The Way That Leads to Faith_Exposition of Genesis (Part 5)

We have been talking about how God, after finishing the work of creating the heavens and the earth, rested. Today, I would like to continue speaking about rest.

One time, Jesus was walking through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat the kernels. When the scribes and Pharisees saw this, they criticized Jesus, saying, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” This story appears in Luke chapter 6. Because God created the heavens and the earth in six days, He rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath was precisely from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, and in Jesus’ day the Jews were keeping the written commandment, “Do not do any work on the Sabbath day.”

The important point is that although they were keeping the Sabbath, they did not know the true meaning of the Sabbath.What is the true meaning of the Sabbath? When the people of Israel came out of Egypt where they had been slaves, God told them to keep the Sabbath just as He had created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. The Israelites worked hard for six days, but when the Sabbath came, they put down all the work they had been doing, did not do anything, and simply enjoyed peaceful rest. When the Sabbath was over, they worked hard again for six days, and when the Sabbath came, they rested.

But Jesus said, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5), and He also said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). That Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath means that although there is no true rest anywhere in this world, once you come into Jesus Christ you are able to enjoy true rest. Just as the Israelites, after working hard, enjoyed rest when the sun went down on Friday evening and the Sabbath began, so also whoever comes into Jesus Christ will enjoy rest.

Therefore, the Sabbath that the Israelites kept according to the Law in the Old Testament was a shadow of Jesus Christ, who gives us true rest.

We come into Jesus Christ by faith, and we enjoy rest by faith. If there is someone who cannot find rest because of sin and lives in pain and suffering, that person needs faith in order to enjoy rest.What kind of faith is needed? We need the faith that when Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, He completely washed away all of our sins.

Some people say, “In one way it seems my sins have been washed away, but in another way it feels as if sin still remains in my heart.” A state like that, where the heart is not fixed but wavering, cannot be called faith. Faith is when the heart does not waver but is settled firmly in one place.

The Bible tells us in many places that when Jesus Christ was crucified and died for us, He did not wash away only the original sin or the sins we committed in the past, but He washed away “all our sins.” Just as Genesis says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them,” Jesus, hanging on the cross, said just before He gave up His spirit, “It is finished.” These two statements have the same meaning. The words in Genesis 2:1, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them,” mean that the work of creation was completely finished. And the words of Jesus in John 19, “It is finished,” mean that the work of washing our sins was completely accomplished.

Regardless of how your heart or your thoughts may be, Jesus has finished the work of washing all our sins. In another scripture it says that after He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3).

God completely finished creating the heavens and the earth, yet Satan deceived Adam and Eve as if the work were not finished, and led them to do something. In the very same way, even though Jesus completely finished the work of washing away our sins on the cross, Satan deceives us as if it were not fully done, and keeps making us try to do something.

Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no one who can solve our sin. If Jesus had not solved our sin on the cross, then we could never solve it ourselves. And if Jesus did solve our sin on the cross, then there is absolutely nothing left that we have to do to take away our sins. But just as Satan deceived Adam and Eve, saying that God’s creation was not perfect, he also deceives us as if the work of washing our sins is not fully accomplished and as if there is still something left for us to do.

If you fall into your own thoughts, you cannot believe God. That is because the Word of God is different from our thoughts. If you truly want to believe God, no matter what your thoughts may be, you must cast them away and, departing from human concepts and thinking, simply believe the Word of God as it is. Satan will work within your thoughts to make it seem as if sin still remains in you. He will stir up the memory of the sins you committed and cause you to feel the pangs of conscience. If you listen to Satan’s voice, you will think, “Since I still have sin, I must do something to wash it away.”

On the other hand, if you listen to God’s voice, you will believe, “Since all my sins were solved on the cross, there is nothing at all I must do for my sins.”

Because God finished the work of creation in six days and completed it, He had no more work left and therefore rested. In the same way, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we discover the fact that our sins were all washed away on the cross, and we are able to enjoy rest concerning our sins.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).This verse tells us that because Jesus Christ bore our sins in our stead and was crucified, when we come before Jesus we can enjoy rest concerning sin.

Jesus not only solved our sins but also bore all of our burdens. Isaiah 53 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.” To solve our faults and sins, Jesus received all punishment and chastisement, and by doing so He completely finished all the work that had to be done for our sins. If that Jesus did not exist, we would have to suffer because of our sins. But because Jesus Christ has washed all our sins, we can be set free from sin and enjoy rest.

Just as the people of Israel worked for six days and then rested on the seventh, before faith comes into us, we struggle and labor to solve our sins, suffering and trying hard. But when faith to believe Jesus comes into us, we come to enjoy rest from all the efforts we made for our sins. Now, if there is anything left for us to do, it is only to give thanks to Jesus who was crucified for our sins, to praise the Lord, and to give glory to Him.

Martin Luther was transformed when he read the words, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). Luther was always troubled because of sin, and when he looked at his own life, he saw that he was not righteous. No matter how he looked, he could only see that he was not righteous but an evil and filthy human being. Yet because the Bible said that he was righteous, he put aside his thoughts and accepted the Word of God by faith. In this way he was able to enjoy true liberation and freedom.

Again I say: just as God finished creating the heavens and the earth in six days and then rested, Jesus Christ finished the work of washing our sins on the cross and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God, resting. Satan deceives us as if our sins still remain and as if there is something we must do to wash them away, but when we believe the fact that Jesus has washed all our sins, we come into rest.

“God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”(Genesis 2:3)

We must remember this word: God does not bless the one who is still working because there is work left to do, but He blesses the one who has finished his work and is resting.

God truly loves us. Because we are unable to do the work, Jesus did on the cross all the work that we were supposed to do, and He caused us to rest. I hope that, by believing this fact, your hearts may enjoy rest and that through this you may enjoy true blessing and grace.

I sincerely hope that you come to rest: to rest in Jesus concerning sin, concerning the Law, and concerning your life. If there is any work left to be done, Jesus will be the one to do it.