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History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week - John N. Andrews

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<strong>the</strong> law <strong>of</strong> God in <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong> each believer, <strong>and</strong><br />

that <strong>the</strong> original <strong>of</strong> that law is preserved in <strong>the</strong><br />

temple in Heaven. That all mankind are amenable<br />

to <strong>the</strong> law <strong>of</strong> God, <strong>and</strong> that <strong>the</strong>y ever have been, is<br />

clearly shown by Paul's epistle to <strong>the</strong> Romans. In<br />

<strong>the</strong> first chapter, he traces <strong>the</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> idolatry to<br />

<strong>the</strong> willful apostasy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Gentiles, which took<br />

place soon after <strong>the</strong> flood. In <strong>the</strong> second chapter, he<br />

shows that although God gave <strong>the</strong>m up to <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />

ways, <strong>and</strong> as a consequence left <strong>the</strong>m without his<br />

written law, yet <strong>the</strong>y were not left in utter darkness;<br />

for <strong>the</strong>y had by nature <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> law written<br />

in <strong>the</strong>ir hearts; <strong>and</strong> dim as was this light, <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

salvation would be secured by living up to it, or<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir ruin accomplished by sinning against it. In <strong>the</strong><br />

third chapter, he shows what advantage <strong>the</strong> family<br />

<strong>of</strong> Abraham had in being taken as <strong>the</strong> heritage <strong>of</strong><br />

God, while all o<strong>the</strong>r nations were left to <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />

ways. It was that <strong>the</strong> oracles <strong>of</strong> God, <strong>the</strong> written<br />

law, was given <strong>the</strong>m in addition to that work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

law written in <strong>the</strong> heart, which <strong>the</strong>y had by nature<br />

in common with <strong>the</strong> Gentiles. He <strong>the</strong>n shows that<br />

<strong>the</strong>y were no better than <strong>the</strong> Gentiles, because that<br />

both classes were transgressors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> law. This he<br />

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