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Review and Herald, Vol. 19, No. 12.

History of the Sabbath

Review and Herald

Feb 18, 1862

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 18, 1862

History of the Sabbath.

THE SABBATH DURING THE LAST OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS.

(Continued.)
A few days after this discourse, the Lord of the Sabbath was nailed to the cross as the great sacrifice for the sins of men. Matt. xxvii; Isa. liii. The Messiah was thus cut off in the midst of the seventieth week: and by his death he caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Dan. ix, 24-27.
Paul thus describes the abrogation of the typical system at the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus:
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. . . . . 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; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Col. ii, 14-17.
The object of this action is declared to be the handwriting of ordinances. The manner of its abrogation is thus stated: 1. Blotted out; 2. Nailed to the cross; 3. Taken out of the way. Its nature is shown in these words: "against us" and "contrary to us." The things contained in it were meats, drinks, holy days [Gr. ἑορτῆς, a feast day], new moons and sabbaths. The whole is declared a shadow of good things to come; and the body which casts this shadow is of Christ. That law which was proclaimed by the voice of God and written by his own finger upon the tables of stone, and deposited beneath the mercy-seat, was altogether unlike that system of carnal ordinances that was written by Moses in a book, and placed in the side of the ark. It would be absurd to speak of the tables of STONE as NAILED to the cross; or to speak of BLOTTING out what was ENGRAVED in STONE. It would be blasphemous to represent the Son of God as pouring out his blood to blot out what the finger of his Father had written. It would be to confound all the immutable principles of morality, to represent the ten commandments as "contrary" to man's moral nature. It would be to make Christ the minister of sin to represent him as dying to utterly destroy the moral law. Nor does that man keep truth on his side who represents the ten commandments as among the things contained in Paul's enumeration of what was abolished. Nor is there any excuse for those who would destroy the ten commandments with this statement of Paul; for he shows last of all that what was thus abrogated was a shadow of good things to come—an absurdity if applied to the moral law. The feasts, new moons and sabbaths of the ceremonial law, which Paul declared to be abolished in consequence of the abrogation of that code, have been particularly noticed already. That the Sabbath of the Lord is not included in their number the following facts evince:
1. The Sabbath of the Lord was made before sin entered our world. It is not therefore one of those things that shadow redemption from sin.
2. Being made FOR man before the fall it is not one of these things that are AGAINST him and CONTRARY to him. Mark ii, 27.
3. When the ceremonial sabbaths were ordained they were carefully distinguished from the Sabbath of the Lord. Lev. xxiii, 37, 38.
4. The Sabbath of the Lord does not owe its existence to the handwriting of ordinances, but is found in the very bosom of that law which Jesus came not to destroy. The abrogation of the ceremonial law could not therefore abolish the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Gen. ii, 1–3; Ex. xx; Matt. v, 17, 19.
5. The effort of our Lord through his whole ministry to redeem the Sabbath from the thraldom of the Jewish doctors, and to vindicate it as a merciful institution, is utterly inconsistent with the idea that he nailed it to his cross, as one of those things against man and contrary to him.
6. Our Lord's petition respecting the flight of the disciples from Judea, recognizes the sacredness of the Sabbath many years after the crucifixion of the Saviour.
7. The perpetuity of the Sabbath in the new earth is not easily reconciled with the idea that it was blotted out and nailed to our Lord's cross as one of those things that were contrary to man. Isa. lxvi, 22, 23.
8. Because the authority of the fourth commandment is expressly recognized after the Saviour's crucifixion. Luke xxiii, 54–56.
9. And finally, because the royal law which is unabolished embodies the ten commandments, and consequently embraces and enforces the Sabbath of the Lord. James ii, 8–12; Matt. v, 17–19; Rom. iii, 19, 31.
When the Saviour died upon the cross the whole typical system which had pointed forward to that event as the commencement of its antitype, expired with him. The Saviour being dead, Joseph of Arimathea went in unto Pilate and begged the body of Jesus, and with the assistance of Nicodemus, buried it in his own new tomb. Heb. ix, x; Luke xxiii, 46–53; John xix, 38–42.
"And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on. And the women also which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath-day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them." Luke xxiii, 54–56.
This text is worthy of special attention. 1. Because it is an express recognition of the fourth commandment after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. 2. Because it is the most remarkable case of Sabbatic observance in the whole Bible. The Lord of the Sabbath was dead; preparation being made for his embalming, when the Sabbath drew on it was suspended, and they rested, says the sacred historian, according to the commandment. 3. Because it shows that the Sabbath day according to the commandment is the day before the first day of the week; thus identifying the seventh day in the commandment with the seventh day of the New Testament week. 4. Because it is a direct testimony that the knowledge of the true seventh day was preserved as late as the crucifixion; for they observed the day enjoined in the commandment; and that was the day on which the Most High had rested from the work of creation.
In the course of the day following this Sabbath, that is, upon the first day of the week, it was ascertained that Jesus was risen from the dead. It appears that this event must have taken place upon that day, though it is not thus stated in express terms. At this point of time it is supposed bymany that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week; and that the sacredness of the seventh day was then transferred to the first day of the week, which thenceforth was the Christian Sabbath, enforced by all the authority of the fourth commandment. To judge of the truthfulness of these positions, let us read with care each mention of the first day found in the four evangelists. Thus writes Matthew:
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre."
Thus also Mark writes: "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. . . . . Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene."
Luke uses the following language: "And they returned and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the Sabbath-day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared."
John bears the following testimony: "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. . . . Then the same day at evening being the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in their midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." Matt. xxviii, 1; Mark xvi, 1, 2, 9; Luke xxiii, 56; xxiv, 1; John xx, 1, 19.
In these texts the foundation of the "Christian Sabbath" must be sought—if indeed such an institution actually exists—for there are no other records of the first day which relate to the time when it is supposed to have become sacred. These texts are supposed to prove that at the resurrection of the Saviour, the first day absorbed the sacredness of the seventh, elevating itself from the rank of a secular to that of a sacred day, and abasing the Sabbath of the Lord to the rank of "the six working days." Eze. xlvi, 1. Yet the following facts must be regarded as very extraordinary indeed if this supposed change of the Sabbath here took place:
1. That these texts should contain no mention of this change of the Sabbath. 2. That they should carefully discriminate between the Sabbath of the fourth commandment and the first day of the week. 3. That they should apply no sacred title to that day; particularly that they should omit the title of Christian Sabbath. 4. That they should not mention the fact that Christ rested upon that day; an act essential to its becoming his Sabbath. See the origin of the ancient Sabbath in Gen. ii, 1–3. 5. That they do not relate the act of taking the blessing of God from the seventh day, and placing it upon the first; and indeed that they do not mention any act whatever of blessing and hallowing the day. 6. That they omit to mention any thing that Christ did to the first day; and they even neglect to inform us that Christ so much as took up the first day of the week into his lips! 7. That they give no precept in support of first day observance, nor do they contain a hint of the manner in which the first day of the week can be enforced by the authority of the fourth commandment.
Should it be asserted however from the words of John that the disciples were on this occasion convened for the purpose of honoring the day of the resurrection, and that Jesus sanctioned this act by meeting with them, thus accomplishing the change of the Sabbath, it is sufficient to cite in reply the words of Mark in which the same interview is narrated:
"Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." Mark xvi, 14. That this interview was certainly the same with that in John xx, 19, will be seen from a careful examination of Luke xxiv.
This testimony of Mark shows that the inference so often drawn from the words of John is utterly unfounded. 1. The disciples were assembled for the purpose of eating supper. 2. Jesus came into their midst and upbraided them for their unbelief respecting his resurrection.
(To be Continued.)

ALMOST TO THE BEAUTIFUL LAND.

By Uriah Smith

Almost to the beautiful land! This be the watchword to cheer thee, When o'er thee dark tempests expand, And dangers and trials are near thee. Then from this perilous way, Look up to the glory before us, Which with unglimmering ray, Like a bright bow of promise bends o'er us. Only a few more seasons Of watching and weariness here, Ere the day-star arises, Ere the day-dawn appear.
Almost to the beautiful land! Where the pilgrim may rest him forever, And bask on the golden strand Of the crystal and flowing river. Where the fadeless crown awaiteth, For the cross which here we bore, And the glory ne'er abateeth, And sorrow is known no more. Only a few more efforts To toil up the rugged hight, Ere we reach the glorious summit, And faith is lost in sight.
Almost to the beautiful land! Shall we grow weary then? Never! Lift up the faltering hand, Strengthen the feeble endeavor. Only a few more mornings Allotted to laboring here, Only a few more warnings To fall on the sinner's ear, Only a few more conflicts To wage in the struggle of life, Then the sweet victory cometh, That endeth the toilsome strife.
Almost to the beautiful land! Shall we lose courage now? Never! Bold in the conflict stand, Faint not in spirit nor waver. Woe now to him who shall suffer Earth's tinsel to blind his eyes; Woe unto him who fainteth, In sight of the glorious prize. Up! for the moments hasten, And the King is himself at hand; Nerve thee with this glad watchword— Almost to the beautiful land!
U. S.

Evidences of Christianity.

By Moses Hull

BY MOSES HULL.

CHAPTER IV.

(Concluded.)
BUT for the gratification of infidels we propose to give the direct testimony of enemies in behalf of the purity of ancient Christians (which would preclude the possibility of their publishing lies), as well as to some of the facts of the gospel.
Our first testimony is from Pliny, an enemy of Christianity, who was born in the year A. D. 61, while some of the apostles were alive. Pliny was prætor under Domitian, in the year 100. As Pliny's letter was written in the same mountainous region where Peter's letters "to the strangers scattered abroad," were indited, and not more than twenty-five years after the second of them, we shall expect Peter and Pliny often to refer to the same things. Will the reader please compare them?
“Pliny to the Emperor Trajan wisheth health and happiness:
“It is my constant custom, Sire, to refer myself to you in all matters concerning which I have any doubt. For who can better direct me when I hesitate, or instruct me when I am ignorant?
“I have never been present at any trials of Christians, so that I know not well what is the subject matter of punishment, or of inquiry, or what strictures ought to be used in either. Nor have I been a little perplexed to determine whether any difference ought to be made upon account of age, or whether the young and tender, and the full grown and robust, ought to be treated all alike; whether repentance should entitle to pardon, or whether all who have once been Christians ought to be punished, though they are now no longer so; whether the name itself, although no crimes be detected, or crimes only belonging to the name, ought to be punished.
“In the mean time, I have taken this course with all who have been brought before me, and have been accused as Christians. I have put the question to them whether they were Christians. Upon their confessing to me that they were, I repeated the question a second and a third time, threatening also to punish them with death. Such as still persisted, I ordered away to be punished; for it was no doubt with me, whatever might be the nature of their opinion, that contumacy and inflexible obstinacy ought to be punished. There are others of the same infatuation, whom, because they are Roman citizens, I have noted down to be sent to the city.
“In a short time, the crime spreading itself, even while under persecution, as is usual in such cases, divers sorts of people came in my way. An information was presented to me, without mentioning the author, containing the names of many persons who, upon examination, denied that they were Christians or ever had been so; who repeated after me an invocation of the gods, and with wine and frankincense made supplication to your image, which, for that purpose, I have caused to be brought and set before them together with the statues of the deities. Moreover, they reviled the name of Christ. None of which things, as is said, they who are really Christians can by any means be compelled to do. These, therefore, I thought proper to discharge.
“Others were named by an informer who at first confessed themselves Christians, and afterward denied it. The rest said they had been Christians, but had left them; some three years ago, some longer, and one or more above twenty years. They all worshiped your image, and the statues of the gods; these also reviled Christ. They affirmed that the whole of their fault or error lay in this: that they were wont to meet together on a stated day, before it was light, and sing among themselves alternately, a hymn to Christ as a God, and bind themselves by a sacrament, not to the commission of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft, or robbery, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them, when called upon to return it. When these things were performed, it was their custom to separate, and then to come together again to a meal, which they ate in common, without any disorder; but this they had forborne since the publication of my edict, by which, according to your command, I prohibited assemblies. After receiving this account I judged it more necessary to examine two maid-servants, which were called ministers, by torture; but I have discovered nothing besides a bad and excessive superstition.
“Suspending, therefore, all judicial proceedings, I have recourse to you for advice; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserving consideration, especially upon account of the great number of persons who are in danger of suffering. For many, of all ages, and every rank, of both sexes likewise, are accused, and will be accused. Nor has the contagion of this superstition seized cities only, but the lesser towns also, and the open country. Nevertheless, it seems to me that it may be restrained and arrested. It is certain that the temples which were almost forsaken, begin to be frequented. And the sacred solemnities after a long intermission are revived. Victims, likewise, are everywhere bought up, whereas, for some time there were but few purchasers. Whence, it is easy to imagine what numbers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon were granted to those who shall repent.”—Lardner, Vol. vii, p. 18.
Here follows Trajan's answer:
“Trajan to Pliny wisheth health and happiness:
“You have taken the right course, my Pliny, in your proceedings with those who have been brought before you as Christians, for it is impossible to establish any one rule that shall hold universally. They are not to be sought after. If any are brought before you, and are convicted, they ought to be punished. However, he that denies his being a Christian, and makes it evident in fact, that is, by supplicating to our gods, though he be suspected to have been so formerly, let him be pardoned upon repentance. But in no case of any crime whatever may a bill of information be received without being signed by him who presents it, for that would be a dangerous precedent, and unworthy of my government.”—Lard., Vol. vii, p. 24.
In the above letter we have a public and authentic account of the rapid growth of Christianity. Here in the remote countries of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Christians had become so numerous that the pagan temples were almost forsaken. Victims were not led to the sacrifices, and the sacred rites of the gods were suspended. He also mentions that some in that country had renounced Christianity above twenty years before the date of his letter. These worshiped images, and repeated after him the invocation to the gods. Now turn to 1 John ii, 19, and you will find him referring to the same individuals, in the following language: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
Again Pliny says: “In a short time the crime [Christianity]spreading itself even while under persecution, as is usual in such cases, divers sorts of people came in my way.” Here we have the fact stated by this heathen, that the Christians of this country were a persecuted people, thus confirming what Peter had written to them about twenty-five to thirty years before, when he says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are made partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Pet. iv, 12, 13.
Having obtained the testimony of this Bithynian governor, and Roman emperor, to the existence of vast numbers of persecuted Christians in their day, and in this remote province, which never could have been the case had the gospel facts not been known to be such, we now remove the field of our investigation to Rome. Our historian shall be Tacitus, the well-known opposer of Christianity. His testimony is given in about the year A. D. 64. At the time when the apostles were “made the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things,” and Christians were “made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions,” yea, “killed all the day long,” and “accounted as sheep for the slaughter;” at the time when Paul was being compelled “to fight with beasts at Ephesus,” and came to the conclusion that “if there be no resurrection of the dead,” Christians “are of all men the most miserable.”
Of the extract which we take from Tacitus, Gibbon says: “The most skeptical criticism is obliged to respect the truth of this important fact, and the integrity of this important passage of Tacitus.”—Decline and Fall, Vol. 2, p. 407.
Tacitus, after relating the burning of the city of Rome, and the attempt to convict the sect “commonly known by the name of Christians,” of the crime, says, “The author of that name was Christ, who in the reign of Tiberius was put to death as a criminal, under the procurator Pontius Pilate. But this pestilent superstition, checked for awhile, broke out afresh, and spread not only over Judea, where the evil originated, but also in Rome, where all that is evil on the earth finds its way, and is practiced. At first, those only were apprehended who confessed themselves of that sect; afterward, a vast multitude discovered by them, all of whom were condemned, not so much for the crime of burning the city, as for their enmity to mankind. Their executions were so contrived as to expose them to derision and contempt. Some were covered over with skins of wild beasts, that they might be torn to pieces by dogs; some were crucified; while others, having been daubed over with combustible materials, were set up for lights in the night time, and thus burned to death. For these spectacles Nero gave his own gardens, and at the same time exhibited there the diversions of the circus, sometimes standing in the crowd as a spectator in the habit of a charioteer; and at other times, driving a chariot himself, until at length these men, though really criminal, and deserving of exemplary punishment, began to be commiserated, as people who were destroyed, not out of regard to the public welfare, but only to gratify the cruelty of one man.”—Lardner, Vol. iii, p. 611.
This passage needs no comment. All we ask of the reader is to examine the contemporary history prepared by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, or the Epistles of Paul, especially the last one written from a dungeon in Rome, to a young minister by the name of Timothy, when he had “finished his course,” “and the time of his departure was at hand,” and then draw your conclusions.
What think you of that faith that enabled Paul to say, when viewing these things, and knowing that bonds and afflictions awaited him in every city: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.” Acts xx, 24. “I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts xxi, 13. And in all this he considers himself “more than conqueror through him that loved him” [Rom. viii, 35, 39], “knowing him in whom he had trusted.” 2 Tim. i, 12.
Whatever may be your opinion of the faith and hope of the apostles and early Christians, you must acknowledge that the above testimony of the ancient enemies of Christianity, is a proof of many of the facts related in the New Testament.
I will close the present chapter by giving the testimony of one Judas Iscariot, an apostate. “Judas,” says Alexander Campbell, “had long been a familiar acquaintance, and ranked among the most intimate friends of Jesus. He was enrolled among the twelve apostles. He had been so impartially treated by Jesus that, until the night that he betrayed him, not one of the others could suspect that he would prove a traitor. Now had there ever been the least reserve shown by Jesus to Judas, or had he been treated in any way less confidentially than any of the other apostles, as soon as Jesus told them that one of them should betray him, all eyes would have turned to Judas. To him they would have all pointed. Instead of saying, Lord, is it I? they would all have said within themselves, It is Judas. He had been, during the whole ministry of Jesus, most intimately acquainted with his speeches, and his actions. If anything insincere, political or contrary to the ostensible object of the mission of Jesus had ever transpired in secret, or if ever there had been any conspiracy among his followers, to delude or impose upon the nation, Judas must have known it. This must be conceded by all who have ever read the gospel histories.
“Now that Judas was a designing, selfish, covetous, and insincere adherent to the party, must also be conceded. Seeing things going contrary to his calculations, that no immediate gain, honor, or advantage was likely soon to accrue—in an evil hour his passion for gain impelled him to seize the first opportunity of making as much as possible by way of reprisal, for his disappointment in attaching himself to the retinue of Jesus. He therefore covenanted for thirty pieces of silver, the sum for which Joseph was sold into Egypt, to deliver into the custody of the sanhedrin the person of Jesus. He did so. Now had he been able to impeach Jesus of aught amiss in word or deed, it is evident that he had the disposition and the opportunity; nay, to extenuate his own conduct even in the eyes of the chief priests and elders, it was necessary for him to make a disclosure; but he had nothing to disclose, save, after a little reflection, the agonies of his own mind. I have, said he, betrayed innocent blood. Heart-rending thought! Here is the money: release him. If you have done so, we care not, said the priests, that is your concern, not ours. Now the import of the testimony of Judas is something like the following: A. B. is accused of some base or unworthy action. Eleven of his intimate friends and acquaintances, all of good character too, are summoned to give testimony in favor of A. B. They all give him a good character, and exculpate him from the charge. Their testimony, though not in the same words, concurs in every grand point or fact. There is a twelfth person summoned, who is known to the court and jury to be at that instant a bitter enemy of the accused. He is interrogated and deposes—‘That he has been intimately acquainted with A. B. for years, and that he never did know him to speak an unbecoming word, or commit an unworthy action in any one instance, either bearing upon the accused or any other human being. Nay, so far from that, he has lived the most exemplary life, and his whole conduct has been nothing but a bright display of purity, piety, and benevolence; and moreover, adds he, I do not think him capable of an evil word or deed.’ Now such a testimony weighs as much, yes, weighs more, with the jury than the testimony of many friends, however unexceptionable their character. Now just such a witness was Judas: I have betrayed innocent blood, said he. I have been instigated by the Devil: my soul has no rest, and peace has departed from me. For so worthy a person as Jesus of Nazareth never lived: release him, or I die.
He dies; and though a felo de se, he is a martyr to the truth of the pretensions and character of Jesus.”—Debate with Owen, pp. 310–312.
Here we may safely leave the question of the credibility of the New Testament. The evidence, to our mind, has seemed so clear and conclusive, that we have felt at each step that we were treating upon the patience of the reader, and tiring his mind with an unnecessary accumulation of evidence. But this heaping of evidence upon heaps shows what a “cloud of witnesses” the Lord has permitted to compass this subject. The credibility of the Old Testament will come under investigation in due time. Our next chapter will be devoted to the subject of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which will be an additional argument for the credibility of the New Testament.
[These articles are necessarily suspended for the present, but will be resumed shortly. M. H.]

CONSECRATION.

By Ellen G. White

Sabbath-keepers will be tested and proved. A close and searching work must go on among the people of God. How soon, like ancient Israel we forget God and his wondrous works, and rebel against him. Some look to the world, and desire to follow its fashions, and participate in its pleasures in the same manner that the children of Israel looked back into Egypt, and lusted for the good things they had enjoyed there, which God chose to withhold from them to prove them, and thereby test their fidelity to him. He wished to see if his people valued more highly his service, and the freedom he had so miraculously given them, than the indulgences they enjoyed in Egypt while in servitude to a tyrannical, idolatrous people.
“Every true follower of Jesus will have sacrifices to make. God will prove them, and test the genuineness of their faith. I have been shown that picnics, donations, shows, and other gatherings of pleasure, the true followers of Jesus will discard. They can find no Jesus there, and no influence which will make them heavenly minded, and increase their growth in grace. The word of God obeyed, leads us to come out from all these things and be separate. The things of the world are sought for, and considered worthy to be admired and enjoyed by all those who are not devoted lovers of the cross, and are not spiritual worshipers of a crucified Jesus.
There is chaff among us, and this is why we are so weak. Some are constantly leaning to the world. Their views and feelings harmonize much better with the spirit of the world than with Christ’s self-denying followers. It is perfectly natural for them to prefer the company of those whose spirit will best agree with their own. And such have quite too much influence among God’s people. They take a part with them, and have a name among them, and are a text for unbelievers and the weak and unconsecrated ones in the church. These persons of two minds will ever have objections to the plain pointed testimony which reproves individual wrongs. In this refining time, these persons will either be converted wholly, and sanctified by obeying the truth, or they will be left with the world, where they belong, to receive their reward with them.
“By their fruits ye shall know them.” All of Christ’s followers bear fruit to his glory. Their lives testify that a good work has been wrought in them by the Spirit of God, and their life is unto holiness. It is elevated and pure. Those who bear no fruit, have no experience in the things of God. They are not in the vine. Read John xv, 4, 5. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine: no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
If we would be spiritual worshipers of Jesus Christ we must sacrifice every idol, and fully obey the first four commandments. Matt. xxii, 37,38. “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.”
The first four commandments allow us no separation of the affections from God. Nor is anything allowed to divide, or share, our supreme delight in him. Whatever divides the affections, and takes away from the soul supreme love to God, takes the form of an idol. Our carnal hearts would cling to, and seek to carry along, our idols; but we cannot advance until we put them away; for they separate from God. The Great Head of the church has chosen his people out of the world, and required them to be separate. He designs that the spirit and life of his commandments shall draw them to himself, and separate them from the elements of the world. To love God and keep his commandments is to be far from loving the world's pleasures and friendship. There is no concord between Christ or Belial. The people of God may safely trust in him alone, and without fear press on in the way of obedience. E. G. W.
Continue reading: PERPETUITY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS