Physical Vs. Spiritual When it Comes to Laws and Rules

The Undercover Adventist has been involved in various judgements brought on by fellow Adventists. Somehow, everything you do that could even have a hint of some past (ancient) pagan practice is bad. In fact, so bad, that one is doomed if one does not stop. Or, if you break a Sabbath rule, or other law in certain Old Testament books, you are a bad person. And bad people just are not following Jesus.  The problem with such judging, is that one is focusing only on the physical, not spiritual. Let's take a look at some glaring examples.

I dare say that many Adventists we've met here, would have been ones to judge Jesus gathering grain on The Sabbath. Think about that one. What have you seen a fellow member do, and think to yourself how they should not be doing such a thing. For every law and statute, there MUST be a spiritual aspect to it. If not, it is just physical. Physical only being mindless following with no purpose but to follow the rule. For this gathering grain example, the accusers were only looking at the physical aspect. They could probably give no real spiritual reason for not gathering grain. But what could be Jesus' spiritual reasons  FOR gathering grain? Well, they were hungry. Fasting is one thing, but Jesus apparently did not want His disciples fasting at this time. He wanted them alert and ready. Listening and learning from Him at this time. That's the spiritual aspect. Jesus was being Godly, even though on the surface it seemed as if He was breaking The Law. But He was not.

Another example was washing of the hands. The disciples did not wash their hands before certain accusers. They quickly chided Jesus for this. Again, they only focused on the physical act, not the spiritual. What did Jesus say? It is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out. Think about that the next time you tell someone not to eat pork. The pharisees were mindless followers of the law, thinking they were pure.

Of course we all remember Jesus healing on The Sabbath. Again, this was breaking The Law. But only the physical act, not the spiritual. Jesus pointed out that if one of their animals were in trouble, they would save it. How much more a man?

This brings up an interesting dilemma which the Undercover Adventist has brought up many times. What jobs are pure on The Sabbath? We look like fools when we excuse one but not another. Moreon that later. Watch for it!

If you see someone doing yoga, and you readily accuse them of practicing some pagan religion, how do you know? You are judging a physical act. If the person looks at you funny, rolls their eyes, you deserve it. The Undercover Adventist would submit that the majority of Christians doing yoga, are doing it for health reasons and would think you were a nut for accusing them of practicing some pagan religion.

You think not? You had better watch yourself by making accusations. Jewish leaders and people accused Jesus of doing just that! He was accused of being demonic when casting out demons! He was also accused and berated for being a drunkard, a glutton, a carouser with sinners, and a waster of money! I would imagine Jesus has good company among fellow believers. They are readily accused of doing physical acts that are wrong, without knowing what spiritual motive they might have!

You do not know what a person's heart is. You do not know what spiritual motive a person might have. If you mindlessly follow rules, and tell other people to follow rules, you are as mindless as the accusers of Jesus. Is that what you want to be?

Perhaps this is why Jesus told people not to judge.

Some say you should not eat out on Sabbath. We know of a person who always takes a certain relative out on that day. And they have explained why, undoubtedly many times. Let's just say there is a spiritual reason for it. If you were to see them doing this, you probably would accuse them of breaking The Sabbath. But spiritually, they have reasons to do what they do. You do not know a person's motive, nor do you walk in their shoes.

Keep that in mind when accusing someone of breaking Sabbath rules. In fact, if you sin on The Sabbath, you are breaking it. If you claim you go all day on Sabbath without sinning, you are a liar. And one should not lie on The Sabbath. So before claiming someone else is breaking some rule, look at the logs in your own eyes. We have plenty of logs in ours. How dare we confront someone on this matter and accuse them!

Don't get us wrong. There are polite, logical, and peaceful ways of having conversations to convict people on certain things. Blind accusations are not one of them.

The Undercover Adventist DOES quote Ellen G. White. And we will quote her now.

"Although priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him." (Taken from Great Controversy, p. 572)

Are you focusing on the physical and not the spiritual?

Was Jonah Swallowed by a Whale?

Why Ben Hur remake flopped at box office

A remake of Ben Hur was released over the weekend, and did not make nearly as much money as it could. It has been deemed a box office flop. Whether that is true or not when all is said and done, is another thing. But there are reasons why this "Biblical" movie may not have caught on.

First, the target audience would have to be over 50. Not the best movie going demographic. Baby boomers will remember Charlton Heston as the bellwether for Ben Hur. How could a remake be THAT good? Perhaps that's what people thought.

The movie, as a lot of Biblical movies are, are not very kid friendly. In 2016, you can bet the chariot race, among others, was violent. Parents would not be taking kids, and kids would not even have a clue about going.

As far as modern movies go, it is quite clean. The Undercover Adventist would like to publicize a website that will give you clear and concise descriptions of what every movie will entail. From adult themes to profanity. Give yourself a heads-up. The site is plugged-in: http://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/ben-hur-2016

Of course we would encourage people to see this new version. Why? Because if a rather clean, Biblical(?) movie flops, it means others may be few and far between.

Let us know what you think if you saw it.

What to be a preschool teacher?

Watching Only Religious Channels is Not Wise

The Undercover Adventist meets quite few people who watch certain channels for what seems like 24/7. I hear it in their conversations. Sure, we watch some of them at times. They have their place. Remember that last line, please. But if all you are doing is sticking your head in the sand of these channels, you are missing out on reality. It is our belief that if that's all you are doing, you are ripe for deception. Why?

You won't know what is going on in the world. You need to know. You need to know the news of the day. What people around the world are doing. What they are thinking. What leaders are doing. Do you even know anything about Vladimir Putin? What he is? Can you name the leader of China? Can you find Syria on a map? Do you know what religion has 800 million followers in India? Do you know what the stock market is doing?

Can you name one law that was passed recently? Can you name a Supreme Court justice? Can you name them all?

If the only thing you are doing is watching people that have a religious agenda, then that's the slant you will get. Make no mistake about it. Each and every channel has an agenda. How do you know they have the right agenda? Humans run these channels. And yes, they will also ask you to send them money to further their agenda. Remember, most of these channels are not owned and operated by the Adventist Church.

You do yourself  a disservice by watching nothing but these channels. You need to be well informed on what is going on in the world. You need to know the reality of the day. Do not be ripe for deception. Watch as much as you can. Digest it. Ponder it. Pray over it.

As we stated before, these channels have their rightful place in your Christian walk. But do not put your faith entirely on what they say and do. If you do, you are missing out on real events going on right now.

The Undercover Adventist would like to reiterate that you need to know what is going on in the world now more than ever!

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Will Adventists Ever Publish a Sabbath Manual?

With all the talk we have about The Sabbath, we all have different opinions on it. You say black, I say white. They say swim, others say wade. With all of these different opinions and sides, why not produce a Sabbath Manual? Sound silly? Why? Why not settle these issues once and for all. It makes everyone very judgemental of each other when we can have two, or three, opposing views.

Let's take what many Adventists say about The Sabbath. That it is extremely important. In fact, so important it will affect the "last days." (The Undercover Adventist will have more to say on that later.) If it means SO MUCH, how can we NOT have a manual?

Let's look at a typical, but inane example. Swimming. Or hiking...playing soccer...anything you wish. One person says swimming is just fine on The Sabbath. Another say, no you can only wade to your knees. Another person says, who cares? Just do whatever you want as long as you and God are okay with it. Well, sorry folks. All three of those choices makes other arguments about The Sabbath seem really silly.

If someone is swimming on Sabbath, and we think it is a sin, isn't it our duty as Christians to steer this person to the right? After all, we do not want people breaking Sabbath, right? So if we really think that swimming is a sin, then we should be there to stop it. Why should we look the other way when we see a brother or sister going astray? If Sabbath Keeping is SO IMPORTANT, then let's do it!

But if swimming is not a sin, should we not want to inform those that think it is to believe the right way? After all, we cannot leave it up to the individual to decide what sin is, right? That would be chaos. If swimming is not a sin, and we fail to reveal that, then everyone is free to decide what a sin is. Jesus certainly wanted it to be known that gathering grain on Sabbath was not always a sin. He did not say that for Him it wasn't a sin, but you are free to decide it on your own.

What if we say, "Who cares"? Then again, we are leaving virtually all Sabbath "rules" up for interpretation by the individual. That is, you choose. As long as you are right with God, go for it.

That makes no sense. We cannot have it both ways. We cannot say to people that they can choose to do on The Sabbath whatever they feel is right....and in the same sermon tell them that keeping The Sabbath has consequences at the end times. We never say that about salvation, do we? The Undercover Adventist would like to reiterate that if someone asked us how to be saved, WE WOULD TELL THEM! And make no bones about it!

Perhaps, just perhaps, we are a little mixed up on Sabbath keeping. Sure, that's a shock to a lot of you, and a welcome message (we hope) to most.

The conclusion? We give clear, very clear, instructions on how to be born again in Jesus. But we have no clear instructions on Sabbath Keeping. Sure, some of us have individual "rules" and "convictions" about this or that, but we certainly do not have a manual. And that still is the question....if Sabbath Keeping is so important, so important that it defines us, then why do we not have clear definitions?

We, as a group, seem to fall more frequently on the side of, "Who cares?" Just do what feels right.

If someone asked about salvation, you would not say, "Who cares?" Just do what feels right.

So what is right when it comes to Sabbath Keeping? Will Adventists ever have the nerve to write a manual? If not, then The Undercover Adventist will offer that we had better start looking at Sabbath Keeping in a much different way.

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Is Your Dead Relative Looking Down From Heaven?

The state of the dead is one of the biggest arguments going between Adventists and others. Adventists believe that The Bible, overall, teaches plainly that the dead are sleeping. The saints are sleeping in Christ. So what does one say when they hear things like, "Well, my mother must be looking down and smiling."?

It's an awkward situation to say the least. We know it somehow brings comfort to those that say it, and those that believe it. Adventists just can't go charging in at a time like this. Although, many Adventists are quick to put up a fight anywhere, anytime, regardless of feelings or just being "Christian."

We will not really debate the state of the dead here. That's for a different time. As The Undercover Adventist likes to do, well will look at this particular situation using The Bible and logic.

Smiling down from heaven brings up images of people living, looking down, watching our every move. Perhaps a dead mother watching lovingly and smiling as her son does well. Okay. Let's take that as truth, just for argument here. A starting point, if you will.

If that is true, that your departed loved ones are looking down smiling, would they not be crying as well? And even more so? The world is broken. Sin abounds. People, even good people, do bad things. Would you really want your dead mother seeing you cuss someone out on the freeway? We could not have it both ways. Are we saying that the dead are living in heaven, but only being able to see the good things? That makes no sense. Having them able to experience the good, the bad,and the ugly would make no sense. Heaven is a joyful place. There are no more tears.

No more tears would mean your departed loved ones, whether they are awake in heaven to begin with, are most assuredly NOT looking down.

This notion that dead people are watching us is based more on comfort and wishful thinking than The Bible. And it seems to The Undercover Adventist that this is the first step in believing that the dead go right to heaven. But we will leave the true state of the dead for another day.

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