p. 5 | Untitled article by R. F. Cottrell

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 28, 1869

The Closing Messages.—No. 20.

By R. F. Cottrell

The third and last message consists of a warning against the worship of the beast and his image, and the reception of his mark, accompanied by a threatening of wrath, without mixture, against those that do these things. It then states the effect resulting from this warning, namely, a people appear at this point of time, at this stage in the fulfillment of the prophecy, that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The harvest of the earth now being ripe, the Son of Man appears, the earth is reaped, and the vine of the earth is cast into the winepress of the wrath of God—a figurative representation of that unmixed wrath threatened in the message of the third angel.

Now this people that are manifested upon the proclamation of the last message, of whom it is said, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God,” &c., are either the worshipers of the beast, threatened in the message, or the saints of God who heed the message, and, by obedience to it, are ripened for the harvest, and prepared for translation to the heavenly granary.

It is not difficult to discern that they are the saints in their patience, who, having done the will of God, are waiting to receive the promise; Heb. 10:36, 37; for in the immediate connection it is said, “Here is the patience of the saints.” They are in a state of trial; for it is tribulation that worketh patience. They have been “purified, made white,” and are being “tried.” Dan. 12:10. Again, they are believers in Jesus Christ; for they not only keep the commandments of God, but they also keep “the faith of Jesus.” They are Christian commandment-keepers. They are not, therefore, the worshipers of the beast, but the opposite party—those who obey the message. The keeping of these commandments is right; and this is a point wherein they differ in practice from the worshipers of the beast. It is, then, a matter of deep interest to inquire, What are the commandments of God—the commandments which those who obey the last message, keep, and that those who do not obey it, but follow the dictates of the beast, break?

There are the “ten commandments,” particularly distinguished and highly honored by the facts that God gave them, and only them, directly, and in his own voice, to the people; and that he wrote and engraved them in stones, with his own finger; they being the only precepts ever given to mankind in the handwriting of Jehovah. Of these commandments it has been truly affirmed that not only in the Old Testament, but in all revelation they are most emphatically regarded as the synopsis of all religion and morality. And they are held by every orthodox Christian denomination as the moral law of God.

Now, whatever besides the ten commandments may be regarded as the commandments of God, as, for instance, the ordinances of the church, the ten, certainly, are his commandments, and, as we have seen, have a pre-eminent claim to the title. And since the people mentioned in the text, keep, not only the commandments of God, but the faith of Jesus, which must include the ordinances of the Christian church, it is reasonable to conclude that the term, commandments of God, refers exclusively to the moral law. They keep the requirements of both the commandments and the faith—both the moral law and the gospel.

But we will settle the question by an appeal to the scriptures of the New Testament. Every Christian must abide its usage in the application of terms. What are the commandments of God according to the New Testament?

In Rom. 7:7–12, the terms, law and commandment are used interchangeably, as follows: “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy; and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”

Here the apostle states that it was the law and the commandment that convicted him of sin. The particular commandment which he quotes is one of the ten commandments: “Thou shalt not covet.” He refers to the law comprising that precept, which is no other than the ten commandments.

“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Matt. 19:16–19.

What are the commandments, the keeping of which makes a condition of eternal life? They are the code from which he quotes five precepts. These five all relate to the duty of man to man, and are founded on the great principle expressed in the precept: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Eph. 6:1–3.

What are recognized as the commandments in the apostolic teaching? Those which include the precept, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” According to Paul, this precept still retains its ancient place in the decalogue, being “the first commandment with promise.”

“Then came to Jesus, scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15:1–9.

Now he that will let the Scriptures explain themselves, must see that the phrase, “the commandments of God,” in the New Testament, refers to the ten precepts of the moral law; and it includes them all. When Jesus said, “Keep the commandments,” the phrase includes them all. The apostle James (chap. 2:8–12,) teaches Christians that they will “do well” to keep this entire code, and that if they violate it, they “commit sin.” Says he, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” What law does he mean? He explains: “For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.” When any other than the commandments of the moral law are referred to, the context shows it, as: “The law of commandments contained in ordinances;” Eph. 2:15; referring to the ordinances of the Jewish church which have been blotted out.

When, therefore, we read that the saints, under the last message of the gospel, keep the commandments of God, we may conclude with certainty that they keep nothing less than the ten precepts of the moral law—a law recognized, taught, and revered, as the supreme standard of right in both Testaments.

R. F. COTTRELL.