The Role of God’s Moral Law, Including Sabbath, in the “New Covenant”1 (original) (raw)

Many Christians today believe and teach that when the “old covenant” of the Old Testament gave way to the “new covenant”/New Testament of Christianity, the entire “old covenant” law became obsolete.2 Since the seventh day Sabbath was part of that law, it is logical to conclude that literal Sabbath observance is no longer relevant or required. This approach has been adopted by a broad spectrum of Christians, from those (especially evangelicals) who hold that Christians are not bound to keep any particular day3 to others (including Pope John Paul II) who slide aspects of the Old Testament Sabbath over to Sunday in order to make it a Christian “Sabbath.”4 The line of reasoning just described is logical: “Old covenant” law, which includes seventh day Sabbath, is replaced by “new covenant.” Therefore seventh day Sabbath comes to an end. However, this logic is founded on an assumption, namely, that the Bible teaches such a sharp break between “Old” and “New” Testament religion that there ...