All Sabbath Keepers are Legalists and other Straw Men Arguments

Show of hands of those who are already weary of election year politics? It's just getting to be a little too much isn't it? It's almost a full year away from the next presidential election and the mud is flying in every direction.

With a media culture catering to the ever shortening attention span of the public, elections these days are won or lost based, not on the strength of ideas, but on which candidate can do the most damage to their opponent in a twenty second sound bite.

An old but effective staple of the sound bite wars in the political arena is the straw man argument.

What is the straw man argument? Webster's defines a straw man argument as "a weak or imaginary argument or opponent that is set up to be easily defeated."  Straw men arguments are usually sweeping, misleading generalizations that are easily attacked and discredited.

This tactic is used everywhere in politics today, on both sides of the aisle.

Recognize these?

"All Democrats are big government, socialist leaning, liberals."

"All Republicans are rich corporate fat cats who don't care about the poor."

While these statements might be true of a small percentage of Democrats or Republicans, to paint with such a broad brush is a gross oversimplification and distortion of the facts.

So why do politicians use them? Well, because they are effective. This is based on the old maxim  that an idea, regardless of how flawed or misleading, when stated often enough and with enough passion, becomes true to large numbers who hear it.

Another reason is that statements such as these elicit strong, polarizing emotions. And when you have twenty seconds to sell your idea, emotions are a much more powerful weapon than the sometimes complicated nuances of fact.

Before we condemn politicians though, we should take a look in the mirror.

The real masters of the straw man argument over the centuries have not been politicians, but religion. Ever since churches have been splitting, the straw man argument has been a weapon of choice for religious leaders wishing to keep parishioners safely within their folds.

If you are a Sabbath Keeper you know all to well the power of the straw man argument. Why? Because you've been at the receiving end.

"All Sabbath keepers are legalists who believe you earn salvation by your works."

Sound familiar?

Is it true? Absolutely not! It's a grossly distorted generalization, isn't it? Yet, this statement is widely accepted as fact by many of our brothers and sisters in the Sunday keeping churches. Why? Because it's a simple message that appeals to the emotions and can be effectively used to discredit us.

Are there those among our tradition that believe we are saved by our obedience to the law? Yes, surely there are some among us who hold a legalistic view of salvation. But it's clearly not a majority. Most of us do not believe we are saved by Sabbath Keeping or by any other "work", for that matter. It is faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice and His grace that saves us. We keep the Sabbath, we strive to obey, not because obedience saves us, but because we believe faith is demonstrated by action. Our obedience is motivated by His Spirit within us changing our hearts and minds to be more like Him. Obedience is the natural response of the Spirit led Christian. Obedience is not what saves us, it's the natural response of one who is saved.

But such nuances of belief don't fit nicely into a twenty second sound bite.

Now Sabbath Keepers, before you start feeling besieged and unfairly maligned, I'll point out that we have been guilty of building a few straw men ourselves.

C'mon, really? Us? No.

Yes, yes we have.

Let's see...how about this one...

"The worlds churches believe in salvation by grace alone. The need to obey has been nailed to the cross."

A nice, short, pithy sound bite.  Only one small problem. It's not entirely accurate.

Sure, a percentage, albeit I would argue a small one, teach that obedience is unnecessary. But tune into any radio ministry on any given day, read the writings of any number of  prominent mainstream biblical teachers, and you will hear a great deal on the need, not just to talk the talk, but to walk the walk in obedience to God.

This is not to say that there is not plenty to disagree with in their teaching. There are many areas where, I think we all agree, mainstream Christianity has strayed from biblical truth; areas where a full understanding of God's plan is lacking. Books could be, and have been, written in great depth detailing these areas of disagreement.

So why rely on straw men arguments when we have so much biblical backing with which to commend our positions? Well, frankly, it's just easier to paint a broad brush than to do the work of diving into the weeds. Besides, brushing our detractors away with one, all-encompassing, dismissive stroke makes us feel good, doesn't it? It clearly sets us apart as different....special...better...the obvious choice.

The problem with straw men arguments is that, though they may work with the uniformed masses, they can be serious turn offs for anyone who's personal experience does not align with our broad generalization.  They can be serious turn offs for anyone who takes the time to dig beneath the surface to find the truth.

Jesus instructs us in John 7:24 to "judge righteous judgement."

When it comes to drawing distinctions between error and truth, the judgments we level should be righteous. They should be arguments, not based on broadly painted, misleading generalizations, but on the strength of our convictions, backed up by sound biblical teaching.

In the religious arena, there should be no place for straw men arguments. Let's leave that for the politicians.

"Share Your Energy, People!"

"How you all doing??!!! Let me hear how much you love this!!!!"

A few grunts, a weak, "woo-hoo", mostly silence.

"C-mon! You can do better than that! Let me hear you!!!"

A few more grunts, three or four faint ''woo-hoos." Silence. . .

I was about thirty minutes into an hour long spin class, pedaling my brains out on a stationary bike along with thirty or so others who'd signed up for the same torture session.

At this point in the workout, my legs were hurting, my lungs were burning and frankly this overenthusiastic instructor was getting on my nerves. Why couldn't he just leave us to suffer alone in silence? Is yelling and screaming really necessary? After all, I'm here working my tail off aren't I? Isn't that enough confirmation that I'm committed?

So, I decided to ignore him. I thought, "maybe if I don't respond he'll eventually grow tired of trying and just shut up." That sentiment seemed to be the consensus among most of my fellow sufferers in the room.

But then he said something so profound that I almost fell off my bike.

"You guys are all way too into yourselves!! Look up!! Look around!! You're not in this alone, you know!! You've got to share your energy, people!!!"

Share your energy? Wow...I'd never thought of it in quite that way before. Maybe all of that yelling and hype served a worthwhile purpose after all.

Sure I was hurting. Sure I wanted to quit. But I wasn't alone. There were others around me who knew how I was feeling because, at various times throughout this hour long ordeal, they were hurting just as much as I. No doubt all of us could ride harder and longer with the power of our combined energy and encouragement than we could just by relying on our own.

It's a powerful principle. Not only for surviving the occasional grueling workout, but for surviving our spiritual battles as well.

Galatians 6:2 tells us to "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

God put us in this thing called Church, His body, so that we'd have a means of drawing energy from, and sharing energy with, others.  He gave us one another so we wouldn't have to struggle against sin, trials, hardships, the ups and downs of this Christian walk, alone.

But sadly, so many of us don't use our relationship with others in the Body for the purpose God intended. Instead church becomes, as the lyrics to one contemporary Christian song goes, a place filled with "happy plastic people...with walls around our weakness, with smiles to hide our pain." In such an environment, the opportunities God provides His people to tap into a tremendous source of power and energy for personal change and growth are too often squandered.

In Malachi 3:16 we read "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,...

Hmm....what do you suppose it is they spoke to one another about? The standing of their favorite sports teams? The politics of the day? The weather?

Let's read on.

...And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him. For those who fear the LORD. And who meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine,' says the LORD of hosts,..."

Isn't that amazing? Have you ever thought of God listening in on your conversations with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

And what did He hear? He heard them speak of their love for Him, their fear and respect for His ways. These Christians were sharing their burdens, encouraging and building each other up in the fear of the Lord.

Satan wants you and I to be spiritually isolated. He knows that when we are weak and isolated we are most vulnerable to attack. God placed us in a body of believers as a buttress against the enemy, especially during times of weakness. It's during those times that our God knew we would most need the encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

That encouragement is only possible in an environment where people feel safe, supported and cared for enough to share their brokenness. God has put us together.  He has seen to it that none of us need struggle against sin, trials or weakness, alone. He created the forum, His Church. It's up to us to create the environment.  

And we can do it if we just get out of ourselves, look up, look around and "share your energy people!!!"

Avoiding Spiritual Big Baby Syndrome

Several months ago I underwent major surgery to repair a full thickness tear to a portion of the rotator cuff in my left shoulder. Eight weeks out of surgery, other than opening and closing my hand, my left arm was pretty much useless. I'd been told to expect anywhere from six to twelve months of therapy to regain full mobility and strength in my shoulder. Little did I know just how excruciatingly painful and frustrating that process would be.

Now I'd like to think that I'm a pretty tough guy, but Dr. Karla, my incredibly demanding, yet amazingly patient physical therapist, would tell you that, when it comes to therapy on my arm, I might as well put on a pair of diapers, curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb. The excruciating physical and mental pain involved in getting this arm moving again has pretty much turned me into a cry baby.

An interesting thought occurred to me the other day after leaving one of Dr. Karla's torture sessions. My determination and commitment to going through this process, enduring this agonizing pain is motivated by a desire to get back something I have lost, something that is dear to me. I'm sacrificing a lot to get it back: my time, my energy, my comfort. An immense amount of my life's focus these last two months has been on doing whatever it takes to get this arm moving again. But the sacrifice, the focus, is worth it because to not do so would be to never have the use of my arm again.

But what if I had never known the full use of my arm? What if I'd never known all of the amazing potential this part of my body had? Would I be as focused, would I be as willing to endure hardship so that someday I could use it to it's full potential?

In Hebrews 11 we read, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ...These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

Assured. There's powerful meaning wrapped up in that word.

Why was Abraham willing to give up everything, leaving the comfort and safety of Haran to wander around in a hostile, foreign land? What possessed him?

He was assured.

The promises God had given him were so real to him, so vivid, it's as if, in his heart and his mind, he had already experienced them. He was so completely assured of what lay ahead that there was no sacrifice or hardship great enough to keep him from moving toward that sure vision.

In Romans 8:18 - 25 Paul writes of that vision, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ...we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.  For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

How real is that future hope within me? How strong is my faith in that vision? Do I eagerly yearn and groan for it? Am I so assured in my heart and mind of that vision that the thought of giving up, being content with just this existence, apart from God, is unthinkable? Or, do I sometimes lose heart? Do I sometimes feel like giving up and assuming the fetal position?

In II Corinthians 4:16 - 18 we read "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Big baby that I am when it comes to physical pain, I'm not about to stop going to my twice weekly torture sessions with Dr. Karla. Regaining the use of just one body part keeps me committed to the process, willing to do whatever it takes.

One day we'll exchange these frail, perishing physical bodies for perfect, immortal ones that will never grow weak, never fail or be in need of repair. Yes, there will be some pain getting there. Yes, there will be some affliction to be endured. But don't lose heart. Be assured, these hardships we endure are working in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Let that vision give us power to persevere through the pain. Let it help us resist the fetal position and keep us committed to the process, whatever it takes.