Was the Sabbath Abolished?
There are literally dozens of reasons given today as to why some claim the fourth Commandment has ended. The sad part is that most of these reasons contradict each other and those quoting them do not even notice the contradictions. This is a Commandment which God personally wrote in stone and spoke in fiery majesty. So if the Sabbath was abolished then there can be no doubt that there would be at least one very clear scripture which everyone would agree on. But not so.
Some say that there are Ten Commandments and others that there are Nine Commandments. And yet others say that the Ten Commandment were nailed to the cross. And if this is not contradictory enough, there are also those who insist that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday according to scriptures like Acts 20:7. But all these reasons have one thing in common. Most who quote them are trying to avoid a Commandment of God and some have even chosen to call it legalism or bondage.
The Sabbath is a day on which God desires us to rest so that we do not burn out and so it is for our well being. It is also a day which God desires for those who love Him to devote entirely to Him. Now what part of resting for our health or spending one on one quality time with our Creator is legalism or bondage or to much of an effort? Those who have chosen to call the day legalism or to much of an effort should set their Creator straight and tell Him, “I do not have to love you Lord! That is legalism and just to much of an effort! You don’t expect me to spend quality one on one time with you do you? I like you Lord but let’s not push the boundaries. I have other things to do!”
Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, then keep My Commandments.” Is it legalism to not murder someone or not lie or steal? Clearly not so. It is only this one Commandment that so many so called Christians go to such extremes to avoid. There are literally dozens of contradictory reasons to avoid this special blessed day that is about quality time with God, resting, and fellowshipping with family and friends. And when no one can agree why the Sabbath is supposedly abolished then the wise will know something is very wrong and that Satan is behind the deceptions. Therefore we should recognize that it is very relevant.
The Sabbath is our favourite day of the week and is a real blessing to those who understand what this Commandment is all about. It is sad for those who have been deceived and do not know what a blessing the Sabbath day is and what they are missing out on. (Isaiah 58:13-14) And not forgetting that deliberately disobeying God is wilful sin that cannot be forgiven without true repentance. (Hebrews 10:26-29)
The issue of these three scriptures that are used to say the Sabbath was abolished revolve around the inability to tell the difference between laws. There are even some who say the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments are the same law. Yet only one of these laws was written in stone by God and stored on the inside of the Ark of the Covenant, (Exodus 20:1, 22; Exodus 32:16; Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 10:5) while the other was written in a book by Moses and stored on the outside of the Ark. (Deuteronomy 31:24; Deuteronomy 31:25-26) Scripture also says that the Mosaic Law was added until the seed (Jesus) should come because the law was transgressed. (Galatians 3:19) So what other law was transgressed? The Mosaic Law contained all the sacrifices that were introduced because God's Ten Commandment law was transgressed (broken). To say that the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments are the same is like saying that when one sinned they had to go and commit adultery to make reconciliation for their sin which is obviously wrong. When one sinned before the cross they had to take an animal sacrifice and have its blood shed by the temple priest. This is what Passover is all about. Jesus became our Passover Lamb and died at exactly the same time as the Passover lamb was about to be sacrificed in the temple.
There can be no doubt that the sacrificial law written in a book is not the same as the Ten Commandments which God wrote in stone. It is typically those who are trying to abolish the Sabbath who say otherwise and are trying to convince others of this lie. Read the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial law comparison for a very detailed exegesis of these two laws.
As for the three most common passages used to say the Sabbath is abolished, they all have one thing in common. They all refer to the law of sacrifices that ended at the cross. Note the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge and People's New Testament By B. W. Johnson Bible Commentaries on Romans 14:5 for expert confirmation of this fact and the scriptures they reference.
So how does one conclude that Romans 14:5 says the Sabbath is abolished? And how many times do you see an explanation from those claiming that Romans 14:5 says we do not have to observe the Sabbath? I have never seen one valid reason! People see the word “day” spoken of in a context that says these days do not have to be observed and just decide to apply it to the Sabbath Commandment. The word “Sabbath” does not even appear in the entire chapter and the word “alike” was added by the translators and does not exist in the Greek text. Bible Commentaries used by most Pastors all had not trouble understanding what these days were and state categorically that there is no way these texts abolish the Sabbath. Next time someone quotes Romans 14:5 to you, ask them to prove from scripture that the word “day” is applied to the fourth Commandment. The Lord's Sabbath is never referred to as just a day. It always called “the Sabbath” or “Sabbath day.” Always! Romans chapter 14 is about meat sacrificed to idols, and Gentiles judging Jews who had not yet understood that they no longer had to keep all the different sacrificial feast days which ended at the cross. Here are two Bible Commentaries on Romans 14:5 from Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes. Please read Romans 14:5-6 for more on this passage.
Then we have Colossians 2:16 which says let no one judge you in meat or drink, feast day, new moon or a Sabbath days. (plural) All these things just mentioned are called the ordinances that were practiced for sin, which is breaking one of the Ten Commandments of which the Lord's Sabbath is one. It is NOT a sacrificial law and was NOT written in the sacrificial law and was NEVER practiced when one sinned. But everything in Colossians 2:16 was practiced before the cross when one sinned. Besides these facts, Paul says in Colossians 2:14 that what is in verse 16 are the ordinances. The Strong's and Thayer dictionaries also inform us that the ordinances are the sacrificial law of Moses. You cannot take one of the Ten Commandments which God wrote in stone and say that it belongs to the Mosaic Law which was written on paper and was for sacrifices when one sinned. Thou shalt not murder and shedding the blood of a lamb are NOT the same thing! The Sabbath days in Colossians 2:16 are the sacrificial Sabbaths such as Passover Sabbath and the Day of Atonement Sabbath and five others which were added because of sin and which were practiced because of sin. The Lord's Sabbath was NEVER practiced when one sinned. Compare Colossians 2:16 and Ezekiel 45:17 which shows what was practiced to make reconciliation for sin. Here are two Bible Commentaries from Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes for expert support. Please read Colossians 2:16 for more on this passage.
Some also use the verse 17 from the above passage and claim the Sabbath was a shadow. But as just explained, the sabbaths referred to in this passage are ceremonial sabbaths that were instituted because of sin. The Lord's Sabbath existed before sin and so can never be a shadow. The Sabbath is in fact a memorial of creation! The ceremonial feast day sabbaths (such as Passover sabbath) were shadows (type) as they were a shadow of some future event that they pointed forward to (antitype). And type and antitype will always match precisely. This is why Passover and Passover sabbath ended at the cross as Jesus became our Passover Lamb, and so Passover being the shadow vanished at the cross.
Now for Galatians 4:9-10. Paul said that this law was bondage but James said that the Ten Commandments are the perfect law of liberty and that is NOT bondage. (James 1:25; James 2:10-12) The Mosaic Law and all the sacrifices that went with it however were bondage. Paul said in Colossians 2:14 referring to this same law that it was contrary to us and against us. In other words, it was bondage and believe me when I say that having to take unblemished animals to the temple priest and having their blood shed every time you sinned was indeed bondage! We also saw in Colossians 2:16 that the sacrificial law had holy feast (DAYS), new moons (MONTHS) and sacrificial Sabbaths (YEARLY) such as Passover. So we have Days, Months and Years. In Galatians 4:10 Paul also says this law had days, months and years. This is because this is the same law which was nailed to the cross and which Paul also had to correct the Colossians on. Here are two Bible Commentaries from Albert Barnes and People's New Testament for expert support. Compare Galatians 4:10 with Colossians 2:16. Read Galatians 4:9-10 for more detail.
The sacrificial law was kept for many hundreds of years, so it took quite some time for the Gospel message to spread and for the Jews especially to understand that the sacrificial law had ended at the cross with Christ when He became our one and final perfect sacrifice. This was a common problem as the wise would understand and it took some time to spread the Gospel and let everyone know they no longer had to offer up animal sacrifices and Romans 14:5, Colossians 2:14-17 and Galatians 4:9-10 are such times Paul had to deal with this problem.
So as for those who constantly quote these verses claiming that the Sabbath was abolished, they have either been led astray by the great deceiver, do not love God enough to want to spend quality time with Him on His Holy day, or are unable to tell the difference between the law of sacrifices and a moral law. Sadly, there is no shortage of people spreading these non-truths.
The Sabbath was not abolished at the cross and that can also be proven by the following page on the Sabbath in the New Covenant. Read what day is the Sabbath day or who changed the Sabbath to Sunday to see that it was not changed to Sunday according to the Bible. Also read how the Sabbath was changed to Sunday to discover in brief all the steps Satan used to bring about the change of the Sabbath day. See also do we need to keep the feast days.