Untitled article by C. P. Bollman

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 14, 1887

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 15.

AN OPEN LETTER ON THE SABBATH QUESTION. NO. 2.

By C. P. Bollman

DEAR SIR: The next point in your letter is thus stated by yourself:—

"Will you, or your church, dare the assertion that all the professed followers of Christ are sinners because they recognize the first day of the week instead of the seventh, as the day of rest and worship? I really can't think a people professing to be the followers of the blessed Jesus, can be so uncharitable. And if not, as you are so few in number, compared with the balance of Christendom, had you not better twist your consciences just a little, and join in the great procession of Christians, and unite your efforts in saving men's souls, instead of making so much ado about keeping the Sabbath?"

We dare assert anything that the Bible asserts: no more no less. And the Bible teaches us that all men have sinned. But you ask if a certain class are sinners because they keep Sunday and do not keep the seventh day? That depends upon whether in so doing they obey the Sabbath law or not. Any transgression of the law of God is sin. Says the apostle John: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. It therefore matters not what the profession may be, if anyone disobeys the law of God he is a sinner. This law says: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." "The seventh day is the Sabbath;" and the only question possible is, do those who "recognize the first day of the week instead of the seventh, as the Sabbath" obey that commandment? We say that they do not. But no Sabbath-keeper will affirm that all who keep Sunday are guilty of willful presumptuous sin, and that some of them are not the children of God by faith in Christ; nor does any Sabbath-keeper so believe.

We can only look on the outward actions, but God looks at the heart; and while it is our privilege to know, and by the grace of God to obey the truth for ourselves, and as far as possible to teach it to others, we are not judges of evil thoughts. We may not decide just what the standing of A or B is in the sight of God, but we must certainly have decided convictions of truth and of duty. This was the case with Luther, who, when making his defense before the Diet said, "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise." And so says every conscientious God-fearing soul. We have no right under any circumstances to compromise the truth in any particular.

You intimate that we are uncharitable; but my friend, the charity of which you speak and the charity of the Bible are two entirely different things. The charity of the Scriptures is love. The apostle Paul never taught that people must be so loose in their views that they would have no clear-cut convictions of divine truth; or no strong convictions of duty. On the contrary he was so "uncharitable" as to write to the Galatians: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Gal. 1:9, 10. The apostle's position was that no one had any right to call in question the truth; and he knew that he had preached the truth to the Galatians, and he was not afraid to stake everything upon it. He knew nothing of the charity, falsely so called, which leaves every one at liberty to follow his own inclinations rather than obey the word of God.

The word translated "charity" in the common English Bible, means "love," and in the Revised Version, it is so rendered. See 1 Cor. 13. Cruden defines the word as follows: "Charity is a principle of prevailing love to God and good-will to men, which effectually inclines one endued with it to glorify God, and to do good to others; to be patient, slow to anger, and ready to put up with wrongs; to show kindness to all, and seek the good of others, though with prejudice to himself. A person endued therewith does not interpret doubtful things to the worst sense, but the best; is sorry for the sins of others, but rejoices when any one does well, and is apt to bear with their failings and infirmities."

A careful perusal of 1 Cor. 13, will justify this definition, I think in every particular. And it will be noticed that one who has this charity "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." Verse 6. Iniquity is sin and "sin is the transgression of the law." Therefore, Bible charity rejoices in keeping the law; while the charity you have in mind would rejoice in willful violation of the law, for you advise us to "twist" our consciences a little that we may cease to observe the day which God commands us to keep holy, and join in with the majority in keeping a day that we do not believe it right for us to keep. That you must know would be unchristian.

Though not in itself a safe guide for it must be educated by the word of God, conscience is to be respected at all times. No man can be a Christian who persistently violates his conscience; for conscience is our honest convictions of right and wrong; and he who does that which he believes to be wrong, is to all intents and purposes guilty of sin, for in his heart he purposed to do a wrong act and he feels condemned for the act and this is necessarily true whether the thing is really bad or not. But how much greater must be the condemnation when the sin is willfully committed against a plain commandment of God! On this point the apostle John says: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." 1 John 3:18-22.

Your advice to twist our consciences a little, certainly does not savor of the spirit of the Master; and I sincerely hope that you are not as bad as your unfortunate utterance would indicate. I cannot think that you are; and am persuaded that you must have written without due consideration. But I find that this letter is already sufficiently long, I must therefore defer other points to a future time. C. P. BOLLMAN.