THE LAW: NEW TESTAMENT PERSPECTIVE

The Purpose of the Sabbath

a) It was a reminder that we need rest. b) It was a reminder that the Lord created all things. c) It was a reminder that the Lord had redeemed Israel from Egypt. d) It was are reminder that the Lord was the one who sanctified His people. e) It was a day to worship the Lord. f) It was a reminder that we are dependent on the Lord and He would provide for His people. g) It pointed to our need of an ultimate rest in Christ

See Exodus 31:12-18...

The Promise and Need of a New Covenant

The Old Testament spoke of a New Covenant that was coming, which would replace the Old Covenant.

See Jeremiah 31:31-34...

We needed a New Covenant, because the Old Covenant wasn’t able to save us.

See Galatians 3:10-29 (see Deuteronomy 27:26)

“But now that faith is come,” etc. Moses the lawgiver cannot bring us into the heavenly Canaan though he can bring us to the border of it. At that point he is superseded by Joshua, the type of Jesus, who leads the true Israel into their inheritance. The law leads us to Christ, and there its office ceases. — Jamieson Fausset Brown

Christians Are Not Under the Old Covenant

Christ perfectly obeyed the Old Covenant law. Those who repent and believe in Him are credited with His perfect righteous obedience.

Matthew 5:17–18 ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

The Old Covenant was temporary and has been replaced by the New Covenant, therefore Christians aren’t under the Law.

See Hebrews 8:1-13, Hebrews 10:1-18, Hebrews 7:11-19, and Hebrews 9:1-10...

What does it mean when we say that Christians aren’t under the Law or Old Covenant?

Christians are no longer under the sacrificial system or the Levitical priesthood. The legal punishments of the law are no longer binding on us. The civil and ceremonial aspects of the Law are no longer binding on us. That being said, God’s moral standards are eternal and unchanging. That is why You see them repeated in both the Old and New Testament.

The Sabbath was a sign of the Old Covenant. Since we aren’t under that Covenant anymore, we don’t need that sign.

Exodus 31:17 “It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ””

The New Testament explicitly says that we are no longer obligated to observe the Sabbath.

Colossians 2:16–17 “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

See Galatians 4:9–11...

Sabbath observance in the Old Testament was pointing to a greater truth.

See Hebrews 3:7-4:11 (Psalm 95:7-11)...

The Sabbath was a sign and shadow that pointed to our need of rest that can only be found in Christ. Now that Christ has come, we no longer have the need for the signs, types, and shadows of the Old Covenant. We have Christ, the substance and source of true rest.

And so, rest – the true rest, the true Sabbath – is salvation. We could say this: the Mosaic Sabbath, the prescripted Sabbath in the Ten Commandments was a dim reflection of Eden’s perfect rest looking back, and of salvation’s perfect rest looking forward. In the Mosaic Sabbath, the sinner faced his need of true rest – rest from the weariness of guilt and shame and struggle. The rest of Hebrews is the salvation of God with all of its delights fulfilled in the glory of that eternal heavenly Eden. And once you’ve entered into that rest, which is provided by the new covenant, the external Sabbath of the old covenant has no more meaning. — John MacArthur

See Matthew 11:28–30...

Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!””