How the (Christian) Church Dropped the Fourth Commandment

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” – Exodus 20:8

For millions of Christians, the Ten Commandments form the foundation of God’s law. They are seen as timeless, sacred, and authoritative—engraved in stone by God himself. Yet, there is one commandment that is ignored or reinterpreted almost universally by (Christian) churches. Namely, the fourth: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” In many churches, all 10 commandments are even read aloud (or recited together) every Sunday before worship. And why is this specific commandment not followed to the letter, while the other nine are still preached loudly? But the more important question is: What does this say about our relationship with God’s Word?

A Divine Institution, Not a Human Custom

In Genesis 2, we read that after six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and sanctified it. This happened before the Fall, before Israel, before the law of Moses. The Sabbath was not a Jewish law, but therefore originated at creation. This is confirmed in Exodus 20. The fourth commandment refers not to a cultural practice, but to God’s example in creation itself: “Six days you shall labor… but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.” Nowhere in the Bible is this commandment subsequently repealed or replaced.

Why then do churches celebrate Sunday?

The shift from Sabbath to Sunday only began centuries after the resurrection: Early churches celebrated the resurrection on Sunday, but they also continued to honor the Sabbath. Only in the fourth century, under Emperor Constantine, was Sunday officially declared a day of rest – partly to distance itself from Judaism. The Roman Catholic Church openly acknowledges that, based on its authority, it changed the day of worship. Over the centuries, a number of reasons have been put forward for observing Sunday as a replacement for the Sabbath. I will mention a few here and explain why these reasons are, in fact, misconceptions, or at the very least, human interpretations or adaptations of a divine certainty.

The Crucifixion Story Confirms the Sabbath as Saturday

We celebrate Sunday because it is the day of Jesus’ resurrection. However, the Easter story is precisely proof of the divine Sabbath. The Gospels confirm that the Sabbath is Saturday: Jesus died on Good Friday, His body was quickly buried before the Sabbath began (Luke 23:54–56), and the women came to His tomb on the first day of the week (Sunday)—and found it empty. This demonstrates undeniably that the Sabbath day, even around the time of Christ’s death and resurrection, remained Saturday. After all, He rested in the tomb on Saturday—the Sabbath. Therefore, it is by no means a declaration that the Sabbath should no longer be celebrated on Saturday.

The Eighth Day: Theological Symbolism, Not a Divine Command

Some Christians point to the concept of “the eighth day” as a theological motive for Sunday observance. In the Torah, the eighth day does indeed appear on special occasions: the circumcision of a child (Leviticus 12:3), the beginning of the priestly service after a week of dedication (Leviticus 9:1), or as the closing day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:36). The eighth day often marks a new beginning or a holy convocation, In the early church, this symbolism was applied to the resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on the first day after the Sabbath – actually the “eighth day.” This was seen as the beginning of a new creation and the kingdom of God. Hence, Sunday began to be observed as the “Lord’s Day.”

However, nowhere in the Torah or the rest of the Bible does God command to move the weekly day of rest to the eighth day. The Sabbath remains the seventh day of the week – established by God Himself in creation and confirmed in the Ten Commandments. The eighth day has symbolic value, but no legislative force. The choice to observe Sunday as a day of rest is therefore a human adjustment based on theological reflection and church tradition – not a divine command. There is no biblical text in which God changes, revokes, or replaces the fourth commandment with another day.

Paul

But doesn’t Paul say that the Sabbath is no longer binding? Some Christians refer to texts like Colossians 2:16: “Let no one judge you in food or drink, in matters of festival or new moon or Sabbath…” But this most likely refers to ceremonial Sabbaths (as in Leviticus 23), not the weekly Sabbath of creation. Paul himself faithfully kept the Sabbath (Acts 17:2, 18:4), and there is no record of him ever preaching that the seventh day should no longer be kept holy.

Saul’s Error: Human Tradition Over God’s Will

The apostle Paul, then still Saul, knew this dilemma firsthand. As a Pharisee, he placed his obedience to religious leaders above God’s true intentions. He thought he was doing good, but in reality, he was persecuting God’s children. Only when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus did he realize, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). His conversion is not only a moral shift, but also a powerful warning: when you prioritize the voice of man over the Word of God, you can even think you are serving God – while actually working against Him.

Is the church making that mistake again today?

It certainly seems so. Churches that preach the Ten Commandments with authority choose to interpret the fourth commandment symbolically or figuratively, while declaring the other nine literal and binding. This is not only inconsistent, it is also theologically dangerous. If we begin to select which commandments we take literally and which we reinterpret based on tradition or convenience, where does our obedience to God end?

The key question: Who do we obey?

In Acts 5:29, Peter and the apostles say, “We must obey God rather than men.” This statement still holds true today. The question isn’t whether it’s difficult to keep the Sabbath on Saturday. The question is: do we follow God’s commandment or human adjustments? Just like Saul’s conversion, then Paul’s. It’s an invitation to rediscovery. This isn’t a call to legalism, but to honest Bible reading and recognizing what it truly says. The Sabbath isn’t just a day of rest; it’s a sign of devotion to our Creator (Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:12). By keeping that day holy, we acknowledge that He is God—and we are not.

Let us dare to ask ourselves: “If I ignore the Sabbath, am I doing so based on God’s Word or on church tradition?” If the answer is honest, and we discover that—like Saul—we are doing something out of zeal but without truth, then it is never too late to return (Romans 10:2), like Paul, to the voice of God himself.