What is the Sabbath day? | GotQuestions.org

Today's question is, what is the Sabbath day? In this video I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective.

Then afterwards, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

At first glance, the question, what is the Sabbath day? seems fairly simple.

According to Exodus 20, verses 8 -11, the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, on which the children of Israel were to rest in remembrance that God created the universe in six days and then rested on the seventh day.

However, due to the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of some Christian groups, the meaning of the

Sabbath day rest has been confused. Some Christian groups, such as the Seventh -day

Adventists, view the Sabbath as the day of worship—the day on which Christians should attend church or worship services.

While these groups typically also teach that no work is to be done on the Sabbath, the concept of the day of worship is sometimes more emphasized than the day of rest.

Originally, the Sabbath was a day of rest, and that purpose was retained in the Mosaic Law.

Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices were made daily at the tabernacle or temple. The worship was continual, and there were special commands given to Israel regarding a sacred assembly held on the

Sabbath. The keeping of the Sabbath was the sign of the covenant between Israel and the

Lord. The New Testament records Jews and converts to Judaism meeting in synagogues on the

Sabbath. Obviously, with no work being done on the Sabbath day, the Sabbath day would be the ideal day to have organized worship services.

However, the New Testament does not command that the Sabbath be the day of worship. The church is not under the

Mosaic Law. The church is under the New Covenant, established by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Bible nowhere describes Christians setting aside the Sabbath day as the day of worship.

The only Scriptures that describe Christians in any sense meeting on the Sabbath are in fact pointing to evangelistic efforts at the

Jewish synagogues, which met on the Sabbath day. Acts 2, verse 46 records the early

Christians meeting every day. The Bereans studied the Scriptures every day, Acts 17, verse 11.

Acts 20, verse 7 and 1 Corinthians 16, verse 2 both mention

Christians meeting on the first day of the week. There is no evidence in the New Testament that the apostles or the early

Christians in any sense observed the Sabbath day as the prescribed day of worship. Traditionally, Christians have held their primary corporate worship services on Sundays, the first day of the week, in celebration of Christ's resurrection, which occurred on a

Sunday. It is important to understand, though, that Sunday is not the commanded day of corporate worship either.

There is no explicit biblical command that either Saturday or Sunday be the day of worship.

Scriptures such as Romans 14, verses 5–6 and Colossians 2, verse 16 give

Christians freedom to observe a special day or to observe every day as special. God's desire is that we worship and serve

Him continually, every day, not just on Saturday or Sunday. Please see our other articles on the

Sabbath day and Sabbath keeping to explore this issue further. Want to learn more?

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