Monday, March 18, 2019

Jesus Repaired the Moral Law He Did Not Destroy It.


Continuing our study from the PRESENT TRUTH--

The Sabbath.

As the Sabbath was made for man ; for the whole race of mankind; and as man has needed all its blessings ever since it was first instituted in Eden ; it is reasonable to conclude that God designed that it should be observed as strictly in one dispensation, as in another. I cannot see any reasons why the Jew should keep it any more strictly, than the Christian. I design to show that there is a perfect harmony in all the Scripture testimony of both Testaments, in relation to the observance of the Holy Sabbath.

The fourth commandment in the decalogue is the great Sabbath law. It is the standard to which all other Scripture testimony relating to the Sabbath should be brought, and carefully compared. "Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all THY work : But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates." Ex. 20 : 8-10.

The great God appointed six days for man to labor, and do ALL HIS work necessary for a livelihood; but the seventh day he designed for man to rest from this world's toil and labor, and engage in the service of his Creator. Such acts of mercy and necessity, as alleviating the distressed, either man or beast; healing the sick, and eating when hungry on the Sabbath, are no where in the Bible forbidden by God ; and are no violation of the Sabbath law in the decalogue. I know that some say that we cannot keep the Sabbath, as it is given in the Old Testament ; but this is like most of the false assertions made by those who oppose the true Sabbath. I am not ready to admit that God has given us a law, that we cannot keep. I dare not charge him with such injustice. The commandments of our holy and just God, are not grievous, but joyous to those who keep them. Those who followed Jesus from Galilee, saw his body put in Joseph's new tomb, then returned "and rested on the Sabbath according to the COMMANDMENT." See Luke 23: 54-56. They could keep the

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Sabbath according to the law of God, after the ceremonial law was abolished, and so can we. Jesus stripped off the traditions with which the blind Jew had covered the Sabbath, and left it naked, resting on its own Eternal basis, the fourth commandment. The Lord of the Sabbath-day kept his Father's commandments  therefore, he and his disciples kept the Sabbath according to the fourth commandment.

Mark this. Jesus and his disciples even kept the law of Moses until the crucifixion ; so all must see the folly of those who teach that they departed from the letter of the Sabbath law! "The Scribes and, the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat : All, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that OBSERVE and DO : but do not ye after their works : for they say and do not. Matt. 23 : 2, 3.

Jesus taught his disciples to observe and do, even the law of Moses. His last meeting with them, before he nailed it to his cross, was to keep the passover. How absurd then, is the view which some are teaching, that Jesus and his disciples departed from the letter of the Sabbath law, written on stones with the finger of Jehovah !! The wicked Pharisees charged the disciples with departing from the letter of the Sabbath law, when they plucked the ears of corn, and ate to satisfy present hunger ; but Jesus proved to them on the ground, that it was a false charge. He referred them to what David did when he was hungry ; also to the Priests in the Temple who were blameless. The law of Moses required the Priests to offer sacrifices on the Sabbath. " And on the Sabbath-day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof : This is the burnt-offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt-offering, and his drink-offering."  Num. 28: 9, 10.

The Priests then had to labor on the Sabbath ; but it was no violation of the Sabbath law ; for it was not that kind of labor prohibited in the fourth commandment. The law that came by Moses, did not compel the Priests to violate the law written by the finger of God. " Six days shalt thou labor and do all THY work." Man was to attend to his own work during the six days; then rest from HIS work on the seventh, and labor for God, who never designed that we should become stationary, and inactive on his Sabbath. The words " labor," and " work," in the fourth commandment, must be thus explained, to clear the Priests in the Temple.

Eating on the Sabbath when hungry, is no where forbidden in the Bible. Jesus and his disciples were on their way to the synagogue, when the disciples plucked and ate the corn ; and it was as lawful to eat that, when hungry on the Sabbath, as any food. According to the law of Moses they had a right to pluck the ears of corn with their hands, and eat. " When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand : but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's stand-corn." Deut. 23 : 25.

Jesus never admitted that he, or his disciples departed from the letter of the Sabbath law. No, never; but always proved to his accusers, that what they did on the Sabbath was lawful, or in strict accordance with the Sabbath law. On this ground, and no other, were they GUILTLESS. "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have MERCY, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." Mat. 12 : 7.

If they had known that acts of mercy and necessity, such as eating when hungry, and _healing the sick on the Sabbath, were lawful, they would never have falsely charged the holy followers of Jesus with Sabbath-breaking.

Now who are ready to take their stand with the wicked Pharisee, and charge the disciples, and their holy Master, who said he had kept his Father's commandments, with departing from the letter of the fourth commandment? The very thought of such a thing seems awful! Rather let my right hand wither, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, than to write, and speak, such a sentiment to the precious, waiting flock. "And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-days ? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath-day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out ? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is LAWFUL to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12 : 10-12. The word lawful, signifies agreeably to law. In this text it means agreeably to the Sabbath law. Mark this : Jesus did not give them a new Sabbath law, nor intimate that the Sabbath law was to be RELAXED, or changed ; but he exposed their hy-

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pocracy, in charging him with Sabbath breaking, for healing the sick, when at the same time they would relieve a dumb beast on the Sabbath. " How much then is a man better than a sheep ?" He also taught them that such acts of mercy as to lift a sheep out of a pit, and healing the sick on the Sabbath, was doing well, and according to the Sabbath law. " Wherefore it is LAWFUL to do WELL on the sabbath days." " And Jesus answering, spake unto the lawyers and pharisees, saying, Is it LAWFUL to heal on the Sabbath-days? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go : And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath-day? AND THEY COULD NOT ANSWER HIM AGAIN TO THESE THINGS." Luke xiv : 3-6.

Here again Jesus referred the lawyers and Pharisees to the Sabbath law, and with it he closed their mouths, so that they could not answer him. If he had intimated that the Sabbath law was to be relaxed, and he had a right to depart from its letter, they would have railed on him ; but instead of this, he appealed to the letter of the law, and their manner of observing it, and proved to them that what he had done was LAWFUL.

When Jesus healed the daughter of Abraham, the ruler of the synagogue was filled with indignation, and said unto the people, " There are six days in which men ought to work : in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath-day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering ?" Luke 13 : 11-17.

This reply from the Saviour silenced the ruler of the synagogue, and put all his adversaries to shame; " and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him." They were all convinced that it was LAWFUL and right for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath, or they would not have REJOICED.

We are sometimes referred to the case of the impotent man who was healed, and took up his bed and walked on the Sabbath, at the command of Jesus. It is said that he carried a burden ; therefore he, and his Master, who said to him, "Rise, take up thy bed and walk," broke the Sabbath. It is true that God by Jeremiah, forbid the  Jews carrying burdens in or out of the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. He also promised them if they would diligently hearken unto him, and bring no burden through the gates of the city on the Sabbath-day ; but hallow the Sabbath-day, to do no work therein, that their city should remain FOREVER. Jer. 17: 19-25.

Jeremiah has not shown us so definitely what kind of burdens are forbidden as Nehemiah. " In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath-day : and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals?' Neh. 13: 15.

Here Nehemiah has shown us that it is burdens of merchandise, that were brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath, that God has forbidden to be borne on the Sabbath. Now let the reader compare carrying burdens of merchandise to market to sell for worldly gain, with the healed impotent man with his bed, praising God, and the difference will be seen. One was laborious, and for worldly gain : the other was for the glory of God. One was a violation of the fourth commandment ; but the other was an act of mercy, which manifested the mighty power of God. It was doing well on the Sabbath; therefore it was lawful.

I fear I shall weary those who understand the Sabbath question, with this lengthy article. My object in being so particular, is to spread out the whole truth before those who have not carefully investigated this glorious, harmonious subject. I will notice two more objections to the true Sabbath, and leave this subject for the present. One objection is, that the Jews were forbidden by God to kindle fires on the Sabbath : and if we keep it as strictly as they did, we cannot kindle a fire on the Sabbath. If we look at this objection in its true light, the difficulty will all vanish. This direction concerning kindling fires on the Sabbath, was given to Israel in the wilderness, when God was feeding them with manna from heaven. They were a strong, healthy people in a mild climate. Their clothes were miraculously preserved, and their food was given them from heaven. God told them to cook their manna on the sixth day ; therefore they had no use for a fire on the Sabbath. If they had kindled fires to cook their manna, or to wash their clothes on the Sabbath, it would have been a plain violation of the fourth command-

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ment, as it was the work which God designed for the, six days. We are differently situated. Our constitutions and climate are such, that we need the heat of a fire a portion of the year to keep us suitably warm. We kindle a fire on the Sabbath a portion of the year, as an 'act of mercy, and necessity, the same as we would water an ox or a horse, or lift a sheep out of a pit ; therefore it is lawful and right. But it is as wrong to kindle fires now, in the mild portion of the year, to cook our food on the Sabbath, which may be cooked on the sixth day, as it was for the Jews. The sixth day is the preparation day, and if we neglect any of the work of this day, and do it on the seventh, we desecrate the Holy Sabbath. The Sabbath law forbids our doing on the seventh day, that which can be done on the sixth; but acts of mercy and necessity, which cannot be done on the sixth day are lawful on the Sabbath.

A reasonable, and Scriptural observance of the Sabbath law will not freeze us, nor starve us; for the law is " HOLY," "JUST," and " GOOD."

The other objection to the true Sabbath which I will here mention, is the case of the man that was stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. We are not told what kind of sticks he gathered, nor to what use he intended them ; but the best inference is, that he gathered them for fuel to make a fire to bake and seethe their manna. God said to them by Moses, "To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord ; bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe." As they were to do all their cooking on the sixth day, this man in gathering fuel on the Sabbath was certainly doing the work of the sixth day, on the seventh, and was violating the fourth commandment. " Abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." Ex.24: 29. It was a violation of the express orders of Jehovah, for them to go out into the field to gather manna, or fuel on the Sabbath. It was doing on the seventh day the work of the sixth, and was a bold transgression of the Sabbath law, written with the finger of God. It was as wrong for them to gather sticks for fuel on the Sabbath, as it would be for us to chop and draw wood on God's holy day. If we should do this, all the world would unite in saying that we had broken the fourth commandment. Some will almost stone us now, for doing such things on the first day of the week, the Pope's Sabbath. (((Remember this was written in the 1800's))))

The children of Israel while in the wilderness were not to go out of their places on the Sabbath to gather manna, or do any other work which should have been done on the sixth day ; but after this they did go out of their places on the Sabbath ; not to do servile work, but to worship God. The Jews had what they called a Sabbath day's journey, and certainly they had to go out of their places, or dwelling to walk about one mile. The wages or penalty of transgressing the law of God was, and still is, Eternal Death. " For the wages of sin is DEATH." Rom. 6 : 23. And " sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3: 4. During the ministration of the law of God by Moses, the wilful transgressor was immediately stoned to death : but under the ministration of God's law by Jesus Christ, it is long-suffering and tender mercy. In this better dispensation, God for Jesus' sake spares the life of the transgressor that he may turn and keep the law of God, and find pardon through Jesus Christ, and live.

During the time of the first covenant, which was faulty, stern justice cut the transgressor down ; but since Jesus has been our only sacrifice and Priest, MERCY, the excellency and glory of the better covenant, has interposed, and given the transgressor of the holy law of God a chance to repent of his sin, and find a full and free pardon of all his sins, through the precious blood of Jesus. The Gospel never required that a man should be stoned to death for stealing, or swearing. No, never; still this does not prove that there is no law for stealing and swearing. " Where no law is there is no transgression." Rom. 4 : 15. If there is no law for keeping the Sabbath, stealing, and swearing, because the Gospel does not require that the transgressor should be stoned, then men may steal, swear, and desecrate the Holy Sabbath, and be pure in the sight of God ; for " WHERE NO LAW IS, THERE IS NO TRANSGRESSION." The full, and final penalty of the law of- God is not done away—no, no.  This, and also the law, the transgressor will meet in the judgment. Those who were stoned to death under the first covenant will also meet the final penalty there. Dear reader, be not deceived by those who oppose the true Sabbath. Their poor objections will all vanish, when held up to the light of Bible truth. Be not turned away from this harmonious present truth by their fables.

To Be Continued…..

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Taken from-

THE PRESENT TRUTH, 
PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY—BY JAMES WHITE.
Vol. 1.  MIDDLETOWN, CONN. AUGUST, 1849.  No.2

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We are now studying - 'The Present Truth' papers published in the middle 1800's. These are called the 'Present Truth' because it WAS Present Truth for that time. So why study them now? Because TRUTH at any time is worth studying, and we KNOW that often ORIGINAL truth presented before Satan has had an opportunity to corrupt it, can be very enlightening. At the very least we will see, by the grace of God, through the Holy Spirit, what truth then is still uncorrupted today and still very relevant for us living in these dark, dark times. Our world today compared to a hundred and seventy years ago is so much worse than it was, with so much evil being called good, and good being called evil.  May God bless us as we seek HIS truth for us in our present, bringing us only closer to Him and prayerfully the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!



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