AS GOD WILLS—NOT AS MEN MAY.
By G.
The contention that God's Sabbath law is different from all other laws in that it is not a legal requirement, is almost too puerile for notice; but there are some people who accept it because they are willing to grasp at any straw that even promises support in disobedience. Such people can be, and are, deceived by the illusion that a commandment of God can be obeyed by doing something else. This deceptive perversion of the Word assumes that it is more pleasing to God to have us ignore what He has positively commanded than to obey it; that we are not to suppose that we must do that which is commanded, but rather that we may do something else, more to our own liking; that by construing His law in this way, we may “show our grateful love and praise to Him” more effectually than by direct obedience of a definite commandment. The fallacy of such contention may be seen by applying the logic of it to human law, especially to the orders of a human father to his son. The father gives his son definite directions for some specific duty to be performed on some definite day, stating plainly why it should be done on that day—the reason being such as could not apply to any other day. But the son assumes that he can better show his “grateful love and praise” to his father by choosing some other time to perform the service. He argues that the commandment of his father is not something that he must do as commanded, but it would be rather pleasing to the parent for the son to do something different, or to do the same thing at a different time, on some plausible pretext. Very few parents would be better pleased by the son's choosing to have his own way. So the Lord has set apart a certain time for mankind to memorialize a certain event (Gen. 2:2, 3; Mark 2:27), and men think to better show their “grateful love and praise” by ignoring that institution, and by memorializing another event on another day. In other words, they deem it better to lay aside the commandment and hold to the tradition of men. But the Lord says such worship is vain. Mark 7:5-9. Again, He lays down this eternal principle, that all would do well to heed: “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.” “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord,” He says again, “and do not the things which I say?” G.