The Sabbath Law in the New Testament.
By Editor
THE no-Sabbath men take the position that they are not under obligation to observe the Sabbath, because the commandment enforcing it is not repeated, or given over again by Christ. But would they be ready to observe it, if they could find in the New Testament the fourth commandment repeated by our Lord? We think they would not. And we have good reasons for so thinking; for when we quote to them the words of Christ to the young man, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments," [Matt. xix, 17,] the usual reply is:—"That was spoken by Christ during his ministry, while the law was in force. The commandments were all binding then; but were afterwards abolished at Christ's death." Now, supposing that Christ had, for the benefit of these men, given the fourth commandment over a second time, would they then be ready to keep the Sabbath?—And if we should then present to them this second edition of the Sabbath law, given by Christ for their benefit, would they be benefited by it? Certainly, they would not; for they would be as ready to reply, "That commandment was given a second time by Christ during his ministry. It was afterwards abolished at his death, and is not binding on us."—Think of this, you who call on us to show the fourth commandment from the lips of Christ! That the ten commandments are referred to by our Lord, [Matt. xix, 17,] is evident from the fact that he quotes five of them. But is it said, that he does not here name the Sabbath commandment, therefore it is not binding? We reply, that he does not name the first, second, third, nor the tenth. Shall these be violated, because Christ has not here repeated them? Why not be consistent, and let the Sabbath law stand on the same ground with the other commandments, not here named by Christ? The second commandment is not repeated in the New Testament; and not one of the ten are given on a new account. Christ, Paul, John and James, refer to them as a whole, and have repeated some of them; but not as if giving a new law. They speak of them as the original law of God. And why require Sabbath-keepers to show the fourth commandment from the New Testament? We see no reason why it should be given a second time, unless it can first be shown that it was abolished at the cross; and even then, the second edition of the Sabbath law would have to be given by the apostles, after the death of Christ. The absence of New Testament testimony that the Sabbath law has been abolished, and the fact that our Lord has said, "till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law," entirely supersedes the necessity of its being given a second time. Christ, and the apostles who have written, taught and enforced the commandments of God, as standing on their original basis. They never removed one of them. We teach the Sabbath, as standing on that same basis; and these no-Sabbath men ought to know that it is not their part to object to our position, and oppose the Sabbath cause, till after they have presented plain testimony from the epistles of the apostles that the Sabbath has been abolished. We want none of their inferences from 2 Cor. iii; Rom. xiv; Col. ii, 14-17. They should not be allowed in a case like this. God gave his law in the plainest language possible; and no man should be convinced that it has been abolished, unless he can find testimony as positive and plain, coming from as high authority. Rom. xiv, does not mention the Sabbath. 2 Cor. iii, speaks of two ministrations of the law of God.—That the ministration of death could be abolished, and give place to the ministration of the Spirit without affecting the law, is evident. Col. ii, 16, reads "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath-days." That these sabbath-days, or sabbaths, here associated with meat, drink, holy day and the new moon, are the annual sabbaths of the Jews, associated with the same ordinances in Lev. xxiii, is perfectly plain. The text has no reference to the Sabbath of the Lord our God. But admitting that the seventh-day Sabbath is meant, then what is gained? Verily nothing; for not a word is said about its being abolished. Men may infer that the Sabbath is included in the "hand-writing of ordinances," mentioned in verse 14, or that it is referred to in verse 16; but such an inference should not be considered of the least weight in such a case as this, in the absence of plain and direct testimony. If these no-Sabbath men have nothing better than their inferences, which they have a hundred times repeated, they should hold their peace and let God's Sabbath alone, or "keep the commandments." If they have the plain word of the Lord, without note or comment, for the abrogation of the Sabbath law, they would greatly oblige us to point it out. Behold the display of the Divine Power at the giving of the ten commandments. The smoke ascended from Mount Sinai as the smoke of a great furnace; the lightnings flashed, and the thunders of Jehovah rolled down its base. God had descended upon it in awful grandeur, to speak in the ears of all the people the ten precepts of his holy law. These precepts were of such a character, of such vast importance, that the great Law-giver did not leave them for man to write; but with his finger engraved them in tables of stone. Behold them placed in the beautiful ark, overlaid and inlaid with the purest gold. Mark well the victories won by Israel, when, with the ark of God, they crossed Jordan, marched around Jericho, and went forth to battle. And see it put in the Most Holy of the earthly Sanctuary. It was the centre of their religious system, it was the glory of Israel. The fourth commandment was in that ark; and for its violation, the greatest curses are pronounced by the prophets; and for the observance of the Sabbath, the greatest blessings are promised. And how preposterous the idea that the Almighty, through his Son Jesus Christ, has abolished his Sabbath, and has not given one plain testimony to the fact in the Book of Inspiration. And how awfully presumptuous for men to go on in violation of the fourth commandment, and risk their eternal salvation upon mere inferences drawn from a few texts in the epistles of St. Paul!! May God help the reader to feel the force of the truth we are here stating. But we should not expect that such a momentous event as the abrogation of God's law, or even the Sabbath precept, would take place without being foretold by the prophets. God by the prophets has not only revealed the great events connected with his people, or in which his people have a special interest; but has by them pointed out those events which are more minute. The time and signs of the first advent of Christ were revealed to the prophets. The seventy weeks revealed to Daniel were there fulfilled. The star that guided the wise men to the place of the infant Saviour; his being born at Bethlehem, and of a virgin; Herod slaying the young children; his forerunner, John, his humiliation, and the manner and circumstances of his death, even the parting of his garments and casting lots, were revealed to the prophets. Also, the "blotting out of the hand-writing of ordinances," spoken of by St. Paul, is named by the Prophet as follows:—"I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast-days, her new-moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts." Hosea ii, 11. The phrases, "your sabbath," and "her sabbaths," apply only to the annual sabbaths of the Jews, associated with feasts, new-moons, &c., as in Lev. xxiii; Hosea ii, 11; Col. ii, 16; while the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, associated with nine moral precepts, is called "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Now, if the Lord's Sabbath has been abolished, where have the prophets foretold the event? "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos iii, 7.—As none of the prophets have foretold the abolition of the Sabbath, and as none of the apostles have recorded such an event, we are certain that no such event ever occurred. And to trample under foot the fourth commandment because a second edition of it is not found in the New Testament, and to teach its abolition, with nothing but unwarrantable inferences from a few texts, is the very height of presumption.