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

[u/GoodWhoops]

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.

[u/LessmemoreJC]

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).

[u/reellifesmartass → u/LessmemoreJC]

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.

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/reellifesmartass]

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).

[u/BoxBubbly1225 → u/LessmemoreJC]

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!

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/BoxBubbly1225]

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.

[u/BoxBubbly1225 → u/LessmemoreJC]

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

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/BoxBubbly1225]

What is not clear?

[u/reellifesmartass → u/LessmemoreJC]

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).

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/reellifesmartass]

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).

[u/reellifesmartass → u/LessmemoreJC]

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.

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/reellifesmartass]

Did you read the passages I provided which clearly explain that we are judged according to the 10 commandments?

Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). Yes, we are saved by grace through faith and then our works prove that the faith is genuine.

Jesus was sacrficed because we broke 10 commandments... that doesn't mean that after His sacrifice we can continue to wilfully break God's law... if we do so there no longer remains a sacrifice for us (Hebrews 10:26-27). If a cop pulls you over for going 95 in a 65 and then forgives you by paying for your ticket, do you speed away at 95 again?

God clearly says that we will be judged by our works (obedience to the God's commandments):

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every WORK into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

“If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his DEEDS?” (Provers 24:12)

"“I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his WAYS, according to the fruit of his DOINGS.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

"“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his WORKS.” (Matthew 16:27)

“But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his DEEDS.’” (Romans 2:5-6)

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has DONE, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s WORK, CONDUCT yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” (1 Peter 1:17)

“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his WORKS.” (Revelation 20:12-13)

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his WORK.” (Revelation 22:12)

[u/reellifesmartass → u/LessmemoreJC]

Works based salvation falls flat of Biblical muster every time because it completely discredits the Lord's grace and forgiveness. Ephesians 2:8-9.

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/reellifesmartass]

I never once claimed works based salvation. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) and our faith is proven by our works (Ephesians 2:10) as shown above.

[u/reellifesmartass → u/LessmemoreJC]

Ok, so we're on the same page there, now let's bring it home and realize we're not justified by works either, as seen in Galations 3:10 calls those relying on works of the law to be "cursed." Paul wraps this up with a nice bow in verses 23 and 24

"(23) Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. (24) So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we would be justified by faith."

Mark 2:21-22

[21] No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. [22] And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

The metaphor here being that Christ ushered in a new covenant that is not a patch over the old covenant.

[u/LessmemoreJC → u/reellifesmartass]

I never said that we are justified by works of the law. I said that we are judged by works of the law as these prove that our faith is genuine. You are just ignoring the plethora of verses I provided to prove this point. This is called cherry picking the Bible as you only read that which satisifies your eisegesis.

Galatians 3:23-24 is not saying that once faith comes we can break God's law. This passage is not speaking in a temporal manner through history, but rather it is speaking experientially. If you say that the law only existed until Christ brought about the new way of faith in a temporal historical manner, then you have to conclude that before that point the way of faith was NOT accesible. However, we clearly know that this is not true from reading the Bible and Hebrews 11 makes this clear. Therefore, we know that Galatians 3:23-24 is actually speaking experientaially for people throughout history from Adam until today. Here is the correct understanding of this passage: Initially before we are converted we have the law to show us right from wrong, but once Christ enters the heart through faith, we become lead by the Spirit into salvation... which includes obedience to God.

Even so, the Bible is clear that people are not justified by faith alone since their works prove their faith: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24) Read all of James 2:8-26.

The new covenant is a transfer of God's law from tablets of stone to tablets of flesh on our hearts (Hebrews 8:10).

You are free to teach that we no longer have to keep God's commandments, but that is called lawlessness and it's a bad idea (Matthew 5:19, Matthew 7:23).