Some Cavils Considered by W. H. Saxby

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 16, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 36.

Some Cavils Considered.

By W. H. Saxby

THE opposition which the truth has to meet, is illustrated by the following examples which not long since came under my notice:—

A family who had become much interested in some Bible-readings, were expressing themselves as having received great light from them, when a minister said: “Yes; but others could come along and prove something else from the same scriptures.” Another minister made the statement in public, that “You can prove anything from the Bible by taking a text here, and another there.”

These statements have suggested two questions: 1. Are men honest who raise such captious objections? 2. Have we divine warrant for our method of Bible study? The latter question can, I think, be safely answered in the affirmative.

In our Bible-readings we seek to group together all, or at least a goodly number, of the texts bearing upon the subject to be considered, and it seems to me that this is just what the Saviour did when, after his resurrection, he “drew near and went with” the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus: “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27.

The distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus was about seven and one-half miles, and the whole time spent on the road must have been about two hours and a half, some part of which had however elapsed before the Saviour joined these disciples. This being true, it cannot be that he referred in many instances to the contexts of the scriptures that he used; and he must have quoted just the words which applied directly to the subject under consideration. He must have “skipped around” a good deal, and taken only “a verse here, and another there,” or he could not in so short a time have “expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Another example of the Saviour’s use of the Scriptures is found in Luke 4:16–21:—

“And . . . he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And . . . he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

By reference to Isa. 61:1, 2, it will be seen that Jesus stopped not only in the middle of a verse, but even left the sentence unfinished. And why? Simply because “the day of vengeance of our God” had not yet come, neither was that the burden of the Saviour’s preaching. The latter part of the verse was not then applicable, and so the Great Teacher did not read it; and it is proper that they who teach the word should, like their divine Master, rightly divide “the word of truth.” If they are teaching in regard to the Sabbath, they should be guided by what the Bible says, and not by what some man or set of men have said about it.

I thank God that we have truths that we can maintain from the Scriptures without resorting to doubtful expedients or questionable methods; and I appreciate more and more these truths as I see honest, intelligent persons feed upon them with ever-increasing pleasure, and thus grow in grace and in the knowledge of God.

W. H. SAXBY.

Washington, D. C.