Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-04-25

cut OH. SO. this Is the way OF Young
Christ and his followers: they went to
start a new fashioned way of serving
the Lord. ISAAC.
THE LORDS DAY.
| Modern Judaizers. like their prede-
cessors of apostolic times, seem to find
their chief work, not in preaching the
glad tidings of salvation to the lost,
but in troubling churches, and insist
ing that we must keep the Jewish Sab
bath as the Christian Sunday.
/ The enemies of the Lords Day-day
of His Resurrection. the greatest day
in his whole life-tell US, that God
commands US to keep the seventh day
holy; that our Lord kept the seventh
day, and never annulled it; and, there
| fore, the seventh day must stand as
the Christian Sabbath. But that this
is grave error is clear for the follow
ing reasons:
First. The change from the Law to
the Gospel was gradual, and was the
result of experience and example as
we'll as of divine teaching. Had all
things continued under the new dis
pensation as they were under the old,
the Sabbath would of course have re-
manned the same. But Christ's COM
| ing drew line between the old and
the new. He was always adding to
| the teachings of Noses. Christianity,
while in one sense it grew out of Ju-
daism, yet in another and far broader
sense, was a new addition to the jew
ish faith.
John the Baptist kept the Jewish
Sabbath, because he belonged to the
old dispensation. He was the last of
the prophets who came in the spirit
and power of Elijah. But when John s
disciples followed Jesus, they had to
leave John. The Seventh Day Bap-
lists keep company with John; their
proper place is among the Jews; they
ought to go "horse, foot, and drag
cons" into the Jewish Church. For
those who would keep company with
Church and keep Christ's Day, the
Lord Day.
Secondly, the New Testament facts
show the gross error of the Seventh
Day Baptists.
Christ and His apostles strictly OBJ
served the law of Moses and the rites
of the Jewish Church up to the night
when He instituted the Lords Supper.
Then He commanded them to observe
this supper forever. He did not COM
mand them any more to eat the Pass
over. Here was the beginning of the
| new order OF things. If for years the
4 I, 4 a.
| Temple, or keep the Passover, they
did these things in addition to the SIM
pie customs of their Christian Faith,
and as IN no wise binding upon them,
or upon Gentle converts to Christian
| ity. In reality, the first council ever
convened in the Apostolic Church. and
held at Jerusalem, declared that jew
ish customs were no longer binding ON
Christians.
Facts are stubborn things. And the
New Testament facts and customs, the
example of our Lord Himself after His
Resurrection, and the uniform practice
of the Apostles ard of the early church.
show that the first day of the week,
the anniversary of Christ's Resurree-
ton, was the day of meeting and of
worship. As our Lord rose from the
dead on the first day of the week. His
disciples naturally worshiped Him on
that day; and the practice of Christian
worship on that day has continued I'M
broken to the present time.
The Resurrection is the foundation
of the Christian Faith. In its spiritual
significancs, it is infinitely of greater
1 -, Hn If fhfs
world or of all worlds. God can Gre
ate worlds with a word. He can new
er again raise Christ from the deao;-
Christ being raised from the dead
1ieth no more. And His undyiug life
is the life of all who believe IN Him.
The fact of the Resurrection creates a
new day of worship. To keep the sew
enth day is to commemorate a dead
past; to keep the first day is to cele-
brate an undying future.
Christ appeared to his disciples on
the day He rose,-the first day of the
week. just week later He came
again. Thus our Lord houored by His
special presence and blessing the first
day of the week. as the day of religion
and public worship, and so it will re-
main to the end of time.
The Holy Spirit-the Spiritual pres
ence of Christ to men-came on the!
first day of the week, -Pentecost.
Paul recognized the first day as the
day of public worship (Acts 20:7) by
administering the Lords Supper on
that day; and in q Cor. 1879 COM
mandlng collections for the poor to be
made upon that day. In the Book of
the Revelation. the inspired seer ex-
claims (Rev. 1:10). II was in the Spirit
on the Lords day.
Moreover. there are only two places
in the New Testament where the Jewish
Sabbath is spoken of in relation to the
Christian Church; in both of these
Paul speaks of it only to discourage its
observance. See Rom. 14:5 and Col.
2: Is.
When, therefore, the enemies of the
Christian Sunday ask by what authority
we observe the Lords day, we answer,
by the authority of our Lords Resur-
rection and example; by the authority
of the Holy Spirit and the day OF PEN
tecost; by the authority OF apostolic
Encouragement of the observance OF
the seventh day; and By the name that
was aiyinely given to the Christian
Sunday Lords day. /"