painful to witness the various inconsistent and self-contradictory
positions resorted to by those who reject the Sabbath of the Lord. But of all the
positions adopted, none seem so dangerous, or fraught with such alarming
consequences, as the view that the law of God, by which the Sabbath is
enforced, has been abolished, and that we are, therefore, under no obligation to
remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. The question whether God has
abolished his law or not, is, indeed, the main point at issue in the Sabbath
controversy; for when it is shown that law still exists, and that its perpetuity is
clearly taught in the New Testament, the question is most conclusively settled,
that the Sabbath is binding on us, and upon all men.
The Sabbath of the Lord is embodied in the fourth commandment of the
Decalogue. This commandment
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stands in the midst of nine moral precepts which Jehovah, after uttering with his
own voice, wrote with his own finger on the tables of stone. These nine
commandments stand around the Sabbath of the Lord, an impregnable bulwark,
which all the enemies of that sacred institution in vain attempt to destroy. It is
evident that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment cannot be set aside unless
the Decalogue can be destroyed. Hence the enemies of the Sabbatic institution
have brought their heaviest artillery to bear upon the law of the Most High:
calculating that when they had destroyed this strong hold, the Sabbath would fall
an easy prey to their attack. We invite attention then to the law and to the
testimony. By the unerring word of God we wish to settle this question; and this
we believe can be done in the most satisfactory manner.
That the hand-writing of ordinances containing the feasts, new moons and the
associated annual sabbaths of the Jews, has been abolished and taken out of
the way, we do not doubt. This was not the moral law of God; but was merely the
shadow of good things to come. But the royal law in which are the ten
commandments of God is the subject of this investigation, and it is the perpetuity
and immutability of this law that we affirm. If the law of God has been destroyed,
the act must have been accomplished by one of three things; viz., 1. By the
teachings of the Lord Jesus;
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or 2. By his death; or 3. By the apostles. We believe that all will agree to this
statement.
1. Was the law of God abolished by the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Let us listen to his own words.
"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.
5:17-19.
Our Lord here testifies that he did not come to destroy the law or the
