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THE SABBATH

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 9, 1861

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 17, No. 21.

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THE SABBATH.

By M. E. Cornell

WHILE laboring at Chesaning, Mich., our cause received effectual aid from two or three sermons preached against it by Eld. J. B. Russell of the M. E. Church. As some of the arguments were somewhat new and novel, I will give them from my notes together with the substance of my reply.

THE SABBATH. TEXT, LUKE XXIII, 56.

RUSSEL. I will admit that we are to rest the Sabbath day according to the fourth commandment.
REPLY. This very text with its connection clearly shows that when the disciples rested according to the fourth command they rested the day before the first day.
R. God does not attach evening and morning to the seventh day. It was left as indefinite time.
REPLY. "The evening and the morning were the sixth day," and the seventh of course must commence at the end of the sixth. That Moses understood it so, is evident from his experience as recorded in Exodus.
R. In Ex. xii, the Sabbath is mentioned and no reference had to the creation.
REPLY. The convocation days of Ex. xii, were on particular days of the month, and had no reference to the weekly Sabbath. Any one can see this at a glance.
R. Let our friends go back and take up the right day to begin the year, if they are so afraid of tradition. I love consistency.
REPLY. There is nothing about years or months in the moral law. Our Saviour taught the Scribes and Pharisees that they made the fifth commandment of God void by their tradition, and explained to them wherein; and all the force of his charge now comes against the nominal churches, for their treatment of the fourth commandment. See Matt. xv. 1-9.
R. If Christ or the apostles had wanted to celebrate the first day they did not dare to do it till after Christ's resurrection for fear of the Jews.
REPLY. Would they desire to celebrate the resurrection of Christ before he rose? Was there not as much fear of the Jews after Christ arose as before? See John xx, 19. "When the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews," &c.; and yet the Elder has quoted this very text to show that the disciples kept the first day. Where now is consistency?
R. We admit the first day as indefinite as the seventh; so we stand on equal footing here.
REPLY. How then could the Sabbath be changed? Could it be transferred from the seventh, indefinite, to the first, indefinite? (!) Did Christ rise on an indefinite day? But if Christ arose indefinitely after the disciples rested, then they must have rested as indefinitely before he arose; hence your example of celebrating the indefinite resurrection day, on the definite Sunday shows our duty to celebrate the indefinite seventh day, or the definite Saturday, "according to the fourth command" after apostolic example.
R. I assume the re-enactment of the law.
REPLY. Well to say "I assume," for it would be hard proving the re-enactment of a law, which he himself admits never was abolished.
R. There is no direct command for the change of the Sabbath.
REPLY. Neither is there any indirect command for the change. But have we a right to change a direct definite command, without any direct authority for so doing? Is not God wiser than men? If so would he leave us to infer the change of his definite moral law?
R. Watson says, "a day," leaving it to each people to determine for themselves. The Hebrews could not determine by the fourth commandment what day was to be their Sabbath.
REPLY. If they could not determine what day to keep we cannot determine what day they kept. In the name of common sense, then from what day and to what day was the Sabbath changed?!
But is Watson wiser than the Almighty? What right has he to substitute "a" for "the?" Is not this adding to the word of the Lord? God says "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." The day is as definite as the institution, and both are as definite as the Lord himself. If we are at liberty to take any day we please, by the same rule we may have any Lord we please, for one is as definite as the other in the Bible. The true Sabbath is a sign of the true God [Eze. xx, 20], as also the counterfeit Sabbath is the sign of the counterfeit god.
R. Quotes "after eight days," and remarks, This second meeting was on the next first day, for Sunday and Sunday is eight the world over.
REPLY. True the next Sunday would be eight, but the text says, "after eight days," and this would bring the second meeting as far ahead as the ninth day, at least. There is no rule of language in existence that would make "after eight days" just a week, unless it be the rule you apply to the fourth commandment, viz., that when God says, "The seventh" he means the first.
R. Quotes Acts xxi, 27, and remarks, If they would lay hands on Paul on the Sabbath, I don't wonder that God should change the day.
REPLY. This seventh day had no reference to the Sabbath, but to the law of purifying. See Numbers vi. But even if it had been the Sabbath, who knows that such a violation of it would be a sufficient cause for changing it to another day? By that rule it must have been changed thousands of times; besides there would be no telling where to find the first day by this time, for you will not deny that worse acts have been performed on your Sunday many times. If this is your rule I do not wonder you say it is indefinite!
R. Quotes Matt. xix, 16, and says, All the ten commands were quoted by the Saviour except the fourth or Sabbath; that was left out. If it was so important why did he not mention it? Simply because it was not yet determined what day they should keep as disciples.
REPLY. This argument must be false, because it is based upon a false assumption. Christ did not quote one of the first three commandments to the young man. Are they therefore not binding? Is not this handling the word of God deceitfully?
In conclusion we gave the people chapter and verse for the example of Christ and the apostles, in regard to the Sabbath, and showed that there was but one clear, unmistakable instance of a meeting for worship on the first day of the week in the New Testament, and that was an evening meeting at Troas, with reference to Paul's going away the next day. See Acts xx, 7. In strong contrast with this we showed where Christ and the apostles preached on many different Sabbaths in different places.
As the contrast was being drawn, and it was evident that the congregation saw it, Eld. R. cried out, "I claim every one of those texts for the first day." This capped the climax. Astonishment was depicted in many countenances. It was evident that a drowning man had caught at a straw. It is believed that this effort resulted in favor of the truth, for when such miserable subterfuges are resorted to, to establish a position it must open the eyes of the honest.
At the close of Eld. R.'s meeting I had the privilege of reading the above notes to him in the presence of many witnesses; and he acknowledged them all correct except two or three words which I changed as he directed.
M. E. CORNELL.