ANSWER TO EXCUSES FOR NOT KEEPING THE SEVENTH DAY by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jun 27, 1878

ANSWER TO EXCUSES FOR NOT KEEPING THE SEVENTH DAY.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

TEXT: “And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” Luke 14:18-20.

Even the Saviour himself, when he presented to men the claims of God found them ever ready to evade obeying by raising various excuses. So common was this that he illustrated it in the parable from which I have quoted. He says, “They all with one consent began to make excuse.” He found but few who would cheerfully and readily do their duty. One made excuse that his farm must be attended to. He thought this was a sufficient excuse for not obeying. Another was compelled to attend to his oxen. He claimed that this was enough to excuse him. The wife of another stood in his way. He thought that was a sufficient excuse for him. So each studied his own convenience, persuading himself that it would be all right with the Lord, as he, of course, knew their hearts. But the Lord thought differently. He was angry with them and said, “None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Verse 24. These men were self-deceived. Their excuses were not accepted. God commanded them to do thus and so. Their convenience in the matter did not change his requirements. Their various excuses were of no weight with the Lord.

Thus it has always been. The requirements of God are generally in conflict with the selfish interests and worldly policy of men. Hence men are ever ready with excuses for not obeying God. And they vainly imagine that the Lord will really excuse them from obedience, in order to accommodate their worldly interest. But it is a vain hope, a deception of the devil. The whole tenor of the Bible abundantly sustains us in this statement. We must obey God at all hazards and at every sacrifice. Thus Jesus says: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33.

So now when the claims of God’s holy Sabbath, the seventh day, are presented, when the Scripture argument is so clear that men are compelled to admit it, and confess that there is no doubt about it, then, instead of promptly obeying it as God requires, they all begin with one consent to make excuse. They really seem to flatter themselves that these excuses will have weight with the Lord, and that they can live in disobedience, and still have his blessing, simply because it is not convenient to keep it. But this is a vain delusion, as we shall presently show. Let us notice some of these excuses.

First Excuse—God has blessed us in keeping Sunday. The argument is that themselves and others have kept Sunday in the past, and God has blessed them; and hence it must be right, or at least they can continue to do so, and still be blessed of God. The answer to this is very easy. When a person does the best he knows how, then the Lord will accept and bless him, even though he should be in an error on some things. Surely the Lord will not hold a person responsible for what he does not know. But when the Lord sends us light, and shows us that we are wrong, then, if we still persist in doing as we have done before, he will condemn us as guilty.

The Bible is very plain on this point. Jesus says, “This is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19. Again he says, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.” John 15:22. If Jesus had not given them the light, they would not have been held responsible; but now they are without excuse. James says, “Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17. Again, Christ says, “And that servant which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” Luke 12:47. All these and many more scriptures plainly show that when additional light comes, it changes our obligation. Just so upon the Sabbath question. When we did not know that we were breaking the Sabbath, but honestly supposed Sunday to be the Sabbath, the Lord did not hold us guilty; but now he will, if we break it in the future.

Second Excuse—If the seventh day ought to be kept, why was it not found out before? With many this is supposed to be a sufficient reason for disregarding the Sabbath, even when they know that the Bible plainly enjoins it. But the answer is easy. God has a proper time for the development of every important truth. When that time comes, he will always cause light to shine upon that question. Then he holds men responsible to obey it. God’s work has ever been progressive, from the days of Adam down. The Lord gave the patriarchs some light, the prophets much more; and the apostles still more; and thus it has been increasing till the present time, as men have been able to receive it.

Thus Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” John 16:12. Why was not the full light of the gospel given to the world before it was? Hear Paul’s statement about it: “According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” Rom. 16:25, 26. The apostle here says the gospel to the Gentiles was kept secret since the world began to that time. Was that any reason why men should not obey it when it was made known? To the heathen Paul said, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30. These men queried why this gospel to the Gentiles had not been found out before, if it was true, and this was Paul’s reply.

And so with regard to the Sabbath. God’s time had not come for light upon this question. The same objection has always been raised against every reform God has ever sent to the world. Luther, the great reformer, met this objection on every hand. They said to him, “If this new doctrine which you are preaching is true, why was it not found out before?” What could the man of God say? What did he say? He knew that he had found it out now, and that was enough for him. He could not tell why it had not been found out before; and even to this day it remains a wonder why God suffered the world to continue in such unaccountable darkness so long. But God did not see fit to bring out the light of the Reformation till Luther’s day; yet it was no less the duty of men to receive it when it did come. The same question was asked Wesley in after years, when he began his reformation. His opponents said, “Mr. Wesley, if this thing is so, why didn’t Luther or Calvin or other reformers find it out?” What could he say? Nothing, only that the time had not come.

So with the Sabbath reform. It is so plain that a child can see it. But we believe that it was in the order of the Lord that this reform should be reserved for the last generation. Indeed, we find it plainly foretold in the Bible that light on the Sabbath question would not be given till the last days. In Dan. 7:25, it was plainly foretold that the Catholic church should think to change God’s Sabbath, and should enforce that change for 1260 years. See also Rev. 12:6, 14. Then the Lord has plainly foretold that just before the second advent, there should be great light upon the commandments. Rev. 14:12; 12:17.

Then the Sabbath is to be restored after it has been trodden down for many generations. Isa. 58:12, 13. Of course, then, but little light would be given upon this question till the proper time had come. And so it has been. Within twenty-five years a flood of light has been thrown upon the Sabbath question. It has been brought prominently before the world. Everywhere it is being agitated. Hundreds of ministers are preaching it; papers, books, and millions of tracts, advocating it are being scattered far and wide among the nations, enlightening men upon these subjects. Many thousands from the different nations within these few years have commenced its observance. The wave of reform is growing, spreading wider, and going faster every year. The Lord’s hand is in it. His time has come.

Third Excuse—If it is true, why don’t our wise, learned, and great men see it? Upon this flimsy excuse, thousands are breaking the commandments of God, and risking their own salvation. It is the same old excuse that was used so effectually against Christ. “Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” John 7:45-48. Ah! here was the question: “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?” No matter how wisely he speaks, no matter if he does open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, make the lame to walk, and raise the dead, no matter how powerful his arguments are, nor how plain the truth which he preaches, all this goes for nothing. “Have our rulers and pharisees, our lawyers and doctors, our high priests and Gamaliels, our elders and wise men,—have these believed him? If not, that is enough for us. It cannot be of God. Away with him.” With these excuses upon their lips, they were left to kill God’s own Son. It was a vain excuse then, and it is no better now. Jesus himself said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.” Matt. 11:25, 26.

Yes, in the wisdom of God these learned and great men were all passed by, and very plain, unlearned men were chosen as God’s agents through whom to give the light. And even Paul says, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” 1 Cor. 1:26, 27. Reader, has not this always been the case, with scarcely any exception? Every great reformation has started among the common people. These wise men and doctors of divinity are generally too conceited and high minded to receive God’s humble truth.

It is painfully amusing to see how the same objection has always been brought against the work of God in every age. The Roman Pagan Emperor Diocletian, in a law against Christians A. D. 296, said:—

“The immortal Gods have by their providence, ordained and established that which is true and good. Many wise and good men are united in the opinion that this must be maintained without alteration. These we dare not oppose, and no new religion ought to venture to blame the old; for it is an enormous crime to pull down that which our forefathers established, and which was dominion in the State.”—Rose’s Neander, Vol. I., p. 84.

The famous Roman Catholic, Dr. Eck, spoke against Luther as follows:—

“I am surprised at the humility and modesty with which the reverend doctor undertakes to oppose, alone, so many illustrious fathers, and pretends to know more than the sovereign pontiff, the councils, the doctors, and the universities! It would be surprising, no doubt, if God had hidden the truth from so many saints and martyrs until the advent of the reverend father!”—De Aubigne’s Hist. Ref., Vol. II., p. 59.

Dr. A. Clarke says:—

“The antiquity of an opinion, if that be not founded on a revelation from God, is no evidence of its truth; for there are many ungodly opinions which are more than a thousand years old. And as to great men and great names, we find them enrolled and arranged on each side of all controversies.”—Introduction to Solomon’s Songs.

So we see that this is no new objection. God’s servants have always had it to meet in every reformation the Lord has given the world. God uses men who are humble enough to obey unpopular truth when they see it.

Fourth Excuse—We must be subject to the laws of the land, the powers that be. It is strange how very loyal and law abiding some men suddenly become when it is for their convenience! God’s law says, Thou shalt keep the seventh day. The law of the land says, Thou shalt keep the first day. Here is a good excuse. Paul says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.” Rom. 13:1. That is just the thing to do. “We will obey the law of the land, and that will excuse us from obeying God.” How deceitful the human heart is! Have you never read this scripture: “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye”? and this: “We ought to obey God rather than man”? Acts 4:19; 5:29. But how are these scriptures to be reconciled? Just this way: The law of God must be obeyed at all events. Then, if the law of the land is in opposition to the law of God, obey God anyway, and take the consequences. Submit to the penalty of the law of the land without resistance. Do just as the apostles did. They obeyed God, and took a whipping, went to jail, and lost their lives. They did not resist the powers that were, neither did they disobey God.

So we should do in this case. God requires us to keep the seventh day, and this we can do, and there is no law of the land forbidding it. Then if the law of the land compels us to rest the first day, we can do that too, or pay the penalty which it imposes for Sunday labor. So there is no difficulty here. But, fortunately for Sabbath-keepers, in this country the laws in nearly every State are very favorable to us. They provide that we shall be allowed to work on Sunday if we observe the

seventh day. And, in fact, even in those States where there is no such provision, the Sunday law is a dead letter. Our brethren everywhere work right along on Sunday the same as other days, and the law of the land doesn’t interfere with them, so there is no difficulty in this respect.

Fifth Excuse—If we keep the Sabbath, it will greatly interfere with our business, so that we shall not be able to make a living. Really, this is the most prominent of all the excuses, the one that weighs the most with the people. It is a fact that in most all business the seventh day is the busiest day of the week, hence it does interfere more or less with business to keep that day. But if that is really the Sabbath day, is this a sufficient excuse for not observing it? Certainly it is not if the Bible is to decide the question. The Lord everywhere positively says that our first duty is to obey him, whether it be convenient or not, whether it interferes with our worldly affairs or not. It teaches most expressly that a man must obey God, even if it requires a sacrifice of business, the comforts of life, and even life itself. Let us read upon this point:—

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt. 16:26.

“Therefore take no thought, 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 the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:31-33. Reader, can you trust these promises from the Lord, that if you will first obey him all necessary things shall be added unto you?

Once more: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Matt. 19:29. What a blessed promise! God is able to fulfill it. Jesus says, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26, 27, 33. This language is very plain. Nothing must stand between us and the requirements of the Lord.

Think for a moment of what the ancient worthies suffered for their faith in God. The Lord required it of them, they were greatly blessed in doing it. “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Heb. 11:36-38. What suffering these men endured for the Lord’s sake! They were whipped, and stoned; they were driven out of society, afflicted; they had to wear the skins of animals for clothing. The observance of the Sabbath will bring no such affliction as this upon any one. Can we excuse ourselves, then, because it is not just convenient?

But after all, is it so difficult a matter to observe the Sabbath? No, indeed! The experience of the last twenty-five years has shown that men can observe the Sabbath with but very little sacrifice if they try. There are twenty thousand Seventh-day Adventists, scattered in every part of the world. They come from all classes, and from every occupation in life. After trying it, we all find that it is not nearly as difficult as it appeared to be. Indeed, Sabbath-keepers prosper just as well financially as other people. They neither starve, nor suffer materially in their business. If they lose one place, they soon obtain another. The blessing of God seems to be with them. All these imaginations which the devil raises in men’s minds, of poverty and starvation, never come to pass. In a few weeks time men in almost any business can adjust matters so as to go on with their work as well as before. They can hire plenty of men who will observe the Sabbath, and work on Sunday; or if they wish to work out, they soon find places to work on the first-day.

But, oh! how the devil will magnify the difficulties in a person’s way, when he is thinking of keeping the Sabbath! The little mole hill becomes a mountain. A slight difficulty becomes an impossibility. Loss of business and starvation loom up before him. All the promises and protection of the great God are forgotten. Bunyan beautifully illustrates this idea. Pilgrim saw ferocious lions before him, right in the path. He was terribly frightened. He thought they would certainly devour him. There was no way to go around them. But pressing on, when he came near to them, lo! they were both chained, and he went safely by them. Reader, so it will be in this case. Step right out, and obey God; and the difficulties will vanish. You can obey God, and live. Thousands do it, and you can. But even suppose you have to sacrifice largely in obeying God. Think what Jesus has suffered for you. Think what the kingdom of God is worth. Think of a place in the heavenly city. Think of immortal life. Think of the favor of God. Can not you afford to sacrifice something for these? D. M. CANRIGHT.