The Memorial of the Resurrection of Christ.
By John Nevins Andrews
MANY persons think that they honor God by uniting together to change the memorial of the creation of the heavens and of the earth into a memorial of the resurrection of Christ. So they remove the sanctification from the seventh day and place it upon the first day. Thus the first day becomes a sacred day, and the seventh day is devoted to ordinary business. Then the fourth commandment is taken away from the seventh day and given to the first day, and all men are required to observe this day on the authority of this commandment. Those who do this justify themselves by saying that the resurrection of Christ ought to be commemorated, and that it is pleasing to God that we should change the memorial of the creation of the heavens and of the earth into a memorial of Christ's resurrection. Thus they dare to sanctify a day which God has not sanctified, and to profane the day which he has sanctified, and to change the commandment from the day which God has chosen to one which he has not mentioned in the commandment. God requires obedience, and will not tolerate rebellion. He has never authorized us to create religious institutions, and he will not permit us to destroy those which he has created. If we observe a day in obedience to the fourth commandment, we must observe the rest-day of the Creator and not the day on which he commenced his work. The fourth commandment makes no reference to the resurrection of Christ. Those who use this commandment to enforce the observance of the day of the resurrection of Christ, might with equal propriety use it to enforce the observance of the day of his crucifixion. But ought not the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ to be commemorated? The New Testament must answer that question. No one will say that the fourth commandment requires us to celebrate the day of the crucifixion of Christ. But why should we not use this commandment to make the day of the crucifixion a memorial of the death of Christ? There are four excellent reasons for not doing this: 1. The commandment was given nearly 1500 years before the crucifixion of Christ. 2. The commandment makes no reference to the crucifixion. 3. The commandment has direct reference to the rest-day of the Creator, and to no other day. 4. The New Testament teaches us to commemorate the crucifixion by an ordinance which was instituted for that very purpose. These are conclusive reasons as all will admit for denying that the fourth commandment can be honestly and truthfully used to enforce the celebration of the day of the crucifixion of Christ. But it is no more absurd to enforce the celebration of the day of the crucifixion by the fourth commandment, than it is to enforce the celebration of the day of the resurrection by that commandment. The commandment has no reference to either of those days, but does refer directly and definitely to the rest-day of the Creator. The crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ are events in the history of the New Testament. It is the New Testament, therefore, which must teach us our duty with respect to the commemoration of these two events. If we study this book we shall find our duty in this respect made very clear. The Saviour did not command us to celebrate the day of his crucifixion in memory of his death. He commanded us to celebrate the event and not the day. Thus it is written; "The Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said: Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come." 1 Cor. 11 : 23-26. According to St. Paul the holy supper is the true memorial of the crucifixion of Christ. The breaking of the bread represents the fact that the body of Christ was broken for us, and the wine poured out in the cup represents the shedding of his blood. Now hear what the same apostle has said concerning the memorial of the burial and resurrection of Christ: "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Rom. 6 : 3-5. "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Col. 2 : 12. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Col. 3 : 1. Here we have the divine memorial of the resurrection of Christ, for when ever any person is baptized in the likeness of the burial and resurrection of the Saviour, it is a most impressive commemoration of that resurrection, not by that person only, but by the pastor and the entire church who co-operate in the act. We need not therefore destroy the Sabbath of the fourth commandment in order to commemorate the crucifixion or the resurrection of Christ. The crucifixion is commemorated by the Lord's supper, and the burial and resurrection of Christ by the institution of baptism. But some will say, "We have witnessed the celebration of baptism many times, and were never once reminded of the burial and resurrection of Christ. We saw no one buried, and we saw no one raised again, and nothing was said concerning the burial and resurrection of Christ. We saw only a little water sprinkled on the faces of babes or of young persons. How could this commemorate the burial and resurrection of the Saviour?" We answer frankly to these friends: What you have witnessed is not the ordinance of baptism which St. Paul describes in Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12, and which was practiced in the case of the Saviour by John (Matt. 3:13-16; Mark 1:9, 10) and in the case of the eunuch by Philip. Acts 8:38, 39. The ordinance of baptism has been changed by the same authority that has changed the fourth commandment. The true memorial of the resurrection of Christ has been destroyed, and the memorial of the creation of the heavens and of the earth has been changed into a memorial of the resurrection of Christ. It gives us pain to speak of these things, but we do it in behalf of the truth. God invites us to return to the old paths. Jer. 6:16. What response shall we make?
J. N. A.