Page images
PDF
EPUB

Those who are now engaged in uniting church and state, are stiving to establish a power by no means dissimilar to that which drove the pilgrims from their native shores and fire-sides, to seek an asylum among the savage tribes and uncltivated hills of America. They openly avow this to be their object, in their public discourses and in their printed heralds. They come out boldly and exhort you to the work! They have even ventured to reproach our venerated Washington, all those renowned fathers of our country who have presided at the head of our national council, as being unfit for the station they occupied, because they did not subscribe to rules which a religious sect has drawn.

Shall we justify such aspersions against the worthies of our nation, whose names are immortal as long as our country's glory remains?—or shall we regard them as the venom which flows from the heart of ecclesiastical tyranny, and treat them with merited disapprobation?

It is a well known fact that eeclesiastical powers have been the most oppressive; that religious professors have carried on the most bloody persecutions; and that in their hands, the assassin's knife has been too often found, dripping with the blood of martyred thousands. With such deeds the history of the church is shockingly disgraced.

In this, yet favored country, let us carefully watch the first movings of such an oppressive, persecuting, and destroying spirit; and by a strong ground of liberal principles keep it caged in the poisonous dens which gave it birth.

[ocr errors]

Is there a law in our country against robbery, then defend that law. Defend us from robbery at the altar of God, as well as in the highway. Robbers and assassins sometimes rise upon us when and where they are least expected; and they may seek concealment behind the altar of God. It is no more than prudence for us to be cautious to whom our altars of worship afford a covering.

We are confident that the common people will not knowingly aid in the work of illiberality and persecution. They will not deprive others of any civil or religious privilege which they wish to enjoy themselves. As christians, they will do unto others as they would that others should do unto them, which is the golden rule.

We would most affectionately exhort our friends, to whom this is addressed, to carefully watch the managements of their leaders, to guard against their tyranizing plottings, that they be not found partakers in the sins of others."

"It seems to me an unquestionable fact, that the doctrine of endless misery, or a belief of it, has an unfavorable and pernicious influence on

society. No man, we think, can understandingly believe that doctrine, without believing, at the same time, that God is an arbitrary, vindictive, unmerciful Being; and it is a fact, universally admitted, that "every man will dwell in the name of the Lord his God;" or, in other words will endeavor to imitate him, in his character and conduct, as nearly as possible. Let it then become established in his mind, that God will punish his enemies, without regard to the principle and dictates of mercy, and he will be satisfied with nothing short of punishing his, to the utmost extent of his power. And why should he? Is it not his indispensible duty to imitate God, in all his perfections and conduct? Is it not a solemn injunction of our Saviour, "Be ye therefore, perfect, even your Father in heaven is perfect?" It certainly is. And hence, by endeavoring to imitate what they believed to be the character and conduct of God, have arisen all the horrid persecutions, all the destructive and desolating feuds which blacken the pages of ecclesiastical history, and cast a doleful mist over the pure doctrines of Christianity.

as

How different from this,-indeed, how opposite to it, is the doctrine which our blessed Lord and Saviour inculcated? It was the object of his mission to proclaim "glad tidings of great joy" to all people, to preach the "acceptable year of the Lord" and to teach mankind the way of righteousness. It formed no part of his ministerial labors to represent his heavenly Father in a false and unattractive light, or to fill the minds of those that heard him with fear and trembling, respecting their final destiny. Nor did he aim at intimidating the vilest transgressor, by describing imaginary tortures in the invisible world, or the wrath and vengeance of an unreconciled God. Far from this. He came for another purpose. It was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father,-whose will it was, and is, "that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." The greatest and most obdurate sinner is not beyond the reach of mercy, and past recovery. He can as easily forgive the one that owes him five hundred pence, as the one that owes him fifty; nor does he fear to do it, for he pefeetly well knows, that he, to whom much is forgiven, will love much, and he, to whom little is forgiven, will love little.

It has been said, in times past, that it is indispensibly necessay, in order to lay on man a proper restraint whereby to effect his reformation, to represent the Deity as an unforgiving, inexorably just Being. It has been said, that "a God all mercy, is a God unjust." Eloquence and systematic discourses have been addressed to the passions and senses of men, for the purpose of exciting in them some fearful apprehension, some certain conviction, that God is their enemy. And when these discourses have had their desired effect, that is, when those that have listened to them, have been driven to the very verge of despair,they have been considered as exhibiting some infallible marks of a genuine repentance; some evident signs that they were hopefully converted. But is this as it should be? Is this consistent with the manner of converting the sinner, in the days of our Saviour? Was the sinner told, by the great author and propagator of christianity, that he must despair of obtaining mercy, and divine forgiveness, before he was in a hopeful way of conversion? No, nothing like this can be found. And we cannot find, moreover,what we might have expected to find if the common opinions of modern times were correct, that it is dangerous to preach the love of God to inners; to those who are yet unregenerated and unreconciled to God. On the contrary, we find it to be the very means which were adopted to accomplish the object of our Savior's mission.

It is what has very much surprised us, that it should ever have been thought and maintained, that it is dangerous to preach the unlimited

goodness of God to the sinner. A moment's attention will show us how unfounded in reason it is. Suppose, reader, you had an earthly friend, who is particularly anxious for your welfare, and who embraces every opportunity to do you all the good in his power,-what would you think, should any one attempt to persuade you, that a knowledge of your friend's disposition and good wishes, would tend to alienate your affec tions from him? Would you not think, and think rightly too, that he knows but little of human nature, and the tendency of human actions? Does not every days experience and observation teach us that we love, and cannot but love, those, whom we believe to be our friends, and interested in our welfare. How certain it is, then, that if the Deity were represented as our friend and delighting to do us good, we should cease to be opposed to him, and to his moral government! His friendship for us, so far from estranging our affections from him, would beget in us a similar disposition, and we should endeavor, on all occasions, to do that which is well pleasing in his sight. We certainly speak, when we say this, what every candid, intelligent man, will readily admit as truth.

"There is no possibility of being likeminded with Christ, in any thing that he taught, or having the truth of one Christian virtue, but by the nature and Spirit of Christ, become essentially living in us. Read all our Saviour's divine sermon on the mount, consent to the goodness of every part of it, yet the time of practising it will never come, till you have a new nature from Christ, and are as vitally in him, and he in you, as the vine in the branch, and the branch in the vine. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, is a divine truth, but will do us no divine good, unless we receive it, as saying neither more nor less than, Blessed are they that are born again of the Spirit, for they alone can see God. For no blessedness, either of truth or life, can be found either in men or angels, but where the Spirit and life of God is essentially born within them, And all men or churches, not placing all in the life, light, and guidance of the holy Spirit of Christ, but pretending to act in the name, and for the glory of God, from opinions which their logic and learning have collected from scripture words, or from what a Calvin, an Arminius, a Socinus, or some smaller name, has told them to be right or wrong; all such are but where the Apostles were, when by the way there was a strife amongst them, who should be the greatest. And how much soever they may say, and boast of their great zeal for truth, and the only glory of God, yet their own open, notorious behaviour towards one another, is proof enough, that the greatest strife amongst them is, which shall be the greatest sect, or have the largest number of followers. A strife from the same root, and just as useful to christianity, as that of the Apostles, who should be greatest. For not numbers of men, or of kingdoms professing christianity, but numbers redeemed from the death of Adam to the life of Christ, are the glory of the christian church."

PART I,

True and False Teachers.

[ocr errors]

CHAPTER I.

By their fruits ye shall know them."

THESE words were spoken by the Son of God in that excellent and comprehensive sermon recorded by Matthew. Jesus had been warning his disciples to beware of false prophets, or false teachers of his doctrine and holy religion, and gave this as a test by which they should be known-Ye shall know them by their fruits"-by their conduct and conversation; by an observance of his laws. The Saviour then asked, "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them." This test and unerring rule, will assist us in the examination of systems of divinity, as well as the deportment and conduct of their respective advocates. If their doctrine is false we shall find nothing but thorns and thistles-mystery, perplexity and darkness. It surely then becomes every man and every woman to know for certainty whether their opinions are grounded in reality on divine. truth. Because men think they are correct in their sentiments it by no means follows that they are so. Perhaps there is no subject on which men pay so little attention as the doctrines of the Son of God. Is it an uncommon thing to see and hear people at the present day when a religious doctrine or error is opposed, come forward with these words"Judge not that ye be not judged"-as though Christ meant to forbid investigation and enquiry by this text. Such individuals forget the example of Jesus and the Apostles; they

were constantly reproving and correcting the errors of the people. We find the Saviour addressing men in the most severe and direct manner, calling them hypocrites, serpents, and deceivers; and the Apostles done the same; and we need such preachers. Human nature has not changed; men are as fond of error now as they were in the days when Messiah was on earth. Shall we therefore refuse all inquiry, disputation and controversy, because men are now divided into sects -and all claim to be right? This would be virtually saying there is no difference between truth and error.

It is an undeniable fact that too many men of sound minds, good taste, and correct morals, refuse to examine the Gospel for themselves, as though none but ministers were capable ⚫of understanding its wholesome and saving truth. This is a common and astonishing error. Men do not act thus on other subjects. Because some are thus willing to leave all their duties to their ministers, they seem to have no minds of their own, but are in search of something imaginary. This indifference among men to search after the truth, has led some ministers to enter the pulpit, and with all due sanctity and arrogance, pronounce their hearers to be totally depraved!

There are others who are some what zealous in spreading their sentiments, and do not scruple about publishing and sending their opinions in the form of tracts, among their neighbors, who are obliged to be thus continually insulted and imposed upon. If any object against this measure and refuse to accept these tracts, the poisoned tongue of slander is immediately set on foot and the individual is regarded and spoken of as a reviler of God's word and exposed to eternal damnation. These men, who are thus obtruding themselves upon the good sense and forbearance of their neighbors, will not accept or read any thing which may be offered to them in return for their kindness; more especially if the offering is in any manner opposed to their orthodox tricks and deception. These people really seem to think they are doing God's service-and will not be persuaded to the contrary. They are deluded and led on by others who remain in the back ground to watch the movements and success of their runners. Other cases of the gross impositions of Orthodoxy will be offered in their proper place. In writing and selecting the contents of this volume I have made it my aim to present to the public the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; of which, however, I leave the world to decide. I am not carrying on a controversy with an individual-but opposing the iron yoke of Orthodoxy and its kindred allies. I am opposing spiritual tyrranny and wickedness in high places. If any

« PreviousContinue »