Is the Fourth Commandment Recognized in the New Testament?
By S. B. Whitney
THE supposition that the fourth commandment is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, seems to be a serious objection to the seventh day, in the minds of some sincere and conscientious persons. For the benefit of such we want to consider the question briefly. The Saviour says, Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man.” Now we inquire, How was the Sabbath made? and reply, By God’s resting on the seventh day, and blessing and sanctifying it because he thus rested. But these are the very facts upon which the fourth commandment is based. Here, then, is an express recognition of that command by the “Lord of the Sabbath.” But again, in Luke 23:56, of certain women we read: “And they . . . rested the Sabbath-day according to the commandment.” What commandment? The fourth, of course. This was mentioned as a historical event years after it occurred; and Luke does not say “according to the old commandment,” or “what was then the commandment,” but “according to the commandment,” thereby unequivocally recognizing the fourth commandment as then in existence and of binding force. S. B. WHITNEY.