Why I Keep the Sabbath (Even Though I Don't Have To)

Discussing the Sabbath feels odd because I believe Christians aren't required to observe it, as Jesus fulfills it for believers. (Thomas Schreiner's article explains why I hold this view.)

Yet the Sabbath remains vital for five reasons.

First, the Sabbath precedes the law.

The Sabbath appears in Genesis 2:2-3, woven into creation itself, before God established his covenant with Israel. This creation origin implies an enduring principle, even though New Testament believers are not required to follow the old covenant command to observe the Sabbath.

Second, the Sabbath pictures grace.

God created Adam and Eve on day six. Their first full day was a Sabbath: rest before work, grace before effort. We work from rest, not toward it. We work from grace, not to earn it.

The biblical story follows this arc: rest in the garden, corrupted by sin in Genesis 3, restored through the promised land, lost in exile due to disobedience, and renewed in Jesus' invitation to find rest. Hebrews encourages us to enter God's rest and promises that rest remains for God's people. The Sabbath stands as a gospel picture, not just a legal demand.

Third, the law reveals God's concern for rest.

The Ten Commandments are remarkably straightforward: don't worship other gods, honor your parents, don't murder, steal, or commit adultery. Yet embedded among these basics is a command to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. "Holy" doesn't mean reserved only for religious observance; it means that it’s a day that’s set apart. As Richard Averbeck says, it's a day unlike any other.

Surprisingly, this command is the longest of the ten. God closes every loophole because he knows we'll search for them. Everyone gets rest: you, your family, your servants, even your animals.

Its central placement in the Decalogue shows that our rest matters deeply to God.

Fourth, the Sabbath is an extravagant gift.

Imagine your boss granting you ten extra weeks of vacation. After the initial suspicion wore off, gratitude would flood in.

God gives us precisely that: 52 days annually, equivalent to ten work weeks. We treat it as burdensome obligation when he meant it as generous provision.

Finally, we need rest.

Even apart from ongoing obligation, the Sabbath makes sense because of our design. We're finite creatures who need rest. The Sabbath reminds us of our limits and calls us to find our rest in him. As Tom Schreiner writes, “It is wise naturally for believers to rest, and hence one principle that could be derived from the Sabbath is that believers should regularly rest.”

I'm not a Sabbatarian in theology, but I am in practice. The Sabbath predates the law, pictures the gospel, matters to God, reflects his generosity, and meets our desperate need. It also helps us embrace our finitude and his provision. Observing it as a gift rather than a burden makes sense as we await the eternal rest we'll one day enjoy with him.