March-May 1999 The Sabbath Sentinel
Letters to the Editor . . .
I just read your article "Is Sabbath-Keeping Required for
Salvation?" in the July/Aug issue of the Sabbath
Sentinel. I understand your statements in regard to Calvin
Burrell's and Whaid Rose's stand on Sabbath-keeping, but I am
confused as to how you think Donald Ward's belief that
"Sabbath-keeping is essential for one to be keeping
the commandments of God" is "missing the point,"
and "wasting precious time." In comparison to
your own statement that -- it is a requirement for your own
salvation -- and "they should be out there promoting the
Sabbath" -- it would seem that his stand agrees with your
own. Paragraph #6 seems really confusing. Can you please
explain what your point was on Donald Ward's view? I thank
you very much in advance.
Pat Minica
Sutherland Springs, Texas
Please review Dr. Donald Ward's presentation of this topic,
on tape C332, available from the BSA for a $2.50 donation. My
point is that God judges people based on what they know, what He
has revealed to them. Luke 12:47-48 says,
"And that servant,which knew his lord's will, and prepared
not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten
with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things
worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to
whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the
more."
There are many fine professing Christians who are faithfully
following what they know to be true. But at this time, God has
not yet revealed to them the Sabbath of delight. We should not
waste our time disparaging and judging them. We are responsible
for obeying the Truth that the Almighty has revealed to us, with
His help. And, they are responsible for that portion of God's
Truth they understand. They may ultimately suffer for the Truth
that they do not understand, but remember that it is God's
responsibility to open their minds to more of His Truth,
although we can,and should, be instruments in His hand to help
others.
One does not effectively promote the Sabbath to
non-Sabbath-keepers by telling them that Sabbath-keeping is
required for their salvation. That turns them off to the Truth.
We should teach the joy of the Sabbath, the Biblical mandate for
us to observe the Sabbath. Once the Holy Spirit convicts them
and they step out on faith and begin keeping the Sabbath, then
Sabbath-keeping does become a requirement for
their salvation, as it is for mine. For a Sabbath-keeper to
cease keeping the Sabbath is like a dog returning to his own
vomit, a serious offence against the Eternal,
II Peter 2:21-22. I believe that Dr. Ward
and I agree very closely on this issue.
I am not delighted with the idea of going to a black and white
format, especially for the cover. It is the cover that inspires
people to pick up a magazine, so regardless of the content fewer
people will pick it up and open it if it is not attractive.
Those will never know the contents.
One thought on the contents! I am happy with the articles that
are being printed. They are,however, elementary and basic.
They are the type articles new people should be reading, they
do very little for people who are mature in the faith, since we
already know these things.
What I would like to suggest is that we explore ways to get the
magazine into the hands of the public without it being a
financial strain on the budget.
God can use this magazine as a vehicle to call new people who
will not have a certain "corporate slant" to the
teachings they learn. They will get the views of different
Sabbath-keeping authors, and have opportunity to settle where God
leads them without being pressured by any certain
corporate church organization.
What I am suggesting is this, (and I will be the first to
volunteer), two ideas:
-
Send out a letter to all BSA members and ask for volunteers to
sponsor, (that is to pay for), a gift subscription, (not
a membership), each month of 1999 as a primary goal. For
example, make a list of businesses such as your barber shop,
hair salon, dentist, doctor, library, etc, at their business
address. Select places that have a waiting room. Having a
copy of TSS on display in a waiting room is a sure way to get
it into the hands of new people.
-
For those who would prefer to not sponsor a subscription,
give them opportunity to purchase a supply of magazines each
time a new edition comes out. You could offer them in lots of
twenty-five or fifty, and they could decide how many they
wanted to order, and thy would assume the responsibility of
giving them away to individuals of placing them in waiting
rooms etc.
I am sure that once this is begun it will not be long until you
begin receiving mail from new people, and we will all have the
satisfaction of knowing that we are sharing in and working
together as associated brethren, spreading the gospel without
interference from a domineering corporate hierarchy.
Everyone who participates in this will be a volunteer, and it is
a legitimate first tithe expenditure. Everyone will pay in
advance for what they are ordering, so there will be no surprise
expenditures. If people can be encouraged to set a goal as to
how many magazines they will be ordering of each issue, and write
it in to you, you will be able to keep a pretty good handle on
it.
I am setting my goal to sponsor one gift subscription per month
for all of 1999.
I hope you will like this idea and that you will make this
opportunity available to all who may wish to participate in it or
something else perhaps that you may think of to get more people
involved in God's work. I know a lot of people are sitting on
their tithes nowadays not knowing what to do with them, and not
trusting any of the organizational hierarchies to use them
properly. This would give them something to do with some of
their tithes and they will have some control over how they are
used, not to mention the thrill of the "hands on
experience" of doing something viable.
God bless all of you for your work and your efforts over the
years, you have hung in there and done a good job. It may be
that God will begin using us all in more dynamic ways as we
learn to yield more to His will and search for ways to do His
work.
Darl E. Arbogast
Kennesaw, Georgia
Great idea!
It costs much more to print the magazine with a color cover.
We came to see that this is not an efficient use of our Master's
money. With this issue, we are retaining glossy paper, yet
still with black and white format, in order to reduce costs.
Each issue of TSS should have articles for mature and new
believers. We encourage others to contribute articles of all
kinds.
We encourage BSA members and supporters to send gift
subscriptions to others, including waiting rooms and other public
places. A gift subscription would be about $10. We will send
bulk copies of past issues of the magazine for a donation for
postage. Figure about $2.50 for five issues,$5.00 for twenty
issues, $10.00 for fifty issues.
Dear Friends,
I am very excited that you have decided to make The Sabbath
Sentinel a free magazine to further spread the truth of the
Sabbath. Here is a contribution to help with this effort. I am
sure God will bless your effort.
Faith Matwey
Gaithersburg, MD
Rest is important on Sabbath
Not straying too far from the main subject, The Sabbath
Sentinel should be about the Sabbath, nature of work,
nature of rest, regular feature. Enjoyable Sabbaths I have had.
How I keep the Sabbath, practical ideas, instead of extraneous
subjects, explore new territory on Sabbath. Three ways of
resting the seventh time in Exodus 23 day, month, year. There
is a fourth way which is more important and most every one does:
take a bath . . . . How does someone spend an evening (after
bathing)? By restful, enjoyment, or watching stupid TV?
Regan Castevens
Sparta, NC
Sharing TSS With Friends
I am enclosing our mailing list . . . in hopes that you can send
free subscriptions to everyone that is not already on your list
(contribution enclosed).
I am also praying for the success of your new project.
Thank you very much for this opportunity to help reach more
people about the Sabbath. I really get a lot out of your
publications.
Charlotte Kincaid
Round Rock, TX
It is lot's of work but very satisfying to be able to help
others.
The Sabbath Sentinel values our readers' views. Address
correspondence to Richard C. Nickels, 3316 Alberta Drive,
Gillette, WY 82718, 307-686-5191; or e-mail to
biblesabbath@comcast.net. Letters should include the author's name,
title, company or affiliation, address, and optional e-mail
address. The Sabbath Sentinel reserves the right to
edit letters for clarity and space.
TSS
March - May 1999 The Sabbath Sentinel
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