BRO. SHEARS' COMMUNICATION by Henry J. Shears

Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · Aug 19, 1852

BRO. SHEARS' COMMUNICATION.

By Henry J. Shears

[We cheerfully publish the following communication from Bro. Shears; and we hope that others will feel free to write out, and forward to us sketches of their experience, present views and future prospects. Such communications are calculated to add to the interest of the Review and Herald, and have a good influence on the cause of truth.]

DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I wish to address a few lines to you, although a stranger to me in person, and give a sketch of some of the dealings of God with me. Twenty-two years ago I was convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of a judgment to come; and I united myself to the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In the Spring of 1843, one of the servants of God came proclaiming the first angel's message, the hour of his judgment is come. The preaching was so powerful and scriptural, and as I loved the Lord and, his appearing, I was led to embrace it with all my heart. And when we would introduce the subject of our Lord's second coming to our ministers, some of them would repudiate the idea of his soon coming, saying that the whole world must be evangelized first, and would say all manner of evil against it, calling it Millerism, fanaticism, infidelity, a doctrine from his Satanic Majesty, and old Splitfoot, right from hell. Such were some of the strong arguments, to which some of the professed ambassadors of Christ were compelled to resort, when they could not overthrow the doctrine of the first angel's message.

In the fall of 1844, we subscribed for the Voice of Truth, and we there found Elder Marsh exposing the corrupt state of the professed religious churches, showing that they constituted Babylon, and that they were fallen, and that God's people were called upon to come out of her, that they partake not of her sins, and that they receive not of her plagues. Thus I was constrained to leave a church, of which I was a member, and to separate myself from those that were near and dear to me, by the ties of nature, and to take a stand with a people that were despised and called everything but good, because they loved the glorious doctrine of the coming and kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Two years ago this last Spring, Bro. Holt came to this place, and preached once to us on the necessity of keeping the commandments, and shortly afterwards he came again, accompanied by Bro. Edson. They stayed several days and preached to us, and left with us books and papers, and in a few weeks afterwards, Brn. Bates and Lillis came and preached to us. Last December, Brn. Bates and Edson came and preached to us again, and left with us books, &c.

Now it is clear to my mind that we are under the third angel's message, when God's tried and downtrodden people, who are scattered and peeled, and are willing to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, should obey all the commandments of God, the whole ten of them, written by the finger of God, (the Eternal Father,) on tables of stone, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who when a certain one came and said unto him, "Good Master what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?"—said unto him, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. xix, 16, 17.

Now I think that those who take the ground that the commandments of God are abolished, particularly the fourth, in which God has commanded to remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, are occupying a fearful position in teaching men so. The testimony of the Saviour in his sermon on the mount, is, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For, verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 17—19.

"But he answered and said unto them, [the Scribes and Pharisees,] Why do ye also transgress the commandments of God, by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, honor thy father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 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 commandments of God of none effect by your tradition. 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." Matt. xv, 3—9.

It looks to me that those who are teaching the observance of the first day of the week, (the day that the heathen worshiped the sun, or the day which the Popes commanded to be kept, and which has become an established law by the authorities of our land,) in preference to the seventh day, and that we should be in subjection to the government of our land, are teaching the commandments of men, instead of the commandments of God.

Again, Christ says, "But pray ye that your flight be not in the Winter, neither on the Sabbath-day." Matt. xxiv, 20. Whether this refers to Jerusalem's destruction, or the great and final conflict yet future, it certainly teaches the perpetuity of the Sabbath. Again he testifies that the "Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath-day." Mark ii, 27, 28.

"Then one of them which was a lawyer, asked him a question tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.—This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matt. xxii, 35—40.

This first shows us our duty to love and obey our Creator, God. It secondly teaches our duty to do good to our fellow men; not teaching them that God's divine law, which was given for man to obey, in order to obtain eternal life and future glory, is abolished, or was nailed to the cross and is not binding under the gospel dispensation, boasting that they are under grace, and not under the law, and also that they are under Christ, and not under Moses. As if those who were contending for the observance of the commandments were seeking to be justified by the works of the law of Moses, and also, as if Moses was some wicked vile personage. As if Moses and Christ had separate objects in view.

Moses was appointed to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and their hard servitude, and Christ's work is to lead his followers out of the bondage and opposition of this world, into that rest that remains to the people of God.

I fear that some who are boasting that they have Christ for their leader will find themselves sadly mistaken in the great and trying day, as much so as those Jews, who boasted that they had Abraham to their father. Christ says:

"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" John v, 46, 47.

"And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. * And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me." Luke xxiv, 27, 44.

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John i, 17.

"For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." Acts iii, 22, 23.

By the above quotations there appears to be a union between Moses and Christ. I think it is a safe position to keep the commandments of God, and to hear that Prophet whom Moses said, the Lord God should raise up like unto him.

I will now look at the testimony of some of the apostles, and see if they teach the abolition of the commandments of God, or of the Seventh-day Sabbath, as some do at the present day. "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man [Christ] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Acts xiii, 38, 39. I wish here to remark that I understand Paul to mean the ritual, ceremonial law, the offering of sacrifices, which were types and shadows to bring us to the atoning, all-sufficient, antitypical sacrifice. Of this law, Christ is the end for righteousness to every one that believeth. Paul affirms, in writing to his Hebrew brethren, "For the law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." Heb. vii, 19.

"For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves, and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people." Chap. ix, 19.

"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Chap. ix, 13, 14.

"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged, should have had no more conscience of sins." Chap. x, 1, 2.

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Chap. ix, 23.

Again, Paul says to the Galatians: "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid; for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our school-master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Chap. iii, 21—25.

Now it looks plain to me that Paul makes a distinction between the law of ceremonies and the law of God. I conceive the ceremonial law to be done away in Christ. It was nailed to his cross. But not the immutable law of the living God, the ten commandments of which Paul says:

"Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin but by the law. * Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good." Rom. vii, 7, 12.

"Do we then make void the law through faith?—God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Rom. iii, 31.

Paul did not intimate that the Sabbath was done away in Christ; but it is said of his meeting held at Antioch, that "when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. * And the next Sabbath-day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." Acts xiii, 42, 44.

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath-days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." Acts xvii, 2.

We will see what another apostle will say: "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." James i, 25.

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James ii, 10.

Peter says: "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better, for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." 2 Pet. ii, 19—21.

And John says: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John ii, 3.

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law * And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." Chap. iii, 4, 22.

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John v, 2, 3.

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. xii, 17.

"Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. xiv, 12.

Again: "Blessed are they that do his [the Father's] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the City. For without are dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Rev. xxii, 14, 15.

Now by a careful examination of the above quotations of scripture, and many more that might be quoted, on the law of God, and on the keeping of the commandments, I have been fully convinced that our only safe position is to keep the commandments, the whole of them, in order to inherit eternal life. I have read much on the Sabbath question, for and against it, for a few years past, and I had almost come to the conclusion that there was no Sabbath binding under the gospel dispensation. But I would readily admit that if there was a Sabbath binding, it was the seventh day. And I find upon a thorough investigation of the subject, that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord our God, and that there is no divine authority for keeping the first day of the week. Therefore I feel bound to keep the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord our God.

Now when we trace the origin of keeping the first day of the week, we find it to be an institution of Papacy. And the conclusion is natural that it is a Mark of the Beast. And if the proclamation of the Second Advent doctrine synchronizes with the first angel's message, and also a call for God's people to come out from the Protestant Religious Sects, (and not out of old Rome,) which synchronizes with the second angel's message, [Rev. xiv,] the conclusion to my mind is irresistible that we are under the third angel's message. We have had two such events in the past, or else we must admit the whole Second Advent movement to be a delusion. I think no true Advent believer can in conscience admit this, notwithstanding there has been an effort made by some writers to place the three angels' messages some hundred years in the past, and others place them in the future, after the Second Advent of Christ.

This is done in order to get rid of the third angel's message, or to avoid the keeping of the commandments of God. Thus we find a perfect disagreement with these expositors of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Now when I look at the course pursued by some of our advent brethren, and see their warnings, and the bitter opposition they have to the third angel's message, and against those that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, it reminds me of those who opposed the first angel's message, and their hard speeches. And to see them manifest the same spirit, I am led to cry out with anguish of soul, "How are the mighty fallen."

In conclusion, dear brother, I must confess, with a grateful heart, my thankfulness to those dear brethren for sending me the Review and Herald with other publications that I have received at their hand.—They have proved of great benefit to me. The Letters of Bro. J. N. Andrews to O. R. L. Crozier, have also been a great blessing to me. They are just what is needed. He has wielded the sword of the Spirit against the sophistry and quibbles of those that are teaching that there is no Sabbath binding under the gospel dispensation, in a manly and able manner.

We should be very glad to have some of the servants of the Lord pass this way again. Myself and wife are all that have in this place, as yet, taken a decided stand on the side of the Sabbath.

Your brother, looking for a City which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, HENRY J. SHEARS. Ameliasburgh, C. W., July, 1852.