Working on the Sabbath

Q: If my intent is to take on a part-time job to pay off some debt, but requires me to work on weekends, does it say somewhere in the bible that I shouldn`t take the job being that the job requires me working on the Sabbath day?

A: You are not going to find a passage in the Bible that is going to tell you what to do about working a part-time job on the Sabbath. However, what you will find in the Bible, specifically in the New Covenant, is that "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive (1 Corinthians 10:23)." Why is everything permissible? Because "you are not under law, but under grace (Romans 6:14)." If you are in debt and need to make extra money in order to get out from under that debt, I don't want you to think that you are in violation of God's law for trying to improve your financial situation. If you think about it, what you are actually asking is if God will punish you for working on the Sabbath? Christians are not obligated to observe the Mosaic Law, much less observe the Sabbath. For Christians, the Sabbath is not a day of the week to rest from our work, but a daily rest from trying to obtain or maintain our right standing before God by what we do.

The dilemma you are facing seems to be one of what type of anxiety are you willing to choose? On one hand you are faced with the very real prospect of continued financial burden because you will not have the income from the part-time job to pay down your debt due to your concern about working on the Sabbath. Yet, on the other hand, you are faced with the fear that you are sinning against God should you decide to work on the Sabbath. Do you believe that those are the only options available to you? Scripture tells us that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)." If there is no condemnation awaiting you, what do you think God feels about you working on the Sabbath? Many times the thing we fear most is not so much God's condemnation, but the condemnation of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I don't know your situation, but I would imagine that there might be some pressure from those you fellowship with for you not to work on the Sabbath. And nobody wants to be the focal point of attention for some perceived sin we have committed.

Scripture has something to say about that situation as well. "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16)." Do not let worries about what others think about you working on the Sabbath prevent you from doing what is necessary to pay off some debt. Your creditors do not care about your religious convictions. They just want to be paid. As your brother in Christ, I am not going to judge you for whatever decision you make. If you are uncomfortable with working on the Sabbath, then don't work. But, be clear that your reason for deciding what to do should not be out of a fear of violating a law of God. The book of James says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10)." If you are worried about breaking the Sabbath, then you should be worried about breaking all the law. That is a burden no man can withstand, nor does God expect us to.

The Bible is clear about the purpose of the Law. We read that "through the law we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20)." In 1 Timothy 1:9 it says "that law is made not for the righteous." And, lastly, "the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24)." You see that the Sabbath is just one law within the context of the entirety of the Law. In fact, there are 613 laws to uphold with the penalty for violating many of them being death, including violating the Sabbath Law. God gave the Law to show us our inability to be like Him in an effort to get us to come to faith in Christ. You have already come to faith in Christ and He said "my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30)." When you are free your yoke and burden are light. If you are concerned about working on the Sabbath you might be concerned about violating other laws. That is not a burden put on you by the Lord. Make your decision to work on the Sabbath in response to your personal needs not in response to concerns about violating a law you are not obligated to uphold. And keep in mind that as Christians "we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)."