PARTE 7-Romanos- George howes

PARTE 7
— ROMANOS 15:8 – 16:27 —

Romanos 15:8 – 12
O apóstolo apresenta agora alguns pontos relativos a Cristo que confirmam
o ensino já exposto.
A vontade de Deus só se podia efetuar pela confirmação das promessas
feitas aos pais. Por exemplo, uma promessa como a que foi feita a Abraão
conforme lemos em Gênesis 22:18 — “E em tua semente serão benditas todas as
nações da terra” — só se podia realizar na pessoa de Cristo. Assim Cristo veio
como ministro da circuncisão, por causa da verdade de Deus.
Também os gentios a quem nenhuma promessa tinha sido feita, recebendo
a bênção divina por meio dEle, haviam de glorificar a Deus pela Sua misericórdia.
O apóstolo depois cita diversos trechos das Escrituras que mostram que ao
mesmo tempo que as promessas foram feitas a Abraão e à sua descendência,
também Deus sempre tencionava mostrar a Sua misericórdia aos gentios. Vemos
nisto a soberania divina, de que temos um exemplo no caso da mulher cananéia
em Mateus 15. O Senhor disse: “Não é bom pegar o pão dos filhos e deitá-lo aos
cachorrinhos”, e ela respondeu: “Sim, Senhor, mas também os cachorrinhos
comem das migalhas que caem da mesa dos seus senhores”. Então, o Senhor
Jesus respondeu: “Ó mulher, grande é a tua fé. Seja isso feito para contigo, como
tu desejas.” (Mt 15:26-28). Ela experimentou a misericórdia do Senhor.
As promessas são confirmadas e realizadas em Cristo ressuscitado, e nEle
é que nós gentios somos abençoados, e por Ele glorificamos a Deus.
Logo que Cristo seja apreciado como sendo Aquele em Quem e por meio
de Quem toda a vontade de Deus se efetua, fere-se uma nota de alegria e louvor
exultante. Lemos: “Alegrai-vos, gentios” (Rm 15:10); “Louvai ao Senhor, todos os
gentios,e celebrai-o todos os povos” (Rm 15:11).
Como isto engrandece o Senhor aos nossos olhos e faz com que Lhe
votemos o lugar supremo nas nossas afeições! Que triunfo da graça divina se vê
neste coro de unido louvor que sobe a Deus!
Romanos 15:14 – 33
Paulo agora fala do ministério que Deus lhe tinha entregue a ele. Assim,
apesar de apenas conhecer pessoalmente poucos dos irmãos em Roma,
escrevia-lhes com maior ousadia visto que tinha sido chamado por Deus para ser o
ministro de Jesus Cristo aos gentios.
Paulo aqui tem em vista o seu próprio trabalho, a sua obra apostólica, e o
resultado final dela.
Tinha sido chamado, na qualidade de apóstolo, para ministrar Jesus Cristo
aos gentios, e o resultado do seu trabalho seria, por fim, um povo tirado de entre
os gentios, santificado pelo Espírito Santo e apresentado a Deus — uma oferta
agradável a Deus.
Que contraste existe entre esta companhia “agradável a Deus” e a condição
dos gentios como é descrita no primeiro capítulo desta epístola.
45
Provas de que tinha recebido esta missão especial de Deus, havia muitas;
porém fala de si moderada e sobriamente, conforme a medida de fé que tinha
recebido de Deus.
Da sua pregação resultou muita bênção; muitos milhares o acompanharam;
grande energia caracterizou os seus atos; tinha percorrido muitas terras nas suas
viagens apostólicas — parcialmente, ele anunciara em lugares onde Cristo não
tinha sido nomeado aquele bendito nome. Porém, agora o seu trabalho naquelas
regiões estava concluído, não tinha ali mais o que fazer. O cristianismo estava já
fundado naquelas terras e a obra do apóstolo estava ali completa.
Mesmo hoje pode acontecer que o trabalho para o qual Deus tenha
chamado, em qualquer lugar, um servo Seu, esteja concluído. Então, se assim for,
e o Senhor estiver chamando o Seu servo para outra parte, é preciso este
reconhecer isso e obedecer às indicações do Senhor neste ponto.
O apóstolo tinha um grande desejo de visitar os irmãos em Roma, mas na
ocasião em que escrevia esta epístola estava de viagem a Jerusalém, a fim de
levar aos irmãos pobres ali o dinheiro que se tinha ajuntado entre os irmãos da
Macedônia e Acaba (Rm 15:25-26).
Aqui devemos notar um princípio importante. Os gentios tinham recebido
muita bênção espiritual, participando assim da bênção dos judeus e, sendo assim,
disse o apóstolo, deviam da sua parte ministrar-lhes as coisas temporais. Os
gentios não podiam ministrar aos judeus as coisas espirituais, portanto deviam
contribuir com coisas materiais.
Em Atos 11 temos um belo exemplo desse princípio. Os irmãos em
Jerusalém ouviram falar da conversão dos gentios em Antioquia, e lhes enviaram
Barnabé. Este, tendo visto a obra de Deus ali, partiu para Tarso a buscar Paulo.
Tendo-o encontrado, levou-o a Antioquia onde passaram ambos um ano inteiro
ensinando e instruindo muita gente. Neste tempo chegou a profecia de uma
grande fome que havia de vir, e logo os gentios convertidos resolveram enviar
socorro aos seus irmãos que habitavam na Judéia. Falando desse ato de amor na
sua segunda epístola aos Coríntios (capítulo 9), Paulo disse que não só supriu as
necessidades dos irmãos, mas também abundou em muitas ações de graças a
Deus.
Lemos que “lhes pareceu bem” proceder assim. E foi bem na verdade,
porque eram “devedores” (Rm 15:27). Lembremo-nos sempre do princípio aqui
exposto, porque é nosso dever e nosso privilégio segui-lo.
Nos versículos que se seguem, o apóstolo, tornando a falar na suja
projetada viagem à Espanha e do seu ardente desejo de ver os irmãos em Roma,
quando passasse de caminho, pede as suas orações a favor de si próprio, para
que a oferta que levava aos irmãos na Judéia fosse aceite e para que ele não
caísse nas mãos dos inimigos ali, a fim de que chegasse aos irmãos em Roma
com alegria, para aí se recrear com eles. Lembremo-nos sempre de orar pelos
servos do Senhor.
É muito interessante ver como Deus neste capítulo se identifica com certos
princípios ou qualidades, como por exemplo, chama-Se:
— o Deus de paciência e consolação (Rm 15:5),
— o Deus de esperança (Rm 15:13) e
— o Deus de paz (Rm 15:33).
Necessitamos paciência, esperança e paz, e Deus tem ligado o Seu nome a
essas coisas.
46
Romanos 16:1 – 24
Chegamos agora à conclusão dessa epístola aos Romanos, e é belo ver
como o grande apóstolo saúda com tanta afeição os irmãos que ele conhecia em
Roma. Parece lembrar-se de todos, falando de serviços prestados por uns e a
graça divina manifestada em outros. Amava-os ardentemente e assim temos aqui
a saudação do verdadeiro amor cristão.
É belo ver como Paulo soube apreciar tudo que era de Cristo em cada um
dos Seus. Ele era o grande apóstolo que em trabalhos excedia a todos, porém a
graça divina tinha operado em outros, e esses também trabalhavam cada um
conforme podia. Isso Paulo notou com alegria e assim o seu coração procurava
ligar todos nos laços de amor divino.
Notemos algumas das coisas de que ele se lembrou: “…serve na igreja …
tem hospedado muitos … pela minha vida expuseram a sua cabeça … trabalhou
muito por nós … meus companheiros na prisão … muito trabalhou no Senhor” (Rm
16:1, 2, 4, 6, 7 e 12).
Que zelo santo e fervoroso estas palavras revelam — que trabalhos de
amor!
Reparemos também em outras palavras que o apóstolo escreve a respeito
de alguns: “…me amado, que as primícias da Ásia em Cristo … meu amado no
Senhor … aprovado em Cristo … que estão no Senhor … eleito no Senhor …
todos os santos que com eles estão” (Rm 16:5, 8, 10, 11, 13 e 15).
Com que clareza indicam estas palavras o círculo de amor divino em que
está introduzido aquele que crê no Senhor Jesus Cristo e que está possuído do
valor da verdade revelada no evangelho. É desnecessário dizer que os santos que
Paulo saúda não são nenhuns mortos, mas sim os seus irmãos em Cristo que
viviam naquela cidade naqueles dias.
O apóstolo não só saúda os irmãos, mas recomenda-lhes que se saúdam
uns aos outros com uma saudação santa (Rm 16:16).
Com o coração cheio desses sentimentos de amor, o apóstolo, antes de
concluir a sua epístola, ainda expressa algumas palavras de aviso com respeito
àqueles “que promovem dissensões e escândalos” (Rm 16:17). “Desviai-vos
deles!” — diz ele. Eis como temos que proceder para com tais pessoas; não
devemos andar na sua companhia, nem escutar os seus ensinos. “Não servem a
nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo” — afirma o apóstolo. Portanto, devemo-nos desviar
deles, para que não sejamos enganados por eles, e assim desviados da
simplicidade que há em Cristo.
“Dissensões e escândalos” são contrários ao espírito de Cristo e ao amor.
Não é assim que se presta serviço ao Senhor. Pelo contrário tais coisas resultam
em estarmos ocupados conosco próprios e darmos lugar à atividade da carne em
nós, que sempre procura manifestar-se e engrandecer-se.
Se Cristo ocupa o Seu lugar em nossos corações, o amor há de ali dominar,
e aprenderemos dEle como convém proceder em todas as ocasiões. Andaremos
em obediência a Ele e em amor aos Seus.
“Sejais sábios no bem, mas símplices no mal” (Rm 16:19). O caminho de
Cristo é o caminho do bem e da sabedoria divina. Necessitamos aprender dEle,
conhecer o Seu caminho, e assim estaremos seguros, sem que seja preciso
indagarmos aquilo que é do mal. O coração se sustém com aquilo que é bom.
“Pela palavra dos teus lábios me guardei das veredas do destruidor” (Salmo 17:4).
Andemos, pois, irmãos, no caminho do Senhor, alimentando-nos com o bem,
regozijando-nos no Senhor e servindo-O, e em breve se há de manifestar o
47
completo triunfo do bem sobre o mal, de Deus sobre Satanás. Graças a Deus,
conhecendo Jesus triunfante na glória, vemos já pela fé este triunfo, esta vitória.
Temos agora (Rm 16:21-23) as saudações dos companheiros do apóstolo.
Vemos como a comunhão em amor caracteriza o espírito do evangelho.
Podemos também notar a maneira como Paulo escreveu em geral as suas
epístolas. Ele ditou as palavras e outro irmão as escreveu, sendo esse, nessa
epístola, o irmão Tércio. No fim, Paulo com a sua própria mão escreveu a
saudação final, sendo este o sinal que provava a veracidade não só desta como de
todas as suas epístolas (2 Ts 3:17).
Convém aqui lembrarmos o que Paulo nos diz em 1 Coríntios 2:13, que as
coisas dadas por Deus ele falava-as “não com palavras de sabedoria humana,
mas com as que o Espírito Santo ensina”. Recebamos, então, esses ensinos não
como sendo simplesmente os ensinos de Paulo, mas, como na verdade são, a
Palavra do Senhor.
Romanos 16:25 – 27
O apóstolo, pegando na pena para acrescentar as últimas palavras à
epístola, louva a Deus infinito em sabedoria, Aquele que era poderoso para
confirmar, segundo o evangelho que tinha anunciado, todo aquele que crê. Ao
mesmo tempo, o apóstolo faz lembrar o verdadeiro caráter do testemunho contido
no evangelho; é conforme a revelação do mistério que desde tempos eternos
esteve oculto, mas que se manifestou agora…” (Rm 16:25).
A verdade do mistério de Cristo, isto é, do fato de ser Cristo posto agora por
Cabeça de todas as coisas, e dEle ter unido em um povo judeus e gentios, sendo
estes co-herdeiros e de um mesmo corpo e participantes da promessa de Deus
pelo evangelho, tudo isso não está desenvolvido na epístola aos Romanos. Porém,
tudo que lemos nesta epístola está em conformidade com a plena revelação do
mistério e nos prepara para o apreciarmos, como nos é revelado na epístola aos
Efésios (veja Ef 3).
Esta verdade do mistério tinha estado encoberta desde tempos eternos,
apesar de estar já determinada pelo propósito divino. Contudo, logo que pela
morte de Cristo se tinha preparado a base ou fundamento eterno sobre o qual esse
propósito de Deus podia ser realizado, foi este revelado plenamente.
É preciso chamar aqui a atenção para as palavras “escrituras dos profetas”
(Rm 16:26). O sentido do original seria mais evidente se em português lêssemos
“escrituras proféticas”. É claro que não se referem às escrituras do Velho
Testamento, mas às escrituras do Novo Testamento — como esta epístola aos
Romanos, as epístolas aos Efésios e aos Colossenses — enfim, como todas as
epístolas apostólicas e inspiradas (veja Ef 3:5).
Assim Deus confirma os Seus conforme ao Seu eterno propósito em Cristo;
quer que saibamos e apreciemos o nosso lugar em Cristo, e a bênção que é nossa
nEle. Em Cristo aprendemos o amor, a sabedoria e o poder de Deus.
“Mas o que nos confirma convosco em Cristo … é Deus” (2 Co 1:21).
Quando chegarmos ao fim desta epístola, nos vem de novo à lembrança
que o propósito eterno de Deus em relação a Cristo não se limita à bênção dos
judeus, ou de qualquer outro povo exclusivamente, mas que o evangelho e o
mistério de Cristo agora manifestado pelos escritos proféticos do Novo
Testamento, são enviados, “segundo o mandamento do Deus eterno, a todas as
nações para obediência da fé” (Rm 16:26).
48
Agora, concluindo esses estudos, que diremos? Temos considerado esta
maravilhosa revelação da justiça, da graça e do amor de Deus. Temo-Lo visto
como sendo justo e o Justificador daquele que crê em Jesus; temos visto de
alguma maneira qual é o nosso lugar de bênção e de privilégio em Cristo. Temos
apreciado o propósito final de Deus a nosso respeito, isto é, o sermos
conformados à imagem do Seu Filho. Pelo Espírito recebido, o amor de Deus é
derramado nos nossos corações, e temos liberdade diante dEle. Ainda mais,
gloriamo-nos em Deus por nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo por Quem agora temos
recebido a reconciliação. Também estamos libertados do domínio do pecado, e é
nosso privilégio de servir a Deus em novidade de vida, pelo poder do Espírito
Santo.
Muito mais podíamos acrescentar, porém desistimos, limitando-nos a
recordar que em breve tudo será subjugado a Cristo, o Senhor, e toda a vontade
de Deus se realizará, quer no céu quer na terra.
“Porque todas quantas promessas há de Deus são nele (o Filho de Deus,
Jesus Cristo) sim; e por ele o Amém, para glória de Deus, por nós” (2 Co 1:20).
Com corações adoradores exclamemos então:
“Ao único Deus, sábio, seja dada glória por Jesus Cristo para todo o
sempre. Amém!”

Remember the Sabbath Day

Remember the Sabbath Day
by David W. Dyer

Read Hebrews 4:1-11
The setting was awesome. The mountain was bathed in thick smoke produced by a raging fire. The ground quaked and a trumpet Voice, louder than anyone had previously heard drowned out the rolling thunder while the lightning punctuated the pronouncements of God Almighty. The man Moses made his way up the mountain and disappeared into the inferno. No doubt he too was afraid. It would be only natural if his knees shook and his heart pounded within his chest as he watched the finger of God appear and inscribe His commandments in two tablets of solid stone. The Most High was making it more than plain that He meant business and that His commandments were not to be violated. This dreadful demonstration of God's power was intended to produce in those who beheld it a solemnity and holy fear which would cause them to obey Him.
Such is the origin of what we know as the "Ten Commandments." However it is quite evident that they are not held in such high regard today as they were at that time in which they were first spoken. After all, many Christians seem to believe that Jesus came to do away with such frightening decrees and replace them with much more palatable, easier to keep admonitions. In fact, it is often suspected among modern Christians (if not openly taught) that God's commandments to His people should really be regarded more as "little suggestions" rather than any kind of iron clad ordinances. Furthermore the assumption goes, the consequences of failure - the penalty for breaking any of God's laws - has been entirely removed through Jesus, so whether or not we measure up to His standard is not really very important.
Underlying this present lassitude of modern Christendom toward God's instructions and the evident lack of the fear of God among His people is a basic misconception concerning the gospel. What Jesus came to do for us and how He is accomplishing His objectives is not well understood and in fact is often misunderstood by far too many believers. The notion of "consequences" of any sort concerning the behavior of Christians has been reduced to a fairy tale about how large or small a mansion we will receive or how luxurious a car we will drive when our Lord returns with His reward. This sort of superficial gospel has produced equally shallow adherents. A lack of revelation concerning the Person and purposes of the Living God has resulted in a message which has very little power to change the lives of the hearers. The "fear of the Lord" which should form a kind of foundation in the lives of believers has been explained away and replaced with a broad, easy way which finds no place in any genuine understanding of the gospel.
This then brings us to the purpose of this writing. It is to attempt, in a manner which both scriptural and enlightening, to present the gospel from a fresh perspective which will speak to some of the modern misconceptions so prevalent among us. Let us pray together that God will anoint and use this message towards His eternal ends.
RAISING THE STANDARD
To begin, it is important to state that Jesus did not come to do away with the law. Instead He came to fulfill it. Not only did He not eliminate the demands of God's commandments, He actually raised them! In reality, Jesus' teachings elevated the requirements upon God's people instead of reducing them. A simple examination of a couple of the Ten Commandments will make this fact abundantly clear.
For example, the seventh commandment forbids us to commit adultery. Now it is possible for many people to keep this directive. They may entertain certain desires about particularly attractive members of the opposite sex, they may even have strong urges in this direction, but they are able to suppress them and keep themselves from this sin. This abstinence would have qualified them to be judged as obedient to the law in Moses' day. But when Jesus came along, He made things much more difficult. He declared that even indulging in the thought is just as bad as having actually done the act. This made righteousness all but impossible. If you are honest, you will admit with me that precious few have made it through life without one such thought. Here in just this single law, virtually everyone is found guilty.
The commandment against murder also forms a part of the picture. No doubt there have been times in our lives when others have offended or even egregiously wronged us, and consequently have made us exceedingly angry. Hopefully, we have been able so far to resist the temptation to kill them. Perhaps the restraining influence of law enforcement forces, courts and jails have helped make the job of controlling our feelings somewhat easier. However, this abstinence will not meet our Lord's standard. In the New Testament not only are we not free to liquidate those who bother us, we are required to forgive them. Not only are we not free to harbor hatred and bitterness in our hearts, our Lord actually insists that we love our enemies. How is this possible? Once again, self restraint is not enough but an entire change of character is required.
And so it is with the rest of the Ten Commandments. The New Testament standards are actually much higher than that of the Old. Hopefully, this small sampling will be enough to demonstrate clearly that the righteousness required by Jesus' teaching is far above that demanded by the law.
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
I believe that most people's immediate reaction to all this is to inwardly wonder: "How is such a thing possible? How could anyone live in such complete perfection that not one ungodly thought, attitude or action could creep into their life?" We know that the ancient Jews strove for nearly 2,000 years to obey the Ten Commandments. It is also well documented that the history of this effort was one of continual failure. So since it has been clearly proven over millennia of experience, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that man is incapable of obeying God's original ordinances, how are we to understand the fact that Jesus apparently made things even more difficult? What are we to make of the fact that what God today requires of us is so far out of our reach and beyond our abilities as to be entirely impossible?
The answer to this question is quite simple, yet utterly profound. To grasp it, it is imperative that every believer arrive at a deep, unshakable understanding of the following fact: There is only one person in the universe who is capable of measuring up to this incredible criterion - God Himself. His life is the only life which automatically and spontaneously exudes genuine righteousness. He is the only one who meets the test.
Did you realize that God does not have to try to be righteous? He just is! He does not have to try not to look at dirty magazines or keep from indulging in romance novels. He is not straining not to lie, cheat, steal or take advantage of someone for His own profit. He spends no time wishing He had things as nice as His neighbors. The truth is that God cannot even be tempted by sin (James 1:13). He simply isn't interested. In fact, He abhors it. God manifests righteousness simply because He is righteous and it is impossible for Him to be any other way.
It should be no secret to us that at one time in history, this supernatural life was manifested (I Jn 1:2). This incredibly righteous life came to earth in the person of God's Son, Jesus Christ. We read: "In Him was [God's] life*"(Jn 1:4). This man was the repository of the Father's life. Furthermore, while He walked on this planet, He did not function by his own life but simply lived out His existence by the inclinations of the Divine life which was inside of Him. He disclosed this secret when He declared: "I live by the Father" (Jn 6:57). His actions and even His words were not His own but simply an obedient response to the will of Him who lived within Him. He asserted: "the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (Jn 14:10). So we see that Jesus was truly righteous as a result of God's own life within Him which motivated Him. *The Greek here is ZOE referring to the Father's life.
A LIFE WHICH IS NOT OUR OWN
This then forms an illustration for us today. It is totally impossible for us to meet God's standards. But if we are genuine believers, this same Jesus who lived on earth 2,000 years ago and pleased the Father in every respect, now lives within us. And it is the Father's intention that His own Son, living within us and living the Father's life through us would fulfill all of His righteous intentions. Jesus Himself is to become our motivation. God's own life is to become the source of all our thoughts, feelings and actions. Just as our Lord was animated by the Life of the Father, so we too can be an expression of Himself.
In this way, our lives will manifest righteousness. In this way, we can meet the standards given to us in God's book. Yet it is a righteousness which is not our own. It is not we who are meeting the requirements, but Another who lives in us and through us. The genuine gospel is not a message of self effort. True righteousness is not attained by the improvement of ourselves. Rather it is accomplished by a supernatural substitution. Just as Jesus pleased the Father by allowing Him to live through Him, in this same way we too can be pleasing to Him. This is the true Christian life. It is the narrow "way" of which Jesus spoke. Any other is just an earthly imitation. God's desire is not that we should "live for Him" but rather that He should live His life through us!
Do you see this? Are you able to genuinely fathom the depths of what this means? What a glorious liberty! What a freedom and enjoyment. We are now free from the bondage of trying to please God. Now Someone who is infinitely more capable is going to do it for us. The living Jesus who pleased the Father while in this world will again please Him in us. This is an essential revelation which every Christian should see. It is also something which should begin to have a profound effect upon their experience. It is a truth which should begin to alter our behavior on a fundamental level.
On the one hand this great fact provides us with tremendous release, yet on the other it also brings with it awesome responsibility. You see this means that God's people are supposed to be truly righteous. They are meant to be holy. They are actually intended by God to meet not only the standards of the Old Testament law but also the exceedingly elevated standards revealed by Jesus. In truth He did not come to do away with the law. Instead He came to fulfill it more completely and thoroughly than ever before. He came to cause multiplied thousands of men and women to become more righteous than previously thought possible. His intention is that what could not be done by the strength of man in attempting to obey God's law, would now be accomplished by His divine power working through His people. Now God can have multitudes expressing true holiness to the world and defeating the devil through their testimony.
Yet, as we all know, the actual realization of this glorious truth is not quite as simple as it may seem. Somehow, even though we have this supernatural Life living in us, it is not always He whom we express. Far too often, low, earthly thoughts, feelings and actions - sin of every variety - work in us and are expressed through us. What then is the problem? Why is it that we do not always manifest the nature of God in our daily lives?
At the root of this dilemma lies the fact that we still possess our old life. Just as the Life of God is thoroughly and completely righteous, so our own life - the one with which we were born - is unalterably polluted with sin. Therefore, when we allow ourselves to be motivated by it, we naturally express something which is less than supremely holy. When we live our own lives, when we permit "self" to be the source by which we live, the results are inevitably sinful and therefore rejected by God.
This then places the believer who is desiring to be holy and to do God's will, at a kind of crossroads. Every day and in fact every moment of every day, Christians are required to make a choice. They must continually decide by which life they will live. Which life will they allow to fill them and motivate them - God's or their own? Which life will be their moment by moment inspiration?
Our Heavenly Father, in His great wisdom has not forced His way upon us. Instead, if we do manifest His nature, it will be a result of our perpetually choosing His way. If we do begin to exhibit His nature, it will be because we day by day chose to allow His life to fill and dominate our being. Additionally, it will mean that we at the same time decided to deny our own life its expression. How holy and precious it is that our God and King is so sensitive to our desires. Conversely, how awesome a responsibility we have to choose rightly every day.
REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY
Now we come at last to the subject of this article, the remembrance of the Sabbath Day. In the Old Testament when Moses received the Ten Commandments, the ordinance of the Sabbath was a requirement concerning the enterprises of the seventh day. God ordered His people to cease from doing most physical activities so that they could focus their minds and attentions upon the worship of Himself. Simply put, they were to stop what they were doing and rest. While this seems like it should be an easy commandment to keep, it proved to be a virtual impossibility. There was always something within the lives of God's people which was stirring them to action, even when it was in violation of His will.
Now if the Old Testament decree was impossible to keep, what of the New Covenant standard? At that time God's followers were forbidden to work one day out of seven, but now in the New Testament, we are required not to work at all. We are admonished to "cease from [our] own works" completely (Heb 4:10). The standard of "resting" has been elevated far beyond the activities of one day. Now it is being applied to our entire existence.
This then brings us to a proper understanding of the real gospel. It is a message which states that there is a "rest" for the people of God into which they need to enter. There is available to us the option to stop living our life by our own motivation and enter into the experience of being animated by God. The genuine experience of the Sabbath is none other than that about which we have been speaking. It is simply to allow God to be our life and cease from living by our own.
When properly understood, the Old Covenant mandates are seen simply as outward types of the coming spiritual realities. They were earthly illustrations given to us by God to help us understand spiritual things. Concerning the outward observance of the Sabbath Day, the scriptures teach us that this was simply a "shadow of things to come, but the substance [the spiritual reality of it] is of Christ" (Col 2:17 NKJV). Do you see this? In this light the true Sabbath observance becomes one of the most important revelations of the New Testament. Ceasing from living our own life and yielding our faculties to inspiration of Another is truly at the center of all the thoughts and intentions of our God. This is why Jesus came and died for us. It was to impart to us the Father's Divine Life so that we could become partakers of His nature and be truly righteous.
No wonder the Sabbath is one of the most prominent of the commandments, being mentioned 137 times throughout the scriptures. It is little surprise therefore that its observance was taken so seriously by God and that it is emphasized again and again by the prophets when detailing the shortcomings of God's people. The importance of this experience, the centrality of this truth is so profound that if a person does not understand it, then he has not begun to really grasp the message of Christ. The keeping of the true Sabbath, which results in the replacement of our old, perishable life with God's new, eternal one is absolutely indispensable.
Do you keep the Sabbath Day? No, I don't mean to ask whether or not you hold a job or work in your garden on Sunday. Neither am I interested in any fruitless discussions about whether Saturday or Sunday is the proper time for worship. These things belong to another realm entirely. If you are caught up in them, you are already in serious danger of missing the spiritual reality about which we have been speaking. The Apostle Paul was fearful of this very thing when he said to the Galatian believers "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain" (Gal 4:11). He was concerned that his hearers had only grasped the superficial appearance of the scriptures and completely overlooked the real message. His apprehension was that in keeping an earthly ordinance, they were demonstrating that they had not understood the true meaning of it.
This then dear brothers and sisters is our present consideration. Are we entering into the true sabbath day experience? Are we truly stopping our own activities and entering into the rest of God? Who is our daily motivation? Whom are we expressing day by day? Jesus is coming soon. Only those who have loved the Sabbath will be ready. Hear the promise of God! "If you turn away . . . from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Is 58:13,14).