Christ Our Sabbath Rest

Q: What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?

The Sabbath is a sign of rest found in Christ, transcending mere physical rest. The Sabbath was established as a sign between God and His people, emphasizing spiritual rest over physical observance. In Exodus 31, God commands the Israelites to keep the Sabbath as a holy day, not merely as a day of rest but as a foreshadowing of the ultimate rest found in Christ. In Colossians 2:16-17, it is affirmed that the Sabbath is a shadow of Christ, and the true Sabbath rest is found in Him, freeing believers from the law's demands. This rest signifies trusting in Christ and His finished work, rather than relying on our own efforts.

Q: Why is understanding Christ as our Sabbath rest important for Christians?

Recognizing Christ as our Sabbath rest allows us to cease striving for salvation and find peace in His completed work. Understanding Christ as our Sabbath rest is vital for Christians because it shifts the burden of perfection off our shoulders and places it on Christ, who fulfilled the law perfectly. In Matthew 11:28-30, Christ invites the weary to rest in Him, highlighting that He provides the peace and comfort that the law could never bring. When we grasp that our sanctification and holiness come solely from Him, we can let go of our fear of condemnation and trust fully in His grace. This understanding leads to a genuine rest from our works, allowing us to live joyfully in the freedom of the gospel.

Q: How do we know that Christ fulfills the law and the Sabbath?

Christ fulfills the law and the Sabbath by accomplishing everything required for our salvation through His life, death, and resurrection. Christ’s fulfillment of the law and the Sabbath is evidenced through His perfect obedience and sacrificial death. He came not only to obey the law but to be the embodiment of its purpose, as stated in Romans 10:4, where it says, 'Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.' By His obedience, He met all the requirements of the law, allowing Him to be our perfect righteousness. The Sabbath, represented as a day of rest, is fulfilled in Christ, who provides the ultimate rest for those who believe in Him. Just as God rested after His work of creation, we are called to rest in Christ’s completed work of redemption.

Well, good evening, everyone. If you would care to open your Bibles to Mark chapter two. So delighted to see several very special visitors with us tonight. I'm glad you all are here. Mark chapter two, we'll begin reading in verse 23. And it came to pass that he went through it came to pass that he went through the cornfields on the Sabbath day. And his disciples began as they went to pluck the ears of corn.

And the Pharisee said unto him, behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, have you never read what David did, what he had need and was an hungered, he and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar, the high priest, and did eat the show bread, which is not lawful to eat, but for the priest. And he gave also to them which are with him. And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the son of man is the Lord also of the Sabbath.

We'll end our reading there. All right, Sean. Okay, if you would turn in your hymnal to song number 361, we'll sing Sweet Hour of Prayer. 361. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, that calls me from a world of care. and bids me at my Father's throne make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief. and oft escaped the tempter's snare by thy return. Sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer. thy wings shall my petition bear.

To him whose truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless. And since me seek his face. Believe His word and trust His grace. I'll cast on Him my every care and wait for the sweet hour of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, may I thy consolation share. Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height, I view my home and take my flight. This robe of flesh I'll drop and rise to seize thee.

Okay, if you would now turn to song number 199. and we'll sing Christ Receiveth Sinful Men, 199. ♪ Sinners Jesus will receive ♪ ♪ Sound this word of grace to all ♪ ♪ Who the heavenly pathway leave ♪ All who linger, all who fall, sing it o'er and o'er again. Christ receive us sinful men.

Make the message clear and plain. Christ receive of sinful men. Come and He will give you rest. Trust Him, for His word is plain. He will take the sinful last. Christ receiveth sinful men. Sing it o'er and o'er again, Christ receive the sinful man. Make the message clear and plain. Christ receiveth sinful men. Now my heart condemns me not. Pure before the law I stand, He who cleansed me from all spot, Satisfied its last demand.

And o'er, and o'er again, Christ receiveth sinful men. Make the message clear and plain, Christ receiveth sinful men. Christ, receive us sinful men, even me with all my sin, purged from every spot and stain. Heaven with Him I enter in. and or again. Christ receive us sinful men. Make the message clear and plain. Christ receive us sinful men. All right, let's open our Bibles now to Exodus chapter 31. Exodus chapter 31.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Beziel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the spirit of God. in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them in a carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahesamac, of the tribe of Dan, and in the hearts of All that are wise-hearted, I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee. The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, and the table, and his furniture, and the pure candlestick, with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering, with all his furniture, and the laver in his foot, and the clause of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place, according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep.

For it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that does sanctify you. You should keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy unto you. Everyone that defieth it shall surely be put to death. For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is the Sabbath abreast, holy to the Lord. Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. For six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables, of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. We'll end our reading there. Let's bow together in prayer.

Our Father, which art in heaven, holy and reverent, is your matchless name. And Father, we bow before you with hearts that are full of thanksgiving. Father, how we thank you for your far-reaching mercy and grace The sinners, like us, can come before the throne of the God of heaven and earth and call you our Father. To come before you as your little children, needing from our Father everything. And how thankful we are, how you give with an open hand so abundantly, richly, and freely. Father, we thank you.

And it is our earnest plea that tonight you might Enable us by your spirit. Father to worship you in spirit and in truth. How we pray that as you've gathered us together out of the world here in the middle of the week. The father you might refresh the souls of your people. With the water of your word with another view.

Of our Lord Jesus Christ to see how he is everything that we need. He is our all and in all. And Father, I pray you'd cause each of us to be able to leave here tonight, joying in and resting in Christ our Savior. Let him be exalted so that with the eye of faith, we see him as he truly is. Father, how we pray you'd bless us for Christ's sake. And Father, we pray for those who can't be with us tonight, their sickness and trials and traveling in different places. Father, we pray that you'd be with them. that you bring him back home to us as soon as it could be thy will. Father, all these things we ask and we give thanks in that name, which is above every name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is for his sake and his glory. We pray. Amen.

I've entitled the message tonight, Christ our Sabbath rest. And my goal in preaching tonight is to lift up Christ so high and to be able to show him as our Sabbath rest that we go home tonight enjoying rest in Christ Jesus. The gospel's the gospel whenever you preach it, but it seems like this is just a real good message for a Wednesday night when we gather together out of the world, we drag ourself in here. If we can go home with our hearts thrilled, and enjoying that rest in Christ, I think we'll be very thankful.

Now you think about before this chapter 31 started, everything that we've been studying, I mean weeks and weeks and weeks, we've been studying the instructions for the tabernacle. And it just occurred to me as I began reading this chapter last week, The Lord had been giving Moses very detailed instructions for 40 days. He was with the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. Now, Jonathan, if you told me something three days ago, I'd have a hard time remembering it. I mean, very likely I would forget it.

And if I was Moses and the Lord has given me all these instructions, he starts talking about hammering this gold. into the shape of the lamp stand, hammering this gold in the shape of the mercy seat, and covering this wood with gold to make the Ark of the Covenant, making all the posts and the doors and all this linen. And what would be going on in the back of my mind is, who's going to do all this work?

We're just a bunch of slaves. All of us have been slaves, except for Moses, our whole life long. The only thing we've ever done is work in stone. You know, we can carry stones. We might can shape stones, you know, together to fit on a pyramid. We have no skilled labor. How are we going to do this? The Lord has given me these instructions that are so glorious, but I can't do it. I can't do it. And then the Lord tells Moses here how he has already provided men that the Lord has skilled. He's given them special skills to be able to do everything that God commanded.

Look at it again, verse one. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, see, I have called by name, Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Ur, of the tribe of Judah. And I filled him with the spirit of God. I filled him in wisdom and in understanding and in knowledge in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and silver, and brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship, and behold, and I behold, and I, behold I, have given with him a holy ad, the son of Hasamach, of the tribe of Dan, in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted, I've put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee, the tabernacle of the congregation, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, and the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering, and all his furniture, and the laver in his foot, and the cloths of service, and the holy garments for heir and the priest, and the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office. and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place, according to all that I have commanded thee, they shall do.

Moses, I have given the skill to somebody to do everything that I have commanded you to do. The Lord gave these skills to these men and these wisehearted people to be able to build the tabernacle exactly as God instructed Moses. And you know, that's true of every believer. God has commanded us to do what we cannot do. Yet he gives his people the ability to do it. He gives us the ability to do what we cannot do by nature.

God commands us to believe on the name of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The flesh can't do it. So he gives us faith to believe Christ. The Lord has commanded us to repent and turn to his son. And by nature, we cannot and will not do it. So the Lord reaches down his hand and turns us, turns us to Christ away from our idols. The Lord commands us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

And this flesh is so selfish and so self-centered, it cannot do it. So God causes us to be born again with a heart that loves. God commands us to be humble. And the last thing this flesh is, is humble. So the Lord gives us humility so that we bow to him. So we can act with some humility with each other.

And whatever it is that God has called you to do, he's given you the skill and the ability to do it. When the Lord opens a door for something to be done, you think, I can't do that. If Lord's called you to do it, you can. Not with natural skills, now. But it was supernatural. And that's true. And that's good for us to remember. But the blessing here is how this is such a clear picture of Christ.

The Father gave man laws that we cannot keep. He started out with Adam and only had one rule. Adam couldn't go just, people wonder how long it was. Most people think just a few days. And he broke the one law, just one law that God has given him. and we all descended from Adam with his nature, we do not have the ability nor the desire to obey God's law. So the father sent his son and enabled him to do everything that God requires of you and me. Christ came to do everything that his people need, everything that the father requires of them, he came to do it.

He came as a man and worked out a perfect righteousness. He obeyed God's law perfectly and gave that righteousness to his people. He put away their sin. He saved them from their sin by doing what no son of Adam could ever do. You know, we talk, I reckon in every service, about the righteousness of Christ, his perfect obedience to the law.

That is, is such a mystery, that ought to be so amazing to us. That a man in the flesh, now he's the son of God, but he's also a man, obeyed God's law perfectly. He did everything God commanded us to do, and he didn't do one thing God commanded us not to do. We can't do that. So God sent his son to do it for us.

God requires holiness. That's what all that white linen in the tabernacle is a picture of, the holiness of Christ. But we can't be holy. We're unholy. So God sent his son, not just to provide a holiness for his people, but some so much better than that. Christ came to be the holiness of his people. God requires his people to be clean. from the filthiness of our sin. He says, be clean from the filthiness of your sin, but we're filthy. We're filthy through and through. We can't cleanse ourself. So God sent his son to be that brass laver where his people could wash. Wash in the blood and the water that flowed from his wounded side and be washed from all sin. God requires his people to see him, to see Christ, to see and to believe. But by nature, we're blind. I mean, we're in the darkness of unbelief. We can't see. We cannot understand. We can't see God. We can't see Christ. We can't understand any spiritual truth. We're in darkness. So God sent his son as the candlestick. He calls it here the pure candlestick to be the light of the world so that when we see Christ, we see everything as it is.

You know how I see myself as I am? by seeing Christ. Same thing Job said, I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Therefore I abhor myself and I repent in dust and ashes. Now I see in the light of Christ. When I see Christ, I have light, I see. Oh, he's how God saves sinners. It's by Christ in him crucified. I see it's so obvious. Once God turns the light on, he lets us see Christ the light of the world. God requires the redemption price be paid for our sin.

That's what those silver sockets that were formed the foundation of the post there of the outer wall of the tabernacle. Remember how they got that silver? God said, when you number the people, every man has to bring the atonement money. It's so much silver. It's the exact same payment for everybody.

The rich shall not give more, the poor shall not give less, every man shall give Is it a shekel or whatever it is of the silver? And they took that atonement money and made the foundation for that tabernacle there. The foundation of the walls of the tabernacle came from the atonement money. Christ in his redemption, it's the foundation of everything that we believe. We have nothing to pay. We cannot begin to pay our debt.

So God sent his son to be the redemption. And again, I say, it's even better than saying he came to redeem his people from their sin. He came to be the redemption. He personally is the redemption of his people. He's our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption.

God obviously requires spiritual life. He's not gonna have the dead stinking or rotten and their bodies bloating. He's not gonna let that in his sight. He requires life, but we're born dead, dead in trespasses and sins. How can we do what God requires? Only by trusting his son.

God sent his son to be the life of the world and to sustain the life of his people. That's what the table of showbread's all about. When the priest and his family would eat that showbread, they had life, but that food sustains their life, doesn't it? Christ gives us life and then he sustains it by allowing us to feed on him.

God requires a sacrifice for sin. And there's nothing that we have, nothing that we can touch, nothing that we can get that can be offered to God that will do one thing to put away our sin. This tabernacle was all the proof of that that's required. The tabernacle, there was no saving efficacy in it whatsoever.

It was all a picture of Christ. In that tabernacle, those high priests, Aaron and his sons and his grandsons and all those sons all down through the years, they offered the blood of bulls and goats every single day. Morning, noon, and night. Every day. They'd come up where they'd offer a lamb. And they didn't just offer lambs At the Passover, it was every day, rivers of blood.

How much sin did any of that put away? Thousands of years they did it. How much sin did any of that put away? None. You think us giving up something for Lent is gonna help put away our sin? That's foolish, isn't it? We don't have anything to offer to God that would please his holy justice.

So God sent his son to be the sacrifice for his people. The son loves his father so much that he's willing to honor his father by being the sacrifice for the sins of his people. And he loves his people so much, he is willing to be made sin for us, to be cut off from his father and suffer and die to put away the sin of his people. Everything God requires, He provides in His Son. See, that's where I'm going with all this. God sent His Son to do the work of redemption, and the Father equipped Him for the job.

He gave Him the Spirit without measure. He strengthened Him for the work. As God, the Son needed no help. He needed no strengthening. He has plenty of power to do everything that God required of Him, But as a man, how often do he pray to his father? To pray for strength, to pray for help, to do what the father sent him to do, and the father always strengthened him. He always gave him everything that he needed to do the job that the father sent him to do, and he finished the work by himself. He finished it, lock, stock, and barrel. He did it all. You know, this tabernacle, Well, something else. When this thing was built, I know, to the natural man, it didn't look like much. But as we've studied it, you see how glorious it is, don't you? What a glorious picture of Christ this is.

But Christ didn't come to rebuild the tabernacle or to rebuild a temple. He came as the tabernacle. He came and tabernacled among us. He's the mercy seat. He's the ark of the covenant. He's that pure golden lamp stand. He's the brazen altar where the sacrifice is offered. He's the altar of incense, that golden altar where the incense is put on those coals and it ascends up to God. He's everything in all of this tabernacle.

He tabernacled among us so that he could save his people from their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is the true tabernacle. The true tabernacle, the tabernacle in the wilderness wasn't the true tabernacle. That was a tabernacle that Moses and his friends pitched. The Lord Jesus Christ is the tabernacle that God pitched, not man.

And he did it all. There's no need for another. There's no need for another to come. By his obedience and by his one sacrifice for sin, he sanctified forever all who believe. I don't care how sinful you are. I don't care what a sinful background you are. I don't care how long you've been a rebel against God's mercy and grace and a rebel against his gospel. Christ has the power to save all of his people from their sin, and he's going to do it.

He's going to do it. Now, that is the glorious story. In just a few words, that's the glorious story of the gospel. The glorious story of God's grace, and his mercy, and his love for his people, his power to save. That's the story of the tabernacle. It's the story of all the gospel. And the Lord answered Moses' question before I answered it.

Who's going to do all this work? I provided people to do it, okay? Now this is very, very, very interesting to me. This caught my attention a couple weeks ago. And I haven't been able to wait to get to tonight so I can preach this message. When all the instructions were finished for the tabernacle, God had given the law and given the instructions for the tabernacle 40 days and 40 nights.

The Lord communed with Moses. He gave Moses his glorious picture of Christ. And before he sends Moses back to the children of Israel, this is so interesting. The Lord circled back to where He began. He circled back to the Ten Commandments. And He didn't recover every commandment. He just recovered, reiterated one commandment.

The law of the Sabbath. Now why do you reckon He did that? Glad you asked. The Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a day. The Sabbath is not a day even when the Jews observed it on Saturday. It's certainly not now the Christian Sabbath on Sunday. The Sabbath is a person. The Sabbath is not a physical rest.

It's a spiritual rest. And if you look in Colossians chapter two, I want to show you this, Colossians chapter two. Verse 16, what Paul's talking about here is parts of the law. We're talking about the Sabbath. Don't let somebody put the law of the Sabbath on you and tell you now you gotta rest on Sunday, you can't work on Sunday, you can't do all these things on Sunday. That's not the Sabbath.

Look at what Paul says here, Colossians 2, verse 16. Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of an holy day or of the new moon or of Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come. But the body is of Christ. The body of all these things is Christ. The Sabbath is a person. We rest in Christ.

The believer is free from the law. You and I would be so much happier if we could really get that through our skull, that we're free from the law. Believer, Don't look to the law to see what you're supposed to do. Don't look to the law to see how you're doing, because all that's going to do is discourage you. Look to Christ. Look to Him. When you look at the law and see all those things that God requires of you that you cannot do, the only hope and peace and rest for your soul is looking to Christ, who already did it for you. So don't let somebody lay this Christian Sabbath on you.

From the time I was a relatively young boy, I remember this. I don't remember necessarily every message or everything said in a message, but I remember this one. Scott Richardson was preaching, and he said, don't tell me my boys can't play basketball on Sunday. If you tell me that, I'll make them play on Sunday. Now, I like that, because you know what I want to do on Sunday afternoon? Go play basketball. That's why I like that. I didn't really get Scott's point until later on.

We're free from the law. We're free from the law. Don't let anybody put you back under that law. What the Sabbath is all about, what it's teaching, is rest in Christ. Rest in Christ and quit trying to add your works to Christ. Don't add anything to it. All of the law is given.

Here's why I tell you, don't look to the law to see how you're doing, because the law is given to show us how sinful we really are, to show us the sinfulness of sin. I don't think that it's too much to say this, that all of the law really points to this one commandment, the law of the Sabbath. When we read the law and we see everything it says, we cannot do. What should it force us to do?

It should force us to run to Christ, to flee to Him, and to rest in Christ and Christ alone. To rest in Christ who finished the work. Not rest in the finished work of Christ, but to rest in Christ who finished the work. He is our Sabbath rest. Now look back in our text, Exodus 31, Verse 12, the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep. For it's a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Lord that does sanctify you. Resting in Christ, that's the sign.

That's the evidence that a person really knows Christ. You know, if someone says, I know Christ, but they don't rest in Him. They keep trying to add their works to their righteousness to make God more happy with them than He is in Christ alone. That doesn't give any real evidence of faith and rest in Christ, does it? But if I really know Christ, I know who He is, I'm gonna rest in Him.

I'm gonna believe that He is all it takes to save me, and I'm gonna rest in Him And I'm not going to try to have my works of Russia. I'm going to try to hide all those things. Paul said, I count them, but done. I do too. I want to rest in Christ alone.

Look at Hebrews chapter four, Hebrews four. There remaineth a rest, and literally translated, that is a keeping of the Sabbath. There remaineth, therefore, remains to this day a keeping of the Sabbath rest to the people of God. For he that has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works as God did from his. Let us therefore labor to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Now there remaineth, A Sabbath rest to the people of God. And here's how you can tell a person is resting in Christ. He ceases from his own works. Just as God ceased from his works of creation, after the sixth day it was all done, God rested, because there's no more work left to do. Why does a believer rest in Christ? There's no more work left to do.

Christ did it all. Now every believer, you know that. You know that, you believe that, you love that, but you still got this old flesh, don't you? And when the writer here says labor, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, what he's talking about there, the word means to earnestly fight with, earnestly contend with that old man who's constantly trying to bring us back to giving some works to God that'll make Him happy with us.

I'm gonna earn my way into God's favor and not rest in Christ alone. The writer here says, that's unbelief. If I think I've got to add some of my works to Christ in order for God to accept me, that's unbelief. I don't believe that Christ is enough to save me by Himself. And what I want for you and me, and this is what I said when I opened the service, is I want us to be able to enjoy the rest. Enjoy the rest from our works of righteousness by trusting Christ alone.

And you know, that's a commandment from our Savior. I say this all the time, with every commandment of our Savior, His commandments are not grievous. This is a blessed commandment. Look at Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28. Come unto me. This is the Savior's commandment.

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. You're laboring under the burden of the law. It's such a heavy burden to you because you cannot do it. You can't do anything that God requires of you. If you're burdened down by that and you're weary, The Lord says, come to me, I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

Now this is a commandment from the Savior. Come, come, come to Christ. And just like every other commandment of the Savior, this flesh will not and cannot do it. Isn't that right? See what the Savior does? He sends his spirit to draw us to Christ. He commands us to come, and then he draws us to Christ. All right, now look back here in our text. Exodus 31.

At the end of verse 13, the Lord says, now you know this, I am the Lord that does sanctify you. Now that's what the Lord Jesus Christ does for his people. He sanctifies them. He sets them apart for holy use, But more than that, He makes them holy. He causes them to be born again with a new nature, a new man who is holy and righteous, made in the image of Christ. He makes His people holy.

Now if Christ has made you holy, then rest from your works trying to make yourself holy. Don't think you're going to be more holy if you sin less. If Christ has made you holy, and you know this, he says here, the people who are going to do this, that they will know that I am the Lord that does sanctify you. If you know that Christ has made you holy, quit trying to make yourself holy by sinning less and just trust Christ. The best example of this I can think of is you had a very nice white linen tablecloth or sheet with Egyptian cotton or something, you know, And you think, I'm going to make this thing, I'm going to patch it up. I'm going to make it look better.

And you sew a big old piece of dirty, oily, black little rag onto it and think, well, that'll make this better. No, it won't. Not one of these ladies will let you put that on her table or put that on one of her beds. You've ruined it. It's the same thing about the holiness of Christ. If we add any work to it, whatsoever, we've ruined it.

And the Lord says here, you'll be condemned. He said in verse 14, you shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it's holy unto you. And everyone that defiles it, that does work on the Sabbath, shall surely be put to death. For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Trying to add to the righteousness of Christ, God says, I'm going to cut you off. You'll be condemned.

What an insult to the holy, righteous son of God that we would think I can add something to him to make me more accepted with God. God said, I won't have it. There's no work of ours that God will ever accept as righteousness or salvation. So he tells us, rest. Rest.

He says here in verse 17, he said, this is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth. And on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. God created the world in six days. And on the seventh day, he rested.

Now, I'm just going to tell you right now, I don't know what this means when it says he was refreshed. I don't know. I can't see God being tired. It didn't seem like it was hard work for him. I'm like, well, I guess I did comment on that. That's all the comment I'm going to make on that. Forrest Gump said, that's all I got to say about that. I don't know what that means, but I do know this.

God rested on the seventh day because creation was finished. There was nothing left to create. It was finished. And at the end of the sixth day, when God looked at it, he said, it's very good. It's very good. He rested because there was no more work left to do. Now let you and me enjoy that same rest. We rest in Christ because we're not trying to earn our own righteousness. There's nothing left to do. We're not trying to earn our own salvation. Christ already did it all. There's no more work left to do. Now rest in him. Rest in him. Enjoy rest from fear of condemnation.

I bet every person in this room has thought sometime fairly recently, I've done something and, oh, that's bad. God's going to get me for that one. He's going to condemn me for that one. Now, you know this. I am not making any excuse for sin. I'm not saying go out and sin all you want to because God's going to forgive you. But you rest from fear of condemnation. Rest from that fear. You know why? Because Christ was already condemned for you. Now rest from that. Justice has been satisfied. Christ made peace by the blood of his cross. Now enjoy resting in him. Enjoy rest from the fear of being cast out of God's presence.

Again, this is something every believer goes through at one time or another. Don't you wish that spiritually you could be on the mountaintop all the time? But we're not. The Lord brings us down in the valley. He's going to teach us something down in the valley. And you've experienced this same way I have. You pray. You cry out to the Lord. And it's a genuine cry. It's a genuine cry from the heart.

And it seems like the Lord doesn't hear. It seems like the Lord is not answering. It seems like he's ignoring me and we fear. Well, have I finally just out seeing God's grace and he's going to cast me off? Well, here's what I know. The scripture says the Lord's ear is not heavy. That cannot hear the Lord hears. He hears, and he'll answer sooner or later. Just keep crying.

But rest from the fear that God's cast you off. You know why? Because you're accepted in the beloved. See, we start fearing that God's going to cast me off. You know why the fear is? That somehow my acceptance depends on me. And that's wrong. We're accepted in the beloved. And as long as the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect will be accepted in him.

So enjoy that rest from that fear being cast out from God's presence. Enjoy the rest from fearing that God will not hear you, that he'll not be gracious to you, that he'll not be merciful to you, that he'll not save you, that somehow you are finally the case. In 6,000 years of man's history, you're finally the case You're just too sinful for God to save. Rest from that fear.

Hebrews chapter seven. Hebrews chapter seven. Verse 25. Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. You come to God by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the promise of God's word is he'll accept you.

Now don't come saying, well, you know, now I've cleaned up my act, and I've done this, and I've done this, and I've got this doctrine down right, and I've, you know, prayed the right amount of times, and I attend the right number of services, so therefore, you know, Lord, you ought to accept me.

Leave all that behind. Just throw it all in the trash. If you come to God by Christ and Christ alone, this says He'll accept you. He's able to save them to the uttermost. Completely, eternally, they come unto God by Him. Now let me tell you again. Trust Christ. Trust Him. Right where you sit. If you've never trusted Him before, right now. Trust Him. Trust Him to be everything it takes to save you. And if you've been trusting Him a long time, trust Him again. He's all it takes. He's all it takes to save you. He's all it takes to keep you. He's all it takes to bring you to glory and present you faultless before the glorious presence of His Father. And if we'd really rest in Him that way, we'd be a thankful and happy people. And I hope God put that in our heart.

I want us to go home tonight enjoying, thankful for this rest that we have from our works in Christ. All right, let's bow together. Our Father, how we thank you for this blessed passage of your word that shows us the Lord Jesus Christ who's finished the work. And we thank you for your commandment, Father, to rest in him. And Father, how I pray that you'd send your spirit upon each one of us here tonight, and by the power of your spirit, enable us to do what we cannot do by nature, and to believe on and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, there's no doubt, if you would do such a powerful, miraculous act of your mercy and grace for us, we give you all the praise, all the glory, and all the thanks for it. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, Sean. Okay, if you would turn in your hymnal to song number 186 and stand as we sing the church is one foundation. 186. The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. She is his. by water and the word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation, yet one o'er all the earth, Her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food. And to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Mid toil and tribulation and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore. Till with the vision glorious, Her longing eyes are blessed, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union with God the three in one, and mystics we communion with those whose rest is one. O happy ones and holy, Lord, give us grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.

Christ Our Sabbath Rest

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What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?

Why is understanding Christ as our Sabbath rest important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ fulfills the law and the Sabbath?

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Christ Our Sabbath Rest

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?

Why is understanding Christ as our Sabbath rest important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ fulfills the law and the Sabbath?

Sermon Transcript

About Frank Tate

Comments

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