How They Became Convineced
By Editor
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the Signs of the Times has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.] ALTHO I kept the Sabbath for about a year in 1888-9, I did not thoroughly and exhaustively examine the covenant and sanctuary questions until quite recently; and it was on account of not fully understanding those questions that I quit keeping the Sabbath. It was after reading several unsuccessful attempts to overthrow the Seventh-day Adventist position on the sanctuary, and, after repeated failures of my own to make sense of any other possible interpretation, that I became dissatisfied with the theory of Lex non scripta. But the main reason was, that the Holy Spirit waited patiently for an opportunity to bring me back into the truth, never losing a chance to stir me up on the subject. Being repeatedly and absolutely forbidden to join any other church, and being plainly commanded by the Spirit of God to unite with the Seventh-day Adventist church, "what was I, that I could withstand God?" I am being daily more and more convinced that it is a dangerous delusion to believe that the Decalogue has been abolished; and as for a change of the Sabbath to Sunday, that unscriptural notion is being rapidly given up by its advocates. Then, Sabbath-keepers,—
"Press on, never doubting, our Master is near,
With grace to supply, and with comfort to cheer;
His love like a stream in the desert will flow—
Then stand like the brave, with thy face to the foe."
A. H. DARROW. NINETEEN years ago I saw a new religious paper in a book-store in Australia. It was the first number of the Bible Echo, published by Seventh-day Adventists in that country. Its suggestive title and general make-up attracted me; so I bought a copy and read it through carefully. At the first opportunity I called at the Bible Echo office and procured a few tracts. We never had heard of Adventists, and, supposing they were a new sect, teaching false doctrine, I resolved to investigate, with a view to being prepared to expose their erroneous teaching should they visit our town. With an intense love for truth I studied hard to find out the weak points in their doctrines; but, after the keenest search, failed to discover anything unscriptural. As the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation were studied (with the help of books from our public library), to my surprise and delight a new field of knowledge opened up before me, and it proved to be the greatest revelation ever experienced by me since my conversion in the Baptist Church eleven years before. Never did a soul pray for divine help more earnestly; for, as evidence of the change of the Sabbath by the Papacy claimed my attention, my religious belief seemed to be shaken to its foundation. I studied my Bible and searched diligently among the books of our two public libraries for anything relating to Sunday and Sabbath observance, reading with eagerness statements of writers on both sides of the question. Every phase of the subject from an historical and Bible standpoint, and every text especially referring to the law, were considered one by one prayerfully for several months, unknown to any one excepting our own family. My constant prayer was, Father, let me not be deluded by men, but teach me Thyself. How wonderfully He fulfilled His promise to answer prayer, language fails to describe; but I praise His name for the various precious truths learned in the privacy of our home in Geelong. Never did fear of man nor prejudice turn me from my purpose, but, with a determination to know and do my Father's will, I trusted Him to keep my feet in the right path. My wife saw the Sabbath truth first, but I struggled on through perplexities and difficulties, pondering over every detail slowly, until each problem was solved and the truth shone forth clearly. Tho we were alone in a town of twenty thousand inhabitants, we took our stand for the Sabbath of the Lord, and never have regretted it. But we rejoice in the liberty which is possible only to those who render a willing obedience to the law of God from love to Him. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments."
A. CARTER.