HALLOW THE SABBATH
When God's Word speaks of rest, it includes physical rest. But the Lord's holy rest begins in the soul: "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). What is this rest? It is the laying of all our sin-burdens on Christ!
Jesus Himself says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He is saying, "By faith, you must enter into the Father's sabbath rest. You must refuse to carry your burdens to and from your home any longer, and instead lay them all on Me. I am the Lord of the sabbath and I am the only one who can bear your burdens."
I ask you: Why do so many Christians refuse Jesus' offer? I believe that if Jeremiah were living today, he would be dumbfounded by all the Christians who continue to carry their own burdens of sin and battles with temptation. He probably would cry out: "Why are you bearing all these burdens on such a glorious sabbath? Didn't Jesus say to you as I said to Israel, 'Bring no burden into your house'? Why do you continue to carry such a load around? Don’t carry a burden on the sabbath, for it is a holy day unto the Lord!"
The point here is that sabbath means we are to cease from our own works—our striving in human strength—to merit God's salvation: "Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers" (Jeremiah 17:22).
Here is the secret to how we are to hallow the sabbath: We are to give all our burdens over to Jesus, and trust His Holy Spirit to give us strength for life. That's right! We honor the sabbath by laying down all self-effort in trying to make our way through sin and temptation.
We are to observe this command not just on Sunday but every day!
Jesus Himself says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He is saying, "By faith, you must enter into the Father's sabbath rest. You must refuse to carry your burdens to and from your home any longer, and instead lay them all on Me. I am the Lord of the sabbath and I am the only one who can bear your burdens."
I ask you: Why do so many Christians refuse Jesus' offer? I believe that if Jeremiah were living today, he would be dumbfounded by all the Christians who continue to carry their own burdens of sin and battles with temptation. He probably would cry out: "Why are you bearing all these burdens on such a glorious sabbath? Didn't Jesus say to you as I said to Israel, 'Bring no burden into your house'? Why do you continue to carry such a load around? Don’t carry a burden on the sabbath, for it is a holy day unto the Lord!"
The point here is that sabbath means we are to cease from our own works—our striving in human strength—to merit God's salvation: "Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers" (Jeremiah 17:22).
Here is the secret to how we are to hallow the sabbath: We are to give all our burdens over to Jesus, and trust His Holy Spirit to give us strength for life. That's right! We honor the sabbath by laying down all self-effort in trying to make our way through sin and temptation.
We are to observe this command not just on Sunday but every day!