Participants: Alexander Biscette
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000254
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00:31 Welcome to Faith Chapel.
00:33 A program designed to increase your faith 00:35 by the preaching of God's word. 00:38 I am Alexander Biscette. 00:39 I come from the Island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. 00:43 The topic of my message for today is "Paul and the Sabbath." 00:48 "Paul and the Sabbath." 00:51 I trust that this message will help to answer 00:54 many of your questions regarding Paul and the Sabbath, 00:58 that it will increase your faith, 01:01 and give you a clearer understanding 01:04 of God's will for your life. 01:09 Please join with us, as we pray to begin. 01:13 Heavenly Father, we thank you 01:16 for the privilege we have to share Your word. 01:21 As we enter into this interesting study of Your word, 01:26 we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Lord. 01:30 Be with me and be with our viewers and listeners. 01:34 And help us, Father, 01:36 to come to deeper clearer understanding of Your word. 01:40 And as you enlightened us, Father, 01:43 we pray that the Holy Spirit may also convict us 01:47 that we may surrender to Jesus Christ 01:50 and embrace Your will for our life. 01:53 We pray in Jesus name, amen. 01:57 The Apostle Paul can be described 02:02 as the New Testament champion 02:08 on the teaching of salvation by grace through faith. 02:14 Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. 02:21 It's been described this way. 02:24 And Paul in his ministry to the Gentiles 02:29 emphasized and made it clear that salvation 02:33 can be earned by no other method 02:37 but a simple surrender by faith, 02:42 a simple faith surrender to the grace of God, 02:45 so that you may be saved by grace through faith alone, 02:50 not by works, lest anyone should boast, 02:54 we're saved by grace. 02:55 Paul champions the cause for the cross of Jesus Christ, 02:59 and we must continue to lift Jesus up, 03:03 and to come to Calvary for grace, 03:06 for mercy, for salvation. 03:10 Salvation is by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 03:15 But, my friends, as we come to Jesus, 03:19 we are saved by His grace. 03:22 When He cleanses us, justifies us, 03:25 gives us this new life, 03:28 we need to know how to live for Jesus. 03:33 And, my friends, oneof the high points 03:38 in the experience of God's people 03:40 that God looks forward too 03:43 once every week is to meet in His people. 03:48 That's a high point for God. 03:50 Once a week, when God meets with His people, 03:55 His people meet together in fellowship to worship Him. 03:59 God looks forward for this joy, but, my friends, 04:04 the misunderstanding of God's word 04:06 and defective interpretation of the scriptures have led many 04:12 to disregard the Sabbath and deprive themselves, 04:18 and God of the joy of meeting with them 04:22 on the day that God has blessed and made holy. 04:25 Since Paul is a champion for righteousness by faith 04:29 and salvation by grace through faith, 04:31 many have pointed to his teaching, 04:35 to try to find grounds for the obrogation 04:40 or the abolition of the Sabbath. 04:44 Because of--some of Paul's pronouncements, 04:47 many have come to the conclusion 04:50 that Paul did away with the Sabbath 04:55 in somehow or that he taught 04:58 that the Sabbath was no longer necessary. 05:01 But have you ever heard the expression 05:04 that actions speak louder than words? 05:08 I believe, my friends, this is one instance in which 05:13 the actions of the apostle speaks louder than his words, 05:20 for many people have misunderstood his words. 05:25 But if we take a good look at his behavior, 05:29 his actions, his practice, 05:31 how he practices his Christianity, 05:34 we will realize that in, 05:37 in fact Paul has not taught 05:42 that we should do away with the Sabbath, 05:45 but instead he has affirmed it 05:49 in his own religious practice 05:53 and the way he lived his Christian life. 05:56 Let us go to the Book of Acts, 06:02 Chapter 13:42-44. 06:12 In that passage of scripture, we read, 06:18 "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, 06:23 the Gentiles besought that these words might be 06:27 preached to them the next Sabbath. 06:30 Now when the congregation was broken up, 06:34 many of the Jews and the religious proselytes 06:38 followed Paul and Barnabas, who speaking to them, 06:43 persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 06:46 And the next Sabbath day came 06:49 almost the whole city together 06:53 to hear the word of God." 06:58 This, my friends, 07:01 took place during Paul's first missionary journey. 07:07 During Paul's first missionary journey, 07:10 Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, 07:16 and on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue. 07:22 You find his background in Acts 13:14-15. 07:27 On the Sabbath, he went into the synagogue 07:31 and this time as we will see 07:33 in other instances that we will read. 07:37 He sat down as opposed to 07:43 teaching or persuading as we find in some other references. 07:48 He came and he sat. 07:51 He came and sat in the congregation, 07:54 himself and Barnabas. 07:56 So they came simply to worship. 08:00 But after the ridden of the law and the prophets, 08:04 we are told that the leaders of the synagogue send to call them, 08:10 because they knew they were in the congregation. 08:13 And I suppose we still do things like that today, 08:17 when a distinguished leader of the church 08:23 comes and sits in the congregation, 08:25 we like to kind of get them to come on the podium 08:29 and get involved and do something in the service. 08:33 Well, on this occasion in question, 08:35 Paul was invited to come and to say something, 08:40 they turned the pulpit over to Paul. 08:43 And on that day the Bible tells us 08:46 that Paul delivered a memorable message, 08:54 teaching about Jesus Christ, 08:57 and how the Bible had prophesied about His coming 09:02 and how Christ came and fulfilled the prophecy. 09:04 It was a moving moment in the ministry of the Apostle Paul 09:10 and what we find in Acts 13:42-44 09:15 which we read a while ago is that at the end of the service 09:19 after the Jews had gone out of the synagogue, 09:24 interestingly the Gentiles who were present worshiping 09:30 on that Sabbath requested, they asked the Apostle Paul 09:35 to preach that same message again, 09:38 but what comes after is interesting. 09:41 They said they would like the same message 09:44 to be preached to them the next Sabbath. 09:49 I have always found it interesting 09:51 that this request came from the Gentiles, 09:56 because many people who say, 10:00 "Well, Paul, did away with the Sabbath 10:03 claim that Paul taught the Gentiles 10:06 that the Sabbath was no longer necessary. 10:09 But here we find Paul together with Jews and Gentiles 10:14 worshiping God on the Holy Sabbath day. 10:16 And at the end of the service, 10:19 the Gentiles are so impressed, 10:21 so blessed by what they have heard. 10:24 I could tell you now that outside of the ministry of Paul 10:29 and the apostles, they would not have heard 10:32 much of what they heard, because the Jews 10:35 did not accept Christ as the Messiah 10:38 and Christ was not being preached, 10:40 so they were moved by it. 10:42 And they told Paul, "Listen, we want you 10:45 to preach this message the next Sabbath." 10:48 Now at that point, if Paul had been teaching 10:52 because of the resurrection as people claim, 10:55 that Christians were no longer 10:58 obligated to worship on the Sabbath 11:00 and now they were worshipping 11:04 on the first day of the week 11:08 How should I say, in a commemoration 11:11 or celebration of the resurrection, 11:14 if there was any first day worship going on, 11:19 the Gentiles who were so eager 11:23 to hear this message again would have told Paul, 11:28 we want this message preached tomorrow. 11:30 But they couldn't say that because there was no worship 11:34 on the first day of the week. 11:36 So they were willing to wait 11:38 the next Sabbath for the message. 11:41 And they went out and spread the word abroad 11:45 and when the next Sabbath came, 11:49 the Bible tells us that the whole city 11:53 came to the synagogue on the Sabbath, 11:58 they came to hear the word of God. 12:02 Oh, my friends, what a joy it would be 12:06 to see the whole neighborhood where you live, 12:11 the whole city, coming to God and worshipping Him 12:13 on the Sabbath in harmony with His Commandments. 12:16 But let me tell you this, God expects you, 12:21 you don't have to wait on anybody, 12:23 God expects you to do it. 12:25 If you do it, it's gonna bring joy to Jesus Christ. 12:29 All right, let's go back quickly to the point I'm making, 12:33 Paul worshipping on the Sabbath day 12:35 during his first missionary journey. 12:38 During his second missionary journey, 12:41 we still find the apostle worshipping God 12:45 on the holy Sabbath day. 12:48 Acts 17:1 and 2, the Bible tells us, my friends, 12:58 "That when they had passed through 13:03 Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, 13:10 where was a synagogue of the Jews. 13:13 And Paul, as his manner was, 13:17 went in unto them, and three Sabbath days 13:22 reasoned with them out of the scriptures." 13:28 This is during Paul's second missionary journey. 13:34 During his first missionary journey, 13:37 he stopped at Antioch in Pisidia 13:41 and he went to church on the Sabbath, 13:43 got involved in the service, 13:45 and we just read what happened. 13:47 After he preached, people came, they loved the message, 13:50 the Gentiles who were worshipping said, 13:52 "Give us the same message the next Sabbath." 13:54 Paul agreed to preach it. 13:55 The next Sabbath the whole city came out, 13:58 that was Paul during his first missionary journey 14:01 at Antioch in Pisidia. 14:04 Now on his second missionary journey 14:08 Paul stops at Thessalonica and as his custom was 14:14 or as his manner was he went into the synagogue 14:20 on the Sabbath day, and three Sabbath days 14:24 reasoned with them out of the scriptures. 14:28 Now the Bible says it was his manner, 14:32 Acts 17:2, it was Paul's manner. 14:35 In the case of Jesus, Luke 4:16, 14:38 the Bible says, it was Jesus' custom. 14:41 It is saying the same thing here for Paul. 14:45 The word translated manner in Acts 17:2 14:49 in the word "Iofos" meaning custom or to be accustomed to. 14:57 So it was Paul's custom to worship on the Sabbath, 15:01 and here at Thessalonica, three Sabbath days 15:05 he reasoned with them, 15:09 he reasoned with them out of the scriptures. 15:14 In Acts 18:4, we find Paul again 15:19 reasoning in the synagogue. 15:21 It says, "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, 15:29 and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." 15:34 "He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, 15:39 and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." 15:46 Now Luke says in Acts 17:2, 15:53 it is his manner, his custom 15:56 to worship on the Sabbath. 15:58 And this is supported, my friends, 16:00 by his behavior during his first missionary 16:03 journey as we read a while ago in Acts 13:14 and 15 16:10 how he came into the synagogue and sat down, 16:13 was invited to preach, and we have seen 16:15 what happened after he delivered the sermon, in Acts 13:42-43. 16:21 So his behavior supports the claim that Luke makes, 16:27 that it is his custom or his manner 16:30 to worship on the Sabbath. 16:31 Now in Acts 18:4 he says he reasoned every Sabbath 16:38 and persuaded Jews and Greeks. 16:41 Now, every Sabbath for how long, you may ask. 16:46 Evidently, he was not 16:49 a permanent resident of Thessalonica. 16:53 Every Sabbath for how long? 16:55 My friend, Paul was there at Thessalonica 17:00 for at least 18 months, for a year and 6 months. 17:05 And every Sabbath during that time, 17:08 Paul went into the synagogue to worship on Sabbath, 17:14 and he reasoned meaning he talked, he discussed, 17:20 he debated, he persuaded both Jews and Gentiles. 17:26 Now this raises an interesting question. 17:31 What is it that Paul is reasoning so much about? 17:35 We can see clearly that going to church on Sabbath, 17:40 worshipping on Sabbath is his custom, 17:42 is his habit, his way of life. 17:45 He knows no other day of worship. 17:49 But what is it that Paul is reasoning 17:53 so much about in the synagogue? 17:55 What is his discuss all about? 17:58 What is the discussion? 18:00 What is Paul's contention as he preaches 18:05 and teaches in the synagogue on the Sabbath day? 18:11 We will find it in Acts 17:3. 18:18 The Bible tells us, "Opening and alleging, 18:24 that Christ must needs have suffered, 18:29 and risen again from the dead, 18:32 and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 18:38 This Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ." 18:43 This is the message that Paul is carrying 18:48 to the Jews, to the Gentiles, as he worships on the Sabbath. 18:53 It has nothing to do as to weather or not 18:57 they should continue worshipping on the Sabbath. 18:59 It has nothing to do at all, the Sabbath is not the issue. 19:06 The issue is Christ. 19:09 We find it again, in Acts 18:5-6. 19:16 "And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, 19:24 Paul was pressed in the spirit, 19:28 and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 19:33 And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, 19:38 he shook his raiment, and said unto them, 19:42 Your blood be upon your own heads, 19:45 I am clean from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." 19:51 Again we see, my friends, 19:54 that the issue is not the Sabbath. 19:57 The issue is Jesus. 20:01 That Jesus was the Christ, the suffering Messiah, 20:07 or the suffering Savior was a message 20:12 that the Jews refused to accept. 20:17 So in going from Sabbath to Sabbath, 20:20 worshipping in the synagogue and teaching and preaching, 20:23 discussing, reasoning and debating and persuading, 20:28 Paul is trying to get one thing across. 20:32 Jesus as the Messiah who died on the Cross of Calvary, 20:37 that the Jews may come to see 20:41 that the promise for the Messiah 20:43 had been fulfilled in Jesus, 20:46 but they kept on resisting this message, my friends. 20:51 They kept on resisting this message. 20:54 They just could not accept it. 20:58 So this was Paul's message. 21:00 This was Paul's contention. 21:03 It had nothing to do with whether or not 21:06 Sabbath should be kept or not be kept. 21:11 Paul was a Sabbath keeper. 21:14 Now we know Paul emphasizes 21:16 very strongly salvation by grace through faith. 21:21 They know what it means, by which we might be saved. 21:26 For our salvation is rooted in the Cross of Christ. 21:31 And my friends, we must never make the mistake 21:34 of believing that we can be saved by our works. 21:38 That mere Sabbath observance can bring us salvation. 21:43 That keeping of the Commandments can bring us salvation. 21:48 The Sabbath is not intended 21:51 as a method of salvation, my friends. 21:55 No, that is not the intent of it. 21:57 That is not the purpose of the Sabbath. 22:01 The Sabbath is intended to bring 22:05 those who are saved by grace 22:08 into proper fellowship and worship of God, their Creator. 22:15 When we are saved by grace, we are restored my friends. 22:20 We are reconciled to God and we are empowered by Jesus 22:26 to walk in harmony with God's will, God's law. 22:32 And God's law is not a burden. 22:33 It's not hard because Jesus 22:36 does not leave us on our own to do it. 22:38 He empowers us to live for Him 22:43 and He gives us His grace. 22:47 My friends, we know that even though Paul teaches 22:52 and emphasizes salvation by grace through faith, 22:56 and even though Paul is very strong 22:59 in teaching that there is no salvation 23:04 coming from law observance. 23:07 Paul is careful at the same time 23:10 to bring balance to his teaching, 23:12 and the problem, my friends, 23:15 many people have with the teaching of the apostle 23:18 is that they fail to understand the balance, 23:21 to come to grip with the balance 23:23 that Paul brings to his teaching 23:26 on the subject of the law and grace including the Sabbath. 23:30 When it comes to the means, the method of salvation, 23:35 Paul says the law and the Sabbath 23:37 has no part here at all. 23:39 It is all by grace through faith. 23:42 It is all Jesus, but once we come to know Jesus, 23:45 once we are saved by His grace, 23:48 Paul is very clear that we do not abolish the law. 23:54 Let us go to Romans 3:31, 24:00 Paul asked this question. 24:02 "Do we then make void the law through faith?" 24:06 The answer is no, "God forbid, 24:08 yeah, we establish the law." 24:11 And a very interesting question. 24:13 Do we make void the law through faith? 24:16 No, the apostle replies, God forbids, 24:19 instead we establish the law. 24:23 We establish the law by giving God 24:26 His rightful place in our lives. 24:31 We find there is grace for us when we sin. 24:34 Where sin abound grace much more abound. 24:37 But we do not continue in sin 24:39 just because we do not presume on the mercies of God. 24:45 We do not make void the law because of faith. 24:48 But we establish the law. 24:51 We establish the law by giving God 24:53 His rightful place in our lives. 24:56 We establish the law by surrendering our lives 25:00 to the will of God, subjecting ourselves 25:04 to the power of God, so that the indwelling Christ 25:08 can live His life within us in harmony with his holy law. 25:14 We established the law by observing it 25:20 through the grace and power of God. 25:22 The Sabbath included. 25:25 Romans 7:12, the apostle makes it clear my friends. 25:31 He says, "Wherefore the law is holy, 25:33 and the Commandment holy, and just, and good." 25:37 The law is holy, the Commandment's holy, 25:41 and just, and good. 25:42 So Paul brings balance to his understanding of law 25:46 and gospel by his actions, by his behavior, 25:53 by his going to church and worshipping every Sabbath 25:57 and living out in Sabbath services, 26:01 without any question, any issue as to whether or not 26:05 we should continue observing the Sabbath 26:07 but rather emphasizing Christ for salvation. 26:12 It makes it clear to us, my friends, 26:14 that the apostle Paul, nowhere in his understanding, 26:18 nowhere in his teaching, 26:19 makes any provision for the abrogation of God's law, 26:22 instead he says, let us establish it in our lives 26:26 by the grace of God because it is just and good and holy. 26:32 My friends, I want to invite you 26:35 to surrender your life to Jesus, 26:38 the same Jesus who saved Paul 26:41 on the road to Damascus by grace, 26:45 the same Jesus who inspired Paul, 26:50 to teach the message of salvation 26:51 by grace through faith and to practice it in his own life. 26:55 The same Jesus who died on the Cross for you, 26:58 now invites you to give your life to Him, 27:02 to accept Him as your Savior from sin 27:06 and once His grace is in your life, 27:09 by His power, to come to the joy 27:12 of the Sabbath, to come to the joy 27:16 of Sabbath observance, Sabbath worship, 27:20 and to meet Jesus, to enjoy fellowship with the saints, 27:24 to give God first place in your life. 27:26 My friends, it is my hope 27:30 that this presentation has helped you 27:34 to put the issue to rest 27:36 and to surrender your life fully, 27:39 completely to Jesus Christ. 27:42 Come into the joy of the Sabbath 27:45 as you walk with Him from day to day. 27:49 God bless you as Jesus becomes number one in your life. |
Revised 2014-12-17