p. 299 | An Interesting Letter by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 15, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 19.

An Interesting Letter.

By Editor

[From Review and Herald.]

THE writer of the following letter, a gentleman residing near Calais, France, was a subscriber to our French paper, Les Signes des Temps, when the obituary notice of Bro. Andrews appeared therein. In that notice he saw the statement of the fact that Bro. A. was the author of a history of the Sabbath. He had read enough in the paper to create a desire to investigate further, and accordingly wrote to Bro. Whitney at Bale, inquiring where he could obtain a copy of said "History of the Sabbath." Bro. W. immediately sent him a copy, with a letter of explanation. This was in November last; and nothing more was heard from him till April 2, 1884, when Bro. W. received a letter from him, which Bro. Butler has kindly had translated for insertion in the Review. The letter speaks for itself; and our brethren will peruse it with the deepest interest:—

ST. PIERRE-LES-CALAIS, 21st March, 1884. ELD. B. L. WHITNEY.—Dear Sir: I received in due time your letter of the 19th of November last, and must indeed apologize for having delayed so long in acknowledging receipt thereof. I must also beg of you to accept my thanks for your kindness in sending me so promptly the "History of the Sabbath," when I had merely requested you to tell me where I might purchase it. As to the work itself, what shall I say? I must admit that when I first had it in my hands, I did not for a moment doubt that I should find some discrepancy or other, either in the scriptural or historical facts alleged, as would justify the change which had been made; viz., of transferring the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sabbath, or first day of the week. However, though biased to a certain extent, I had made up my mind to give the matter the most serious consideration; for even if I had been taught like many others, that the "glory of the seventh day had been transferred to the eighth day," if not by divine command, at least by the general practice of the primitive church, with the direct or indirect sanction of the apostles, it was my plain duty to ascertain the truth about that change.

I therefore hastily perused the work with ever-growing interest and amazement; for hasty as was my first perusal, I clearly perceived that the arguments and facts brought forward were unanswerable. I then went carefully through it chapter by chapter,—yea, almost paragraph by paragraph, comparing texts and notes as far as lay in my power; for I was fully aware of the momentous issue at stake. It was the condemnation or vindication of the general practice of the Christian churches for ages past; it was, to me, the building up or pulling down of one of those pillars of truth, hoary with age, to which Christians of all denominations have agreed and which they have believed in with the most implicit faith! Was that practice to be reputed erroneous? Was that pillar of truth to which all, or more correctly, nearly all, agreed with so great unanimity to be shattered to the ground as a sacrilegious imposture? Was it really a fact that a pagan festival had been substituted by papal craft and power for one of God's immutable commandments, and was still receiving the practical sanction of Christendom?

After the careful perusal of the above work, I could but say, Yea; so it was and so it is still! It is difficult to describe my mixed state of feelings after the vail had been lifted off my mind. At times I was angry that the truth had been revealed to me; for I thought it would have been better for my peace of mind and my usefulness always to have remained in the same condition of ignorance concerning that grievous imposture. Then again I was indignant that so gross a perversion of the truth had been tolerated and handed down to us by Christian pastors, even out of the great flood of light arising out of the 16th century. What a blessing it would have been if the Reformers had rightly appreciated the importance and vindicated the necessity of upholding the truth, the whole truth, at any cost! But, alas! these wishes of mine were selfish to the core. If the truth of the fourth commandment had then been adopted by the Reformed churches, there would now be no necessity for taking up the "cross;" there would be no doubts, no fears, no struggling in our hearts and lives for the sake of truth, no self-denying, no pecuniary sacrifice, no severing perchance of Christian ties and fellowship, no opprobrium for striving to uphold the purity of the doctrine.

Such were part of, and still are to the present day, to a lesser degree it is true, my complex state of mind and feelings. But thanks be to God that through Christ he has given me the victory over self, and that, with the help of his Spirit, I have determined at any cost to follow the dictates of his holy word.

Since the 8th of December last, I have kept the "Sabbath" of the Lord on his own appointed day, but up to now I am deeply grieved to say such is not the case with the other members of my household. I have reasoned with them, and given them proof after proof that the substitution of the observance of the seventh day to the first day of the week is warranted neither by Scripture nor the practice of the primitive church; so far my efforts have not met with any apparent success. The arch-deceiver is hard at work making them still believe that provided one day in seven is kept holy to the Lord, it is immaterial whether the day thus set apart is the "seventh" or "first" day of the week, and that we should follow the general practice of the Christian church. I am now leaving the matter in the hands of the Lord, and I know he will answer my prayers, though he may try my faith by delaying the fulfillment of my request. And I am deeply thankful to be able to say that since I have kept the Sabbath I have not only had clearer views of the obligations and sanctity of that day, but that I have a better knowledge and clearer insight of many other spiritual truths. I have realized in a deeper measure than I ever did before, the heinousness of sin in the sight of God, and at the same time my dependence upon the all-atoning merits of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. And I now enjoy, after years of struggling, the sweet testimony of the Spirit testifying to my spirit that I am a child of God. Of course it is not only because I have of late kept the real Sabbath day that I now enjoy a greater sense of God's favor through Christ; but it may have been in his providence one of those means which has led to the result. But it is certain that my faith in mere human teaching is now at an end, however excellent, humanly speaking, the teacher may be. I would test all by the light of Scripture, and whatever is not in accordance with Jehovah's revealed word I would reject. Such perchance would not have been the case even a short time ago, but I have been made to see that errors may be winked at, even by God-fearing people, though by what principle they do so I cannot fathom. Of course I allude to those whose knowledge has enabled them to discern truth from falsehood. Doubtless they are sincere with themselves in presuming that the good which accrues even in upholding error, justifies this conduct; but it is not sincerity of purpose which can ever change an error or falsehood into truth.

As Tennyson so beautifully and emphatically says:— "That a lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies. That a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outright. But a lie which is half a truth is a harder matter to fight."

You are now waging that fight, and I say, "God speed you." There are many difficulties in the way,—ignorance, prejudice, pride, religious interestedness,—and to contend against these wisdom from on high is indispensable. But thank God, in waging such a warfare you are not bound to succeed, though you are compelled to obey; and if you labor faithfully in the vineyard of the Lord, with an eye single to his glory, you may safely be assured of his approval, though your labors may not apparently be crowned with abundant success. It is not those only who have won many souls who shall be commended at the great day, though doubtless it is a blessed privilege to be so highly favored. Paul may plant, Appollos may water; but God alone gives the increase. May our daily prayer be, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; and methinks the gracious answer would soon be vouchsafed.

Yours faithfully,

It may not be improper to add that this brother sent, in the foregoing letter, $20 for all the leading publications on the different points of our faith. May the Lord of truth and righteousness guide him into all truth, and lead him by his counsel.