Battle For The Truth (Part 11)
Notes
Transcript
God Establishes The Sabbath Day
God Establishes The Sabbath Day
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. 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.
Introduction
In the book of Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” We observe this truth on full display when on this 7th Day of Creation, God finished what He started in Genesis 1:1. And as we learned last week, All things were “Made By God and Made for Man to Enjoy.” However, it would be difficult to enjoy something that is never completed. Thus, God in His infinite wisdom has set the pattern for man to take the time to cease from his labor, rest his body, and worship his Creator.
We have reached the point in this ongoing Battle For The Truth, where the Bible has drawn the proverbial line in the sand and an emphatic end to the discussion about how the world came into being and to whom goes the credit. According to the Genesis account, there are three truths we have discovered thus far on the topic:
God spoke heaven and earth into existence and everything contained therein before there was a man;
After He made everything else, as the crowning achievement of His Creation, God made man in His own image, after His own likeness [male and female] as caretakers of the earth, to rule and reign over all other earthly creatures; and,
God did it all in Six 24-hour days.
The 7th Day
V.1 - “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”
Without any ambiguity, we read that the creative work of heaven and earth and all the host of them were finished. Meaning, there was nothing else to be done. Nothing to be added that was forgotten or removed because of an error. The operative word is in v.1 finished. The Hebrew word for finished is kalah (kaw-law’), which basically means to cease or stop; come to an end; be finished; or completed. What God started in Genesis 1:1, He has now brought to an end or completion.
For further clarity the text declares, “…and all the host of them.” This means that not one single solitary atom, molecule, neutron, proton or electron is missing or misplaced. All the laws of nature are established and everything is functioning in perfect harmony. Nothing is evolving. God made everything whole and complete in six 24-hour days not millions or billions of years. This is either true or false. Amen somebody.
V.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.”
By way of review, here is what occurred over the first six days:
Day 1 - God created light (Genesis 1:3–5)
Day 2 - God created the firmament (the atmosphere and air space above earth) (Genesis 1:6–8)
Day 3 - God created the waters, dry land, and vegetation (Genesis 1:9–13)
Day 4 - God distributed light upon the earth to regulate day and night and the seasons and years (Genesis 1:14–19)
Day 5 - God created water and air creatures (Genesis 1:20–23)
Day 6 - the first half of the day: God created land animals (Genesis 1:24–25); and on the second half God created man, male and female (Genesis 1:26–31)
Here we witness this pristine newly created world made especially for man’s enjoyment. There is no pollution, trash, inclement weather or anything unpleasant. We know that this omnipotent and loving God, if He wanted, could have created the world in one day or one minute for that matter; nevertheless, He chose to do it in seven days. Again, notice in the text that the emphasis is on God. When “God” completed “His” work, which “He” had made; “He” rested on the seventh day from all “His” work which “He” has made. Did you catch that? Six personal pronouns reference God as the the Being who is the cause for everything and everybody. The text says, “…God ended his work...” Stop right there.
Side note:
The only reason someone would be struggling with whether or not this is true is that they have a problem with or a question about the truth of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Until a person correctly answers the question, “Is there such a being known as God who is eternal and self-existing?”, they are going to struggle and be confused about the origin of life, their purpose in life, and their destiny after their life on earth has ended. You see, at the core of The Battle For The Truth is The Battle For The Beginning. That part right there! Why is it that people choose to avoid Genesis 1:1? Although I cannot say with absolute certainty, my experience tells me that it is because they are afraid of the truth and prefer a lie. As Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” Therefore, my brother or my sister, my son or my daughter, homeboy or homegirl, or whatever other relationships exists, if this describes your position or thinking, I implore you to go back to Part 1 of this Battle For The Truth series. Because, Part 1 addresses the Being of God from which all truth flows. And to you my fellow believer, if you want to be an effective witness for the truth, start where God starts—at the Beginning. Once the truth “In the beginning God...” is settled, a person is then ready to receive further truth and revelation. Otherwise, they will only struggle to accept God’s authority over their lives.
The Hebrew word for rested is shabath (shaw-bath’), which is where we get the word sabbath. It means “to rest or cease.” So God ceased from His creative activities on the 7th Day. Later in God’s ordinances to Moses, God incorporated the Sabbath as a day of rest with reference back to the 7th Day of Creation. In Exodus 20:8-11, God spoke these words unto His servant Moses concerning the Sabbath:
“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.”
V.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.”
God did something special for man on the 7th Day. The text says that “...God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” Why did He bless it and sanctify it? The text gives the reason, “...because that in it he had rested from all his work...” Certainly, we know that God did not need rest because he was tired, but rather as already mentioned, rest means completed or finished. Nevertheless, God in His infinite wisdom knew that man would need rest, so He modeled for him the need for rest by setting apart or sanctifying the 7th Day as a day of rest and worship. And because God blessed and sanctified it, the 7th Day is holy.
Conclusion
Although the Sabbath Day is an ordinance for the Jews, it does not have a binding effect upon the NT Church. I am aware that certain Protestant denominations or groups consider the Sabbath Day a binding ordinance upon NT believers and thereby insist that the only acceptable day of worship is the Sabbath Day or Saturday. However, neither Christ nor His disciples taught that this is the case.
Rather, the traditional day of worship for the Church is the first day of the week or Sunday, also known as the Lord’s Day. Sunday is called the Lord’s Day because it is the day that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave, (Mark 16:9; I Corinthians 16:2) as well as the day when the Holy Spirit came into the world and indwelt the Church (Acts 2:1).
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul taught that the Church is not to be subject to the Jewish sabbaths. In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul wrote to the church at Colosse, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Therefore, teaching that the Church of Jesus Christ is subject to the Jewish Sabbath Day ordinance is in error.
Finally, I just love the fact that the text declares that God finished His work of Creation. This tells us that God completes what He starts. He does not half do anything and the Son of God is just like His Father. I can hear Jesus say while He was hanging on the cross completing His work for our redemption, He cried out, “... It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30)
What did He finish? I am so glad you asked. He completed the work of our redemption. Jesus paid it all for every man, woman, boy and girl that will come to him for salvation! “Therefore, there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1) I thank God that Jesus said, “It is finished,” not “I am finished.” Because, early on Sunday morning, the first day of the week, while the dew was still on the rose, Jesus rose from the tomb with all power in heaven and earth in His hands.
And 40-days after His resurrection, He ascended on High and sat down at the right hand of His Father, signifying that His work was indeed complete. Therefore, all that put their trust in Him can be “...confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) Therefore, my beloved, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:23) Amen somebody. May the Lord bless and keep you is my prayer.