Part IX
T he following is the ninth and last argument advanced by David C. Pack of the Restored Church of God when refuting A Sabbath Test. Each argument is responded to by Blow the Trumpet.
Argument IX:
Yeah Buts & What Ifs
Throughout his essay Mr. Pack laces his argument with a stream of true examples as well as hypothetical scenarios designed to demonstrate how brutally heartless the authors of A Sabbath Test are, and how compassionate he is. The following are a few examples.
“The Flagman”
By David C Pack
Consider the following analogy: Suppose that, while driving your car on the Sabbath, you approach a highway construction site en route to services. As you draw near, a flagman waves for you to stop. Then, a few minutes later, he waves you on through the construction zone and back into free-flowing traffic. By driving through the work zone, you caused extra labor for the flagman.
Though it might not be proportionate to the work that restaurant employees do in accommodating an additional customer, the fact remains that (in this analogy) you caused the flagman an extra measure of work—thus making you cause him to break the Sabbath. Work is work. This analogy cannot be dismissed.
Those who oppose dining out on the Sabbath yet would drive through a highway work zone on that same day would be guilty of utter hypocrisy! If one truly opposed eating out on the Sabbath on the grounds that extra labor might be produced, then he would be obliged to bypass all construction zones during Sabbath time.
Our Response:
Here Mr. Pack claims that because a flagman labors to assist you as a motorist, God now permits His people to consciously seek out unbelievers who labor in restaurants, and actually pay them for the fruit of their sacrilege. Through this blast of “intellectual wisdom,” Mr. Pack has discovered the perfect loophole. Because it would be impossible to not cause someone, someplace to labor in some form on the Sabbath, God’s people may now seek out unbelievers who trample on holy time and do so with the full blessing of their Creator. What a deal!
Well here is a hypothetical for Mr. Pack. “You are an Israelite wandering in the Sinai desert. While there, God Almighty informs you that you are not to go out and find food on His Sabbath. He then informs you that you are to prepare all your Sabbath meals the day before—not on the Sabbath. Finally, He informs you that on the Sabbath you are to stay within the camp of His people. He then explains that this command will stand as a test to prove whether you will “walk in My law or no” (Ex. 16:4). On the following Sabbath you ask a friend if he has seen your son. The man points you in your son’s direction. Because you caused him to lift his arm, can you now go outside the camp and acquire your Sabbath meal?”
Mr. Pack knows full well that the hypothetical scenario above perfectly reflects God’s instructions to His people nearly thirty-five hundred years ago. Furthermore, there isn’t a hint in the scriptures that He has ever changed His mind on this. When this prominent COG leader teaches people that they can go outside the community of faith on God’s Sabbath and patronize businesses engaged in the desecration of that Sabbath, it is he who is the hypocrite. His “what if” scenario is a cynical attempt to justify his lawlessness. Furthermore, it employs the same arguments Protestants use when rejecting the Sabbath altogether. They reason that because it is impossible not to cause labor in some fashion on the Sabbath, you may now cause labor in any fashion on that day. Mr. Pack's argument holds about as much moral weight as suggesting that because a person's vital organs (lungs, heart, kidneys etc.) work on the Sabbath, it must be okay for God's people to do so as well.
Finally, here is what Mr. Pack omits in his piece of Biblical trickery. When one is driving a car on the Sabbath, he is not seeking out construction workers who are profaning holy time. However, when it comes to Mr. Pack going to restaurants on this day the opposite is true. He and his sabbath dining companions MUST seek out Sabbath-breakers or they will not be able to do what he claims God condones.
“The Real World”
By David C Pack
In many of the world’s larger cities, such as London and New York, brethren must ride metro trains to get to services. This sometimes means having to invest hours traveling to and from services, and riding two or more separate trains. And of course, none of this is free! Sometimes, multiple cash transactions must take place. Early in his ministry, Mr. Armstrong rode streetcars—exchanging money—to get to Sabbath services.
Yet those brethren who pay these transactions—in order to obey God’s Sabbath command and attend His service—are condemned by critics who forbid dining out on the Sabbath. In their minds, no exceptions are allowed.
Suppose a Church member has to wait an hour for his train to arrive, and he becomes thirsty or hungry. If he buys something to eat from a food stand, these critics would condemn him, insisting that everyone should prepare their food on the preparation day (Friday) and bring it with them.
But not every elderly lady or gentleman is equipped to carry more than a carrying case, which would contain a Bible, a notebook and other personal items. For many brethren, adding a pre-packed lunch, along with a drink, is not feasible when traveling by public transportation. Some would even condemn others for buying bottled water instead of drinking from a public fountain.
In the Philippines, some brethren in Manila must take taxis get to services—which requires exchanging money for services rendered. These “taxis” are more like short buses, and hold well beyond the maximum number of passengers allowed. Riding in them can involve a considerable amount of risk, not to mention the discomfort brethren must endure during long rides through the city.
It is always convenient for critics, who live in the modern nations of Israel and benefit financially from the birthright blessings, to proclaim the “errors” of brethren who live in less affluent regions. Apparently, these detractors are unaware that the world actually extends beyond the borders of North America—they do not comprehend the kind of sacrifices that so many brethren around the world make week after week in order to attend Sabbath services.
Suppose a Sabbath service was being held in the downtown area of a large U.S. city, such as New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles (which was done in Mr. Armstrong’s day), and you decided to drive your car. Where would you park? Most, if not all, major American cities are notorious for their lack of parking space. More than likely, in order to park in a safe and convenient location, you will have to use a parking lot or a parking garage. This means having to pay a parking attendant, which is condemned in the eyes of those who oppose dining out on the Sabbath.
Driving your car to services could also involve using toll bridges and taking toll roads. For those who use them, traffic tolls are mandatory business transactions. Sometimes toll areas can be avoided. However, in many cases, detouring around them could amount to extra travel time, as well as additional fuel consumption.
Do you begin to see a trend here? For many brethren, there are legitimate expenses that must be paid in order to attend God’s commanded assembly—and these have nothing to do with fulfilling personal pleasure or profaning the Sabbath.
Ask yourself: Would Christ understand the necessity of having to pay traffic tolls, parking fees, and transportation expenses for trains, buses or taxis? Would He understand His brothers and sisters paying for food and drink as they travel to Sabbath services? Is Christ scrutinizing whether a transaction becomes one too many, immediately condemning that person for profaning the Sabbath? Does He eagerly stand ready to enforce “yardstick Christianity” and punish us for such “oversights” or “infractions” (particularly, in this case, when it was He who commands Sabbath fellowship and assembly – Mark 2:28; Heb. 10:23-26)? Or, does Christ measure our intent in context with the spirit of the Law?
Man is not to be deprived of attending to his physical needs, such as hunger, finding warmth from the freezing cold, or even being denied the opportunity to assemble on the Sabbath because it might involve exchanging money when traveling.
The Pharisees of today see only two alternatives: Keep the “letter of the law” or abandon it. They mistakenly view “the spirit of the law” as a Protestant platitude translated “the law is done away.”
Our Response:
Here, Mr. Pack hides behind a host of legitimate reasons that may require money to be spent on the Sabbath and misrepresents the authors of a book that never once hints at what he (Mr. Pack) is suggesting. He knows full well that A Sabbath Test is not about third world countries or situations that are unavoidable. In truth it’s about him (Dave Pack) as a contemporary “noble of Judah.” This “noble” has the gall to suggest that those who honor God’s command to refrain from going to restaurants on His Sabbath actually want God’s people to go hungry on this day. He does this to justify himself when making reservations at an exclusive bistro and dropping $200 on an exquisite meal. However, being that he brought it up here is Blow the Trumpet’s response:
The Bible doesn’t address tollbooths. It doesn’t address parking lots in modern cities. It doesn’t address electricity, water & power or Mr. Pack’s phone service. The Bible doesn’t address a host of issues that may require money to be spent in our contemporary world. Furthermore, to employ such arguments and represent them as “scriptural facts” is an act of extraordinary cowardice. Additionally, to suggest that the authors of A Sabbath Test want to make the Sabbath a burden is to suggest that this was God’s motivation in the Sinai desert.
However, there is good news. The Bible is not silent on everything pertaining to this issue. For example: IT DOES ADDRESS DINING OUT ON THE SABBATH AND TEACHING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME! Furthermore, the scriptures declare that Mr. Pack’s attempt to dignify this practice is a reproach to both God Almighty and His HOLY Sabbath. That day is SACRED! It is HOLY! And both Mr. Pack and others who think they can defend their position by saying, “It depends on the meaning of the word ‘your’” would be well advised to take their dirty feet off of it.
In conclusion, here is what God Almighty is telling Dave Pack and anyone else who thinks he can engage in this practice, and teach God’s children to do the same:
David C Pack, You shall NOT procure food on My Sabbath. If you do, you profane My day and you FAIL my test!
David C Pack, You shall not prepare food on My Sabbath. If you do, you profane My day and you FAIL My test!
David C Pack, You shall NOT go outside the community of faith on My Sabbath. If you do, you profane My day and you FAIL My test!
The Sabbath is God’s day and He doesn’t need Dave Pack or anyone else to improve on it. It is just fine as it is. Furthermore, Mr. Pack should understand that those who refrain from dining out on the Sabbath are not Pharisees. They are people who are honoring God’s word powerfully spoken nearly 3500 years ago and later affirmed by a wonderful servant named Nehemiah.
A Final Thought
In the conclusion of A Sabbath Test, the authors offer a simple tribute to a day all of God’s people share. It is a tribute of hope and inspiration. Here are their words.
The Sabbath is a day with profound meaning. It was created by God as evidence that He has an incredible plan for mankind. That plan reflects a great wisdom and an infinite love for His children. God made the Sabbath so that His children could know Him and the hope of His Kingdom. The Sabbath pictures that Kingdom. And those who honor it honor what it pictures.
When God gave the command to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, He wasn’t simply instructing the children of Israel to be aware of when this day occurs. It is not simply a cognitive test of knowledge. The Sabbath is a test of faith. A test to see if His people will declare their loyalty to Him and His kingdom (Ex. 16:4).
Honoring God’s Sabbath is done by acting out that kingdom every week. In a very real sense, God’s Sabbath is His signature on a great moral code Jesus described in one word: LOVE. Honoring this day as God instructed is the profound responsibility of every true Christian. But there is more. To keep the Sabbath as God commands is also a great privilege—one that is known by so few. God’s people should see it as an honor bestowed upon them by none other than the King of Eternity.
To that, we at Blow the Trumpet say: Amen
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