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This chapter is
taken from "The Sabbath" by D. S. Warner.
By reading Rom. 2:12, 14-16, it is
seen that there are two kinds of precepts: those that
exist in man's consciousness, independent of law to
enforce them, and those duties that are wholly created by
the code that enjoins them. The former are commanded
because they are inherent principles of right; the latter
are right only because they are commanded. The former are
unchangeable; the latter rest wholly on the will of the
lawgiver, and may be changed whenever his wisdom dictates.
The law stamped by the Creator upon our inner being is
that which Paul says we "establish by faith."
Therefore, with the exception of the few positive
monumental ordinances of the new testament, it is simply
the reimpress of that holy law of our being which was
stamped upon us by the Creator, and which was partly
obscured by sin, but is fully restored to the soul in
entire sanctification (Heb. 10:14, 15), while the written
New Testament is an expression of the same perfect law.
The passage in Rom. 13:9 asserts that there is nothing of
the law system carried over into the new covenant but that
which love itself dictates, that which existed as a
principle of right back of all outward legislation. Now
the question to be settled and upon which the perpetuity
of the seventh day Sabbath depends is this Was this
institution written in man's inward conscience? or was it
wholly the product of positive legislation ? If the
former, it remains unchangeable; if the latter, it has
passed away. We shall now prove that that seventh-day
Sabbath was created wholly by legislation; belonged to the
monumental and shadowy rites of the Jew's religion; was
for a temporary purpose, and was therefore repealable, and
actually was abolished.
First, we prove that its object was
to serve as a sign between God and the Israelite nation.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 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 cloth 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" (Exod.
31:12-17).
Here we are twice told that the
Sabbath of the law was a sign between God and the Jewish
nation throughout their generations. It is strictly
confined to them, and there is not a word indicating that
God would ever make it anything else than a national
statute in Israel. It was a sign of the redemption of that
nation from Egyptian bondage; for that deliverance is
called a redemption in Exod. 15:12, 13. We have positive
proof that the Sabbath was instituted to commemorate that
event. After the repetition of the command to keep the
seventh day. thus we read: "And remember that thou
west a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy
God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a
stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded
thee to keep the Sabbath Day" (Deut. 5:15). Can
anything be plainer? The Sabbath was given as a
remembrancer to the Jews, a monument of their bondage in a
strange land and their deliverance therefrom. To deny this
is to dispute the Bible. But if that be the object of that
rest day no one else has any" thing to do with it,
nor it with them. In Neh. 9:9-14 this redemption out of
the land of bondage, and the Sabbath, as a sign and
monument of the same, are again seen coupled together.
Now let us show you a parallel
sign, or monument of the same redemption from bondage.
"Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and
there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither
shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is
done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I
came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto
thee upon shine hand, and for a memorial between shine
eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth for with a
strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt"
(Exod. 13:7-9). The Passover was instituted for a
"sign," a "memorial" of the
deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. And we have seen that
the Sabbath was given expressly for the same object and to
the same people, throughout their generations. If,
therefore, the Passover feast belonged only to the Jewish
rites, so did the Sabbath. If the Passover feast is
abolished —and no Adventist denies it—so is its like
sign, the Jewish Sabbath. These conclusions cannot be
gainsaid.
That the Sabbath was a sign of
redemption out of Egypt we again prove, by Ezek. 20 :10,
12, as follows: "Wherefore I caused them to go forth
out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the
wilderness." "Moreover also I gave them my
sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, that they might
know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Here we
have again the redemption out of Egypt followed by the
Sabbath as a sign or monument of that deliverance. "A
sign between me and them, that they might know that I am
the Lord that sanctify them;" namely, separated them
from the heathen among whom they were in bondage. How
could that Sabbath have been designed for all nations,
which was given expressly as a sign or mark of separation
of the Jews from all other nations? In fact, it could not
be universal and at the same time the peculiar badge of
one nation. We leave it classified just where the Bible
places it—among the I signs and rites of the Jews, and
as such it has passed away. I But says the Saturday
keeper, "That Sabbath must yet be in force; because
God said, 'The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a
perpetual covenant,' and 'It is a sign between me and the
children of Israel forever' (Exod. —':16,17)."
While the word "forever," speaking of spiritual
things and of future destinies, etc., means unending. it
is also used in speaking of laws to indicate that they are
in continuous force, standing, permanent. In such case it
indicates a law unchangeable and unrepealable while the
system of which it is a part lasts. This we shall now
prove by the Bible. When the Passover was first instituted
in Egypt, God said, "Ye shall observe this thing for
an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever" (Exod.
12: 24). After giving directions for the use of olive oil
in the lamps of the tabernacle, he said. "It shall be
a statute forever unto their generation" (Exod.
27:21). Following directions for the high priestly
garments that Aaron and his sons were to wear in their
ministration, it is written "It shall be a statute
forever unto him and his seed after him" (Exod.
28:43). And the same thing is affirmed of nearly every
ceremonial precept of the law. So, then, the Sabbath was
to be a "sign forever" just as the Passover and
other types and shadows were. They have passed away long
ago; so also has that Sabbath. The Bible leaves no peg
upon which to hang its perpetuity.
As we have proved that both the
Passover and the law Sabbath were signs and memorials of
the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt and
from the slaying angel, we shall now prove that the
Sabbath as well as the Passover was a type and shadow of
things to come in the dispensation of Christ. That the
Passover pointed back to Egypt, and also cast its shadow
forward to Christ upon the cross, all see and admit. So
was the Sabbath a sign of things past and things to come.
The very fact that it commemorated the exodus from Egypt
makes it a type of our redemption for that deliverance
sustains a typical relation to our salvation from the
bondage of sin.
"And you, being dead in your
sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all
trespasses; 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" (Col. 2:13,
14). The law, with all its ordinances and shadowing rites,
expired with Christ upon the 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 of
Christ" (Col. 2:16, 17) Let no man judge you , y the
laws of that code which had served its time and purl se,
and vanished away. The laws respecting meats are l o
longer to be bound upon our consciences, neither
"holy y," law feast days, etc., nor yet monthly
feasts determined by the moon; yea, and let no man judge
you of the l 'sabbath days." These "sabbath
days" cannot be specially referred to annual or
monthly sabbaths, for such are including the former
specifications. They must, therefore, have special
reference to the round of weekly Sabbaths. They are all
nailed to the cross and taken away.
The Sabbath was a "shadow of
things to come, but the body is of Christ"; that is,
it had typical reference to things 'of Christ." So we
see that the Sabbath was an exact parallel of the
Passover. Both were signs between God and the Jews; both
were memorials of the deliverance out of Egypt; both
pointed forward to Christ, and both have met their
antitype and passed away. The Passover foreshadowed the
offering of the body of Christ upon the cross. f what was
the Sabbath a shadow? Its distinguishing feature was rest,
absolute cessation from labor. And just as certainly as
"Christ our passover is sacrificed for us,"
Christ is our rest. Hear his gracious words: "Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.... And ye shall find rest unto your
souls" (Matt. 11:28, 29). This beautiful rest in
Christ will be more fully considered further on. There is
scarcely an important item in the entire law system that
does not shadow some fact in the plan of salvation.
Just as all works were peremptorily
excluded on that Sabbath, so must men utterly cease from
their own works taking Christ our rest. The law said,
"Do no work, but rest and live." The gospel
says, "Believe in God, without bringing a single
meritorious work, and in Christ you shall find rest, and
your soul shall live." And even more certain than the
penalty of death for Sabbath work is death h the soul that
would seek or maintain justification before God on the
ground of good works.
Yes, "the sabbath days:
which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [the
substance] is of Christ." This inspired testimony is
true. The Sabbath was a striking shadow of a condition in
our salvation, and, with all other types and shadows,
passed away when the type met its antitype—when Christ
our salvation appeared.
Under this head, "The Old
Sabbath Repealed," we now, with the weapons of truth,
attack and demolish one of the strongholds of the law
wrangling sect; namely, the relation of the Sabbath to
creation. "It is a sign between me and the children
of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was
refreshed" (Exod. 31:17). Along with the other
memorial and typical elements of the Sabbatic institution,
it was commemorative of the work of creation. Upon this
fact Adventists base an argument that it was universal,
for all mankind. But we accept the uniform statements of
Jehovah that he gave that Sabbath law exclusively to the
Israelites through their generations, as an all sufficient
refutation of this argument.
Again, Adventists tell us that the
Sabbath's being commemorative of creation proves it
unchangeable. They quote Alexander Campbell as saying that
before God could change the day of the Sabbath he would
have to make a new creation. Such talk is very natural,
and doubtless very plausible with the wisdom of this
world; but to the spiritual it only betrays spiritual
ignorance. Salvation would reveal to such reasoners that a
"new creation" has indeed taken place.
Accordingly. we read, "The first man Adam was made a
quickening spirit" (1 Cor. 15:45).
Two Adams suggest a new creation.
The first man Adam was the head of the original creation
of God; but falling into sin, his race became disqualified
for the lofty end of their existence. But in due time
appears another, an "heavenly" Adam, a
"quickening spirit," the life giving power of
God. He defeats Satan and sin, and works a new creation.
As the first Adam stands at the head of the spoiled
creation, so the second Adam heads a new creation. All in
this new creation are of heavenly character.
How did we come into the creation
headed by the first Adam? By natural birth. How do we
enter the new and heavenly race? By being "born
again." "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye
must be born again." This was an incomprehensible
mystery to Nicodemus, and it is not better known by the
earthly today. The natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God, neither can he know them." John
testifies that "as many as received him [Jesus]"
"were born . . . of God" (John 1:12, 13).
"Being born again" is the testimony of 1 Pet.
1:23. John gives us the heavenly character of all who are
thus inducted into the new creation. "Whosoever is
born of God cloth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth
in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God"
(1 John 3:9). Lest some might conclude that John had drawn
the standard too high, he repeats with an emphasized
assurance, "We know that whosoever is born of God
sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth
himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John
5:18).
Comparing their own lives with this
standard. the Adventists, Russellites. and other modern
legalists found themselves far beneath it. Therefore they
have concluded and do teach that only spiritual conception
takes place, and that in the resurrection, or in some
other event of the future, the birth will take place. This
is another new doctrine of devils. Both John and Peter in
the passages quoted above testify that the birth has taken
place all who believe in Christ.
"Of his own will begat he us
with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first
fruits of his creatures" (Jas. 1:18). The apostles,
having been begotten of God, were a kind of first fruits
of his creatures—first in the new creation.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is new
creature: . . . And all things are of God" (2 Cor.
5:17, 18). Five different translations render. "If
anyone 4 in Christ, he is a new creation." "So
that if any one be In Christ there is a new,
creation."
A wonderful fact. As God created
the physical world himself, without the aid of creatures,
so, we are told, in "the new creation" "all
things are of God." "For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works"" (Eph.
2:10). God first created man in his own image; and
"the new man, which is after God [after the pattern
of his moral image] is [again] created in righteousness
and true holiness ' (Eph. 4:24). In Col. 3:10 we are
plainly told that the new creation restores the soul to
the image of the Creator. "For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision
but a new creature" (Gal. 6:15). By seven
translations it is very properly translated, "A new
creation."
In many places redemption is
compared to the creation. Take, for instance, the creation
of light. "For God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6).
They who are of the first Adam are
earthly; they of the second Adam are heavenly. The law,
including the seventh day, was not given for the
righteous, but for the ungodly, the earthly. Will God
translate us from the earthly into the heavenly and yet
leave us under the Sabbath that was made for the earthly?
How utterly ridiculous the idea that the second Adam
should come into this sin lost world, start a new
creation, and leave us under a Sabbath that identifies us
with the fallen Adam and the world that lieth in iniquity!
Behold the striking analogy. When
God completed the work of creation, "he rested from
his labors, and was refreshed." And twenty five
hundred years later, when he saw fit to command a day of
utter abstinence from labor, he chose that day which
commemorated the finishing of creation, so that in its
observance the children of Israel not only commemorated
the miraculous hand of God which had brought them out of
Egypt, but also kept before their eyes the fact that God
is the Creator of all things. Such a remembrancer was
needed by a people only born after the flesh, and who were
soon to enter a land flooded with gross idolatry, where
God was not known as the Creator. But how ridiculous the
idea that redeemed and illuminated Christians, who know
God, even the one true and living God, need a Sabbath to
keep them from deifying some other object besides the
Creator.
The seventh day Sabbath, therefore,
embodied no element that made it unchangeable and
unrepealable. It was a positive statute, created wholly by
the decree of the divine Law giver, and was therefore
subject to removal by his decree. when with the rest of
the code in which it was embodied, it had served its time
and object, and when God moved forward in the order of his
plan, and the new dispensation and creation sprang forth.
It was a sign that God had sanctified Israel, that is,
separated them from the heathen nations. It was a sign or
memorial of that nation's deliverance out of Egypt, and it
passed away when that nation forfeited their place as the
chosen people of God, soon to be dispersed again among all
nations. It was a shadow of things to come and was nailed
to the cross with all the other shadows and types. It was
a part of the covenant written on stone; and the New
Testament teaches in the most positive manner, and by a
large number of passages, that that covenant was
abolished; that Christ himself, the mediator of the new
testament, took away the first that he might establish the
second. Therefore, it not only was repealable, but
actually was repealed by authority of Him who has all
power in heaven and earth; and in so doing he showed that
he is "lord of the Sabbath also."
And should any law teacher attempt
to argue that the Sabbath of the Jews survived that
Sinaitic law because it was introduced before the general
giving of the law, as seen in Exodus 16, we answer, So was
the Passover instituted prior to the ministration of the
law on Sinai, even before Israel came out of Egypt (Exodus
12), and yet it I passed away with the death of the first
covenant and its shadows. It and its sister
"sign," the Sabbath, were both incorporated in
the law system given on Sinai, and both passed away with
it. The old Sabbath, then, is dead and gone. And is there
any occasion for mourning over its decease? Have we lost
anything in the death and decay of the old covenant, since
Christ is the "mediator of a better covenant,
established upon better promises"? Is there
anything mournful in the death of that "wherein we
[the Jews] were held," since we are married to
Christ? Those desiring to be teachers of the
law now tell us at "we are not under the law,
only in the sense that we obey the law, and therefore
do not come under its condemnations." How directly
this conflicts with the Word of God. It teaches that
we are "not under the law," and l are
"delivered from the law," just as a woman is no
longer under the obligations of the marriage covenant
after her husband is dead. The law that bound her in
obedience has passed away. "She is freed from that
law." His lips are silent. He issues no commands; she
obeys none from him. Thus, by the plain illustration God
teaches us that the converted Jew is not under the law,
nor under obligations to obey it.
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