Dear friends, it has been a while since a recent blog was posted and we do apologize. We have certainly been negligent in being consistent but know that we are sincere in our efforts. Much has been going on but amid all of that, God has shown His care and faithfulness. We praise Him. We also hope that all has been well with you.
This post is a dive into the sacredness of the Sabbath, the rest that it represents for us who are living towards the end of time and God’s desire and intention to restore his people and the earth to sinless perfection. This excerpt is taken from the book, Living by Faith. A compilation of works by A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. This is chapter 41 entitled, A New Creation. Please enjoy:
True Sabbath keeping means rest in the Lord – depending on Him as the Creator, who is able to create you a new creature in Christ Jesus. This thought is worthy of further consideration. Let’s recall a few plain statements of Scripture.
God has made His wonderful works to be remembered. Psalms 111:4.
He wants you to remember His wonderful works, in order that you may know His power, because His power is known by His works. Romans 1:20.
It is necessary for you to know the power of God, in order that you may be saved, because the Gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone that believes. Romans 1:16. It is by the power of God, through faith, that you are kept. 1 Peter 1:5.
The Sabbath is a memorial that God gave you of His wonderful works. “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.” Genesis 2:3. “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.” Exodus 20:10, 11.
Since the Sabbath is the memorial of the wonderful works of God, and God is known by His works, it follows that the Sabbath gives the knowledge of God. And so, He says: “And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.” Ezekiel 20:20.
But to know God is to know Him as He is. It is to know that He is love (1 John 4:16), that He is of great compassion (Lamentations 3:22), that He is merciful (Psalms 103:8, 11, 17), that He delights in mercy (Micah 7:18), that He takes no pleasure in the death of any (Ezekiel 33:11), that He has interposed Himself for your salvation (Hebrews 6:13-20), and that He is able to do all that He has promised. Romans 4:21; Ephesians 3:20. In short, to know God is to know Jesus Christ, “for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9), and God is manifested only in Christ. John 1:18. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19.
Christ is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24. Therefore the works of God, by which the power of God is known, make Christ known to you. This is evident enough, because “by Him were all things created.” Colossians 1:16. “All things were made by Him.” John 1:3. And since the Sabbath is the memorial of creation, it is the memorial of the power of Christ. But Christ is your Savior. “He was manifested to take away our sins.” 1 John 3:5. Therefore the Sabbath is for the purpose of letting you know the power of Christ to save you from sin. This we also plainly read: “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.” Ezekiel 20:12.
When God had finished the six days of creation, He “saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31. This look included us. “God made man upright.” Ecclesiastes 7:29. Since the Sabbath is the memorial of a perfect creation it shows the power of God to create a perfect earth, and perfect people to dwell in it.
“They shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it. He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited; I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain; I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.” Isaiah 45:16-19.
Notice carefully what this text says. “The makers of idols will be ashamed and confounded, but Israel will be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation.” Why? Because the Lord made the earth to be inhabited; He did not make it in vain. If it were not inhabited, it would have been made in vain. But He showed in the beginning what kind of people He designed to inhabit the earth. He made the earth to be inhabited by perfect beings. Now since He did not make it in vain, it is going to be inhabited by just the kind of people that He made to inhabit it in the beginning. He is going to save people out of the earth, making them perfect, to inhabit the earth forever. He will make the earth new for their habitation. See Revelation 21:1, 5; 22: 1-5; 2 Peter 3:13.
Therefore, the Sabbath is both a memorial and a pledge. It is a sign that God made everything perfect in the beginning and it is a pledge that He will restore all things to perfection as they were in the beginning. He will create a new earth. What does that mean? It means that the earth is to be restored to the condition that it was in when it was first created. It was then a new earth, and God is going to make it new again. But it will be inhabited, for the Lord did not make it in vain. And it will be inhabited by perfect people. Only righteousness will dwell on the new earth.
The Sabbath reminds you that God made the earth by His power. The Sabbath also makes Jesus known to you as the One by His power will create you as a new creature in Christ to dwell on the new earth.
So, the Sabbath is the seal of a perfect creation, both in the beginning, and at the last. Keeping the Sabbath means perfect submission to the will of God, so that His will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. It means for you to give the Lord His way with you, so that He can make you to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made you accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5, 6.
The Sabbath is God’s rest. It is the rest which God entered into when He ceased from His work and left His word to uphold that which it had created. That rest He gave to the first humans in Eden. That same rest He gives now to all who will accept Him. It is the rest in which you are to be saved, as the Lord says, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15. It is resting on the power which made the heavens and the earth, and which still holds them up. It is the rest which in the beginning was connected with the new earth, and so having that rest is the assurance of rest in the earth when it is again made new. And so, it is fitting that when the earth is made new, the Sabbath will be observed by all flesh. See Isaiah 66:22, 23. End of excerpt.
I sincerely hope that you have been blessed and from this reading have a greater appreciation for the Sabbath and what it means to our salvation. The Love that God has for us is clearly revealed. May God richly bless you.
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