Are We Required to Rest? | 4 Views on the Sabbath

Type of Doctrine: Tertiary

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

-Exodus 20:8-11 ESV

Why does it matter?

The command to rest is one of the Ten Commandments. Is it still required today? If so, how? On what day? These are the types of questions that Christians have sought to answer throughout church history regarding the Sabbath.

This is typically considered a tertiary matter. However, some views may affect the day on which a church chooses to worship. Therefore, in some cases, it may be considered a secondary issue.

What is it?

The idea of Sabbath (i.e., to stop, cease, desist) appears very early in Holy Scripture. It is seen in creation as God himself models work and rest (despite the fact that God is not a weary worker like humans; Gen. 2; Exod. 20:8-11). The Sabbath was a day primarily for two things: (1) it was a day set apart for God and (2) it was a day for rest.

It is significant that God provides the fourth commandment (along with the rest of the Ten Commandments) after he delivers his people from Egypt. They were overworked. Pharaoh did not let them rest. After God delivered them, he commanded for his people to rest one day every week (Exod. 20:8-11)! That shows us the character of God. He is not a harsh task master who withholds rest; instead, he commands it.

Before the Son of God was born, Jews often used the Sabbath to study the law (i.e., the Scriptures). Many detailed rules were created about following the Sabbath; some of them were very burdensome. Jesus expressed his thoughts about this Pharisaical understanding of the Sabbath. "In his disagreement with the Pharisees . . . our Lord pointed out . . . their complete misunderstanding of the OT commands. They had sought to make the observance of the sabbath (sic) more rigorous than God had commanded" (New Bible Dictionary, 1033).

After the resurrection of Jesus, the first day of the week became the day that Christians met for worship. In other words, the day moved from Saturday to Sunday. (It must be noted, however, that early Jewish Christians met for worship on Saturday night [at least from our perspective] which would have been considered Sunday for them. For them a day began at sundown.) Even in Scripture, the first day of the week began to be known as "the Lord's Day" (Rev. 1:10).

In the New Testament, we can see Jesus claiming that the Sabbath was created for humans to rest (Mark 2:27). It wasn't created in order for people to follow a bunch of challenging rules. Nevertheless, Paul mentions that Christians should follow their conscience on this issue, and they should not judge others who disagree with them (Rom. 14:5; Col. 2:16-17). Finally, the author of Hebrews mentions the Sabbath from a spiritual standpoint. Jesus is our true, eternal Sabbath rest (Heb. 4).

Many Christians have debated how to interpret and apply the fourth commandment. R. C. Sproul has pointed out that Augustine considered nine of the Ten Commandments still operative for the church since Paul seems to leave the fourth commandment up to conscience (click here for Sproul's article titled "Defining the Debate"). He comments that others have considered the Sabbath to continue since it is found in creation.

Sproul then pointed out an intramural debate among those in the Reformed tradition. Both agree that the Sabbath is for rest and worship. However, they differ on recreation. First, the Puritan view claimed that recreation is not acceptable on the Sabbath according to Isaiah 58:13-14. On the other hand, the Continental view claims that this text is primarily referring to selfish pleasure which is not pleasing to God. That is, it is primarily referring to buying and selling (i.e., commerce) on the Sabbath. So, it does not address recreation on the Sabbath.

Sproul commented on another debate. Since Jesus did works of mercy on the Sabbath, are Christians obligated to do so as well? Some say yes, while others say works of mercy are permissible but they are not required.

Here are a few of the key Scriptures on this subject:

Genesis 2:2-3 ESV - 2 "And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation."
Exodus 20:8-11 ESV - 8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Exodus 31:16-17 ESV - 16 "Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed."
Leviticus 23:3 ESV - 3 "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places."
Isaiah 58:13-14 ESV - 13 "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Mark 2:27-28 ESV - 27 "And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.'"
Luke 4:16 ESV - 16 "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read."
Romans 14:5 ESV - 5 "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."
Colossians 2:16-17 ESV - 16 "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."
Hebrews 4:1-13 ESV - 1 "Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, 'As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest,'' although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.' 5 And again in this passage he said, 'They shall not enter my rest.' 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.' 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

The following four views are explained with much more detail in the following resource: Christopher John Donato, ed., Perspectives on the Sabbath: 4 Views (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011).

4 Views on the Sabbath

View	Description
The Seventh-Day Sabbath	Christians must keep the fourth commandment by keeping the seventh day (i.e., Saturday) holy, which includes rest and worship.
Christian Sabbath	Christians must keep the fourth commandment, but since the resurrection of Christ, they are to keep the first day (i.e., Sunday) holy, which includes rest and worship.
Luther's View	The Sabbath commandment was given to Jews only; Christians are still required to rest and worship but it is not required on a specific day.
Fulfilled in Christ	Since Jesus has fulfilled the Sabbath rest (Heb. 4), the Old Testament commands are no longer required for Christians.

Application

Isn't it a wonderful thing that God even cares about rest? He loves us. He is not interested in burning us out and grinding us down with work. He values both work and rest. Are you overworking? Why? Perhaps, on the other hand, you are over-resting. Why? It may be good to probe your heart and get to the root of it. Is it idolatry? Are you working for something that has become too big of a value? Has that thing (e.g., success, money, fame, approval, control, power, security, material things, etc.) become a functional god? Rest is a wonderful gift from God. (For some practical ideas on Sabbath click here).

However, no rest (no matter how great) can fully satisfy us. Jesus is ultimately our Sabbath rest. We will only truly rest, both now and for all of eternity, if we believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.

Where can I learn more?

Bibliography:

-Donato, Christopher John, ed. Perspectives on the Sabbath: 4 Views. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011.

-Douglas, J. D., ed. New Bible Dictionary: Third Edition. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1996.

-Click here for R. C. Sproul's article titled "Defining the Debate"

-Click here for Justin Taylor's helpful article titled "Four Views on the Sabbath" which provides a summary of the perspectives book by Donato (above)