Sabbath

As we encounter another Sabbath day, I encourage you once again to keep the Sabbath as a day to set aside the things of this side of the Jordan so that you can more fully interact with family, community, and God. When we do this, we can truly begin to see the other side and more fully partake of the blessings of eternity.

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As the housing and financial crisis deepens the hearts of many are fearful. People are losing their homes, people are losing their retirement. And some are even beginning to attempt to take their own lives. The fear can be paralyzing and overpowering. What do you do?

At times like these it is important to remember the God we talk about during the good times. We go to church every week to hear about the power of God. It is now time to tap into the power in those stories.

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The Second Advent of Jesus Christ shows us the futility of environmental concerns. I am not saying that we should litter, but I am saying that environmentalism is a waste of time. God will clean up all of this polution at the second Advent.

So said one of the pastors preaching a sermon that pointed to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The preacher perfectly articulated a common theme from the theology of many Christians who accept the Second Advent. However, it is my opinion that such a mindset is not only problematic and promotes poor stewardship of the earth, but it is also anti-Adventist.

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We are commanded to remember that God created on the seventh day. (Exodus 20:11) We celebrate God's ability to make things out of things that do not appear. (Hebrews 11:3). In revelation we are reminded that there will be a movement and a message that celebrates God's creative power when it has the everlasting Gospel. (Revelation 14:7).

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Wayne Muller writes in the book Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest:

If we forget to rest we will work too hard and forget our more tender mercies, forget those we love, forget our children and our natural wonder. God says: Please don't. It is a waste of a tremendous gift I have given you. If you knew the value of your life, you would not waste a single breath. So I give you this commandment: Remember to rest. This is not a life-style suggestion, but a commandment -- as important as not stealing, not murdering, or not lying."

Remember the Sabbath, remember to rest, and I would add remember to rest on the day that God created especially for that purpose. Don't get so caught up in work that you lose. Don't "waste a single breath." God has given us a commandment that we might be better spouses, community members, parents, church members, and human beings.

How often do we rob ourselves of the rest that God has provided because we want work?

Sometimes we want rest on our own terms rather than God's terms. And in the process end up with no rest at all. How many of us add "church" as simply another burden to the work that we already have?

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One of my favorite Authors, E. J. Waggoner had an article entitled "The Sabbath and the Cross" in The Present Truth of July 20, 1893. You can find the full article at 1888 Most Precious Message. In that article, Waggoner states:

(W)e find that the Sabbath was given to man at the close of the creation of the earth, before the fall. It is an institution of Eden. See the second chapter of Genesis. Therefore the keeping of it as it was given, must bring something of Eden into this wicked world.

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I heard a Sabbathkeeper argue for a "deeper" understanding of the Sabbath. This is fine and I have argued for the same thing, however a growing number of people are saying that public worship was not a part of Sabbath observance. They argue that the Sabbath was primarily meant to be a one on one "date" between the individual and God and that there was no worship or communal component to the Sabbath.

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Jesus Christ is the creator according to John 1:3. We know that the worlds were "framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Jesus created all that we see in the world. And the scripture tells us that the raw materials that Jesus used to create are things that can not be seen. Jesus took that which could not be seen and created all that is seen.

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I am told that Adventists were once called people of the Book. It is said that you could pull just about any member aside and ask that one for a text that teaches the Adventist understanding of the Sabbath, State of the Dead, or Sanctuary and any could give that to you. I was listening to a preacher who seems to be living in those days when this were true. That preacher said that today you could grab any Second Advent believer and that one could still do this. The preacher further stated that Adventists spend too much time worrying about and thinking about the doctrines of the church. They said that Adventists can quote the text, but do not know the author of the text. The preacher then concluded that we need to know Jesus more than we need to know the doctrines.

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