The Sign of The Cut: Is the Sabbath Optional?
how do we show love to God?
If you asked a hundred Christians today, answers would most likely focus on prayer, worship songs, or being kind to neighbors. These are all vital, but Jesus Christ gave us the definitive answer when tested by the Pharisees in Matthew 22:37-40. He identified the two great commandments:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
The Law of Love
How the Ten Commandments carry out the two greatest commandments
- 1. No Other Gods
- 2. No Idols / Graven Images
- 3. Respect God's Name
- 4. Remember the Sabbath Sign of Covenant
- 5. Honor Parents
- 6. Do Not Murder
- 7. Do Not Commit Adultery
- 8. Do Not Steal
- 9. No False Testimony
- 10. Do Not Covet
Traditionally, we can view the Ten Commandments as the practical blueprint for these two goals. The final six commandments protect our neighbor’s life, family, and property. But the first four? Those are God’s specific instructions on how He desires to be loved.
If the first three commandments identify Who we worship and how we respect His Name, then the fourth commandment – the Sabbath – stands as a unique, divine appointment to declare the When. It isn’t a mere suggestion, but an established rhythm instituted by God at creation.
This leads us to a challenging, perhaps even sobering question: If the Sabbath is a core part of how God asks us to show our love, what happens when we decide to skip the appointment?
The sabbath: a sign of covenant, love, and mercy
To understand why the Sabbath holds such a central place in how we love God, we have to look at how Scripture explicitly defines it. In Exodus 31:13, God calls the Sabbath a sacred "sign" ( ot in Hebrew) between Himself and His people:
"Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."
A covenant sign is a tangible marker of a relationship — much like a wedding ring. It isn't just an arbitrary rule, but a public declaration of mutual loyalty. In the Old Testament, this covenant loyalty is bound up in the Hebrew word chesed, meaning steadfast love, covenant loyalty, and mercy. This is where our primary understanding of God’s Law, His love, and His mercy converge. When Jesus confronted the religious leaders in Matthew 12 over their rigid Sabbath traditions, He quoted Hosea 6:6: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."
Jesus was not dismantling the Fourth Commandment. He was restoring its true intent. The Pharisees had turned God’s covenant sign into a cold, legalistic obligation — a burdensome "sacrifice." But Jesus revealed that the Sabbath was instituted as a divine act of mercy ( eleos ). It was created for humanity as a weekly sanctuary in time where God reaches down to weak, weary human beings to offer physical rest and spiritual restoration.
If the Law reflects God's nature, and God’s nature is love and mercy, then the Sabbath is not a ritualistic hurdle to clear. Rather, it is the appointed time where God’s mercy meets human need, and where our observance declares our loyal love in return. But if the Sabbath is both a sacred sign of the covenant and an appointed time for God’s mercy, then what happens when we treat it as common, optional, or irrelevant?
Two Categories of Judgment
To answer what happens when a covenant sign is ignored, we have to look at how covenants were established in the ancient world. In Hebrew, covenants were not merely written or signed — they were "cut" (using the Hebrew verb karat). Animals were divided, and the parties walked between them, pledging their very lives to the agreement. Because the covenant itself was cut ( karat ), the penalty for violating its sacred boundary directly mirrored the act of its creation: the offender was subjected to kareth — literally, being “cut off.”
In the Old Testament, there are two distinct "tiers" of punishment for sin. We are all familiar with the physical penalties, which are the civil laws that involved restitution or, in severe cases, capital execution. But there is another category often translated as being “cut off from among His people.”
At a glance, it’s easy to assume kareth refers to simple social exile, sort of like being kicked out of the camp. But a deeper look at the legal structure reveals something much heavier. Certain sins carried both a physical penalty (civil execution) and the judgment of kareth. This distinction leads to an unavoidable conclusion — kareth cannot mean mere human banishment or exile. If it did, placing it alongside a death sentence would be completely redundant. You cannot exile someone who has already been executed.
Instead, kareth represents a deeper form of judgement reserved exclusively for God. While civil authorities carried out physical capital execution on earth, God reserved kareth for Himself — a direct, spritiual severence that cuts a soul off from the source of life and the promises of His covenant.
How does this deeper reality of kareth transform our understanding of the seventh-day Sabbath? When we begin to examine the Sabbath through this lens, we begin to see why this covenant “sign” carries such unique weight for believers today. When we look at which sins God deemed serious enought to warrant both civil execution and divine severance (the most severe tier), a striking pattern emerges.
Both Kareth & Physical Death
Offenses subject to both spiritual severance and civil capital punishment.
- Idolatry: Sacrificing to other gods or following after mediums and spiritists (Leviticus 20:2–6)
- Child Sacrifice: Sacrificing one's offspring to Molech (Leviticus 20:2–5)
- Blasphemy: Cursing the Name of God or "high-handed" defiance against His Word (Numbers 15:30–31)
- Sexual Immorality (Capital Offenses): Including adultery, incest, bestiality, and homosexual acts (Leviticus 20:10–16)
- Sorcery: Practicing witchcraft or acting as a medium (Leviticus 20:27)
- Sabbath Profanation: Willfully working on the Sabbath or treating it as common (Exodus 31:14)
Kareth Only
Offenses resulting in divine spiritual judgment (spiritual severance).
- Neglecting Circumcision: Failure to perform the sign of the covenant on a male child (Genesis 17:14)
- Neglecting Passover: Failure to observe the Passover when capable (Numbers 9:13)
- Eating Leaven during Unleavened Bread: Consuming leavening during the Feast (Exodus 12:15, 19)
- Profaning Day of Atonement: Working or failing to afflict one's soul (fast) (Leviticus 23:29–30)
- Eating Blood: Consuming the blood of any animal or bird (Leviticus 7:27, 17:10–14)
- Eating Forbidden Fat: Consuming specific fat reserved for altar sacrifices (Leviticus 7:25)
- Entering Sanctuary Unclean: Approaching holy things while ritually impure (Numbers 19:13, 20)
- Eating Peace Offerings Unclean: Participating in a sacrificial meal while impure (Leviticus 7:20–21)
- Eating "Pigul" (Abominable Sacrifice): Eating a sacrifice past its designated day (Leviticus 7:18, 19:8)
- Slaughtering Outside Tabernacle: Offering a sacrifice in an unauthorized location (Leviticus 17:4, 9)
- Imitating Holy Anointing Oil: Making a copy of the sacred oil for common use (Exodus 30:33)
- Imitating Holy Incense: Compounding temple incense for personal enjoyment (Exodus 30:38)
- Applying Oil to a Stranger: Using sacred oil on an unauthorized person (Exodus 30:33)
Do you notice anything striking about the Sabbath when comparing these two lists?
Virtually all Christians agree that idolatry, blasphemy, and sexual immorality represent major moral boundaries. Yet, God places Sabbath-breaking in that exact same "highest tier" of gravity.
We must ask ourselves: Why is the Sabbath the only covenantal "sign" that carries both penalties? Circumcision was a sign, but it carried only the penalty of kareth (spiritual severance). The Sabbath, however, was protected by the same dual fence as child sacrifice and idolatry. Does this dual pronouncement reveal that the Sabbath functions as a spiritual boundary we cross at our own risk?
Because the Sabbath is explicitly identified as the “sign” of the covenant God cut ( kareth ) with His people, the penalty directly reflects the relationship. If we disregard the sign, are we essentially cutting ourselves out of the very covenant God cut for us?
Many argue that these physical death penalties were merely temporary shadows for ancient Israel. But while civil nations and earthly legal codes rise and fall, is divine judgement not rooted in the unchanging nature of God Himself? If the Sabbath is an olam (perpetual) sign, then the boundary it marks must be just as permanent.
The New Testament Connection
Does this kareth framework disappear once we turn to the New Testament? On the contrary, the Apostle Paul seems to use this exact "boundary" language throughout his writings to the early Church. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul outlines a clear boundary regarding who remains inside the covenant promises:
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers… nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God."
Notice how Paul structures this warning. He leads with idolatry and sexual immorality — the very sins that carried the dual penalty of civil execution and divine kareth under the Old Testament. He is reminding believes that while earthly civil courts may no longer execute people for these offenses, the spiritual reality has not changed — unrepentant violation of these core boundaries still results in being “cut off” from the eternal inherence.
If Paul’s list directly reflets the high-tier capital boundaries of the Old Testament, is it logical to assume the Sabbath — the only commandment grouped alongside those exact same capital sins — was suddenly rendered common or irrelevant?
The Olive Tree and the Broken Branch
This pattern of covenant severance becomes even more explicit in Romans 11:22, where Paul uses the imagery of an olive tree to describe our relationship to God’s covenant:
"Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off."
While many readers view Romans 11 purely through an ethnic or historic lens, Paul employs precise legal language. The Greek word he uses for "cut off" is ekkoptō — the direct Septuagint and New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament judgement of kareth.
Paul is issuing a clear warning to Gentile believers to not fall into presumption. The same principles of divine severance that saw the natural branches broken off for covenant unfaithfulness applies to anyone who failed to remain rooted in God’s standards.
If the Sabbath is the sacred “sign” of the coventant God cut with His people, then Paul’s warning of being cut off ( ekkoptō ) from the tree provides a precise New Testament parallel to kareth. Connection to God is not an abstract guarantee, but is a living relationship sustained through active loyalty to His covenant terms. To treat the sign of that covenant as optional or common is to step outside the “kindness” of the root and risk the very same severance.
The echo in Hebrews
The author of Hebrews relies on this exact same covenant framework when issuing one of the most sobering warnings in the New Testament. In Hebrews 10:26, the author of Hebrews states:
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin."
This passage directly echoes Numbers 15:30-31, where God distinguishes between unintentional sins and “high-handed” defiance. In the Old Testament, to act high-handedly meant to treat God’s commandments with contempt — and the explicit penalty prescribed was kareth (to be cut off).
The author or Hebrews demonstrates that under the New Testament, the boundary line has not vanished. Despising God’s covenant terms still carries spiritual consequences.
When New Testament warnings mirror Old Testament boundaries so precisely, it forces us to re-evaluate how we view the Fourth Commandment. The Sabbath is not a ceremonial shadow destined to fade away, but an enduring monument of God’s authority and a perpetual sign of His sovereign relationship with His people.
Conclusion: Inside or Outside the City?
Ultimately, honoring the Sabbath is an intentional choice to stay aligned with covenant life. It serves as a practical marker distinguishing between those who remain inside the covenant community and those who risk spiritual severance.
The book of Revelation brings this reality into focus in its closing vision. In Revelation 22:14, those who keep God’s commandments are described as blessed, possessing the right to the tree of life and entry through the gates into the holy city. Conversely, those left outside the gates are identified by the very same high-tier transgessions — such as idolotry and severe moral breaches — that carried the weight of divine judgement throughout Scripture.
"Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices falsehood."
This final biblical picture mirrors the legal structure of kareth with striking clarity. It presents an ultimate divide between covenant inclusion and spiritual exclusion.
Viewed in this light, weekly Sabbath observance is not an exercise in legalism but is a grateful acceptance of the sign that confirms our covenant bond with God. It functions as a recurring, weekly declaration that we belong to Him.
As you evaluate your own spiritual walk, consider these central questions: Is it wise to disregard the one covenant sign that Scripture protects with such exceptional gravity? By treating this sacred “sign of the cut” as optional or common, could one unknowingly be stepping away from the very promises and gates they long to enter?