Experience, and Investigation of the Sabbath Question.
By E. W. Barnes
About nine years ago, I visited, for the first time, a little town in Shasta Co., Cal., known as Millville, for the purpose of preaching a few discourses, and trying to gather together those who had been members of the Christian Church, in view of organizing them into a working congregation. While there, I met with a Brother and Sister Clark, who had recently moved up from near Woodland, in Yolo Co., where they had been attending a meeting of the "Seventh-day Adventists," where they had, in a measure, embraced the doctrines of the Adventists—especially that in reference to the "Lord's Sabbath," about which they were much concerned. They desired that I should read a few pamphlets which they had. I answered that I thought that they had been deceived and carried away into a false doctrine, but that I would read their pamphlets. I took two or three small pamphlets with me, and began reading, and was very much astonished to find so much in the Bible—for they constantly referred me to the Bible—in favor of the seventh day or Lord's Sabbath. But I would keep thinking all the time, that if the obligation to keep the Sabbath was still binding, it would certainly have been found out by some of the good, learned men before now, forgetting that a similar excuse had been urged against our Saviour by his enemies, who said, "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?" (John 7:48), and against the martyrs during the dark ages, against the Baptists, against Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and against A. Campbell, a thousand times over; and forgetting further that the same excuse would have forever kept us, in the first place, in the worship of idols, and in the second place, would have kept us in the faith of the Catholic Church, and it would, in the nature of things, prevent all reforms from error to truth. But I read on until I had hastily run through the pamphlets, which, by the way, contained but a small portion of the evidence in favor of the Lord's Sabbath, and supposed that I had pretty thoroughly investigated the Sabbath question. This I find to be the case with hundreds at the present time. I finally settled down in the view that there could not be anything in it to justify a thorough inquiry at the hands of authorities, and having found, as I thought at the time, sufficient reasons to justify me in dropping the matter, and having gotten Brother and Sister Clark pretty well whipped back into their old faith, I had no further trouble with the question until a year or so later. Having, on account of being afflicted with the chills, gone up into "Big Valley," I there met with a Brother Brown, who was a Sabbath-keeper, and he began to disturb the community by telling them that they ought to keep the Lord's Sabbath. By this time, I began to wish that those Adventists would let the people alone, and in order to settle the minds of the brethren, lest some might be led away, I preached against this everlasting Sabbath agitation. Brother Brown then talked of having one of their ministers come up, and, among a few, there was some talk of a debate. But the minister could not come, and the matter cooled down with no damage done. In the meantime I had written to Prof. J. M. Martin, President of the Hesperian College at Woodland, in Yolo Co., Cal., for some of his strongest points against the Sabbath, he having had, a short time before this, a discussion with the Adventists on the "Sabbath question." But when I received Brother Martin's most sustainable objections to the Sabbath, I was astonished at how few there were, and those given were not of a stronger character than what they were. One of them was the exploded theory that there was no binding obligation to keep the Sabbath from creation, until the law was given at Sinai. Now it does appear to me that it would be very easy for any one, after reading the second and third verses of the second chapter of Genesis, to see a plain institution of the Sabbath. The language is, "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in he had rested from all his work which God created and made."387Also, in Ex. 16:27, 28, it will be seen that when the Sabbath was not kept "God's law and commandments" were transgressed. By this we learn that the Sabbath was a part of God's laws and commandments before the law was given at Sinai. Now, by turning to Gen. 26:5, we see that Abraham "kept God's commandments, statutes, and laws." Thus it is made evident that more than four hundred years before the law was written at Sinai, Abraham was keeping the Sabbath. In fact, the ten commandments are so plainly traceable through the book of Genesis and to the nineteenth chapter of Exodus, all before the law was given at Sinai, that a person must have his eyes well-nigh closed not to see the meaning of Paul in Gal. 3:19, that God's law—referring evidently to the ten commands which had been repeatedly transgressed—had been violated to such an extent that God saw fit to add a law containing a penalty for the punishment of the transgressors; and further, the reason given in the ten commands (see Ex. 20:8, 11) why men should keep the Sabbath, namely, that God created the heavens and the earth and all things therein in six days, and rested on the seventh, shows plainly that all men in all ages are under like obligations to keep the Sabbath. Also that the Saviour, knowing this, spoke accordingly when he said that the Sabbath was made for man, that is, for the race, in using the word in its unqualified sense. But there has been another matter at work during this same time. Brother Brown handed me a pamphlet of 75 to 100 pages, which read, perhaps mainly with a desire to learn what I had to fight, but be that as it may, by the time this had all passed by, I had learned that several passages of Scripture upon which I had formerly relied as proofs against the Sabbath, could not be used as such, in fact, had no reference whatever either to the Lord's Sabbath or the ten commandments. The passages which were the most prominent among those thus lost were Eph. 2:14, 15; Col. 2:14-17, and Rom. 14:5, 6. I saw plainly that the passage in Ephesians could not have reference to the ten commandments, for it is evident that there is nothing in them which could in any possible event constitute "a wall between the Jew and Gentile;" especially is there nothing in them which could be contrary to either as servants of God; neither is there anything in them that could possibly have the remotest tendency to prevent, or be in "the way" of any intelligent being rendering to God the purest, freest, and most perfect spiritual worship. But, on the contrary, the keeping of them must ever be a source of strength and joy to every child of God. As to Romans 14, there is nothing in the passage, nor in the connection in reference to the Sabbath, nor the ten commandments; and by the introduction of the "eating of meats" in connection with the "day," it leaves hardly a possibility of involving the Sabbath-day. But notwithstanding the fact that several passages of Scripture upon which I had been depending to help me fight the seventh-day Sabbath, thus slipped away, I still thought I had Scripture enough to enable me to successfully meet the arguments which were put forth in favor of the Sabbath, supposing again that this time, with what I had learned before, I had certainly gathered up the best arguments that the friends of the Sabbath could make in its favor; and so once more settled back quite well satisfied with keeping the first day of the week. Thus things moved along, without anything of a very special character, religiously, to interfere, except such difficulties and inconveniences as is usual to the labors of an itinerant who is pioneering the greater part of his time—always having more work pressing upon me than any one man could possibly do, until while stationed at Harrisburg, in Linn Co., Oregon, Bro. Jones, now of the Upper Columbia Conference, came to that place and held a meeting (this was about four years ago) which, on account of my own work, and perhaps a desire to create as little friction as possible, I did not attend, though the interest was considerable during the meeting. I however had the privilege of Bro. Jones' acquaintance, also had one or two short talks with him on the Sabbath question, but nothing to disturb my mind as to the correctness of my Sunday-keeping. Thus I continued in my work, having the good will and good wishes of the church where I labored, with a few exceptions, which were caused, as a rule, by a reproof given either in public or private, in the performance of my duties. But woe betide the man who happens to make such enemies (and all who are faithful in the discharge of their ministerial duties will), especially if he ever changes his faith in some fundamental particular, enough to justify him in severing his connection with one church and casting his lot in with another. More particularly will this be found to be the case with those churches which profess the greatest amount of liberality. For then "mole-hills into mountains grow," and at once the whole sky which was quite fair before is covered with a black cloud! Finally while living in Scio, in Linn Co., Oregon, my attention was called to the Sabbath question again by some papers (Signs of the Times, I think), which were sent to me by Sister Godfrey, of Salem, Oregon, containing some articles on the Sabbath, which, no doubt, made some impression upon my mind, but not sufficient to awaken any particular interest. My attention was also called, from time to time, to the question, during my residence at Scio, by Brother Jacob Stoner and Brother Roberts, who were Sabbath-keepers, and who, although not realized at the time by me, were also exerting some influence upon me favorable to the Sabbath. About the second week of November last, I was studying with some care the second chapter of Colossians, expecting to preach upon the subject matter of that chapter, and had fixed in my mind the thought of the proper division of the word of God, until I reached verses 16 and 17, when at once it became clear that the items mentioned by the apostle were types, and belonged in the typical law, and hence, had no reference to the "Lord's Sabbath," which is a memorial, and is found in the ten commandments (Ex. 20:3-17), while the sabbaths which Paul mentions are the annual sabbaths mentioned in Leviticus 23, in connection with the feast days, etc., and also distinguished in the same chapter from the Sabbath of the Lord, as anyone can see who will carefully read the chapter. For those sabbaths occurred but once each year,—that is, the first occurred on the first day, the second on the tenth, the third on the fifteenth, and the fourth on the twenty-third of the seventh month, while the Lord's Sabbath occurs on the seventh day of each week. Besides, no man can speak intelligently and apply the phrase of verse 14, "the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us," to the ten commandments. What one of the ten commandments does the true Christian consider a "yoke of bondage" to him? Which one is it that is "in the way" of a Christian? "Against" what Christian act, or "in the way" of what Christian principle is any one of the ten? Do you answer that you are in slavery or bondage in keeping holy the Sabbath-day? I ask you, then, was the Almighty God in bondage when he rested upon it? or was it against or in the way of a holy, or spiritual life of any of the holy men of old time? Is there an instance in all the Bible where the "Sabbath of the Lord" (unless you claim the passage under consideration, Col. 2:14-17, as one) is classified with meats, drinks, feast days, etc.? Where in all the Bible was the "Lord's Sabbath" ever called a "shadow?" Now it does appear to me, that after the mind of any intelligent reader is once directed to the above facts, it would be out of the question for him to ever again use Col. 2 against the Sabbath. The realization of the above fact had a great effect upon my mind, for I now saw clearly that there were no more than three or four passages which could possibly be used against the keeping of the Sabbath, and as some other scriptures, which at the first appeared to me to be equally strong against it, had to be given up, the thought occurred, May it not be barely possible that a proper understanding of those scriptures would show that they, too, would have to be given up as furnishing no argument against the Sabbath? The bare thought that such a thing was possible, and that I had been living in open violation of "God's holy law and commandments" (see Ex. 16:27, 28), and worse still, that I should by my example and work as a minister of the gospel teach others to reject God's law (see Matt. 5:18), and to trample his Sabbath under their feet, and do their own pleasure on his holy day, had the effect to stir me deeply, and I knelt down and asked God in earnest prayer to help me to lay aside everything that would in the least hinder me from a most perfect understanding of the truth upon this question. I then began as thorough an investigation as I was able to make. I obtained all the reading matter which I thought would help me to a full understanding of the subject, especially of the best things that could be said against the Sabbath. I had in my library "Dr. Young's Analytical Concordance," which contains the original Hebrew and Greek with definitions, which I found to be useful in my investigations, also other important works bearing upon the subject of the Sabbath; also some pamphlets by Elders S. C. Adams, Pardee Butler, and A. Burns. But I may as well say here, that from the first of this inquiry, I began to be astonished, and the further I prosecuted my work, the more I became astonished, for the volume of evidence in favor of the Sabbath increased continually, while the very best arguments which I could frame against the Sabbath, together with the best that I could find elsewhere, so continually failed to be of any value or explanation of the true relation of the Sabbath to man, or man to the Sabbath, that I was continually amazed. And the question kept ever recurring to my mind, How is it possible that an honest man, with ordinary intelligence, can read the Bible and not see these things? At last I was compelled to exclaim, "The Sabbath was made for man!"—for the race, for all men of all ages, and as one of that number, as a child of God, I now, for the first time in my life, felt that it was both a duty and a glorious privilege to keep holy the Sabbath of the Lord. A new world now opened up to me. I could see the glory of God as I had never seen it before. The wisdom, fitness, and harmony of God's works and his dealings with the children of men from the creation of the world poured themselves in upon my soul, until I could but stand in awe of the living God, and thank and praise him for his wonderful mercy and goodness. I here wish to say that I am certain that God, by his Spirit, did lead me into this glorious truth. Oh, may he lead others into this blessed truth that they may praise him and enjoy his blessedness forever, is the prayer of my heart. But at this point another question comes up for settlement, and that is, Will the church with which I am now associated accept this Bible truth? With my knowledge of the bitterness with which the Christian Church had been, and was still, fighting the Sabbath of the Lord, and being cognizant of how the main body of the church was opposed to the receiving of anything which they had not already been taught in the church as being necessary or binding, it did not take me long to become fully convinced that any effort to induce the church to receive God's truth in reference to the Sabbath must result in failure and in trouble. For it is a fact that when any body of people start out upon the road of reform, in reference to any truths, or fancied truths of the Bible, that they rarely get beyond the one or more truths which gave rise to their movement. Hence no radical change, no matter how desirable it may be, need, ordinarily, be expected or hoped for. Thus realizing that I could accomplish but little for the cause of truth, and that trouble and a final withdrawal of fellowship would be the inevitable result, I decided to finish up my contract, which would end in about a month, and then sever my connection with the church. Accordingly I said but little about the matter to any one, knowing that there would be some unnecessary excitement if I did, and at my next appointment on Saturday the 4th day of February, 1882, in our regular business meeting, I ask for a letter of good standing in the church, which was unanimously granted. But, as I was secretary of the meeting at the time, I did not write the letter out, in fact, I had no need of a letter, and would not have asked for one, except to have the action of the church, where I had been preaching for two years, placed upon record as a fact and, for future reference if need be. On the next day, Feb. 5, 1882, at 11 o'clock, at the close of my discourses, I announced my convictions in reference to the Lord's Sabbath, and declared that I did then sever my connection with the Christian Church. And thus, at the end of twelve years of active labor in the ministerial field, I closed my labors and severed my connection with the above church. My prayer to God is that he, in the plenitude of his mercy, may finally lead many of those with whom I have formerly worked to keep his holy Sabbath.