Sabbath Questions Stated

Hopefully these questions will help us to get the big picture of what the Scriptures teach on this subject:

1. Is the Sabbath a creation ordinance? If so, for who?

2. Is the Sabbath commandment ceremonial or moral (or both), and in what way has Christ fulfilled this law?

3. Does Romans 14:5-6, Galatians 4:10, or Colossians 2:16 teach that the Sabbath commandment is no longer binding on God's people?

4. Exactly what does Hebrews 4 say and how does its message affect the question of Sabbath observance today?

5. What does the historical evidence tell us about how the early church answered this question?


Let me try and make a contribution to the discussion by pursuing question 3:

Does Romans 14:5-6, Galatians 4:10, or Colossians 2:16 teach that the Sabbath commandment is no longer binding on God's people?

I'll quote some men much more knowledgable than I, and then give my opinion at the end.

a. Romans 14:5-6. 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. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Leon Morris gives only a brief statement: "This has often been taken to mean that the weak brother observes the Jewish Sabbath. But Paul does not say this, and it is equally possible that he is referring to feast days and fast days, either those laid down in the Jewish law or those derived from other sources."

But Tom Schreiner has much more to say: "Some commentators have identified the special days of observance with fast days. But this is too limiting, for the general reference to "days" suggests that festival days, new moons, and especially the Sabbath were also intended. Dunn notes rightly that fast days were not greatly controversial in the early church nor were the central in Judaism. Any Jew would inevitably think of the Sabbath, for this was the day that most distinguished Jews from others...Even in Greco-Roman writers the Sabbath was the day that came to mind when they considered the Jewish observance of particular days (see Juvenal, Satire; Tacitus, Histories). That Paul believed that observance of the Sabbath (along with food regulations) was not binding on the church is also evident in Col. 2:16. Sabbath and food regulations are considered to be "shadows: that are no longer in force now that Jesus Christ has come. The Apostolic Fathers point to the same conclusion, for they emphasize that believers keep not the Sabbath but the Lord's Day (he lists several references). They do not argue that the Lord's Day is the Sabbath. Instead, they distinguish the two, claiming that believers observe the former but not the latter."

Finally, Douglas Moo seems to concur with Schreiner, though admitting the problem is difficult: "Pinning down the exact nature of this disagreement over "days" is difficult since Paul does not elaborate. Some expositors trace the problem to the influence of the pagan environment, which might have led some Roman Christians to distinguish "lucky" and "unlucky" days, or to practice days of abstinence in accordance with certain Greco-Roman religious cults. But we have seen good reason to trace the root issue between the "strong" and the "weak" to Jewish concerns about the law. And the observance of the day was, of course, important in the OT and in Judaism. Whether the specific point at issue was the observance of the great Jewish festivals, regular days of fasting, or the Sabbath is difficult to say. But we would expect that the Sabbath, at least, would be involved, since Sabbath observance was, along with food laws, a key Jewish distinctive in the first century, and surfaced as a point of tension elsewhere in the early church (see Gal. 4:10[?]; Col. 2:16)."

Note that both Schreiner and Moo point to Galatians 4:10 and especially Colossians 2:16 as examples of a similar situation to that which the Romans are experiencing. Their understanding of Paul's response there affects their understanding of the passage here.

Galatians 4:10: You observe days and months and seasons and years!

Is Paul rebuking the Galatians for observing the Sabbath? I only have one good exegetical commentary on Galatians, but Timothy George seems to think that Sabbath is included in the word "days".

Colossians 2:16-17: 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. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Sabbatarians tend to regard the word "Sabbath" here as referring to other ceremonial sabbaths of the Old Testament, but not the weekly Sabbath.

F. F. Bruce says, however, "The onus probandi [burden of proof] lies on those who argue that the weekly sabbath is not included in this reference. When the sabbath is mentioned in the OT or the NT with no contextual qualification, the weekly sabbath is intended."

As for my opinion on this question, I would say this:

1. The most plain reading of these passages would seem to indicate that the Sabbath is in view.
2. These passages do not prohibit Sabbath observance, but do seem to put it in the category of the "weak brother" who has not recognized that the day was a "shadow" but the "substance" has come.

Nevertheless, my mind is still not settled on the question because while I think the above is most probable, it is possible that the passages above refer only to other Jewish days excluding the weekly Sabbath. I'm also still torn on some of the other questions I put forward at the beginning of this post.

In any case, there is one thing we should definitely learn from the Romans and Colossians passage. Bruce puts it this way: "Sabbatarian controversies among Christians would be laid to rest if serious account were taken of the injunction: "Let no one sit in judgment on you with regard to a sabbath.""