Keeping the Spirit of the Law.
By E. Hilliard
MANY argue that if the spirit of the law of God is only kept, it is acceptable to God. And so it is. For one does not keep the spirit of the law unless his conduct harmonizes with the letter. There is no antagonism between the two. Custom has established practices in the religious world that stand condemned before the moral law, and some defense must be made; hence the argument of obeying the spirit of the law, while transgressing its letter. This evasion of the ten commandments is not of modern origin. The argument, perhaps, is of recent invention, but the practice is very ancient. We have an instance of this after the law had been proclaimed orally by God himself from the burning mount. It appears that the children of Israel became uneasy respecting the absence of Moses to receive the law in its written form on tables of stone, and said to Aaron, "Up, make us gods which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, . . . we wot not what is become of him." As the result of this request, Aaron made, out of their gold earrings, a molten calf for them to worship; and they said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Ex. 32: 1, 4. After they had witnessed such wonderful demonstrations of God's power in delivering them from Egyptian bondage, it seems hardly credible that they could ascribe that deliverance to such a helpless thing as that lifeless calf. The pillar of cloud had been before them; and it really appears from the expression, "make us gods which shall go before us," that they desired to have something tangible to fill its place. Dr. Clarke says: "Was it possible that Aaron could have imagined that he could make any god that would help them? . . . It must, however, be granted that Aaron does not appear to have even designed a worship that should supersede the worship of the Most High; hence we find him making proclamation, 'Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.' . . . It is evident he intended that the true God should be the object of their worship, though he permitted and even encouraged them to offer this worship through an idolatrous medium,—the molten calf." Their object was good, viz., the worship of God; their sin lay in making him a secondary object in their worship. By disobeying the letter of the law, they fell into the letter and spirit of idolatry. The Lord condemned their course; for he said to Moses, "Go, get thee down; for thy people . . . have corrupted themselves." Take another case. When Christ's disciples ate bread with unwashed hands, the scribes and Pharisees interrogated Christ with the question, "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread." It was often our Saviour's practice before answering his enemies to ask them a question; so he said to them, "Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother. . . . But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." Matt. 15: 3-6. The scribes taught that if one consecrated to the temple the means or service due to parents, he was free from the parental obligation; thus making void the fifth commandment. Hear Christ's opinion of this manner of keeping the law: "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Verses 7-9. We find in these last days a class of professors who are keeping the fourth commandment in the same manner as the scribes and Pharisees kept the fifth. God says: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work," etc. Ex. 20: 10. The people say that all he requires is for us to observe one day in seven. If we keep the first day of the week, we obey the spirit of the law, and therefore stand justified in his sight. Reader, you may sincerely think this position a sound one; but your sincerity will not save you. Dr. Clarke says in his comment on Matt. 15: 9: "By the tradition of the elders, not only the word of God was perverted, but his worship also was greatly corrupted. But the Jews were not the only people who have acted thus; whole Christian churches, as well as sects and parties, have acted in the same way. Men must not mould the worship of God according to their fancy. It is not what they think will do—is proper, innocent, etc.—but what God himself has prescribed, that he will acknowledge as his worship. However sincere a man may be in a worship of his own invention, or of man's commandment, yet it profits him nothing. Christ himself says it is in vain. To condemn such may appear to some illiberal; but whatever may be said in behalf of sincere heathen, and others who have not had the advantages of divine revelation, there is no excuse for the man who has the Bible before him." E. Hilliard.
Medford, Minn.