From time to time the Christian Sabbath comes under attack. People argue that we are no longer "under the law but under grace" and therefore are not under obligation to keep any day holy. The Sabbath was a distinctive feature of Puritan Christianity and of traditional godly living in Britain but is it just a manmade tradition or something we should hold onto tenaciously?

1. The Origin of the Sabbath⤒🔗

Many people think the Sab­bath was part of the ceremonial law which was given to Israel at Mount Sinai. However, for the true origin of the Sabbath we must go right back to the very beginning of world history. God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh day and in doing this set a pattern for all mankind for all ages to come (Genesis 2:2). He says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). The moral law is patterned on God's character and we are to follow in his footsteps.

God blessed the seventh day (Genesis 2:3). He made it spe­cial. It was to be the best day in the week. Of course the wicked do not view it in that way. They regard it as an unwelcome inter­ruption to their life of work and pleasure. What misery the eter­nal Sabbath of heaven would be to them! No wonder they will not get there. God does not want unhappy people in paradise. The true child of God loves a day that he can spend, without distrac­tion, resting in the Lord.

God "sanctified it" (Genesis 2:3). He set it apart to be a holy day, not just a blessed day. Sanctifying the day must have reference to man's use of it rather than God's. Since God is essentially holy, every day must be holy to him. The sanctifying of it must mean that man is to specially set apart this day for God. It is not simply a day of inactivity. Even in the perfection of the unfallen paradise there was a pattern of six days of labour and one day of rest. Al­though God was to be wor­shipped every day, one day was specially set apart as a day for the public and private exercises of worship. Many think they keep the Sabbath by doing nothing on that day, but that would be a sinful waste of God's day.

It is important to notice that the Sabbath was given to all mankind not simply to the church. Adam and Eve as the parents of the whole human race were under obligation to keep this day holy. Their first full day spent on earth was a Sabbath. Just as marriage and the cultural mandate are for all human be­ings so is the Sabbath. It did not come into existence at Mount Sinai but rather the Israelites were instructed, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy". How quickly many of the human race forgot this excellent ordi­nance that God gave to them right at the beginning of their history.

2. The Fourth Commandment←⤒🔗

The importance of the Ten Commandments cannot be overstressed. They stand out as distinct from the rest of the law. God spoke them to all Israel. They actually heard him with their own ears, announcing the Ten Commandments to them. He then wrote these precious words on tables of stone which he gave them to keep. They were to be binding forever on all mankind.

The law delivered on Mount Sinai divides easily into three sections. First, there was the ceremonial law. This included all the regulations with regard to the sacrifices, the priesthood and the temple. These were types and symbols which were fulfilled in Christ. He is our great Sacrifice and our High Priest. He says: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up ... But he spake of the temple of his body" (John 2:19-21). Secondly, there were the civil laws which were given to the nation of Israel. These passed away too with the passing of the theocracy al­though many valuable principles are developed from them. Then thirdly, there is the moral law which is summarised in the Ten Commandments. This was never abolished.

To respect one's parents, not to kill, nor to commit adultery, nor to steal, nor to tell lies, nor to covet are still as binding today as when God thundered from Mount Sinai. It is similarly binding upon all mankind to worship only God, not to make idols, and not to take God's name in vain. So why should one of the Ten Commandments be singled out to be broken? God's moral law reflects God's character. "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

3. Christ's Attitude to the Sabbath←⤒🔗

Christ often found himself in conflict with the Scribes and Pharisees over the Sabbath. Because of this, many people assume that he was against the Sabbath, but this is a completely wrong interpretation. Rather Jesus was teaching that it is right to perform works of necessity and mercy on this day. For ex­ample, when Jesus and his dis­ciples were passing through a cornfield on the Sabbath and the disciples were hungry they took and ate some ears of corn. The Pharisees criticised them but Jesus justified them by using the example of what David did when he was hungry. We have to feed our bodies even on the Sabbath. Some works are nec­essary (Matthew 12).

On another occasion he healed on the Sabbath a woman who was bent double by an illness from which she had suffered for 18 years. The ruler of the synagogue objected to what he saw as a breaking of the Fourth Commandment. Jesus responded angrily:

Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?

Luke 13:15-16

Jesus had to keep the whole law of God in every detail, otherwise he would not be the spotless Lamb of God, and his sacrifice would be of no avail to us. He was "made under the law to redeem them that were under the law" (Galatians 4:4-5). He states: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to de­stroy but to fulfill. 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" (Mat­thew 5:17-18).

The most significant passage for understanding Jesus' teach­ing on the Sabbath is Mark 2:27-28:

And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Jesus tells us that the Sabbath was made for man. This was its original intention. It was bene­ficial for man in the past and as man has not changed we rightly assume that it is still beneficial to him. God knows us and knows what we need and therefore gave the Sabbath to our perfect parents in the Garden of Eden and to our sinful forebears in Old Testament times. It is beneficial to our bodies and minds to have one day of rest from the weekly cycle of work and worldly worries. It is good for our souls to have one day in the week when it is natural for us to remember our Creator. How easy it is, even with the best intentions, to let the cares of the world and the busyness of life, crowd God out. God knows our make-up and knows that we need a Sabbath.

The trouble with the Phari­sees was that they acted as if man was made for the Sabbath. For them the keeping of the Sabbath was more important than works of necessity and mercy although even in that they were inconsis­tent. This commandment is God's merciful and blessed provision for us not an albatross hanging around our necks.

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. This implies that it is his day. It is not my day for doing my pleasure. It belongs to Christ and ought to be given totally to him. It is a day for doing his pleasure. We are to recognise him as Lord and his claim upon this day.

4. The New Testament Sabbath←⤒🔗

After the resurrection of Christ there was a change in the day of the week that was recognised as the weekly Sab­bath. Up till that point the greatest work that had been done was the creation. Each week man was to rest one day and worship the great God who had revealed himself so dramatically in the six creating days. However, the work of atonement is far greater than that of creation. God became man and obtained salvation for his people at the tremendous cost of giving his life for them. The atonement was completed with the resurrection and then Christ entered into his rest. We celebrate this rest by the weekly Lord's Day.

The early New Testament church kept the first day of the week as the Sabbath. They came together on that day for the preaching of the Word just as the Old Testament saints gathered on the seventh day in the syna­gogue or temple. "Upon the first day of the week, when the dis­ciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them" (Acts 20:7). It was the day on which they celebrated com­munion. It was also the day on which they came to God with their free will offerings: "Upon the first day of the week let everyone of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him" (1 Corinthians 16:2). John tells us that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day (Revelation 1:10). The day of Pentecost on which the Spirit of the Lord was poured out was the Lord's Day. So the New Testament church began on the Christian Sabbath which is the first day of the week and of course will end in the eternal Sabbath, the rest that remains for the people of God.

The Christian Sabbath is something that we should maintain with all the energy of our being. Down through history it has been one of the distinguishing marks of the people of God. It has always been a great blessing to Christ's church and to society at large. The world will be much poorer without it and the church des­perately so.