By Nathaniel Gamble
In the animated movie A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown asks in frustration, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!” Many Seventh-day Adventists find themselves in a similar situation when it comes to Religious Liberty Sabbath. Most of us do know about promoting the Liberty magazine on Religious Liberty Sabbath to state and federal judges, government officials, and lawyers. But, apart from this initiative, many of us, like Charlie Brown, wonder, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Religious Liberty Sabbath is all about?” Well, I can tell you the meaning of Religious Liberty Sabbath and why the Seventh-day Adventist Church focuses on it.
Religious Liberty Sabbath is ultimately about God and people. First, Religious Liberty Sabbath is about the kind of God who has created and redeemed us. The God of the Bible is interested in ensuring that human beings are okay, that they are safe, made whole, and truly free. There is not enough space to recount the hundreds of biblical passages that reference God’s omnipotence, but the Book of Revelation is a good example of how God uses his power. In that book, God is described as almighty, but he uses his might and power to take care of his creation, to bring sin and violence to an end and to usher in his kingdom of peace and righteousness, to save people, and to destroy religious and political oppression (Revelation 4:8-11; 11:15-19; 15:1-4; 19:1-8). Jesus imitates this divine pattern of using his power to defend God’s reputation, to save people, and to free us from sin and death in Philippians 2:5-11. Scripture is clear that God desires our freedom, which is why Religious Liberty Sabbath is a meaningful opportunity to talk about the God who makes us free.
Second, Religious Liberty Sabbath is a time to prioritize what is important to God: the ability for every person to freely choose to worship or not worship him. God desires for everyone to be free so that they can follow the dictates of their conscience by practicing their religion or no religion of choice. The Bible is quite shocking in the number of stories of God freeing people and then enabling them to use their freedom to worship things other than God. Apparently, God cares so much about our freedom that he would rather we use it poorly than that he control us like robots that have no freedom. This is why the Adventist vision of religious liberty has always emphasized that the threat to one’s religious freedom, even someone with whom we theologically disagree, is not only a threat to everyone’s religious freedom, but is also contrary to God’s will for people. Religious Liberty Sabbath is a powerful reminder that God cares about every person’s religious freedom, and so must we.
As you make plans to observe, celebrate, and support Religious Liberty Sabbath on January 14, 2023, I encourage you to remember the God who makes you free and cherish the gift of religious freedom that he gives you and everyone else.
–Nathaniel Gamble is RMC religious department director. Photo by Sunguk Kim on Unsplash.
