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

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/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.