These are being included in this post, as it is good for all of you to know the new topics that have been added. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get back to Pt. 14 of the series, True Fellowship.
Sabbath: Eating Out
God set aside the Sabbath day and made it holy. We are commanded to sanctify it – to set it aside as holy and separate from other days. If God says something is holy, it is holy. The Sabbath is for holy use and purpose, therefore, a person should strive to honor God on that day.
The 7th day (Saturday) is the weekly Sabbath. Over the past few decades, many regions of the world have changed calendars to reflect that Sunday is the 7th day of the week, instead of the 1st. This is not the true cycle of the week that God established, the one that most nations have recognized for centuries. The correct 7th day Sabbath is to be observed from sunset on Friday (6th day) to sunset on Saturday (7th day).
We are to treat God’s Sabbath differently than the rest of the week. We are not to do any work for our job nor do any work for our employer or work in a personal business – ever. Neither are we to do labor related work and time-consuming tasks, such as shopping, household chores, home maintenance, or similar types of work that should be done on the other 6 days of the week.
There are certain things we should do on the Sabbath, such as taking care of personal hygiene, preparing and eating of food, clean up and washing of dishes after a meal, making our bed, etc. However, we should not do laundry (washing of clothes), upkeep on the house (as in mowing lawns, doing yard work, or home maintenance – except in an emergency), or similar types of activities on the Sabbath. In addition, God’s Sabbath is not a time for pursuing entertainment and recreation, such as watching movies, attending (watching) or participating in sports activities, playing golf, etc.
There are certain light-work routines that God has set apart as separate and distinct from other work-related activities, which are fitting, proper, and right practices on His Sabbath. Some of these were already mentioned. These perfectly permissible activities include such things as maintaining good personal hygiene and appearance, keeping the home neat and clean (such as making beds, picking up clothes, washing dishes, etc.), traveling to and from Sabbath service locations and places for fellowship. Also included in this is the preparation of meals or purchase of them in a restaurant, the consuming of those meals, and any clean up related to this.
Some people have questioned whether or not it would be permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. Family togetherness and fellowship, especially when centered around meals shared together on the Sabbath, enhance the spiritual intent of fulfilling much of the purpose of God sanctifying the Sabbath. This includes eating out on the Sabbath at a restaurant. Any work related to such occasions is neither pertinent nor related to God’s purpose of forbidding work done on that day. This purpose is more closely related to how the Sabbath was often one of the busiest days of work for a Levite, just as it can be one of the busiest for someone serving in God’s ministry. Such areas of work that involve serving God’s purpose and His spiritual intent are separate and distinct from other personal activities not related to direct service or participation in God’s reason for sanctification.
The primary purpose of why God gives us the Sabbath day is so that we can meet in fellowship before Him (in a holy convocation) and learn what He wants us to receive at that time. God inspires His ministers, through the power of His spirit, to preach those things that are timely and necessary for our edification, training, guidance, profitable correction, and spiritual growth. In addition, the Sabbath provides special opportunity for strengthening family and fellowship with others.
Makeup and Clothing Styles
The Church of God teaches the need to exercise balance and moderation in life. This often becomes an issue when discussing clothing styles, as well as questions concerning the wearing of makeup.
Some religious groups teach that wearing makeup is a sin and they then distort the interpretation of some scriptures in order to lend support to “their” belief. This is similar to how some religions claim that God forbids the consumption of any type of alcoholic drink.
Without going into all the places where this subject of alcohol is mentioned in scripture, it will just be summarized here. Scripture only forbids the excessive use of alcohol that leads to drunkenness. God’s Church simply teaches that it is to be used in moderation and never to excess. It is not to be used to the impairment of speech, thinking, and alertness as in reactions and motor skills. This should be obvious when considering the importance of such a thing when driving a motor vehicle.
The principle of moderation and balance should be applied to the use of makeup. It should not be used to excess, but more as a highlight or enhancement of one’s natural appearance. However, society highly misuses makeup with a sexual or provocative “intent.” Yet most people who use makeup are unaware of this spirit that underlies such promotion of its excessive use. This is so much so that many women would feel somewhat naked if they were not to use it at all. This reveals the need for more balance in one’s thinking concerning their “view” of the subject.
Clothing styles should also be viewed in the light of moderation. Biblical moderation is not a matter of a judgment that falls somewhere between a conservative and liberal mindset. True moderation is an avoidance of extremes, but even more so, it is a matter of the use and intent of it. Discerning such moderation is based more on an avoidance of many of this world’s standards, fads, and trends, coupled with the desire to more fully adhere to qualities that are reflective of a good representation of God’s people. As Paul stated, “We are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20).
A good means for measurement within oneself is to ask if we are more concerned with how God sees us or of how those around us in the world see us.
There can be issues with clothing styles that the world promotes and “sells” to women. This is more of an issue affecting women because they tend to be exploited in a distorted sexual manner. This kind of thing has become more intense in this modern age of technology through the wrong use of massive forms of advertising, entertainment, music videos, misuse of the Internet, etc.
There is a continual push to highlight the sexuality of clothing in the sense of shorter dress styles, higher slits in skirts or dresses, lower or more revealing bust lines, tighter fitting clothing, and often, just less clothing. As women tend to think differently than men, due to the effect of different hormones that work on the mind, they do not always fully grasp the mind of men being lustful by nature. However, this knowledge can eventually begin to be misused in a seductive manner by women toward men. Provocative styled clothing can then tend to exploit the carnal nature of men.
The exploiting of women through clothing styles then shifts to the exploitation of men. It is a distorted cycle of life that tends to feed upon itself and fuels an ever-degenerating moral lifestyle in this present world.
Because of modern technology, this trend cannot be stopped from becoming increasingly worse in this world. Only God’s soon coming millennial reign can change this distorted course for mankind and its evil influence that is attacking and altering the mind of innocent youth at increasingly younger ages in life.
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