THE THREE "THEREFORES."
By H. A. St. John
READER, as you have an interest in religious meetings, let us join the assembly near by to-night, where, I am informed, the Scriptures are to be read and reasoned upon by men of different opinions and vocations. Antinomian. "I am an Antinomian; that is, one who believes that the ten-commandment law is of no use or obligation in this dispensation. And especially has that fourth commandment, which required the observance of the seventh day as a Sabbath, been abolished. Here is the proof: 'Keep the Sabbath-day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day.' Deut. 5:12-15. How very plain is this scripture! I think any one who wants to see, can see that the seventh-day Sabbath was a Jewish institution; that it never was known till after the Jews were delivered from Egyptian bondage, and that it was given to them to commemorate that event. We Gentiles were not delivered from Egyptian bondage, therefore the Sabbath was not intended for us. Does not our text say, 'Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day'? In the face of this 'therefore,' how can seventh-day folks, or anybody, fail to see that the seventh-day Sabbath was not known until the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt, and that it was binding only on the people thus delivered!" Extortioner. "My business is that of an extortioner. I find that a very successful way to get along in the world, and to make money, is to take advantage of the poor, ignorant, and unsuspecting. I find that strangers, the fatherless, and widows are excellent subjects to work upon. But I have often been troubled in view of the judgment, thinking my course was very wicked. But by the rule of interpretation given us by our Antinomian friend who has just spoken, my mind is greatly relieved. A certain scripture which gave me much trouble I can now easily explain in harmony with my vocation. It is this: 'Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge; but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord God redeemed thee from thence; therefore I command thee to do this thing.' Deut. 24:17, 18. How blind I have been all these years not to see that this respecting of the rights of strangers, fatherless, or widows, was not known to man till the Jews were delivered from Egyptian bondage and was made binding only on the Jews thus delivered! I was not delivered from Egyptian bondage, therefore these things613are not binding on me. Oh, that blessed word 'therefore'! I am so glad I am here to-night! I can go away with new courage to engage more heartily than ever in my life work." Swindler. "My soul is so full of rejoicing that I cannot go away from this meeting without bearing my testimony. This is the first religious meeting I have really enjoyed for many years, and I now see that the reason was, we have not had the right kind of leaders. Our Antinomian brother gave this meeting a good start. It is true that in this text there were two or three points that I thought at first he did not clear up; viz., 'As the Lord thy God hath commanded thee,' which sounded a little as though the Sabbath had been commanded before; and when it said that 'the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.' Of course I knew that L-o-r-d and G-o-d did not spell Jew, and the query arose then, How was it the Jewish Sabbath? But when he got my eyes fixed on that wonderful word 'therefore,' my difficulties all vanished. And now I am glad I am here to-night. My vocation is that of a grocer and general swindler. I have almost invariably used a large weight in buying, and a small weight in selling; and in many other ways I have sought to advantage myself to the disadvantage of others. And during all these years my peace of mind has been disturbed by a certain scripture which was never explained as I wanted it explained until to-night. The scripture is this: 'Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in mete-yard in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall ye have; I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them; I am the Lord.' Lev. 19:35-37. Why have I been so stupid as never to have seen before that these things were unknown to man for twenty-five hundred years after creation, or until the Jews were delivered from Egyptian bondage, and then were made binding only on those miserable Jews who were thus delivered. I was not delivered from Egypt, and therefore these things are not binding upon me. Oh, happy day! my condemnation is gone. That magical word 'therefore' has set my soul at liberty. Let us have more of these free meetings, brethren." A Sabbath-keeper. "My soul is filled with horror to-night. I feel to pray with the psalmist, 'O Lord, it is time for thee to work, for they have made void thy law.' The rule of interpretation laid down by the first speaker is subversive and deadly. Extortioners, swindlers, and all kinds of rascals can find justification and encouragement in such perversions of the word of God, and if the Antinomian speaker has not lost his conscience, he will see and feel this. The Israel of God, when in the land of Egypt, were grievously oppressed. So cruel and severe was their bondage that they could not properly observe the Sabbath. As strangers in a foreign land, their rights were trampled upon. Unjust weights and measures were used in dealing with them. The fatherless and widows were oppressed. God broke this iron bondage, and gave them liberty. And now when they walk at liberty, the Lord makes frequent appeals to their gratitude for so remarkable a deliverance. The Sabbath, together with all other moral obligations, was binding from creation, and always will be binding. But to a nation of liberated slaves who were the professed people of God, there were additional reasons why they should remember all his commandments to do them. These reasons were found in the facts of their deliverance. The wonderful mercy of God, as manifested to Israel in their deliverance, did not create these moral obligations, nor make them binding, but simply placed them under greater obligations to their Creator, because of their remarkable deliverance; hence the 'therefore' in each of the texts quoted. It is as if the United States should say to the emancipated slaves, 'Keep the constitution and laws of our country sacredly. Remember that you were bondmen in the South, but with a high hand and outstretched arm we emancipated you; therefore shall you observe all our laws to do them. Would any be so foolish as to conclude that the constitution and laws of this country did not exist till these slaves were emancipated? and that they were then made binding on emancipated slaves only, and that our constitution and laws commemorated their emancipation? No one would thus conclude. Then handle not the word of God deceitfully." "Ye swindlers, extortioners, and Antinomians, I beseech you in the name of common sense, of reason, and of the Holy Bible, to ground the weapons of your rebellion against God, and the constitution of Heaven! Seek to obtain freedom, not from the law, but from the condemnation of the law. This you may obtain through Jesus by sincere repentance. Then you will have the only freedom that is worthy of the name. The triumph of the wicked, the rebellious, is short; but the triumph of the righteous, the obedient, is eternal." (This last testimony brought such a damper on the meeting that it was abruptly closed.) H. A. St. John.