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THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH - A SIGN OF TRUSTING IN AND RESTING IN THE COMPLETED WORKS OF JESUS CHRIST
Genesis 2:1-3 ...'Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.'
The seventh day Sabbath is a sign that points us to creation. It is a sign that points us to our Creator Jehovah. It is a sign of God's completed, perfect works. And please understand this important point - it is a sign that we are putting our trust in the Word of God, in His Son Jesus Christ, in His works, in His salvation, in His sanctification.
Exodus 31:13-17 ...'Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.'
Let me repeat; keeping the seventh day Sabbath is a sign that we are putting our trust in the Word of God, in His Son Jesus Christ, in HIS works, in HIS salvation, in HIS sanctification.
Through whom does God give rest and sanctification? Jesus Christ - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). What works do we get in Christ? "In Christ we become a new creation." (2 Corinthians 5:17). So we get God's perfect finished works in Christ, just as God's original 'new' creation of the earth was perfect and complete. Therefore the cross of Christ brings us right back to the original perfect creation of God before sin - Eden restored. And also the same rest of God - the 7th day Sabbath. Remember, the seventh day Sabbath was made and given BEFORE any sin came into the world, and the 4th commandment clearly comfirms this truth:
Exodus 20:8-11 ...'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.'
Do you see? God is pointing us back to creation in the 4th commandment, and calls the seventh day of creation week 'THE SABBATH DAY.' So no matter what falsehoods men may think up, God regarded the 7th day of creation week as His holy Sabbath day, which was 'made for man' to keep holy as a sign that we acknowledge Jehovah as our supreme God and ruler and king over our lives. The 7th day Sabbath is a sign that we put our complete trust in God and in His Word.
Sadly, many professed Christians today cannot enter into God's rest, through unbelief in God's Word.
Just as the Israelites could not enter into God's rest through unbelief, most professed Christians today cannot enter into God's true Sabbath rest because of unbelief. Why? They don't believe in the Word of God regarding the 7th day Sabbath. Instead, they believe the word of man in place of God. And this is what the final test coming very soon will be - trust in God and HIS Word, verses trust in man and what man says - the seal of God verses the mark of the beast. God said that the 7th day of the week (our Saturday today) is the holy Sabbath day of rest and says that it is a sign that we put our trust in Him, and then man says, without any authority from the scriptures, "Oh no, we don't keep the 7th day anymore, we keep the first day in honor of the resurrection." Sounds good, but it is NOT the Word of God, and sadly, most of the world follows the word of man over the Word of their Creator!
Psalm 118:8 ...'It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.'
The mark of the beast DECEPTION is coming and we must put our trust in a thus saith the Lord, not in what man says or tells us to do, as we WILL be deceived by man. Look at what the answer to the mark of the beast deception is in Revelation 14:
Revelation 14:12 ...'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.'
Keeping the commandments of God, by the faith of Jesus - this is the answer to the mark of the beast deception. And what does the 4th commandment tell us? That the 7th day of the week is the Sabbath of God. NOT the Sabbath of the Jews, but the Sabbath of God. Whoever turns away from a plain thus saith the Lord WILL be taken in by the mark of the beast deception. This is all about putting God first in our lives, having faith in His Word and honoring that Word, no matter what man says or does. And anyone who keeps a different day than what God blessed and made holy, is NOT trusting in God. And I pray you will get this point, as it is so important. Not keeping the day your Creator chose and set aside for holy use, and instead keeping another day, is basically saying to God, "I will do this MY way Lord." THEN you are trusting in your OWN works and not the perfect, completed works of God. And that will never save anyone.
Hebrews 4:4-10 ...'For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest ...There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.'
Do you see? Those of us who enter into God's rest, are actually ceasing from seeking to be saved by our own works. We are trusting in God's salvation, God's Word, God's authority. But those who seek to enter in 'some other way' are seeking to be saved by THEIR OWN works, not God's. Keeping a different sabbath day from what Jehovah has set aside and commanded is not trusting and RESTING in God. Whereas keeping the day God set aside for us is showing that we are truly trusting in and resting in the perfect, completed works of Christ our Saviour. And we are depending on HIS ways for salvation, not our own.
Hebrews 3:10 ...'Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, they do alway err in their heart; and they have not known MY WAYS ... And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.'
God's ultimate rest is eternal life. But how can we enter into that ultimate rest if we cannot obey God now and enter into His true Sabbath rest now? As Hebrews 4 says above, there REMAINS a rest today. And the Word of God tells us that rest is the seventh day Sabbath. And this is why Isaiah says that we will be keeping the seventh day Sabbath throughout eternity on the new earth, because God's Sabbath day rest never went away, and was never changed, nor abolished:
Isaiah 66:22-23 ...'For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.'
The seventh day Sabbath never went away. It still 'remains' today, just as Hebrews 4 tells us. It was man, through the Roman Catholic Church system that sought to bring HIS OWN works into the salvation of God, deceiving the world into turning away from the rest of God and choosing his own rest. The Roman Catholic Church system has caused the world to disbelieve God and His Word, and it is unbelief that stops people from entering into God's seventh day Sabbath rest now, and that unbelief will prevent them from entering into God's eternal rest.
Keeping the 7th day Sabbath is partaking of God's rest and trusting in His perfect works. And what a rest it is! There is no "burden" in keeping the 7th day Sabbath. It is a delight and blessing to all who enter it by faith. Keeping any other day is simply following man, not God, which is unbelief. But please note. We cannot truly keep the 7th day Sabbath while doubting God and seeking our own ways the rest of the week. No, that is not entering into God's rest. We must rest in God ALL the week. Not physically, as there is work to be done the rest of the week. But mentally and spiritually, trusting in Christ ALL the time. This will give us true rest in God.
The final test is coming and we must put our trust in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, not man, because the Sabbath issue will play a major part in the final test. We must put our trust in the Word of God, not the word of man. God says the 7th day of the week is HIS holy Sabbath day (Isaiah 58:13). Man says "oh no, we must keep the first day of the week." Who are YOU going to trust and obey? Who will you put your hope and rest in? God or man? Only Jesus Christ can save you.