Gods Sabbath

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E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

Obviously, those who follow such a course are actually serving Satan and do not know God’s ways and therefore cannot enter into His rest. At the same time they confidently and zealously imagine they are serving the Most High God. Jesus said, “They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.” John 16:3. When we read these verses, we understand that they apply to those persecuting church systems which claim to be working for Christ but that are, in fact, antichrist. We are not mistaken in this evaluation, but we must be careful not to limit the applica tion to these churches only, for even the best of God’s children can make the mistake of serving Satan while thinking that they are serving the Lord. To whatever extent this is true, the soul is deprived of God’s Sabbath rest. No genuine child of God would wittingly perform any service that would retard God’s cause while advancing the enemy’s. Therefore, Satan works hard to keep such believers in igno rance of what they are really doing. Conversely God devotes much time and energy to educating His people in His correct principles. One concept which Satan assiduously fosters, is the idea that if we are doing the best we know, love the cause of God with all our heart and soul, are prepared to make any sacrifice to ad vance God’s kingdom, and have nothing but the best of motives, then, whatever we are doing is for the best good of all and there fore wholly acceptable to God. Scriptural records show that this idea is false; that no mat ter how excellent the motives or how self-sacrificing the zeal, if the work is not done according to correct procedures, it can ul timately result only in harm to all concerned. Until the church is totally delivered from such erroneous concepts, its members cannot enter into Sabbath rest, cannot finish the work, and God’s kingdom cannot be established in eternal glory and ever lasting righteousness. Examining a small sampling of Bible characters and the courses they followed will substantiate the truth of these propo sitions, and should awaken us to a realization of how vital it is to know and trust God’s ways, and to follow His divinely ap pointed procedures.