Did Paul Promote the Sabbath?
In the Book of Acts, we learn that he continued to observe the Sabbath with Jewish and Gentile peoples (see Acts 13:13-48, 16:11-15, 17:1-4, 18:1-4,11). What about Paul’s letters? Did he promote or negate the Sabbath in them?
In I Corinthians 4:16-17, Paul said he taught the same thing in every church and that his teachings are consistent with his way of life. In his letters there are eight categories of references which reference the Sabbath. While these references are often overlooked, they portray a consistent message about this subject.
1) Paul defended Sabbath observance.
In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul wrote: “16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Paul told the Colossians to let no one judge them for their respect or participation in the Sabbath, feasts, and new moon celebrations. He said that these days foreshadow future events. However, their body or meaning are of Christ, meaning these days are about Him. For instance, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28); He is our Passover Lamb (I Cor. 5:6-8). These verses are clear proof that early Christians observed the Sabbath and feasts; Paul defended their observance.
Click HERE to read a deeper explanation of Colossians 2:16-17.
2) Paul exhorted believers to imitate Jesus’ example.
As discussed in chapter one, Paul instructed believers to follow the example of Jesus (I Cor. 11:1, Phil. 2:5, Col. 2:12-13, Eph. 5:1-2). By promoting Jesus’ example, Paul also promoted His perfect example of Sabbath observance. Moreover, he taught that Jesus lives in and through Christians by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:10, I Cor. 15:44-45, a2 Cor. 3:17-20, Gal. 2:20, Col. 1:27). This further means that the Holy Spirit within believers leads us into Sabbath observance.
3) He instructed people to imitate his way of life.
“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me” (I Cor. 4:16).
“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Phil. 4:9).
“Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.” (I Thess. 4:1).
Paul instructed believers to follow his example. The three quotes listed above came from the letters written to believers in Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica. What do they have in common? In the book of Acts, we learn that Paul observed the Sabbath in each of these cities with Jewish and Gentile people (see Acts 16:11-15, 17:1-4, 18:1-4,11). By referencing his own example to these three cities, Paul also advocated keeping the Sabbath.
4) He upheld obedience to the commandments of God.
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Rom. 3:31).
“7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8).
“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Cor. 7:19).
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).
In these verses, we learn that Paul said that the law was not made void or done away with. He told the believers in Rome that the carnal mind refuses to be subject to God’s law whereas a mind controlled by the Spirit will want to be subject to it. He promoted the commandments of God as a central part of obedience. The Sabbath, while being revealed before the Law was given in Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus chapter 16, is also part of it . This is true of many other subjects such as marriage and prohibitions against violence.
In Gal. 5:23, Paul said that the fruits of the Spirit are those things which there is no law against. There is no law against Sabbath observance. These verses reinforce obedience to the fourth commandment.
His teachings on this subject are consistent with the teachings of Jesus. For instance, look at Matthew 5:17-18, 19:16-21, Luke 16:17, John 5:46-47, 14:15-21, 15:10, 16:7-13, 17:17).
5) Paul encouraged believers to pursue holiness, and 6) He warned believers against lawlessness.
We must remember that the early disciples did not have a New Testament; they taught and preached from the Tanakh or Old Testament. In fact, Paul quoted the Tanakh over 100 times!
The Tanakh is a source document for the New Testament. Many references to concepts and ideas, such as the importance of holy living, have a foundation already established in the Tanakh that the early disciples continued to teach and live.
In multiple places, we are told that the Sabbath is sanctified or holy and set apart to the Lord (Genesis 2:1-3, Ex. 16:23, Ex. 20:8, 31:14-15, Neh. 10:31, Is. 58:13, Ez. 22:8,16). In Leviticus 19:1-3, God refers to it as part of living a holy life which reflects Him!
“1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. 3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 19:1-3).
Whenever authors reference holy living, the Sabbath and other practices are part of that definition (see also Lev. 11:44-46, 19:2, 20:26). The Apostle Peter referenced Leviticus when He discussed holy living:
“15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:15-16).
The English word conversation is an old way of referring to behavior. Peter pointed out that we should be holy in everything we do. Then he referred believers to Leviticus chapters 11, 19, and 20 where God gives us concrete behaviors that help define holy living.
When we look at these verses, we learn that holy living is about being holy like God. In other words, He calls us to follow His example and reflect Him on earth. The weekly Sabbath is a practice which belongs to the one true Creator God (Genesis 2:1-3). Because the Sabbath reflects God and His example, it is also righteous in His sight (Isaiah 56:1-2).
Below, we have excerpts from Paul’s letters where He promotes Sabbath observance. This includes references to holy living, righteousness, and abstaining from iniquity.
“…for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:19b-22)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
“14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?…Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 6:14, 7:1).
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:24).
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Eph. 5:1).
“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (I Thess. 4:7).
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thess. 2:7).
“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth…” (2 Thess. 2:13).
“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).
“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Hebrews 1:9).
In these verses, Paul referenced the importance of holy and righteous living, which is also called sanctification. As previously discussed, observing the Sabbath is one aspect of holy, righteous living in the sight of God. We only obey it because God set the example for us.
There are also verses where Paul warned believers against iniquity. The root Greek word used in these verses is anomia, and it refers to lawlessness. It is the same word used in John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Breaking the Sabbath is transgressing God’s law. We were not redeemed to be lawless.
In 2 Thess. 2:7, we learn that Paul called lawlessness a mystery. God gave us the Sabbath and other commandments for our good, it does not make sense that humanity would defy them. In the next verse, the future anti-Christ is called the man of lawlessness. He is foreshadowed by a man named Antiochus Epiphanes, who banned observance of the Sabbath in Israel from 168-165 BC.
7) He made positive comments concerning the Tanakh or Old Testament.
Paul highly regarded the Tanakh (we call the Old Testament). He referenced it as the Scriptures or Word of God and considered it as a vital part of the Christian faith (Romans 1:2, 15:4, 10:17, 16:26; I Cor. 10:11, 15:3-4; 2 Cor. 2:17,4:2; Gal. 3:8,22; Col. 1:25; I Thess. 2:13; I Tim. 4:5; 2 Tim. 2:9,3:16,4:2; Titus 2:5; Hebrews 4:12).
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
An important lesson about this subject is found in 2 Timothy 3:16. From it, we learn that all the Tanakh or Old Testament Scripture, including all mentions of the Sabbath, are profitable for sound doctrine, reproof (or evidence), correction, and instructing people in righteous living. Said another way, the Sabbath is sound doctrine, evidence, we can correct others about it, and it instructs us in righteous living.
8) Paul upheld truth.
In John 17:17, Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Throughout his letters, Paul promoted the truth of God’s word. The Sabbath is truth. There are subcategories of how Paul upheld the Sabbath, which we have discussed below.
Upheld obedience to truth (Rom. 2:8, 15:8; I Cor. 5:8, 13:8; Gal. 3:1, 5:7; Eph. 5:9, 6:14).
Preaching, Protecting, and standing for the truth (2 Cor. 4:2, 6:7, 7:14, 12:6, 13:8; Gal. 2:5, 14; Eph. 4:21; Phil. 1:18; Col. 1:5-6; I Tim. 2:4,7, 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:15, 25).
Warnings against not receiving, rejecting, or turning away from truth (2 Thess. 2:10-13; I Tim. 4:3, 6:5; 2 Tim. 2:18, 3:7-8, 4:4; Titus 1:14)
We are supposed to think about truth (Phil. 4:8).
When we look at Paul’s letters, we can see that he clearly promoted a continuation of the Sabbath for Christian doctrine and practice.
Shalom!
Kelly McDonald, Jr.