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Review and Herald, Vol. 45, No. 25.

SINNED WITHOUT LAW

Review and Herald

Jun 17, 1875

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 17, 1875

SINNED WITHOUT LAW

By J. H. Waggoner

THE LAW OF GOD.—NO. 14.

BY J. H. WAGGONER.
The opposers of the law have made great use of the objection to its jurisdiction over the Gentiles. We think we have sufficiently proved, and by very direct Scripture testimony, that the law condemns both Jews and Gentiles; that it convicts them all of sin, and brings all the world guilty before God. But to one text they still appeal, and the use which has been made of this text has caused trouble in honest minds. And yet it is easy to see that the opposers do not give a correct exposition of it; they do not harmonize it with the context. We refer to Rom. 2:12, in which Paul speaks of some as having

“SINNED WITHOUT LAW.”

The text reads: “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.”
John wrote that “sin is the transgression of the law.” With this definition before us we should know, even if Paul had not spoken it, that “where no law is there is no transgression”—no sin. Whatever the action may be, if there is no law there can be no condemnation—no conviction—for “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Now as no sin can exist, and no guilt can be imputed, in the absence of law, it follows of course that the expressions, sinned without law, and, perish without law, are not to be understood as teaching that there is no law in the case, but are necessarily so qualified as not to conflict with the other statements of the same writer. And this the opposers of the law also admit, as will be presently shown.
In Rom. 5:13, are these words: “For until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” The next verse, namely, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses,” shows that the expression, “until the law,” is intended to cover the period from Adam to Moses, and therefore it means, until the law was given in the time of Moses. But we have before shown that God’s perfect law of ten commandments was known before the days of Moses. It is freely admitted that the nations were losing this knowledge and sinking into darkness by departing from God. When God promised to give the land to the seed of Abraham, he gave as the reason for deferring it until the fourth generation, that “the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.” Gen. 15:16. He would give them a further chance to develop their characters before he destroyed them out of his land.
Now, it is generally argued that the heathen had no opportunity to know God; that they never had received any revelation of his will. But Paul presents the matter in a different light. He says:—
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to four-footed beasts, and to creeping things.” Rom. 1:21–23.
That these words apply to the nations of Canaan, the reader will plainly see if he will compare the remainder of the chapter, verses 25–32, with Lev. 18:6–27. It was when the world was in this condition that God revealed himself, and renewed the knowledge of his will, to the posterity of Abraham. Afflicted and grievously oppressed as they were, they had retained more of the knowledge of God than the other nations. Yet it must not be supposed that the nations, degraded as they were, had entirely lost their knowledge of the law of God, and of the desert of their actions. After mentioning their conduct, referring to the vileness of their lives, of which it is scarcely proper to speak, Paul says of them: “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Rom. 1:32.
This being so, it is evident that the words, “until the law,” do not mean, until the law existed, for it certainly existed before; nor, until the law was first made known to man, for man had a previous knowledge of it, though we do not know that a written copy was ever given before the tables of stone were given to Moses. “Until the law”—before the law was given to Moses and to the people of Israel—“sin was in the world,” men were transgressors of the law; “but sin is not imputed when there is no law”—that is, if the law had not existed until it was given in the time of Moses, there would have been no transgression and no guilt in the sight of God. Lev. 18:6–27, Deut. 18:9–12, &c., prove that the nations who inhabited Palestine before the exodus of Israel from Egypt were great sinners and very guilty before God. And Paul in Rom. 1 not only affirms that this is so, but says they brought their darkness and sin upon themselves, and that they were “without excuse.” Verse 20.
In Rom. 5:20, it is written: “Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Not that there would be more violations of the law after it was given anew, but the odiousness of sin would be better understood as the will of God was better known. The text is exactly parallel to the expression of chap. 7:13—“That sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.”
Let all now carefully consider this question, What law must enter, or be proclaimed, to cause the offense to abound, or make sin appear sinful? By what law can people be convinced that they are sinners? The answer must be, The very law which has been transgressed. We once presented this question to one of the most critical no-law men with whom we ever conversed, and he confessed that it admitted of no other answer. A man cannot be convicted of sin by a law which he has not known, or knowing, has not transgressed. Thus we hold our proposition clearly proved, that the entering of the law to make the offense abound, was the renewing of the law to Israel to make them more clearly apprehend the light in which God regards sin; to understand how odious it is in his sight. And also the expression, until the law, means until the time of such renewing of the law, namely, from Adam to Moses; neither of these expressions have respect to the origin or mere existence of the law.
This conclusion will be still more evident from a consideration of the position of the opposers of the law. They say the whole question turns on the use of the article. In the original the article is sometimes inserted, and sometimes omitted. When it is inserted, it specifies THE law of ten commandments; when it is omitted, the word refers to law abstractly, but not to any law given to the Jews. That this is a fallacy is easy to show. No such distinction exists. The use and omission of the article is governed purely by taste and sound, that is, it is euphonic. This is proved by the following points of fact:—
1. The article is omitted where it should be used, and used where it should be omitted, to suit that theory, when speaking of the Gentiles. Thus in Rom. 2:14, 15, “For when the Gentiles, which have not law [abstractly], do by nature the things contained in THE law [the ten commandments], these, having not law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of THE law [the ten commandments] written in their heart, their conscience also bearing witness,” &c. Here it would be shown, were that theory true, that the Gentiles have not law, abstractly, that is, they have not any law, but do the things contained in THE law of ten commandments, which show the work of THE law of ten commandments written in their heart. This is the very opposite of the theory offered by the opposers of THE law.
2. When the apostle censures the Jew in verse 25, he speaks of his keeping or breaking law, the article being omitted in both instances in this verse; but when he speaks of the Gentiles fulfilling the righteousness of THE law, in verse 26, the article is inserted. This again is the very opposite of the opposers’ theory.
3. In verse 27 he speaks of the uncircumcision, or Gentile, fulfilling THE law, and thereby judging the Jew who transgresses law. Here again the theory in question is negatived.
4. In Rom. 6:14, which is so often quoted to prove that the ten commandments are not in force, the article is omitted, thus: “Ye are not under law,” which would prove, if it proved anything in that direction, that their abstract or comprehensive law is abolished, and no law is now binding.
5. When Paul says every mouth is stopped and all the world are proved guilty before God, it is by THE law; or that law given to Israel.
6. He says the righteousness of God is now without law, which would mean without any law at all; being witnessed by THE law.
7. In chap. 7:7, 9, 12, 14, 16, he says THE law convinced him of sin; he was alive without law; but he delighted in THE law; THE law is holy; and THE law is spiritual.
8. “He says, chap. 8:4, that the righteousness of THE law is fulfilled in them who are in Christ, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.”
9. Finally, he says the carnal mind is enmity against God, and not subject to THE law, and cannot be. Because THE law of ten commandments is spiritual, holy, just, and good, the carnal mind is opposed to it. By this we can tell who are carnal and who are spiritual.
Thus is this resort of skepticism against the holy law of ten commandments swept away. Were we to admit the distinction, it would still leave our view of the law as related to the Gentiles clearly proved; for it is the work of THE law which is written in their hearts, and concerning which their consciences bear witness in accusing or excusing, as their cases may be. This is really the only resort the opposers of the law can find in Rom. 2, and this avails them nothing; for with the distinction admitted, it is still THE law, or ten commandments which proves them guilty, the work of which is written in their heart. Sin is not imputed when there is no law; but sin was imputed to them, because they were transgressors of the law of God, the Creator of all.
An inference is sometimes drawn to the effect that death reigned from Adam to Moses, not on account of personal sin, but because Adam fell and imparted to his posterity a perishable nature, by reason of which they must die. But they who lived after Moses also stood so related to Adam’s fall. There cannot be shown to be any difference in the dispensations in this respect. And they who lived before Moses were held responsible for personal transgressions, as Cain, Lamech, the generation in the time of the flood, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the inhabitants of Canaan before the exode. Taking the expression of Scripture in regard to their guilt and of God’s abhorrence of their sins, and remembering that where no law is there is no transgression, and that sin is not imputed when there is no law, every objection and every inference is shut out which can possibly bear against the existence of the law of God from Adam to Moses, and of the knowledge of the law by the nations then living, though that knowledge was impaired by their own wickedness, because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.
But a few words more may be in place on the expression, “Shall perish without law.” They will not perish unjustly, and they show the work of the law so far written in their hearts that they are without excuse. Thus is it seen that even in their cases God tempers justice with mercy. Though they have brought darkness and blindness upon themselves, and have lost a sense of the breadth and spirituality of the law, and have even forgotten the precepts which teach that all creatures should love and serve the Creator, and that no idol shall be worshiped, God will deal tenderly with them, and not hold them responsible for the full light of the law as it was revealed to their fathers, but let them fall under the condemnation of those sins to which their consciences bear witness. All who are acquainted with the heathen testify that the knowledge of right and wrong is not obliterated from their minds. Though they will commit some sins openly and without shame, as the violation of the second commandment, and sometimes of the fifth, there are other sins which they endeavor to conceal, which proves that they have not altogether stifled the convictions of their consciences. God will let them perish under the weight of those sins of which they are conscious, and not hold them to a strict account for all the requirements of the law as it was committed to Israel, and before them to Abraham, to Adam, and of course to the fathers of all the nations. Their actions are vile; and they know the desert of their crimes. Rom. 1:32. According to their present light and knowledge they will be left to perish. And this will be a righteous judgment on the part of God.

DOES GRACE ABOUND THROUGH SIN?

There is an expression in Rom. 3:5, 6, and a question in chap. 6:1, which together present a most important truth. The first says if our unrighteousness, or sin, commend the righteousness of God, or if we may do evil that good may come, then God would not be just to enter into judgment with us for our sins. If we by transgressing his holy law magnify his grace and thus glorify him, then he cannot judge the world. But Paul says of those who thus abuse the grace of God that their damnation is just. This certainly should lead all to examine their ground with all carefulness, especially if they have been inclined to make void the law through faith.
Chap. 6:1, presents the same idea, and is very explicit in statement. In chap. 5:20, 21, it is stated that in the gospel the grace of God has superabounded; it has abounded over our sins. Then arises the question, Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? At first view this would seem to be a needless point of inquiry, but on further observation we shall find that Paul, by inspiration, is following up the devious ways of the carnal mind. For this is exactly the position of all those who make void the law through faith, and claim that they are fallen from grace who keep the law. An illustration in familiar terms will make this more apparent.
A father, having ascertained that his son has violated one of his commandments, calls him to account for his sin; but being full of love and compassion for his son, he says, “My son, for this transgression of my law you deserve to be punished; but I have no pleasure in your pain, and would that you would obey me, and thus not fall under condemnation and be liable to punishment. Now, I will forgive you this sin to show my love for you, and trust you will appreciate my love and kindness to you, and always obey me in the future.” That this expresses the exact will of God toward us, see Eph. 2:4–8; Rom. 6:23; Eze. 33:11; Matt. 3:8; John 5:14.
Soon after this display of mercy the father learns that his son has been guilty of violating his law again; and on being called to account he justifies himself as follows: “When I transgressed your law before, your mercy was manifested in the forgiveness of my sin; and your love and mercy were never so strikingly manifested as then. To more fully develop those noble traits of your character, and give room for richer displays of your grace, I have committed other sins. And you will not be justified in punishing me, for my unrighteousness commends your righteousness, and my disobedience gives room for a display of your love and mercy. As I enjoyed your grace, which abounded over my transgression, I fear that, if I keep your law, I shall fall from grace. Therefore, hereafter, I will live only in your grace, and continue to transgress your law, that your grace may abound.”
Can any one for a moment suppose that a father, who knew that his laws were just, and who had any regard for his authority as a father, would be satisfied with this reasoning? But this is exactly the method of reasoning adopted by those who put grace in opposition to the law. They accuse us who keep the law of denying Christ, because through Christ our sins were once forgiven. To appreciate his forgiveness we must constantly trample on the law, that we may constantly enjoy new manifestations of his forgiving love! In earthly governments we consider that that man best shows his appreciation of a pardon who lives thenceforth a life of obedience. And why not under the government of God? Hath the Lord delight in the violations of his law, by which man is proved guilty in his sight? Opposers of the law claim that God is so greatly delighted with the sacrifice of his Son, that he is always pleased to have us come to him pleading the merits of that sacrifice. And so he is, provided we make him the minister of righteousness, and not the minister of sin. Rom. 5:19; Gal. 2:17. The text last cited is worthy of special consideration, because it so well applies to this point. “For if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.”
The sacrifices of the Old Testament were typical of that of Christ. They served to show God’s abhorrence of sin, and they illustrate the relation which the sacrifice of Christ bears to our obedience. The principle was fully stated to Saul, whose piety, willing to do more than God commanded, did not hesitate to do contrary to God’s commandment. Said Samuel to him, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” I Sam. 15:22. That this is the principle which governs the relation of sacrifice to obedience at all times and in all dispensations, is easy to show. Thus the Lord said by Jeremiah: “Behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.” Jer. 6:19, 20. Sacrifice in disobedience to the law is not acceptable to God.
As sacrifice is but a form of worship, and an expression of devotion, it follows that worship is not pleasing to God when offered without obedience to his law, as it is written: “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” Prov. 28:9.
This principle cannot be evaded by saying, That was true in the past dispensation, but we have faith in Christ, by which we are released from obedience to the law. That is making Christ the minister of transgression. We claim that those sacrifices, being typical of that of Christ, were an illustration of the relation of his sacrifice to obedience to the law. Jesus and his apostles taught the same thing. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” Matt. 7:21. And when he reproved them for making void the commandment of God by their tradition, he said again, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15:9. And it was this professed faith in Christ of which the apostle wrote, “Wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” Jas. 2:20. What he here indorses as works, which vitalizes and gives efficacy to faith, is easy to discover; for he has just before inculcated obedience to the law, and quoted two of the ten commandments. And this relation between the law and faith is positively fixed in Rev. 14:12: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” By true, living faith the law is not made void, but established. Rom. 3:31. Dead faith evades the law; but such faith is found with the carnal mind which is not subject to the law of God.
It is truly astonishing that men can be so blinded as to profess perfect love to God while willfully violating his commandments, when the Scriptures say, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments;” that they will claim to be completely sanctified through faith, when their rejection of the law proves that they have nothing but a dead faith; that they affect to receive wonderful blessings in prayer when they turn away from and reject the law, when the Scriptures say such prayer is abomination. Well did Andrew Fuller characterize the worship of such as “irreverent familiarity with God, and in some cases a daring boldness in approaching him; yet such is the strength of this antinomian delusion that it passes for intimate communion with him.” Antinomian delusion, indeed! where grace is supposed to dispense with obedience to God’s commandments, and his glory is enhanced by neglect of his precepts!

THE CITY OF GOLD.

“And the city was pure gold.” Rev. 21:18.
I love ofttimes to sit and dream Of this fair world of ours; Its golden light, and evening shade, Its birds, and fruits, and flowers; Its glittering dews and murmuring rills, Its shadowy vales and sun-clad hills.
I know there's beauty all around, And Eden-like 'twould be, Had sin not laid its withering hand On everything we see. With rapture then, that world I behold, Where sin has not entered—the city of gold.
With walls of jasper, gates of pearls, Foundations strong and sure; Mid wreck of matter, crash of worlds, 'T will evermore endure. The skill of its Architect can ne'er be told, But it flames with his glory—that city of gold.
No night is there, but endless day; No care, or pain, or strife; The weary ones of earth find rest, By the side of the river of life. Our loved and lost ones, again we'll behold; In the home of the ransomed—the city of gold.
They hunger, thirst, and weep, no more; All tears are wiped away; While everlasting joy is theirs Through an eternal day. And the light of that city, the Lamb, they behold, Who walks 'mid his saints in the city of gold.
The good, the faithful, and the pure, From every clime will come; While angels bright, in robes of light, Will bid them “welcome home,” [old, And the song of redemption, which never grows They will sing as they roam through the city of [gold.
Then what are all earth's cares and woes, Its flattering smile, or frown? These all will be exchanged ere long, For robe, and palm, and crown; And a home, in that land of rare beauty untold, The home of the angels—the city of gold.
The music of that sinless land Will then, by us be heard; And with its gushing melody, Our bounding hearts be stirred. While the years of eternity will still unfold The treasures so vast of the city of gold. —Sel.

Increasing Light.

By I. Sanborn

  • (Concluded.)*
Having shown in the preceding article that the mark of the beast will be the observance of the Sunday, the day whose observance the power symbolized by the beast claims to have substituted for the observance of the Sabbath, in place of the Sabbath of the Lord; that a strong party in our nation are now seeking to have the national Constitution so amended as to compel people to observe that day; and that the Sabbath is a sign between God and his people Israel, we will inquire, Who are now the true Israel? and is the Sabbath still a sign between God and his people?
Paul, although a Christian minister, had respect to the promises made to the fathers, and through them to the Jews. “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.” Acts 26: 6, 7. This is a candid admission on the part of Paul that the promises made of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were, and are now, the foundation of the hope of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Bible definition of the name Israel is literally a prince of God. “And he [the angel] said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [margin, a prince of God]; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Gen. 32: 27, 28. Then the true seed of Israel, in every generation from that time, are only those who, like Jacob, or Israel, overcome their sins, prevail with God, and receive his pardoning mercy; so that Jesus may say of them as he said of Nathaniel, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” The character of an Israelite is definitely described in these words of the text: “They serve God day and night.” Peter speaks of them as follows: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2: 9, 10.
James, A. D. 60, addresses the people of God in the following manner: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1: 1-4. This language seems to be applied particularly to those Christians who are living at a time when the second coming of Christ is near, as they are exhorted to an especial exercise of patience, and they are addressed as “the twelve tribes scattered abroad.” That James is speaking to the last generation of Christians is further evident from the following texts:—
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5: 1-3, 7, 8.
The character of the people of God under the gospel dispensation is precisely the character which the literal seed of Abraham that God brought out of Egypt to Mount Sinai would have possessed had they kept the covenant which God made with them. Let us contrast them.
To Israel at Sinai, God says, “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; . . . and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Ex. 19: 5, 6.
To the new-covenant Israel, in whose hearts God writes his law, he says, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” 1 Peter 2: 9.
But the old-covenant Israel did not obey, and therefore were not regarded by the Lord as a holy nation; and 1 Peter 2: 9, shows that the new-covenant Israel are what the others might have been if they had obeyed God. This proves that the new-covenant Israel do obey and keep the ten commandments. How long will this holy nation or seed continue? “Thus saith the Lord which giveth the sun for a light by day, and ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is his name; if those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.” Jer. 31: 35, 36.
But is the Sabbath still a sign between God and his people? “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you. Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.” Ex. 31: 13-18.
It is a fact universally admitted that the words forever and forever and ever only mean as long as the things spoken of can consistently exist. We will apply this principle here. The Lord is the speaker; Israel and the Sabbath are spoken of. How long are they to exist? The psalmist answers this question thus: “They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure.” Ps. 72: 5. In Ps. 111: 10, he tells us what the fear of the Lord is: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” Isaiah testifies as follows: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” Isa. 66: 22, 23. Hence, we see that the children of Israel, or, as Peter calls them, the holy nation, will keep the Sabbath in this life on this earth, and also in the next life on the new earth forever, for a perpetual covenant.
“Every one that defileth it shall be put to death.” When shall they be put to death? At the time of the destruction of the wicked, brought to view in Rev. 21: 8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” David says, “But the transgressors shall be destroyed together.” Ps. 37: 38.
Our divine Lord said the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2: 27. He also said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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;” Matt. 5: 17-19; that is, till all things spoken by the prophets shall be fulfilled.
Law is a noun, and all is an adjective. If the word all qualifies law, then, according to the laws of grammar, the adjective must agree with its noun in number, gender, and case. The Greek word rendered law is nomon, a noun in the singular number, masculine gender, genitive case. The Greek word all is panta, an adjective in the plural number, neuter gender, nominative case. Hence, it will be seen that all cannot possibly refer to law, because it agrees with it neither in number, gender, or case. Therefore, until all the prophecies are fulfilled, one jot or tittle shall not pass from the law. Hence, the fourth commandment is binding till all the prophecies are fulfilled; and the seventh day is the Sabbath, and must still be kept if we would not be found with the transgressors who are to be destroyed together.
Let us stand with David who said, “Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.” Ps. 119: 6. If we respect all of God’s commandments, we shall have to keep the seventh day; for it is plainly brought to view; because Israel still exists as a nation, and the seventh-day Sabbath is the sign between them and the Lord for a perpetual covenant throughout their generations.
Dear reader, how can we avoid keeping the Sabbath if we would obey God in the letter and in the spirit also? Remember, if you are a child of God, you must stop transgressing the fourth commandment, which requires you to remember the seventh day to keep it holy, with all the rest of the commandments of God. You may thus be numbered with the twelve tribes of Israel, who Paul says served God instantly, day and night, and who hope to come into possession of the promises of God when Jesus comes. Amen. I. SANBORN.
Baraboo, Wis.

Trials.

By M. Wood

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
We frequently hear of the professed followers of Jesus bemoaning their condition in life, murmuring and complaining, because of their discouragements, the persecutions they have to endure, the trials they have to encounter, the burdens they have to bear, the sacrifices they are called to make, and the tribulations through which they pass. And then they ask, Why does God afflict his people? We reply, Because he loves them. “As many as I love I rebuke and chasten.” Rev. 3:19. And the redeemed host which John saw standing upon Mount Zion, clothed in white robes and having palms in their hands, came out of great tribulation. Rev. 7:14. God has ordained that his people shall be a purified people, that they shall not enter the portals of eternal bliss on flowery beds of ease, but through the furnace of affliction. It is by this process that we are tried, and purified and made more precious in the sight of our Heavenly Father than the gold of Ophir. “All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” 2 Tim. 3:12. And instead of murmuring and complaining when trials and persecutions come, we should rejoice; for our divine Lord has said, “Blessed are yewhen men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in Heaven.”
A home in Heaven is cheap at any price. Then why murmur because it can be obtained only by conflict, and self-abasement, and toil, and sacrifice? Courage, dear reader, and in a little time from this the words of the Lord by the psalmist will have a literal fulfillment: “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Ps. 50:5. Are we tried and tempted by the subtlety of Satan? So was Christ; for we read, Heb. 4:15, “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Why should we expect to escape the dragon’s ire, when the Son of God was not exempt from his sore temptations? Think of Jesus, with his unspotted holiness, his unbounded benevolence, his perfect conformity to the law of God, his heavenly wisdom, his boldness in reproving sin, and his entire resignation to his Father’s will. Yet with all his divine attributes, how hated, how despised and persecuted was the Saviour of mankind! He was the true pattern and perfect example. And if we would follow our divine Lord, we must be singular; if we would be holy, we must be consistent; if we would be useful, we must be diligent.
If we are faithful, we must expect reproach. If we love God and keep his commandments, and boldly confess Christ before men, and steadily maintain that marked distinction which forms a line of separation between the church and the world, we must expect to have our names cast out as evil. And true Christians ought never to shrink from the allegiance which they owe to God. Like Caleb, they should follow the Lord fully. Though all forsake, like Joshua, they should declare with humility and integrity of heart, in the face of a sneering world, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Peter, in speaking upon this point, uses the following words: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you.” 1 Peter 4:12. And lest the trials that are requisite for the purification of God’s people should appall and discourage them, they are cited to those who have lived before as examples of affliction and patience. Of Jacob, the Lord has said, “I have chosen him in the furnace of affliction;” of Christ, “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver.” Job, although a perfect and upright man, one who feared God and eschewed evil, was assailed on the right hand and on the left, afflicted and persecuted, deprived of his possessions, called to mourn the loss of his children, and to lament over the skepticism of his companions. But amid all his trials and sufferings, he did not lose confidence in God, but exclaimed, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Job 19:25, 26.
If we read the word of God with due attention, we shall find that the most eminent saints have been the most tried. The faith of Abraham, the patience of Job, the meekness of Moses, the purity of Joseph, the devotion of Daniel, would not have been so conspicuous had not these peculiar graces been brought into exercise by trials remarkably adapted to each. Our Heavenly Father in perfect accordance with his covenant of life and peace, sends the needful trial that we may form a closer relationship with God; for it is in affliction that we learn to estimate above all treasures an assured interest in Jesus Christ. The blessedness of the believer is then felt and acknowledged. His peace of mind and hope of glory, the fruits of saving faith, are esteemed more precious than rubies. In God’s word the tried and afflicted saint finds a balm for every wound. The promises of God’s holy word are sweeter than honey and the honey-comb; they revive and strengthen the fainting soul. Thus, while the prosperous worldling in the midst of his abundance despises the hidden manna, the contrite believer in his heaviest trials can extract sweetness from the wormwood and the gall. A Saviour’s love experienced in the soul renders all pleasant, however distasteful to our nature.
Christ says, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.” Matt. 18:3. Sanctified affliction can bend the stubborn will, soften the hardest heart, and bring us to the frame and temper of little children. Hence, we find in the Scriptures words to this effect: “Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? He chasteneth us for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” May God give us grace to use both affliction and prosperity aright.
M. Wood.
Boston, Mass.
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