To me, one of the strongest arguments, not just for the Sabbath, but for the entire law, is Matthew 5:17--
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law." {NIV}
To make it even clearer and stronger, in my mind at least, Jesus then basically repeated Himself--
"I have not come to abolish [it].
Unfortunately... because He then finishes that second statement with the declaration--
"I have come to fulfill them," most Christians interpret that to be ultimately saying--HE DID COME TO ABOLISH THE LAW.
To me, that's a horrible twisting of Christ's words.
How can he twice say He had not come to abolish the law, and then abolish the law?
When He said He came to "fulfill" them, He was saying He came to obey them.
"I have kept my Father's commandments." {John 15:10}
P.S.--He then went on to say:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” {vs 19}
(These words weren't even written and published till long after His death. They make absolutely no sense at all if Christ abolished the law at His death.)
What you don’t realize is, the law of Moses is not meant for a righteous person, but for the ungodly, for sinners, for murderers, etc.: because it exists to show the unsaved what sin IS.
1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a RIGHTEOUS man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for THE UNGODLY and for SINNERS , for UNHOLY and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Christians are not ungodly anymore, but are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, thus we’ve died to the law.
Rom 7:4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have DIED TO THE LAW through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
Rom 7:5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, AROUSED BY THE LAW, were at work in our members to bear fruit for DEATH.
Rom 7:6 But now we are RELEASED from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the NEW way of the SPIRIT and not in the OLD way of the written code.
For Christians only, (not the ungodly) Jesus nailed the law of Moses to His cross and took it out of our way:
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
And the law of Moses was temporary until Christ came:
Gal 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made (Jesus Christ), and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
Gal 3:23 But BEFORE faith came, we were KEPT UNDER THE LAW, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore THE LAW was our SCHOOLMASTER to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But AFTER that faith is come, we are NO LONGER under a schoolmaster.
Christians have the fruit of the spirit, instead of the letter of the law, which is why for us THERE IS NO LAW, of Moses for us:
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such THERE IS NO LAW.
Paul comes right out and says, he is not under the law of Moses, but IS under the law of Christ ( the law of love aka the two love commands).
1Co 9:19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1Co 9:20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though NOT being myself UNDER THE LAW) that I might win those under the law.
1Co 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but UNDER the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
God is not in disagreement with himself about which laws we should follow, so the Law of Christ is the same as the Law of the Spirit and the Law of the Father, which was given to Moses. In
Romans 7:21-8:2, Paul equated the Law of Moses with the Law of the Spirit by contrasting them both with the law of sin and death
Wrong interpretation. The Bible is clear that the law of sin and death, which is the law of Moses, is not the law of the spirit, which is new covenant, not old.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
Rom 8:4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.