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CAN WE KEEP the SABBATH?
by E. J. Waggoner
originally published in The Bible Students
Library, November 1, 1890
There are thousands throughout the United States and in Europe who
are ready at once to answer this question in the affirmative, for they
know by experience that it is possible. Indeed, the question really
admits of only one answer, and that is, "Yes; we can if we want to."
But there are many persons who imagine that they cannot keep the
Sabbath, and for their benefit I propose to consider some of the
so-called reasons which they give. This tract is not intended for those
who, in order to avoid the acknowledgment that the seventh day is the
Sabbath, plead that the world is round, that time has been lost, and
other flimsy objections against the Sabbath. It is only for those who
acknowledge the truth of the Bible, are fully convinced that the
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, and know that it is the duty of
all men to keep it, but fancy that they are so situated that it would
be impossible for them to do so. I say they fancy, for it is not so in
fact. No individual was ever yet placed in such a position that he
could not do what was certainly his duty to do. He might find it
difficult, and perhaps unpleasant, but never impossible.
"I would like to keep the Sabbath," says one, "but my business will
not let me." Well, if this is really the case, then get some other
business that will not hinder. If you saw that your present business
was greatly injuring your health, and would cause your death in a few
months unless abandoned, you would lose no time in changing your
occupation. But by disobeying God you lose his favor, and this will
bring eternal death.
"But I could not live if I were to keep the Sabbath." This reason is
of the same character as the one given above, and is offered alike by
those who are in prosperous business, and those who labor for their
daily bread. How do you know that you could not live? Are there not
thousands who are keeping the Sabbath? And do not they live? Ask those
who have tried it, and see what testimony they bear. It is true, you
may not be able to amass quite so much property, "but what is a man
profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
But let us consider this matter further. You say you cannot live if
you keep the Sabbath. Are you sure that you can if you do not keep it?
Have you any guarantee that your life will be continued indefinitely?
Do those who violate God's law live any longer on an average than those
who keep it? You certainly know of no one who is not subject to death.
The psalmist says: "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see
death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?" Ps.
89:48. "It is appointed unto men once to die," and this without any
distinction in regard to age or belief. Then why do you assume that you
will be exempt if you do not keep the Sabbath?
"But," our friend will doubtless reply, "I expect, of course, to die
sometime in the natural course of events, whether I keep the Sabbath or
not; what I mean is that I shall not be able to earn a living for
myself and family." Well, you profess to believe the Bible; let us see
what it says in regard to this matter. "Be not therefore anxious,
saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek)
for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:31-33, R.V.
Could any promise be plainer than this? If it does not mean just what
it says, it does not mean anything. And God is fully able to fulfill
this promise. Just consider what a vast estate He has. Here is a
description of it: "For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains:
and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would
not tell thee: for the world is Mine and the fullness thereof." Ps.
50:10-12. Surely you need have no fear of starving, if you serve such a
Master as that.
Listen to another promise: "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Ps.
37:3. There you have the promise; now listen to the testimony of one
who had an opportunity to know, as to how this promise is fulfilled: "I
have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Verse 25. You can verify this in
your own experience if you choose. Who are they that form the great
army of tramps, that wander through the country begging bread? Are they
Christians, as a class? Are they those who have sunk their property in
the service of God? I think no one ever saw a tramp that was noted for
his piety. An active worker in the Young Men's Christian Association
says that of the hundreds who have applied for charity to the
institution with which he is connected, all are irreligious persons,
and that he has never known a regular attendant of church to apply for
alms. Truly, "the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth
no sorrow with it."
Again the Lord says: "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for
it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." Deut. 8:18. No one can
doubt the truth of this statement. "He giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things." We could not keep ourselves alive for a single moment.
All men, good and bad alike, are equally dependent on God for life and
its attendant blessings. Now, if God has prospered you in the past,
when you were trampling on His law, unwittingly it may be, will He not
be more likely to continue His blessing if you obey him? Will He not
have an especial care for His servants who cheerfully obey Him?
Certainly no person who professes faith in God's Word should ever fear
to keep His commandments.
Do not, however, get the idea that abundant riches are promised to
those who obey God. The Psalmist saw that the wicked were "not in
trouble as other men"; he saw that they had more than heart could wish;
and he became envious when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. But
when he went into the sanctuary of God, and understood their end (Ps.
73:17), then his envy ceased. He saw that God does not propose to
reward either the good or the bad in this life. The wicked may well
have riches in this life, for that is all the enjoyment they will ever
have; and the righteous can well afford to have but little of this
world's goods, and even to suffer affliction and persecution, since for
them God has reserved "an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and
that fadeth not away"--- "an exceeding and eternal weight of
glory."
But there is this difference between the wealthy sinner and the poor
servant of God: There is no promise made to the transgressor of God's
law. God allows the sun to shine, and the rain to fall, alike on the
just and unjust. But the transgressor has no assurance that all his
riches may not "take to themselves wings and fly away," and he be left
a beggar; while the righteous man, who may have but a bare living, has
the promise that that little will be continued to him. God often
permits His servants to be brought into strait places, and, in order to
try their faith, to be sometimes brought where they can see no opening
whatever; still his promises are sure, and cannot fail. Food and
clothing are promised, and though these may be scant, yet "a little
that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked."
Ps. 37:16.
Another quite common objection that people urge against keeping the
Sabbath is that it is peculiar, and that very few people observe it.
There are two classes of people who make use of this argument. The
first class attempts to make a capital out of it against the Sabbath,
and argue that since the Sabbath is observed by so very few people, it
cannot be right, assuming that the majority must be right. The second
class believes that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, but
have not the courage to live out their convictions of duty. They say,
"If everybody else would keep the Sabbath, I would be glad to do so
too."
The first class might easily be convinced if they wished to be. Let
us see to what absurdity the theory that the majority must be right,
will lead us. Less than four hundred years ago it was the universal
belief that the earth was flat, and that it was stationary. For
hundreds of years no one had thought of questioning this belief; and,
when, finally, a few bold spirits ventured to advance the idea that the
earth is spherical, and that it moves, they were regarded as fanatics
and dangerous heretics. But the proof that the earth is round was
convincing, and now all enlightened nations hold to that belief. Now if
it be true that the majority must be right, we must conclude that
several centuries ago the earth was really flat, but that, as people
advanced in knowledge, it gradually assumed its present shape. The mere
fact that the majority believe the earth to be flat or spherical does
not in the least affect its shape. The majority of the human race are
idolatrous. If majorities were always right, Christianity would be an
error. Many other conclusions, equally absurd, must be accepted, if we
hold to the theory that whatever is popularly believed is right. But
the advocates of that theory rarely urge it on any subject except the
Sabbath. The truth is that the opinions of men have no effect whatever
on facts. Men's opinions change, but the truth is always the same.
Those who dare not venture out alone to obey the truth, may have
their faith strengthened by considering some cases that are on record.
Paul says, in Rom 15:4, that "whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of
the Scripture might have hope."
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews contains a list of notable men. In
Genesis 6, we are referred to Noah, who "walked with God" in an age
when the "wickedness of man was great in the earth," and "every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." It
must have been no slight effort for Noah to face the world with such an
unpopular truth as that the world was to be destroyed by a flood. No
doubt he was jeered in a most unmerciful manner, and considered a fool,
but the event proved the wisdom of his course. Had he waited for enough
people to accept the truth for that time to make it respectable, before
commencing to build the ark, he would have been drowned with the
rest.
Abraham is another individual who is held up as an example of faith.
I think we do not generally realize the full extent of the sacrifice
that he made when he obeyed the command, "Get thee out of thy country,
and from they kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I
will show thee." His father's family, as we learn from Joshua 24:2-3,
were idolaters. No doubt he had to endure much opposition and ridicule
from his relatives, for thus leaving them and going away, with
apparently no object whatever, without even knowing where he was going.
No one who starts out to obey God in these times can have a darker
prospect, to all outward appearances, than Abraham had. Had he drawn
back, instead of becoming the father of all the faithful, his name
might never have appeared among them. Other instances might be cited
indefinitely.
Who does not honor those moral heroes? And who has not wished that
he might be even like them and be accounted worthy to share in their
reward? Well, who is there that cannot? They were men, subject to
weaknesses and temptations the same as men are nowadays. They lived in
the world, associated with their fellowmen, and transacted business,
the same as men do now. How, then, did they become so honored of God?
-- Simply because they were willing to be regarded as peculiar; they
thought more of God's approval than they did of the applause of men.
For this we hold them in high esteem, yet we shrink from doing what we
commend in them. We may, however, be like them if we will, for their
cases are recorded, as Paul says, simply for our encouragement.
We shall find, if we study carefully, that the Bible says much in
favor of peculiar people. The Jews were brought out from
Egyptian bondage that they might serve the Lord, and be a
peculiar people. Paul says in Titus 2:l4 that Christ "gave Himself
for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." The Apostle
here speaks especially to those who are "looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ." It seems, then, that the people of God need not hope to become
popular in these days any more than in the past. Christ was very
unpopular: "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." John
1:11. Very few believed on Him, and they were of the most despised
class; and at the last even these forsook Him, while He suffered the
most bitter persecution. And what does He say to His disciples? -- "The
servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they
will also persecute you." Those, then, who are waiting for truth to
become popular before accepting it, will wait in vain.
One thought in regard to this expression, "peculiar people." The
idea is not meant to be conveyed that people are to strive to make
themselves conspicuous by their peculiarity. The people of God are
peculiar simply because they are "zealous of good works," in a time
when men (professed Christians) are "lovers of their own selves,"
"despisers of those that are good," etc. 2 Tim. 3:1-5. Christ was
peculiar in this respect, yet he was a pattern of humility. This people
are to be like Him, not despised on account of individual
peculiarities, but because of their steadfast adherence to truth. "If
the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye
were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you." John 15:18, 19.
One thought more: If we keep the commandments of God, we are God's
servants. If we refuse to obey Him, whose servants are we? -- We
certainly must be the servants of Satan. There is no neutral ground.
"To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servant ye are to
whom ye obey." Now suppose you continue in sin (and sin is nothing else
but the transgression of the law, I John 3:4; Rom. 7:7), what is your
prospect for living? Here it is: "For the wages of sin is death." Rom.
6:23. "The soul that sinneth it shall die." Ezek. 18:20. You say you
cannot live if you keep all God's commandments; God says you cannot
live if you do not keep them. If your statement was true, you would
only lose this present life, and many men in times past have lost their
lives for the truth of God, and we honor them for it; but if you
disobey God, you will lose eternal life. Jesus says: "For whosoever
will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his live for
My sake shall find it." Matt. 16:25. Satan may promise well, but he has
nothing but the treasures of this world to offer, and they are all
forfeited, so that he has really nothing to offer you. How different is
the service of God. The Apostle says: "Godliness is profitable unto all
things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to
come." I Tim. 4:8. But the promises of life and happiness to those who
fear God are almost innumerable. Not a tithe of them have been given.
Surely those mentioned are sufficient to enable anyone to trust
God.
Who is not willing to suffer with Christ? When He endured so much
for us, can we not endure a little for Him? If it was possible for us
to get to heaven without any suffering, would we not feel ashamed to
say that we had never suffered for Him? We have also this to comfort
us, that whenever we suffer for the truth, He suffers with us, and
accounts all injury done to His people as done to Himself. And to crown
all, we are assured that "if we suffer we shall also reign with Him,"
and that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
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