SABBATH: A CLASH OF FAITH AND CARNALITY- BY PASTOR GREG ELKAN

_“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”_ – Ex 20:8  

The purpose of the Law of Moses was to point to – and preach about – Christ! Christ is the end – the object, the destination, or purpose – of the law. Moses did not give the Law as instructions for a new religion; but as a pictorial teaching aid to teach a faithless people the doctrine of righteousness by faith, (Dt 32:20; Gal 3:12,24).

The reason the blood of bulls and goats didn’t take away sins in the Mosaic Law was because they were _never_ meant to take away sins in the first place, but to point to the Lamb of God, Christ Himself (Hb 10:4; Jn 1:29)! 

Nevertheless, the Israelites – in their obstinate faithlessness – turned Moses’ lessons to actual instructions _for_ righteousness. As Paul explains in Rom 10:3 _“they refuse to trust God, and they try to be acceptable by obeying the Law,”_ (CEV).

This carnality – the clinging to the _physical_ symbol at the expense of the spiritual object – still remains today in the minds of many Christians. Any person or church insisting that we must observe Saturday (the 7th day) as the Sabbath has missed the entire point of the Law; but so also is anyone who says Sunday is now the “new” Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a day, it's a Person! 

Resting once a week is noble; but so is not muzzling the mouth of the ox that treads out the grain (Dt 25:4); but as Paul rebukes us in 1Co 9:9, the inspired Scriptures is not a manual for healthy lifestyles!

To understand the Law of Moses, you must read it with your faith/Christ glasses on. Those who read it with the ‘veil’ of carnality, will only see _physical_ things – physical animals, physical furniture, and – yes – physical 24-hour periods of rest. Nevertheless, as Paul promises us in 2Co 3:16,  _“Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away,”_ (GW).

AMEN

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

PASTOR GREG ELKAN

- Nigeria