Counsels for the Church - Ellen G. White

if it is convenient for him to do so. The Lord of life and glory did not consult
His convenience or pleasure when He left His station of high command to
become a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, accepting ignominy and
death in order to deliver man from the consequence of his disobedience.
Jesus died, not to save man in his sins, but from his sins. Man is to leave the
error of his ways, to follow the example of Christ, to take up his cross and
follow Him, denying self, and obeying God at any cost.
Circumstances will not justify anyone in working upon the Sabbath for
the sake of worldly profit. If God excuses one man, He may excuse all. Why
may not Brother L, who is a poor man, work upon the Sabbath to earn means
for a livelihood when he might by so doing be better able to support his
family? Why may not other brethren, or all of us, keep the Sabbath only
when it is convenient to do so? The voice from Sinai makes answer: "Six
days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath
of the Lord thy God." Exodus 20:9, 10.
Your age does not excuse you from obeying the divine commands.
Abraham was sorely tested in his old age. The words of the Lord seemed
terrible and uncalled-for to the stricken old man, yet he never questioned
their justice or hesitated in his obedience. He might have pleaded that he was
old and feeble, and could not sacrifice the son who was the joy of his life. He
might have reminded the Lord that this command conflicted with the
promises that had been given in regard to this son. But the obedience of
Abraham was without a murmur or a reproach. His trust in God was implicit.
Ministers of Jesus should stand as reprovers to those who fail to
remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. They should kindly and solemnly
reprove those who engage in worldly conversation upon the Sabbath and at
the same time claim to be Sabbathkeepers. They should encourage devotion
to God upon His holy day.
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