Devotion for Monday, 4 July 2011 Anno Domini

Devotion for Monday, 4 July 2011 Anno Domini
“1And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, 3Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 4But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: 6Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. 12And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house: 13And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.17 Forasmuch then as they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:1-18)
When we reflect on the events in our study of Acts over the past two days, we might wonder hwy God sent an Angel to Cornelius with instructions to go to Joppa to find Peter? Why would God not simply send the Angel to proclaim the Gospel and eliminate the need for Peter coming to proclaim it? Had God desired, He could even have caused the Gospel to be proclaimed from Heaven itself! The answer is, of course, that it is not the method of God to sue Angels to proclaim the Gospel – He has left that privilege to us. We must always bear in mind that the proclamation of the Gospel is never any burden to us but rather a privilege that bears in itself great benefits for the messenger. See what Daniel the prophet has to relate regarding that benefit: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Dan 12:1-3) I hope the readers of this devotion will “shine as the brightness of the firmament” rather than, as Kipling says, appear as “a dying ember on the distant dunes.”
“And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.” The word came to their ears while Peter sojourned with the Gentile assembly at Caesarea. Now Peter travels back to his home base in Jerusalem perhaps expecting to be received with rejoicing at the news of the reception of these dear men and women of the Centurion’s household who had so readily received and rejoiced over receiving the Word of the Gospel. “And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him.’ Instead of rejoicing at the news, there is contention. The young prodigal returns home and the elder brother is not well-pleased at the father’s reception of him. “Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.” Instead of regarding the changed hearts of these new persons in Christ, the Jews can only look upon the externals of their faith – an error that has plagued Israel from the beginning. “Why do your disciples eat with unwashen hands?”
“But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.” Peter relates the entirety of the vision to the believers in Jerusalem. They know that God is not fickle regarding his ordinances and commandments, so this vision cannot represent to them that the food laws are abrogated, just as the Passover and Sabbath laws had not been, but rather fulfilled and made more meaningful in Christ. We are to judge no man regarding what he eats, or what he abstains from eating: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)
“But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house: And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.”
Old, long held opinions are difficult to dislodge in the minds of men ardent in their religion, but less obstinate to those whose faith supersedes those notions. “Forasmuch then as they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Knowing Peter to be of their same faith, and a proven witness of Christ, they no longer persisted in their contentious views but received this news with joy. This was a wonderful turning point in the early events of the Church of Christ.
I feel, at this point, a need to clarify my views of the Passover and the Sabbath so as to eliminate any notion in our readers that I am an Old Law Man. At the outset, I do not believe the Bible suggests that any of God’s people are somehow “more chosen” than others. Even the Jews who reject Christ are left without the gates of Heaven. There is no racial proof as to whom God has called and chosen as His people as the election is made sure in Christ. God is no prevaricator in His Law or His immutable Will. God does not entertain an “opinion” in any sense of the term – He possesses only absolute Truth in Thought, Word, and Deed! If God speaks two thousand years ago, that Word spoken is just as meaningful to us of today as when first uttered. These views are consistent with those of our blessed founder, Bishop James Parker Dees, and are the stated views of this Communion.
After rejecting every plea to release the Children of Israel from Egypt, Pharaoh passed one bridge too far. After bringing many hard plagues upon his people, Pharaoh finally denied the last request of Moses to let His people go. We are told of the first Passover in Egypt in Deuteronomy 12. The Children of Israel were to take (as revealed in later chapters) a young lamb without blemish and sacrifice same. They were to cover the door posts of their doors and the lintel (overarch) with the blood from the lamb. This blood was a foreshadow of the blood of the Lamb of God to come in the process of time. When the Lord passed over Egypt to take the first-born of every household, both of men and of animals, He would Passover any home whose door posts and lintels were covered by the blood of the lamb. The fullness of Passover has come with the advent of Christ. Christ is the Lamb of God sacrificed before the foundation of the world. (Rev 13:8). Nothing in God’s Command has changed, but a fuller meaning now attends the term Passover. Christ has become our Passover. “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:7-8) Our Holy Communion most closely symbolizes our New Passover. The meaning of the Passover has not changed, but made more perfect in Christ, the fulfillment thereof. Christ is truy our Passover and was ever so.
For much of my childhood, I struggle with my understanding of the Sabbath. My father, who was an accomplished Bible scholar, would tell me that the seventh day was Saturday. In fact, the Spanish still refer to Saturday in their calendar as the Sabbath. Yet, my father related what had been so often related to him, that the Sabbath had been changed to Sunday due to the resurrection presumably occurring on Sunday. Yet, I could not reconcile this change with Holy Scripture. I struggled for many years with the Sabbath issue and found no merit in scripture for its change. Finally, I realized the Sabbath was never changed or abrogated. It is just as much in force today as when first Commanded as a memorial by God. In fact, the Sabbath is made more forceful and binding than when first given! The principle of observing Sunday as the Lord’s Day remains unaffected by the Sabbath concept. It is right and proper that we should observe a special day of worship on the day our Lord arose from the Tomb and completed His Redemption promise.
So what does the Sabbath mean to us today and how shall we keep it? Should we keep one day in seven still? Should we consider the first day to be the changed day of the Sabbath? Is this consistent with the revealed Word of God? I say ‘no’ to all of these ideas. “For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” (Heb 4:3-10) If we were to rest from all our works on the Sabbath Day, how do we rest in Christ who has become our rest? He has also become our Sabbath rest. All of the works we do for God are a result of Christ working in and through us. To the Christian, every day is the Sabbath. We labor not, but Christ does His works through us. We no longer need to trouble ourselves about the legal checklist so many have come to keep. Rest now in Christ and allow His righteousness to work through us every day. We do have a Passover and a Sabbath in Christ! That is, very briefly, a summary of what I believe the Passover and Sabbath mean to us today.