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First
I want to applaud Cathy. You used some of the same scripture I was pulling
together. You did a great job and I will try to expand a little farther on this
topic. Thank You!
After
I was Born Again (Spiritual Birth) I searched for the Sabbath in the New
Testament for nearly a month and then one day the Holy Spirit revealed it to
me. I could find reference to all the other Ten Commandments in the New
Testament and they are all still viable, but I could not find a clear
understanding of the Sabbath. This is because Jesus is the Sabbath. He is the
Lord of the Sabbath. He is the creator of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was created
for man to rest in the Sabbath. Jesus came to earth to give us rest in Him when
we are Born Again (In other words becoming True Believers, are Saved, have a Spiritual
Birth, or become True Christians are all interchangeable terms meaning Born
Again.). When we fully understand in our heart and not just a head knowledge of
why Jesus came, and had to died on the Cross in our place, then and only then
can we place our faith in the finished works of the Cross and totally rest in
Jesus arms.
Lets
define what the Sabbath is and its purpose. The Sabbath was created for man to
rest from his toils, cares, and anxieties of the world. It is to give him an
opportunity to shift his attention from earthly concerns to the affairs of
eternal life. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by
relaxing his labors, that he might have undisturbed time to seek the
consolation of God to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled
world, and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to
him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. With this
being said thus far I think you are probably starting to get a clear picture of
the Sabbath in New Testament times. Mark 2:27 KJV And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for
man, and not man for the Sabbath.
In the
Old Testament the 7th day of the week, Saturday, was the Sabbath.
People of the Apostles times, speaking of the Jewish people not the Gentiles, were
living by trying to keep the laws and not placing their faith in God. Living by
faith is what Abraham and Job did. The book of Job is truly an inspiration for
those that think their life is tuff and want to see what true faith is. Job
never doubted God and was faithful to the end.
In the
New Testament Jesus became the Sabbath when He died for us on the Cross. Jesus
was the perfect sacrifice because He was without sin. He defeated Satan and had
to die in our place because no matter how hard we try, we cannot help but sin.
Why, because of the fall of Adam every human being born on earth is born with a
sin nature/original sin. This is why we cannot keep the Ten Commandments and be
righteous in Gods eyes. In God’s eyes if we break one Commandment, it is like
breaking them all. If we pop a grape or two in our mouth at the grocery store
to see which bunch is sweeter, we become a thief, we have stolen. In God’s eyes
we aren’t any better than a murderer. James 2:10 KJV For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. This
is why Jesus died on the Cross for us. He defeated Satan and because He did
this He performed this act of love and sacrifice, so that whosoever believes in
this and places their faith in Jesus and what he did on the Cross can have
eternal life. John 3:3-7 KJV Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter
the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.
Ok are you with me so far? I hope so. Now we have
established that Jesus is the Sabbath and the following verses should make
sense. Mark 2:28 KJV
Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Matthew
11:28-30 KJV Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek
and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30
For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light. Hebrews
4:10 KJV For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his
own works, as God did from his.
To clarify this verse
in our English terms; all who have entered into God's rest have rested from
their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
This now brings us to what day of the
week in New Testament times, is the Sabbath? There are two frames of mind. One
is being the first day of the week which is what the Apostles and the True
Church of God (that was started on the day of Pentecost; Book of Acts),
observed. The other Paul talks about in the Book of Romans, and I will get to
that farther on. Jesus rose on the first day of the week (Sunday), the first
gathering of the Apostles was on the first day of the week, the believers in
Acts gathered on the first day of the week, etc. I really don’t know if
Constantine declared the first day of the week as the Sabbath, but I do know
that approximately 312 AD he declared that all of the Roman Empire, which was
pretty much all of Europe at that time, to convert to Christianity. Here is
just a few of the verses that verify the first day of the week. The
resurrection; Matthew 28:1 KJV In the end of the sabbath, as it
began to dawn toward the first day
of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. John 20:17-19 KJV Jesus saith unto her,
Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:
but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and
told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. 19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were
shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and
stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. Acts 20:7 KJV And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the
morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. 1Corinthians 16:1 ,2 KJV
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the
churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2
Upon the first day of the week
let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
Upon the first day of the week let everyone of you lay by him in store, is
referring to their gathering together on the first day of the week for
fellowship and worship. Paul was talking about tithing.
Now to
conclude this with what day in current times is actually the Sabbath. This is
where Paul’s statement to the Romans comes in. Romans 14:5 KJV One man esteemeth one day above another:
another esteemeth every day alike.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. This verse came to life
for me after I was Born Again and came to understand the Sabbath. After I had
my Spiritual Birth I couldn’t get enough of God’s Word and to this day I still
spend an average of 1-2 hours daily in the Word. First thing I think of when I
wake up in the morning is Jesus, the last thing on my mind before going to
sleep is Jesus, when I wake up in the middle of the night, Jesus is on my mind.
Because of the love I have for Jesus and the thankfulness of Him dying on the
Cross in my place, every day is the Sabbath, and I also go to fellowship with
other True Believes and worship our Lord on Sunday because of this love.
About
now your thinking that is a lot of time in the Word, and yes it is. I only
watch a couple hours of TV per week which is my choosing because of the garbage
that is on it. My heart’s desire is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
help people fully understand what the Bible says. That is why I put together
email Bible Studies, post Bible Studies on a blog that goes worldwide, and
conduct Bible Studies.
So
with that said a Born Again Saint can pick any or all days of the week to deem
as the Sabbath because Jesus is the Sabbath and we rest in His arms when we
place our total faith in Him for all things as Job did. Just don’t fall back
into the old way of thinking and go back to practicing law and mans principles.
Paul warns us about this in Galatians because the Jewish people there were
invoking the converts of True Christianity to go back to honoring Saturday as
the Sabbath. The Jewish people and some religion of today are still trying to
live by law and not faith. Galatians 4:9 KJV But now, after that ye have known God, or
rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements,
whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? What this verse is saying in
plain English is this; now that you know God, and have had a spiritual birth,
why are you turning back to those weak and miserable principles of religion and
manmade laws? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again like you were
before you came to know and believe in Jesus Christ and the finished work of
the Cross? Why are you observing special days and months and seasons
and years?
I
truly hope I have explained this in a fashion to be understood by all.
Sometimes I fail miserably in explaining what scripture is saying. Feel free to
contact me if I didn’t explain a part for full comprehension.
God Bless!
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believes…...
Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock
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