Do you keep the Sabbath? (poll)

The Sabbath was created for mankind, not the other way around Yeshua says .... the fact He says 'mankind' implies a wider domain than just Israel or the Jews. That and Genesis 2:3 (relating to a situation long before the Torah was given) indicate to me some kind of universal application.

I know the Ten Words (decalogue) were given to Israel - and I'm a Gentile, but by yielding to that universal principle from Genesis 2:3 - all of a sudden magically I'm also keeping the Ten Words intact as a Gentile ... that's just fascinating.

For me it's not a hill not die on (I respect others' choices in this), but as soon as a Christian admits it's good to rest at least one day a week, and admits it makes sense to do that on an identical day, the only logical conclusion has to be that should be on a Saturday = Sabbath.

The Bible does not contain an instruction to rest one day per week - but it does contain the instruction to rest on the 7th day = Sabbath - and that's definitely not Sunday - that's the 1st day of the week. There are prophecies in the TNK/OT referencing the Sabbath day that have not been fulfilled yet ...

Be blessed sister !

linux.poet said:

I am simply wondering what the answer to the poll question is. No hard feelings to Sabbath worshippers intended, I am simply curious.

If you do keep the Sabbath, how do you observe it? How you do believe Christians should observe it?

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Hi Linux,

I answered this question on another thread and since it was long I'll post most of it here.

Many think the 4th commandment is just how to keep the Sabbath, but it actually tells us how to keep all days. Also, many think its just about rest, but its actually telling us to rest from our work and labors so we can keep the Sabbath day holy. In the Sabbath commandment there is a provision for it to be kept for everyone.

Exo 20:8 “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 the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Isa 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Sabbath is about putting away all secular things, resting from works and labors and focusing on God for one full day, on the Sabbath- God's holy day, The only one God claimed in the entire Bible. The Sabbath is a delight, not meant to be a burden as many teach. How can spending time with God on the day He set aside from Creation that comes with His power of blessings Isa56:2 and sanctification Eze20:12 and know He is our God Eze20:20 ever be a burden.

God said the Sabbath is for a holy convocation or church

Lev 23:3 ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

God does not want His people being on an island. The Sabbath is meant for God's people to come together as a church family to worship Him and we see this in the life of Jesus and the apostles and continuing on in the New Heaven and New Earth,

We can learn how to keep the Sabbath through the life of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath

Luke4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. What He read from is the Book of Isaiah if you keep reading in this passage

Jesus healed on the Sabbath which the Jews in their legalism said it was breaking their sabbath (not God's)

Can you imagine if Jesus could cure someone from suffering why would that not be a blessing to do on the Sabbath or any day. Why Jesus said

Mat 12:12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Mark3:4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

The apostles kept the Sabbath with these same basic principles

As a holy convocation, reading and preaching the word of God, keeping the Sabbath holy by focusing on God through His word, prayer, and church gathering

Acts 13:14
But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.

Acts 13:27
For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

Acts 13:42
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Acts 13:44
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

Acts 15:21
For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Acts 16:13
And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

Acts 17:2
Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

Acts 18:4
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.


In summary, I like to model how we are told in Scriptures and how Jesus and the apostles kept the Sabbath, I like to prepare for the Sabbath as much I can on Friday which is the preparation day, so house cleaning, grocery shopping, prep meals when I can etc.

On the Sabbath I like to start out with quiet devotion of prayer and reading the Bible. Then I go to church with my church family. Sometimes we have potluck which is nice. Our church organizes a lot of outreaches either help bring food to the needy or clothes or will provide Bible studies etc. After church I go back home and will usually spend the rest of the day reading the Bible, prayer or reasoning with others on the Scriptures or visiting family. I will also watch sermons. I also like to get out it nature and appreciate everything God made for us in nature. I was not a Sabbath-keeper for most of my life and went back about 5 years ago and it changed my life. There is nothing in this world that can take the place of resting with God Heb4:4 Heb4:10 on His holy Sabbath day. Nothing can replace God's Sabbath, no shopping trip, house project etc. will ever be more valuable than this sacred time with God.


His holy Sabbath convocation continues on in the New Heaven and New Earth but instead of worshipping Him in spirit, it will be before Him!


Isa66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

linux.poet said:

How you do believe Christians should observe it?

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I believe it is a matter of choice. I also believe that Jesus came and did fulfill (brought to an end) all of the law and brought to an end all of the prophecies concerning His coming. All mankind is now under the New and better Covenant that Jesus ratified with his own blood on Calvary. That is some of the good news we are to spread to the World. The good news is not that we are going to Hell if we do not keep a day according to what man conjures to be what is Holy.

linux.poet said:

I am simply wondering what the answer to the poll question is. No hard feelings to Sabbath worshippers intended, I am simply curious.

If you do keep the Sabbath, how do you observe it? How you do believe Christians should observe it?

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I keep the Sabbath as it was "made for mankind" according to Christ in Mark 2:27 and as we see in Gen 2:2-3 at the "making of mankind and the Sabbath".

The Ten Commandments are included in the moral law of God according to a great many Christian denominational leaders.

Ex 20:8-11 says it is "The Sabbath of the Lord thy God" and in vs 11 it takes the reader straight to Gen 2:2-3.
Lev 23 says the weekly Sabbath is "a day of holy convocation" in vs 2
Is 58:13 says we do not participate in secular activity on Sabbath
Is 66:23 says that for all eternity after the cross "from Sabbath to Sabbath shall all mankind come before Me to worship"

All references to "The Sabbath" as a weekly day of worship in the NT are specific to the 7th day of the week

Bob S said:

I believe it is a matter of choice.

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Bob S said:

I also believe that Jesus came and did fulfill (brought to an end) all of the law and brought to an end all of the prophecies concerning His coming.

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Prophecies concerning His second coming are still be fulfilled

Bob S said:

All mankind is now under the New and better Covenant

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only the born again are under the new covenant. All the lost are under "obey and live" Gen 2, the oldest covenant of all and because of that Rom 3 says all are lost, all need the gospel.

I neither work nor do any marketing on Sunday, starting Saturday evening. I will mow the lawn, drive to a state park, engage in sports, cook, or other non-marketing non-work things. I go to church mainly on Sunday, but sometimes Saturday evening. Sunday evening I do prepare to be ready for work on Monday.

linux.poet said:

I am simply wondering what the answer to the poll question is. No hard feelings to Sabbath worshippers intended, I am simply curious.

If you do keep the Sabbath, how do you observe it? How you do believe Christians should observe it?

Click to expand...

God blessed the 7th day and made it holy at creation. Jesus kept the Sabbath, we are to follow in His steps. It is a blessing. It's a day set aside for worship and physical rest ... The Sabbath is a day for worshiping God, enjoying fellowship with other believers, and spending time in nature.

The Sabbath is intended to be a joyful time for spiritual renewal, not a day of strict rules. As Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).

It's something to look forward to every week.

BobRyan said:

Prophecies concerning His second coming are still be fulfilled

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That has nothing to do with what I wrote in my post, Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets; Are you trying to submit that He didn't do what He came to do???

BobRyan said:

only the born again are under the new covenant. All the lost are under "obey and live" Gen 2, the oldest covenant of all and because of that Rom 3 says all are lost, all need the gospel.

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The New Covenant is for all mankind. I have no idea where you are getting your information. Jesus' admonition to spread the Gospel to all the World had to have meant spreading it to the Gentile nations.

eleos1954 said:

God blessed the 7th day and made it holy at creation. Jesus kept the Sabbath, we are to follow in His steps. It is a blessing. It's a day set aside for worship and physical rest ... The Sabbath is a day for worshiping God, enjoying fellowship with other believers, and spending time in nature.

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Scripture does not indicate that God made any succeeding days Holy. Jesus was born under the law given only to one nation, Israel. Since Jesus kept Torah and that meant keeping all the Holy days given only to Israel, do you follow every one of His steps?

eleos1954 said:

The Sabbath is intended to be a joyful time for spiritual renewal, not a day of strict rules. As Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).

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Are you telling us there are no strict rules concerning the keeping of the Sabbath?

eleos1954 said:

It's something to look forward to every week.

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For millions of Christians, Sunday is a time each week to look forward to. About all the admonitions for observing the Sabbath are found in Is 58:13
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

Jesus said that we should come to Him for our rest and He didn't specify what day.

Bob S said:

That has nothing to do with what I wrote in my post, Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets; Are you trying to submit that He didn't do what He came to do???

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He fulfilled the command to "not take God's name in vain" do you imagine that this means we are all supposed to ignore that part of God's Word now??? Seriously??

Bob S said:

The New Covenant is for all mankind.

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so is the old. Read Rom 3. But some choose to accept the New Covenant rather than remain under the "obey and live " Old Covenant as Gal 3 points out.

details matter.

Bob S said:

I have no idea where you are getting your information.

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I too would have guessed that you were having a problem just then.

Bob S said:

Jesus' admonition to spread the Gospel to all the World had to have meant spreading it to the Gentile nations.

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yep. I think we all can see that.

Bob S said:

Scripture does not indicate that God made any succeeding days Holy.

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succeeding what?

Bob S said:

Scripture does not indicate that God made any succeeding days Holy. Jesus was born under the law given only to one nation, Israel. Since Jesus kept Torah and that meant keeping all the Holy days given only to Israel, do you follow every one of His steps?

Are you telling us there are no strict rules concerning the keeping of the Sabbath?

For millions of Christians, Sunday is a time each week to look forward to. About all the admonitions for observing the Sabbath are found in Is 58:13
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

Jesus said that we should come to Him for our rest and He didn't specify what day.

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It was established at creation

The Sabbath is a symbol of both God's creation and redemption in Christ.

It was established at Creation and given to all mankind as a blessed and holy gift of rest. And it's meant to remind us of two things: Our origin in God as our Creator. Our redemption from the bondage of sin through His grace and power.

linux.poet said:

Gentlemen, you do have an entire subforum to debate which day the Sabbath should be kept on. This thread is not quite that, although I understand why it could come up.

Rather, if checking Instagram and email is “secular work”, that really says something about the over-intrusion of work in our culture and how much we are milked for productivity and never being allowed to truly rest. The world can be overwhelming for me with the number of rest and entertainment options. Rest should not involve having to make more decisions and fight more spiritual wars over the blurred line between work and rest the world likes to impose, I think.

Thinking about a Biblical model for rest is a good idea, and I think that Sabbath-keeping Christians understand this more than most as they follow a Biblical model of rest each week. That’s why I asked the OP questions. There may be certain advantages to keeping a certain entire day, or obligations you believe I need to follow in doing so, and I am willing to hear the case for that, but people debating among themselves over days isn’t really what I’m looking for here. Thanks!

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I’ll debate you that the sabbath keepers don’t follow a biblical model of rest.

But I digress……

BobRyan said:

He fulfilled the command to "not take God's name in vain" do you imagine that this means we are all supposed to ignore that part of God's Word now??? Seriously??

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Covered under the new Law of Love Jesus gave us.

BobRyan said:

so is the old. Read Rom 3. But some choose to accept the New Covenant rather than remain under the "obey and live " Old Covenant as Gal 3 points out.

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No, God gave the Old Covenant only to those He led out of bondage in Egypt. Gentile nations were excluded.

BobRyan said:

details matter.

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it sure does, and you have not provided any details to prove anything. Every human being is under the New and better Covenant. It is our choice to accept or reject it.

BobRyan said:

I too would have guessed that you were having a problem just then.

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You and who?

BobRyan said:

yep. I think we all can see that.

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I would hope so.

eleos1954 said:

It was established at creation

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and put in motion after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea.

eleos1954 said:

The Sabbath is a symbol of both God's creation

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I agree it was the symbol of creation. Jesus is the living proof.

eleos1954 said:

and redemption in Christ.

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Where did you find that in scripture or is it just a cliche?

eleos1954 said:

It was established at Creation and given to all mankind as a blessed and holy gift of rest. And it's meant to remind us of two things: Our origin in God as our Creator. Our redemption from the bondage of sin through His grace and power.

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Why would you try to establish something that cannot be proved?

linux.poet said:

Gentlemen, you do have an entire subforum to debate which day the Sabbath should be kept on.

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"Sabbath and the Law" seems like a good place to start.

Do you agree that a monday to monday weekly Sabbath cycle is "different" in some way from Bible Sabbath 7th day week to week? Or in your view is that identical in the way it is kept?

linux.poet said:

This thread is not quite that, although I understand why it could come up.

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Let's say that we suspect that all the denominations that teach that Sabbath was edited to now point to Sunday after the cross , are joining the Bible Sabbath groups on this forum and all of them are joining in opposition to the guys that say that Sabbath is deleted no matter what day you keep it on.

Question. How often do you see that kind of discussion in real life on this forum? Next to zero? In reality it is always the group that thinks the Sabbath is still as-in the Bible on the 7th day of the week, being opposed by those who reject an un-edited Sabbath.

Almost every thread on this forum ends up that way

linux.poet said:

Thinking about a Biblical model for rest is a good idea, and I think that Sabbath-keeping Christians understand this more than most as they follow a Biblical model of rest each week. That’s why I asked the OP questions. There may be certain advantages to keeping a certain entire day, or obligations you believe I need to follow in doing so, and I am willing to hear the case for that, but people debating among themselves over days isn’t really what I’m looking for here. Thanks!

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I would request that you add that last section above to your opening post, so we can stick closer to your intended focus of discussion

As it is ... your number 1 option "

Yes, I keep the Sabbath on Saturday every week as mentioned in the Decalogue, the Law, etc."​

Makes it appear that keeping Sabbath on a day not specified in the Bible would be "another option" and would be a valid point of discussion

linux.poet said:

I’ll hear your case. What is a biblical model of rest, and why do Sabbath keepers not follow it?

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That’s the point. There is no longer a biblical model of rest. Christ fulfilled all of the law and became the Lord of the sabbath. Our rest is now in Him, TODAY (Heb. 4:3). We don’t have to keep one day. We can worship and rest any day.

Secondly, the Mosaic law including the 10 commandments was given to Israel 430 years after Abraham. There was no sabbath keeping before then. Abraham commandments and statutes mentioned in Gen. 26:5 could not have included the Mosaic law Including the 10 commandments BECAUSE it was given to Israel 430 years later. In addition, Abraham was not justified by his works of any law since he was justified by his faith (Rom. 4:13-14).

Thirdly, the law was never given to the church. There is absolutely no mention in scripture where the law was given to the gentiles. We can’t be forced to follow laws that were never given. The new covenant for the church is the new convent of blood that Jesus speaks about in Luke 22:20. Notice that He ushers the new covenant to the church through communion.

The moral commandments of the Jewish law including the Ten Commandments were summarized in Jesus’s two commandments.

“Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭40‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Most sabbath keepers attempt to separate the 613 mitzvot which included the 10 commandments but that is not biblical. Scriptures says ALL of it not just some of it was fulfilled(completed) by Jesus sacrifice on the cross.

“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

The WHOLE LAW was fulfilled (completed) in ONE word. All of the law is now one word in the one commandment but both love commandments apply.

With Jesus we still sin (1 John 1:8-9) but we don’t live in sin. In the old covenant people were convicted by the letter of the law but now that faith has come (Gal. 3:23) we are convicted by the Spirit. There was no indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Old Covenant. This is one of the great things that makes the gospel of good news so great.

“But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

The only people that remain under the law is unbelieving Israel, as they rejected the Messiah, and those who choose to remain under the law. Sabbath keeping is no longer necessary because the law is no longer necessary. As Paul explains in Col. 2:16 no one should judge anyone whose decides to keep the sabbath or decides not to keep it. The problems comes when those that want to keep it accuse those that do not as living in sin because they consider the sabbath as a moral law and necessary for salvation although they will deny that. The effect is the same, if I dont keep the sabbath then I am sinning and if I don’t repent then I cant be saved. It is works salvation. There is no biblical model to keep the sabbath that does not involve being under the law.

Why would we need the law if we have something much better? Where in scripture is there a post crucifixion verse that requires the Christian to keep the 4th commandment? Hint: there isn’t one.