Should Christians keep the sabbath day holy?

YoutubeKey Verse: Genesis 2:1-3

v.1-3

- God rested

- God didn’t rest through being tired, the way humans rest after a tiring week, he rested due to his work being complete

- sabbath ordered to keep holy in Exodus 20:8-11 for the sake of rest and devotion to God for the Israelites

Exodus 20:8-11

- each 7^th day belonged to the Lord

- a sign between God and His people (Exodus 31:12-17)

- to remind the Jews that God took them out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)

- 9 of the 10 commandments are restated in the New Testament, except for keeping the sabbath day holy

- New Testament actually warns not to stick to legalistic man-made rules (Colossians 2:16-17 and Galatians 5:1) and also tells us that there is no need to keep the sabbath (Acts 20:7, Romans 14:5,6)

- Paul and his disciples came together to break bread on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7)

Romans 14:5-7

- esteeming one day above another is personal preference

v.5

- God doesn’t demand, as He did in Exodus, for us to esteem one day above another as His day

v.6

- the mature believer is unaffected by the days (as Paul also broke bread on the first day of the week)

v.7

- focus of being a Christian is not on oneself, but on the Lord

Colossians 2:11-23

- whole section on not being legalistic

v.11

- idea of circumcision is to be made clean (symbolic)

v.12

- raised through faith, not of works of man

v.13

- forgiven you all trespasses, a complete salvation

v.14

- wiped out the handwriting, meaning debt, that we owe for our sins, Christ wiped out

This then leads to the key point

v.16-17

- no need for that, or to observe sabbath as the Jews did

Galatians 4:21-5:1

- Paul uses story to contrast grace and law, faith and works

- much of Galatians has already talked about how those who are “of the works of the law are under the curse” (Galatians 3:10)

v.22-31

- Abraham had 2 sons, one by a bondwoman (Ishmael) and one by a free-woman (Isaac) ref. Genesis 21:1-7

- Ishmael born through lack of faith and sinful means

- Isaac born through promise and the required faith of Abraham and Sarah

- the 2 mothers represent the 2 covenants

- these are not 2 ways of salvation, its not salvation by law then salvation by faith

- purpose for the Mosaic law is in Galatians 3:24, to tutor those in need of salvation

- we already know we are not saved by the law (established many times in Galatians)

- v.24 Mount Sinai where Moses received law in Exodus 19

- v.25 Jerusalem reference to those still in bondage, believers in Christ are free (Jerusalem above meaning heaven)

- v.28 believers spiritual heirs of Abraham (Romans 4)

- v.30 quoted from Genesis 21:10, those attempting to justify themselves by the law