The Sabbath Question.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 201, 29 August 1887, Page 2

The Sabbath Question.

(To, the Editor.)

Sir,—ln your issue of last Monday you published an extract from the " Oamaru Mail" of a sermon given by Mr Seth Smith on the interesting question whether Saturday or Sunday should be recognised as the Sabbath. With your permission I should like to make a few ren-yarks on Mr Setli Smith's views. There seems to be little difference of opinion respecting the Sabbath question from creation to the cross. All, or nearly all, 'are agreed that the seventh day of the weok was kept in obedience to the fourth commandment of tho decalogue. The whole difficulty lies right here: all the churches acknowledge and teach that the ten commandments are as binding as they ever' were, the fourth included; and in the face of this they work on the seventh day, which is expressly forbidden by the dectdogue, and rest on the first day, an act not enjoined by any commandment in the Bible. In the sermon alluded to above, Mr Seth Smith offers no proof for what he says on this point. He simply takes things for granted, and seems to suppose tho rest of us will do the same; but it is impossible for me to take for granted that which all the facts in the caso disprove. It is unreasonable to suppose that a command -which enjoined the observance of the seventh day for four thousand years can now, without the slightest change being mado in it, enjoin the observance of the first day of the week. By no principle of logic nor legal twisting can this be done. Now, what we all want in this Sabbath controversy is a little Bible authority for tho change. What if Christ did rise on tho first day? Who has said we should observe that day in memory thereof? Let Mr Seth Smith or anyone else answer. How does he know the Holy Spirit descended on the first day of the week ? Let us have the proof. Even if it did, is that any evidence we should keep'the day? Did the Holy Spirit never descend any other day ? _ If we wore to keep every day on which the Holy Spirit descended, should we not be obliged to keep all the days of the week ? Again, who told Mr Seth Smith that the apostles "could haidly have dreamt for a moment of keeping Sabbath on any other day than the first day of the week?" True, he says so ; but that does not make it so. I suppose all will admit that while all truth can be expressed by statements, yet all statements do not express truth. For me I should like very much to have someone give the Scriptures on which we can stand.—Yours truly, Charles Clayton.