A common christian false teaching is that the Sabbaths are no longer relevant because Ephesians 2 teaches us that they were nailed to the cross. But, once again, this merely shows a common error that is employed by many in christianity—lifting passages out of their actual contexts.
What is taught in Ephesians 2? It is specifically speaking of the laws (ordinances) that separated the Jews from the Gentiles—they kept the Gentiles from the house of Yah. Which laws were those? They were the clean vs. unclean laws and the animal sacrifice laws.
The teaching in Ephesians 2 is that those laws were abolished in Christ, because the real substance of the bride was revealed after the sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb, so the foreshadow (separation of physical Jews and Gentiles) was no longer the focus. There were no longer physical Jews vs. physical Gentiles in Messiah (Galatians 3:28-29).
The same occurred with the destruction of the physical temple, as that also foreshadowed the bride. So, those areas of the law that were foreshadows of future-revealed real substances were no longer necessary, except for the benefit of their instruction, as both the animal sacrifice laws and the clean vs. unclean laws present physical details to demonstrate the meanings of the spiritual real substances (i.e., the bride sacrificing her flesh daily, the bride keeping herself separated from the world, etc.).
The only thing about the Sabbaths that was nailed to the tree were the laws that dictated HOW the Sabbaths had to be observed—the physical rituals that were mandated for how the physical Jews were required to observe the Sabbaths. Those no longer exist, and Messiah’s bride is free to honor Yah’s days according to individual conscience, which is a far cry from stating that the Sabbaths have ended.
The Sabbaths are given as a sign between Yah and His children–RELATIONSHIP. They were never part of the clean vs. unclean laws, nor were they part of the animal sacrifice laws. They were part of the relationship laws, and those are the Laws that are written on the hearts and minds of true believers. They are what the Holy Spirit teaches to those whom He indwells.
They are not matters of justification, but of identification. They present the “spirit and truth” of John 4:24. They are the laws that Christ spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount—the “these least commandments” of Matthew 5:19. They are ALL about relationship—with Yah, and with others. The Sabbaths are merely a sign of identification with Yah’s house—His family—RELATIONSHIP.
Christians who falsely present Ephesians 2 as some sort of proof-text that the Sabbaths are no longer relevant to believers, present Paul as a schizophrenic, for why would Paul both observe the Sabbaths and teach them to the Gentile converts, and also state that the Sabbaths were nailed to the cross? He wouldn’t; and, when the scriptures are understood within their proper contexts, christianity’s arguments are shown to be the error that they are.
For more information: Saturday or Sunday? Does It Even Matter?