A SUMMARY OF THE SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 13, 2014 - (Written for Adventists and those interested). TOPIC – “THE SABBATH” Introduction: The Sabbath Commandment is a very controversial topic amongst professed Christians of today. It is becoming a controversial one amongst Adventists now, especially with the “LUNI SABBATH THEORY” that is gripping in. Perhaps many are not aware of this subtle infiltration to distort the true Sabbath day. It is the belief that the Sabbath day is based on the new moon phase every month; and “the Sabbath may fall on any day of the week, from month to month.” Every truth in the Bible, the devil has a counterfeit against it. Satan knows that when you break one commandment, you have broken all the commandments – (James 2:10). Satan is taking a stronger attack against the Sabbath Commandment than the other nine Commandments. WHY??? The attack on the Sabbath commandment is a direct “terrorist attack” on the CREATOR; the ONE who made the SABBATH. WHY? The Sabbath Commandment tells us of the GOD who created the earth in six literal days. WHO was this GOD who created the SABBATH? … (Will be answered later). As we draw closer toward the second coming of JESUS, the devil will come up with more lies to deceive people not to believe the true Sabbath. Satan is a liar. He is the one that kept telling us that the law cannot be kept or has changed at Calvary. Those who advocate that the law cannot be kept are the devils agents. Mrs. White says, “Satan represents Gods law of love as a law of selfishness. He declares that it is impossible for us to obey its precepts.” Desire of Ages, page 24. Where do we find the Sabbath law? … The fourth commandment in the Ten Commandments is the Sabbath law. In Exodus 20:8-11, God says: “Remember the SABBATH day, to keep it holy. Six days shall thou labor and do all thy work, BUT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF THE LORD THY GOD; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” ( A ) - WHY THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR OUR STUDY? 1. The Sabbath reveals WHO the CREATOR of heaven and earth. 2. The Sabbath reveals that the earth was created in “six literal days.” 3. The Sabbath reveals that Adam and Eve were created on “the sixth day” of the week, therefore, there was no evolution. 4. The Sabbath reveals that God gave “the weekly cycle of seven days” to Adam and Eve before sin. 6. The Sabbath is a reminder that the CREATOR who is the LORD OF THE SABBATH became our sin bearer and Savior. 7. The Sabbath is a reminder that the LORD OF THE SABBATH changest not; for HE IS THE SAME yesterday, today, and forever 8. The Sabbath of the LORD THY GOD will always fall on the 7th day of the week. It is the same day every week from creation to the end; not any other day of the week. Saturday, not Sunday, etc. I hope that you will keep those eight (8) points listed above in your mind as we go through this important subject very briefly; and that no one deceives you about the Sabbath in the last days. ( B ) - WHO WAS THIS GOD WHICH SPOKE, WROTE, AND GAVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS TO MOSES ???? It was JESUS who spoke to Moses at the burning bush. He was the ONE who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt to Mount Sinai. He then gave them the Ten Commandments in written from on two tablets of stone – (Exodus 31:18). He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In John 8:56, Jesus tells the Jews - “Before Abraham was, I AM.” (i) - WHAT DOES MRS. WHITE SAY OF THE GOD WHO SPOKE TO MOSES? Please take time to read carefully the three statements below because there is so much truth in it about JESUS who was a self-existent GOD. Statement # 1 - Mrs. White says, … Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I Am. Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the ETERNAL PRESENCE, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean Rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the SELF-EXISTENT ONE,” Desire of Ages, p. 469-470. Statement # 2 - Mrs. White says, “It was Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, I Am That I Am. . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. Ex. 3:14. - Desire of Ages, page 24. Statement # 3 - Mrs. White says, “Amid the awful glory of Sinai, CHRIST declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Fathers law. It was HE who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone. It was Christ that spoke to His people through the prophets. … It is the voice of Christ that speaks to us through the Old Testament. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 366-367. …............ IMPORTANT COMMENT : WE CANNOT STUDY THE SABBATH WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THAT JESUS IS GOD ALSO, APART FROM GOD THE FATHER AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus was telling the unbelieving Jews that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who spoke to Moses at the burning bush; and is called: “I AM THAT I AM.” They tried to keep the Sabbath holy, and yet rejected JESUS, the LORD OF THE SABBATH. What an irony. Unfortunately, the Jews did not believe JESUS to be that God, so they killed Him at the end – (John 5:18; 10:33). ( C ) – JESUS WAS THE SAME GOD WHO MADE AND GAVE THE SABBATH TO ADAM AND EVE. Genesis 2:1-3 says, “The heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them, And on the seventh day God ended his work which HE had made, and HE rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” (i) - CHRIST, THE LORD OF THE SABBATH Scripture: John 1:1-3 says, “IN the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD. … All things were created by Him (the WORD), and nothing that was created was created without Him (the WORD).” (ii) WHO WAS “THE WORD” AS IN JOHN 1:1 WHO CREATED THE EARTH, ADAM AND EVE, AND THE SABBATH? … John 1:14 says, “The WORD became flesh and dwelt amongst men ...” … This was referring to JESUS who became human and died at Calvary. In Colossians 1:16-17, Paul says: “For by HIM (JESUS) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by HIM (JESUS) and for HIM (JESUS).” ….............................................................. Statement # 1 - Mrs. White says, “If CHRIST made all things, HE existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. CHRIST WAS GOD ESSENTIALLY, and in the highest sense. HE WAS WITH GOD FROM ALL ETERNITY, God over all, blessed forevermore. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, A DISTINCT PERSON, yet one with the Father.” - {Lift Him Up, page16} … (Review and Herald, April 05, 1906). - SDA Bible Commentary, Volume 5, page 1126. JESUS CHRIST was the CREATOR of the earth and the fullness thereof – (Psalm 24:1). He created the Sabbath and gave to Adam and Eve in the beginning. ….............................................. ( D ) – DID JESUS CHANGE THE SABBATH DAY AFTER HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION????? No! … JESUS CHRISTS mission to earth was not to change the law nor the Sabbath day – (Matthew 5;17-19). He came to change mans evil hearts to keep His law. He wants to abide in man and write His law in their hearts – (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26; Hebrews 8:10). The disciples kept the Sabbath after Jesus Christs death according to the commandments – (Luke 23:54-56; 24:1). When Christ abides in a person, the law will be kept because it will be written in the heart – (1 John 3:6-9). Evil thoughts will be removed – (Matthew 5:28-29). A born again person by the Holy Spirit will keep Gods law – (John 3:1-5; Galatians 5:22-24). Jesus can help us keep His law – (Jude 1:24). Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are they that DO (keep / obey) His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Statement # 1 - Mrs. White says, “He (JESUS) made plain to men the character of Gods law and the nature of His service. His life testifies that it is possible for us also to obey the law of God.” Desire of Ages, page 24. Statement # 2 - Mrs. White says, “He (Jesus) came to prove that human beings can, through the power of God, live sinless lives.” {Signs of the Times, August 9, 1905 par. 8} Statement # 3 - Mrs. White says, “Everyone who by faith obeys God’s commandments, will reach the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived before his transgression.” Maranatha, August 4, p.224 (Signs of the Times, July 23, 1902). ( E ) - MIRACLES ON THE SABBATH Remember, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day – (Luke 6:9). The Pharisees were the ones who do not believe in healing on the Sabbath. Hence, Jesus who was the LORD OF THE SABBATH confronted their narrow way of keeping the Sabbath by doing much healing. JESUS did not break the Sabbath as they claimed. Actually, they were the ones who broke the Sabbath by their man-made rules on how to keep the Sabbath day. ( F ) - THE EXAMPLES OF JESUS Jesus kept the Sabbath as His custom – (Luke 4:16). HE who made and gave the Sabbath to Adam and Eve and all generations, is the LORD OF THE SABBATH – (Mark 2:27; Luke 6:5). He did not change nor abolish the Sabbath law, but upheld it by keeping it holy. Jesus says, “IF you love Me, keep My Commandments.” - (John 14:15). JESUS CHRISTS Commandments? … Yes! He gave it to Adam and Eve. He later wrote it on two tablets of stone at Mount Sinai. He says, “If you keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Fathers Commandments and abide in His love.” - (John 15:10). Mrs. White says, Christ came to this earth and lived a life of perfect obedience, that men and women, through his grace, might also live lives of perfect obedience. This is necessary to their salvation. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. {Review and Herald, March 15, 1906 paragraph 8}. Jesus Christs Commandments are His Fathers Commandments. They are both in agreement – in unity that man should keep them, as JESUS kept them as our example – (1 Peter 2:20-21). I hope that this brief summary is helpful to your discussion on Sabbath. May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bless you all.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 06:13:31 +0000