Gods Sabbath

166

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

The circumcision of the child Isaac was also a testimony to two things. Firstly, it was a recognition of the procedure by which the child was born, and secondly, it was a pledge that he would be educated into God’s ways.

The Symbol is Not the Contract

Circumcision was not the covenant—it was the symbol of the covenant as clarified when God had said to Abraham, “... it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.” Genesis 17:11. Under no circumstances should the covenant symbolized by circumcision be confused with the symbol itself. The symbol is circumcision. The covenant symbolized is the contract or agreement between God and the needy sinner whereby the Fa ther pledges to bring all the blessings of the atonement to the believer, provided he or she agrees not to introduce any thread of human devising into the scheme. (See Romans 4:5; Colossi

ans 2:11; Romans 15:8.) Until this is done, God cannot pro ceed with the work of grace in the soul. This distinction can be clearly illustrated by the con tracts made between the in

tended owner of a house and the builder who will construct it. Firstly, a plan and specifications are drawn up. The builder and the prospective owner then agree to a contract. The build er guarantees to erect the house for a price to which the other agrees. Until this is settled, no actual construction is done. When it is, the builder proceeds to construct the home accord ing to the agreement. So it is in spiritual things. Only after the sinner has accepted the plan exactly as God has designed it, and has decided to give up any disposition to introduce his own devisings, can God pro ceed to effect the work within him.