All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

Sabbath Rest

So in church, we've been learning about keeping the Sabbath Day holy (Old Testament law but my church is very legalistic). However I'm also realizing we don't need to keep the Sabbath anymore as Christ is our Sabbath rest. I just wanted to share with everyone what I'm learning.

2 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carla on February 25, 2019 at 8:21am

Amen. Freedom In Christ is a beautiful thing.

Colossians 2

16 "So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality."

Romans 14

"Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. ²One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. ³The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge the ^[a]servant of another? To his own ^[b]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵One person ^[c]regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, ^[d]does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. ⁷For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹For it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall ^[e]give praise to God.”

¹²So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. ¹⁴I know and am convinced ^[f]in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. ¹⁶Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be ^[g]spoken of as evil; ¹⁷for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹So then ^[h]we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. ²⁰Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats ^[i]and gives offense. ²¹It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. ²²The faith which you have, have ^[j]as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin."

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Johnathan on February 26, 2019 at 4:07am

I hope not my head will be bitten off coz of my disagreement. I believe differently. The Sabbath was given long b4 the Law was given to the Israelites. It began with the creation, thus it was given 4 mankind right in the beginning, but later given to Israel on 2 tables of stone. God's Law is infallible. What was fallible was the Ceremonial Law of Moses which consisted of that 611 precepts of which was contrary to the people of God. That was nailed to the cross and what foreshadowed Christ in those precepts, He fulfilled.

The Sabbath was included into the Ceremonial Law which was shadows of Christ, which we need to understand that its in a different relation to the Sabbath in the Law of God given on Mount Sinai. Yes definitely, Jesus came to give us rest and we can say that He is our rest, but then we need to read carefully that Scripture actually tells us that there remain a Sabbatismos unto the children of God. We know very well that the Sabbath is still standing coz it answers to the 1000 years Millenial Reign of the Messiah here on earth after 6000 (6days) rule of man on earth. We will rule with Christ as kings and priests in the Millenial Sabbath Rest where the the lion and serpent is at peace and that old serpent/ dragon Satan will be bound for that 1000 years.

Sabbath Blessed and Sanctified

Gen 2:2 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.
Gen 2:3 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.

This is the ONLY day that God blessed and sanctified. Later God had to tell His chosen people to, "Remember the Sabbath..."Seems like they have forgotten what He instructed Adam. Two things we are told to remember, (1) "Remember the Sabbath day..." and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Lord's Table)

Lord's Day

Jesus never claimed to be Lord of any day of the week, but the 7th day co He created the heavens and the earth and He blessed and sanctified it, therefore it is His day, "The Lord's Day", for the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath..

I know about the Scriptures being quoted and it seems like it contradicts, but it doesn't. It only contradicts because that is how we want to see it.

"Let nobody judge you...holy days, sabbaths, new moons...", these days is what is connected to the Ceremonial Law of Moses, and not that Sabbath Day in the Law of God. The Sabbath Day in the Law of God stands separate from those holy days, new moons, sabbaths in the Mosaic Law. If the Sabbath Command fell, then the whole Law of God fell. One may say now that I'm trying to be under the Law, but I'm not. I'm under Grace and the schoolmaster led me to the Saviour. I'm NOT under the Law, I'm keeping the Law. Big difference. I'm NOT justified by the works of the Law, but I will receive reward.

The Law verses Grace

The Law is holy, perfect, led us to Christ. The Law was like an x-ray machine, could identify our disease, but was weak to cure us. The Gospel not only points out our disease, but also provides us the remedy for our disease. The Law was like the alphabet, consisted of vowels and consonants, and we couldn't make sense out of it, but when that alphabet was composed by our Rabbi/ Teacher into sentences, clauses, phrases, the Glorious Gospel, we can make sense out of it and thus come to Grace.

However it is not my position that I can judge another believer in not keeping the Sabbath, but prefer the 1st day of the week which was given by the early Church, as the Lord's Day, coz Christ rose from the dead.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Carla on February 26, 2019 at 7:26am

Hi Jonathan,

The sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, not to meet religious requirements.

Matt 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5; Mark 2:23-28.

If the sabbath is simply a religious requirement than even Jesus has broken it: Mark 3:1-6

Mark 2

23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Because of Romans chapter 14, there is no argument due to disagreement from me.

Blessings, Carla

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Johnathan on February 26, 2019 at 3:21pm

Agree. The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath as the Pharisees took it. A person should rather have died of hunger than to fry an egg and eat. The Seventh Day Adventist is living the same way. David was in need so he ate what was not permitted unto him. So NEED breaks law. The priests was compelled to work on the Sabbath doing sacrifice, so NECESSITY breaks law. What good to God is a dead disciple who starved to death, than to have gathered food and live and win souls for Christ preaching the Good News of Deliverance turning the world upside down with the resurrected Christ!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MaddieLaine on February 26, 2019 at 12:34pm

Hi Jonathan,

The Sabbath was actually a covenant between God and His people, the Israelites. The Sabbath was made for rest, not for religious purposes. Our bodies have to rest. According to this Scripture, the Sabbath was made specifically for us so that we could rest.

Mark 2:27-28 “Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.'”

However now Christ is our Sabbath rest, we can rest in Him.

Hebrews 4:9-11 “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

But because of Romans 14, there is no argument.

Romans 14:5-6 “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.”

Have a great day!

Maddie

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Johnathan on February 26, 2019 at 4:15pm

All I know is that the Sabbath was long in operation b4 an Israeli nation existed. Do not want to go to deep into Adam's role in creation. I agree that it was made 4 us to rest physically. If it was not meant for a religious purpose, why on earth would the Most High sanctified it? What does sanctification means?
The sanctification of the Sabbath Day was long b4 Israel came into the picture.
Note that I'm speaking in the Sing. Tense, so I'm not referring to the Sabbaths (Plur.) connected to the Ceremonial Mosaic Law.

I agree that there is a spiritual side of the Sabbath Rest in Christ. When God rested, was it a spiritual rest or a literal rest (though in works), coz for nearly 6000 years He's been working in man's Salvation ["My Father work and I work..."], and in the 7th day [1000 yrs millenial reign] we will enter into His Sabbatismos Rest [that remain] looking with delight at His New Creation, sitting at the Sabbath Feast at His table in the house of many Mansions , arrayed in our wedding garments, (Heb.4:9-11)

Thank you Carla, thank you Maddie.