Pardon the Interruption
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W hen defending the practice of dining out on the Sabbath, the United Church of God appears to be indifferent toward those who labor in restaurants on holy time. At one point, they even suggest that if someone has to work on the Sabbath let it be them. After all, they don't know better. Here is how these learned men present this point.
To the UCG, these words seem perfectly logical. But are they Biblical? First, consider that God made specific arrangements for preparing our meals for the Sabbath (Ex.16). The Almighty even stated that he gave these instructions to "prove" whether His people would obey Him, or, defy Him (verse 4). Despite this fact, the UCG implies that even with God's command concerning the day of preparation, they still need unbelievers to labor for them on the Sabbath in order to properly honor the fourth commandment.
The UCG may argue that those who work in restaurants will be working anyway, so nothing changes, but there is one big difference, YOU'RE THERE! Furthermore, you are there as an ambassador of a KINGDOM that totally rejects everything that is done in restaurants on the Sabbath. Our question for the UCG is: do YOU reject what is done in those restaurants on Holy time?
The real tragedy with the UCG mindset is the message it conveys about those who have not yet been called to God's truth. It is as if they are irrelevant to this body of UCG leaders. But should that be the case? Consider that God's law is driven by love. Where is the love in seeking out unbelievers who desecrate God's Sabbath and actually paying them for this sin? Furthermore, what does dining out on the Sabbath say about God's kingdom and the hope it offers to those who are currently enslaved by ignorance and sin. With this in mind, we ask you to consider the following.
A Millennial Lesson
Imagine the time when Jesus Christ has returned to earth and subdued the nations. Peace and harmony are breaking out all over the globe. However, there is still much to do. For starters, millions of people who survived the devastation of the Day of the Lord will need to learn God’s law and His wonderful plan for man.
Now imagine that you have been commissioned to teach these people about the Sabbath. As the lesson begins, one of them asks you the following question.
At this point, Jesus Christ enters the room and stands next to you as you prepare to respond. After all, He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mk. 2:27). He should be very interested in what you have to say. This being the case, how would you answer this question? What would you tell this young millennial citizen?
As you ponder your answer, here is something to consider. God’s people today are ambassadors of His soon-coming Kingdom. They represent its ways and its laws. In a very real sense, their lives proclaim the gospel. By their example, God’s people act out His Kingdom every day, including the Sabbath. The truth is that if a representative of God’s Kingdom went to a restaurant on His Sabbath or holy day, that person would be engaging in a practice that contradicts the very Kingdom he or she represents. To do so would be nothing short of rank hypocrisy.
However, it does not have to be that way. God’s people not only proclaim their faith by what they do, but also by what they will not do. Refraining from dining out on the Sabbath can make a powerful statement about the God we serve and the Kingdom we represent. To illustrate this point, consider a different conversation with a citizen of the millennium. Imagine this citizen asking you the following: “When I worked at a restaurant I would often see you. I even waited on you occasionally. However, I never saw you on the Sabbath or holy days. Why?”
Imagine the wonderful lesson that could be taught to this potential child of God. Perhaps you could begin by explaining why the Eternal instructed the ancient nation of Israel to make sure no one worked on their behalf on His Sabbath--including their servants and even the unbeliever. You might actually quote the very words of God Himself when giving the fourth commandment. Notice what He said.
At this point, you might explain why God would insist that servants were to be released from working on the Sabbath. After all, God clearly commanded this to be done. The question is why? It is no small matter that God provided the answer.
Notice what God is revealing to Israel in this verse. Immediately after instructing them to not compel servants or strangers to work on His Sabbath, He tells them why. It is because they (the Israelites) were once enslaved. Imagine what is being conveyed by this Great Law-giver. Israel was enslaved by a nation that had no clue regarding the true God. Egypt worshiped idols. This pagan nation practiced a faith that was light years from that described in the pages of your Bible. Furthermore, it did so because it did not know better. Tragically, when the Israelites lived in Egypt, they eventually lost the faith that filled the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They, too, engaged in the same idolatry as their masters.
But now they were free--because God had made them free. He personally delivered them from the bondage inflicted on them by a godless society. But what does this have to do with God’s people today? Deliverance from Egypt
The scriptures reveal that just as the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt until God miraculously delivered them, those whom He has called in this present age were also once enslaved in spiritual Egypt. God’s people today were once in bondage. We once believed the things the world believed, taught the things the world taught, and practiced the things the world practiced. We even profaned God’s Sabbath and holy days. We did so because we did not know better.
However, our calling reveals that a Great Deliverer has again rescued His people from a world that does not know Him or His way. For this reason, God’s people today should never compel the unbeliever to work on their behalf on the Sabbath. They must refrain from this practice because they were miraculously delivered from this very sin themselves!
With this in mind, God’s people must understand that the Great Deliverer would no more permit His people today to return to this world and its sin than He would permit the Israelites of yesterday to return to Egypt and their sin. As much as some may want to go back to Egypt, God forbids it and warns of its consequences. Notice what He says.
Consider these words in the context of dining out on the Sabbath. In order to engage in this practice, God’s people must return to a world that does not know Him. In the Old Testament that world was called Egypt. In the New Testament it is called Babylon. But make no mistake about it, these worlds are one and the same. Come Out of Egypt
When God commanded His people to cease from working on the Sabbath and to not compel others to work on their behalf, He was making a powerful statement. He was commanding His people to COME OUT OF EGYPT, to COME OUT OF BABYLON! In other words, God’s people are not to be a part of the very sin that once gripped their lives.
This is the answer God’s resurrected saints will share with the countless millions who will learn about their Deliverer when His Kingdom is restored to this earth. Although the world today is truly in bondage, God’s people stand as proof that it will not always be that way. By refusing to allow the slave of this world to labor for them on God’s Sabbath, His people are proclaiming a great hope – a hope that one day all who are enslaved will be free. At that time they, too, will “remember the Sabbath and keep it HOLY.” Counter Argument
United Church of God Advisory Committee for Doctrine
The United Church of God offered no counter argument to this page
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