SABBATH
“The observance of the Sabbath was a requirement of Jewish
law, and as such, was not carried over into the Grace Dispensation. Sunday is
not the Sabbath, but is merely a day set aside to give special attention to the
worship of God. Instead of keeping only the Sabbath day holy, we are required
in this dispensation to keep every day holy. The Jewish Sabbath is a type of
Christ, who is our rest rather than the day” (See Hosea 2:11, Romans 14:5, 6;
and Colossians 2:16, 17).
Hos 2:11 I
will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her
sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
Rom
14:5 One man
esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully
persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the
Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God
thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God
thanks.
Col
2:16 Let no man
therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of
the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Under the law, obedience to the commandments was mandatory.
Failure to comply amounted to SIN, for sin was disobedience to the law of God.
Sin was punishable by death; as Paul says, “The wages of sin is death...” (Rom.
6:23). He was speaking in the New Testament context of eternal death, which was
the death that was prefigured under the law. Disobedience to God is still
punishable by death, but under grace, “...mercy rejoiceth against judgment”
(James 2:13). This does not mean that God has set aside His judgment against
sin, or that He has altered His Word. Excerpts from two statements by Peter
serve as an illustration:
(1) “...Once the longsuffering of God waited [120 years] in the
days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (1 Pet. 3:20). But eventually,
judgment fell upon all who had treated the longsuffering of God with disdain.
(2) “The Lord is not slack [neglectful] concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward...But the day of the
Lord will come...” (2 Pet. 3:9a, l0a). When He delays punishment or judgment,
He is not being “slack,” but “longsuffering” in mercy and grace. We will take
note of this concerning the Sabbath commandment further along in this lesson.
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them...” (Acts 20:7).
I. THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT (Exo. 20:8-11; Psa. 95:10, 11)
A. Under the Law: It must be understood that the Ten Commandments
are the basic eternal principles of God’s will for man. At Sinai, they were
given to Israel as a part of “the law,” or “the law covenant” that was “added
because of transgressions, till the seed [Christ] should come to whom the
promise was made” (Gal. 3:19). As “law,” they were a part of a “penal code”;
there was penalty for breaking the commandments. But we see from Psalm 95:10,
11 that the people failed in their obedience, and were therefore not allowed to
enter the Promised Land, or their ‘rest,” or God’s rest for them.
When the people began to work on the tabernacle in the wilderness,
“...The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of
Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep...for it is holy unto you:
every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth
any work in the sabbath day, he shall be put to death” (Exo. 31:12-15). In
repeating the requirement and the penalty, the Lord strongly emphasized His
will in the matter.
We see this Old Testament law requirement reflected in the Jews’
obsession with Sabbath-keeping in the New Testament era. They repeatedly
accused Jesus of breaking it.
B. Under Grace: Since, as has been said above, the Ten
Commandments are the eternal principles of God’s will for man’s conduct, they
were not abolished by Christ’s fulfillment of the law (Matt. 5:17-20). In fact,
under grace, our righteousness must exceed that which the law required. But
“His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”
(1 John 5:3, 4). In other words, the born-again believer does not obey the
commandments reluctantly, but victoriously. By justifying faith we are
“partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4), or the nature of our Redeemer,
who took delight in doing the Father’s will (See Psalm 40:8 and Hebrews
10:5-10).
Hebrews 10:1
For the law having a shadow of good
things to come, and not the very image
of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year
continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Col. 2:16-17
16. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday (festivals or the feasts), or
of the new moon, or of the sabbath days (Sabbath or
Shabbat in Hebrew):
17. Which are a shadow of things to
come; but the body is of Christ.
The ceremonial law, which consisted of types and shadows of good
things to come (Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:16, 17), was done away by actual substance.
As we shall see, the Sabbath in its true meaning is not done away with under
grace, but only the mode of “keeping it.”
C. Warning Against Wavering: The word “Sabbath” means
“rest”; an era of rest, a condition of rest, or even a place of rest. God
had promised His people Israel a rest after their some 400 years in Egyptian
bondage. He likened it unto His own rest from His work of creation, and
prefigured it in the promised rest in Canaan. But because of their unbelief,
the generation that came out of Egypt were not allowed to enter. David says they
grieved God forty years with their waywardness. There was a partial fulfillment
of the promise for the younger generation who inherited the land under Joshua.
But even they did not possess the promised possession.
Hebrews, chapter 4, refers to David’s prophecy (Psa. 95:6-11),
that there was still a rest to be attained and enjoyed, warning that those who
should inherit it should not harden their hearts in doubt as they who had
provoked God with their unbelief in the wilderness. Hebrews 4:9 declares that there
was, and is, still a rest for the people of God. Those to whom the writer wrote
had entered into that rest, but they were being tempted to go back under the
old law-system.
II. CHRIST OUR REST (Matt. 11:28, 29; Heb. 4:3, 9, 10; Col. 2:16,
17; Rom. 14:5, 6a).
When we come to the New Testament dispensation, the “Sabbath,” or
“rest,” that was an era, a condition, or a place, is found to be fulfilled in a
Person-Christ. Hear His own proclamation and invitation (Matt 11:27-30): (1)
The proclamation-“All things are delivered unto me of my Father and no man
knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the
Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (v. 27); and (2) The
invitation-“Come unto me...and I will give you rest” Let us paraphrase, if we
may: “The Father has given all things-all power, all authority, all wisdom, and
all knowledge-unto Me. There is a divinely intimate relationship between my
Father and Me. No man knows Me, the Son, as my Father does: neither does any man
truly know the Father except through Me, and those to whom I, in My all-power
and knowledge, choose to reveal Him.
“Come unto Me, all you who have been trying to earn a rest by
your own law-works. I will freely give you that rest, because I am your
promised rest.
“Your law-burden has been heavier than you have been willing or
able to bear; therefore, get in the yoke with Me, thereby lightening your own
burden; and learn from Me what is the Father’s true meaning of rest. For I have
not come to you in the relentless threat of a death penalty, but I have come in
the likeness of your flesh, to learn obedience by the things we must all
suffer. I come not in anger, but I am meek and lowly in heart- showing you
empathy. In Me you will find the true rest; spiritual rest for your soul.”
It is on the justifying ground of Christ’s work for us on Calvary
that He saves us. Paul says:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”
(Eph. 2:8, 9).
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward
man appeared. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).
The keeping of a day is not the rest Christ has provided. It is
belief in His finished work for us on the cross. God’s imputed righteousness
now takes the place of the former law-works righteousness. The “work” is His;
the benefits are ours by His grace; rest for the soul! It is REST INDEED! Ceasing
from Sin, the works of the flesh, and entering his holiness. Christians should
attend every regular service as much as possible, they should go to revivals,
conventions, camp meetings, and retreats yearly, even as God commanded
his people in the Old Testament to go up to Jerusalem three times a year for
holy convocations. Paul warned the Hebrew Christians "not
to forsake the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25)
which is what synagogue means "assembling together." As a
Christian, if one has ceased from sin and is resting (sabbath) in Christ he or she
will desire to be in the house of the Lord when the doors are open whatever day
it is on the calendar. One of the other reasons God commanded the
Sabbath was that the physical man needs to rest, to be healthy, productive, and
last! In today’s society the Christian must guard against not setting aside the
day(s) when the saints meet. The soul needs rest, relation, and relaxation in
God’s house and with the family of God.
Paul says that we are not to judge one another concerning our
preference of days. One esteems one day above another; someone else esteems
every day alike. This is another area for liberty of choice. However, we are
not to formulate a doctrine from our choice, and endeavor to impose it on the
church.
Many churches follows the New Testament pattern of gathering
together on the first day of the week for fellowship and instruction in the
Word. It is supposed that the early church chose this day because it
represented a new beginning-the resurrection of our Lord with relationship to
the festival of first-fruits which occurred on the Sunday following the
Passover.
If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:
You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)
May God through Christ bless you!
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