Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents
Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Epilogue
[Bible references: Matthew 5: 28, 41, 43; 28:19; Romans 6:14; Acts 2:42-47; 15:1-21, 29; 20:7; 21;25; 1 Corinthians 13:10; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:21; 4:29; 1 John 3:15]
The Sabbath Commandment, like the rest of the “law” was a practice for the nation of Israel but not for the Gentiles. However, that does not mean we can ignore all the obligations we do have as Christians: to build one another up and to share our gifts and resources with one another. Beginning with the early church in Acts, we see them regularly gathering for teaching, prayer and fellowship. After the New Testament times, those who were Messianic Jews (in current and early church) may have practiced Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, but Sunday was never meant to be the “Christian Sabbath.”
Non-Jewish Christians are not obligated to keep the Sabbath, as such, but they are subject to higher standards, such as the daily practice of yielding our time and possessions to God and the regular obligations of supporting our fellow believers, building each other up and participating with the church in making disciples. Not just one day a week, but every day of our lives we should be remembering that we are not masters of our time or our possessions, that the daily discipline of inconveniencing ourselves is an expression of our trust in God’s provision, that every day of our lives we should be trusting and resting in the Lord.
Understanding how the Sabbath celebration was only pointing to an eternity of daily enjoying the presence of God in all that we do can help us see how all the other “laws” are designed to do the same. The tabernacle was a symbol of God being with us in space. The Sabbath was a reminder of God being with us in time. Together they remind us that God owns all of space and time and desires to share it all with us. And how we share space and time with Yahweh has been revealed from the beginning of humanity. We are stewards of his temples: temples in space and time, the resources of Creation around us (our places and communities), the resources of Creation within us (our bodies, minds, souls and spirits), and the resources of time He has given us in His Creation to be with Him and rule with Him.
Dancing In The Kingdom 