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Theology be Damned

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In Luke 6:9, Jesus asks a dumb question.

He asks whether on the Sabbath it is better to save a life, or to destroy it.

The answer is easy. It’s better to save a life. Right?

Well, not so fast.

The question Jesus asks was actually a famous theological question in His day. Today, it might be like asking, “Tell me, is hell real or not?” or “Is the atonement limited or not?” or “Is homosexuality a sin or not?”

The question Jesus asked a hot question in the days of Jesus, and the best and brightest Bible scholars of His day had constructed a neat and tidy three-point answer to that question. The Jewish Rabbis taught the following:

1. On the Sabbath, healing to save a life is not only permitted, but a duty. Though it was the Sabbath, Jews are required to perform work if it will save the life of a person who would otherwise die.

2. Caring for the seriously ill is sometimes allowed on the Sabbath, but only under certain restraints and conditions (which the Rabbis go on to explain).

3. Treating minor ailments is prohibited. This is because a minor ailment is not life threatening, and can therefore wait until after the Sabbath is over. Also, treating minor ailments often required the grinding of herbs to prepare medicine, and grinding is one of the prohibited forms of work.

So that was the official answer to the question which Jesus asks.

But then… why does Jesus ask it?

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How to Help the Poor

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Helping Hand to the Poor

Have you ever noticed how Jesus seems to walk right into traps laid by the Pharisees and religious leaders? Jesus wasn’t dumb, so I sometimes think He stepped into their traps on on purpose. Why? Because usually, their traps used hurting people as the bait. They knew Jesus was a sucker for hurting people.

And Jesus, crazy God-Man that He is, played along, to show us what the heart of God is really like.

One of these instances is in Luke 6:6-11 where Jesus is teaching in a Synagogue on the Sabbath, and a man is present who had a withered hand. Although the text does not say that the Pharisees brought him, the presence of this man in the Synagogue on the Sabbath is still a trap for Jesus, however the man happened to be there that day.

And curiously, Jesus did not have to help this man right there on that day. He really didn’t have it. It wasn’t life threatening. He could have waited until the meeting was over, and then invited the man over for the Sabbath meal, and then after the sun went down, healed the man then. What would have been the harm in that?

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The Devil Made me Go to Church

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A neighbor lady died last week. To my shame, I didn’t find out about it until late Saturday night. So on Sunday morning I felt like I should go over there, bring some lunch, and spend some time with him while he is grieving.

But since it was Sunday, I had to go to church. Besides, I didn’t know either of them very well, and I’m sure he was having lots of friends and family coming over. I would just be the way. I will make sure to offer some extra prayers for him during the Sunday Service.

Devil Made me Do it

After church, I got home, changed, ate some lunch, and mowed my lawn. As I was mowing along the fence, I noticed that the neighbor’s drive way was empty. Through the window, I saw him sitting in a chair in his living room, all alone. I really need to go over there.

So I went back inside and took a shower. As I was getting dressed, I saw the clock on my bedside stand. Crap! I was running late for the Sunday evening service! And the pastor had asked if I would lead the “Prayer and Share” time. I would have to wait until tomorrow to go see my neighbor, but would make sure I shared about his tragedy at church tonight. Maybe one or two members from church could put together a meal, and we would take it over there on Monday night to show how much we cared.

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Should Christians Observe the Sabbath?

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Enjoy the Sabbath

In this short series on the Sabbath, we have seen that Sunday is not the Sabbath, that the early church did meet on Sunday, and that the church can meet any day of the week. The final issue before us today is whether or not Christians should observe the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is a Perpetual Covenant

There are some Christian groups that do observe the Sabbath with varying degrees. And remember, we’re not talking about Sunday, since Sunday is not the Sabbath. We are talking about observing the Sabbath on Sunday by refraining for work, or performing other Sabbath-day functions. The two main groups that do this are the Seventh Day Adventists and Messianic Jews. Both groups argue that since Exodus 31:13-17 refers to the Sabbath as a perpetual covenant to be practiced throughout all generations, that we should still be observing it today.

What people often fail to note is that the Sabbath is a perpetual sign of the Mosaic Covenant. It is not a sign for all people everywhere throughout time. It is only for those who commit to living under the Mosaic Covenant. As followers of Jesus, we live under the New Covenant, and so the signs of the Mosaic Covenant are not required of us.

So if you don’t want to observe the Sabbath, you don’t have to. It is not required of you.

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On Which Day Should Christians Worship?

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Previously, I summarized how Christians began to meet on Sunday, rather than on the Sabbath (Saturday) as had been the custom of Jesus and His disciples. Today I want to address the question of which day Christians should meet to worship God, and tomorrow, whether or not Christians should observe the Sabbath.

So what is the biblical day for Christians to gather and worship? The answer is that there isn’t one. There is no set day for Christians to gather together to worship God. There are three reasons for this.

Every Day is the Same

Although many Christians believe that Sunday morning is the “set time” for Christian worship, this cannot be defended from Scripture. Sunday morning is simply a tradition. It is not a command. Some in the early church were arguing about the proper day to gather, and Paul responded by saying, “let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or… Sabbaths” (Col 2:16).

In Christ, every day is the same. In Christ, it does no matter if one group wants to meet on Sunday morning at 11:00 am, and a different group decides to meet on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. Both are acceptable.
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Does Jesus Love Terrorists?

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I clearly remember where I was on 9/11, ten years ago. I was buying AAA batteries in the Radio Shack on Highway 93 in Whitefish, MT when I saw it on one of the TVs they had on in the store.

Ten years later, we are still dealing with the aftermath of that horrible event. We are in a war because of it. People live in fear because of it. Many people despite Muslims because of it. And that, I think may be one of the greatest tragedies of the whole event.

Don’t get me wrong. I am grieved over all the lives that were lost on 9-11, and in the ensuing war. I support our troops in every way possible. I love my country. I love the people of the United States. I think this is the best country in the world, and I thank God every single day that I was born here. Someone has said that being born in America is the equivalent to winning the lottery of life. I couldn’t agree more.

And yet I am troubled by the hatred that many feel toward Muslims because of the events that happened on 9-11. I was troubled then, and ten years later, I am still troubled.

I think that what happened on 9-11 was a terrible event, but I often wonder what Jesus wants our response to be. Somehow, I just don’t think that response would have included bombs. Remember when the disciples wanted to rain down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village for rejecting Jesus (Luke 9:54). Jesus rebuked the disciples and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.”

Of course, just a few verses later, when Chorazin and Bethsaida reject Him and His followers, Jesus announces judgment on them which will be greater than what happened to the people of Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon. But He doesn’t actually call down this judgment right then.

What am I saying?

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A Brief History of the Sabbath-to-Sunday Transition

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Sabbath to Sunday
On Friday, I asked the question about why Christians meet on Sunday rather than on Saturday. The issue is that while many Christians think Sunday is the Sabbath, a day to refrain from working, Saturday is actually the Sabbath. Since Jesus and His disciples observed the Sabbath by ceasing to work and attending a local synagogue, shouldn’t we do the same thing?

I say “No.” But I don’t think we must worship on Sunday either.

Below is a brief history of the Sabbath-to-Sunday transition, and we will look next at the question about which day of the week Christians should worship God, and whether or not Christians should observe the Sabbath. If you have been reading this blog for more than a week or two, you probably already know how I will answer these questions…

The History of Sunday Church Services

First, it is true that in the Old Testament, the Sabbath was observed on Saturday, the seventh and last day of the week. It was to be a day of resting, reflecting and rejoicing. The basis for this was in God taking a day of rest after six days of creating the world.

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Go to Church on Sunday to Get the Mark of the Beast

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I will always wonder if Harold Abrahams knew that Eric Liddel could have run on Sunday, and just decided not to tell him, because he knew he couldn’t beat Liddel.

Do you know what I’m talking about?

Eric Liddel

In the 1924 Olympics, the two fastest runners in the world were both from Great Britain: Eric Liddel and Harold Abrahams. Their story is masterfully told in the 1981 Movie, Chariots of Fire. If you have seen the movie, you know that of the two, Liddel was faster, but at the 1924 Olympics, Liddel opted out of running in a 100-meter heat for which he was scheduled, because it was held on a Sunday. Being a Christian, Liddel thought he could not compete in the race on Sunday, because the Bible teaches that we should not work on the Sabbath.

Harold Abrahams was Jewish, and must have certainly known that Liddel had his days confused, and so I wonder if he chose not to tell Liddel that Saturday was actually the Sabbath because then Abrahams could win the 100-meter dash, as in fact he did.

Today, many Christians continue to think that they cannot work on Sunday because it is the Sabbath. I spoke to someone just last week who believed this.

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The Trap of Truth

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Trap of TruthThere is a trap in the pursuit of truth, and many pastors, professors, and Christians in general have fallen into it. I have fallen into it, and over the past four years or so, am trying to climb my way out of the pit.

The trap is this: if we are not careful, the pursuit of truth gets in the way of loving others.

For me, it happened this way:

In Bible College and Seminary, I was assigned many books to read and papers to write. Seminary was all about accuracy, truth, dotting every i, crossing every t, making sure I had the proper word count, and writing in Turabian format.

In class, we had discussions about election and predestination, open theism, inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture, millennialism, tribulationalism, dispensationalism, infra-, supra-, and sublapsarianism and many other “very important” subjects that you discuss every day over dinner.

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Jesus the Counterfeiter

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Imagine you were walking through the mall this past weekend, and you noticed one of those mall kiosks with the following sign:

Bob’s Certified Driver’s Licenses

Too young to drive? No Problem. State License revoked? Get back on the road!

My Licenses Get YOU back on the road TODAY

You go up to the guy manning the Kiosk and ask who Bob is.

He says, “I’m Bob.”

“So…. are these Fake IDs?” you ask.

“No,” he replies. “They are real IDs. They are real Driver’s Licenses, but instead of being issued by the state, they are issued by me.”

“But wait,” you say. “You cannot just hand out driver’s licenses to anyone. People have to learn how to drive! What if you are giving licenses to people who had theirs taken away for drunk driving? This is dangerous! You are selling unauthorized licenses, and people are going to get killed!”

As you talk further, you find out he is a bit disgruntled with the way the state controls the Driver’s Licenses, and wants to create a new way for more people to drive. At one point, you think this is just some sort of get-rich-quick scam of his, and you ask how much he is charging for these “licenses” but he says they are free. He doesn’t charge a dime. You ask if the State Police recognize his licenses, and he says, “No yet. But eventually we will create our own Police Force that will. Until then, you might get a few tickets for driving without a license.”

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