The Signs of the Times, vol. 9

May 31, 1883

“How to Study the Bible” The Signs of the Times, 9, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

We have already spoken of the benefits to be derived from Bible study; that by it we not only gain a knowledge of our duty, but strengthen the intellect. We believe that this matter can scarcely be put in too strong a light. The Bible is not appreciated by any of us as it should be, and the reason why it is not is because it is not studied. It is a wonderful book. But a casual glance at the Bible, or the reading of one, two, or even five chapters a day, in a mechanical manner will not give us the insight into the Bible that we should have. It is not the quantity of ground that we cover in our reading, but the manner in which we do it, that makes us Bible students. Now the Bible itself tells us just how we should study it. In Deuteronomy 6:5-9 we have directions as to our duty in regard to the Bible. We will quote it in full:- SITI May 31, 1883, page 245.1

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might and these words which I commend thee this day, shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou and liest down, when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt break them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” SITI May 31, 1883, page 245.2

This is a complete model for Bible study. It was not intended to be local, for the Jews merely but is for all persons, in all time. Not that we are to wear phylacteries as the Jews did; this passage does not command that. The first part explains the last. The word of God is to be studied and meditated upon so much that it will have a controlling influence over every act that our hands perform. We should work so that all that we do will bear the impress of the word. Thus it will be for a sign upon our hands. In like manner the forehead stand for the mind, which is to be stored with the truths of God’s word. They are ever to be before our eyes. But we wish to call a special attention to the 6th and 7th verses. We are commanded to talk of the word when we sit in the house, and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down, and when we rise up. Now how can this be done? Must we carry a Bible with us continually? That would be very inconvenient, and almost impossible. We could not use it while we were at work, nor in the night. The previous expression explains the whole thing: “And the words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.” That is the secret of Bible knowledge. The Bible must be read so carefully that the words will be indelibly fixed in our mind. Then we can meditated upon them wherever we are, or whatever we are doing. SITI May 31, 1883, page 245.3

It used to be the custom to learn portions of the Bible “by heart,” as it was called. Unfortunately it is one of the good practices that is going out of date. People are afraid of being formal. They are so afraid of having a mere intellectual knowledge of the Bible, that they run the risk of having no knowledge at all. We may make the study of the Scriptures a mechanical act, whatever way we study them, but committing portions of it to memory is no more liable to be a mechanical art than simply reading it. SITI May 31, 1883, page 245.4

And even if we do not sit down with the express purpose of learning a certain portion, if we read the Bible as much as we ought, and give earnest, prayerful heed to that which we read, it will become fixed in our minds almost unconsciously. And who can estimate the good that would result from such a course? The Bible becomes our constant companion. We can meditate upon the word wherever we are. And by thinking upon it, and having our minds filled with it, evil thoughts will be crowded out. It is like being in the company of pure and good men. Such company molds us; we become like the company that we keep. If we have the Bible for our constant companion, as we may have, our characters will be molded by it. The Spirit of the Lord can then the more easily make impressions on our hearts, for it works through the word. And we cannot be influenced by the Bible unless we do make it our own, and become permeated by it. Nothing will atone for neglect of God’s word. Shall we not, then, search the Scriptures, instead of hastily running through them? E. J. W. SITI May 31, 1883, page 245.5

“When Did They Worship” The Signs of the Times, 9, 21.

E. J. Waggoner

Much stress is laid by the advocates of Sunday observance, upon the statement made by some modern historians that the early Christians met for worship on the first day of the week. This argument is their stronghold; in fact, it is the only hold they have, for, as many of them will admit, the Bible does not command or authorize the observance of that day. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.1

Now we do not regard it as the slightest consequence, as far as our duty is concerned, whether some of the early Christians met on Sunday or on Monday, or whether they refrained from meeting at all. We do not remember that the Bible sets up any men or set of men as patterns for the rest of mankind. In short, we depend for the knowledge of our duty upon what the Bible says, and not upon what some one did. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” says the prophet; and another inspired writer says that “there is none that doeth good; no, not one;” but we know that “the words of the Lord are pure words,” and that man is to live by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” There is no man who is not liable to err; the Bible alone is infallible. In regard to the Scriptures, we hold to the faith of the primitive Methodists, and the published beliefs of the later Methodists, that “whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.” This is why we do not keep Sunday on the authority of tradition. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.2

But this does not answer the question at the head of this article. If, therefore, we were asked to give a definite answer to the question, “Upon what day did the earliest Christians meet to worship?” We would say without hesitation that the Bible Christians worshiped, and kept holy, the seventh day of the week, commonly known as Saturday-the day which the Jews have observed since they existed as a nation. That there were some who did not keep the Bible Sabbath but yielded to the custom of the heathen around them, and partially observed Sunday, we have not the slightest doubt. There are always those who want to have religion popular; those who are glad to make themselves believe that what the majority does is right. It was in this way that Sunday observance was instituted; it is largely in this way that it is maintained. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.3

We say that it would make no difference as far as our duty is concerned, whether some of the early Christians met on Sunday or not. So long as the Bible says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work,” we are under obligation to keep the seventh day. The fact that others do wrong will not justify us in a wrong course. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.4

But we are far from believing that the apostles taught their converts, either Jewish or Gentile, to observe any other than the seventh day of the week. We derive this opinion from the Bible; but a little incidental testimony has lately come under our notice, that may be of interest to some. We were reading in Coneybeare and Howson’s “Life and Epistles of Paul,” the account of his labors at Corinth, as told in Acts 16:1-18. It will be remembered that when the Jews rejected Paul’s teaching, he left them, and went to the Gentiles. Being driven out of the synagogue, “he entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshiped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.” Of this act the book above mentioned says:- SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.5

“Whatever we may surmise concerning the motive of this choice, certain consequences must have followed from the contiguity of the church and the synagogue, and some incident resulting from it may have suggested the mention of the fact. The Jewish and Christian congregations would often meet face to face in the street, and all the success of the gospel would become more palpable and conspicuous.” SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.6

Mark well this sentence: “The Jewish and Christian congregations would often meet face to face in the street.” Did the Jews congregate for worship? On the seventh day, as did everybody. So well settled is this fact that the seventh day is very commonly spoken of as the “Jewish Sabbath,” or, to indicate the contempt felt for it, “The Old Jewish Sabbath.” Then on what day must the Corinthian Christians have met for worship, in order to meet Jewish congregations face to face in the street? On the seventh day, of course. Here we have the opinion of these historians, themselves first-day men, as to the day on which Christians were accustomed to worship. To be sure the testimony is incidental, but it is all the more forcible on that account. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.7

Our opponents usually say, when confronted with such texts as Acts 13:42, 44; 16:13; 17:2, and 18:4, that the apostles preached on the Sabbath in order that they might reach the Jews, who assembled on that day. But in this case Paul had ceased to labor for the Jews, and was preaching only to the Gentiles, in the house of a Gentile. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.8

“But,” some one will now say, “this testimony that you have quoted is not Bible; it is only the opinion of fallible men.” And is it the case, then, that testimony of men is good when it favors Sunday observance, and worthless when it is unfavorable to that custom? When men come to such a conclusion, testimony or argument is useless. We admit that the paragraph which we quote is only the opinion of a man, but it is the testimony of a man who is not a believer in the seventh-day Sabbath, and as such is entitled to far more credence than are the mere opinions of first-day men in favor of Sunday observance. SITI May 31, 1883, page 247.9

In conclusion we will briefly state a point from the Bible, which will prove that this opinion is correct; that Paul did worship on the seventh-day Sabbath. Sometime after Paul’s labors in Corinth, he returned to Jerusalem, where he was seized by the Jews, and put on trial for his life. He was accused of sedition, and of seeking to overthrow the customs of the Jews. In his reply he expressly stated (Acts 24:14), that he believed “all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” Then certainly he believed that the seventh day is the Sabbath, for that is a very prominent part of the law and the prophets. And Paul was not a man to act contrary to his belief. In a later discourse he said: “I have committed nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers.” One custom of the “fathers” among the Jews, was to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Now when Paul says that he had done nothing contrary to those customs, who dare dispute his word, and say that he violated the Sabbath? We never lay any stress on “apostolic practice,” nevertheless we are content to follow their practice in regard to Sabbath observance. E. J. W. SITI May 31, 1883, page 248.1