This Appendix B is all about the seventh day Sabbath. I know that Christians in general, worship God on Sundays, and have done so for most of the Christian era. I know that almost every Christian denomination has admitted in their official writings that Sunday keeping has no Biblical mandate, and the practice cannot be supported by the Bible. This means that the Sunday keeping came from the arch-enemy of God and needs to be condemned. I am also aware that throughout this period there were pockets, here and there, where Christians worshiped God on Sabbaths in accordance to the Ten Commandments, and the abundance of other information in the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament is very rich in expressing how important to God is this issue of Sabbath keeping. It is no wonder that the devil saw it as his number one priority to destroy it. I see that God has established the Sabbath as an institution, a blessed and holy divine vehicle, which is entrusted to preserve the memories of God’s power and glory. Sabbath keeping is perpetuating the knowledge of God as the Amazing Creator, who after everything else – created us also. Therefore, Sabbath is the first-hand instrument which preserves our sense of kinship to God who is our Creator, and by extension – our Father. .
Our Redemption is the grandest enterprise ever carried out by God. Sabbath is entrusted to carry the memories of the gruelling battles and victories by Jesus in securing our Salvation. In this article which follows, you will have a chance to relive the closing scenes of our Redemption as immortalised in the memories which Sabbath is given responsibility to preserve.
Sabbath also proclaims at the end of each week, that God will bring this sad and painful history of sin and death to its close. It is in the form of God’s promise and reassurance that He will create new heavens and new earth.
“But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.”
2 Peter 3:13 NLT
It is good to note that on the new earth the worshiping on Sabbaths will continue.
“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the Lord; so shall your descendants and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.”
Isaiah 66:22-23 RSV
I see huge blessings in accepting the role of the Sabbath if done according to God’s original intent as revealed at the end of the creation week, and confirmed in the Ten Commandments, in writings of apostles and prophets, and the practice of Jesus Himself.
The sad thing is that the devil has succeeded to corrupt God’s purposes with Commandments keeping. His diabolical malevolent activity has reached its climax at the time of Jesus. There we are faced with an unprecedented perversion of the law keeping – which was a pretence of righteousness, based on human efforts, and intended for show. They hoped to give an appearance of godliness while at the same time attempting to conceal a heart which was filled with hypocrisy and wickedness. That type of law keeping was strongly condemned by John the Baptist, by Jesus, and by Paul, James and John in their epistles. Their condemnation of this perverted law keeping sometime look as if they were condemning the Commandments keeping in general. But no. There was a confluence here of two issues: firstly, the perversion of the law keeping which they so strongly condemned; and secondly, God was changing the manner by which the righteousness and obedience are reaching human hearts. And not just righteousness. God is giving out the Perfect Righteousness and Perfect Obedience as a free gift, based on the merits of Jesus, and received by faith. We need to keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with the law of God. .
Paul said:
“the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.”
Romans 7:12 NLT
Jesus said:
““Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.”
Matthew 5:17-18 NLT
Through the free gift of Christ’s righteousness, God is forever resolving the issue of our fickle Commandments keeping, regarded as inadequate even at the best of times.
God knew all along that human-effort Commandments keeping will never reach its objectives, but He had to wait for the blood of Jesus to be actually spilled – to make the necessary change. Now the true purpose for the Commandments keeping is imbedded in the righteousness which God freely gives to all who believe in Jesus. This means that the objectives of the righteous requirements of the law will be clearly seen in the characters of God’s children who have received this free gift from God. Their lives will exhibit the righteous results of the aim of each commandment and each additional righteous exhortation given by Jesus and the apostles. And yes. That includes honouring the Sabbath. The principle by which this gift of righteousness operates is energised by the Holy Spirit, and that is why it will succeed. It will fulfil the necessary objectives.
This amazing change where God freely gives Christ’s righteousness to His children who believe in Jesus is more fully dealt with in the Appendix A and in the body of the book of which this is only an Appendix.
I hope that reading this article on the seventh day Sabbath will be a surprising and a wonderful experience for you.