It has been a long time since I last spoke about the Sabbath-rest in a sermon, or wrote about it in a bulletin article. It is mentioned many times in the Bible, most of them in the Old Testament. As you know, the Israelites had to rest on the Sabbath in obedience to the law. You also know that Jesus got into a lot of trouble with the Pharisees and teachers of the law because many of His miracles took place on the Sabbath. He was accused of “working” on the Sabbath as a result. The Pharisees were unwilling to admit that Jesus was really healing on the Sabbath.
Our first Biblical encounter with the concept of resting on the Sabbath occurs long before the law was given. In fact, it follows the sixth and final day of creation.
God finished all the work He had been doing to on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. -Genesis 2:2-3
In the New Testament—aside from Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees—the phrase Sabbath-rest appears in Hebrews. Here the writer does not refer to the law as to the origin and purpose of resting on the Sabbath, but accurately draws our attention to the dawn of creation:
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from His own work, just as God did from His. -Hebrews 4:9
We should not miss the writer’s reference to entering a state of rest, rather than being forced to abstain from certain activities, as prescribed in the law. It turns out that God’s purpose in time and creation was to save souls out of both. Time and creation are a means to an end. They were never meant to be the place mankind inhabited forever. The universe was created as a place for our lost souls to dwell until their final destiny was decided—eternal life or everlasting condemnation. The extra day God made after the six days of creation—the Sabbath—is the name He uses to describe the earthly life available to all who are saved. It is ours to enter—our heaven on earth—until we go home to be with the Lord.
Perhaps a more relatable description of the Sabbath is to tell you it is our life as we abide in the Holy Spirit. Even as Christians, there is no way to “rest from our own labors, just as God did from His” unless we surrender to the Holy Spirit, seeking Him in prayer, praise, and worship. As we do these things, He in turn becomes our whole life. He relishes this time of close union through prayer and praise so much, that He will take care of the rest of life’s issues so that we don’t have to stop. “Pray continually” was Paul’s instruction to the church in Thessalonica. While that might seem impossible and excessive, it is neither. It speaks of a way of life in constant communion with God through His Spirit. In response, He fills your day with His Holiness—the work of God—as He carries you along.
Remember, The Lord said He was “finished” following the sixth day of creation. Jesus said the same in His final breath on the cross. This tells a story. Following creation, God made the Sabbath as a promise of salvation life. But none of us could get there until Jesus died on the cross, faith came, and He sent us His Spirit.
Not every Christian is in the Sabbath-rest. Rather, every Christian has a right to it. The door through which we enter is the Holy Spirit. As it is written, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.”-Heb 4:11
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