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Is the Sabbath Outdated? By: David Harrison Many believe the Bible and especially the Old Testament is outdated, which includes Seventh Day Sabbath keeping. Yet in today’s society people are in dire need of proper rest. People are over stressed and have no solutions for the problems they face. They push themselves by not taking care of their bodies and minds. Some feel they have no choice except to continually work if they hope to survive. You would be right if you look at it from the world’s point of view. Are you more interested in how the world removes stress or how God does it? Would you rely more on the Internet, doctors, or God to overcome stress? Yet, most people will refuse to believe the source of life and their well being. They refuse to look to their creator to instruct them. Instead they turn to information from doctors and the Internet, which suggests overcoming stress, can be obtained by getting proper rest, maintaining a strict daily routine, to exercise, and to keep a positive attitude along with other points. Although knowledge has advanced to assist in living a healthier life, it is in vain if God is not involved. God is the true source of life, Eternal Life. The physical health should echo the spiritual, but man is not concerned with the spiritual condition of his life. …Then I can say to myself, I have enough good things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!' "But God said to that man, "Foolish man! Tonight you will die. So who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be for anyone who stores things up only for himself and is not rich toward God." [Luke 12:19‐21 (ICB)]. Why is a person more willing to put their trust in something or someone other than God, in order to solve their problems? The Sabbath is the key that bridges the physical and the spiritual well being of a person together. It is the place and way to learn more about how to take care of both. The Sabbath Resting is not to be confused with entertainment such as going to the movies, the game, or staying home doing things around the house. Many misunderstand the meaning of the Sabbath and what you are to do. Most believe the Sabbath is nothing but a series of do not’s that keep a person from doing anything. The truth is quite simple when you compare how you would entertain a guest in your home. If you truly loved your visitor and desired to build a friendship you would focus on doing things that they were interested in doing. Peter was rebuked by Christ for not having the same interest. “…said sharply to Peter, Get out of my way, Satan: for your mind is not on the things of God, but on the things of men [Mark 8:33 (BBE)]”. If you go contrary to God's interest, you go contrary to God. If you obey or think as God does you live by His standards and prosper. The Sabbath is doing just that, it is focused on visiting with Jesus Christ and doing what He is interested in. You don’t invite a friend into your home and then go and do your own thing. This is how people pollute the Sabbath by doing what they want instead of looking to God and what He expects. A person keeps the Sabbath to focus on learning from God about how to bring about positive results; and how to avoid the wrong ways. Isai 58:13 (KJS) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, NOT DOING THINE OWN WAYS, NOR FINDING THINE OWN PLEASURE, NOR SPEAKING [THINE OWN] WORDS: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]. The Sabbath rest has a purpose which is to help mankind. Do you know God says man was not created for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was created for man (Mark 2:27)? To understand the Bible and to see whether or not the Sabbath is outdated you must look at God’s word through God’s point of view and not man’s. Do people actively look into the word of God about the Sabbath, or do they rely on their own ideas and what they have heard about the Sabbath Day dying on the cross with Christ [the Ten Commandments – request our free booklet “The Ten Commandments”]? Is the Sabbath really that important that you need to open their Bible to see what God thinks? Determining how important the relationship between the Sabbath and man is something you have to prove for yourself (2Tim 2:15). Whether you are proving what is acceptable to God or simply just proving it to yourself, you deserve to know what you believe. I will assume if you’re still reading you’re interested in proving what God expects. First - Check the Attitude
The First thing you may consider when studying the Bible is to prove God. Many claim to believe God, but they reason around clear and simple scriptures telling what God wants. Jesus Christ clearly shows that He was an example, and that we are to also to follow what He did. If you look at the principle seen in John 13, it applies to baptism, keeping of the Holy Days, and the KEEPING OF THE SABBATH! John 13:15 (NASB) "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Will you reason around what the Bible clearly shows regarding the Keeping of the Sabbath? What will your attitude be? When you are faced with making the decision to either obey or to refuse, what will you do? Sure, there are many more scriptures to study but we can see the idea behind accepting the clear and simple answers given by God? In order to accept those answer we must first know what God says about the Sabbath? Matt 12:8 (KJS) For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. You must start by putting God first and putting aside your own ideas and beliefs. You have to prove God's word through action, which is putting Him to the test. We put Him to the test so we can believe God. By believing God we prove that He comes first and that we are interested in what He has to say. For God tells us “…God is the same yesterday, to day, and forever” (Heb 13:8). Mala 3:10 (KJS) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and PROVE ME NOW HEREWITH, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it]. It was Christ who was the Word and God of the Old Testament [John 1:1‐14]. In verse three “…All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” Therefore, Christ also kept the Sabbath in the Old Testament and the New. Mark 1:21 (KJS) And they went into Capernaum; and straightway ON THE SABBATH DAY he entered into the synagogue, and taught. Now that you are aware of how your attitude could resist the simple scriptures we must then prove whether the Bible is outdated or not? Second - Honor God by not thinking He’s helpless when it comes to Bible
The Bible was written by man, so how can we know for sure that it was truly the inspired word of God? Or, is it simply the words of some men in ancient times and how they interpreted the events and times they lived in? There are some that don’t believe that there was a worldwide flood described in Genesis, or that God had anything to do with the delivering of the Israelites out of the hands of the Egyptians but a series of plagues. What do you believe, and can you know for sure? God is a very logical God, just look at His creation. Look at all the detail in every little thing and look at how it all works together in perfect harmony. Consider then if God is so perfect and so precise with His creation, would He not have been as precise with you and the Bible, which is the very word of God? The Bible is a very precise book when two things happen. First you have to realize the Bible is written for God's People. The Bible was written first to Ancient Israel, then the Jews, and then God's Disciples/People. It is addressed to those God calls and who HEED AND ARE DOERS OF HIS WORD. The person studying the Bible has to prove it is the word of God and it is from Him. This is why your attitude towards God is important. If you don’t believe God [NOT IN GOD] you won’t prove what is written. You will either be willing or resistant to go the extra steps to prove the TRUTH when you come across information, which goes contrary to what you believe. This is where you must prove what the TRUTH is. Prove what YOU believe if it is contrary to what you read in the Bible. YOU SHOULD WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH, PERIOD!!! Second, God is very logical even when you come across scriptures you don’t understand. Knowledge is based on what you know. If you don’t know or you lack Biblical wisdom then ask God to give you wisdom (James 1:5) and keep studying. God's word builds upon itself, “…line upon line, precept upon precept [Isa 28:12‐14]”. The Bible never contradicts itself, read different translation to check the accuracy. God's Word interprets itself “…Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation [2Pet 1:20‐21 (KJS)]. We are here, if you have any questions. You can either send your question by mail [to the address below] or email us online through the questionnaire. Remember the Bible is a puzzle and you have to allow God to guide you to the pieces. [Isa 58:10‐14] Now – Where to begin?
Let’s start in John 1:1‐5, 12‐17. In the Beginning there was the Word and the Word was God and was with God, the Word created all things, and the Word became flesh, Jesus Christ. So Christ was with God (The Father) from the beginning as the Word and was the God of the Old Testament. If you also look in Revelations 19:11‐16 it is the Word of God who comes as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, which is again Jesus Christ. The point is many believe Christ came to do away with the Father’s laws, but in all reality those laws came from Christ as the Word of the Old Testament. Remember God is a logical God, so why would he teach man to keep laws which could never be perfectly kept? There was a reason. What was that reasoning? With anything you do you must first learn the proper technique or process. The technique is the correct way of performing any given act. Michael Phelps could not have begun to practice for the Olympics until he first learned how to swim. Roma 15:4 (NASB) For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. As with the Bible, God gives us instructions about how to physically live our lives. You do not show love to your neighbor by stealing his car, killing him or lying to him. You also are not showing love towards God by being disobedient to Him. Through all His commandments we experience what it means to show love. It is not until the New Testament that the spiritual intent of the law becomes clear which supports the Old Testament scriptures “For as he thinks within himself, so he is… [Prov 23:7 NASB]. For Reference check out Matt 5:17‐28. You will see Christ came not to destroy the laws but to fulfill them. What does all this have to do with the Sabbath? God’s Sabbath is mentioned in the Ten Commandments. What does it say? Exod 20:8 (KJS) REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY. 9 SIX DAYS SHALT THOU LABOUR, and do all thy work: 10 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: 11 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. Remember Christ stated in the New Testament, “I have given you an example” how much more of an example does he show in verse 11 as God of the Old Testament resting on the Seventh Day? The Sabbath is made for man as previously stated in the introduction and in Mark 2:27 and continuing in verse 28 it shows who is responsible for the Sabbath. “…Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath”. Jesus Christ, as the Word, gave the Commandments to Israel and now He comes as the Lord of the Sabbath in the flesh. The Sabbath and the Commandments are our training tools until we spiritual mature. [Heb 5:12‐13] Where is your hope? To understand this question we have to understand what God's purpose is for mankind. The creation of mankind, as mentioned in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 and 27 shows God created man in his image to have dominion over all things. The reason for training mankind is to replace Satan and his authority. Jesus Christ came, and qualified to replace Satan. Now, you and I are being called to replace those who served Satan by following Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is going to establish the Kingdom of God, and you are going to be his administration, if you will heed God and be willing follow him. That means keeping the Sabbath, putting God first by keeping the 10 Commandments. They are the milk of our spiritual maturity. Our spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ is our hope because God tells us He has created man in His image [Gen 1:26‐27] and then later that Christ is the first of many sons [Romans 8:14 and Hebrews 2:10]. Follow God's Example
God, The Word, who was Jesus Christ in the flesh, who is spiritually mature, rested on the seventh day from all His work. If we would consider what is good for God, it should be good for mankind, but mankind does not agree. Do you? If you also consider the God who rested on the Seventh Day was also Jesus Christ who also kept the Sabbath some 4000 years later. …And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath [Luke 13:10 KJS]. The Sabbath was as important to him then as it was now. When it comes to the Commandments and the Sabbath being outdated, man’s focus is to nullify the Sabbath alone. It is the reason all the laws, all the Commandments, have been deemed outdated and done away with. Jesus Christ understood this about man’s nature and even spoke about it. Luke 24:44 (KJS) And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Luke 24:25‐27 (KJS) Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And BEGINNING AT MOSES AND ALL THE PROPHETS, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. By proving that the scriptures of the Old Testament were true regarding Jesus Christ coming to this world it is then clear that ALL OF GODS WORD are true. Therefore, God’s instructions to you and I regarding the Sabbath are true and TO BE KEPT! One Last Consideration
If the Sabbath was truly outdated then why did the disciples who took Christ's body down off the cross, then prepared for keeping the Sabbath? …And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. [Luke 23:52‐56 KJS] Did Jesus Christ not make his point clear that the Commandments and the Sabbath was to be done away with and was outdated? Or were His disciples just simply rebellious by doing what they wanted? By studying and applying all the scriptures, there are examples to follow regarding keeping of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Commandments by establishing the spirit of the law [Matthew 5:17‐32], which includes the Sabbath. The commitment to anything begins with the mind; otherwise it will be done half heartily and with the lack of true commitment. Don’t just accept what anyone says, but prove it by relying on what is said in the word of God. You may even have to question what you believe. Ask yourself “Am I willing to look at scriptures and apply them as they are”? Don’t interrupt what the Bible says, but let it interrupt itself. There is logic and principles in God's creation which includes you and the Sabbath. Proving the Bible requires proving the scriptures and it sometimes requires proving it physically, acting on it and seeing what the results are. Don’t dismiss blessings that come from obeying God as a coincidence. Look for more about the Sabbath and feel free to contact us for if you questions or if you need assistance. © 2010 The Church of the Everliving God PO Box 4099 Hazelwood, Missouri 63042‐4099