Is Sabbath, or First Day of the Week, Keeping, Required?
Some preachers and Christians groups insist that Sabbath keeping is required of Christians. They often go so far as to say that unless a person faithfully observes a weekly Sabbath day, they have no relationship with God. They claim that Christians must observe a weekly Sabbath like the ancient Israelites did under the Old Covenant. If a person doesn’t do this, they assert, that person cannot gain eternal life. Notice what one such very devoted sabbath keeper promotes:
Sabbath keeping promoter— “So is the law of the Sabbath now no longer obligatory because it is not mentioned in the NT? Many arguments believe this is to be so. The Sabbath is no longer ‘binding?’ Some contend it has been incorporated in the,‘forsake not the gathering of yourselves together.’ Also a Word from the Apostleship. But is Saturday the Sabbath reveled to Moses on a six day work, rest one by the Gregorian Calendar the obligatory Sabbath or even SUNday? No. However, one day in seven is a Sabbath as commanded by Yahweh as revealed to Moses. The Decalogue remains intact as given by Yahweh to Israel.”
There are many who claim that Christians need to, or even required to, observe the first day of the week, Sunday, as a special day of worship, in honor of Christ’s resurrection, and also what they believe to be a practice of the early church.
What does the Bible say?
We can’t help but notice that he there are no scriptures to support the assertion that the Sabbath, or first day of the week observing, is required of Christians.
“Christ is the end of the law”—Romans 10:4 NAB
In fact, “the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, you must love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14 NAB)
“He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect”—Hebrews 10:9 NLT
The covenant with Israel, was canceled.
“So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!”—2 Corinthians 3:11 NLT
What is “the old way, which has been replaced”? The Bible tells us:
” . . . the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away”—2 Corinthians 3:14 NAB
“Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people”—Ephesians 2:14 NLT
“Abolishing the law with its commandments”—Ephesians 2:15 NAB
What is “the second” that he puts “into effect” (Hebrews 10:9)?
“Christ” is the “the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 10:9).
The New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant.
“Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food or drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or SABBATH“—Colossians 2:16 NAB
Since the Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant, and no one is to judge us in regard to the sabbath, does that mean that Sabbath, or first day of the week keeping, is not required of Christians? Yes! That’s exactly what it means!
“One person considers one day more sacred than another; another person considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind”—Romans 14:5 NIV
Under the covenant that governs Christians, the New Covenant, Sabbath, or first day of the week, keeping is optional. It is not required.
However, scrupulously slaving to keep various requirements of the Old Covenant, or “one day more sacred than another”, is described as “observing days, months, seasons and years” (Galatians 4:10 NAB), and such effort is described being “in vain” (Galatians 4:11 NAB).
For more information related to this subject, please see the following article on this website:
“‘Tes’t ‘All Things” ‘By the Scriptures’ That Bible Scholars Teach” – https://bibleauthenticity.com/test-all-things-by-the-scriptures-that-bible-scholars-teach/
4 thoughts on “Is Sabbath, or First Day of the Week, Keeping, Required?”
The authors of the Bible claim that they are speaking for God. But God does not exist. This has been proven. So, we can ignore the dictates and recommendations of the Bible authors. They are not credible authorities.
Yes the Sabbath is the 4th commandment. Sabbath in OT was forever! It’s an oath, mark, covenant with mankind. Law done away with? We’re not saved by the law but Yahusha taught Torah. The law is for the law less in the first place. The moral laws are for instruction in Righteousness. Nothing to Do.. Read them, they are righteous instructions… that’s all. If we all kept those, there would be no crime! As for the feasts, some say for Israel forever!
We are also Israel…graphted I through the seed of Yahusua/Jesus.
Now accounted as the seed of Abraham..So yes, the rules apply to us. While I’m not a Zionist..I believe in the heavenly Jerusalem, just read some new opinions on Yahuah’s laws..he doesn’t change. Calendar! Yes..We can find the Sabbath day!
Zadok calendar! So awesome! Saturday happens to be the Sabbath anyway, 7th day, as God created the earth clock on the 4th day. Yeah, the sun goes around us. Sektants, Lunar Vovells and Astrolabes still work from 6’000 years ago. Time to look outside folks! Enough said. Here’s a question?
Jesus, click on Strong’s, you get Iesous, Iesus Latin..click on that you get Yahushua!
Actually, it’s Yahusha but that’s more detailed. And the J is only 400+ years old..Plus Jesus, the name has no meaning at all. Jehovah too. Been said 1000’s of times to you..no doubt? Why did we change his name? Yahusha means Yahuah is salvation! Also..Greek ruins so many key concepts. I hate it!
Laying out book by book in 5-7 translations..KJV, Young’s and Aramaic give the clues. The name Yeshua..Aramaic! Yahusha spoke to Paul “in the Hebrew tongue” to him. Was he called Yeshua? And Solomon said…partly “what’s his name and his Son’s name if you know it?
900+ BC.. all OT scripture was in Hebrew and they have it all…Dead Sea Scrolls. Isaiah is on display with You Hey Vav Hey on display!! It’s not Yahweh (no W in Hebrew). Anyway, book of Joshua has the name of Jesus as Yahusha and Yahushua (an error twice in there) So..did Solomon call him Jesus? No. He had the OT in Hebrew.
I just can’t see why We all can’t reason this out!
Sorry..the old Saturday nor Sunday is a real Sabbath no longer holds water. I asked in prayer..Yahuah, surely you left us a way to know your Sabbath’s? Took 5 years and 4 calendars! The calendar is in Chronicles, set up by David, given by Enoch first.
The Enoch calendar alone isn’t the whole story! Been there. Without the priestly courses you can’t find the original calendar. I hope you do…go seek it out. It’s the Zadok, dead sea scrolls enoch, Jubilee’s calendar.
Geotruth on You Tube has been tracking the sun for years now. He’s found that the Navy data matches Enoch perfectly. Earth is a clock .the heavens declare it..the firmament declares his handiwork! The stars are in the firmament! Go to a planatarium. All constellations are above you..go outside too..all 12 go around earth every year.
I know that’s odd to most.
Time to use our eyes and Scriptures. Sorry if I came on too strong here. Not trying to be mean or angry!
Just tired of people Not looking, not thinking it out.
Our scriptures are also very Pagan! Greek too in NT..
That’s a while other rabbit hole. Yah said not to speak of other gods. How about Biblos? Bible, Kirke,Kirk,Circci ad Church?
It’s true..do the etemogy! Circci is the daughter of Zeus! Like Charlie Kirk? Charlie Church? Don’t see a problem? There is one. How about Cross?, Crux added before scripture was printed. Pagan. Hebrew tells you they were hung on trees. Once the Nt tells you Messiah was hung on a tree too. Crux/cross comes from Nimroc. How about Christ? Why not Messiah? Took me 3 hours to get the etemolgy on that. Christ is Christos..it was Mithra! Means the annointed one..but it’s a trick. How about Christian! Only in Canon twice in the NT. And he shall be called a Nazarene..Natsaryim. look into crestian history!
They have lied to us and slipped in Pagan names all over the place! Greek didn’t help..Every time Greek has NO Hebrew root, the pattern I find is “Pagan” origin. Tons of deep studies on all this now. We should honor Yahusha and Yahuah by changing! Why not?
As a side note, I took many teachings here. We agree on so much! I’m not against you! I wish we could all start paying attention to the words more. I’m changing..I suppose you don’t have to.
I’ve read all the excuses on how Jesus translates the same, etc. I just gave you a few reasons why..that doesn’t fly. His name never was Jesus all 2,000 years ago. Why can’t we admit our scriptures are tampered with and follow the old path?
The following information may be of help to you:
REGARDING SABBATH KEEPING
“Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food or drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or SABBATH”—Colossians 2:16 NAB
Since the Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant, and no one is to judge us in regard to the sabbath, does that mean that Sabbath, or first day of the week keeping, is not required of Christians? Yes! That’s exactly what it means!
“One person considers one day more sacred than another; another person considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind”—Romans 14:5 NIV
Under the covenant that governs Christians, the New Covenant, Sabbath, or first day of the week, keeping is optional. It is not required.
REGARDING GOD’S NAME YAHWEH
The Hebrew consonantal letters for the name YHWH (in English) appears over 6,800 times in the Hebrew text of the OT, which is far more than all other proper names.
“I am Yahweh your God . . . You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:2-3 LSB).
“I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another” (Isaiah 42:8 LSB).
The following article from the Fall 2024 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, “Parsing the Divine Name,” by Ronald Hendel, further explains why there is a discrepancy between what is in the ancient Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament and its current usage in most Bible translations:
“Articles in BAR often write “Yahweh” as the name of ancient Israel’s God. This concerns some readers, as occasionally expressed in letters to the editor (see Queries & Comments). Here, I explain why many—but not all—biblical scholars and archaeologists use this name. The problem involves two intertwined facts: (1) The letters of the tetragrammaton—YHWH—are not fully vocalized in the Hebrew Bible; and (2) Jewish tradition prohibits the pronunciation of this name. Why, then, do we say Yahweh if this pronunciation is both obscure and heretical? I first address the name’s obscure vocalization, and then the apparent heresy.1
Ancient Hebrew is written consonantally, with some consonants used sometimes to indicate vowels. In the four letters of the tetragrammaton, the first three letters represent consonants, and the last letter (the final he) is a vowel marker. This is so in Iron Age inscriptions—for instance, in the Mesha Stele, the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions, and letters from Arad and Lachish—and in the Hebrew Bible.
In the Bible, the consonantal writing is overlaid with vowel points inserted in medieval times, which preserve old reading traditions. The vowel points usually written under the letters YHWH are the vowels for the Hebrew word Adonai, “my Lord.” They are not the vowels for YHWH. Why is this so? Because the reading tradition preserves the custom that one does not pronounce the name of God, instead substituting the epithet “my Lord.” This customary substitution goes back to at least the third century BCE, when the Old Greek translation of the Pentateuch translated YHWH as “Lord” (kurios, in Greek) or copied the name in Hebrew letters. The point is that the reading tradition doesn’t preserve the original pronunciation of YHWH. So why do we think that Israelites and Jews in earlier periods pronounced it as Yahweh?
The answer is pretty straightforward. The vocalization of the first syllable is actually preserved, mostly in liturgical expressions and personal names. “Halleluyah,” a frequent refrain in the Psalms, means “Praise Yah.” Yah is a short form of God’s name, as it is in Exodus 15:2, “Yah is my strength and my might.” The same short form is found in many personal names, such as Obadiah (“servant of Yah”) and in the names of many well-known biblical figures, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Josiah, Micaiah, Zedekiah, Zechariah, and Nehemiah. This is obvious evidence for the ancient pronunciation of the first syllable of the name of YHWH as Yah.
The pronunciation of the second syllable is relatively easy to sort out. The final he, the vowel marker, can indicate e, ō, or ā. Following the first syllable Yah, the only final vowel that makes linguistic sense is e. This is because a Hebrew word starting with ya- is inevitably a verb, for which a final he always indicates the vowel e. An example is the place-name Yavneh, which derives from the verb yabneh, “he builds.” This verb was originally yabniyu in pre-Hebrew dialects and contracted to yabneh (with final he indicating the e). The history of the divine name Yahweh probably follows the same pattern, with pre-Hebrew Yahwiyu contracting to Yahweh. The evidence of some later Greek transcriptions, Iabe and Iaoue, points to the same outcome.
Yahweh might originally be a dynamic form of the verb “to be,” meaning something like “he moves, blows,” or it could be a causative form, meaning something like “he makes.” But the name’s meaning seems to have been forgotten in classical Hebrew. At Mt. Horeb, when Moses asks God to reveal his name, God says ’ehyeh ’ăšer ’ehyeh (“I am that I am,” or “I am he who continually exists”), which is a wordplay on the not-yet-revealed name Yahweh. Then God tells Moses that his true name is YHWH (remember, not fully vocalized in the consonantal text), concluding his speech with a touch of poetry: “This is my name forever; this is my designation for all generations” (Exodus 3:14–15). Notice that God’s name is both concealed and revealed in this scene. The name is hinted at with “I am” because ʾehyehsounds like Yahweh.
The second part of the problem involves the prohibition of pronouncing the name Yahweh. Why was the word “Lord” (or other substitutions) used instead? This has to do with the interpretation of the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7; cf. Deuteronomy 5:11). This seems to forbid invoking the name of YHWH in false oaths or other illicit speech. Cursing God is prohibited in Exodus 22:28 and is punished by death in Leviticus 24:15–16. Taking a false oath in God’s name is prohibited in Leviticus 19:12. Oaths generally used the phrase “as YHWH lives” (ḥay-yhwh), as when King Saul says, “As YHWH lives, no punishment will come to you for this thing” (1 Samuel 28:10). This is explained as “Saul swore to her by YHWH.” Originally, this commandment prohibited the misuse of God’s name. It had nothing to do with the pronunciation of the name itself.
Later interpretive tradition expanded the scope of this commandment to include any invocation of the name of YHWH. (The earliest evidence is the Old Greek translation of Leviticus 24:16, which gives the death penalty to “whoever names” the name of God, reinterpreting the Hebrew, “whoever curses.”) This follows the common tendency to “build a hedge around the Law.” If one never says the name of YHWH, then one can never take it in vain. This interpretive move means that other terminology must be used when saying God’s name or reading the name YHWH in the Bible. “Lord” or “my Lord” fit the bill nicely. Orthodox Jews often say “the Name” (ha-Shem) for the name of God, which is another way of not saying the name.
Why then do many scholars and archaeologists say Yahweh instead of Adonai (“my Lord”) as indicated in the vowel pointing, or ha-Shem (“the Name”) as do Orthodox Jews? This is because critical scholarship usually prefers language that is historical rather than devotional. It is our own signal that this is academic speech, not speech of the church or synagogue. I should add that some scholars do say Adonai or write YHWH without vowels out of respect for devotional practices, including the traditional Jewish interpretation of the third commandment. This is a matter of personal choice. But my point is, when a scholar writes Yahweh in BAR or elsewhere, this is a historical claim, not a devotional one. It is not meant with any disrespect or hint of heresy. We simply think that this is the name as it was said in ancient Israel, by speakers of classical Hebrew and the writers of the Bible.”—End of BAR article
Yahweh is the closest we can in English come to God’s name in Hebrew.
We need rest. We should not work every day of the week. We should rest on three days out of seven. It has nothing to do with God who doesn’t exist. I have many proofs of this. Want to see one?