A Popular Fallacy by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 22, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 16.

A Popular Fallacy.

By Editor

THE article in the Michigan Christian Advocate, to which we referred last week, in the closing paragraph said:—

"The first covenant, then, was that made to Moses on Sinai, consisting of circumcision, Sabbath days (not the Sabbath rest itself; for that was a permanency in religion before Moses was born), priesthood, sacrifices, and offerings for sin."

We waive the error on the subject of the covenant to notice the very prominent error of trying to disconnect the "Sabbath rest itself" from the "Sabbath day." It is much to be regretted that men, claiming a good degree of piety, will misrepresent and pervert the Scriptures to maintain a theory to which they have attached themselves. In all the round of theological falsities there is none more evident or more mischievous in its tendencies than that which we have quoted above. Evident, because it has not the least shadow of Scripture proof to sustain it, and is contrary to the most direct Scripture declarations; and mischievous, because it not only leads to the violation of the commandment of God, but it subverts the commandment and makes it of no effect. In such teachings the authors place themselves side by side with "that man of sin," of whom Paul spoke in 2 Thess. 2. He does not call him "a sinning man," or "a sinful man." There are so many men of that kind that it would be almost impossible for any one man or set of men to show a specially bad pre-eminence among them. But he is "that man of sin;" he stands out peculiar and eminent as one who not merely commits sin—transgresses divine law—but who legalizes sin; who sits in judgment on God's great instrument which condemns sin; who legislates in favor of sin and against the law; who affects to make it a mark of piety, a Christian duty, to sin. Now we insist that every one who teaches that the law is abolished, or who perverts it so as to lead to its violation, or destroys it in substance and substitutes something else in its place, not only indorses the actions of that man of sin, but forms an alliance with him; makes himself an accessory in the act. This language is not unjust; it is not too strong for the circumstances. The light on this Sabbath question is greatly on the increase; the mists of the traditions of the dark ages are being swept away, and the harmony between "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" is being clearly shown. It is becoming more and more evident that the opposition to the fourth commandment is an out-growth of prejudice and worldly religion, and that, in the sight of Heaven, opposers are without excuse.

Do the Scriptures give any warrant for separating the Sabbath day from the Sabbath institution? Or, coming more directly to the subject presented in the words we have quoted, Do the Scriptures show that "the Sabbath rest" preceded, as a religious institution, the appointment of the seventh day? This is the question now to be considered.

We affirm (1), That it is not possible to separate the Sabbath day from the Sabbath rest or institution. And (2), That if it were possible to separate them, then priority or preference would stand in favor of the day. This part of the subject is not difficult to settle by Bible proof; because the proof is compact, and very positive and decisive. We do not have to range over a large field of statements, and examine inferences. The statements are few, plain, and clear, and there is not a point on which to suspend an inference against the plain word.

All the Scripture proof that we have concerning a Sabbath rest before the days of Moses, is found in Gen. 2:1-3. We quote the verses entire:—

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

God made the heavens and earth in six days, dating from "the beginning." And he rested the seventh day. He blessed the seventh day. He sanctified the seventh day. He blessed and sanctified the seventh day because it was his rest (Sabbath) day. This is the sum total of the evidence concerning God's holy day, before the day of Moses. This is how and when "the Sabbath rest itself" became "a permanency in religion before Moses was born."

By this it will be seen that the day is the institution. There was no Sabbath rest aside from the seventh day. The rest commemorated the work; and the work was that of creation in six days. The work was constituted of seven days—never more, never less. The last, the seventh, was the rest day of the Creator, and because "he hath made his wonderful works to be remembered" (Ps. 111:4), therefore he blessed the seventh day; and he sanctified the seventh day, "because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Nothing was blest, nothing was sanctified, nothing was instituted, apart from "the day."

And the commandment of Jehovah, given to all his people by himself, exactly corresponds to this "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." The most literal rendering is—Remember the day of the Sabbath, the day of the rest. Sabbath means rest; remember the rest day. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." We find nothing at all in the history, nothing in the commandment, aside from the day. "Keep it holy." The pronoun "it" refers to the day. How did the day become the Lord's Sabbath? "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore [for this reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

But learned men (in the wisdom of this world) have said that the fourth commandment was twofold in its nature; that it was partly moral and partly positive. And they tell us that the moral part referred to a rest, a Sabbath, an institution, without regard to a particular day; while the positive part located the Sabbath on the seventh day. This theory was invented in order to enable the devotees of "the venerable day of the sun" to crowd the Sabbath day of Jehovah out of his commandment, and to insert their own day in its stead. On this we ask the question: Is a moral duty dependent on a positive law? Every one must answer, No. If there is a moral duty, it must stand independent of positive duty; it would be in force if the positive law were entirely abolished. Now we propose to accept, for the present, this theory, and to obliterate the positive part of the commandment, leaving the moral part to stand on its own footing. In doing this, we must drop out the word "day," the words "rest day," or Sabbath; for the Lord said: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," and when he says Sabbath day or rest day, he means the day of his rest, the seventh day; and we must drop out the pronoun "it;" for it refers to the day upon which the Lord rested, which he hallowed. This we have sufficiently shown. Now for the moral part of the commandment:—

"Remember — — to keep — holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but — — is — of the Lord thy God; in — thou shalt not do any work. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested — — —, wherefore the Lord blessed — — — and hallowed —."

How would any one learn a duty from this moral part (?) of the commandment? He would readily discover that it referred to creation, and going back to the record he could fill the blanks according to the facts. But of course he would have to insert "the seventh day;" without that the commandment is a nullity.

But suppose we can, by some means not yet made known, drop the seventh day out of the law, what then? Why, of course, we can transfer the obligation to the first day—the very object of all this twisting and perverting the law of God. At least we can try the experiment. It will then read thus:—

"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." So far, good; now for the reason. "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the first day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

All very satisfactory except in one point: it makes the commandment tell a falsehood! But this falsehood is a necessity of the case. That is to say, that it is impossible to make the fourth commandment enforce the first day of the week without making it also teach an untruth.

We might follow this subject further, but what is the need? It certainly requires but brief examination of the proofs, and not a very high order of intellect, to perceive that to enforce the keeping of the first day of the week by the Sabbath commandment which the Lord gave to man, is "to pervert the right ways of the Lord." Acts 13:10. And if we cannot succeed in turning men away from a work which must be offensive to God, we can discharge our duty in exposing their fallacies, and leading the honest-hearted to cease to trust in the multitude of mighty men (Hos. 10:13), and turn with all their heart "to the law, and to the testimony." Isa. 8:20.