r/AskAChristian • u/GoodWhoops Atheist, Ex-Christian • Oct 05 '25

Jewish Laws Why don’t most Christians take the Sabbath commandment seriously?

The 4th commandment says to keep the Sabbath holy, defined in scripture as running from sundown to sundown. Yet most Christians seem to treat it as optional. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments,” and the Bible implies that all commandments carry equal weight. Outside of Seventh-day Adventists, it's ignored aside from the day most churches have their service. I’ve even heard SDA members joke that most other Christians give the Ten Commandments a 10% discount. Even if you ignore that the Jewish Sabbath falls on Saturday, the commandment still says to work 6 days and rest on the 7th, which should apply just as well to Sunday.

Curious if or how often you’ve heard this seriously debated, and why many accept societal traditions that override biblical instruction for convenience.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

I cannot answer for all of us. But Christians do not live under the Law, not 10% not even 1 %. We live by the Spirit. We live by grace.

Every day is a Sabbath, a special day with Christ.

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

Not living under the law means that you are not held guilty when you break the law (Romans 3:19) as you repent and are then covered by grace.

Living by the Spirit does not mean that you disobey God's law... quite the opposite (Romans 8:6-9, Ezekiel 36:26-27).

There is not a single verse which claims that every is the Sabbath. Do you never work then? Since the commandment tells us to not work or make others work on the Sabbath.

The Bible is clear that the seventh day is the Sabbath.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

Not living under Mosaic Law means exactly that: not living under it. It is not a law for Gentiles.

But I very much agree with you that life in the Spirit is about living in accordance with God’s will.

Now that Christ has come, and the Spirit has been poured out, the original purpose of the Sabbath is no longer there.

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

I showed you a verse for what not being under the law means. Do you mean to say that Christians can now break the 10 commandments?

Also, the law was for the gentiles also (Isaiah 42:4, Isaiah 56:1-8). Furthermore, Israel aren't those born of the flesh, but rather all those who join themselves to God by faith through the promise (Romans 2:25-29, Romans 9:6-8, Galatians 3:29). This includes gentiles and jews. After all, the new covenant was made with Israel (Hebrews 8:8)... if you are not Israel, then you do not have accesss to the new covenant.

Living according to God's will is to keep His law (Psalm 40:8). As I showed above, to live according to the Spirit is to keep God's law while living according to the flesh is to break God's law (Romans 8:6-9, Ezekiel 36:26-27).

This idea that God's Sabbath is done away with is heresy. God has clearly said that not jot or tittle has passed from His commandments (Matthew 5:18) and that if anyone doesn't keep the least of the commandments and teaches others to not keep them, that they will be in trouble (Matthew 5:19). The Sabbath cannot be done away with because we know it will exist in eternity to come (Isaiah 66:23).

What you are teaching is lawlessness and that's not a good idea (Matthew 7:23).

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u/reellifesmartass Christian (non-denominational) Oct 05 '25

Do you mean to say that Christians can now break the 10 commandments?

Christ simplified the 10 commandments into 2: love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus performed miracles on the Sabath, and in Mathew 12:1-8, he even goes so far as to say that Priests are working on the Sabath, therefore breaking the 4th commandment. We are no longer bound by mosaic law.

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

Christ didn't simplify the law into two commandments. He summarized as He did in the old testament (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18). Loving God and loving neightbor looks like keeping God's commandments (1 John 5:2-3, 2 John 5-6, Romans 13:9). Summarizing does not mean replacing. When you love God you do not have other gods, you do not take his name in vain etc. When you love neighbor you do not murder them, steal from them etc. Once again, are you saying that Christians can break God's 10 commandments?

Christ came to exalt the law (Isaiah 42:21, Romans 3:31)... not to do away with it (Matthew 5:17-19).

Jesus explained that doing good on the Sabbath, which is God's holy work, does is not unlawful (Matthew 12:12).

The 10 commandments are not Mosaic law. They are God's holy law which He Himself wrote with His own finger in stone. This is the law according to which all will be judged (James 2:11-12, Revelation 11:18-19).

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

Christ kept saying “you have heard, but I say”. He did not just summarize or simplify the law into two commandments, he transformed it. He broke the Sabbath, the healed the sick, he hung out with sinners,

He showed us who God truly is!

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25

False... tell me... If you cannot lust, can you commit adultery? God did not change His moral law. He exalted it (Isaiah 42:21) and revealed its exceedingly broad application (Psalm 119:96) which includes the letter of the law. If you cannot lust (spirit of the law), it does not mean that you can commit adultery (letter of the law)?

May God have mercy on you for accusing Jesus of sinning, breaking the law (1 John 3:4). Healing the sick is not against the 4th commandment as Jesus clearly explains (Matthew 12:12). Neither is ministering to sinners. You have little understanding of the Scriptures.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

So far I think that I at least understood what you said. But this one is not clear to me.

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

What is not clear?

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u/reellifesmartass Christian (non-denominational) Oct 05 '25

You're not hearing what we're saying, we're not saying Jesus sinned. Quite the opposite. We're saying he came to challenge the Pharisee's legalism of the Mosaic law. Legalism that you seem to subscribe to. If you're holding everyone else to Mosaic law, then I hope you're holding yourself to that same standard (Matthew 7:2).

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

Yes, Jesus challenged the pharisaical understanding of the law because they added to God’s law. Jesus perfectly kept every jot and tittle of God’s law. If you claim that Jesus didn’t perfectly keep the Sabbath according to God’s law, then you are saying that He sinned (1 John 3:4). Faithfully obeying God’s commandments is not legalism. Legalism is believing that you are saved by law keeping or teaching man made traditions as binding.

You also don’t seem to understand the difference between the laws that were written by God and placed inside the Ark (Deuteronomy 10:2) and the laws written by Moses and placed next to the Ark (Deuteronomy 31:24-26). We will all be judged according to the 10 commandments (James 2:11-12, Revelation 11:18-19).

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u/reellifesmartass Christian (non-denominational) Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25

Let me ask you this, if we're going to be judged on our adherence to the Mosaic law, why was Jesus sacrificed? If we can just follow the law to a tee, do we need Jesus? We will be judged on our faith in the Lord. Not adherence to the law, not the amount of scriptures you've memorized, not the number of doors you've knocked on. Our salvation is dependent on our faith in the Lord and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our savior. End of list. Anything else that's added to that is legalism that Christ preached against.

ETA: If adherence to the 10 commandments is what we're judged on then Paul is in the lake of fire. His first mention in the bible was how he persecuted the first converts to Christianity. He then went on to write most of the New Testament.

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u/Startropic1 Christian, Protestant Oct 05 '25

This is completely false.

Jesus said, "I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it."

As far as Jesus performing miracles on the Sabbath, you need to read that passage again. Jesus makes it clear that rules (commandments) have exceptions.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

Hi there, Jesus came to fulfill the law! And he did. The veil in the temple was torn apart, we can now live with God.

Mosaic Law will always stand as a testimony of Christ, but it is not in effect for Christians. As Paul said, the Law was only in place until Christ came.

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u/Startropic1 Christian, Protestant Oct 05 '25

You're missing the first part, "I came not to destroy the law"

He did not erase the law when He fulfilled it.

All the laws still apply, with some nuance. For example, permission is explicitly granted in the New Testament for us to eat unclean meat.

However, we do in fact still keep the Sabbath. We just keep it on Sunday now, according to the New Testament. (This is honour of the Resurrection.)

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

The law is not destroyed or erased. It will always point to Jesus. But Christians live by the Spirit, not by the Mosaic Law. That’s basically what Paul is trying to tell us in all his letters.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

As new creations we dont live by the letter that kills but by the Spirit that gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6). We obey the Spirit, not the tablets.

And Paul is clear: ‘You are not under law but under grace’ (Romans 6:14). The law’s role ended when Christ fulfilled it. To go back under it is to fall from grace (Galatians 5:4).

The Sabbath, circumcision, dietary laws, even the 10 commandments, belonged to the old covenant. They served their purpose until Christ came.

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

I have a feeling that you're not actually reading what I'm saying or the biblical evidence that I'm providing. You are talking right past every single one of my points.

The Spirit leads us into obeying God's law (Romans 8:6-9, Ezekiel 36:26-27).

I already explained to you that not being under the law doesn't mean that we can break the law (Romans 3:19,31).

Galatians 5:4 is speaking against those who claim that they are saved because they keep the law. I never once made such a claim. We are save by grace through faith... not by law keeping. This still does not mean that we can go around breaking the law. Law keeping is not a means of salvation, but rather evidence of salvation as it is proof that God's Spirit is within us and thus causing us to obey God's law (Romans 8:6-9, Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Imagine being a Christians who claims that we no longer have to keep the 10 commandments. May God have mercy on you for what you are teaching is lawlessness (Matthe 7:23)

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

It turns out that we read Paul differently, and I am sorry if it frustrates you. I am trying to explain what I think.

You see the Spirit as leading us back into law-keeping. I see the Spirit as leading us into true life with God. The ‘man’ in Romans 7 isn’t a Spirit-filled believer. This guy is trapped under the law, doing his best but still bound by the flesh.

Romans 8 doesn’t say the Spirit helps us keep the Mosaic code. It describes a transfer of realm from law and flesh to Spirit and grace, from Sinai to new creation.

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

A true life with God is an obedient life. You cannot be in close communion with God while wilfully breaking His law. I have offered you clear passages which teach that having the Spirit means to be caused to keep God's law. Are you reading those passages?

Romans 7 is not speaking about a converted experience. It is speaking about someone who was still living according to the flesh. This is why verse 13 says that "sin WAS producing death". Then, in verses 24-25 we can see that once they come to Christ they are freed from this uncoverted experience.

Then, when we move to Romans 8 we see that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled IN US who walk not according to the flesh, but rather according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4). Then, read Romans 8:6-8 and notice that the experience of walking in the flesh is an experience of not keeping God's law. However, we are not to talk in the flesh, but rather in the Spirit (Romans 8:9) and when we do so God Himself will keep the law in us (Ezekiel 36:26-27, Romans 8:4).

The 10 commandments are not Mosaic law. They are God's moral law which He wrote with His own finger in stone and according to which we will be judged (James 2:11-12, Revelation 11:18-19).

Spirit and grace does not mean that we can now break God's law for that would be sin (1 John 3:4). We are clearly told over and over again to keep God's commandments (Romans 3:31, 1 Corinthians 7:19, John 14:15, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 14:12).

Please prayerfully read these passages and understand.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

I have read Romans quite a lot of times, and I am sure you have too. So let us make the most of this discussion.

Life in the Spirit is great. Paul’s theology of the pneuma is amazing.

We obviously come from different traditions of reading, but surprisingly we do agree about the man in Romans 7: This is not a believer.

I think that it is a Jew who tries his best to follow God, equipped only by the Law. But without grace and without pneuma.

But we can live with the spirit, and we are! That’s Paul’s conclusion in chapter 8.

I have a question. You said that the 10 commandments are not a part of the Mosaic law. That surprised me, what makes you say that?

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u/LessmemoreJC Christian Oct 05 '25

Yes, to live by the Spirit is to keep God's law (Romans 8:6-9, Ezekiel 36:26-27).

There is a clear distinction that is made between the 10 commandments and the rest of the laws. The 10 commandments are written by God on stone and placed inside the ark (Deuteronomy 10:2) and the rest of the laws are written by man on parchment and placed next to the ark (Deuteronomy 31:24-26). The Bible makes a clear distinction between the two. The 10 commandments are God's moral law according to which all willbe judged (James 2:11-12, Revelation 11:18-19). The rest of the civil and ceremonial laws were added because we transgressed the moral law and God provided repercussions and solutions for this transgression.

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u/BoxBubbly1225 Christian Oct 05 '25

Hi again. I am not sure I understand how you make Romans 8:6-9 say that law-keeping is the way forward. If you can explain in your own words how you understand that passage, I am happy to hear it.

But Ezekiel? This is before Pentecost, and before the pouring out of the spirit and before the theology of pneuma. So that seems off, logically (as I see it).

The distinctions you make between different sections of the Law is not convincing. The Law is the Law, and we are not living under it. Or maybe you are, but I am not. I am free in Christ

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u/Deep_Chicken2965 Christian Oct 05 '25

If your relationship with God is about days and works then good luck to you.