Correspondence: Heb. 4:8-10; Col. 2:16

From: Young Christian: Volume 9, 1919

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From: Correspondence

Correspondence: A Sabbath for us to Keep?; Meaning of Col. 2:16

From: Correspondence

Correspondence: A Sabbath for us to Keep?; Meaning of Col. 2:16

From: Young Christian: Volume 30, 1940

• 3 min. read • grade level: 7

Question: Does Hebrews 4:8, 9, 10⁸For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ¹⁰For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:8‑10), mean a Sabbath for us to keep?

What does Colossians 2:16¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (Colossians 2:16) mean?—A Subscriber.

Answer: The first mention of the seventh day, as a day of rest, is Genesis 2:2, 3²And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. ³And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2‑3), but there is no indication that it was given to man at that time to keep.

The first time it is given to man is Exodus 16:5, 23-26⁵And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. (Exodus 16:5)
²³And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. ²⁴And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. ²⁵And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. (Exodus 16:23‑26), and it is the nation of Israel and those who dwell among them, redeemed out of Egypt, to whom it is given.

Next, the Sabbath is given in connection with the law (Ex. 20:8-11⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8‑11)). The law, which includes the Sabbath, was given to Israel alone, and includes the strangers dwelling among them (Ex. 12:13¹³And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)).

God did not put the whole world under the law. Only one nation; that is Israel.

The law is not dead. The Jew is under it still, and can only be freed from it by believing on the Lord Jesus. Paul by the Spirit writes (Gal. 2:19, 20¹⁹For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. ²⁰I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:19‑20)), “I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ.” “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4⁴For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. (Romans 10:4)), and believers are not under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14)). The law is not dead, but believers are dead with Christ. (See Rom. 7:6⁶But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. (Romans 7:6), marginal reading). The unbelieving Jew is still under the law, and will be judged by the law (Rom. 2:12¹²For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (Romans 2:12)). People who put themselves under the law now, are delivered from it by seeing themselves dead with Christ.

The Sabbath was the sign of the covenant between Jehovah and the children of Israel (Ex. 31:13-17¹³Speak 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 doth sanctify you. ¹⁴Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (Exodus 31:13‑17)). They broke the law and did not keep the Sabbath and are thus cursed (Gal. 3:10¹⁰For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10); Ezek. 20:12, 13, 16, 20, 21¹²Moreover 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. ¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. (Ezekiel 20:12‑13)
¹⁶Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. (Ezekiel 20:16)
²⁰And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. ²¹Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. (Ezekiel 20:20‑21)).

The Lord Jesus did miracles on the Sabbath day to show that man’s sin had broken God’s Sabbath, and neither He nor His Father could rest where sin is (John 5:16, 17, 18¹⁶And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. ¹⁷But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. ¹⁸Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:16‑18)).

There is not a word in Scripture to tell us that the Sabbath is changed from the seventh to the first day of the week. The Sabbath is the seventh day, and is entirely Jewish. The first day, the resurrection day, the Lord’s day, is Christian. In the reign of Christ over the earth, Israel will then keep their Sabbaths (Ezek. 45:17¹⁷And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. (Ezekiel 45:17)).

Colossians 2:13¹³And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (Colossians 2:13) addresses “you,” the uncircumcised Gentile. Colossians 2:14¹⁴Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:14) is to “us,” the circumcised Jew. Verses 16, 17, set aside these Jewish feast days and Sabbaths, and give us Christ, the substance. These are only shadows, the body is of Christ.

Verse 20 sets all believers free from laws and ordinances, because of being dead with Christ and risen with Christ. Hebrews 4:8, 9, 10⁸For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. ¹⁰For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:8‑10), points the Hebrew believers on to God’s eternal Sabbath day. His rest. Into which all true believers in heavenly glory shall enter. The rest in Genesis 2 alluded to in Hebrews 4:4⁴For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. (Hebrews 4:4) is a type of this.

It does not say in the New Testament, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” The gospel has set that aside for all true believers. Christ rose from the dead the first day of the week. The Holy Spirit was given the first day of the week. The gospel was first preached that day; and Acts 20:7⁷And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7) tells us, that was the day when the disciples came together to remember the Lord as having died for them.

Revelation 1:10¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (Revelation 1:10) calls it the Lord’s day (there is no Christian Sabbath), and while Christians are not under law, Christ’s love reigning in their hearts, would lead them to give the day specially to Him as free from all secular employment, as far as it is possible.

Since it is the Lord’s day, may we devote it to His service. Let our hearts delight to own His claim upon us in this matter in sweet communion with our risen Head.

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