The Sabbath was a covenant between God and the Jews, which ended when Christ had fulfilled His mission on earth.
Ezekiel 20:12
"Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them."
When Christ had fulfilled His sacrifice on the earth He moved into a new covenant with mankind.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
"“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Hebrews 8:7-13
"“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
We are living in the times of the New Covenant, God has extended salvation to the Gentiles as well as the Jew. The sabbath rest lives in us, the Holy Spirit is that rest. We can now worship in the Spirit and in truth every day. We are brothers and sisters in Christ whether we are Gentiles or Jews.
Mark 2:27
"And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath."
I am not here to convince anyone which day they should observe, but rather to show each one that we should not judge another person by which day they set aside for God or what kind of food they eat.
There are those who feel a prideful need to determine that someone is not born again if the do not worship on the Jewish Sabbath, or observe certain rules about food. These people cause division everywhere they go and lean heavily on the law to justify them rather than on grace.
Romans 6:14
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Notice in Romans 14, that God calls those who feel a need to place themselves under that law, "weaker brothers." I understand the sense that the Jews may have to continue practices they have always done, before they were born again, however if they obey God, they will enjoy those practices without judging others as sinful for not doing them.
Romans 14:1-23
"14:1 "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall [e]give praise to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be [g]spoken of as evil;
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then [h]we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.
21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin"
The essence of the matter is simply this; let the Lord speak to your heart about the observance of days and foods, but never judge another believer on the basis of his personal practices on these things. It is a violation of God's Word to impose days or rules about foods on any other believer and a wrong judgement to proclaim someone as not born again on the basis of these things.
Matthew 12:8 "8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”"
No comments:
Post a Comment