Argument VIII
Rehabilitating Evil
When defending the practice of dining out on the Sabbath, the United Church of God employs what is arguably the greatest insult to God's law in their quiver of points. They contend that seeking out unbelievers who desecrate what God made holy can actually be a better way to honor the fourth commandment than keeping it as God intended from the very beginning, when even He rested from His labor on that day (Ge. 2:2). Our assessment may sound harsh but we exhort all who are genuinely interested in this issue to honestly consider what the UCG is asserting in this phase of their argument.
United Church of God:
Eating in a restaurant doesn’t violate the principles as given in the Bible about the Sabbath. In fact, to eat in a restaurant after Sabbath services with our spiritual family can be one of the highlights of a person’s week. In many small congregations the entire group goes out together after services, either for lunch or dinner. It is a wonderful way to spend a portion of the Sabbath. Of course, we also need private time together with our families in the home. And we need the fellowship of a Sabbath service to fully appreciate the meaning of the day. The key in these areas is one of balance. It is actually less work for many to eat in a restaurant and pay for the meal than it is to have a group of people in your home to eat on the Sabbath. Even if you work diligently to prepare everything the day before, there will still be work involved when one entertains others in his home.
Our Response:
The UCG position reflected in the paragraph above is laced with so much misinformation that we decided to break it down into several components. As you read each assertion, consider the Biblical truth you must reject in order to accept their argument.
UCG Assertion I
Eating in a restaurant doesn’t violate the principles as given in the Bible about the Sabbath.
Our Response:
Oh yes it does! When God established the nation of Israel, He specifically prohibited labor on His Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11). He did so in order to preserve the spiritual integrity of this day. The Sabbath is HOLY and work profanes it. What takes place in a restaurant on a Friday evening and Saturday afternoon is an act of sacrilege and shows utter contempt for what God consecrated at the very beginning (Ge. 2:2-3). God's law not only prohibits His people from working, but also from soliciting the labor of others on the Sabbath. Even the "stranger" (unbeliever) was not to labor on behalf of God's people on this day (Ex. 20:10).
Furthermore, God's word specifically forbids His people from 1) acquiring their meals on the Sabbath, 2) having them prepared on the Sabbath, and 3) from going outside their community of faith on the Sabbath (See Ex. 16). When one dines out on God's day he or she must violate all three of these commands.
Finally, dining out on the Sabbath requires the purchase of food and services from unbelievers just like the Jews did when purchasing goods from men of Tyre in Nehemiah's day (Neh. 13:16). Furthermore, God PROHIBITED his people from buying ANY food on His Sabbath or holy day (Neh. 10:31).
For these COG leaders to assert that seeking out Sabbath breakers to prepare their meals “doesn’t violate the principles of the Sabbath” is laughable. The sad truth is that they are so committed to satisfying their appetite to engage in this sin they completely deny the obvious.
Respectfully,
Blow the Trumpet
Counter Argument
United Church of God
Advisory Committee for Doctrine
April 16, 2007
UCG Assertion II
"In fact, to eat in a restaurant after Sabbath services with our spiritual family can be one of the highlights of a person’s week. In many small congregations the entire group goes out together after services, either for lunch or dinner. It is a wonderful way to spend a portion of the Sabbath."
Our Response:
Since when is going out into spiritual Egypt where God's law is being desecrated by slaves to sin (Ro. 6:16) under the influence of the great slave master, Satan (2 Cor. 4:4), "a wonderful way to spend a portion of the Sabbath"? The UCG may find pleasure in what takes place at a restaurant when they dine out on this day, but God absolutely ABHORS it (Ezk. 20: 12-13). If one truly loves God they would never participate in an activity that requires contempt for him--no matter how much pleasure it gives.
UCG Assertion III
Of course, we also need private time together with our families in the home. And we need the fellowship of a Sabbath service to fully appreciate the meaning of the day. The key in these areas is one of balance.
Our Response:
The argument of “balance” advanced by the UCG may sound plausible, but in truth it is nothing less than an attempt to compromise God’s law. The fact of the matter is that God forbids moderation and balance in many areas, not the least of which is soliciting profane labor on His Sabbath.
The UCG may feel comfortable dressing up sin in a tuxedo and calling it beautiful, but the Lord of the Sabbath had different words for Israel when they went out to acquire their food on the Sabbath.
And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. (Ex. 16:27-29)
The fact that unbelievers trample on God's holy day by preparing and selling their victuals is no reason for believers to purchase the fruit of their sacrilege. For the UCG to suggest otherwise is shameful.
UCG Assertion IV
"It is actually less work for many to eat in a restaurant and pay for the meal than it is to have a group of people in your home to eat on the Sabbath. Even if you work diligently to prepare everything the day before, there will still be work involved when one entertains others in his home."
Our Response:
This brand of human reasoning is based on the belief that it is better for an unbeliever to work on the Sabbath than for a believer to do so. The problem with this assertion is that God makes no such distinction. His prohibition against work on the Sabbath pertained to both (Ex. 20:10).
However, inviting brethren to one's home on the Sabbath does not violate God's law. Even Jesus accepted such invitations (Lk. 14). And contrary to the thinking of the UCG, hosting a Sabbath meal in your home can absolutely be done without profaning God's day—going to a restaurant can’t. In order to engage in this activity the Sabbath has to be violated. Without that sin the restaurant would not operate on holy time.
Counter Argument
United Church of God
Advisory Committee for Doctrine
April 16,2007
Dear Mr. Fischer,
Blow the Trumpet states:
"God's position concerning work on the Sabbath has never changed (Mal. 3:6, H b. 13:8)."
We would agree with this statement in principle. We would disagree that this means that the exact circumstances of what constitutes work and how to keep the Sabbath have never charged. For example, preparing a meal today is much easier than it was before there were modern appliances. So cooking a roast on the Sabbath requires no more work than warming up a roast that was cooked on Friday.
Blow the Trumpet states:
"This brand of human reasoning [that eating out on the Sabbath is less work than having members over for dinner] is based on the belief that it is better for an unbeliever to work on the Sabbath than for a believer to do so, However, God makes no such distinction. His prohibition against work on the Sabbath pertained to both (Ex. 20:10)."
This statement is also based on what we consider as your misunderstanding of the Sabbath commandment. Also, we do not think of an unbeliever working on the Sabbath in terms of "better." But we do consider that eating out on the Sabbath can be a better alternative than preparing and serving a meal at home.
We have seen examples of ladies engaged in intense labor to the point of profusely perspiring while warming up and setting out potluck dishes on the Sabbath. We would consider that a served meal in the quiet atmosphere of a restaurant owned and staffed by people who do not understand the Sabbath could be a better alternative in the age in which we live.
Sincerely,
Advisory Committee for Doctrine
Response from Mr. Fischer
Dear Friends,
In the first paragraph of this counter argument, the UCG contends that preparing a meal on the Sabbath is a relatively easy task. I suppose this is done to "prove" that God's people may now prepare their Sabbath meals on the seventh day, despite the fact that God's word forbids it (Ex. 16:23). Then, in the last paragraph they relate examples of people sweating over pot lucks. I suppose this is done to "prove" it is acceptable with God to go out to a restaurant because of the intense work involved in preparing Sabbath meals. But it doesn't end there. In the middle paragraph, the UCG states that they "do not think of an unbeliever working on the Sabbath in terms of [being] "better" [than a believer working]. Then in the very next sentence they write, "But we do consider that eating out on the Sabbath can be a better alternative than preparing and serving a meal at home."
As one who has engaged in both practices, when it comes to Sabbath observance, hosting brethren at one's home is hands down a more positive experience than dining with them at a restaurant. First, the time you can spend at a private home is significantly greater than it could possibly be at a restaurant. Second, the conversation in a private home can be far more open and candid. Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen God's people break out their Bibles in a restaurant and discuss a spiritual topic? If you have, it is very rare. Our conversations in such places require us to be more "discrete."
Finally, the greatest benefit to sharing a Sabbath meal at a private residence is that it is in total keeping with God's word and the example of Jesus Christ. However, seeking out the services of Sabbath-breakers in a restaurant violates every tenant of proper Sabbath observance. There is no example of any man of God doing such a thing in the scriptures.
What is particularly disappointing in this UCG position is that they not only believe and teach that it is acceptable with God to pay non-believers (the stranger within their sphere of influence) for his or her Sabbath labor, but that it is actually preferable to do so.
Respectfully,
Dennis Fischer
Yeah Buts and What Ifs