Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach
Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach
Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach
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THE SABBATH IN THE OTHER EPISTLES<br />
your hearts.” For if Joshua had given <strong>the</strong>m rest, <strong>the</strong>n he<br />
would not afterward have spoken of ano<strong>the</strong>r day. There<br />
remains <strong>the</strong>refore a rest [Sabbatismos in Greek which<br />
means Sabbath-like rest] for <strong>the</strong> people of God. For he<br />
who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from<br />
his works as God did from His.” Heb. 4:3-10<br />
The author of Hebrews is saying that those who<br />
believe in Jesus are resting in a Sabbath-like rest. The key<br />
to rest is belief. The time to enter that rest is ano<strong>the</strong>r day<br />
called today! It bears repeating that starting in Hebrews<br />
three, where this topic begins, <strong>the</strong> word today is mentioned<br />
five times.<br />
The Sabbath-like rest that is offered to us in Christ is a<br />
today experience. It is ours today and every day as we trust<br />
in Christ’s righteousness and rest from any trust in our own<br />
works. This is not an instruction to keep Sabbath, as I had<br />
been taught in <strong>the</strong> SDA schools. It is a daily rest experience<br />
in Jesus as we rest from our own works as He did from His.<br />
The day to enter that rest is today.<br />
Here again I discovered that <strong>the</strong> <strong>New</strong> Testament<br />
considers <strong>the</strong> Sabbath to be a fulfilled institution. Here<br />
again <strong>the</strong> Scriptures clearly indicate that Jesus is our<br />
Sabbath-like rest. When we trust Him <strong>by</strong> faith, we are<br />
experiencing Sabbath-like rest each and every day of our<br />
lives! What a beautiful concept! Jesus is your Sabbath and<br />
mine when we trust daily in Him. My eyes were starting to<br />
see ano<strong>the</strong>r perspective I had never seen before.<br />
There are some who have tried to make this text a<br />
reason for continued Sabbath keeping, but that ignores <strong>the</strong><br />
context of <strong>the</strong> passage. It also ignores <strong>the</strong> greater context of<br />
<strong>the</strong> book of Hebrews. The entire book is dedicated to<br />
showing <strong>the</strong> superiority of Christ over <strong>the</strong> Old Testament<br />
system. For example, Hebrews one emphasizes His<br />
superiority over <strong>the</strong> whole Old Testament Scriptures (Heb.<br />
1:1-3). In verses four and following, He is shown as being<br />
superior to all <strong>the</strong> angels. In chapter three He is seen as<br />
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