The foundation of Sabbath observance We believe that the Sabbath was instituted in Eden before sin entered, that it was honored of God, set apart by divine appointment, and given to mankind as the perpetual memorial of a finished creation. It was based upon the fact that God Himself had rested from His work of creation, had blessed His Sabbath, or rest day, and had sanctified it, or set it apart for man (Gen 2:1-3; Mark 2:27). We believe, further, that it was none other than the Son of God Himself, tha second person of the eternal Godhead, who was the Creator of Genesis 1:1-3, and who therefore appointed the original Sabbath (John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16, 17; Heb. 1:1, 2). While the Sabbath is enshrined in the very heart of the commandments of God, it must be remembered that Jesus said, “the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28). In other words, He is its author and its maker. He is its protector; The Sabbath is the “Sabbath of the Lord [Jehovah} your God” Ex. 20:10). Hence Christ is its Lord; the Sabbath belongs to Him. It is His day; it is the Lord’s Day. Inasmuch as we, His blood-bought children, belong to Him and live in Him, and He lives in us (Gal. 2: 20), how natural that Sabbath observance, among other expressions of love and loyalty to Him, should be revealed in our lives. We understand that the Sabbath was not initially given simply to provide rest from physical exhaustion, but was for man’s highest good-spiritually, intellectually, and physically. It was primarily for fellowship with God, inasmuch as it is the presence of God that gives rest and makes holy. But after man’s fall, it also provided needful physical rest as well. (Question on doctrine, p.150, review and herald publishing association, Washington, DC.) Acts 17:30, 31: "And the times of this ignorance God overlooked; but now commands all men everywhere to repent: Because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; and of this he has given assurance unto all men, in that he has raised him from the dead."
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 19:08:48 +0000
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