Monday, January 6, 2020

The Seal of God

The Seal of God

"1    The seal of God is found in His law. Isaiah 8:16 says, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.” The law is the Ten Commandments, so the seal of God must have something to do with His law. It says, “seal the law.”
Some believe that the seal of God is the Holy Spirit.
---However, the New Testament teaches that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
---The Holy Spirit is not the seal.
---The seal of God has to do with the law.

The words sign and seal are used interchangeably in the Bible. Romans 4:11 says, “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also.”

3 The Sabbath has always been the sign of the true worshipers of the God of heaven.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” ’ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:12–18).

The Sabbath is a perpetual covenant between God and His
people. “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant” (Exodus 31:16).
---The Sabbath commandment has all the identifying characteristics of the seal of a covenant, which authenticates the following:
  • a) the name of the covenanter
  • b) the covenanter’s position
  • c) his jurisdiction: the area that person governs or has authority over
The fourth commandment identifies:
a    God—the covenanter
b   Creator of the heavens and the earth—His position
   Heaven and earth—His jurisdiction
The Sabbath is a perpetual covenant between God and His people.

5 The Sabbath commandment has always distinguished God’s people from the rest of the world. “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Ezekiel 20:12).
This sign is mentioned again in verse 20: “Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.”

6 Breaking the Sabbath commandment is likened in the Bible to
spiritual adultery. “They have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths” (Ezekiel 23:37, 38).

God’s children in the last days are especially pointed out in prophecy as commandment keepers. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).

---This is an important point to remember, as most of our Protestant friends believe they are keeping the commandments while neglecting the fourth. But James makes it very clear when he says, “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:10).
This text points out that you cannot be called a commandment keeper while breaking even one.
It is clear that James is referring to the ten commandment law, because he mentions both the sixth and seventh commandments. It points out that the ten commandment law is the standard for the judgment.
To have a clear conscience, one must keep the seventh day Sabbath, regardless of what the state says, or the popular churches say.
---Nowhere in Scripture can we find that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week. Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29)."
StepsToLife