Claim: Sabbath was made with Israel, Not with us (Church-Gentiles)

“The Sabbath Covenant is made with Israel (Hebrews) and not with the Church (Gentiles)”

CLAIM
“The Sabbath is only for ethnic Israel, not for the Church (Gentiles).”
ANSWER

The Sabbath preceded Israel, includes the “stranger,” embraces grafted-in Gentiles, and will be kept by all flesh in the age to come.

CLAIM
“Sabbath began with Israel at Sinai.”
ANSWER

Creation Foundation — Sabbath for All Humanity

Genesis 2:2–3 — “And on the seventh day God ended His work… and sanctified it.”

This predates Abraham, Israel, and Sinai. The seventh day was blessed and made holy for all humanity.

Jesus confirms this principle:

Mark 2:27 — “The Sabbath was made for man [Greek: anthrōpos = mankind], not man for the Sabbath.”

If Sabbath were only for Jews, Christ would have said “for Israel.” He chose a universal word for humanity.

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CLAIM
“Gentiles are a different covenant people without the Sabbath.”
ANSWER

Grafted-In Gentiles Become Part of the Same Covenant Community

  • Romans 11:17–24 — Gentiles are grafted in to the olive tree (Israel).
  • Ephesians 2:12–13, 19 — Gentiles were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,” but now are “no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints.”
  • Galatians 3:29 — “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

The Church is not a replacement of Israel but an extension of it. Therefore, the covenants — including the Sabbath covenant — apply to all who are in Messiah.

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CLAIM
“Scripture never expects Gentiles to keep the Sabbath.”
ANSWER

Scriptural Evidence: Gentiles Kept (and Were Expected to Keep) the Sabbath

Old Testament & Prophecy

  • Isaiah 56:6–7 — “Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD… everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath… I will bring them to My holy mountain.”
    → Sabbath-keeping Gentiles are welcome in God’s covenant community.
  • Exodus 20:10 — “…the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son… nor the stranger who is within your gates.”
    → The commandment explicitly includes the foreigner.

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CLAIM
“The New Covenant replaces the Sabbath law.”
ANSWER

New Covenant Continuity — God Writes the Same Law on the Heart

  • Hebrews 8:10 (quoting Jeremiah 31:33) — “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…”

Which laws? The very ones God spoke in Exodus 20 — including the Sabbath.

  • Revelation 14:12 — “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

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CLAIM
“Sabbath is temporary and Jewish only.”
ANSWER

Anticipation of the Eternal Sabbath — For All Flesh

  • Isaiah 66:22–23 — “From one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me…”
    → An end-times and post-Messiah prophecy including all, not just Israel.
  • Hebrews 4:9 — “There remains therefore a Sabbath-keeping [Greek: sabbatismos] for the people of God.”

The word sabbatismos refers to Sabbath observance, not merely a symbolic “spiritual rest.” If Sabbath is kept in Eden’s pattern and in the New Creation, it is inconsistent to discard it now.

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