Definition:  Sabbath - to repose, that is, desist from exertion; cause to, let, make to cease.

Exodus 31:12-13
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying 'Surely, My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you."

Exodus 31:16-17a
"Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.  It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever."

God clearly gave the Sabbath as a sign between His people - Israel - and Himself.  Not between God and the Gentile nations, not between God and the church, but between God and Israel, the Jews.

As God originally proposed the 'day of rest', it was to be just that, a day of rest.  God does not want His people (including the church) to work non-stop, 7-days week, with no time of rest.  When we do, we have no time for the things of God.

The Saturday Sabbath command was given soon after the Israelites were delivered from Egypt by God through Moses.  The keeping of the Sabbath was proclaimed as one of the Ten Commandments (the 4th):

Exodus 20:8-10
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.  In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your mal servant, nor your female servant, or your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates."

In Deuteronomy, Moses expounds upon WHY the Sabbath came, and to WHOM the Sabbath command was given:

Deuteronomy 5:15
"And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."

As Passover was an annual memorial festival for the Jews to celebrate in memory of God, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt while the firstborn of the Egyptians were struck dead, the Saturday Sabbath was also for the Jews to remember weekly their historical deliverance from bitter slavery in Egypt.  The Saturday Sabbath command, therefore, was not a 'creation ordinance' as some say.

All of the Ten Commandments were restated in the New Testament, with only one exception - the one Commandment dealing with the Saturday Sabbath day being kept.

• The 1st Commandment was restated in Matthew 22:37 & 1 Corinthians 8:5-6
• The 2nd Commandment was reinstated in 1 John 5:21 (Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5 broaden idolatry to include coveteousness)
• The 3rd Commandment was restated in Colossians 3:8
• The 5th Commandment was restated in Ephesians 6:1-3
• The 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th Commandments were restated in Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 19:18; Galatians 5:14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21

Sometimes, Hebrews 4:4-5 and 4:9-10 are thought to show the Sabbath command was reinstated in the New Testament, merely because the word "sabbath" is found.  Let's take a closer look at these passages:

Hebrews 4:4-5
"For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way:  'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works'; and again in this place: 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

Hebrews 4:9-10
"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.  For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His."

These passages clearly mention only a "sabbath rest", but not the keeping of the Sabbath Day, as Israel was commanded in the Old Testament.  Furthermore, this 'sabbath rest' cannot be equated with the keeping of the Saturday Sabbath, for even the Israelites who did keep it did not enter this 'rest'.

The Christian finds his/her spiritual rest in Christ (Matthew 11:28).  Only the 4th Commandment, which is ceremonial rather than moral, was not reinstated in the New Testament, the covenant that the church is under today.

In fact, Christians today are called to make up their own minds, prayerfully, as to what day to consider special, as a day of rest. 

Paul says, in Romans 14:5-6, regarding what day to esteem, "Let each be fully convinced in his own mind". 

If the Saturday Sabbath command was still enforced for the church, as in the Old Testament, such "liberty" as Paul describes would NEVER be allowed!  Remember, when Paul gave us Romans Chapter 14, he was fully aware of Genesis 2:3 along with the rest of the Old Testament.  Among those who are "Saturday Sabbatarians", there does not exist this Christian liberty.

In addition, Paul adds to all this in Colossians 2:16-17 "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."

In regards to the Sabbath, Jesus Himself clarified the true meaning by showing the original purpose for it's institution in Mark 2:27 "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.'"

The early Christians were loyal Jews.  They worshiped daily in the Temple at Jerusalem; they attended services in the synagogues; they revered the Law of Moses.  The dispute over the requirements of a Christan were resolved at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts Chapter 15.

Paul regarded the Law as a yoke of bondage from which the Christian had been set free.  Paul made no distinction between moral and ceremonial law.  To him, it was all part of the old Covenant, which was done away with in Christ  (see 2 Corinthians 3:14), and it was nailed to the cross (see Colossians 2:14).

There are no grounds for imposing the Sabbath on the Christian, who is free from the burden of the law's demands.  The Spirit of Christ enables him or her to fulfill God's will apart from the external observances of the law.

The first day of the week (Sunday) is now observed as the day of worship, traditionally, for the church.  After His resurrection, which took place on a Sunday, Jesus appeared to His disciples on four occasions, all on a Sunday.  Pentecost, the birth of the church, was on a Sunday (Acts 2:1).

By all indications, the early church established Sunday, the first day of the week, as their day of worship.  We certainly encounter those who are zealous over the "Seventh Day" issue.  However, it is not this issue which should emerge as important.  It is the role of the Law, and our liberty in Christ that is the fundamental issue. 

The Epistles to the Galatians, Colossians, and Romans far overshadow our particular cultural customs, and press our freedom from external rules as the key to the entire New Testament.

The true sabbath is a day of rest.  It is a time of devotion, not a subjection to rules or law.  It is for the benefit of man, and is to be taken advantage of.  It matters not if we worship the Lord on Sunday or any other day of the week.  Most churches today have midweek services.  We should be worshiping the Lord every day of the week!  Is it wrong to worship on Saturday?  Absolutely not, as long as it is not under some type of legalistic requirement.

While during the Old Testament times, and even during the time Jesus Christ walked this earth, there were only Jews and Gentiles, today there exists Jews, Gentiles and the Church.  Soon the church will be Raptured.  When Jesus establishes His Kingdom rule and reign in the Millennium, there will again be only Jews and Gentiles.  According to Isaiah Chapter 66 and Ezekiel Chapter 46, the Sabbath will again be established as a basis for worship of the Lord in the Millennium.