One of the age-old debates in the Church of God is whether it is ok to eat in a restaurant on Friday nights or Saturday during the day. Legalists, like Pharisee James Malm, go into mental meltdowns over the idea of someone enjoying a relaxing meal with friends after church on a Saturday. Even worse, if you take your kids out to Ihop Saturday morning for some pancakes and family time together. Ghastly days!
This is one thing Herbert Armstrong never spoke out against, thankfully, nor did he ever change his mind. Only those that worship the law down through the years have been those that have made this an issue.
COGWA had this up on their site:
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EATING IN A RESTAURANT ON THE SABBATH
Three points should be made clear:
- It is not sinful to eat in a restaurant on the Sabbath.
- It is not wrong to refrain from eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath.
- It is wrong for members to judge others for their decision on whether they choose to eat in a restaurant on the Sabbath.
The decision to eat in a restaurant on the Sabbath is a matter of how to keep the Sabbath, not whether to keep it. There is no disagreement about the Sabbath being holy.
Herbert Armstrong’s teaching and practice on this subject can be traced as far back as the late 1940s, and he consistently taught that eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath was permissible. This subject has been examined by conscientious and capable ministers many times throughout the modern history of the Church, and the conclusion has always been the same.
The Church of God, a Worldwide Association, teaches that it is not a sin to eat in a restaurant on the Sabbath. If members choose to go to a restaurant for food and fellowship on the Sabbath, they are not doing something that Christ would judge as being evil, but that which is acceptable and appropriate.
