Why Should Christians Celebrate the Sabbath?

While I always appreciate a careful listener and student, I am discouraged at the need for this listener to stand up so high as they write. If there is one thing that I have learned as a teacher of the scriptures, it is "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble".

My teaching about the Sabbath Day is valid only if you take in the whole counsel of God. As Jesus said, "For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." I think it is a common misunderstanding that being "under grace" as all Christians are, means that you no longer need to follow spiritual laws. It is not surprising though, that many feel the need to reject any form of the law, as the church has entered a Biblically illiterate era, and for the most part seek their "best life now" rather than the crucifixion of their lives on the cross of Christ.

Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets, and on this fact I stand by the grace of God, having fulfilled the laws, not because of a written code, but because of a heart regenerated by the Spirit. This means that I will take my rest, not because I am compelled by a written code, but because I am compelled by God Himself.

Let's look at it a few different ways:

1. God rested on the seventh day. (Gen. 2:2)
2. God has no need to rest, therefore was doing it as an example for His people to follow. (Psalm 40:28)
3. The people of Israel practiced honoring the Sabbath day from the time of Moses onward. (Ex. 20:8)
4. Christians are spiritual Israel. (Gal. 3:29)
5. Jesus did not abolish the law, but fulfilled it. (Matt. 5:17)
6. Christians are admonished to fulfill the law through the Spirit. (Rom. 8:4)
7. Christians gathered on the first day of the week beginning at the inception of the Church. (Acts 20:7)
8. I am a Christian.
9. I honor the Sabbath by practicing the day of rest on the first day of the week.

This has practical implications too. Burnout can become a debilitating problem, and the depression that can arise from it spreads to all areas of life. You simply can't be effective when you never take time to press the "reset button" on your body. It's one of the reasons God gave us sleep. We should take time to take long walks to enjoy God's creation, watch the sun go down, paint, write poetry and read- or whatever Godly activity resets you. God gave us a whole day every week to do just that.

Consider the wise words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

"He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather, the cooing of the wood-pigeons in the forest, the song of birds in the woods, the rippling of rills among the rushes, and the sighing of the wind among the pines, needs not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy. A day's breathing of fresh air upon the hills, or a few hours, ramble in the beech woods’ umbrageous calm, would sweep the cobwebs out of the brain of scores of our toiling ministers who are now but half alive. A mouthful of sea air, or a stiff walk in the wind's face, would not give grace to the soul, but it would yield oxygen to the body, which is next best. "