Topical Discussion Question #3

Should we continue to keep the Sabbath today? If not, why not? If so, how should we observe it? Give biblical arguments.

Yes, I believe that we should continue to keep the Sabbath today as it is a regular day of rest and worship which God has provided for man to keep.  He has blessed it and made it holy in creation (Gen 2:2), he has given it to his covenant people through the mosaic law (Ex 20:8-11), and it shall continue until our final day of redemption.  The redemptive promise is something that we look back on with thankfulness (Deut 5:15), and look forward to in anticipation (Eph 1:14).

At creation, God entered into a Sabbath rest that has been held out for his people as a promised rest in consummation.  The atonement provided to God's covenant people through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ was our down payment on that rest secured for us, and Holy Spirit is a guarantee of the fulfillment of that promise offering us a taste of that rest daily.  Specifically, as the Lord has blessed and made holy one day in seven for us to keep the Sabbath, there is a real spiritual significance to that day.

In light of the New Testament, we now keep that day as the first day of the week in remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ.  It is a day "to celebrate the consummation of redemption in advance", as the Psalmist anticipates with us the feast to come in glory (Ps 23:5-6).  As such, not only should the Sabbath be a time of worship and rest, but also a time of great delight and joy as we celebrate the feast.   We are living in an already  consummated year of jubilee where we should be proclaiming liberty to the world (Lev 25:10), and living in the delight of our Lord and Savior, awaiting the fullness of the coming of his kingdom.  His kingdom work will continue, through worship, rest, celebration, works of necessity and mercy until the end of days has reached its finality in the eschatological return of the King.