¡§21st Century Sabbath Keeping¡¨
(Luke 6:1-11)
If you¡¦ve read our focus passage before today, you¡¦ll know one of the key words is the word ¡¥Sabbath.¡¦ You probably know it is mentioned 6 times, and you probably know it is the apparent centerpiece of the debate going on between Jesus and the Pharisees.
But beyond that, perhaps you¡¦re like a lot of people ¡V ¡§What does Sabbath mean?¡¨ Better yet, ¡§What does a passage about the Sabbath have to do with me?¡¨ Let¡¦s answer both of those questions this morning, shall we? First, some Sabbath Stats:
„X Means ¡§rest¡¨
„X Initiated by God after creation
„X The fourth commandment in the 10 Commandments
„X Explained in more detail in Leviticus and Deuteronomy
„X Overall purpose? To provide a structure for freedom from work and a focus on God.
However, the Pharisees developed additional regulations and laws that were deigned to help them obey God¡¦s law. For instance, the Shabbat, an extra biblical piece of literature, contains 39 categories of work on the Sabbath (I guess they felt it was important to define what God meant):
„X God forbid harvesting with a sickle or for profit on the Sabbath, but they said you couldn¡¦t even do it with your hand for your own family.
„X Threshing wheat was forbidden, but they said you couldn¡¦t even rub two grains of wheat in your hands, for that was a species of threshing.
„X To carry a burden was forbidden on the Sabbath, but they said a burden was an object the weight of a fig.
„X Even today, if you go to Israel, if you are a follower of Judaism you must fix all meals in advance in case of company, and there is a Sabbath elevator that stops on every floor so you don¡¦t have to press the buttons yourself. WOW!
This is why the Pharisees were so upset with Jesus in Luke 6: They thought he violated the laws, traditions and regulations concerning the Sabbath. In fact, Jesus performed SEVEN miracles on the Sabbath throughout the Gospels. Boy, did he make the Pharisees angry when he broke the Sabbath laws!
But did he really?
After studying, praying, and researching the passage, I believe Jesus never broke God¡¦s laws about the Sabbath; he only violated the Pharisees¡¦ interpretations of it and regulations for it. Let me show you.
[READ TEXT and comment, explain, define, circle, mark¡Kget them into the Word!]
And when all was said and done, it is clear they were more upset about his deity than their day! Truth is, they really weren¡¦t worried so much about keeping the Sabbath; they were more interested in killing the Savior!
Isn¡¦t this a typical reaction of religious leaders who base their beliefs on man made regulations? Fear drives them to fury, and fury leads to fanaticism. When confronted with truth (i.e. Christ¡¦s deity), the Pharisees responded with terror. Which simply proves their motives weren¡¦t right ¡V they didn¡¦t really care for others¡¦ interests¡Konly for their own. Yes, their selfish interests and motives were cloaked in their pseudo-love of spiritual tradition; in reality, they despised the freedom Christ offered in his message of ¡§repent and believe.¡¨
Perhaps you’re wondering, ¡§So if the point of the story isn¡¦t the Sabbath, what is?¡¨ Here¡¦s what really going on:
Two schools of thought are being contrasted, and Christ is using this as a way of comparing the ¡§old¡¨ with the ¡§new¡¨ (remember Luke 5 and the parable?).
Old vs. New
Law vs. Grace
Works vs. Faith
Tradition vs. Trust
Religion vs. Relationship
This goes on today more than you think! For instance¡K
...Seventh Day Adventists hold to the doctrine of Investigative Judgment which says that once you express faith in Christ, then you are investigated over time to see if your works really indicate your faith. This investigative judgment began in 1844 and continues today¡KChrist is looking closer to see if your works are in harmony with the law of God, namely the keeping of the Sabbath. Only then are your sins blotted out. (Another Gospel by Ruth Tucker p. 110)
...Scientology believes there is no need to repent, because salvation is actually freedom from reincarnation (coming back to do better!). You must work with your ¡§auditor¡¨ to be ¡¥clear¡¦ of your hang-ups (known as ¡¥engrams¡¦). This is how you move up the spiritual ladder. Whoa, dude! (Christianity, Cults and Religions by Rose Publishing)
...Mormons believe salvation comes in two parts: General and Individual. Generally, all of humanity will be saved when they are resurrected and judged according to their works. Individually, if a person wants to earn forgiveness from personal sins, they must meet certain requirements, including faith, baptism, obedience to Mormon doctrine, and good works. (They Can¡¦t All Be Right? By Steven Russo p. 62-63)
...Islam believes that Allah may show mercy, but he mainly will use your good and bad works to see where you go ¡V paradise or hell. Submit to Allah and do good works -- that¡¦s the ticket.
As I showed you last week, biblical Christianity is the only teaching that lays out faith as the only requirement. Truly it is a new way! All others share a common ¡§works¡¨ mentality in some shape or form¡Kbut not the Bible. God redeems mankind through Jesus, and our job is to simply believe. That¡¦s grace, and it¡¦s completely different than everything else.
My question for you is this ¡V which school are you enrolled in?
I want you to hear from two students who have enrolled in "Grace" University ... two people who left behind the world of tradition and embraced the reality of grace. This is Eric and Amy Groen¡¦s story of how they came to Christ and what an incredible difference grace has made in their lives.
Interview using the following questions:
1. What first got the wheels turning about biblical Christianity? IOW, what prompted you to compare/investigate?
2. How did you use to try and "keep the Sabbath"? (I don’t mean here officially, but in the sense of trying to work hard enough and be good enough so that you could earn some points with God!)
3. In what ways has God’s grace changed your life? (This is a great place to share your testimony and give God praise for redeeming you, growing you, sanctifying you, etc)
4. Try and describe the difference between serving now and serving then? (from have to to get to!)
Their story leaves me with one simple thought: Trusting Jesus, not tradition, brings me redemption and rest.
And my question to you is this ¡V do you possess both of those elements? Redemption? Rest?
The real key to answering the question is in a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a religion based on man¡¦s rules or regulations. Don¡¦t fall prey to ¡§21st century Sabbath keeping¡¨ and miss the whole point of Christ¡¦s coming!
This is further proven by one aspect of the Sabbath I¡¦ve left out ¡V what is the Sabbath now that we¡¦re in 2006? Is there a NT corollary for this ¡¥Sabbath¡¦ idea that God invented at creation? What is the modern-day metaphor for the OT Sabbath?
Lots of folks think it is Sunday, but Hebrews 4:1-11 shows us the biblical answer. Look at these verses in closing.
Hebrews 4:6-11
"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, ’They shall never enter my rest.’" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
’Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 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. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."
Yes, a little wordy, but here¡¦s the contrast ¡V the OT Israelites didn¡¦t enter the Promised Land of rest because of unbelief, which was disobedience. That day has passed. But God has set another day for people to enter his rest ¡V Today! ¡V and you do that by believing in Jesus! Do whatever you have to do to put aside your own thoughts and believe! Jesus is the Sabbath-rest that allows us to rest from our work! Hallelujah! It is through believing in Jesus that we find ¡¥Sabbath¡¦ for our souls! WOW! The New Testament metaphor of the OT Sabbath is not Sunday¡Kit is Jesus! He is our rest!
There is nothing magical about a day; but there is much that is supernatural about his deity! Only Jesus can give you rest, and he will the moment you believe! That¡¦s why you need a Savior full of grace of truth (John 1:14-15), not a system full of rules and regulations.
My friend, 21st Century ¡§Sabbath keeping¡¨ won¡¦t redeem you or give you rest. Only a Savior can do that!
PRAY
