Sabbath Rest

 

Shared Values of the Old and New Testaments
The Universal Lawmaker (5) 

The Ten Commandments 

4th Commandment

Do you know the commandment to observe the Sabbath day is not repeated in the New Testament?  The Apostle Paul taught that being right with God did not come from observing the traditional holy days, food restrictions, or Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16–17 (AMPC). “Commandments” are prevalent throughout the Old Testament. The New Testament took them and the laws associated with them and in some instances added to them (i.e., adultery takes place in your mind, not simply in a physical follow-through), and there were some commands where Christ’s sacrifice replaced the purposes of of specific laws. In the Old Testament, 613 laws were created that specifically related to the 10 Commandments. They were the law and brought condemnation, even death, when they were not followed. These requirements were often beyond the understanding of the priestly class, let alone the normal Jewish believer’s knowledge and ability to follow them.  What is consistent is that there is a discipline inherent in humans remembering who they are and who God is. In fact, it is a necessity. God set a day for himself to rest and reflect and if he did, why would you believe you don’t need to? 

Exodus 20:8-11 (AMPC) 8 [Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God). 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the sojourner within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes].

Hebrews 4:9–10 (AMPC) 9 So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God;10 For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.

9/20/2026