Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday,
January 21, 2018
In its original setting in the Word of God, the Sabbath is the 7th day of the week or Saturday.
The Sabbath was to remind the Jews of the principle of grace. It reminded them that you could do nothing for salvation, you can do nothing for spirituality, you can do nothing to gain the approbation and the blessing of God.
Point 1 introduction, Freedom demands rest and rest demands freedom.
The Sabbath was a thinking day when you didn't work physically but sat around somewhere, rested, and thought or to meditate.
Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
There is a temporal sabbath which is the faith-rest technique of the Old Testament believer in Heb 3:11.
NVTD is defined as rebellion against the Lord.
In 1SA 15:23 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king."
This moment by moment sabbath was the basis of spirituality in the Old Testament dispensations; i.e., believing, claiming, and resting on verses, principles, and doctrines.
- The temporal Sabbath or rest, Heb 3:7-13.
b. The moment by moment Sabbath, Heb 4:1-7.
c. The interim stage of the sabbath or rest which begins the day of your death or Rapture to the eternal sabbath of eternal life; Mat 11:28.
In 6 days God took the earth, which was a mess from the rulership of Satan and He restored and converted it into a wonderful place to live.
In 6 days He provided everything that man would need on the earth to survive and live in happiness! Food, perfect climate, a garden, He even provided a Bible class with the greatest Bible teacher of all time...the Lord God.
Rested - Qal imperfect of shabath ie. Sabbath means to rest.
Gen 2:2 says...that He ended or finished His work. This is what we call "sabbath" or the "rest of grace". Everything that man would ever need was provided by God. So...He rested.
Perfect environment was provided and nothing could be added to it!
From Gen 2:2 to Exo 16:23, no reference is made to the sabbath. So you go at least from Gen 2:2 to Exo 16 which is approximately 1441 B.C.
The sabbath finally became known to Israel as the day of rest. They would work for 6 days...Sunday through Friday. Then, on the 7th day, Saturday, man would rest.
In Rom 11:6 "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
The Sabbath was a day in Israel when man would rest to remember and commemorate the grace of God.
There is nothing like stopping the routine and having a day when things completely stop. So that you can be reminded of grace. "Rest" is a memorial to the grace of God.
Just like God provided for Adam in perfect environment, God has provided for you in eternity past everything you will ever need.
The sabbath always had this connotation! It was a "thinking day" not a working day! A day the grace of God was to be commemorated.
The N.T. application of the Sabbath is the subject of rest.
There are many words in the O.T. as well as the N.T. that are translated rest.
- Rest is a peace in the mind and spirit.
Rest means that I'm free from worrying, anxiety,
frustration, etc. - It also means to remain confident.
- To trust under extreme pressure.
The most popular O.T. Hebrew word is the word nuwach -it means to settle down, (which is something many people need); To give comfort;
To be at rest from troubles and anxieties.
- Loipoi, the most popular Greek word for rest means recreation and the remaining rest for the believer.
- One Greek word I want to give you is anapauo = to cease from work in order to receive strength.
The state of mind in which there is complete and total peace being free from worries, anxieties and fears.
That's the definition
Point 2. Salvation Rest, Mat 11:28.
Eternal life is not characterized by resting, but by tranquility and blessing.
Point 3. Supergrace Rest.
The land of Canaan is a type of the supergrace life, and in the context of Heb 3:11, supergrace is manifest by faith‑rest.
For example, the maximum use of faith-rest with doctrine and the maximum application of doctrine from the heart or the right lobe of the soul.
Heb 3:11 as I swore in my wrath, 'they shall not enter my rest.' "
Heb 4:1‑3 (in Heb 4:3 we have what is known an elliptical oath which says that this rest was provided for the Jews in eternity past, yet their disobedience of unbelief will keep them out of it.
There is a temporal sabbath i.e., mentioned in Heb 3:11 and this is for all believers. This is the sabbath for the mature believer.
- For instance, if you had saddled a horse on Friday, you could not remove the saddle if the horse was still saddled on the sabbath. On Saturday you couldn't saddle or unsaddle a horse.
- On Saturday you couldn't cook anything.
- If you have mud on your robe you were not allowed to clean it off.
- You couldn't stop anyone from bleeding on the Sabbath, you had to wait for Sunday.
The commandment said to remember grace." The commandment was a ritual. It had to do with what you think.