Part 22

One of the most striking differences between the Mosaic and Christian institutions is, that the latter is a proselyting institution, while the former was not. Errorists among the Jews, contrary to the spirit of their institution, ran into great proselyting efforts; while errorists in the kingdom of Christ, contrary to the spirit of their institution, leave the spirit of proselyting. Those Jews who had such a desire for proselyting, should have been Christians, and the Christians who have no zeal for proselyting should have been Jews. It would have suited their capacity, views and feelings better, to have been born into a church as they were born into the world; and a sign in the flesh, such as circumcision, as a mark of distinction between them and the rest of mankind, put upon them when eight days old; and when the numbers of the church were replenished by natural generation and birth, and not in an institution where men can not enter except by being born again—where they are begotten, not of corruptible, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever—where men can not enter by natural generation, but must enter by _regeneration_ or not enter at all.

If men who have no zeal to proselyte, had been born in an institution where every child born of church members is also a church member, they would have suited well to them the lessons from the law of Moses on the Sabbath day, and perform the dull and spiritless ceremonies of the synagogue. No doubt they could have gone through the performances with as much formality and as little grace as a Jewish rabbi. Many of these, if they had the priestly robe, Aaron’s rod, the pot with manna, the shew bread, etc., would figure much more decorously back among the types and shadows, than they do here among the good things to come. They are better adapted for the letter than for the spirit, for they almost convert the house of God—the spiritual building, where the spirit of God dwells, and where we are required to worship in spirit and in truth—into the dry and irksome ceremonies of the Jewish synagogue.

OBSERVING THE SABBATH.

What is there in teaching that Christians must keep the seventh, or Sabbath day, to impart or perpetuate spiritual life? The very seed of ruin is in such teaching. There is no Christ in it. It did not originate with Christ, but is anti-christian. The Lord never taught his disciples to keep the seventh or Sabbath day, nor did his apostles ever teach this. The first Christians did not meet on the seventh day “to break bread,” but on the _first day_. When they met on the first day they did not observe it as the Sabbath. It was a different day from the Sabbath, took its rise from a different event, and had a different object and entirely different associations. The Sabbath originated in God’s _resting_ on the seventh day. It pointed to this rest and originated in it. It had no Christ in it, did not originate with Christ, nor point to him. It had nothing in it to bring him, or anything he ever did to view, and nothing can be done more directly calculated to draw the mind entirely off from Christ than to fill the mind of the christian with the Sabbath, and get the first day of the week and all its hallowed associations and memories out of his mind. The first day of the week derives its entire religious significance from the resurrection of our Lord, and the commemoration of the Savior’s sufferings keeps his death continually before us, pointing back to his death for our sins, and forward to his second coming.

Are Christians to be perverted and their minds and hearts carried away from the death of Jesus, his resurrection and his coming, and all the sublime associations and memories connected with the first day of the week; turned back and put to the meditations of a Jew, commemorating the rest of God on the seventh day, after he had completed the work of creation? Nothing can be more anti-christian than this. This is Judaism in the most deadly type. It is literally turning away from Christ to Judaism; from the day that brings the great event to view, that lies at the foundation of the faith and the entire kingdom of God; the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, and the death of Jesus for our sins. If purposely designed to lead us away from the Savior and ruin us, nothing could be more completely suited to the purpose than this Judaizing, Sadducean, no-spirit, no-angel and no-resurrection theory. The theory, on its face, carries its own condemnation; but, in the numerous cases of ruin wrought by it, we have the demonstration of its destructive character.

MARK THOSE WHO CAUSE DIVISIONS.

We have no confidence in men and theories that have no power except to scatter, tear down and destroy. The time has come when the brethren should put their mark upon all this description of men we care not what their idol may be, who are simply prating, whining, complaining, and murmuring among loving disciples gathered by the labors and sacrifices of other men, but who never built up a church, healed a difficulty, or promoted peace any place in their lives. Nothing is so ridiculous as for such men to go grumbling round the country, finding fault with everything, pulling down other men’s labor, and building up nothing, all the while prating about _progression_ and _reformation_. Tremendous progress, that miserable prating, whining, and grumbling that never builds up anything but always pulls down, catches the sheep and scatters them! Mighty _reformers_ they, who never reformed anybody since God made them, who never built up a church or gave any prosperity to the cause, any place, or did anything more than scatter and devastate! Atheism has done this much, and will do it again. If men have found any new light worth anything, and are themselves men of any force, improvement will appear; fruits will follow their labors. But nothing can be more manifest than that God did not send those men who only spread desolation, who only pull down, scatter, and kill, we care not what fine theories they propagate, nor how prettily they may talk. We want men who will preach the Lord Jesus Christ, who will regard him, adore him, and obey him, and not a set of self-willed men, who idolize their own notions, and are determined to have them and propagate them, if the Lord’s name is forgotten, and the fold scattered asunder. Mercy and peace upon the Israel of God. Mark them who cause divisions and contentions.

RELIGION AND POLITICS.

Are we, as disciples of Christ, citizens of a kingdom not of this world, a religious community, to be distracted, disconcerted, and thrown into confusion? or, are we drawn to a common center, by an attraction so heavenly, commanding, and binding, that no side-influence can divert us from our course? The Lord is about to test us, prove us, and show whether we are true, sincere, and men of integrity to the great principles which we profess, and have been inculcating, or will turn traitor to them, despise them, and trample them under our feet. We have been preaching union upon the Bible, and the Bible alone, to our neighbors; but, the time has come to test us practically, and compel us to apply our philosophy in an instance of the greatest moment, and best calculated, of all others, to show its power—its moral and spiritual efficacy among ourselves.

What course shall we take, then, during the coming campaign? Shall preachers of the gospel of Christ enter the pulpit, with exciting political news in their heads and hearts, and make Kansas-Nebraska, and anti-Kansas-Nebraska, Slavery and anti-Slavery speeches? Shall their themes be the Constitution, Liberty, Popular Sovereignty, North, South, Fillmore, Buchanan, Fremont, American, Democratic and Republican. Shall these be the themes that consecrate the house of God during the coming months, while thousands are perishing for the word of God, and dying in their sins? We say, and would if we had a voice louder than the seven thunders of the Apocalypse, and more immutable than the oath of the angel of God, standing with one foot upon the land, and the other upon the sea, say, _no_, by NO MEANS, for the following reasons:

_First._ Jesus and his apostles, in all their official acts, never attempted to correct the political institutions of the country, no matter how corrupt they were, but left them, and those who made them, to take care of their own responsibilities. We must follow their precedent, or we are not the disciples of Christ.

_Second._ Our Lord and his apostles, in all their official procedure, never made a decision, or gave even an opinion, upon the merits or demerits of any form of civil government, republican, monarchical, either limited or absolute. They left all these matters to take their course, and lifted their thoughts above them to a spiritual kingdom, that shall endure when time shall be no more. We must do as they did, or forfeit our claim to be one with them.

_Third._ The Lord and his apostles never made a decision, or gave an opinion, on any system of slavery, though slavery existed, in some form or other, in every country where they preached and wrote, in all their official career. We must humble ourselves to the same limits.

_Fourth._ We have the infallible directions of the Spirit of God, to believers, connected with slavery, both masters and servants, and these directions we must give, when we speak on the subject at all, or depart from the faith, because we are opposed to it. Every man who does not do this, manifestly repudiates the practice and teachings of the holy apostles.

_Fifth._ Jesus and his apostles did not found slavery of any kind, and neither our Lord nor his religion can be responsible for any system of slavery or its results, no matter how good or how bad. Slavery is an institution of the world, as all other political institutions are, and neither the kingdom of God nor its subjects are responsible for its results.

_Sixth._ Our Lord and his apostles never formed an issue between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. How utterly preposterous and absurd it is, to the mind of one who has noticed, that our Lord never made an issue between his kingdom, or his religion, and any civil government or kingdom of the world, to see some misguided creature trying to form a direct issue between the kingdom of God and whatever political institution he may chance to fall out with and trying to set the citizens in the kingdom of Christ in battle array with the citizens of the civil government! Such a man has no use for a church only as a kind of battering-ram to beat down some sinful institution that he has just perceived is to ruin the nation. He would have the kingdom of God a convenient engine, properly adjusted and poised, himself commander-in-chief, so that he can now bring it to bear upon Masons, then upon Odd Fellows, anon upon Sons of Temperance, then upon Slavery, or any other monster that may rise. But the man who stands upon an eminence lofty enough to discern the kingdom of God, beholds an institution with an aim transcendently higher than deciding upon the rights and wrongs of the political governments of the world, amending, correcting, and perfecting them; the superlatively noble, grand, and beneficent object of translating _individuals_, whether high or low, rich or poor, bond or free, whether their political institutions are good or bad, out of darkness into light, and out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God, and in their few remaining days here, no matter what their earthly condition, prepare them for guests of the redeemed hosts who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, in the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

_Seventh._ Christianity is _the thing_ to be promoted, and not to be used as a mere _instrumentality_, by men who care nothing about _it_, and who are doing but little to advance _it_, to promote some object of their _own worldly ambition_. We must promote Christianity _itself_, and not employ it as a mere means to promote something else.

“Well, sir, what would you have a christian do in regard to rulers and civil governments?” says one. When acting as a citizen in the kingdom of God, or in the house of God, “Pray for kings and all that are in authority, that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life, in all godliness and honesty.” “Be subject to the powers that be,” remembering that “we have no continuing city here,” and that “this world is not our home.” When acting as a citizen of the civil government, be candid, quiet, peaceable, and kind, and do just what _you think right_, allowing every man the same privilege, as Christ has left us all free here, and leave the event with God.

There are spiritual-minded persons in almost all the parties around us; and if we determine to know nothing but Christ, nothing but pure Christianity, and confine ourselves strictly to the clear revelations of heaven—preach the pure gospel of the grace of God—preach Christ, and determine to know nothing else, while a mere carnal and worldly priesthood harangue their assemblies on politics, mix up church and State, law and gospel, turning their religious organizations into mere political engines, the very thing we have condemned the Romish priesthood for, thus wounding the feelings of all the more spiritual-minded members and splitting their parties asunder, thousands of them will seek a church where the name of Jesus has charms, where the Lord is loved and worshipped, and where the true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Let us keep the way clear for such, receive them to the fold of Christ, and show them how they can serve God and get to heaven, whether they can ever understand the slavery question or not.

Many of us have labored long and hard and sacrificed the main energies of our lives in gathering the many thousands to the fold of Christ that now throng places of public worship, and we can not remain silent and see them scattered by the indiscreet and imprudent course of brethren, in thrusting upon them, and seeming to think that their souls’ salvation is suspended upon their rightly understanding the question of American slavery. We admonish the brethren to have nothing to do with any such question in the church. The Lord has not required the church, the preachers, or religious editors to make any decision, or to hold any particular class of opinions on the subject, nor can any man be blameless and push any such question into the kingdom of God. _We will stand square upon the Bible, by the Lord, the apostles, and every man who will stand by them._ The Lord direct us!

PRAYER BOOKS.

The Church of England has abounded toward her people in all wisdom and prudence. In doing so she has supplied them with the “Prayer-Book,” not only for weak members, who can not pray, but for her strong members, specially the clergy, giving the very words they must pray on all occasions. In this exuberance of her benevolence she has supplied a deficiency in the will of God, an omission in the law of God, an item that Paul overlooked when he “shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God;” an item not in the “all things that pertain to life and godliness,” mentioned by Peter, nor in “all Scripture given by inspiration,” mentioned by Paul, to “perfect the man of God and thoroughly furnish him for all good works.” There are many among them that can _read_ prayers, as they have them in print in the “Prayer-Book,” and do _read them_, but we are not aware that they have any more that can _pray_ than those who have no such “Prayer-Book.”

If we can not learn from the Lord and the apostles how to pray; from the Scriptures, so that _we can pray_ we would not learn from all the prayer-books ever printed. Read the prayers of the Lord and holy men, recorded in Scripture, and the instructions of the Lord and the inspired writings; take the “Concordance” and run through the Bible, read and study all you find about it, and practice it daily, and you find not only that you can learn _how_, but to _love_ to pray, and to be impressed continually with the _importance of it_. Let the desire be in the heart in the words, “Lord, teach us how to pray,” and you will soon learn to ask for any thing you need.

UPWARD TENDENCY—REFORMATION NOT A FAILURE—MISSIONARY WORK.

The effort we have made, and are now making, at reformation, can never prove a failure upon any ground, unless it be that we have not moral courage enough, as the disciples of Christ—have not sufficient integrity to the great principles of the gospel, to which we have pledged ourselves, to maintain them against the mighty torrent of opposition from the various ranks of bigotry, prejudice, and partyism, together with the combined influence of unbelief and sin. The position we occupy can never fail. While the holy prophets live and speak in their writing; while the preaching of the apostles, their lives, miracles and martyrdoms, live in the memory of men; while Jesus lives, and the throne of the Almighty, upon which he sits, stands unmoved, the position we occupy can not fail. The gospel will live and he who believes it shall never die. The men who believe the gospel, who love it, and hold on to it—keep the faith, press it to their hearts, love and reverence him who gave it, will live co-existent with the years of God. They will never fail; their lives, in this mortal state, will fail; but they, at the same moment, will triumph. They are not in any doubt and uncertainty, in calling upon their fellow man to return to the faith as it was at the beginning. They have no fears that they are wrong, or that they can possibly be mistaken in making the best effort in their power to determine precisely what the ancient faith was, separating it from everything else, and maintaining it before the world. They know they are right in this. In one word, they believe the gospel, maintain and defend it, and nothing else. It is the system they believe, maintain and defend and nothing else. They may not understand everything contained in it, as others who have other systems, do not understand everything in their system; but the system itself we know to be right, infallibly right and that we are infallibly right in maintaining it; not because we understand everything contained in it; but because we know the author of it, and know him to be divine—infallible. We know him, love him and regard him; therefore we know that what proceeds from him is infallible, and love it and regard it.

MEN CAN BELIEVE AND DO BELIEVE.

Why does the speculator offer one dollar more to-day, than he did yesterday, per barrel for flour? Because he believes the news he has received, of an advance in some other market. Why does that pork dealer advance the price one dollar per barrel? Because he believes the news of an advance in some other market. Why does that trader refuse that bank bill? Because he believes the statement in the detector, that it is under par. Look through the various departments in life, business transactions and all, and see what a vast amount of it is done by faith. All business men are daily and hourly acting in matters where thousands of dollars are involved upon faith, and acting with great confidence, too. Look at that man at the post office, opening a letter and reading! In a few minutes you see him stopping quickly and closing an engagement, involving thousands of dollars! What is he acting upon? Faith in the letter just received and read. Look at that other man, waiting for a dispatch. Presently he receives and reads it. In a few minutes he is waiting the arrival of the cars. As the cars approach, you notice him eyeing the passengers as they come out of the train. Presently he rests his eye upon a man. In the next moment the man is arrested! What is he acting upon? Faith in the telegraphic dispatch he had just received. Thus we perceive men are constantly acting upon _faith_ in all the affairs of this life.

Is it possible that men who are thus constantly, and without hesitation, acting upon faith, will have the assurance to apologize for their unbelief in matters of religion, by saying they cannot believe? It will also be observed that the men thus acting are not merely a few credulous and thoughtless persons, but business men of all classes—men of the first order of mind, thus showing that they _can_ believe and _do_ believe, in matters of great importance, and thus demonstrating that they can believe in matters of religion, as well as others, if they will but give a candid attention to the evidence. The same faculties of the mind exercised in believing the news of the day, political, commercial, or of sickness, health, or accidents, etc., are exercised in believing the divine testimonies. The same mind that believes the testimony of men, is exercised in believing the testimony of God. The difference in the effect produced upon the human soul, by divine testimony, or divine faith, from that produced by human testimony, or what is purely human faith, is not that the same mind, or the same faculties of the mind are not exercised in both cases, nor is it owing to the difference between divine and human testimony; but the difference is in the things believed—the difference between divine and human things believed. Heavenly things believed would, beyond all dispute, make a different impression from that produced by the belief of earthly things, however true they might be. A mere earthly truth, even if proved by divine testimony, could produce no more than an earthly impression; but a heavenly truth, if proved by earthly testimony, would produce a heavenly impression. The same mind that understands and believes that there is an advance in the flour market, believes that the Lord rose from the dead, but the effect produced by the faith in one instance, is very different from that produced in the other instance; not because different powers are exercised in believing; nor because the testimony differs; but because the things believed differ.