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Sanctifying the Sabbath or Lord's Day Biblically

The biblical understanding of sanctifying the Sabbath or Lord's Day is a point of significant theological divergence among Christian traditions, with roots in both Old and New Testament interpretations. The core of the debate often centers on whether the Sabbath command from the Decalogue remains binding, and if so, whether its observance has shifted from the seventh day to the first day of the week.

One prominent view, often associated with Reformed and Puritan traditions, emphasizes the perpetual moral obligation of the Sabbath commandment, rooted in creation and reiterated in the Decalogue [2, 7]. The command in Deuteronomy 5:12, "Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee," is understood as a perpetual obligation [1, 15]. This perspective holds that while the ceremonial aspects of the Old Testament law may have been fulfilled in Christ, the moral principle of setting aside one day in seven for rest and worship remains [12]. John Calvin, a key figure in Reformed theology, viewed the Sabbath as a "symbol of sanctification" given to God's ancient people, signifying their separation as a holy people [14]. For these traditions, the observance shifted from the seventh day (Saturday) to the first day of the week (Sunday), known as the Lord's Day, to commemorate Christ's resurrection [3, 6]. This day is to be kept holy by abstaining from ordinary labor and engaging in religious duties and spiritual refreshment [12].

In contrast, other traditions, including some early Christian and Eastern Orthodox perspectives, view the Old Testament Sabbath as a type or shadow fulfilled in Christ, and thus not strictly binding in its original form. John Chrysostom, an influential early Church Father, noted that the Sabbath was abrogated by the coming of Christ [10, 11]. While acknowledging the importance of rest and worship, this view often sees the Lord's Day as a new institution, distinct from the Jewish Sabbath, established by the apostles to celebrate the resurrection [3, 6]. Augustine of Hippo similarly distinguished the Lord's Day as being made known to Christians by the resurrection, having a festive character rather than being a continuation of the typical Sabbath rest [13]. For these traditions, the emphasis is on the spiritual reality of rest in Christ, of which the Sabbath was a foreshadowing [9].

Jewish tradition, from which the Sabbath originates, maintains the observance of the seventh day (Saturday) as the Sabbath, based on the creation account and the explicit command to "remember the sabbath day to keep it holy" [16, 5]. This day is a sign between God and His people, signifying His sanctifying power [4]. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, noted the widespread observance of the Sabbath among Jews [8].

Despite these differences, there is common ground in the recognition of the Sabbath's origins in creation, where God rested on the seventh day [2, 7]. All traditions acknowledge the divine institution of a day of rest and its significance for humanity [2, 7]. The divergence primarily stems from differing interpretations of how the Old Testament Sabbath commands relate to the New Covenant and the person of Jesus Christ.

Sources

  1. King James Version “[KJV] Deuteronomy 5:12 — Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.”
  2. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Sabbath, The — Instituted by God -- Ge 2:3. Grounds of its institution -- Ge 2:2,3; Ex 20:11. The seventh day observed as -- Ex 20:9-11. Made for man -- Mr 2:27. God Blessed. -- Ge 2:3; Ex 20:11. Sanctified. -- Ge 2:3; Ex 31:15. Hallowed. -- Ex 20:11. Commanded, to be kept. -- Le 19:3,30. Commanded to be sanctified. -- Ex 20:8. Will have his goodness commemorated in the observance of. -- De 5:15. Shows favour in appointing. -- Ne 9:14. Shows considerate kindness in appointing. -- Ex 23:12. A sign of the covenant -- Ex 31:13,17. A type of the heavenly rest -- Heb 4:4,”
  3. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Lords Day, The — (Kuriake Hemera), (Revelation 1:10) (only), the weekly festival of our Lord's resurrection, and identified with "the first day of the week," or "Sunday," of every age of the Church. Scripture says very little concerning this day; but that little seems to indicate that the divinely-inspired apostles, by their practice and by their precepts, marked the first day of the week as a day for meeting together to break bread, for communicating and receiving instruction, for laying up offerings in store for charitable purposes, for occupation in holy thought an”
  4. Ezekiel “Ezekiel 20:20 (BSB) — Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’”
  5. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Sabbath — (shabbath), "a day of rest," from shabath "to cease to do to," "to rest"). The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced not merely in the general Mosaic code, but in the Decalogue itself. The consecration of the Sabbath was coeval with the creation. The first scriptural notice of it, though it is not mentioned by name, is to be found in (Genesis 2:3) at the close of the record of the six-days creation. There are not wanting indirect evidences of its obser”
  6. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Lord's day — Only once, in Rev. 1:10, was in the early Christian ages used to denote the first day of the week, which commemorated the Lord's resurrection. There is every reason to conclude that John thus used the name. (See [361]SABBATH.)”
  7. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sabbath — (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning "to rest from labour"), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). "The sabbath was made for man," as a day of rest and refreshment for the body and of blessing to the soul. It is next referred to in connection with the gift of manna to the children of Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 16:23); and afterwards, when the law was given from Sinai (20:11), the people were solemnly charged to "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." Thus it is spoken of as an ins”
  8. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 11, section 7: ch. 6. sect. 6.] 18 (return) [ This allegation of the Samaritans is remarkable, that though they were not Jews, yet did they, from ancient times, observe the Sabbath day, and, as they elsewhere pretend, the Sabbatic year also, Antiq. B. XI. ch. 8. sect. 6.] 19 (return) [ That this appellation of Maccabee was not first of all given to Judas Maccabeus, nor was derived from any initial letters of the Hebrew words on his banner, "Mi Kamoka Be Elire, Jehovah?" ["Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Jehovah?"] Exodus 15:11 as the m”
  9. Hebrews (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Hebrews 4:10: 4:10 have rested from their labors: See Exod 20:8-11. • just as God did: Gen 2:2.”
  10. CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:11 1:11 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:27 1:27 1:31 1:31 2:2 2:7 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:23 2:24 2:24 2:24 3:5 3:16 3:24 4 4:9 4:14 6:2 6:3 6:4 6:9 6:12 7:7 8:21 12:1 12:4 12:16 13:10 13:10-11 14:14 14:21-23 15:16 16:5 16:6 17:8 18:11 18:12 18:14 18:21 19:13 19:14 19:24 21:10 21:12 21:12 22:7-8 22:16 22:18 22:18 24:1-67 24:22 24:65 25:21 25:21 26:4 27:46 28:1 28:13 31:42 31:45 32:48 35:18 37:9-10 37:20 39:1 39:6 40:4 40:7 40:8 40:14-15 40:22 41 41:16 42:36 43:14 43:30 45:5 48:15-16 49:9 64:28 Exodus 2:11 2”
  11. CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Acts & Romans: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:26 2:10 2:18 2:21 2:21 2:24 2:24 2:24 3:5 3:6 3:11 3:16 3:16 3:16 3:19 3:19 4 4:2 4:6 4:7 4:7 4:7 4:9 4:9 4:10 4:10 4:10 4:11 4:14 6:3 6:3 6:9 9:5 9:20 9:22 11:8 11:31 12:3 12:7 12:7 14:14 15:12 15:13-14 18:3 18:3 18:3 18:7 18:17 18:19 18:27 18:33 21:12 22:3 22:18 25:33 27:27 27:41 27:45 28:12 28:20 29:23 30:1-2 31:7 31:15 31:40 32:10 32:21 32:28 32:29 33:19 37:18 39:1-20 40:23 41:40 41:42-43 42:21 45:5 45:5 45:9 45:24 48:16 49:7 60:8 Exodus 1:14 1:22 2:11 2:13 2:15 2:22 3:1 3:2 3:2 4:10 4:22 5:2 9:11 17:4 18:2”
  12. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 46: So far from Sunday, as generally spent by the labouring class, being a day of refreshment, it is just the reverse. Monday is commonly with them the worst day in the week for labour; it is needed as a day for recovery from the effects of a misspent Sunday (3.) If the labouring classes are provided with healthful places of abode and are not overworked, then the best restorative is entire rest from ordinary occupations, and directing their thoughts and feelings into new channels, by the purifying and elevating offices of religion. This is th”
  13. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. XII. --22. It is also for this reason, that of all the ten commandments, that which related to the Sabbath was the only one in which the thing commanded was typical ;' the bodily rest enjoined b (part 1): CHAP. XIII.--23. The Lord's day, however, has been made known not to the Jews, but to Christians, by the resurrection of the Lord, and from Him it began to have the festive character which is proper to it.s For the souls of the pious dead are, indeed, in a state of repose before the resurrection of the body, but they are not engaged in the”
  14. CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 6.8: Christ. Therefore the Lord the more frequently testifies that he had given, in the Sabbath, a symbol of sanctification to his ancient people. 106 106 “ Sanctificationis symbolum .” — “A symbol or sign of santification;” that is, a sign that God had set them apart as a holy and peculiar people to himself. “Moreover, also, I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Ezekiel 20:12 . — Ed . Therefore when we hear that the Sabbath was abrogated by the coming of ”
  15. Deuteronomy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Deuteronomy 5:12: Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee--that is, keep it in mind as a sacred institution of former enactment and perpetual obligation. [See on Exo 20:8].”
  16. Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Exodus 20:8: REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY. The meaning of to keep it holy is explained by what follows, namely, Six days shalt thou labor. Scripture similarly explains the meaning of and hallowed it (v. 11) by going on to say that God rested on the seventh day from all of His work. The reason the sanctification of the Sabbath is here connected to the Lord blessed [ the sabbath day ], as it is in the chapter opening with the words were finished (Gen. 2:1), is that God sanctified this day and prepared it so that the souls 229 Of those who observe the Sabbath. woul”
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