Frequently Asked Questions
"Is Serving God's People a Sin?"
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I recently heard a COG minister say that God will not hold restaurant personnel responsible for serving the brethren on the Sabbath, just like He does not hold ministers responsible when they labor in giving messages. Have you ever heard this before? How do you respond to it?
Our Response:
If we had not heard similar claims ourselves we would never have believed someone could utter them. However, today there are leaders in God’s Church advancing this very point when defending the practice of going to restaurants on the Sabbath. One such COG leader is Mr. David C. Pack of the Restored Church of God. In a recent essay published by the RCG, Mr. Pack through a team of writers argues that there exists many similarities between those who work in restaurants and the Levites who will serve in God’s millennial temple. For example: according to Mr. Pack, both positions require significant amounts of specialized labor involving food preparation and service. Additionally, like restaurant personnel, Levites serving in the temple will be compensated for their labor, albeit not on the Sabbath. Therefore, according to RCG argument, restaurant employees have more in common with a Levite than one may think. At this point, the RCG writers present what they believe is a logical question:
“If God can make—and always has made—allowances for His priests when they worked on the Sabbath, is it not possible for Him to make allowances for others who serve God’s people?”
The first time we at Blow the Trumpet heard this argument it came from a Protestant minister who employed it when “explaining” why Christians could work on the Sabbath. According to this minister, because God forgives Levites for laboring on the Sabbath in the service of His people, He would also forgive someone who labored on the Sabbath to provide for his family who were also God’s people. The problem with both of these arguments is that they have no basis in biblical fact. They are nothing less than humanly contrived arguments disguised as scriptural.
While the RCG argues the similarities between restaurant personnel and Levites working on the Sabbath, we would like to present the differences—and they are significant. Consider just a few.
- Those who perform Levitical duties in the Kingdom serve the God of Heaven. Those who work in restaurants on the Sabbath serve the god of this world (2 Cor.4:4).
- Those who serve in the temple during the Millennium are committed to assisting God’s people in honoring His Sabbath and holy days. Those who work in restaurants have no idea what those days are, let alone what they mean. They will however, wish you a “Merry Christmas” or a “Happy Easter.”
- Any compensation extended to those performing Levitical duties in the Kingdom is provided by God Almighty from tithes and offerings given to Him. By the way, the same is true today. Meanwhile, those who work in restaurants are compensated by patrons in the form of tips and by their employer who generates revenue by selling products.
- Those who perform Levitical duties on the Sabbath are held blameless before God. However, those who work in restaurants on the Sabbath are commanded to REPENT!
The idea that anyone would characterize serving God’s people a meal on the Sabbath, from His temple no less, as tantamount to what is done at a commercial restaurant is reckless, and a huge distortion of the scriptures. Can you imagine giving that explanation to God? We can’t.
Respectfully,
Blow the Trumpet
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