November Quote of the Month

"We must avoid a rigid sabbatarianism as well as irresponsible antinomianism."
-Elder Milburn Cockrell, The Ten Commandments

First of all, let me say this: If you have do not know who Milburn Cockrell was, then you need to find out! Like any other preacher we could write about, I do not agree with everything he believed, nor do I agree with everything he did. Like anyone else, Brother Cockrell was a man and as a man he was not perfect. That being said, I can say without a doubt that I have benefited greatly from his writings. From the time I was called to preach over 10 years ago, I received the Berea Baptist Banner. And through the years I have collected a number of his books. He passed away in 2002, but many of his writings are still in print and can be ordered through there Berea Baptist Church. If you do not have any of his books, you need to get them. Buy as many of them as you can afford! You will not be dissapointed. On the website, you can also read back issues of the paper.

Back to the quote at hand: "We must avoid a rigid sabbatarianism as well as irresponsible antinomianism." As I re-read his book on the Ten Commandments this month, I was impressed by that sentence. As with most any teaching from the Bible, mankind has perverted the fourth commandment by taking it to extremes never taught anywhere in the Bible.

The one extreme is what the author called "rigid sabbatarianism," which as I understand it would mean the type of sabbath that the Pharisees wanted. The way they kept it was a burden to the people. For example, when our Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples were hungry on the sabbath and they plucked some corn to eat, the Pharisees said that was unlawful to do that on that day (see Matthew 12:1-8). Another time, He healed on the sabbath. Again, the Pharisees said that was wrong (see Mark 3:1-6). Christ corrected their errors by His example. He broke no law of God ever.

The other extreme is what Brother Cockrell called "irresponsible antinomianism." Antinomianism is the idea that God's people are no longer responsible to keep God's laws as they have been revealed to us in the Bible. This is a horrible error. Christ Himself made sure that nobody would think that He came to destroy the law and He even proclaimed its perpetuity until heaven and earth pass (see Matthew 5:17-18).

We need to stay away from both of these errors listed in the above quote! Instead, let us follow God's Word!