Discussion at Vacaville.
By W. M. Healey
In looking over my notes of the discussion I notice some points that may be of interest to the readers of the SIGNS. My opponent claimed the Sabbath was only made for the Jews. We showed that it was given at creation nearly two thousand years before there was a Jew. Gen. 2:2, 3. There was to be but one law for all. Num. 15:16. Rom. 2; 3:19, 20. Christ said, “The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. Therefore whoever belongs to the human race has a right to the institution. Certainly the Gentiles are men as well as the Jews, if not they have no right to the marriage relation for Paul says: “The woman was created for man.” 1 Cor. 11:6. Does he mean Jew? God did not promise salvation to the Gentile while he remained in his Gentile faith and practices, but if he would turn away from these, and keep God’s commandments and have faith in Christ then he was grafted into the tame olive tree and became of the Israel of God. See Rom. 11:17—and could no longer be regarded as a Gentile although he by nature was one, but that nature must be changed which Paul says is done by faith in Christ. Gal. 3:29. In reply to David’s testimony in Psa. 19, that “The law of the Lord is perfect,” my opponent said the ten commandments were perfect in the age in which they were given, but that we had developed beyond them. If this is true, it is certain we have developed beyond God for he has never given us any other moral code. And the development is very sudden, as the ten commandments have always been regarded as a rule of conduct till very recently. Alexander Campbell said in his debate with Purcell, p 214, that they were the “Basis of all morality and religion.” Martin Luther says: “I never rejected the law.” Life of Luther p 217. Paul said: “I delight in the law of God.” Rom. 7:22. Verse 7 shows this was the law of ten commandments for that was the only law that said “Thou shalt not covet.” Again Rom. 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. 1 Kings 8:9 was relied on to prove that the ten commandments were a part of the old covenant. It reads, “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came up out of the land of Egypt.” They were simply put into the ark when (at the time) a covenant was made, they were also put there when (at the time) they (Israel) came out of Egypt. With equal propriety of language, we could say that coming out of Egypt was the covenant, because it was at the time the covenant was made. Jeremiah and Paul are the only two writers that mention the new covenant; then, from them alone, we must learn of its nature and obligations. Jeremiah says in chapter 31 of his book, that the new covenant shall be different from the old; and one point of difference as noticed in verse 33 is in regard to the law. Is it, that under the new covenant there shall be no law? This is the view of the Antinomians, that the subjects of the new covenant are all free from keeping the law, and only need to have faith. All must agree that the subjects of the old covenant promised to keep God’s commandments and obey his voice. Ex. 19:5-8. The words of his voice which God spake were the ten commandments, Ex. 20:1-17. These were written by God in tables of stone, and called a law. Ex. 24:12. The people entered into a solemn contract or covenant to keep these commandments. Ex. 24:3-8. But their hearts were not right before God, they did not take delight in doing what he had commanded them, and often rebelled against him by refusing to keep the commandments, which they had agreed to; nevertheless they were all subjects of the old covenant, as that was simply an agreement to obey God, and when they neglected to obey him, they broke their covenant or agreement. Now let us hear Jeremiah about the law of the new covenant, Jer. 31:33: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” Paul’s testimony is the same: Heb. 8:8-12; Heb. 10:16-17. Under the old covenant they had the law in tables of stone but did not have it in their hearts. If it had been in their hearts they would have kept it. Under the new covenant we do not have the law merely in tables of stone, but on the fleshly tables of the heart. 2 Cor. 3:3; Jer. 31:33. We notice it was only those who had the law on tables of stone that were the subjects of the old covenant; so also, under the new covenant, all its subjects must have the law written in their hearts. How then can the Antinomian be a subject of the new covenant? 2 Cor. 3:6-9 was brought to show that we were not under the letter of the old law for that killed but the spirit, claiming that under the old covenant they were under the letter or obligation to keep the ten commandments which are now done away. But behold the letter that Paul speaks of was not of the old covenant at all but of the new testament or covenant, see verse 6. So then the ministration of the letter of the new covenant killeth, for Paul says we are “ministers of the new testament, not of the letter, for the letter killeth.” Moses was the prime minister of the old covenant which ministration was carried out in the letter by killing the willful transgressor of God’s law upon the spot, according to Paul’s testimony if the letter of the new testament was carried out by its ministers they would do the same, but they do not minister in the letter. Thus we see the penalty of sin under the new covenant is death, the same as under the old, but that part of the ministration God has not put into the hands of men. They can minister in the spirit but God will minister in the letter and finally destroy all who refuse to keep his laws. Verse 7 speaks of the old ministration of death being done away (as far as man was concerned in its execution.) It was the death and not the ministration which was written in tables of stone by a figure of speech which placed the cause for the effect as in 2 Kings 4:40: “There is death in the pot.” There was that there which caused death so the ten commandments written in tables of stone caused death to the transgressor. Paul says: “The commandment which was ordained to life,” If he had obeyed it, “I found to be unto death.” Rom. 7:10. The ministration by man was done away not the final penalty. The ministration was not written in tables of stone or anywhere else as the ministration of anything is an action performed by a minister and an action cannot be written. I might as well say I will write out school teaching as to say I will write out a ministration of anything. I may write out rules to govern school teaching and the same of any ministration. God gave Moses rules to regulate his ministration and these were written not on stone but on parchment. Thus we see this scripture teaches the perpetuity of the law with its death penalty under the new covenant, but the ministration of that penalty is not in the hands of man, for God is very merciful and gives the sinner time to repent of his sins. If the full letter of the law was carried out in our ministration the first one who should commit a willful sin would be put to death instantly without mercy. W. M. HEALEY.
Vacaville, Cal., January 11, 1878.