unreliable decisions of the human mind. Not only is it true that God has
never appointed a day of septenary inactivity, as the Heaven-chosen
memorial of the resurrection of the divine Son of God; but it is also
true that God himself, in the exercise of a wisdom which will hardly be
impugned by finite beings, has selected an institution entirely
different from that under consideration for the illustration of that
phase of the work of redemption which was seen in the resurrection of
Christ.
Says the great apostle to the Gentiles: “Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his
death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Rom. 6:4,
5. “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also we are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the
dead.” Col. 2:12.
Baptism, that is, Bible baptism, or the immersion of the individual
beneath the water, most forcibly commemorates the death of our Lord. As
the administrator lowers the body of the passive subject beneath the
yielding wave, by the very necessity of the case, breathing is, for the
time, suspended, and the person, as nearly as may be while in life, as
he lies motionless in the hands of the individual to whom he has
committed himself in the exercise of an act of faith, shadows forth the
death and burial of his Lord in a most impressive manner. As he rises,
also, from that position, and, proceeding to the shore, unites once more
with the throng of living beings who surround him, he most forcibly
illustrates the coming back again of our Lord from death and the grave
to a life of infinite activity and glory.
All, therefore, which is necessary in order to the remembering, by
outward expression, of that most glorious event, which gave back to the
disciples, from the nations of the dead, the body of the beloved Master,
is that we go forward in the fulfillment of an ordinance which has been
provided for that purpose, and which sets forth the events which are
thought worthy of a memento in a manner as superior to that in which it
could be done by mere inaction, as God’s conception of what would be
suitable under such circumstances is higher than that of man. The wonder
is that any one should have lost sight of the original design of an
institution which is remarkably expressive of the purpose for which it
was created. In fact, had not the same power which has changed the
Sabbath also tampered with the ordinance of baptism by changing the
original form into one less expressive of its historic associations, we
believe that the view which is now passing under consideration never
could have suggested itself to any mind.
But, reader, it is now time that our labor should be drawn to a close.
In the providence of God, we have walked together over the territory
devoted to the great and important Sabbath question. With pleasure, we
are about to lay down our pen for the last time, and submit the whole
matter to you for the pronouncing of the final verdict of your
individual judgment. As we do so, it is with feelings of most profound
gratitude to God for a truth which, while there is underlying it a cross
so heavy that it cannot be lifted by human strength unaided, is,
nevertheless, so plain that its mere statement is its most complete
demonstration. Were it not true that society is at present so organized
that the keeping of the seventh day involves social, political, and
pecuniary sacrifice, much greater than he is aware of who has not
considered the matter, we would not hesitate to say that a complete and
speedy revolution could be wrought upon this subject in a brief space of
time. Never, in the history of any reformation which has heretofore
occurred, were men covered with a more complete panoply of defense, and
armed with more destructive weapons of offense, than are God’s
commandment-keeping people at the present period. The only mystery
connected with the subject is, that, being as plain as it is, the fact
of the change should not have attracted universal attention before.
Traversing again the ground over which we have come with the gentleman
who has managed the opposition in this debate, the poverty of his
resources is most striking. In all that he has said, he has proved
nothing which has in any way relieved his case, nor can his failure be
attributed to any lack of capacity on his part. In the handling of the
material with which he has had to do, he has displayed not a little
ingenuity. The arguments which he has employed and the positions which
he has taken are those of the orthodox ministry generally at the present
time. His failure is entirely attributable to the natural weakness of
the position which he has sought to defend. His was indeed a hard task.
He felt the moral necessity of a Sabbath, as a Christian man; and,
finding the religious world keeping the first day of the week, he sought
to defend this practice from the Bible stand-point. But, alas for his
cause! The more he has appealed to this source, the more certain has it
become that the Bible, and the usages of Christendom in this matter, can
never he harmonized. In its pages we find the most ample authority for a
day of rest, but none for the one which is generally honored as such.
The record in brief stands as follows:—
1. There is a Sabbath.
2. That Sabbath is the seventh, and not the first, day of the week, for
the following reasons:—
(1.) In the beginning God rested on the seventh day, thereby laying the
foundation for its Sabbatic honor (Gen. 2:3); whereas, he never rested
upon the first day.
(2.) He blessed the seventh day; whereas, he never blessed the first
day.
(3.) He sanctified the seventh day, or devoted it to a religious use;
whereas, he never sanctified the first day.
(4.) The day of his rest, his blessing, and his sanctification, he
commanded to be kept holy, in a law of perpetual obligation; whereas, he
never commanded the observance of the first day.
(5.) The Lord Jesus Christ recognized the obligation of the seventh day
by a life-long custom of observing it (Luke 4:16); whereas, the Lord
Jesus Christ never rested upon the first day of the week; but always
treated it as a secular day.
(6.) He also recognized its perpetuity forty years after his death, when
speaking of events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, by
instructing his disciples to pray that their flight might not occur
thereon (Matt. 24:20); whereas, he never spoke of the first day as one
to be honored in the future, nor, indeed, so far as we know, did he ever
take it upon his lips at all.
(7.) It is the day which the holy women kept, according to the
commandment, after the crucifixion of our Lord (Luke 23:66); whereas,
there is no account that any good man has ever rested upon the first day
out of regard for its sanctity.
(8.) It is the day on which Paul, as his manner was, taught in the
synagogue (Acts 17:2); whereas, Paul never made the first day of the
week, habitually, one of public teaching, a thing which he would have
been sure to do had he looked upon it as sacred to the Lord.
(9.) Being mentioned fifty-six times in the New Testament, it is in all
these instances called the Sabbath; whereas, the first day is mentioned
eight times in the New Testament, and in every case it is called,
simply, the first day of the week.
(10.) In the year of our Lord 95, it is spoken of by John as the Lord’s
day (Rev. 1:10); whereas, the first day is in no case mentioned in the
use of a sacred title.
(11.) It is mentioned not only as the Sabbath, but it is also spoken of
as the next Sabbath, and every Sabbath, thus proving that it had no
rival (Acts 13:4; 15:21); whereas, the day before the first, and the
sixth day after it, being spoken of as the Sabbath, it (_i. e._, the
first day) is classed with the other days of the week.
(12.) In the Acts of the Apostles, and, in fine, in the whole canon of
the New Testament, there is not a single transaction which is related as
having occurred upon the seventh day in the least incompatible with the
notion that it continued to be regarded as holy time, while the law
which enforces its observance is inculcated in the clearest and most
emphatic terms (Matt. 5:17-19; Rom. 3:31; Jas. 2:8-12); whereas, the
first day was one on which Christ indulged in travel on the highway in
company with others, after his resurrection, without informing them of
its character or rebuking them for sin. It is also a day on which two of
the disciples walked the distance of fifteen miles on one occasion,
while on another, Paul performed the journey of nineteen and one-half
miles on foot, while Luke and seven companions worked the vessel around
the headland for a much greater distance (Luke 24:13, 29; Acts 20:1-13.)
In view of the above, the whole question of obligation may be summed up
in the following words: Shall we keep a day which God has commanded,
which Christ inculcated, and which holy men regarded from the opening
until the close of the canon of Scripture? or shall we disregard that,
putting in its place one which neither God, nor Christ, nor a holy
angel, nor an inspired man, ever, anywhere, under any circumstances,
enjoined, and which, in addition, God and Christ, and holy men and
women, are everywhere in the sacred word brought to view as treating in
a manner such as they would only treat a day of secular character?
In fine, it is simply the same old test applied once more to human
action, which has in all ages been the measure of moral character, _i.
e._, Shall we obey God? or shall we not? Shall we gratify our own
inclination and have our own way by pertinaciously persisting in a
course of action for which we have no Scripture warrant? or shall we
take the Bible in one hand and, accepting its doctrines as the words of
life, follow them to their legitimate consequences in our daily walk?
Says John, “This is the love of God, that ye keep his commandments.”
Says James, “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my
faith by my works.”
Sublime sentiments, indeed! In them is expressed the moving, controlling
principle of every Christian heart. Oh! that all men in the ages of the
past had held to the noble purpose of taking God at his word, believing
that he meant just what he said, and walking out with a noble courage
upon their confidence in his wisdom to legislate, and his right to
command. Had they done so; had they been willing to be taught instead of
going uninstructed; had they submitted to be led instead of insisting
upon independent action, how much misery would have been spared our
kind. Take, for example, the case of Eve—God exempted one tree in the
garden from the rest, saying, “Thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Unhappily, the mother
of all living ventured to deviate from the command of God in what
appeared to her an unimportant particular, and, as the result, a race
was plunged into the terrible consequences of rebellion.
It would seem as if this should have been enough to teach all, that it
is only safe to do just what God requires in small, as well as great,
things. Alas! however, this has not been the case. Nadab and Abihu, with
the example of Eve before them, contrary to the directions of the Lord,
ventured to substitute natural fire for the hallowed fire of the altar.
To them, there was no apparent difference; but in a moment the curse of
God fell upon them and they were borne lifeless, and without the honors
of an ordinary funeral service, away from the camp of Israel. Uzzah,
despising the commandment of the Lord, by which the Levites alone were
to touch the ark, in an unguarded moment, reached out his hand to steady
it, and God made a breach upon him in the presence of the people. Uzzah
fell lifeless before the ark which contained the same law which is under
consideration. It was not the ark that sanctified the law; but, rather,
the law that sanctified the ark.
If, therefore, God was so jealous of that which was merely the vehicle
of the ten words spoken by his voice and written by his finger, how must
he feel in regard to those words themselves? In them, is found the
embodiment of the whole duty of man. With them, God now tests, as he has
always tested, the characters of men. “Know ye not,” says Paul, “his
servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness?”
True, it may be, that we can transgress that law at the present time
without suffering the _visible_ displeasure of God, as did those whom,
in the past, he set forth as examples of his wrath. But let us not
deceive ourselves on this account; God is no respecter of persons. Moral
character is what he admires, exact obedience is what he demands. In his
providence, at the present time, it is our fortune to live in an epoch
when great light is shining upon the long dishonored and mutilated
Sabbath commandment. A worldly church, having departed from the
simplicity of gospel teaching and gospel method for the propagation of
truth, has called to her aid the elements of force and the appliances of
law. Closing their eyes to light, ample in itself for all the purposes
of duty and doctrine, they have entered upon a crusade, determining to
venture the experiment, so oft repeated, of enforcing, as doctrines, the
commandments of men.
The end of this matter God knows, and has pointed out in his word. With
outward success they may meet; but it will be at the terrible cost of
that vital godliness which is alone found where the arm of God is made
the arm of our strength. For those who, in the past, have ignorantly
broken the law of Jehovah, God has ample forgiveness; but for those who,
in the face of God’s providential dealings, and in diametrical
opposition to the plain teachings of his word, to which their attention
is being called, shall still persist, not only in disobedience, but,
also, in acts of oppression against those who prefer the narrow and
rugged path of Bible fidelity, there can be nothing in reserve but the
terrible displeasure of him whose right it is to command.
Reader, whoever you may be, and whatever may have been your past
convictions and life, we turn to you in a final appeal. As you revere
God, as you love Christ and his precious word, we exhort you in this
matter to seek wisdom from the only true source. Be not discouraged by
the disparity in numbers, neither tremble before the hosts which may
frown upon you in the coming contest. “The Lord, he is God.” Under the
shadow of his wing we can safely abide. No nobler destiny was ever
vouchsafed to the obedient among the children of men, than is prepared
for those who shall prove their fealty to the God of Heaven by a noble
testimony to their love for him, by the keeping of his holy Sabbath,
under circumstances, in the near future, which shall indeed try the
souls of men.
May God grant that both reader and writer, nay more, also our opponent
in this discussion—toward whom we entertain none but the kindliest
feelings—also, all, everywhere, who are indeed the children of the
living God and the brethren of our blessed Lord, may come to see eye to
eye in this matter, so that, finally, we shall be brought safely through
the perils of this last great conflict, which the true church is to
endure, and stand victorious over all our enemies upon the Mount Zion of
our God, there to sing the song of a deliverance complete and eternal,
in a world where, from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to
another, all flesh shall come to worship before the Lord. (Isa. 66:23.)
INDEX OF POINTS DISCUSSED.
PART FIRST:
ELD. LITTLEJOHN’S ARTICLES IN THE STATESMAN.
ARTICLE ONE.
Tendency toward Sabbath Discussion, 5
Various Views concerning Reform, 6
Inquiry as to Proper Action, 13
ARTICLE TWO.
Religious View of Sabbath Reform, 16
Sabbath Commandment, 19
Has this Law been Changed? 22
ARTICLE THREE.
Reasons for Sunday Observance Examined, 28
The Resurrection, 30
Example of Christ, 32
ARTICLE FOUR.
Texts on First Day of the Week, 36
They do Not Prove its Sacredness, 39
The Meeting of John 20:19, Considered, 42
ARTICLE FIVE.
John 20:26, Examined, 48
Act of Worship does Not Consecrate the Day, 50
1 Cor. 16:2, Examined, 54
ARTICLE SIX.
Acts 20:7, Examined, 57
Acts 2:1, Considered, 63
Pentecost Not First Day, but Fiftieth Day, 64
Rev. 1:10, Examined, 66
Proposed Amendment of the Constitution Not in Harmony with Bible
Truth, 68
ARTICLE SEVEN.
Bible View of the Sabbath, 71
The Law Changed by the Catholic Power, 76
Position of Seventh-day Adventists, 79
Proposed Amendment Dangerous to our Liberties, 83
PART SECOND:
REPLIES AND REJOINDERS.
REPLY ONE.
Seventh-day Sabbatarianism and the Christian Amendment, 87
Supposed Action of Missionaries, 89
The Proposed Amendment Expresses only Fundamental Principles, 91
FIRST REJOINDER.
Amendment Not Related merely to Principles, but to Sunday in
Particular, 96
Supposition of Missionary Action Examined, 103
REPLY TWO.
The Seventh Day Not Observed by the Early Christian Church, 107
Examination of New-Testament Proofs, 108
SECOND REJOINDER.
Our Common Ground, 116
The Seventh Day, only, the Sabbath in the New Testament, 119
No Effort Has been Made to Place Sunday upon Precept, 124
Consideration of Col. 2:14-17, 125
Rom. 14:5, Examined, 129
Survey of the Ground Passed Over, 131
REPLY THREE.
Testimony of the Gospels for the First-day Sabbath, 133
Resurrection of Christ, 134
John 20, 136
THIRD REJOINDER.
No Evidence of First-day Sacredness, 140
The Gospels do Not Call First Day the Sabbath, 150
REPLY FOUR.
Argument for the First-day Sabbath from the Gift of the Holy Spirit
on the Day of Pentecost, 154
Authors Differing Concerning the Day of the week, 155
Argument for the First Day, 156
FOURTH REJOINDER.
Value of Testimony—First-day Keepers Witnessing that Pentecost Fell
on the Sabbath, 163
No Reason Stated, nor Commandment Found, for First-day Sabbath, 172
REPLY FIVE.
First-day Sabbath at Troas, 177
The Reckoning of Time Considered, 179
FIFTH REJOINDER.
No Custom Found in Acts 20, 183
Argument for Change of Time Considered, 191
Evidence of Acts 20 Favorable to the Sabbath, 201
REPLY SIX.
Testimony of Paul and John to the First-day Sabbath, 202
Examination of 1 Cor. 16:2, 203
Of Rev. 1:10, 205
SIXTH REJOINDER.
1 Cor. 16:2, 207
—Testimony of J. W. Morton, 207
—Concession of Albert Barnes, 209
—Paul’s Plan of Systematic Beneficence, 211
—Devotion at Home, 214
Rev. 1:10, 219
—The Sabbath is the Lord’s Day, 220
—Christ Lord of the Sabbath, 221
—No Proof Given that First Day is the Lord’s Day, 222
REPLY SEVEN.
Testimony of the Early Fathers to the First-day Sabbath, 225
Testimony of Ignatius, 225
Errors of Dr. Dwight, etc., Corrected, 227
Barnabas and Justin Martyr, 228
Dionysius, 229
Pliny, 230
SEVENTH REJOINDER.
Value of Traditional Testimony, 231
Ignatius, 235
Barnabas, 239
Justin Martyr, 243
What Justin Martyr Believed, 246
Dionysius, Melito, Pliny, 250
Deficiency of Testimony for First-day as a Sabbath, 253
REPLY EIGHT.
Patristic Testimony to the First-day Sabbath, 254
Irenæus, 254
Errors of Dr. Dwight and Others in Quoting this Father, 256
Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, 257
EIGHTH REJOINDER.
The Apostasy, 261
Testimony of Irenæus, 262
Of Tertullian, 267
Of Origen, 273
Of Cyprian, 276
Summary View of the Case, 277
REPLY NINE.
Theories of the Christian Sabbath, 280
Claim of an Unwarranted Change of the Sabbath Considered, 284
NINTH REJOINDER.
No Advance Ground Taken, 287
Harmony of Sabbath Law and Sacred History, 289
Roman Apostasy and Change of Sabbath, 293
Seventh-day Sabbath in the Early Church, 296
Testimony of Romanists, 304
REPLY TEN.
The Principle as to Time in Sabbath Observance, 313
One Day in Seven, not the Seventh Day, Required, 313
Difficulties of Keeping Definite Day, 314
TENTH REJOINDER.
Inconsistency of the _Statesman’s_ Positions, 321
No-Definite-Day Argument Fatal to First Day, and to any Sabbath, 325
Inconsistency of his Position on Necessity of Legislation, 326
Difficulties of Sabbath-Keeping Considered, 329
Absurdity of the Theory of an Indefinite Day, 333
Definite Time Around the World, 339
Summary, 348
REPLY ELEVEN.
The True Theory of the Christian Sabbath, 351
First Day of the Week the True Christian Sabbath, 351
A Memorial of Redemption, 353
ELEVENTH REJOINDER.
Inconsistency of the Replies, 355
No Amendment of Sabbath Law Produced, 356
A Gospel Memorial of the Resurrection, 367
Sabbath Keeping Involves Sacrifice, 369
Summary of Evidence for the Sabbath, 371
The Commandment, or Tradition? 374
Conclusion, 377
CATALOGUE
Of Books, Pamphlets, Tracts, &c., Issued by the Seventh-Day Adventist
Publishing Association, Battle Creek, Mich.
HYMNS AND TUNES; 320 pages of hymns, 96 pages of music; in plain
morocco, $1.00.
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE SABBATH AND FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. By J. N.
Andrews. $1.00.
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, Vols. 1 & 2. By Ellen G. White, Each $1.00.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT: Or The Sunday, The Sabbath, The Change,
and The Restitution. A Discussion between W. H. Littlejohn and the
Editor of the _Christian Statesman_. Bound, $1.00. Paper, 40 cts. First
Part, 10 cts.
THOUGHTS ON THE REVELATION, critical and practical. By U. Smith. 328
pp., $1.00.
THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL, critical and practical. By U. Smith.
Bound, $1.00; condensed edition, paper, 35 cts.
THE NATURE AND DESTINY OF MAN. By U. Smith. 384 pp., bound, $1.00,
paper, 40 cts.
LIFE INCIDENTS, in connection with the great Advent movement. By Eld.
James White. 373 pp., $1.00.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ELD. JOSEPH BATES, with portrait of the author. 318
pp., $1.00.
HOW TO LIVE: comprising a series of articles on Health, and how to
preserve it, with various recipes for cooking healthful food, &c. 400
pp., $1.00.
SABBATH READINGS; or Moral and Religious Reading for Youth and Children.
400 pp., 60 cts.; in five pamphlets, 50 cts.
APPEAL TO YOUTH; Address at the Funeral of Henry N. White; also a brief
narrative of his life, &c. 96 pp., muslin, 40 cts.; paper covers, 10
cts.
THE GAME OF LIFE, with notes. Three illustrations 5x6 inches each,
representing Satan playing with man for his soul. In board, 50 cts., in
paper, 30 cts.
THE UNITED STATES IN PROPHECY. By U. Smith. Bound. 40 cts.; paper, 20
cts.
HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS for Camp-meetings and other Religious
Gatherings. Compiled by Eld. James White. 196 pp. Bound, 50 cts., paper,
25 cts.
REFUTATION OF THE AGE TO COME. By J. H. Waggoner. Price 20 cts.
PROGRESSIVE BIBLE LESSONS FOR CHILDREN; for Sabbath Schools and
Families. G. H. Bell. Bound, 35 cts., paper, 25 cts.
THE ADVENT KEEPSAKE; comprising a text of Scripture for each day of the
year, on the subjects of the Second Advent, the Resurrection, &c. Plain
muslin, 25 cts.; gilt. 40 cts.
A SOLEMN APPEAL relative to Solitary Vice, and the Abuses and Excesses
of the Marriage Relation. Edited by Eld. James White. Muslin, 50 cts.;
paper, 30 cts.
AN APPEAL to the Working Men and Women, in the Ranks of Seventh-day
Adventists. By James White. 172 pp., bound, 40 cts.; paper covers, 25
cts.
SERMONS ON THE SABBATH AND LAW; embracing an outline of the Biblical and
Secular History of the Sabbath for 6000 years. By J. N. Andrews. 25 cts.
THE STATE OF THE DEAD. By U. Smith. 224 pp., 25 cts.
HISTORY of the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul. By D. M.
Canright. 25 cts.
DISCUSSION ON THE SABBATH QUESTION, between Elds. Lane and Barnaby. 25
cts.
THE ATONEMENT; an Examination of a Remedial System in the light of
Nature and Revelation. By J. H. Waggoner. 20 cts.
OUR FAITH AND HOPE, Nos. 1 & 2—Sermons on the Advent, &c. By James
White. Each 20 cts.
THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM. By J. H. Waggoner. 20
cts.
THE BIBLE FROM HEAVEN; or, a dissertation on the Evidences of
Christianity. 20 cts.
DISCUSSION ON THE SABBATH QUESTION, between Elds. Grant and Cornell. 20
cts.
REVIEW OF OBJECTIONS TO THE VISIONS. U. Smith, 20 cts.
COMPLETE TESTIMONY OF THE FATHERS, concerning the Sabbath and First Day
of the Week. By J. N. Andrews. 15 cts.
THE DESTINY OF THE WICKED. By U. Smith. 15 cts.
THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS; and the Origin, History, and Destiny of
Satan. By D. M. Canright. 15 cts.
THE MESSAGES OF REV. 14, particularly the Third Angel’s Message and
Two-Horned Beast. By J. N. Andrews. 15 cts.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE UNJUST; a Vindication of the Doctrine. By J. H.
Waggoner. 15 cts.
THE SANCTUARY AND TWENTY-THREE HUNDRED DAYS. By J. N. Andrews. 10 cts.
THE SAINTS’ INHERITANCE, or, The Earth made New. By J. N. Loughborough.
10 cts.