Should Christians practice a literal day of “sabbath rest”? This post offers a biblical case for setting aside 24-hours per week holy to the Lord—from a Christian perspective. It is an adapted excerpt from my book Your Spiritual Formation Plan.
Throughout history, the people of God have made a habit of finding rest, from the early days of Hebrew history until now. In recent history, though, our habits of rest seem to have changed.
We’ve experienced an increase in mobility and technological advancements in our culture, yet have not used these advancements to find more rest. Instead, we’ve used them to busy ourselves with more things!
Few people maintain a clearly defined time of rest each week. Why? Because few people have a robust theology of rest.
In order to change our habits, we must change our minds, and a biblical theology perspective can help change our minds.
A Biblical Theology of Rest
We implement notions of a “day off,” or “taking time to be with the family,” which have their place, but do these align with God’s heart about rest? Even more:
What does Scripture say about rest?
While other resources provide the necessary content for a robust theology of rest, this post can get you started and encourage you to dig deeper. I have a specific outcome for you in this post, and while it’s not commonly practiced, implementing this could change your life.
In this post, I suggest that you:
Set aside an entire, continuous twenty-four-hour period each week to rest by ceasing regular work so you can connect with God through prayer, his Word, and his people.
This specific suggestion is for those who want to pursue wholeness in their lives.
Is Sabbath Rest a “Law” for Christians?
Let me be clear: there’s no law or requirement in Scripture to practice rest in exactly this way. Plus, there are vocations that make this not possible.
But for most people, setting aside an entire day for this type of rest can work. And it brings much-needed vitality to us as individuals, to our families, and to our churches.
My recommendation comes from God’s heart as seen in Scripture, along with precedents throughout faith history and my own experiences.
God’s people often call this day of rest “Sabbath.”
But Christians need not use that name to describe their day of rest, since “Sabbath” is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for Saturday. We can call it Sabbath, a Christian Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, or some other name.
The title isn’t important.
What we do with the Sabbath is what matters.
God designed this day of rest to restore our souls in a unique way.
God Cares About Rest
The new covenant ushered in by Jesus changed our understanding of rest, but it did not do away with the practice altogether.
We know from Scripture that rest has always been important to God and still is important to God: God rested from his work on the seventh day of creation (Exod. 31:14–17); God anchored Sabbath rest for the Hebrews in their redemption from slavery in Egypt (Deut. 5:12–15); and “there remains . . . a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9).
These passages let us know there’s something bigger to rest than mere ritualistic practice.
Rest is near the very heart of God.
That’s why it’s one of the Ten Commandments! When he gave us the new covenant in Christ, God’s heart about rest did not change, but the specific way we understand it did change. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it (Matt. 5:17).
So, the question is not whether to rest but what rest looks like for disciples of Jesus.
Sabbath Rest for Disciples of Jesus
Jesus fulfilled the meaning of the Sabbath rest for Christians, liberating us from any legalistic practice of it. He rebuked the Pharisees by saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
Notice that Jesus did not do away with the Sabbath here. Jesus’ disciples had unlawfully plucked heads of grain and eaten them on the Sabbath (v. 23).
As a result, the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking “the law.” But Jesus outwitted them by citing three Old Testament passages and ended his argument with the words, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (v. 28; see also Matt. 12:1–8). In the Gospels, not once did Jesus deny Sabbath-keeping; instead, he reoriented his audience toward the true meaning of the Sabbath.
Jesus’ final words about lordship over the Sabbath include his authority over the very meaning of Sabbath rest. As the story unfolds—we learn an important truth:
Sabbath rest is not just about rest but also about restoration.
We see this play out as the story continues. Jesus effectively claimed dominion over the Sabbath and clarified its meaning in one fell swoop.
He did this as he transitioned from a debate-style discussion into real-life action. He walked from the grainfields to the synagogue, where he healed a man whose hand was shriveled.
Through this healing, Jesus made the same point, but now through his actions:
Sabbath is a day for restoration, not quibbling over technicalities.
So, Jesus affirmed Sabbath rest and at the same time redefined it—but he never did away with it.
Early Christians and Sabbath Rest
Nowhere in the remainder of the New Testament is the Sabbath rejected either. In fact if anything, the New Testament writers reinforce Jesus’ teaching on this.
The only negative command about Sabbath in the New Testament comes from Paul, who issues a clear warning about not judging anyone on how they observe Sabbath rest (Col. 2:13–17). Importantly, he does not say, Do not practice the Sabbath anymore.
There’s a major difference between redefining the Sabbath and rejecting the day altogether. Most of us treat the Sabbath as though it were abolished, yet we’re seeing that Scripture does not reject but instead redefines this day of rest. I suggest, therefore, that we ought to live true to the impetus to rest, as Jesus defined it.
Church history reveals how Christians have continued the tradition of setting aside an entire day of rest each week. Very early in our history, Christians changed their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday because Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday.
Since that time, Christians throughout history have gathered together on Sundays to celebrate our redemption.
How Christians Can Practice Sabbath Rest
Many people today consider going to church on Sunday their “Sabbath” practice, which is great! But there’s more to it than showing up to church.
The issue is that few people think clearly about the purpose of that day—and what to do during their day of rest.
We need to set clear boundaries for ourselves and incorporate certain spiritual practices for our day of rest. That’s why you have space here to create a clear, well-defined plan for yourself.
Remember that we have immense freedom to practice and plan our day of rest as we see fit. We have no certain laws to obey, only God’s heart to pursue. In order to do that, setting aside one day a week for resting in the Lord is important.
Why?
Because God rested, God’s people have rested throughout history, and resting can be a life-giving practice for us, too.
Sabbath rest is a gift from God to be received, not a law to be followed.
In summary, we don’t simply stop working on this day of rest; we stop working in order to connect with God. What exactly do we do on this day of rest then?
Sabbath Rest: A Two-Step Framework
I recommend a two-step framework for cultivating a habit of rest in your life: the first step is to stop working, and the second step is to engage with God.
These steps work together like the steps of a dance because we cannot adequately engage God with other believers if we’re all at work! We need to sync up by having a common day of rest with those in our close fellowship, when possible.
We find this principle of both stopping and engaging embedded in the Bible, when God said, “Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord” (Exod. 16:23). The Sabbath is to be “holy”—set apart from the other days of the week—but also directional, not static.
Our rest is holy to the Lord.
We don’t disappear on the couch on Sabbath, or binge on media, or just do nothing. We embrace the orientation, direction, and purpose of Sabbath by resting to God.
Here’s what this can look like:
Step 1: Say no to regular work.
Decide on a particular day each week to stop working. Request off work, communicate with your family about the details of the day, and make plans with other believers. Set boundaries around this time, and while you can remain flexible, don’t make a habit of bending your boundaries.
Make it possible not to check email, for example, and take care of yard work on a different day. Complete tasks such as preparing food beforehand, if possible, so you can focus your attention directly on God.
Step 2: Say yes to connecting with God.
Do this specifically through prayer, his Word, and his people.
This is the positive side of what you do while you’re not working on this day. Focus your engagement with God during your day of rest on three activities with God’s people:
- praying together,
- reading God’s Word together, and
- gathering together.
Sit down with your family and a group from your church to read Scripture—even long portions at a time. Spend time praying with one another.
Simply rest together.
Some of the best God-centered discussions happen when you simply hang out with God’s people. Remember to make this day fun and something you look forward to!
One note to young families: you need to consider how to integrate your kids graciously into this, so feel free to experiment and find out what works for your family in particular—and keep experimenting as your kids grow up.
My specific suggestion to you is worth repeating:
Set aside an entire, continuous twenty-four-hour period each week to rest by ceasing regular work so you can connect with God through prayer, his Word, and his people.
So:
- Decide on a specific time frame for rest each week.
- Make plans to say no to regular work.
- Make plans for saying yes to connecting with God.
If you want help forming a holistic plan for the next steps of your spiritual formation journey, consider ordering my book on this topic, Your Spiritual Formation Plan, which I wrote to help you take your next steps with God in the spiritual disciplines.
The chapter for “Rest” in this workbook gives you space to answer questions like, “When will you regularly ‘rest to God’? Name a specific day of the week and write out a precise time frame each week your day of rest will begin and end.” As a whole, the workbook helps you craft an actionable plan for your spiritual formation journey, focused on ten core disciplines.
Supplemental Reading
Mark Buchanan’s book The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006) offers a rich case for restoring Sabbath practices. I highly recommend this resource because it was the book that convinced me years ago to restore the Sabbath in my life.
I want to also mention my class session on rest in my Spiritual Formation video course. This class session contains a fuller version of my biblical theology of rest.
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