Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? In other words, is the fourth commandment still in effect? If so, how ought we to observe it?
Some brief thoughts...
Is the Sabbath still in effect?
I believe the Sabbath is still in effect. The establishment of the Sabbath comes from Creation - together with work and marriage. We (conservative Christians) frequently appeal to the fact that marriage is part of God's creative order to combat the idea of gay marriage. Quite.
Similarly, we appeal to work as part of the world before Adam's fall in order to censure the excessive expansion of the welfare state. "You don't work, you don't eat," we say. Just so.
So why do we work so hard to explain why we don't have to observe the Sabbath day? God blessed one day of rest out of seven; God promised seven days worth of work out of six if we would honor him in this way. We are told to make it "holy." To separate the day especially to the Lord.
Today, at least in America, we live in excessive luxury. We don't work the hours an agrarian society or early industrialization required. Yet God has promised his blessing in response to a commandment. Thus, we ought to observe the Sabbath.
True, the day has changed. But this ought not to be surprising. In O. Palmer Robertson's excellent book, The Christ of the Covenants, we are reminded that whilst in the Old Testament the Sabbath was the last day of week, symbolizing our looking forward to the eventual day of spiritual rest, now with Christ's first advent and his resurrection, we observe the Sabbath on the first day of the week to symbolize how Christ has given a rest upon which we can confidently look forward to what God's providence brings.
I've often heard that the fourth commandment is not explicitly confirmed in the New Testament, though the other nine are (I disagree, but...). I see this as confirmation that it is still in effect not as evidence it has been eradicated. If all the others were carried over, why not the fourth?
God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The only laws that did not carry forward were shadows of what was to come in the New Covenant. What is the Sabbath a shadow of? As part of the creative order, I believe it to be self-evident that this commandment persists.
The Lord himself did indeed challenge some of the legalistic rules applied to the Sabbath by the Pharisees. But he did not come to abolish the law and Christ does not challenge the validity of observing the Sabbath. Just the manner of observance. Consequently, I argue the Sabbath is confirmed in the NT.
How must we observe the Sabbath?
While I am very confident that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, I am much less confident about how it should be observed. Clearly, worship and rest are to be paramount. Unlike other days, we are to give ourselves and our families to a special seeking of God (most but not exclusively manifest in attending corporate worship). Rest is also to be highlighted. Thus, I believe a Christian should not work on Sunday.
Sunday ought to be kept different from other days in terms of the activities we do. Certainly, I would not engage in any activity that would interfere with attending corporate worship services. As a day set aside especially for the pursuit of God, it also follows that activities should not in any way dishonor the Lord (this should be true at all times, but the special focus argues for refraining from activities that are otherwise appropriate to especially set the day apart for the Lord).
Personally, I think it makes the most sense to devote the day to only engaging in prayer, Bible study, works of charity, and public and private worship. We could all spend more time seeking after God and devoting His day to such pursuits seems ideal.
Clearly, there are great differences in opinion on this. And these are still rough ideas.
So, what do you think? Is Sunday the Sabbath? If it is or even if it isn't, how should we separate the day from the other six?
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