On March 20, 2026, MSN News published an article claiming that keeping Saturday as the Sabbath was intended only for Israel and not for the Christian church. It further falsely stated that neither Jesus nor Paul ever spoke about the Sabbath, using this claim to reject the seventh-day Sabbath altogether. Once again, this type of reporting by the mainstream media aligns perfectly with longstanding Roman Catholic teachings on rest and worship and contributes to the growing movement to promote Sunday within society.
MSN News published the following:
• “The Bible says that the Sabbath, the fourth commandment, was a sign given to the nation of Israel. Christians do not keep the biblical Saturday Sabbath, because Christianity is not Israel, and because the Lord Jesus Christ is our rest. We try our best to keep the moral commandments of the law, which Jesus summarized as “love thy neighbor as thyself.” When listing commandments to follow, as recorded in the New Testament, neither Jesus nor Paul mentioned the Sabbath—just the moral commands.” [1]
First, the argument that the Sabbath belongs only to Israel ignores its origin at Creation. The Sabbath was not introduced at Sinai; it was established in Eden when God rested on the seventh day: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2-3.
This took place long before the existence of the Jewish nation, indicating that the Sabbath was designed for all of God’s children. Jesus affirmed the universal application of the Sabbath when He declared, “The sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). The language includes all nations and people, not only Jews. Therefore, to dismiss the Sabbath on the basis that Christians are not Israel is to overlook the clear teachings of the Bible.
Second, while it is true that Jesus offers spiritual rest to the weary (Matthew 11:28), Scripture never presents this rest as a replacement for obedience to God’s commandments. Instead, Christ’s rest addresses the burden of sin, not the removal of the moral law. The idea that spiritual rest eliminates the need for obedience is not biblical. Christ is our righteousness, but it does not eliminate the need for righteous living. Christ being the truth does not eliminate truth. And Christ being our rest does not abolish the Sabbath commandment.
Hebrews 4:9 explicitly states, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” The Greek New Testament word for “rest” in the verse is “sabbatismos,” implying Sabbath-keeping. The verse literally says that there remains a “Sabbath-keeping” for the people of God. This indicates that the Sabbath continues to hold relevance even after the cross.
Third, the claim that Christians must only follow parts of the moral law ignores that the Sabbath is part of it. The Ten Commandments, written by the finger of God on stone, represent an unchanging moral standard. The fourth commandment—“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8)—stands in the middle of this law, not apart from it. There is no biblical basis for removing one commandment while retaining the other nine. To do so undermines the integrity of the entire law, as James 2:10 warns that breaking one point makes one guilty of all.
Fourth, the claim that neither Jesus nor Paul emphasized the Sabbath is not true. It’s a lie. Jesus Himself kept the Sabbath regularly, as seen in Luke 4:16, where it was His custom to attend synagogue on that day. Moreover, in Matthew 24:20, Christ instructed His followers to pray that their flight from Jerusalem would not occur on the Sabbath—an event that would take place decades after His crucifixion. This demonstrates that He anticipated the continued observance of the Sabbath among His followers.
Likewise, the apostle Paul consistently worshiped and preached on the Sabbath. In Acts 13, Gentiles specifically requested that Paul preach to them “the next sabbath,” and the following week nearly the entire city gathered. Acts 17:2 and Acts 18:4 further show that Paul reasoned in the synagogues every Sabbath, engaging both Jews and Gentiles. This pattern reflects not a temporary accommodation, but an established practice in the early Christian church.
Fifth, while love is indeed the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10), it does not replace the law. Paul himself illustrates this by listing commandments such as “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not kill” immediately after affirming love as the fulfilling of the law. In the same way, the Sabbath commandment expresses love toward God by setting aside sacred time for Him and love toward others by ensuring rest for all. To remove the Sabbath on the basis of love is to misunderstand love’s relationship to obedience.
The Sabbath serves as a sign of God’s authority as Creator and a symbol of loyalty to Him (Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 20:11). In the final message of Revelation, God’s people are described as those who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). The Sabbath, therefore, is not a side issue but a central expression of obedience and worship.
The claim that Christians are not required to keep the biblical seventh-day Sabbath, Saturday, does not come from the Holy Scriptures. The Sabbath was established at Creation, upheld by Christ, practiced by the apostles, and embedded within God’s moral law. Far from being abolished, it remains a lasting sign of God’s authority and a call to faithful obedience.
Sources
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-religion-do-the-ten-commandments-establish/ar-AA1Z34UD
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