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Looking back over the past year or so of studies that I have shared with the Church, a remarkable number of them have been inspired by conversations that I’ve either had, participated in, or observed, in Facebook. I say “remarkable,” because it’s worth a remark, but it is not really surprising.
The Scriptures tell us what the purpose of the Church is, and specifically the gifts that are placed within the Church. We read, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ.” (Eph 4:11, 12)
We should all know this passage quite well. In fact, I used it as the basis of a previous study some time ago, explaining the two-fold purpose of the Church. The first, for its members, is “the perfecting of the saints” and “the edifying of the Body of Christ.” This is the place where sanctification takes place. Of course, for the Christian, every experience we have in the Church or in the world is permitted by our Father for the purpose of sanctification… but we will not be perfected, fit for Heaven, unless we take advantage of every gift that our Creator has given to us. This includes the Commandments of Yahweh, the Faith of Yahshua, and the gift of fellowship in the Spirit alongside those who are similarly covenanted with our Father and our Savior for Their salvation.
The second purpose of the Church, as this passage reveals, is “for the work of the ministry.” It is for teaching us how to reach out to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, and how to introduce them to the Messiah, who has done all to rescue them from bondage, and from ultimate destruction.
These purposes are the blessings that we receive from the time we spend together every week: an opportunity to receive the light we need in its due season so that we may perfect the character of Christ, and knowledge that gives us greater use of the tools that we possess for evangelism. Essentially, then, our studies and conversations seek to address what it is that the Church needs, and since much of our outreach takes place online, this is naturally where “need” is revealed. This is true in terms of what we as members need to learn, and what the world needs to hear us saying. This is why I say it is not surprising to me that many of the themes we cover in our Sabbath studies are inspired by our interactions over the Internet.
A few weeks ago, I saw someone commenting in response to a CSDA member’s post. He said, and this is not word-for-word, but in essence, “I really like what you guys teach. I agree with what you say about victory over sin – “whosoever is born of God does not commit sin.” I’m non-Trinitarian – I believe that the common understanding of the Holy Spirit in Christianity is incorrect, maybe even a bit dangerous. I appreciate the balanced view of Ellen White’s writings that you hold, trying to understand the factors surrounding some of her statements, and even that her predictions about last day events were conditional on the state of Adventism.” So far, so good, right? But then he concludes, “I just can’t be a part of a group that keeps the Old Testament feasts.”
Statements like this reveal a need. They show us an opportunity, a chance to bring healing. Here we see a soul under Satan’s deception, and that, in two ways. First, he does not understand what a “test of fellowship” is, and therefore what the “Church” actually is. I want to talk about that a little. And second, he does not really understand the CSDA position on feast-keeping as it currently stands. This second one is perhaps a little easier to clear up, so it may be good to state it, at least, my understanding of it, for the record.
And I say “my understanding,” because this is actually a very important element of what it means to be a part of the Church, a part of the Body of Messiah. We may, indeed, have different understandings of various things.
The Scriptures read, “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things; another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth, for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” (Romans 14:1-5)
I know what has been done with this passage. I know that it has been used by Sunday-keeping Protestantism in an attempt to undermine the validity of the distinction between clean and unclean meats, and the observance of the fourth commandment. “After all,” they reason, “Paul says ‘God is able to make him stand,’ who eats whatsoever meat he wants, and esteems every day alike, so clearly the Old Testament dietary rules, and the blessing placed on the Seventh Day, hold no particular significance to the Christian.”
In this passage, however, Paul is neither contradicting Christ, nor himself. This is not the only time that Paul answers a question about diet, and the parallel passage in his letter to the Corinthians gives us more context about the “meat” issue that the Church was facing at the time: “But meat commendeth us not to Yahweh; for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak.
“For [and here is the key word: for, since, because… indicating that he is about to explain it] if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” (1Cor 8:8-13)
This is exactly the same issue being addressed in Romans. Some Christians, knowing that idols are nothing, were not offended by purchasing meat that was ritually offered to them, and thereafter sold in the marketplace. Others thought this was an offence to the true God, and Paul asks those with greater knowledge to be gentle with their more sensitive brethren. That’s it… it had nothing to do with Biblically unclean meats, which were not considered “food” by the early Christians at all, most of whom were Jewish converts, and by the Apostles, who refused to eat unclean animals (even in vision!) in Acts 9.
As far as the estimation of days, Paul was not speaking of the fourth commandment. He writes this, “Circumcision is nothing, and un-circumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the Commandments of God.” (1Cor 7:19) Some people teach that when Yahshua came to earth, He replaced His Father’s commandments with new ones, like the commandment to “Love one another.” Yahshua told us Himself that He didn’t replace anything, He just explained that love is the fulfilling of the Law, and the Law explains what love looks like. John the Apostle said, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word which ye have heard from the beginning.” (1John 2:7) The “new commandment” that Christ gave us is not new after all, and the very last chapter of the very last book of the Bible says, “Blessed are they that do His Commandments1, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” (Rev 22:14)
Anyone who thinks that Paul ever preached an end to, or a replacement of, any of the Commandments has some light to receive. The Sabbath is not discussed at all in Romans, but rather the observance of various days in the calendar presumed by some to be sacred, and so when I see in some of the independent SDA threads about not keeping New Year’s Day, or Thanksgiving… even such a controversial subject as Christmas, I wonder if they have actually read Adventist writings concerning these things, or even the Book of Romans. I myself do not consider any of these days to be of any great significance, but I am not offended at those who do. It does not make me question their faith, or their relationship with Christ.
The Biblical Feast days, I view in much the same way. I think that, in some of my older writings available on the Church website, I describe the CSDA Church as one that “keeps the feasts.” I think this is reasonable wording; after all, Paul uses it himself, saying to those very Corinthians, “Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1Cor 5:8) At the same time, if I had them to write over again, I would probably explain what I meant in a bit more detail, in order to avoid the very misunderstanding that inspired this study.
Technically speaking, no Christian group can “keep the Feasts,” in the way they are described in the Old Testament. There can be no going up to the Temple to present our males before the Lord; the Temple has been destroyed. There will be no sacrificing of animals for the cleansing of the nation; such a thing would be a rejection of the perfect blood of Christ, shed once for the remission of sins. There will be no waving of samples of the harvest in front of the Levitical priests for… a number of reasons. It is very unlikely that we’ll all take a flight to Jerusalem, where Yahweh’s people are commanded to gather. These are the rituals associated with the appointed times, and what is understood by the Jewish Nation to be feast-keeping.
When others hear that CSDAs observe the feast days, I think they immediately get all these images in their minds, and then the misunderstandings kick in. Because they think that we are trying to emulate the old Jewish festivals, they accuse us of rejecting the Cross. And if you think that is an exaggeration, I once heard an audio rebuttal to an old article of mine, in which the speaker, in a recorded voice message, asked me something about whether I thought it was right for a Christian to dance around a campfire while singing psalms and slaughtering sheep.
Inspiration tells us that the “Jewish Economy” has passed away. Many use that phrase to reject even New Testament examples of feast keeping. Christ’s followers, His Spirit-filled, hand-picked messengers observed the feast days in both Jewish and Gentile communities. We know this – we have it on record in the Bible and subsequent historical books, just as we do for the Sabbath. However, because of certain misunderstood statements, this is often entirely overlooked. The Jewish Economy is a ritualistic understanding of the Gospel. It sheds the blood of animals for partial, temporary, remission of sins. As the Book of Hebrews explains, this old system has been replaced, forever, by the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ. “For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.” (Heb 7:26, 27)
And yet, the feast days, which appear in the Book of Genesis, but interpreted into English rather unfortunately as “seasons,” preceded the very Jewish Nation with which that economy was associated. “And Elohim said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” (Gen 1:14) That word “seasons” is mo’edim. It is literally “congregation,” or gathering together, often translated as “feast,” though it has nothing specifically to do with food, or appointed time.
Even before there were Jews, the Bible tells us that God had identified some specific times for the gathering-together of His people, as determined by the sun, moon and stars. In case you haven’t realized it, this makes the conception of the Biblical feast days older than the weekly Sabbath, at least as it relates to the physical creation. When the Israelites became a nation, certain practices related to their worship were associated with the days, and these practices did pass away when Christ became our one true Passover; but the days themselves were before, and the days themselves are after, and they retain whatsoever blessing and purpose they were given in the first chapter of Genesis before the entrance of sin, as days of “congregation.”
| 1 | The Mo’edim (Gathering/Appointed Times) are instituted, with the sun, moon and stars provided as indicators of their approach. (Genesis 1:14) |
| 2 | Sin enters human history. (Genesis 3:6-19) |
| 3 | Sacrifices are instituted as a way of atoning for sin by pointing forward to the redeeming work of Christ that culminates in His death on the cross. (Genesis 4:4) |
| 4 | Israel becomes Yahweh’s chosen nation. A system of Levitical priests is created, centered on the Temple. This is the “Jewish Economy,” incorporating the pre-existing feasts and sacrifices, while adding new rituals. (Exodus 29:44, Leviticus 2:8, 23:6) |
| 5 | Christ dies on the cross, becoming the true Sacrifice, invalidating both the sacrificial system (1Corinthians 5:7) and the rituals associated with the Temple, i.e., the Jewish Economy. (Hebrews 7:26, 27) |
| 6 | The Temple is destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., making “proper” observance of feast-associated rituals impossible, even for those who rejected the sacrifice of Christ. [Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Chapter 5] |
| 7 | The Mo’edim, which pre-dated Judaism, sacrifices, and sin, continue to serve as gathering times, as appointed by God at the creation, and recognized by the CSDA Church. (Leviticus 23:21, 1Corinthians 5:8) |
How do we respond to this knowledge as Christians? Well, the Bride of Christ has determined that there is no better time than these to schedule our twice-a-year camp meetings, and we have been blessed by this practice for many years with no apparent drawbacks or spiritual challenges. Is it a commandment? No, it is not. Is it a test of faith? Absolutely not, and Paul, who went to observe the Feast of Tabernacles as described in Acts 18:21, did not in any way rebuke those who did not accompany him to Jerusalem.
But do we, who practice their observance in our modern way, find it to be a fulfilling and blessed experience? For my part, I can testify that it absolutely is, and I invite anyone who is willing to come and see for themselves what benefits it holds. That is as far as it goes.
The purpose of today’s study is not really to defend Feast-keeping, beyond explaining what this means in the New Testament era, and to point out that the followers of Christ are recorded in the Bible as observing them. I think it is important to clear up misunderstandings about what the Scriptures say, and to testify when one is blessed by something, as I have done concerning the appointed times, but just as some have taken Paul’s statement in Romans 14 too far, so some can take the best of words and intentions, and turn them into something that they are not.
The truth is, even with that New Testament understanding of feast observance, there is something more fundamentally wrong here. The feast days are just one example of what that statement on Facebook might have been. Easily, easily, someone could have said, “I agree with everything you guys teach, but I just can’t be a member of a group that is non-Trinitarian,” or “I like everything you say, but not every CSDA is a vegetarian, so we can’t fellowship,” or “I believe it’s a sin for women to wear pants, but you don’t, so we can’t be brethren.” And again, if you think I’m exaggerating… I think these were all real objections to unity that we have heard over the years.
The fundamental problem here is that there isn’t a burning desire for unity among those whom we often find. If Christ’s will was being followed, there would be earnest, soul-shaking efforts to come into one accord despite these disagreements and differing viewpoints. We can read of the experience of our Adventist Pioneers. They would spend hours, entire nights, in prayer and study, in earnest conversation, and they would not let a matter rest until they could shake hands and rest in one another’s acceptance. Perhaps they did not come into unanimous or identical understandings of every matter; in fact, we know that there were disagreements about the nature of the Godhead and other, central-sounding issues, but they were One, and did not let disagreements about doctrines or practices cause a rift. This is not what we see in modern Adventism, or modern Christianity in general. One is more likely to be sued for trademark infringement, than to be invited to an all-night Bible study for the purpose of clearing up differences.
If Protestantism had maintained this spirit, as displayed by the early Adventist Church, can you imagine what the state of the world would be today? There would be one Church, one visible, worldwide Church, to rival the Catholics and secularists in numbers, with brilliant minds and talented speakers convincing the world to prepare for Christ’s soon return. In fact, in all likelihood He would have returned long ago… but here we still are, broken, fragmented, disputing over matters that constitute no test of one’s fitness for Heaven. The Bride is called to repair this breach.
And yes, Paul says this, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Yahshua the Messiah, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1Cor 1:10) Some take that to mean, “If you don’t agree with me on everything, and say everything just the way that I do, we cannot come into unity.”
No, this is the same Paul who says, “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” This is not a contradiction. It is not a riddle to solve. It is a balanced view of righteousness and individuality in religion. Both these statements are true, and they are equally true. We are to be one in judgment – now, that doesn’t necessarily mean one in conclusions, or one in opinions. Judgment is the way that we reason, it is the kind of thinking that we apply to the world around us. We have the “mind of Christ.” That is what this means, that we reason as Christ did. If Christ had our history, and past, and experiences, and cultural background, how would His mind react? And that is who the Christian is; it is one who has this mind of Christ, but while I may act in one way, and you in another, based on our unique and individual lives, we are the same in judgment, in the way that we judge, and in this, in this shared Spirit, we are One.
This is the understanding that the Christian world needs. This is what you, brethren, need to teach to those whom you meet, and this is the light that Yahweh has given you this Sabbath, bringing you closer still to the perfect character of His Son, and preparing you more thoroughly for the “work of the ministry.” At every opportunity, we are to meet people where they are, agreeing with them on common points, but acknowledging differences, and correcting the understanding of those who will permit us to do so. Our ultimate goal, our ultimate aim, is to find those who will fellowship with us in Christ, accepting Him as their Savior so that He kills the sin in their hearts and then, when they are walking in victory, we will walk by their side to the Heavenly City. And this is how we show them love. This is the fulfilling of the Law, to reach out to others and invite them to the Tree of Life. It is not to fix their doctrines; that will come in time, as they are able to see new light. It is not to iron out every potential disagreement or contrary position; some of these things will not be revealed until we are learning from the Master directly… but love insists that we get there, to life everlasting, together.
Evangelism is not about educating sinners, it is about being “fishers of men,” (Mat 4:19) finding those who are willing to be saints, and bringing them into the Family. I long for, and look for, the Harvest as we finish the work in the great vineyard of the world.
David.
1NOTE: Some versions of the Bible, such as the NIV and RSV, say “Blessed are those who wash their robes” instead; however, white robes were only given to those who were “slain for the Word of God,” (Rev 6:9, 11) therefore it is still a group of commandment-keeping Christians, faithful to the Scriptures that were available to first century believers, that is indicated here.