It’s by Design That We’ve Never Lived without the Sabbath
The Sabbath is a day that God has “made . . . holy”—it is set apart to him and to his worship. And it is precisely because the day is directed toward God that it carries blessing for human beings. It is a day that God has “blessed.” In light of the testimony of Genesis 1:1–2:3, that blessing carries potential for fruitfulness and fullness. Thus, as God meets with people who truly worship him on that day, they experience all of these gifts—spiritual blessing, fruitfulness, and fullness.
The Bible introduces the Sabbath at its beginning. We first meet the Sabbath in the account of God making heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1–2:3). Strikingly, it is God who, in a sense, observes the first Sabbath (Gen. 2:3).
In the creation account, God makes the world and everything in it in six days. A seventh day follows that is set apart from the previous six in some important ways. Genesis 2:1–3 reads,
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
The Sabbath: God’s Ordinance for Human Beings
This observation raises the question, “What kind of worship is in view, and by whom?” The answer of Genesis is, “Humanity’s worship of the God who made them.” Human beings are unique within Genesis 1:1–2:3 as those said to be made after the “image” and “likeness” of God (Gen. 1:26), after God’s “own image, in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27). As such, people are uniquely capable among all the creatures mentioned in Genesis 1:1–2:3 of fellowship and communion with God.2 Thus, the worship for which God provides in Genesis 2:1–3 is given so that his image bearers may have fellowship with him. Strikingly then, “humanity . . . is not the culmination of creation, but rather humanity in Sabbath day communion with God.”3
Genesis 1:1–2:3, in fact, presents a twofold imitation of God on the part of his image bearers. First, God creates human beings to work (Gen. 1:28–30). In part, people express the image of God as they labor in their various callings. The God who exercises dominion over the works of his hands calls humanity to “have dominion” over the earth and all the animals in it (Gen. 1:26). The God who fills the world that he has made calls human beings to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). Thus, humans will exercise dominion as they are faithful to marry and produce offspring (see Gen. 2:23–25). But it would be a mistake to say that Genesis 1:1–2:3 conceives no higher human imitation of God than labor. As human beings imitate God at work, so also are they to imitate God at rest. As God made the world and everything in it within the space of six days and rested on the seventh day, so are human beings to engage in six days of labor and one day of holy resting.
In sum, God intends for human beings to imitate his rest by taking the weekly Sabbath to rest from their labors and devote the whole day to his worship. The word translated “bless” (barak) in Genesis 2:3 “is normally restricted to living beings in the [Old Testament] and typically does not apply to something being blessed or sanctified only for God’s sake.”4 Thus, God does not bless the seventh day for his own sake but for humanity’s sake. He is setting apart this one day in seven to be a regular day of rest in the weekly cycle of human existence. He is, in effect, commanding human beings to observe the Sabbath.
-
Will the Real Local Pastors Please Stand Up?
We need more pastors who live for the renown of Jesus and die to their self-image. Instead of reminding us of the great things their organization is doing, these pastors should remind us of the marvelous things Jesus has already done.
It seems with every passing season another high-profile pastor falls from their ministry position. Sadly, I’ve come to expect it. I should probably grieve more. I should certainly pray more. Nonetheless, I don’t believe hell loses ground by simply adding more popular or hip leaders to the church. What the church really needs are servants who tremble at God’s word. We need shepherds who value others above themselves and live for the renown of Jesus, not their own platforms or appetites.
Will the real local pastors please stand up?
We sheep do not need to be entertained any longer. We need to be led to the cross. We sheep do not need a clever word from a charismatic pastor. We need to see what death looks like. Death of self-centeredness. Death of the idol named fame and influence. Death of sin. Death of the business mindset within the church and Christianity.
We need more pastors who tremble at God’s word—those who are not afraid to teach the truth of Scripture regardless of the cultural narrative. We need pastors who open their Bibles with awe because they long to hear from God.
Read More -
Grove City College: Report and Recommendation of the Special Committee
“By any standard, GCC remains one of the most conservative colleges in the country. We regret that we cannot expand this report to highlight the evidence in support of that statement. But we commend the many employees and trustees whose teaching, writing, speaking, administration, and leadership continue to make “Freedom’s College”22 a unique institution in American higher education and in the conservative firmament.”
Statement of the Grove City College Board of Trustees February 16, 2022
The Board of Trustees is aware of recent commentary questioning whether Grove City College may be changing its mission, vision, or values. Our duty of care and loyalty includes stewardship of the College’s mission—an honor and responsibility that we take most seriously.
We unqualifiedly reaffirm GCC’s Christ-centered mission and commitment to a free society, traditional values, and the common good. That has not changed one iota and will not change on our watch. Fidelity to the College’s founding principles secures GCC’s unique place as an oasis in American higher education. In particular, the Board categorically rejects Critical Race Theory and similar “critical” schools of thought as antithetical to GCC’s mission and values.
In his written statement addressing the matter, President McNulty attempted to balance confidential personnel matters with assurances that remedial steps would be taken and more may be appropriate.
To that end, and with the encouragement of President McNulty, the Board has established a special committee to review alleged instances of mission[1]drift, summarize facts, identify remedial actions already implemented by President McNulty, and recommend any additional measures that may be appropriate.
On April 13, 2022, the Grove City College Board acted on the Report from the Committee. Read the Board Report.
Related Posts: -
5 Signs Our Inner Peace Might Be a Deceptive Calm
If we have no hunger for the word of God, and when we try to feed upon it, it is like ashes in our mouths, we are in trouble. If we can find more joy in an obscene Netflix series than a time of prayer and Bible reading, something is seriously amiss with our spiritual condition.
Many people think they have peace with God. Instead, their inner peace flows from a deceptive heart. There is a peace that passes all understanding, and it is one of the most blessed aspects of the Christian life. The foundation of this peace is the cross of Jesus, where our sins find forgiveness, and the wrath of God is satisfied. The moment we trust in the atoning work of Christ, we are at peace with God objectively. From there, that truth begins to give us peace subjectively as God sheds his love abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
The problem is many people believe they are at peace with God, but because of their sins, they are still at enmity with him. Though they experience no distress at the thought of God, it is not the peace of Christ they are experiencing. Scripture tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Here are six telltale signs of a deceptive inner peace.
1. Peace Without Joy in Jesus
If you find yourself at peace about your spiritual state before the Lord, but there is no joy in Christ Jesus, you are experiencing the ease of a deceitful heart. Jesus is the only source of peace with God. Our enmity with God is the result of our sinfulness, and only Jesus and his work on the cross can save us. Jesus is the only source of peace with God, and if we think we have peace but do not rejoice in him, we are deceiving ourselves.
2. Trusting in our Own Merit
We do not have peace with God when we think God approves of us because of our character or good deeds. This confidence in our goodness is a sure sign that we are experiencing the calm of a spiritually dead soul. Even if we claim the merits of the blood of Jesus but believe our justification in Christ is a mixture of his death and our works, scripture says we are lost.
Read More
Related Posts:
