Since sabbath keeping was a day of rest as opposed to effort, we sabbath every day of our lives as we rest through grace on the adequacy of His sacrifice rather than on our wretched performance in attempting to live up to God's standards. Paul's message to the Galatians focused in Chapter 5 on promises coming true for the son who was the result of relying on God's promise that Abram would have descendants. To whatever extent we step out from under the protective shield of grace (undeserved gift of imputing Christ's righteousness to us despite our undeserving performance) we are subject to the curse of the law and deserve to be/ will be measured as to how well we satisfy those unattainable standards. Despite his presumably gallant effort in impregnating Sara's bondwoman Haggar (Ishmael's mother) and despite his pride in the results ("Let Ishmael be before me...), Abram was wrong in attempting to make God's promise come true as the result of his own effort.
Further, after equating the mountain top source of the law with Haggar/Agar, God's word includes the hard message that we are to cast out the bondwoman whose false gospel of living up to the law will only result in rejecting grace and asking to be judged by the law. We certainly are not to attempt to satisfy those attempting to enforce the law whether they be Seventh Day Baptists or nosy nextdoor neighbors. The Old Testament was a schoolmaster teaching the lesson that we can't live up to the law. The New Testament's use of an archery term for falling short of the target says that even aiming in exactly the right direction doesn't satisfy the requirement. Unless you hit 100% bullseyes 100% of the time. Which is why we need the grace we don't deserve.
No coincidence that the sin God hates worse than any other is spiritual pride. The Greek gives the picture of a prideful person looking down his/her nose at the rest of us, more than content with his/her performance as having outclassed our poor performance. "I kept the sabbath, God. Aren't you impressed with me?"
Instead of being out there trying to do it on our own, let us do one or more or all of the actions that the Greek version of the Old Testament (the translation Jesus quoted from) uses to picture faith: * roll (the burden off our shoulders. Usually onto a camel's back but in this sense onto broader shoulders than our own) * run (to the refuge or shelter of a rock or in this sense to the one Rock that offers ultimate refuge and shelter) * rely/ lean (usually on a staff but in this sense on God and His word.) * rest/ dwell (like a little chick under the wings of a mother bird)
These actions of faith are what God responds to with grace. These are the actions of those in Hebrews 11: Joseph praised not for the events of his life but for asking his descendants to carry his bones out of Egypt to the promised land. Not if God's promise comes true but when it comes true.... Moses praised not for performing miracles but for walking as though he could see the One who is invisible.... Read the 91st Psalm -- one of the Psalms of Moses -- http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Psa/Psa091.html#top Please do read it before you go on here.
Note the references to dwelling (resting!!) and trusting in reliance on God and His promises. Note also that the Psalm begins with Moses speaking to God ("I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress..." It shifts as a second voice (the Son?) speaks to Moses about his relationship with God: "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust [literally, dwell]"
In the last three verses, God speaks to us about this hero of faith:
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
With glorious promises like these coming as the result of faith, resting daily in Him, we can only pity those whose hope is vain, who even in that hope can aim no higher than avoiding punishment, and who condemn themselves by committing the sin God hates most when they condemn us.
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