What Is the Sabbath?

Jesus says to us, Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). The word Sabbath means rest. It was a day of rest under the Old Testament. It is fulfilled in Christ through the New Testament. Our Sabbath rest in Christ is completely depending upon Him.

Rest in Christ our Sabbath through God's grace. It's about what God has done for you in Christ alone. It's what God is doing in you and through you. That's called grace, and its fullness is found in Jesus Christ your Lord (John 1:16). 

Rest in Christ our Sabbath by faith alone. That means your confidence, trust, and reliance is in His ability to do in your life what you are unable to do by yourself. Only God in Christ can save You. That means you rest in Christ. You rest in God's love, mercy, and grace, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31).

Works may boast and say, "I can get you to heaven, if you try hard and work to do your best." Christ our Sabbath is the gift of God to be received. We don't work to earn a gift. It is freely received. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's not of works, but your faith resting in the finished work of Christ alone. Christ is our Sabbath.

The Blessed of God

The book of Revelation invites all to be blessed in Christ. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come" (Rev. 22:17). The Holy Spirit uses the Holy Scripture to invite all to come to Christ. The bride of Christ is the church. So, Christ commissioned the church to preach the gospel to all people in all nations. Come to Christ and be blessed.

The book of Revelation declares seven blessings upon the people of God in Christ. These are described as the seven beatitudes in Revelation (Rev. 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14). Those blessings are in this life and the life to come. All the blessings of God are in Christ. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

The blessed of God enter a new world. "And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him" (Rev. 22:3). Everyone is either blessed or cursed. The blessed of God are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, at the cross of Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

The blessed of God "have the right to the tree of life" (Rev. 22:14). We drink from the water of life freely. Both the tree of life and the water of life are symbols of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Eternal life is the gift of God received by all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of God is the grace of God in Christ. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all" (Rev. 22:21).

What Is Redemption?

Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Redemption is being justified freely by God's grace. It can never be bought, earned, nor achieved through personal effort. We are justified freely, because Jesus paid it all at the cross. We are justified freely through his shed blood, confirmed by his glorious resurrection. That is our redemption in Christ.

Redemption is new life in Christ. Being justified freely gives us abundant life, and life eternal in Christ alone. Believers may truly say, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). All we are, or ever hope to be, is by God's grace in Christ. 

Nothing else in all the world can change us, but grace through faith in Christ. God's Spirit of grace operates directly on our hearts, to change us from the inside out. Grace changes our mind to understand the things of God. Grace is freely given to change our will to seek God. Grace changes our emotions to have a tender heart for God.

Redemption is by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not by our works. It's all of grace, the gift of God (Titus 3:5-7). God's grace is received by faith in Christ. He alone is the One who changes us from glory into glory. Christ in us is the fullness of God's grace. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace (John 1:16). Redemption is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Be Justified by God

Charles Spurgeon explained, "Understand that the only people who can be justified by God are those who do not attempt to justify themselves. Realize that you need God to make you just; He is the One who will enable you to stand before His judgement seat in the righteousness that only Christ can provide for you."

Be justified by God's grace through faith in Christ. Grace is the gift of God. Let us be clear, faith itself does not merit the gift but only receives it. Faith is trusting or relying upon the righteousness of Christ, and Christ alone.

Be justified by God at the cross of Jesus. All our sins are taken away. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Believers receive the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The gospel exchanges our sins for the righteousness of Christ.

Be justified by God through faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. God raised Jesus from the dead to justify every believer (Romans 4:24-25; 10:9). Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves the gospel, that God justifies believers at the cross. 

Be justified by God through faith in Christ alone (Galatians 2:21). Christ is the believer's justification. Grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. It is unmerited on our part, because it is based upon the merits of Christ alone.

The Gifts of the Spirit

"And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). These gifts of the Holy Spirit are real in the lives of those who have a personal relationship with God in Christ. That's how you know that God's Spirit is in you. 

These abiding gifts are evidence that the Holy Spirit is in you. The Holy Spirit enables your faith in Christ. He gives you hope in Christ for the future. He fills you with the love of Christ. His love works in your heart, that is your mind, will, and emotions.

Faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ is sure evidence that the Holy Spirit is in your life. Abiding faith is your bond with Christ. Hope in Christ is your assurance of eternal life. The love of Christ in you is the greatest evidence of all, because "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16). 

If God's Spirit is in you, then you can know now, and you can know for sure. Three simple questions will tell you the truth. First, do you have faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ? Secondly, do you have the hope of eternal life in Christ? Most importantly, do you know the love of God in your heart, causing you to love the Lord and others?

Know God's Will

The mystery of God's will is revealed, "having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself" (Ephesians 1:9). God's will is revealed in the Bible (Romans 12:2). The word of God is the will of God for you.

Know God's will is good. As a believer you can say, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6). Believe in God's goodness. Because God's revealed will is good, "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). God's will for you is His good purpose.

Know God's will in Christ. God's will is love, mercy, grace, and truth in Christ. Jesus came into this world to do God the Father's will in word and deed. "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). God's will for us is good in Christ.

Know God's will through the Holy Spirit. God's will is in the fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). That's God's revealed will working in you by the Holy Spirit, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

God's Grace in You

God's grace is his good work in you (Philippians 1:6). God continues to work in you to do his good will (Philippians 2:13). Grace is sufficient for your every need. Law can tell you what you ought to be; only grace can make you what you need to be.

God's grace is in you through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). That faith is in the power of God saving you through the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Grace is the workmanship of God in your life through the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:10). God will continue working in you by faith in Christ.

God's grace to you is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Grace is far more than a theological term or a religious song. Grace is about God Himself. He is the God of all grace. His grace is undeserved favor that you can never earn nor merit. We all fall short of God's glory, but God will work in you to the glory of God (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 1:12-14).

God's grace delivers you from unbelief unto faith in Christ. Grace finds you helpless and gives you hope. Grace brings you to Christ. God's grace in Christ cannot be bought, earned, nor deserved. Grace is unmerited favor from God through Jesus Christ. "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16). Jesus our Lord is the fullness of God's grace working in you.