Sunday, July 23, 2023 PM

We're going to go ahead and get started and invite you to open your Bibles and turn to Colossians 2. Colossians 2, we'll be reading in verse 16 and following here in a moment, but let's begin with a word of prayer.

Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for the joy of gathering together and fellowshipping together in the love that you have given to us in Christ by your Spirit. We pray that you would bless our time together in your word.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, in Colossians chapter 2, we're going to receive some help in thinking about the.

Sabbath.

Now, we've been looking at the Ten Commandments as the quintessential testimony of God's covenant with Israel. It was a great way to sum up the covenant that God made with Israel, and in fact, he told Israel to place a copy of the Ten Commandments into the ark of the covenant, you know, the box thing that carried around the covenant.

That's what ark means, the box thing that carries stuff. That's a technical definition. It's the same thing in Noah's ark, it was a box thing that carried stuff. And what's inside the ark that they had for Israel was the covenant, which was the Ten Commandments.

And the Sabbath Commandment was all the more important because it was also the sign that God gave to Israel, the sign of the covenant he made with them at Sinai, as vital as the sign of circumcision, which he gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And so we've been thinking about the Sabbath Commandment, how it is given to Israel, and then we thought about it in terms of creation, what it has to do with the fall, how the Sabbath, the idea of resting in God's promises, and seeing everything coming back into right relationship with each other, but especially with God as a sign of rest, of being home, seeing that throughout the covenants.

And now we've made our way to the New Testament, and we've thought about what Jesus says about the Sabbath. He says that he is Lord of the Sabbath, that he owns it. It's his domain, it's his to describe, and it's his to employ for the good of the people.

We find Jesus working on the Sabbath. And there's a variety of things that he would do on the Sabbath, but mostly entailed healing. And this was definitely work according to the standards. And so he would heal a man who was lame, or he would heal a man who was blind, and he would tell them to do work, and pick up your bed and walk.

And this infuriated the religious leaders among the Jews, because he was working on the Sabbath and encouraging others to do the same. But what Christ was doing in those encounters, and whether we're reading in John 5 or 7 or 9 or Matthew 12, what he was doing on those occasions was he was doing the work to bring sinners into his rest, and telling those who would pay attention to trust in him.

He was doing the work to bring sinners into his rest. Now, how do we then think about the fourth commandment? Certainly, if we're going to abide in Christ, if we're going to rest in Christ and rejoice in his finished work, and if we're going to do so in a way that is inside the fellowship of the body of Christ, the best way to rest in Christ is to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as is the manner of some, but all the more as you see the day approaching.

Getting together on Sundays and Wednesdays to abide together in Christ is a great way to Sabbath. It's just the most excellent way to do that, to rest in him, to rest in him together as his body. Not the only way, but certainly one of the best ways.

But let's talk about how to think about the Sabbath commandment and what that has to do with holiness, what it has to do with following Jesus in a more practical way. So we begin in Colossians 2, and we're going to ask about the fourth commandment and our following Christ tonight.

What does faith require, what does love require, and what does hope require?

Okay?

As we think about the fourth commandment and our following after Jesus. First of all, what does faith require? Well, we'll go to Colossians 2, and we'll see. In verse 16, I think I missed, put down verse 17, but let's start in verse 16.

Paul writes, so let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths. So food or drink, remember the dietary laws of Leviticus? Regarding a festival, the different feasts, well, there was the feast of trumpets and there was the feast of tabernacles, and there was the feast of unleavened bread, all these feasts in the Old Testament.

Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon. Remember that the religious calendar of the Israelites went from, on the lunar calendar. It was all about the moons and the phases of the moons, and they kept track of what festival they were going to have based upon the moon.

Or Sabbaths, and you recall there was more than one Sabbath. There was a seventh day Sabbath, every Saturday, but there were also special Sabbaths that were in line with various feast days, and there were Sabbath years, and so forth.

So in looking in verses 11 through 15, it's all about our being made alive together in Christ, and salvation in him, and the circumcision we need is Christ himself, and so forth. Therefore, let no one judge you.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Who is he who condemns? This is the same message that we find in Romans chapter 8. Let no one judge you in these things. Now, these are all the trappings of the old covenant, and Paul says, let no one judge you about these things.

Why?

Why?

Verse 17.

Which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. A shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Now the word substance speaks of a body. On one side, you can think of it as if there is light shining on a body, there's a shadow cast away from that body, and the light of God's revelation being upon Christ, his shadow reaches into all of the Old Testament.

Maybe a strange looking shape, shadows often are, nonetheless, follow that shadow and you will come to the person who is casting that shadow, in this case, it is Christ. But additionally, something interesting is that the term soma, the Greek word behind that word substance, body, also refers to heavenly bodies.

In another sense, the old covenant was traced by moon to moon to moon, because the moon shows up at night, right? It's the lesser light, isn't it? There was the greater light and the lesser light to govern the evening and the day in creation.

And the old covenant with Israel was governed by the lesser light, the moon, the cycle of.

The moon.

But now, something greater than the moon has come, and the moon gets its light from what? And this word soma can speak of a heavenly body, meaning the sun, and of course, Christ is the light, he's the one who gave light throughout the whole old covenant, but we've moved out of night into day, and that's another metaphor that Paul will use elsewhere.

So let no one judge you about those things, and verse 18 says, let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head from whom all the body nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments grows with the increase that is from God.

You want true spirituality, you want true holiness, you want true life, it is not found in false humility, it's not found in the worship of angels, it's not found in strange speculations and special formulas that you can order for $9 .99 from your local televangelist.

So it's about holding fast to Christ, he's the one who gives us life. Let no one rob you of that, let no one take that away from you, Christ is an everyday, every way Savior, don't go anywhere else. Verse 20, therefore if you die with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why as though living in the world do you subject yourselves to regulations?

Now here's what I call the box of do nots. Some people think you've got to have a box of do nots in order to be holy. Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which all concern things which perish with the using, according to the commandments and doctrines of men.

These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom and self-imposed religion, false humility and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Now if we're going to make this a connection between verse 16 and these verses here, the box of do nots might also apply to what you do on a Sunday.

There are sincere, well-meaning traditions in Christian church about do not drive anywhere but church on Sunday, do not wear anything but a white shirt on Sunday, do not mow your lawn on Sunday, do not go out to eat on Sunday, do not, do not, do not, and if we think that that's what makes it holy, we're wrong.

Because Paul is saying, hold fast to the head, hold fast to Christ, and in fact, even though we will certainly want to Sabbath on a Sunday, the Sunday is not the Sabbath. Christ is our Sabbath, and of course we celebrate Christ on Sunday.

That's an important difference. And of course, Colossians 3, 1 through 4 tells us all about our hope and our holiness. If then you were raised with Christ, if you're alive, if you're born again in Jesus, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, set your mind on the things above, not on things on the earth, for you died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So, faith, faith requires that we hold fast to Jesus. He's our head, he's our holiness, he's our life. Let's rest in him and not go to the box of do-nots and get into strange speculations.

We'll come back to Galatians 3 and 4 if we have the time, but let's move on to what does love require? What does love require? Now let's go to Romans 14, and of course, we did a study on Romans 14 in the year 2020 for obvious reasons.

But in Romans chapter 14, we receive some instruction. Now Paul, in writing to the church in Rome, he's writing to a church that is full of Jews who have come to Christ and Gentiles who have come to Christ.

And with those disparate backgrounds and cultural values and so on, them getting along is a real challenge. Understanding one another and loving one another is a bit more of a challenge for Jews and Gentiles who have been thrown together by Christ for his glory.

And so this is addressing some of that. So Romans 14, beginning in verse 1. It's not talking about physical strength, it's talking about spiritual, I'm going to be offended if I do certain things or if others do those around me.

Verse 3. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, let not him who does not eat despise him who does not eat, let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. So in other words, receive one another, and the one who abstains should not judge the one who has, and the one who has should not judge the one who abstains.

Why?

God has received him, and that's a pretty good reason. Verse 4. We don't really have that concept of who are you to judge whether or not a slave is being faithful to his or her master. Not a question we usually ask ourselves in our particular economy.

But, you know, not your slave, right? If I look at a brother or sister in Christ, and they are conducting themselves in a way, and they have a set of convictions that doesn't match my own, who am I to judge them, right, and demean them and condemn them?

That person, that brother, that sister in Christ belongs to Jesus, right? They're the slave of Christ. And they stand before him, and God is able to make them stand. So that's the very first important point to look at.

Now this comes towards the Sabbath, doesn't it? Now there is a history of people fighting about the meaning and the observance of the.

Sabbath.

That's a terrible thing, to fight about a day of peace. But let's see what the instructions are here in Romans. One person esteems one day above another. Fair enough. Someone esteems one day above another.

Another esteems every day alike. Different convictions, right? Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day to the Lord, he does not observe it.

Now in this context for Paul, he's probably talking about actual Saturday. Because that's the Jews who are members of this church who have come to Christ. Saturday is the Sabbath in their mind, in their upbringing.

For them to not rest on the Sabbath, and think about their Lord and Savior Jesus who is the fulfillment of the Sabbath. For them to not rest on the Sabbath would be a grievous thing to their souls. Even more grievous if their brothers and sisters in Christ, who esteem every day just the same, to condemn them for it.

How much worse?

Do you see?

Well, he goes on. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives to God thanks. And he who does not eat to the Lord, he does not eat, gives God thanks. So someone's eating pork and saying, thank God. And somebody's eating vegetables, avoiding it, saying, thank God.

And we all get to thank God together. Now, what's the point? Verse 7, for none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.

Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. To this end, Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and the living. Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother?

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So we all belong to Jesus, and it's what he considers important that matters to us. So that's what love requires. If somebody has a different sense, a different set of convictions concerning Sabbath observance, what does love require?

Does it require that we deny our convictions?

No.

In order to love them? No, we accept one another. And we recognize that that acceptance is based upon God's acceptance of us in Christ so that we can love one another and bear with one another even if we have different convictions.

That's what love requires. And then what does hope require? What does hope require? Hope requires that we look ahead to a Sabbath rest yet to come. Let's go over in Hebrews 4.

Hebrews 4, beginning in verse 1.

So, therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest. A promise remains of entering his rest. Christ is already our rest, isn't he? There's a very real sense when we read the Scriptures and we are reminded that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places that we have already taken our rest with Christ, his work accomplished on our behalf.

There's a sense of us abiding together in Christ and taking up our rest in Christ from day to day on a regular basis. But there's also a rest that lies beyond us, a rest to look ahead to. There's a promise that remains of entering his rest.

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, speaking of the Israelites in the wilderness, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he has said, so I swore on my wrath they shall not enter my rest. Speaking of the land of Canaan, which becomes a picture of us by Christ the Good Shepherd, by Yeshua the Good Shepherd leading us into the promised land of rest, that rebellious generation did not enter into the rest even though God had promised it because they did not have faith, they did not believe.

Go ahead and look down at verse 8. For if Joshua, remember Yeshua is the successor to Moses, if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. In other words, Joshua led that second generation into the land of Canaan, but does that fulfill God's promise of rest?

Does that fulfill God's promise of a place in which we may abide in fruitful rest where everything is provided for us? He says no. Joshua leading the people into the land did not fulfill every part of that promise.

There is yet a rest that remains. Verse 9 says, there remains therefore a rest for the people of God. Something ahead of us. For he who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his.

The Lord has prepared for us good works that we would walk in them. And there is something ahead of us. And there's rest ahead of us. There is a rest with Christ ahead of us. As the hymns talk about crossing the Jordan and going into the Beulah land, going into the promised land of rest like our dear brother Red that has just entered into his rest.

We have that ahead of us, don't we? And so we must think of the Sabbath in terms of faith, trusting in Christ as our rest, in terms of love that we would bear with one another as we seek to rest in Christ, and hope because that is what lies ahead of us, a rest forever with our Savior.

And we'll save all the wonderful things in Galatians 3 and 4 for some other time. Any questions or thoughts? All right, well, let's sing together the doxology.