Some teach that Hebrews 4 defines the seventh-day Sabbath commandment in the Decalogue as a shadow-type law pointing forward to a spiritual rest in Christ. They view the Sabbath in the same way the Old Testament sacrifices pointed forward to Christ's atoning death on the cross. They teach that once we have found "spiritual rest" in Christ, we no longer need to observe the Sabbath day, and that keeping the seventh day is a form of bondage and an act of personal works.

It is true that the primary message of Hebrews 4 is to emphasize the believer's rest of grace. The main point in Hebrews 3:7-4:11 ...

Here is the Old Testament text from which this common question arises: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day" (Deuteronomy 5:14, 15).

The key to understanding this passage as it relates to Sabbath keeping ...

Some teach that after the law has accomplished its purpose of pointing a sinner to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing, the commandments are no longer needed in the experience of a believer. Is that true?

A Christian will continue to depend upon the "watchdog" of the law to reveal any deviations from the true path of righteousness and to point him or her back to the cleansing cross of Jesus. This mirror of correction will most certainly be needed in the progressive growth experience of the Christian.

Law and grace do not work in competition with one another, but rather they work in perfect cooperation. The law points out our sin, and grace saves from sin. The law ...