07/12/2020 - GOD RESTS FROM ALL HIS WORKS

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For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way:“And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; Hebrews 4:4

The Sabbath issue has not been well understood. This has led many brothers to hate others and to value this precept more than the teachings of Jesus in His days on Earth. Surely, God did not want this to happen among His children, but to live in unity, enjoying the abundant life brought by Christ.

The Creator rested from His works on the seventh day. So, in the Old Testament, His command for His people was also to do nothing on the Sabbath, except for small necessary things. This commandment symbolized the things to come, when the Lord would return to the restoration of all things through His Son, who would heal and deliver on the Sabbaths. 

The Jews did not understand the Lord’s will, so they did nothing on the day of rest, failing to bless the people and be blessed. They believed that they could not help even those who suffered in Satan´s hands. On the other hand, on one occasion, at the synagogue in Jerusalem, Christ healed a hunched woman, delivering her from a spirit of illness. He set us a good example!

When people don´t allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, they see heresy even in Jesus’ ministry, as it happened in the place of worship for Jehovah. They were blind guides (Luke 6:39), due to lack of knowledge, they could not understand the new wine brought to humanity. Some even planned to kill the Master, because He healed on the Sabbath. Today, similar things happen too!

The fury against the Savior was so great that His opponents were present where He was ministering in order to incriminate Him. Religious fanaticism did not even consider studying whether what Jesus did came from God, or was it a lie of the devil. In many places, preachers of the full Gospel are considered to be astray from the Truth for similar facts. Christ was angry with those who condemned Him!

For this reason, the Lord has been upset with people who try to prevent His work from being known to sinners. For this very reason, many people will go to eternal doom. Today, with few exceptions, the same accusation happens in almost all places where the Gospel is preached. One must examine the Scriptures with no prejudice. Whoever does this will soon see that the Master was very clear in talking about this important matter.

Jesus called the Jewish leaders, hypocrites – actors – who were there and accused Him of breaking the commandment. There, the Master answered the prince of the synagogue: “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” (Luke 13:15,16).

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares