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Sunday 09/14/25
Title: Binding the Sabbath
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Binding the Sabbath
Last week we ended in Colossians 2:14-17 where Paul begins addressing Judaism but in the light of the redemption we have in Christ under the power and tenants of the New Covenant ratified in His precious blood!
In reading verse 14 we concluded that the “certificate of indebtedness” or “handwriting of requirements” which were “move them out of the way and be nailed to Jesus’ cross” could not be the 10 commandments, because we are told in Romans 8 that these are to be fulfilled IN us by the Holy Spirit.
Instead we allowed Paul to define what these were himself, which he did in verses 16-17 which say,
“(16) THEREFORE do not let anyone JUDGE you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – (17) these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!”
So this is referring to the external rites, rituals and ceremonies of the Law – not the Law itself.
All of these things Paul lists here are things which were types and shadows and there are ZERO confirmed references to any of the 10 commandments being nothing more than a type and shadow. Whereas these feasts, festivals, lunar events and external rituals were!
Now I encouraged you to go back to messages I taught in May & June of 2023 entitled, “By Request: To Sabbath or not to Sabbath?” parts 1-4 as well as one I taught in 2018 called, “The Sabbath under the New Covenant” so as to be ready for today where we examine these last two verses 16&17.
Colossians 2:16-17,
“(16) THEREFORE do not let anyone JUDGE you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – (17) these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!”
The word judge means to express an accusation of an unfavorable judgment against someone in order to “condemn” them.
This was in reference to…
Food or drink: These touched on the clean and unclean dietary laws found in Leviticus 11.
Feasts: These are described in Leviticus 23 and are arranged by season.
- Spring Feasts: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits & Feast of Weeks
- Fall Feasts: Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement & Feast of Tabernacles
- Other Significant Jewish Feasts and Holidays include Hanukkah (Festival of Lights) and Purim.
All of these are on the website in our studies ‘Thru the Bible‘, particularly the one on September 5, 2018 entitled, “Israel’s Festivals were Rehearsals – Leviticus 23“
New moons: The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar. New moons therefore marked the beginning of new months. These were minor holidays that went by the name Rosh Chodesh. It was a time for prayers and community observances.
Sabbath days: Judaism observed seven annual High Sabbaths, which are feast days in the Jewish calendar. Additionally, there are four special “Shabbats” that occur in the weeks before Passover and have their own unique Torah readings.
Notice the one common thread throughout all these Paul references – they are all in connection with feasts days and holidays.
If you did as I encouraged you, then you know that there are in fact many “sabbaths” but only ONE “THE Sabbath“!
Examples include but are not limited to…
- High Sabbath – A term for seven annual festivals.
- Shabbaton – A term used for FOUR of the High Sabbath festivals which occur in the fall.
- Yom Kippur – A term used for one of these High Sabbath festivals that is also known as “Sabbath of Sabbaths“.
All of this being true, there is only one “THE Sabbath” which is ALWAYS in the singular and is always in reference to the seventh day of Creation. This fact is further made clear in how it is used throughout scripture – both the Old Testament AND the New.
THE Sabbath is also referred to as “My Holy Day” and “My Sabbath“…etc.
This seventh day, weekly Sabbath is set forth in scripture as an ongoing memorial, if you will, of Creation and the work of the Creator.
In clear distinction from the 7th day Sabbath were the annual sabbaths which were symbolic of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian captivity. These annual sabbaths were part of the sanctuary system that typified the future salvation accomplished in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah.
Among the more noteworthy things regarding the seventh-day Sabbath was that it was written by the very finger of God Himself on stone and placed within the moral law which were then placed inside the Ark of the Covenant as a testimony. The other sabbaths recorded by Moses were placed on the side of the Ark of the Covenant and therefore external to it. (See – 2 Chronicles 33:8).
The reason I encouraged you to refresh your memories of the teachings regarding the 7th day Sabbath was because many people today believe Colossians 2:16-17 is a clear reference to the church being released from any obligation to keep the 4th commandment. “Remember the Sabbath day to KEEP it holy.”
So I thought it a great opportunity to revisit this and open the floor to any questions which have come to you since we last covered this topic. Before I open the floor however, I wanted to revisit a secondary but VERY related topic of “Binding and Loosening”.
“Binding” and “loosening” regard issues of the Law with which the apostles of the Lamb alone were invested with authority from Jesus to obligate or release from obligation the New Covenant believer.
We’ve spent time on this in the past, but due to the nature of this teaching I think it necessary to briefly touch on it again.
[For more on the Apostles of the Lamb see – Binding, Loosening and the Apostles of the Lamb, “…these necessary things…” & About Apostles
Binding and Loosening
Turn to Matthew 16:13-20,
“(13) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
(14) So they said,
“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
(15) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
(16) Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
(17) Jesus answered and said to him,
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. (18) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (19) And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
(20) Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
Up to the point of the words “I give unto you the keys” Jesus was speaking exclusively to Peter. But it should be known that when Jesus said, the words “I give unto you” He makes use of the plural form thereby making it clear that the other disciples or to be apostles were included. This was not an exclusive prerogative given to Peter alone.
To “bind” and “loose,” was a common Jewish rabbinic phrase meaning to prohibit or permit, or to declare forbidden or allowed. So this power of “binding and loosing” is a form of ecclesiastical authority within the church to make judgments on matters of doctrine, practice, and church discipline, including matters of forgiveness, exclusion from the community of faith, and the application of God’s law, ALL IN AGREEMENT WITH GOD’S WILL.
The first example of this in Jesus’ teaching is found in Matthew 18 and we will look at this in a moment, but first I want to clarify two truths before getting too far away from these words of Jesus to His disciples and Peter.
First is that this was to those men, not to others after them. This is why Peter said in the upper room in Jerusalem that the one who is to take Judas’ place, MUST be a MAN who had been with Jesus from the beginning. Meaning, one who was completely and thoroughly well versed in the teachings of Jesus so as to represent not only His specific words, but the meaning and heart behind them.
The reference to “keys”given them in connection with this would seem to be both authority and power of discernment.
Guzik says,
“Jesus promises that Peter – and the other apostles – would be able to set the boundaries authoritatively for the New Covenant community. This was the authority given to the apostles and prophets to build a foundation” Guzik cites Ephesians 2:20 in this which says that the church is, “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the Cornerstone.”
Now this truth leads into the second point I want to make before moving on to the first example of this in the teaching of Jesus.
The wording here in most English translations does not convey the full truth in a discernable way. The words “whatever you bind will be bound” is not accurate. The words “will be” is in the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb. What this means is that it SHOULD be translated as “Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”
Kenneth Wuest, who I have pointed to many times as the KING of tenses, translates the words this way, “whatever you bind on earth, shall have been already bound in heaven.”
This is important and goes along with Peter’s statement that Judas’ replacement be a man, well informed and versed in the teachings of Jesus. Also that these keys are to GOD’S Kingdom, Who alone therefore, would be in the position to make such judgments!
Jesus taught on this in Matthew 18. In that place He actually speaks of the church before it came into existence. His teaching that day regarded the discipline of believers by the churches.
The example offered by Jesus was of any believer who sinned in the sight of or within the express knowledge of another believer.
In many translations it says, “If your brother sins against you” and while there are manuscripts which have these additional words, the oldest and therefore more authentic to the originals lack it. And such would be the understanding of it by Paul who is the primary example of its use in the church in 1 Corinthains 5.
Jesus’ teaching was that if someone sins, the witnessing brother was to go to the offender ALONE.
If they would not repent, then one or two others WITNESSES were to be included in a second confrontation. If the believing offender still did not repent, it was to be brought before the entire church.
If still there was no repentance secured then the offender was to be excommunicated from the church.
We see this lived out before us as it were, as I mentioned a moment ago, by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5. This regarded a believer in known and unrepentant sexual sin.
We are spared the details of the first and second confrontation and in fact, in this case they might have been unnecessary. You see, one of the clear purposes of the 1st and 2nd confrontation was to keep the sin as non-public as possible.
God does not desire to publicise the sins of His children if He can have it resolved with discretion.
In this case of ongoing and unrepentant fornication in Corinth, the man was known by all to be living in this sexual sin. So either the 1st and 2nd confrontations had already taken place and Paul was simply pushing the assembly to finish what was begun. Or more likely, they had failed in this regard, since if they HAD already begun the process, it seems unlikely that they would have needed outside encouragement to carry it through.
In any case, Paul encourages NOT the pastors alone, but rather the whole church to remove him from the assembly and turn him over to satan for the destruction of the flesh with the clearly stated intention that his spirit would be saved on the day of judgment.
Meaning, he would either repent or he would likely die prematurely so as to not apostate himself by living in unrepentant sin.
That death can be the result seems confirmed in the words of Paul later in 1 Corinthians 11 when he said that it was because some did not show proper respect and deference to Jesus’ body, crucified for our sins, that some were presently sick and MANY had already died.
Now what all of this has to do with the keeping of the 4th commandment to KEEP the Sabbath day holy, is this.
We see throughout the body of the New Testament clear examples of the apostles binding and loosening the tenants of the Old Testament upon New Covenant believers – including the Gentiles.
The primary example to point to is the doctrinal conflict which took place in the Gentile church of Antioch.
You may remember from my often mentioning it, that we read in Acts 15 that certain men had come to Antioch from Judea. These had begun to teach the Gentile believers that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved (Acts 15:1). Paul, who received his understanding of the Gospel directly from Jesus, disagreed. So when their conflict regarding this doctrine could not be rectified, THE CHURCH assembly commissioned Paul and Barnabus alone with others to go to the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem to clarify this matter.
Long story made short, the Holy Spirit revealed that this obligation was done away with in Christ. So they sent letters by the hands of Paul and Barnabus telling the Gentile believers this statement,
“(19) Therefore I conclude that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God, (20) but that we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.
(21) For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, because he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath.” – Acts 15:19-21
There is much to unpack here, but I will limit it to just a few.
Notice first that the Gentiles were “LOOSED” from the obligation to be circumcised in order to be saved, and that the Apostles were the ones who came to this conclusion though the main speakers Peter and James – both of whom were given the keys to bind and loose by Jesus Himself.
Secondly, there were BOUND to keep other tenants of the law ONLY ONE of which was from the 10 commandments, namely the 7th command against committing adultery, in which is a lesson within a lesson.
The literal meaning of “thou shalt not commit adultery” is not fornication, but literal adultery. This is NOT because fornication was permissible but because adultery was the worst and most completely profane expression of the more general meaning.
We know that the 7th commandment included all forms of sexual immorality since God Himself enumerates 15 specific examples in Leviticus chapters 18 & 20 and calls them a keeping of His laws and statutes (Lev. 18:4). That such are binding upon New Covenant believers, including Gentiles is made clear by Paul in several places including his letter to the Corinthians.
So the lesson is that the 7th commandment is binding upon the New Covenant believers, including the Gentiles. The lesson within the lesson is that by extension ALL the commandments are binding upon the New Covenant believer, including the Gentiles.
Now how do we know that the counsel of Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem were including the other 9 commandments in the mentioning of the 7th? Because we see examples of the other commandments being maintained and upheld in the body of the New Testament either by specific command or by living example.
#1 – No other Gods before me: 1 Cor. 8:3-7
#2 – No Idol worship: Acts 17:29-30
#3 – Don’t take God’s name to no avail: (meaning do not call yourself an Israelite and be circumcised into the covenant and then live as if you did not know God) Matthew 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 6:1, 1 Peter 1:14-17.
#4 – Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy: Jesus did this throughout His ministry, but then again Jesus was living under and fulfilling the law and the Old Covenant. But Paul also observed the Sabbath. Additionally, as far as we know, he did not do tent making on the Sabbath, but only preached and taught.
#5 – Honor your parents: Ephesians 6:1-4
#6 – Do not murder (which Jesus further defined as even hating): 1 Jn. 3:15
#7 – Do not commit adultery: 1 Cor. 6:9-10 & 18-20
#8 – Do not Steal: Ephesians 4:28
#9 – Don’t bear false testimony (don’t slander): James 4:11
#10 – Don’t covet: Romans 7:7; Col. 3:5-6
So the New Testament is clear on the keeping of 9 of the 10 commandments, but it is bereft of any specific obligation in regard to the 4th commandment.
Does this lack of affirmation equal a clear “loosening” from the commandment?
[For more on Binding & Loosening see – Binding & Loosening]
I don’t think any serious case could be made for an explicit “loosening” can be made by inference from silence. That is the weakest possible argument of all! Especially when in practice the apostles and early church observed the 7th day Sabbath and there are not confirmed instances of Sabbath being moved to another day.
Furthermore, the letter we referenced in Acts 15 to the Gentile believers in Antioch mentioned the keeping of Sabbath as a reason for not making the list of requirements longer, because the Gentiles were already familiar with the law since it is read in the synagogues every Sabbath. In fact, it was often in synagogues on the Sabbath that Paul initially met those who would become a church of believers in a given city.
So is the Sabbath “binding”?
In practice, the apostle Paul visited synagogues on the Sabbath in multiple Gentile cities, including:
- Antioch of Pisidia – (Acts 13:14-44)
- Philippi – (Acts 16:13)
- Thessalonica – (Acts 17:2)
- Corinth – (Acts 18:4).
These instances demonstrate Paul’s consistent practice of utilizing the Sabbath day in synagogues within Gentile cities as a strategic starting point for his mission to spread the Gospel. It was often there and then that he reasoned with both Jews and Gentiles from the Scriptures to share the Gospel.
Furthermore, there are examples in the New Testament where an explicit truth was garnered from an implied truth in the life of a patriarch.
Paul did this with David who was attributed righteousness without works in Romans 4:6-8.
Also Jesus referenced an example from the life of David as proof that there are exceptions to the Law when he ate of the showbread without sin. He also pointed to the priests who would minister in the temple on the Sabbath, yet without fault.
So if it is acceptable to draw out the explicits of Kingdom practice from that which was simply implied in the lives of Old Covenant patriarchs, is it not acceptable to point to the practice of New Covenant Apostles and churches as express dogma for New Covenant life and practice? I think so!
What I want you to understand is that in the absence of a specific command to keep the Sabbath, what we have to do is examine the whole of the New Testament and see if there is more to support the idea that the Sabbath was to be observed or more against it.
It is interesting how people look for the affirmation of what they want to find. Many who believe the Sabbath was replaced by Sunday due to it being the day upon which Jesus rose from the dead, have to turn to extrabiblical writers to give credence to their belief.
Ignatius of Antiochus was perhaps the earliest writer who attempted to dismiss the 7th day sabbath observance, but his writings were after the death of the last apostle by at least 7 years.
Truth is there isn’t a single example of an apostolic decree “loosening” New Covenant believers from keeping the 7th day Sabbath. There are only two references which are taken by some to imply such – both of which have real ecclesiastic difficulties. Furthermore, there is no single writing outside the scriptures during the life of the Apostles which taught a Sunday, Sabbath observance.
What we know for sure regarding the 7th day Sabbath is…
- The Sabbath was MADE for man, but it BELONGS to the Lord.
- The Sabbath day was sanctified and hallowed BY GOD FROM CREATION – its existence has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the fall of man OR the Law. The Law simply INFORMED us of something which has been true since creation – being binding upon even Adam and Eve in the garden while in a perfect state!
- Man was NOT made for The Sabbath.
- Like everything, man OWNS nothing, so even The Sabbath which was made for us – is a stewardship for which we are answerable to God Who gave it!
There is another reference which should be addressed. It is found in Romans 14:5 and in many translations is a little misleading. It reads like this,
Romans 14:5 (NKJV),
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”
If the “alike” appears in your bible it should be italicized, because it is not native to the text but was added. No doubt for the sake of clarity it was added, but in effect it actually obscures in that it opens the door suggestively to wrong conclusions.
A straightforward rendering would read like this, “For one judges day from day, and one judges all days.”
Even though the passage starts off with people who are either weak or strong in the faith, the examples are not entirely about Old Covenant obligations versus New Covenant freedoms. The next words are to not get into disputes about OPINIONS.
The first example is regarding food. The first feels free to eat anything, the second only vegetables. This is NOT a Judaism versus Christian issue. No tenant of Judaism said you can eat everything nor does it restrict you to only vegetables.
One is not to despise the other because God has accepted him. But what if the person who thought they could eat anything (who is presented as the one stronger in faith) were to eat things offered to idols, things strangled or blood. Is God okay with that? According to Acts 15 the answer is a resounding NO!
The other example is that one esteems one day above another and the other esteems all days. What if a person viewed all his days as a sinner on equal footing with the day he met Christ. That meeting Christ made that day no better, no more significant than any other. Would he be correct? No!
I think therefore turning these into a comparison between legalism and “grace” is off the mark. I think the meaning is more akin to “I hate Mondays but I love Fridays”.
Well that’s fine, another believes every day the same, they should both run with their opinion since these were set forth as matters of opinion and not binding truths.
So without an Apostle of the Lamb making a specific mention to our being set free from keeping the Sabbath holy, and in view of the fact that it was universally practised in throughout the church while the Apostles were alive and the fact that James and Paul both reference the entire Law and the need to keep it, and the fact that nothing about the death, burial & resurrection of Jesus made the 7th day unholy or turned it into the 1st day of the week – our conclusion still is that the 4th commandment is NOT a type and shadow, but is still a command incumbent upon New Covenant believers.
For clarification on this entire subject, where virtually every angle is explored, follow the link at the end and read the five articles you see – MORE ABOUT THE SABBATH.
Blessings!
Tri
