E. J. Waggoner a Practical Theologian

The other day I was reading Christ and His Righteousness by E. J. Waggoner of 1888 fame. In it Dr. Waggoner states, “Every doctrine of the Bible is for our practical benefit, and should be studied for that purpose. I immediately thought of The Homiletical Plot by Eugene Lowery which encourages us to ask the question “What bind does a doctrine get us out of?” I like the question and have come back to it often in the past as can be shown in this post from the past.
The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon As Narrative Art Form
I will also come back to the question in the future. Answering that question will force the sermon and teaching to be practical and has the added benefit of helping the congregation to understand what good is a doctrine for daily living.

After stating that we must look for the Practical benefit Dr. Waggoner then tries to tackle the Sabbath doctrine and seeks to point us to a practical basis for understanding the doctrine. In the next couple of posts we will look at this attempt.

Sabbath as Liberation

At the Baylor Christian Ethics Center there is a series of articles on the Sabbath. In the study guide Richard Lowery writes: ?By celebrating a hoped for world of abundance, self-restraint, and mutual care, the Bible?s sabbath traditions critiqued ancient royal-imperial systems that created scarcity, overwork, and gross economic inequality,?

The Bible Sabbath is a critique of the “always trying to get more” mindset of our world. It reminds us that our worth is not determined by what we do or how much we do, but simply by being created by a loving Creator.

While the faulty assumption behind much of this work is that Sunday takes on some of the meaning of the Sabbath for Christians, it is still interesting and profitable to see theological treatments of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath – Resting from the Thought of Labor

The SabbathExodus 20:8 states that humanity should complete all of its labor in 6 days. “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work.” In The Sabbath, Jewish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel asks is it possible to do all ones work in 6 days? Heschel’s interpretation is that we should rest as if all of our work is done. He goes further to state that we should rest from even the thought of labor.

Just think of the rest that one would get on the Sabbath if that one would rest from even the thought of labor. Just think of the energy one would bring to the world of work after such a rest. Just think of the spiritual heights one could reach by setting aside the thought of labor as one uses the time of the Sabbath solely for communion with God and others.

What a gift God has given to us. The Sabbath is truly not a drudgery. I Praise God for the Sabbath. I pray that God will help me to truly rest to fully enjoy the benefits of this great gift.