I was a Sabbathkeeper for 10 years under Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God.
Regarding the references in Luke, those verses are either before the resurrection or shortly thereafter. Regarding the Acts reference, Paul taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath because it was a fertile mission opportunity and the Scriptures were readily available there. Notice that his teaching in those verses were associated with the synagogue.
Regarding Hebrews 4:9 the "rest" which is being spoken about is the rest of faith in Jesus Christ. It is not talking about a literal keeping of the Sabbath day.
Regarding I John 2:6, as I mentioned in a previous post, there are many things Christ did which were related to the fact that he was born under the law.
Your remarks about others not being qualified to discuss this subject are condescending. I was as firmly committed to Sabbath and festival observance as anyone else. I know that it takes away from focusing on Jesus Christ and salvation by grace through faith in his sacrifice. That is the big problem with most Sabbathkeepers. They are fixated on the Law to the exclusion of Jesus Christ, and that is why I rejected it.
Regarding Hebrews 4:
4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. [SUP]
2 [/SUP]For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.[SUP]
[a][/SUP] [SUP]
3 [/SUP]For
we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”
although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. [SUP]
4 [/SUP]For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” [SUP]
5 [/SUP]And again in this passage he said,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, [SUP]
7 [/SUP]again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
[SUP]
8 [/SUP]For if Joshua had given them rest, God[SUP]
[b][/SUP] would not have spoken of another day later on. [SUP]
9 [/SUP]
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,[SUP]10 [/SUP]for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Notice the reference to faith, and also the fact that it is a rest from works...the works of law and the attempt to justify one's self through them.
Matt 11:
[SUP]28 [/SUP]Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [SUP]
29 [/SUP]Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [SUP]
30 [/SUP]For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus is our real Sabbath rest, and notice it is a spiritual rest, not a physical rest like Sabbathkeepers fixate upon.
[SUP]
Col 2:16 [/SUP]Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
[SUP]17 [/SUP]These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
This was addressed to the Colossians, who were a Gentile church. They were being influenced by Jews, probably Essene Jews, into thinking that they were required to observe the Sabbaths, festivals, and new moons. Paul told them no, that these things pointed to Christ, but they were a mere shadow, not the reality. They pointed to Christ as our spiritual rest.
The Old Covenant was an agreement between God and the nation of Israel (Ex. 31:12-17).The Ten Commandments are a summary of the Old Covenant (Ex 31:18, 34:28; Deut 4:13, 9:9, 11).The Old Covenant is no longer in effect for anyone (2 Cor 3:4-18, Gal 3:17-25, Heb 8:13-9:4).The Sabbath, therefore, is not in effect for anyone (Gal 4:10, Rom 14:5-6, Col 2:16-17).Christians are under the New Covenant, which has higher demands and different commandments (Luke 22:20, Heb 9:15; Jn 13:34, 15:12, 17; Rom 13:10).The chief of those commandments is to love others as Christ loved us (Jn 13:34).
The Sabbath was merely a sign, a seal of the Old Covenant. It is not a moral absolute. One proof of this is that the priests worked on the Sabbath, doing the hard work of preparing the commanded sacrifices, yet they were blameless. This is much different than any of the other laws. For instance, God wouldn't command someone to lie while saying it was wrong for other people, because lying is a moral absolute.