Antinomianism and Anti-Sabbathism Unscriptural.
Before we inquire how Sunday was introduced, it will be well to consider the unscriptural and destructive nature of the theories by which the Decalogue and the Sabbath were dethroned, through false teachings.
Christ is the central figure in both dispensations. If new expressions of the Father’s will are to be made in connection with the work of Christ on earth, they must be made by the “Immanuel,” who is thus “reconciling the world unto himself.” Did Christ teach the abrogation of the Decalogue, of which the Sabbath law is a part? Let His own words answer:
“Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”[154]
When Christ speaks of the law (τὸν νόμον) in these emphatic words, He cannot mean the ceremonial code, for these ceremonies were typical of Him and must pass away with His death. Besides this, the word fulfil (πληρῶσαι) means the opposite of destruction (καταλῦσαι). Christ fulfilled the law by perfect obedience to it. He corrected false interpretations, and intensified its claims. He taught obedience to it in the spirit as well as the letter, and urged obedience from love rather than fear. Such a work could not have been done in connection with the dying ceremonies of the Jewish system. Such a work Christ did do with reference to the Decalogue. In connection with the passage above quoted Christ immediately refers to two laws from the Decalogue, explains and enforces their meaning in a way far more broad and deep than those who listened to Him were wont to conceive of them.
On another occasion[155] a certain shrewd lawyer sought to entrap the Saviour by asking “which is the greatest commandment in the law.” The question has no meaning unless it be applied to the Decalogue. Christ’s answer includes all the commandments of the Decalogue, and thus avoids the trap designed by the questioner, who sought to lead Him into some distinction between laws known to be equal in their nature and extent.
In the sixteenth chapter of Luke,[156] Christ again affirms in the strongest language, that “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Language could not be plainer than that which is used in these statements.
These sentiments accord fully with the practice of Christ relative to the Sabbath. He boldly condemned the unjust requirements which the Jews had attached to the observance of it, and taught that works of mercy were to be freely done on that day; that it was made for man’s good, and not his injury. But He never taught that because it was “made for man” therefore it was to be abrogated, or unsanctified. Neither did He delegate to His disciples any power to teach the abrogation of the law, or of the Sabbath. On the contrary, their representative writings contain the same clear testimony in favor of the perpetuity of the law, and show the same practical observance of the Sabbath. Paul, the great reasoner among the Apostles, after an exhaustive discussion concerning the relations between the law and the Gospel, concludes the whole matter in these words: