A Jew on the Sabbath by J. H. W.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 23, 1872

“A Jew on the Sabbath.”

By J. H. W.

SUCH is the heading over a brief letter in the Sabbath Recorder, the letter being considered, by that paper, “worthy of more than a passing notice.” It is a singular production, and if the writer is only a Jew in religion, it is exactly what might be expected of him; for he recognizes the obligation resting upon him to keep the seventh-day Sabbath only because he is a liberal descendant of Abraham. He thinks the Christian church might more easily be brought up to their duty of keeping the true Sabbath if they could be convinced that “the American nation is the great nation of which Abraham was to be the Father,” or that we are descendants of the tribes of Israel. The writer has not, apparently, looked far enough into Christianity to see that such an amalgamation with Judaism is quite inconsistent. If Paul is any authority with the writer referred to, we invite him to examine Eph. 2:11–20; 3:3–9; Rom. 2:28, 29; and Gal. 3:26–29. We claim to be the children of Abraham, and under obligation to “do the works of Abraham,” or to keep the commandments of the God of our Father Abraham. But we recognize our sonship through faith in the Son of God—the seed of Abraham—and not by literal descent. “The Sabbath was made for man,” and that before Abraham lived. As Christians, we are not deficient in reasons for keeping holy “the Sabbath of the Lord our God.” See also Rom. 3:29–31. “Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes; of the Gentiles also: seeing it is one God, who shall justify the circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” To this we say, Amen! J. H. W.