Part 9

Peter commanded him to repent and to pray. The commandment to pray for forgiveness implied a commandment to confess his sins. One cannot consistently pray for forgiveness until he admits, at least to himself and to God, that he has sinned. One cannot even repent until he first admits to himself that he has done wrong. The commandment to confess implied by Peter is clearly stated elsewhere in God’s word. For instance, James 5:16: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed.” Again we read in I John, chapter 1, verses 9 and 10, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.”

These Scriptures not only teach the possibility of an erring child of God’s being saved, but also the condition upon which his salvation depends. These conditions are: repentance of his sins, confession of his sins, and prayer unto the Lord for forgiveness. Any erring child of God who conforms to these conditions will be readily and freely forgiven by our Father who is in heaven. One who refuses to conform to these simple conditions assumes full responsibility for his own destruction. Having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, he is not fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). He must repent or perish (Luke 13:3).

V The Prodigal Son

The story of the prodigal son very beautifully and accurately illustrates the plan we are discussing. The prodigal son does not represent an alien sinner. He was a son. He represents an erring child. He went away from home contrary to his father’s will, and he wasted his father’s goods in riotous living. He was a wayward child. He was a disobedient son of his father; and finally, when he had tasted the bitter dregs of sin, he resolved to go back home.

The Bible says that he came to himself. He recognized that he had sinned. That was the first step in his restoration. When he thought about the good things back in his father’s home in contrast with his own suffering, he recognized that he had made a mistake. Then he made a resolution. He said, “I will arise and go unto my father.” And the very minute he made up his mind to go to his father, that was repentance. Repentance is a change of purpose. A determination to quit doing wrong and to begin doing right. And so when the young man said to himself, “I will go, I will return to my father, and to my father’s house,” that resolution constituted repentance. Then the story says that he arose and came to his father. That was the fruit of his repentance.

He had planned his confession. He said, “I will say unto my father, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.” The young man expected to plead his case with his father. He didn’t even hope to be reinstated as a son. But he was going to beg that he might be allowed to come back as a servant. Imagine his surprise when his father ran to meet him and welcomed him back into the family circle. The boy started to make his confession, but before he had had time to finish, the father interrupted him and said: “Bring forth the best robe and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat, and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost and is found.”

Now this not only illustrates what an erring child of God must do to be saved, but it also represents God’s willingness to forgive him. This young man repented, he reformed, he confessed, and he prayed. He prayed to his father to take him back into his home. (He had planned his confession in his heart even if he were not allowed to express it all.) That is just exactly what an erring child of God must do. As we learn from Peter, James and John, he must repent, confess his sins, and pray for forgiveness. Just as the father of that prodigal son was eager to receive him back into his home, so our heavenly Father stands waiting to receive unto the bosom of his love all of his wayward children who will come back to him in humility, penitence, confession and prayer. Just as that father showered his son with blessings, so Jehovah will shower his wayward children who return to him with the blessings of forgiveness, protection, and encouragement.

VI The Church’s Duty

In conclusion it might be well to mention the duty of the church in reference to an erring child of God. It is the duty of the church and of all its spiritually-minded members to warn those who are living in error, to rebuke them, to reprove them and to exhort them with all long suffering and teaching, to admonish them to do these three things which are required of them in order to be forgiven by the Lord. When we do so, we shall in no wise lose our reward.

I close then by calling attention once more to these verses in James, “Brethren, if anyone of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.” Now, there may be some erring children of God in this audience this morning. I want to do just what the Bible teaches me to do. I want to admonish you, urge you, and beseech you to take advantage of God’s goodness and God’s mercy and God’s willingness to forgive.

The alien sinner must believe, repent, and be baptized. The erring child of God must repent, confess his sin, and pray for forgiveness. But I don’t care how black your past may have been, how many ugly things you may have done, if you will confess to men, to yourself, and to God that you have sinned; if you will resolve in your heart that you will turn away from your evil doing, and ask God to forgive you, He will certainly do so. He never goes back on His promise. He’s not only willing, but is eager to have you come. He will welcome you back into the fold of those who are redeemed.

All of those evil things which you have done will not only be forgiven, but they will be forgotten. They will never be remembered any more, and you can start all over again to live the Christian life, with a perfectly clean, white record; all the blots having been wiped away by the all-powerful blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Don’t you want to do that? We urge you to do so, while together we stand and sing.

PATRIARCHAL God’s law to the patriarchs and Gentiles. Red Sea MOSAIC God’s law to the Jews given through Moses {Cross} CHRISTIAN God’s law to the world given through Christ

IX THE SABBATH

Negative sermons are sometimes necessary. It is the duty of gospel preachers not only to proclaim the truth but also to condemn error and convict the gainsayers (Titus 1:9). Wherever false teaching raises its ugly head, we must strike it down with the sword of the Spirit. Wherever it lurks in secret hiding places to destroy unwary souls, we must search for it and expose it with the light of truth. We must warn people against it.

Much money and effort are spent to protect people from contagious diseases. In a public building of downtown Nashville yesterday I saw above a water fountain a sign which said, “Do not put your mouth on the faucet unless you wish to catch or spread disease.” Certainly we should labor diligently to prevent the spreading of _religious_ error. I wish I were able to place a skull and cross bones sign across every false doctrine.

I Purpose and Occasion

It is my purpose this morning to label and expose the false doctrine of the Seventh Day Adventists with respect to the sabbath. In view of the current meeting at the War Memorial Auditorium, this lesson is certainly timely. I’m taking no advantage of those whose teaching I examine, for my purpose has been duly advertised in the daily press, and they are invited to be here. The overflow crowd present this morning indicates a lively interest in this topic. I wish I had the opportunity to speak to all of those who have been listening to error in reference to the sabbath. I proceed with malice in my heart toward none.

The zeal and liberality of the Seventh Day Adventists are admirable. They are spending a lot of money to teach what they evidently believe to be the truth. The advertising for their current meeting is costing thousands of dollars. Their winning several converts to a doctrine that is not only false but also unpopular and inconvenient is evidence that advertising is effective. But their zeal is without knowledge and their converts have accepted error. The work they are doing at present constitutes a public challenge to all preachers of the gospel. That challenge shall not go unanswered. I make no personal criticism of their speaker but I condemn his teaching because it is false.

II Three Dispensations

The Bible reveals unto us three distinct dispensations or periods of time. On the board I have a little diagram to represent those three dispensations. (See p. 144.) The first lasted from Adam to Moses; the second continued from Moses until the death of Christ on the cross; the third began at the cross and will continue until our Lord comes again.

During the first period, the family was the unit of worship. In divers manners and various portions God communicated with the heads of the families, such as Adam, Noah, Abram, _et al_. These men were known as patriarchs (Heb. 7:4; Acts 2:29; 7:8, 9) and accordingly this period is known as the patriarchal dispensation. At Mt. Sinai God gave another law to the Jewish nation which continued in force until Christ died on the cross. This law was given through Moses and applied to the Jews only. Hence the second period is known as the Mosaic dispensation. Throughout this period the patriarchal regulations continued to apply to the Gentile families and nations but the Jews were governed by the law given at Sinai. There were two laws in force simultaneously but applying to different peoples. God never had two different laws applying to the same people at the same time.

During the third period, or Christian dispensation, we have, of course, the will or the law of Christ. In Hebrews 1:1-2 we read, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these days spoken unto us by his son.” That makes a distinct break at the cross. Before Christ came God spoke unto our fathers by the prophets in dreams, visions, etc., but unto us he hath spoken through his Son, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament we have the will of Christ which went into effect when he died on the cross (Heb. 9:15-17).

III The Adventist Claim

The advocates of the seventh day sabbath make a very broad claim. They claim that the command to remember the sabbath day and keep it holy (the fourth commandment of the Decalogue given at Sinai) has been binding on all people throughout all ages and will continue to be in force as long as time shall last. In other words, they claim that it has been binding throughout each of the dispensations already mentioned. With the diagram (p. 144) to keep these three periods before our minds, let us examine the claim in the light of the Bible.

IV No Sabbath for Man During First 2,500 Years

First of all, I emphatically deny that God commanded anyone to keep the sabbath before the children of Israel were led out of Egypt. According to the Seventh Day Adventists, the “fourth commandment” was in force at least 2,500 years before it was made known. This could not be. Moses wrote the book of Genesis. He probably wrote it after the law was given at Sinai. It covers almost the entire patriarchal period. _In this book the word “sabbath” is not found at all!_ Genesis 2:2 says that God rested on the seventh day, but it does not say that he told Adam and Eve to rest; neither does it call the seventh day the sabbath. “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Please note that that is _not a commandment_; it is a statement of facts. It is a statement of the fact that _God_ rested on the seventh day and a statement of the further fact that (at some later date) he sanctified and blessed the seventh day. There is no commandment in that Scripture.

Furthermore, the very tense of the verb used in verse 3 shows that he did not sanctify the day at the time he rested. Note this tense: “because in it he _had rested_.” It does not say “because he was resting” but “because he _had rested_” on that day. The very tense of the verb shows that after God himself had rested on the seventh day, _at some later time_, when he could refer to the fact that he had rested in the past tense, he sanctified that day. Genesis does not say _when_ he sanctified it. Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 reveal that he sanctified it as a day of rest for the Jews in the wilderness when he gave the law at Mt. Sinai, after he had led them out of Egypt. The seventh day was sanctified at the close of the patriarchal dispensation, _at least 2,500 years after the world began_.

The mentioning of the sanctification in Genesis 2:3 has been called a case of prolepsis, or joining together in statement two events that were separated in time. Other examples of prolepsis may be found in Genesis 3:20, 4:20, and Matthew 10:4. No one can show where God sanctified the seventh day, much less where he commanded anyone to keep it, until after the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt.

The seventh day of the week is first called the sabbath in Exodus 16, in connection with the giving of the manna to the Jews in the wilderness. In anticipation of the law soon to be given at Sinai, God instructed the people to gather two days’ supply on the sixth day and warned them not to expect any on the seventh day. The manner in which the sabbath is thus introduced shows that they were not accustomed to keeping it. In spite of these special instructions, some went out to gather manna on the seventh day and found none. This shows their lack of familiarity with the seventh day sabbath. The sabbath was a new institution soon to be established. Here it was first introduced. At Mt. Sinai a few days later it was made known. “Thou camest down also upon Mt. Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments; and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant ...” (Neh. 9:13, 14; see also Ex. 20:8-11, and Deut. 5:12-15). If they were already familiar with the sabbath, how could God have _made it known_ to them at Mt. Sinai?

Soon after the sabbath command was given at Sinai, a Jew went out and picked up sticks on the sabbath day (Num. 15:32-36). That this ceremonial institution was new is shown by the fact that Moses put that man in jail until he could inquire from God what should be done. Don’t you know that if God’s people had been keeping the sabbath 2,500 years, _they would have known_ what to do with a man who violated it? (Incidentally, God commanded that he be stoned to death. I have not heard of any modern Sabbatarians thus punishing the violation of their favorite law. If the seventh day sabbath were still in force, _the death penalty for violating it would also still be in force_.)

And so, my friends, I boldly declare that there is no verse of Scripture in the Bible which shows that any man ever kept the sabbath during the period from Adam to Moses. In the history that covers this period of approximately 2,500 years there is no commandment to keep the sabbath; there is no example of man’s resting on the seventh day; there is no promise of reward for his doing so; there is no threat of punishment for his failing to do so. Those who teach that the seventh day sabbath was in force during this period are urgently requested to cite the text that says so. Since they cannot do so, the first pillar in the foundation of the seventh day sabbath theory is completely destroyed. _It is simply nonexistent._

V Never Applied To the Gentiles

Coming now to the second part of the diagram (p. 144), I emphatically deny that there is any place in the Bible to show that God ever commanded the Gentile nations to keep the sabbath day, even during the Mosaic dispensation. Seventh Day Adventists are obligated to furnish the text which says that he did so, but they cannot furnish it. In fact, there are plenty of Scriptures to show that this ceremonial institution was not in force among the Gentiles.

Speaking of the sabbath, God said, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever ...” (Ex. 31:17). If the other nations had been observing the seventh day sabbath also, it could not have been a sign between God and the Jews. Down in the country where I was reared each farmer had a certain mark which he used to distinguish his livestock in the woods from that of others. For instance, one fellow split his hogs’ ears at two places. That was his mark, but if every other farmer used the same mark, it would cease to be a sign of the stock which belonged to that particular man. If every ranchman in the West used the same brand for his cattle, it would not be a sign of that which belonged to any one in particular. _Yet the sabbath was a sign between God and the children of Israel._ Therefore, it was peculiar to that law which applied to them, and was not a part of any other law given by Jehovah to any other people or at any other time.

The sabbath was a memorial to an event peculiar to the Jewish family. “And remember that thou wast 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). The Gentiles were never delivered from Egyptian bondage and, therefore, could not observe the sabbath in memory of any such event. This Scripture not only proves that the Gentiles were not commanded to observe the sabbath, but also that the Jews themselves did not keep it _until after_ they were delivered from Egypt. If a stranger desired to become identified with the Jewish nation and religion he was _permitted_ to do so by submitting to the Jewish law, including the sabbath regulation (Isa. 56:3-7). In this event he ceased to be a Gentile religiously, but became a Jew instead. If the sabbath had been a universal practice, it would not have been necessary for a proselyte to _begin_ observing it when he submitted to the Jewish religion. What has been said proves conclusively that the sabbath was purely a _Jewish_ institution. I most urgently request that those who advocate the observance of the Jewish sabbath show us at least one verse of Scripture in which God ever commanded the Gentiles to do so. This they _cannot_ do. Hence, the second pillar essential to the support of their theory is completely lacking.

VI Sabbath Commandments Not in The Law of Christ

Coming now to the last section in the diagram (on page 144), I emphatically deny that there is any verse of Scripture which states that God ever commanded _anybody_ to keep the sabbath day since Jesus died on the cross. No one can find such a text in the Bible. I’m not unaware of some attempts made along that line by Seventh Day Sabbatarians. For instance, they refer to Matthew 24:20, where Jesus told his disciples to pray that, when the city of Jerusalem was destroyed (in A.D. 70), they might not have to make their flight on the sabbath day. But the very same verse tells them to pray likewise that their flight be not in the winter. He told them to pray that their flight be not in the winter because it would be difficult to travel and find comfortable shelter at that season. In like manner, they were told to pray that their flight be not on the sabbath day because the unconverted Jews would still be observing the sabbath and in harmony with the commandment given by Nehemiah (ch. 13, vss. 15-17) would keep the gates of the city closed throughout the sabbath day. Under such conditions it would have been almost impossible for the Christians to have fled from the city on the sabbath day. It was for that reason that they were told to pray that their flight be not on the sabbath. Such instructions on the part of Jesus did not imply that the Christians would be expected to _rest_ on the seventh day.

Naturally you can find examples of unconverted Jews keeping the sabbath day after Jesus died on the cross. Paul went to their synagogues and preached to them on Saturday, telling them that they were no longer obligated to keep the law of Moses. We have a parallel case in Nashville today. The Seventh Day Adventists have advertised a religious meeting at the War Memorial Auditorium tonight. That does not mean that they recognize Sunday as the sabbath day, for they do not. The apostle Paul went to the synagogue where the people were on Saturday to preach to them. That does not mean that he recognized Saturday as the sabbath day, for he did not.

The sabbath is mentioned sixty times in the New Testament. Forty-three of these cases are in connection with the life of Jesus Christ. According to the flesh, Christ was a Jew. He was born under the law, “to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5). Before taking the law out of the way (Col. 2:14), he _fulfilled_ it by _obeying_ it perfectly (Matt. 5:17, 18). Naturally, he kept the sabbath, just as he kept the passover and all the other ceremonies of the law of Moses. All of this occurred before Christ died and, therefore, before his will, under which we are now living, went into effect (Heb. 9:15, 17).

In Bible history following the death of Christ, the sabbath is mentioned seventeen times. In sixteen of these cases it refers to the worship of the unconverted Jews. In the other case, the only one found in the Epistles, it is used to state that _Christians are not expected to observe it_. “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 ...” (Col. 2:16). Friends, all of this simply confirms and emphasizes the conclusion that there is absolutely not one word of Scripture to show that God ever commanded any Christian to regard the seventh day of the week as a sabbath day.

VII The Christian’s Day of Worship

Christians are taught to worship on the first day of the week. “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gathering when I come” (1 Cor. 16:1, 2). The last phrase in this quotation shows that Paul did not refer to merely laying aside some money at home but rather to putting money into a common treasury. This definitely implies that the church was accustomed to meeting on the first day of the week. The purpose of this weekly assembling was to eat the Lord’s supper. They were rebuked for allowing something to interfere with this holy purpose (1 Cor. 11:20-26).