p. 521 | Sabbath and Sunday by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 27, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 33.

Sabbath and Sunday.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

THERE are only a few more things in Dr. Dobbs' Sunday article which we wish to notice at present, and these are all of a favorable nature, that is, favorable to the Lord's Sabbath. In article five, we find the following statement, every clause of which he thinks is worthy of emphatic iteration:—

"The Holy Spirit never calls the first day of the week the Sabbath. Wherever that word is found in the New Testament, it is the name of the Jewish institution, and refers to the seventh day—Saturday. We ought not to be wiser than the Scriptures."

Amen. With the exception of the term "Jewish institution," as applied to the Sabbath, we could heartily say to the above, amen and amen. We need not stop to argue concerning that objectionable term, for all our readers know that the Sabbath is the Lord's, that he claims it as his own (Ex. 20:10; 31:13; Isa. 58:13; Mark 2:28); and that it was observed in Eden, centuries before there was a Jew, and while "the whole earth was of one language and of one speech." With the exception of that single expression, the above quotation would seem to be the language of an earnest Sabbatarian. No one would suspect that it is from one who hates the Sabbath of the Lord.

Our readers will of course understand that the Doctor's emphatic statement concerning the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Bible, is not because of any love for the Sabbath, nor disregard for Sunday, but simply because he would have Sunday called the "Lord's day," and would not have men observe any day as a Sabbath. Now let us see how his theory and practice agree. He is a Baptist preacher, and therefore whatever we find in the Baptist "Confession of Faith" may be quoted as his own words, since they have his endorsement. Following is the first article of that document:—

"The Scriptures.—We believe that the holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore it is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried."

The twelfth article reads as follows:—

"The Law and the Gospel.—We believe the Scriptures teach that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of his moral government; that it is holy, just, and good; and that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe to fallen man to fulfill its precepts, arises entirely from love of sin; to deliver them from which, and to restore them through a Mediator to unfeigned obedience to the holy law, is one great end of the gospel, and of the means by grace connected with the establishment of the visible church."

Doctor Dobbs, having subscribed his name to these articles, says that according to the Scriptures, the seventh day,—Saturday,—and that alone is the Sabbath, yet refuses to obey the commandment which says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy;" "in it thou shalt not do any work." Now if we accept him as our guide in matters of religion, how shall we know by which of his utterances we are to be guided? Our Saviour said: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works, for they say, and do not." Matt. 23:2, 3. He could say this with safety, for whatever their practice, the scribes always taught that the strictest obedience was to be rendered to the law. But we cannot say this of our modern teachers, for they do not always "say;" they give an uncertain sound, sometimes teaching strict conformity to the Bible, and again teaching that it is not to be obeyed. In such a case, we prefer to listen to the Bible alone. "We ought not to be wiser than the Scriptures."

We cannot refrain from noting one other point, to show the inconsistency of calling the seventh day "the Jewish Sabbath." As correctly stated above, the Holy Spirit never calls Sunday the Sabbath. Wherever that word is found in the New Testament, it refers to the seventh day, Saturday. Now it is not only admitted, but zealously claimed, that the New Testament was written for the purpose of teaching Christianity. Its language is the language for Christians to use, and those who accept it indeed, are Christians. (We also believe the same in regard to the Old Testament.) Then it necessarily follows that the Sabbath is just as much a Christian as it is a Jewish institution. As a matter of fact it is neither Jewish nor Christian; it belongs to no race nor age; it is the Sabbath of the Lord. But the law of God, which the Baptist "Confession of Faith" justly calls "the eternal and unchangeable rule" of God's moral Government, says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work" (Ex. 20:8-10), and the Holy Spirit teaches emphatically in the New Testament that there is no Sabbath day but the seventh day.

In the same paragraph we find the following, from the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, quoted with approval: "The Lord's day [Sunday] was not a continuation of the Jewish Sabbath, which was at first also observed, but a substitute for it." This is a fact. Sunday, improperly called Lord's day, was substituted for the Sabbath of the Lord, just as the bishop of Rome was substituted for the Lord, and sprinkling was substituted for immersion. We have the same authority for substituting sprinkling for baptism, or regarding the pope as the vicar of Christ, that we have for substituting Sunday for the Sabbath.

One more quotation, from Dr. Dobbs's sixth article:—

"It cannot be repeated too often that there is no Scripture authority for the transfer of the Sabbatic obligation from the seventh day to the first day. Of such 'change of day,' not only the New Testament, but also the Christian literature of the early centuries, is absolutely silent. It was several hundred years after Christ before Christians began to identify the Lord's day [Sunday, not the Lord's day] with the Sabbath, and to adduce the authority of the fourth commandment in support of its sanctity. Surely it is suggestive that such is the case."

Very suggestive indeed. Let every Baptist read the above paragraph, and then ask himself if he can consistently continue to keep a day which has no warrant from Scripture. The Doctor says that the fact that several hundred years after Christ, Christians began to adduce the fourth commandment in support of Sunday sanctity, is suggestive. Suggestive of what? It shows that they knew that the fourth commandment is of eternal obligation, and that being determined not to give up their Sunday for the Lord's Sabbath, they found that the only way to satisfy people who wanted to be loyal to God, was to make them believe that the fourth commandment enjoined the observance of Sunday. This they largely succeeded in doing; but as the end approaches, the light cannot be hid; truth will be fully manifest to all the honest in heart; and soon every individual who holds the faith of Jesus will also keep the commandments of God. E. J. W.