Text: Isaiah 58:13-14
Subject: Christ Our Sabbath
Date: Sunday Evening - February 26, 1995
Tape #
Introduction:
Isaiah 58 is a chapter that is difficult for
many to understand. But there is no need for the difficulty. Without question,
this chapter was particularly addressed to the Jews during the time of their
Babylonian captivity. In it God gave his people some much needed instruction
about worship. But, if we limit the text and its interpretation to the Jews, it
is meaningless to anyone today. So, that certainly is not the full scope of the
chapter. It is written to us also (Rom. 15:4). In those fourteen verses the
Lord God gives us crystal clear instructions about worship today. Indeed, the
promises made in verses 8-14 cannot be fully applicable to anyone other than
the saints of God in this gospel age who "worship God in the Spirit,
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil.
3:3).
Verses 1-4 show us the sin and folly of empty religious rituals
and ceremonies without faith in Christ, the abomination of a mere form of
godliness without the power of it.
Verses 5-7 show us that the essence of worship is heart and
spirit, mercy and grace, kindness and love. These are the marks of true religion
and pure, the evidences of genuine humility and faith.
Verses 8-12 display the blessedness of faith in Christ and
obedience to the gospel.
· The light and life of free, sure, and
everlasting grace (v. 8).
· The blessed
satisfaction and contentment of faith toward God (v. 9; Phil. 4:12; 1 John
5:14).
· The
delightful privilege of usefulness as instruments of mercy and grace in the
hands of God (vv. 10-12). "Thou shalt be a blessing!" (Gen.
12:2).
In our text tonight, verses 13 and 14, the
prophet of God, with the inspired vision of prophecy, looks beyond the carnal,
Jewish sabbath and sees in it a picture of Christ, who is the true Sabbath, and
the blessed rest of faith in him.
NOTE: This becomes obvious when we observe that Isaiah’s exhortation - "Call
the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord," should read, "Call
the sabbath a delight the Holy One of the Lord!"
The title of my message tonight is "Call
the Sabbath a Delight." I want to talk to you very plainly about true,
biblical sabbath observance.
Proposition: Christ our sabbath, the holy One of the Lord!
When a person turns from his way, from his
sin, from the pleasure of his depraved heart, and from this world to the Lord
Jesus Christ, finding rest in him, he finds that Christ, in whom he rests, is a
delight, a luxury, and that faith in him is an honor. Indeed, all who trust
Christ, delight themselves in him, triumph over all their foes in him, and
shall at last obtain the full heritage of the heavenly Canaan, called here "the
heritage of Jacob." "For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Let me show you five things revealed in the
Word of God about true, spiritual sabbath observance.
I. First,
we need to understand that - THE SABBATH WHICH GOD REQUIRED THE JEWS TO KEEP
WAS ONLY A TEMPORARY, TYPICAL ORDINANCE WHICH REPRESENTED CHRIST AND OUR
REDEMPTION BY HIM.
When the Lord God instituted sabbath keeping
to the Jews in the legal dispensation, he gave two reasons for it. The sabbath
was to be kept...
A. As a symbol of God’s rest (Ex. 20:8-11).
It represented the completion of God’s
creation and the satisfaction of God in his work. Though God’s work of creation
has been marred by the sin and fall of our race, the sabbath day portrayed a
blessed day of glorious rest called "the times of restitution of all
things" (Acts 3:21; Col. 1:20; Eph. 1:10), when all things shall be
restored to God.
B. The sabbath day was also a constant
reminder of Israel’s redemption out of Egypt. Hence, a picture of our
redemption by Christ - Deuteronomy
5:15.
In other words, the sabbath day, like all
other aspects of the Mosaic law, was a picture prophecy of our perfect
redemption by Christ. As the Jews rested on the seventh day of the week from
all their works, so believers find perfect rest and peace in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
II. That brings me to my second point - We do not observe a literal ,
legal sabbath day because Christ is our Sabbath, and we rest in him!
The sabbath day is frequently mentioned in
the four gospels and the Book of Acts, during that transitional period in which
the church of God passed from the Old Testament era into the New. However, it
is always mentioned in connection with the Jews and Jewish worship in the
temple, or in their synagogues. But it is mentioned only two times in all the
Epistles - Romans through Revelation.
Colossians 2:16-17 - Here the apostle Paul forbids the observance of legal
sabbath days in any form. He does so on the basis of the fact that in Christ
God’s elect are entirely free from the law.
· Romans 7:4
· Romans 10;4
Hebrews 4:3-4, 9-11 - Here the Apostle shows us that all who believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ keep the sabbath in a spiritual way. That is to say, they and
they only truly keep the sabbath by faith in him.
III. Thirdly, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, OUR MEDIATOR, HAS ENTERED INTO HIS
REST, AND HIS REST IS GLORIOUS, BECAUSE HE HAS FINISHED HIS WORK.
· Hebrews 4:10
· Isaiah 11:10
Our Savior’s rest in heaven is his glory -
(Margin - "His rest shall be glory!") As God rested on the seventh
day because his work of creation was finished, so the God-man our Mediator has
entered into his rest in heaven because he has made all things new for him
people, having finished his work of redemption.
· 2
Corinthians 5:17-21
· Hebrews
10:10-14
Behold our exalted Savior! Do you see him
seated upon his throne in heaven? There he sits in undisturbed and
undisturbable sovereign serenity! His rest is his glory (John 17:2; Phil.
2:9-11).
Christ, as our Divinely appointed
Representative, has fulfilled all the legal sabbath requirements for us, even
as he did all the other requirements of the law. Now, in heaven, he is keeping
an everlasting sabbath rest (Isa. 53:10-12). And his rest, which is his glory,
tells us that...
A. Christ has finished his work!
· His work of
righteousness (John 17:4).
· His work of
redemption (John 19:30).
B. The salvation of his people is certain!
· Hebrews
9:12.
C. All his enemies shall soon be made his
footstool!
· Hebrews
10:13.
There is no more work to be done. Christ did
it all! And when all the work was done for us, our blessed Savior entered into
his rest.
IV. Fourthly, I want to show you from the Scriptures that ALL WHO
BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST KEEP THE SABBATH BY FAITH, BECAUSE WE HAVE
ENTERED INTO HIS REST.
· Hebrews 4:3
We do not yet keep the sabbath perfectly,
because we do not yet trust our Savior as we should. We do not yet trust him
perfectly. But we do keep the sabbath truly and sincerely by faith. Our sabbath
observance is not a carnal, literal thing. We do not keep a sabbath day. God
forbids that, as I have already shown you (Col. 2:16-17). We keep the sabbath
spiritually by faith.
Remember, the sabbath day was ordained by God
in the ceremonial worship of the Jews in the Old Testament as a symbol of God’s
rest after creation and as a reminder of the Jews redemption out of Egypt. The
essence of sabbath observation was self-denial and consecration to God.
Anything personally profitable or pleasurable was expressly forbidden (Isa.
56:2; 58:13; Ezek. 20:12, 21). Sabbath observance was, in its essence, an
unconditional, all-encompassing, self-denial. It was a renunciation of self and
a dedication of one’s self to God.
That is exactly the way we observe the
sabbath spiritually by faith in Christ, not one day in seven, but all the days
of our lives. The believer’s life is a perpetual keeping of the sabbath!
A. The Lord Jesus Christ gives rest to
every sinner who comes to him in faith.
· Matthew
11:28
Perhaps you are laboring and heavy-laden,
under the load of sin and guilt, and you long for rest. In your inmost soul you
are struggling hard with sin, longing to find peace with God. If so, will you
hear what the Lord Jesus says?
·
"Come" - That is believe, trust, rely upon me.
·
"Come unto me!" - Not to the preacher. Not to my
church. Not even to my doctrine. But "Come unto me!"
·
"And I will give you rest!"
"I
heard the voice of Jesus say,
‘Come
unto Me and rest.
Lay
down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy
head upon my breast.’
I came
to Jesus as I was,
Worry,
and worn, and sad.
I
found in Him a resting place;
And he
has made me glad!"
NOTE: When you come to Christ you quit working for God’s favor!
Christ gives believing sinners rest, the rest
of...
· Complete
pardon (Isa. 43:25; Eph. 1:6).
· Perfect
reconciliation (Col. 1:20-21).
· Absolute
security (John 10:27-30).
· Divine
providence (Rom. 8:28).
B. But
our sabbath of faith involves more than a ceasing from our works and the
remembrance of our redemption by Christ. It also involves, in its very
essence, the consecration of our lives to our dear Savior!
· Matthew
11:29-30
We keep the sabbath of faith and find rest
unto our souls, when we willfully, deliberately, wholeheartedly surrender to Christ
as our Lord. If you would keep the sabbath, truly keep the sabbath, it will
take considerably more than going to church on Sunday and reserving one day a
week for religious exercises!
1. We keep the sabbath spiritually by...
· Putting
ourselves under the yoke of Christ’s dominion, submitting to his will in all
things.
· Learning of
him what to believe, how to live, and how to honor God.
· His yoke is
easy and his burden is light!
2. When we submit to Christ’s dominion, when
we bow to his will, we find rest for our souls.
C. How can a man obtain this blessed,
blessed rest?
I can tell you both from experience and from
the Word of God, there is only one way for a sinner to enter into the rest I
have been talking about - You have got to keep the sabbath! And the only way
you can keep the sabbath is by faith in Christ.
· You must
cease from your own works.
· You must
trust Christ alone (Heb. 4:3-7).
· The works
were finished from the foundation of the world.
·
"Some must enter therein!"
· Why not me?
Why not you?
V. Lastly,
let’s look at Hebrews 4:9-11 - IF WE PERSEVERE IN THE FAITH, WE SHALL KEEP
THE SABBATH PERFECTLY IN HEAVEN FOR ALL ETERNITY.
Notice what the Apostle says in these three
verses. Here is the ultimate, consummate fulfillment of the legal, Jewish
sabbath.
A. There is a rest, a sabbath to be obtained
(v. 9).
· An eternal
remembrance of redemption!
· A perfect
consecration to God!
· A blessed,
perfect rest!
B. Some have already entered into that
eternal rest, that everlasting sabbath (v.
10)
· Some could
not enter because of unbelief.
· Those who
have entered in have ceased from their own works.
· There are
some who "must enter therein!"
· All the
chosen!
· All the
redeemed!
· All the
called!
· All who
believe!
C. "Let us therefore labor, (strive)
to enter into that rest."
We will enter therein if we continue in the
faith (Phil. 3:7-14).
Application:
The penalty for not keeping the sabbath is
still death, eternal death!
· John 3:36
· If you would
be saved, you must keep the whole law - obedience and satisfaction!
· The only way
you can keep God’s Holy Law is by faith in Christ.
· Romans 3:31
· Come now,
cease from your works, and enter into rest - Then, you will join all the saints
of God and "Call
the Sabbath a Delight."