exodus 20:8, 10). The specificity leaves little room for interpretive flexibility.
Objection: "What about people who never heard the gospel?"
The concern: Are sincere seekers in non-Christian cultures condemned simply for being born in the wrong place? What about those who died before Christianity reached them?
God Judges by the Light Received
Scripture answers this directly:
"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness."
Those without Scripture are judged by the law written on their hearts, their conscience. They're accountable for the light they have, not the light they never received.
Acts 10:34-35 confirms this principle through Peter's realization:
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."
"No respecter of persons" means God doesn't show favoritism based on birth. He doesn't favor Americans over Africans, church members over villagers, or Christians over sincere seekers. He judges the heart.
The question isn't "Did they hear a sermon?" The question is "Did they respond to God through the conscience He gave them?" Only God knows that. But Scripture assures us He judges with perfect knowledge and perfect mercy.
The Melchizedek Principle
Before Abraham, before the covenant, before the Jewish system existed, Melchizedek was "priest of the most high God" (Genesis 14:18-20). Abraham, the father of faith, gave tithes to Melchizedek and received his blessing.
Hebrews 7 emphasizes Melchizedek's uniqueness: "Without father, without mother, without descent" (v. 3), meaning no genealogy, no connection to the formal religious system. Yet he knew and served "the most high God" and was greater than Abraham himself.
What this proves: God works outside formal structures. Sincere seekers can connect with God without being "in the club." If God accepted Melchizedek (who had no Scripture, no temple, no formal religion), He can accept sincere seekers today who respond to the light they have.
The Universal Message Before the Final Test
But here's the critical point: before the final judgment, the gospel will reach every nation:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
Every nation. Every language. Every people group. God guarantees everyone will hear before the test becomes universal. The question shifts from "Were you born in the right culture?" to "When you heard, how did you respond?"
Those who died before Christianity reached them are judged by their conscience. Those alive when the Three Angels' Messages circle the globe are accountable for the light they received. God's judgment is always proportional to opportunity.
Source Notes
- J. N. Andrews, The History of the Sabbath and the First Day of the Week (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald, 1873).
- Samuele Bacchiocchi, From Sabbath to Sunday (Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University Press, 1977).
- Harold H. Dressler, “The Sabbath in the Old Testament,” in From Sabbath to Lord’s Day, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).
- Robert D. Brinsmead, Sabbath and Sunday in Early Christianity (Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publications, 1982).
- Greek lexical data from Frederick W. Danker, ed., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).