I keep running into the idea of the Sabbath as a Christian practice, even a spiritual discipline. It comes in part from well-respected names like John Mark Comer and Ruth Haley Barton. Still, it does not sit right with me; something seems off.
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This is my stumbling block: Is it right to speak of a Christian Sabbath?
Is the Sabbath commandment binding on everyone because it is rooted in creation (Ex. 20:11; 31:17), not only in Israel’s history?
The Westminster Confession of Faith, a well-known Reformed creed originally drawn up in 1646 by the Westminster Assembly and adopted by the Church of Scotland, goes so far as to state:
As it is of the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which in Scripture is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath. Westminster Confession of Faith 21.7
This overlooks that there is no record of God moving the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday; it is certainly not in the Bible. The reference to “the Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10 may well be connected to the early Christian custom of meeting on the first day of the week in commemoration of the resurrection (cf. Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 16:2). However, it does not establish this day as a Christian Sabbath.
More importantly, in the Bible the Sabbath commandment is given to the people of Israel in the context of the covenant made at Mount Sinai (Ex. 31:16-17; Ezek. 20:12). Why would it be part of the new covenant? Why would it apply to Christians?
Sabbath Legalism
I grew up with this kind of Christian Sabbath and have a strong visceral reaction to it. I know its dark side. Old Testament regulations regarding the Sabbath are applied to Sunday, and it becomes a day of prohibitions. For a child, it means uncomfortable clothes; playing outside not allowed.
In all fairness, this is certainly not what Comer and Barton are advocating. But if the Sabbath is accorded the status of a commandment, it will, in the long run, lead to legalistic systems of rules. It will also lead to the condemnation of others who reject the practice. After all, if it is a commandment rather than a principle, all must observe it, and it must be observed the right way.
A Sabbath Principle
Having said this, I certainly support a Sabbath principle. Rest is important. It is vital. And the beauty of Sabbath is that God gives full authorization to a day of rest – by setting an example, not by universal law (Gen. 2:1-3). The commandment comes later, at Mount Sinai.
We need rest. And we need rhythm: daily, weekly, yearly.
Overextended high achievers who are running seven days a week may well benefit from enforcing this rhythm on themselves as a strong personal rule, almost like a law. And everyone will do well to observe the need for regular rest and weekly rhythms – not because it is a commandment to be obeyed but because it is a human need.
Crucial Considerations
When we turn to the New Testament, we find this: Paul and other NT authors do not instruct believers to keep the Sabbath. If it were important to do so, why does it never show up in in their writings?
On the contrary, Romans 14:5 implies something rather different:
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
In other words, it is not wrong to keep a particular day. But neither is it wrong to not do so. It is not important. [Note: It is wrong to make it important, either by imposing Sabbath on others or forbidding it.]
According to Colossians 2:16-17:
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
In the wider context of this claim, Paul touches on each of the most visible markers of Israel’s identity, that is, circumcision, food laws, festivals, and Sabbaths. He understands them as pointers to a greater reality in Christ, not regulations that are binding on Christians.
Hebrews 3:7-4:13 is the longest passage in the New Testament that touches on the Sabbath, but it does not teach a weekly Sabbath that must be kept. The “Sabbath rest” that remains (Heb. 4:9) is understood as a greater reality, not a spiritual practice or discipline.
In the perspective of Hebrews, God’s day of rest is ongoing, based on the fact that Genesis 2:1-3 does not repeat the refrain: “And there was evening and there was morning, day x”. God’s rest continues to the current day.
To the author of Hebrews, this Sabbath rest has a double significance for believers:
- It marks a destination, not unlike the land of promise that was to be a place of rest for Israel (Joshua 1:13).
- It is something to strive to enter even now (notice the paradox of striving and rest in Heb. 4:11). This reflects the New Testament tension between what Christ has already accomplished and what is still to come, the already-and-not-yet scheme that informs so much of New Testament theology. Notice the present tense in Hebrews 4:3: “For we who have believed enter that rest”.
None of this is about keeping one day in seven special in some way. It means entering into a different way of life. Every day should be marked by the rest of God; in a sense, the Sabbath is now seven days a week, not one in seven.
Its Origin
If it is not present in the New Testament, where then does the concept of a Christian Sabbath come from?
The Early Church Fathers did not subscribe to a Christian Sabbath. As mentioned before, the early church did meet on Sundays, but it did not consider this a Sabbath. In the first three centuries, none of the Church Fathers writes about Sunday as the ‘new’ Sabbath. In subsequent centuries, however, Sunday gradually acquired characteristics associated with the Sabbath.
Martin Luther and John Calvin rejected a Christian Sabbath:
In the 16th century, John Calvin and Martin Luther insisted on the value of Sunday as a day of rest and worship, but they did not regard Sunday as the Christian fulfillment of the Jewish Sabbath. (Baab 2011: 728; more on this in the appendix)
So how did the Christian Sabbath enter Protestant and Evangelical traditions? Only later and particularly among the Puritans did the concept take root (see the appendix). Old Testament Sabbath regulations were imposed on the Christian Sunday. But from the beginning, it was not so.
I am looking forward to reading this book:
Landers, Beau M. 2026. Christ Will Give You Rest: A Biblical Theology of the Sabbath, New Studies in Biblical Theology, 66 (Apollos) (affiliate link)
Appendix ChatGPT
Below is a summary by ChatGPT of what Luther and Calvin held.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther did not teach that Sunday replaced the Jewish Sabbath as a divinely mandated Christian Sabbath.
His position was:
- The Fourth Commandment is fulfilled in its deeper purpose: people should hear God’s Word and worship him.
- The specific requirement to observe the seventh day belonged to Israel under the Mosaic covenant.
- Christians are free to gather on any day.
- Sunday is observed because of church tradition, practical order, and its association with Christ’s resurrection – not because it is the “new Sabbath”.
This is clearly expressed in Luther’s Large Catechism, where he argues that the particular day is not intrinsically holy; what matters is setting aside time for God’s Word.
John Calvin
John Calvin held a slightly more nuanced position.
He rejected the idea that Christians are bound to keep the Jewish Sabbath as such. In the Institutes (2.8), he argues that:
- The ceremonial aspect of the Sabbath (the seventh day) has been abolished in Christ.
- The moral principle remains: believers need regular worship, instruction, and rest from ordinary work so that they can devote themselves to God.
- The church wisely gathers on Sunday, but Sunday is not a continuation of the Mosaic Sabbath.
Calvin explicitly criticized those who treated Sunday as though it had inherited the legal obligations of the Jewish Sabbath.
An important qualification
… Later Reformed theology – especially among English and Scottish Puritans and in the Westminster Confession of Faith – developed what is often called the Christian Sabbath doctrine. According to this view:
- The Sabbath command remains morally binding,
- but the day has been transferred from the seventh day to the first day (Sunday),
- making Sunday the Christian Sabbath.
That is not Luther’s view, and it goes beyond Calvin’s own position.
… [In summary,] the consensus of most Reformation historians:
- Luther: Sunday is a beneficial church ordinance, not the Christian Sabbath.
- Calvin: The Jewish Sabbath is fulfilled in Christ; Christians should observe regular worship and rest, but Sunday is not simply the Sabbath transferred to another day.
Attribution
All images taken from Pixabay (CC0).
References
Unless indicated differently, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Baab, Lynne M. 2011. ‘Sabbath’, in Scorgie, Glen G., and others (eds). Dictionary of Christian Spirituality (Zondervan), pp. 727-29 (affiliate link)
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