Winning Ways -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

A Day to Fully Rest in the Work Christ Has Done
by Tom Goodman
October 3, 2012

Without constant help, we will always think of our relationship to God as something we earn or maintain by our own efforts. It's the default setting of the human heart.

Thank God for Sundays.

I bet you've never thought of it before, but Sunday is meant to be our "reset button" whenever we fall into performance-based living. Sunday is a "day off" in a much, much deeper way than most of us tend to think when we use that phrase.

We're told to "keep the Sabbath" in the fourth of God's 10 Commandments. How should we do that? Some Christians insist that the Old Testament commandment to rest and worship on Saturday is still in force. Many Christians insist that all the Old Testament commandment to rest and worship on Saturday has been transferred to Sunday because of Christ's resurrection.

But the Old Testament Sabbath-rest was really designed to point to the true rest from our performance-based living (see Hebrews 4). Jesus restored our relationship to God through his atoning death on the cross, and as we trust that his work accomplished our reunion with God, we truly enter into rest.

In the New Testament, we see the first generation of believers meeting on Sunday, which they called "The Lord's Day." It wasn't their day of physical rest, and in the Greek and Roman rhythms Sunday was not a day off. But it was their day to remember their spiritual rest in Christ. By gathering when they could, and by celebrating the gospel through sermons, songs and communion, they remembered God's grace again and again each week.

I hope you get some physical rest each Sunday. I'm grateful that our culture still allows us that time off. But regardless of physical rest, you "keep God's Sabbath" by trusting the finished work of Jesus on your behalf!

And that's why each Sunday is a "reset button." The songs and testimonies, the sermons and communion -- it's all meant to remind you of what God has accomplished for your salvation. Christianity isn't about what we try to do for God but about what God has done for us in Jesus. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened," Jesus said in Matthew 11, "and I will give you rest."

Reset with us this Sunday. See you at 10 a.m.!

--Tom

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A Day to Fully Rest in the Work Christ Has Done by Tom Goodman October 3, 2012 Without constant help, we will always think of our relationship to God as something we earn or maintain by our own efforts. It's the default setting of the human heart. Thank God for Sundays. I bet you've never thought of it before, but Sunday is meant to be our "reset button" whenever we fall into performance-based living. Sunday is a "day off" in a much, much deeper way than most of us tend to think when we use that phrase. We're told to "keep the Sabbath" in the fourth of God's 10 Commandments. How should we do that? Some Christians insist that the Old Testament commandment to rest and worship on Saturday is still in force. Many Christians insist that all the Old Testament commandment to rest and worship on Saturday has been transferred to Sunday because of Christ's resurrection. But the Old Testament Sabbath-rest was really designed to point to the true rest from our performance-based living (see Hebrews 4). Jesus restored our relationship to God through his atoning death on the cross, and as we trust that his work accomplished our reunion with God, we truly enter into rest. In the New Testament, we see the first generation of believers meeting on Sunday, which they called "The Lord's Day." It wasn't their day of physical rest, and in the Greek and Roman rhythms Sunday was not a day off. But it was their day to remember their spiritual rest in Christ. By gathering when they could, and by celebrating the gospel through sermons, songs and communion, they remembered God's grace again and again each week. I hope you get some physical rest each Sunday. I'm grateful that our culture still allows us that time off. But regardless of physical rest, you "keep God's Sabbath" by trusting the finished work of Jesus on your behalf! And that's why each Sunday is a "reset button." The songs and testimonies, the sermons and communion -- it's all meant to remind you of what God has accomplished for your salvation. Christianity isn't about what we try to do for God but about what God has done for us in Jesus. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened," Jesus said in Matthew 11, "and I will give you rest." Reset with us this Sunday. See you at 10 a.m.! --Tom Beacon Articles Available Online: The staff newsletters that appear each week in the Beacon are also available on our website. You can find them here. Check out my weblog here. Do you know friends who would appreciate Winning Ways? Just forward this e-mail to them! Have you subscribed to Winning Ways? You can subscribe by clicking here and following the instructions. Your e-mail address will not be sold or given away to anyone, and you can automatically change your subscription or drop it by following the easy steps provided with each e-mail. FRESH NEWS AT HILLCREST UPDATED WEEKLY: www.hillcrestaustin.org LISTEN TO RECENT SERMONS: Click here. MANAGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Click here. If you do not have access to the web, please send a note to newsmaster@hbcaustin.org to tell us of any changes you would like to make.