On a Sunday afternoon when I was seven or eight years old, my dad took my older brother and me to our rental house and told us that he had to make a couple of repairs for the current tenant. I remember looking at my dad with a very concerned face and saying, “But Daddy, today is Sunday. You know we can’t do any work on Sunday.” He proceeded to carefully explain to us that it was an emergency repair and that it was something he enjoyed doing as a hobby separate from his regular vocation.
He explained Luke 14:1-6 to me, in which Jesus is disapprovingly watched by the Pharisees to see whether he will heal a man on the Sabbath. Jesus indeed heals the man, creating yet another “you-have-heard-that-it-was-said-but-now-I-say-to-you” moment that both challenges and changes Jewish ideas about the Sabbath.
Almost two thousand years later, 21st-century Christians—especially in American society—are still struggling to understand the command of the Sabbath and what it means to keep it. In a culture that thrives on non-stop success and constant distraction and amusement, we tend to find ourselves at the opposite end of the Sabbath spectrum from the Pharisees.
As a seven-year-old, I did not find it difficult to take my rest on the Sabbath. But as I got older and continued to take on more responsibility, I felt my commitment to keeping the Sabbath waiver.
We often forget, but keeping the Sabbath is a command. There is no way around it. Although some ceremonial laws from the Old Testament no longer bind New Covenant believers, the command of the Sabbath does not fall into this category. Of the Ten Commandments Moses received on Mount Sinai, one gave commands for a specific day. This fourth command reads, “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” (Exodus 5:8-10a). In order to fulfill this command, we must consider each part.
First, we must remember. This is done by going to church every Sunday morning, sitting under the Word, and fellowshipping with the people of God. We are finite people, easily swayed by emotions and quick to forget. It is necessary to be surrounded by people who can witness and bear testimony to God’s faithfulness. It is necessary to sit under the Word each week, and this means physically sitting there, unless prevented by health or an extreme situation.
We ought to be in service to the people of God, using our gifts to bless others and advance the kingdom. We should have little moments of remembrance every day when we open our copies of God’s Word, but the Sabbath is a special day—indeed, a “set apart” day—which we devote entirely to remembering, and this remembering needs to be done with others.
Second, we are to keep the Sabbath holy and not do any work. Depending on one’s stage of life, work will look different for each person. Nonetheless, all have been given a present, primary task by the Lord. As a college student, much of my present task revolves around my studies and the work it takes to do well in them. In order for me to keep the Sabbath as I am commanded, I must not do any work related to my studies on the Sabbath day.
Christian students must take this fact more seriously: keeping the Sabbath remains significant despite—or, especially in—our stage of life. If we are truly seeking to live righteously, this command cannot be ignored. Our institutions need to encourage this as well. As a student at Grove City College, I have been disappointed by the fact not only that students work on Sundays as much as—or more than—any other day, but also that our library is open on Sundays. The library’s opening is delayed to encourage morning churchgoing, but the command in Exodus goes beyond simply remembering. We must also keep and rest from our labors.
Third, we would be foolish not to recognize the rest and joy that comes in keeping the Sabbath. God designed us to work, but because of Adam’s curse, work has become difficult and tiring. In his mercy and love for us, God commanded us to rest.
Isaiah 58:13 actually speaks of the Sabbath as a day of pleasure and of delight. God is not somehow punishing us or acting as a narcissistic worship-seeker. He wants us to rest in Him, and to take delight in the gifts He has given us. He wants us, too, to mirror Him in His rest from work on the Sabbath. In six days God created—He worked—and on the seventh, he declared it was good. The story of Creation attests that God took His rest. The model of the Sabbath was figured in the pre-fall design.
Jesus restored on the Sabbath: he offered rest to a man who was broken in body and spirit. It is this Savior who invites us to take one day in seven to stop our busy lives and rest in Him. He is worthy of our worship—and certainly worthy of our time.
The views and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the values and beliefs of Cogitare Magazine, nor of Grove City College.
To imply that spending time alone with God outside of the church is somehow a violation of the Sabbath is to completely miss the point of God’s invitation and wrongly judge faithful followers of the Lord. We are no longer bound by Old Testament law.. our walk with Christ is not just a Sunday tradition or religious duty.. it is a relationship. Colossians 2:16–17: “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. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Our salvation is not a matter of works so we may not boast, but it a gift of grace and mercy! We are not to walk around and judge others for how they choose to spend their Sabbath. If they work on Sundays, do their homework, take a walk, or do an intimate bible study instead of attending a local church.. this is their decision and it does not make them any less of a Godly or holy person. It does not eliminate them from the gift of salvation, and to imply otherwise is to cast yourself in a position that is antithetical to the word of God. “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.” (Romans 14:5). Paul is clear here that our walk with Christ is not about observing a ritual or attending a church service every Sunday.. it is about walking in relationship with Jesus. If a person chooses to spend time in the word of God every morning, or attend a bible study or chapel service on another day than Sunday, they are not in violation of their duty as a believer. Countless people sit in pews each week and listen to “preachers” bloviate and spew heretical teachings without any semblance of the Holy Spirit present. Many people sit in church and are unmoved and unchanged by the words spoken. Church attendance does not equate or bring about salvation, and it is not to be used as a measuring stick in an attempt to earn salvation either. Nothing is more important in a Christian’s life than to develop a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus alone. Our world today spends far too much time listening to other men and women of God speaking about the Lord instead of seeking Him on their own. The Lord desires to get to know each person on a deeper level. He convicts, leads, reveals, and speaks if we take the time to listen to Him.