Part 6

The men who are meditating on union are now on trial, being put to the test, and will be compelled to show where they stand. Those who love union among christians more than denominationalism will sacrifice the denomination for union, but those who love denominationalism more than union will sacrifice union for the denomination. The union of the people of God is from heaven; the denomination is from man. The denomination is the party, sect, faction. The body of Christ, or kingdom of God, is no sect, party or denomination. It is as broad as the dominion of King Jesus. It is above all sects, parties and denominations. The man that rises so as to grasp the kingdom of God in his mind, ascends far above all sects, parties and denominations; up to the throne and Him who sits on the throne; to the Supreme Majesty of heaven and earth. He loves the King above all kings and potentates, and loves the kingdom of God above all the kingdoms and empires of the world, and supremely above all parties, sects or denominations. We love no denomination, nor denominationalism, but love the people involved in the denomination; and while we desire to see the denomination literally abolished, wiped out, we desire to save the kingdom of God, the union of the people of God, and the people themselves. This can be done if the people will have it so. But if they love the sect, party or denomination more than the Church of God, or the body of Christ, they will keep an eye to the sect, party or denomination; to their little side institutions of human device; every one of which originated with _men_, and without one scrap of _divine authority_; instead of rising to the grand and glorious institution ordained of God, with the Lord for its head, and the law of God for the rule of its faith and practice.

MAKING THE BIBLE SUPPORT HUMAN SYSTEMS.

There can be no apology for a man who knows what the truth is, what the doctrine of Christ is, what christianity is, who will use it merely as a proof to sustain, prove, and impose something else upon himself and others, for he might just as easily have received the truth, the doctrine of Christ, christianity itself, enjoyed it, and been saved by it, as to have trifled with it, in trying to prove something else by it. But if a man does not know what the truth is, the doctrine of Christ, christianity is, and adopts something else, he is simply guessing at it, and is not to be relied upon. He has no foundation.

We are as well convinced, as we are that there is a glorious heaven for the righteous, and a hell for the wicked, that no man now living, who knows what the Lord’s truth is, what the gospel of Christ is, what christianity is, and what the Bible is, and has appealed to it to sustain something else, and now continues so to appeal to it, could, if his life were at stake, give a good reason why he did not receive the truth itself, the gospel, christianity, the Bible itself, rely upon it as his only hope for life, his only guide, as the only divine system, the only divine institution, in the place of perverting its glorious influence and power to sustain and prop up something else. And we are equally certain, that no man can answer to God, when the actions of all men shall be spread out in the last judgment, for such a course. If christianity is a system, if it is a divine institution, if it is the religion of Jesus Christ, if it is from God, and now binding upon the human family, as almost all the religious parties of these times admit, and as can not be denied, the sin of departing from it is great enough; but to have the assurance to try to make it sanction any other system, to testify in support of any other, to try to divert its influence, power, and authority from its own work, to sustain and prop up some human system not mentioned in it, when it has expressly, under the most fearful and awful penalty, forbidden any perversion, addition, or subtraction, is a species of daring and aggression upon the institution of heaven and government of God, such as one would suppose no believer in the Bible would risk. Still it is done—almost daily done, in the pulpits all over the land; and those who will not do it, who condemn it, who receive the Bible, christianity, the gospel, the religion of Jesus Christ, all that God has revealed to man—all that has the name of God upon it, keep it distinct from every thing else, and will have nothing more, are opposed everywhere, sneered at and branded as _heretics_. Be it so. We look not to man for reward. We look not to sectarian parties to honor God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible, christianity, or the gospel. We do not expect them, as parties, to come to the Bible, unless to draw support for their own schemes. But we regard not this; we know we are right; and it is not the great number that will stand, but those who are right. “Truth is mighty above all things, and will prevail.” Brethren, push on the war, on this great question. The Bible will prevail in the end. Its enemies will all fail.

PIONEERS, SUPPORT, ETC.

The pioneer men in this country felled the trees, cleared away the forests, built their houses and barns, and made a living. Many of their sons can not make a living with the farm and all the balance fitted to their hand. In the same way, the first preachers went out at their own expense, turned the people to God and built up churches, and now the preachers, with their fine salaries, houses in which to meet, and everything prepared to hand, are not accomplishing as much, in proportion to their number and ability. Why is this? Is it because they _can not_? Not at all. It is because they are not as _devoted_. They are not as _enterprising_. They are not as _industrious_. They are not as _self-sacrificing_.

Those old preachers needed no “innocent amusements,” “innocent games,” “healthful exercises,” “pastime,” “social dance,” “croquet,” etc., etc. They knew nothing of _torpid liver_, _indigestion_, _nervous prostration_, etc., etc. Those afflictions were left for a later class. They obtained plenty of healthful exercise in clearing off, breaking and cultivating their new land, in their long rides on horseback, or trips on foot, and faithfully preaching, and the Lord blessed them. The results of their labor and sacrifices are seen all over this country. They looked after the children of God and _cared for them_; not with this new kind of _care for money_; not only the money of the _living_, but arranging to get the money of the _dead_; but they cared for _men_; watched for _their souls_, as those who shall give an account.

We do not want to say one word in this connection, nor any other, that shall be the means of cutting off one penny of support received by any good preacher who is faithfully doing the work of an evangelist, but would add to the support of many such men whose support is inadequate; and as to mercenary and avaricious men in the ministry, and we trust there are but few of them, we have learned better than to waste our ink on them. We are writing for the good of the cause, and we rejoice to believe that we have the men, an extended body of them, able ministers of the gospel, who are devoted to the work, and willing to do anything in their power to advance the cause. These are reading, studying, and ready to listen to anything that will advance the cause. To these men we must look, and on them, as the agents under God, we must depend; we must encourage their hearts, strengthen their hands and give them support. To these men we appeal and entreat them, in view of all that is dear to humanity; in view of the suffering Savior, and lost man; in view of their own children and the children of others, as well as the good of the world at large, to go into the field with a determination to preach the gospel of the grace of God; go everywhere, in the name of the Lord, where the people will listen to a discourse concerning Jesus and the resurrection, and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ; make all men see and turn them to God. Do not wait for a _call_, but _go_; do not wait for some certain promise of support, but trust to the promises of God; go in faith; trust in God; sow the good seed of the kingdom, the word of God, that it may fall into good and honest hearts and bring forth much fruit. Put in every sermon possible; preach to every one who will hear; preach because you love God and man, and desire to save man from ruin, and because you love to preach; because the Lord commands it, and the God of peace will be with you, care and provide for you.

UNIVERSALISM.

We heard of a man who had heard Universalists occasionally, and gave them something when they were making contributions for their preachers. A preacher, who made one of his finest efforts to prove that all will be saved, inquired of him how he liked his argument. The man replied, “I did not like it at all.” The preacher, disappointed, said: “You believe our doctrine?” The man replied: “I do; but you tried to prove it by the Bible, and all intelligent people know that the Bible is against us from one side to the other. The way I prove it is this: _I deny the Bible, and then prove it by reason_.” This is certainly the more rational way. We care not who he is, nor where he comes from, nor what his attainments may be; but the man who attempts to prove Universalism _by the Bible_ opposes the common sense of mankind and the clearest language ever written. The man who rejects the Bible out and out, and is wandering in the darkness of unbelief, in the vagaries of those who reject the wisdom of God, might, in his philosophical speculations, try to show that all men would be saved, with at least some show of plausibility possibly; but there is not only no plausibility in anything that can be adduced from the Bible to show that all men will be saved, but clear statements of the Bible can not be true and all men be saved. It cannot be true that those “who believe not the Son shall _not see life_,” and that all men shall be saved. It can not be true, as stated in Scripture, that “these” (the wicked) “shall go away into everlasting punishment,” and _all men be saved_.

The man who affirms that those _who die in their sins_ shall be wholly and happy in heaven contradicts the clearest utterances of Scripture. When time shall end and God shall exclaim, “He that is filthy, let him be filthy still,” there will be no more repentance; yet some will be _filthy_—_unsound_.

Universalism had its day in this country; has run its course and is going by. There is not one-tenth as much of it in this country as there was thirty years ago. There is no argument of consequence about it any more. The only thing wanting to show what it is, will appear anywhere when they undertake to form churches, keep up Sunday-schools, keep up prayer-meetings, meet regularly on the first day of the week and worship. Let them undertake to enforce the clear requirements of Scripture on their people, and they will soon get a lesson. They will soon explain that _all will be saved_, and they will find that they will have no use for baptism, the Lord’s Supper, prayer-meetings, nor any regular worship.

It will not do to read, “He who believes not _shall be saved_;” “He who believes not the Son _shall see life_;” “The wrath of God _shall not abide on him_;” “If you believe not that I am he, you _shall not die in your sins_;” “Where I am _you shall come_;” “These” (the wicked) “_shall not_ go away into everlasting punishment;” “The beast and the false prophets _shall not_ be tormented day and night forever and ever;” “He who shall sin against the Holy Spirit shall not be in danger of eternal damnation,” etc., etc. The man who denies his Bible first, and then starts out to prove that all will be saved from some other source, is a much more sensible man than the man that undertakes to prove it from the Bible. Whatever the Bible may mean besides, it does not mean Universalism. The man who holds and undertakes to prove Universalism has no use for a Bible, unless it be to show his skill in getting round the clearest things ever written.

SUPPORT WORKERS.

The brethren know that men cannot devote their lives to the work of evangelizing without support, and they will give the support, and do it much more freely where they can see the work done, than where they can _see no work done_. The preachers in the field doing the work are receiving the main support given, and ought to receive it. The men not in the field, and that will not go into the field, ought not to receive the support. The brethren are not in the way of sending it to them.

We hope the preachers generally will see what is being done by those in the work, go out and participate in the heavenly work, that they, too, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, may have a crown of glory that fades not away. How can men with the love of God in them see their fellow-creatures perishing, and not be inspired with a zeal to go forth and gather them into the kingdom of God? Look at the tremendous cloud of darkness over the minds of the people, and then inquire can a man who has the light be excusable unless he uses the means the Lord has put in his power for the enlightenment of the world. No, we can not be excusable; the love of Christ constrains us; the value of the souls of men urges, and the example of all the ancient worthies impels us to go into the great harvest and help to reap it down.

RECKLESS TWADDLE.

The following purports to be taken from one of Moody’s sermons, and is reported in the _Baptist Union_:

If I thought that baptism was God’s way of saving men, I’d give up preaching, borrow a pail and go round the streets baptizing every one I met, and if they wouldn’t let me do it, I’d catch them asleep and baptize any way. He says, “Ye must be born again.”

It is a wonderful humiliation to be compelled to admit that this undignified, irreverent and reckless language is from the lips of a man probably at this time attracting as much attention as any man in the world, as a preacher, or it may be more. It is mortifying in a high degree to be convinced that the state of the public mind is such that a man like this is caressed, lauded and admired by the multitude.

It is no small work to enlighten the people of the world. We have gained the right of private judgment, private interpretation of the Scriptures, the liberty of speech and of the press; and we have the Bible, translated into our own language, in almost every house; and we have our system of free schools and universal education. But still there is a premium for ignorance.

Moody with his commonplace talks, and Sankey with his songs, call out greater crowds and have more admirers than the most profound Bible instructor in the world. What reverence has he for the Lord, who ordained baptism and submitted to it himself, “was baptized of John in Jordan,” after saying, “Thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness,” and over whom the heavens parted as he rose from his baptism, and on whom the Spirit descended, and to whom the Almighty Father said, “Thou art my Son, the beloved in whom I am well pleased?” What appreciation has he, or what respect for our Lord’s commission, in which he has the preaching of the gospel, the belief of it, the repentance, the baptism and salvation all connected together, when he talks of giving up preaching and borrowing a pail and going round the streets baptizing every one he met? What does he know or care about what baptism is? He may find the untaught multitudes who will gaze at him and admire such irreverent manifestations of ignorance, want of piety and dignity, mingled with such low slang as we find in the language quoted above, and he may find plenty of thoughtless people who will be pleased with such unworthy flings at things which he does not understand, and which he perverts and misapplies. But there are many people in this country who can not be gulled in any such style. Low slang is not preaching Jesus nor his gospel, nor is misrepresentation or perverting Scripture preaching Jesus.

If he has our Lord’s commission, and ever reads it, he knows or ought to know, that the same commission has in it the preaching of the gospel, the believing, repenting, baptism and salvation. The preaching, believing, repentance, baptism and salvation all go together; and if he has intelligence enough to preach at all acceptably to the Lord, he knows that no people in this country think that baptizing is of any value, without being preceded by the preaching of the gospel and the faith, unless among those who profess to baptize infants. They did not understand him to make this fling at them, or they would soon have depleted his audience.

Moody and Sankey have the clear Scriptures before them, giving an account of inquiring persons coming to the apostles inquiring the way of salvation, and the plain answers giving the apostolic way, and they ignore these instructions—keep them out of sight. They have the answers of the apostles showing them the way, and they have refused to even read these Scriptures, or to let the people know what the way was, as set forth by the apostles. For this they will give an account. They ignored it, evaded it, and avoided it. They neither enter the kingdom themselves nor will they permit those who would enter.

Before we lay down our pen, we must refer Moody and Sankey, with some others, to a lesson Paul once taught a man, in view of a transaction no worse than the uttering the words quoted from Moody, at the beginning of this article. The man with whom Paul dealt, was simply trying to turn the deputy away from the faith. The deputy was by name, Sergius Paulus. When he did this, Saul (who is called Paul) filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him, and said, “O full of all subtlety and all mischief, you child of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some one to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord”. Acts xiii. 9-12.

It is a most fearful thing to pervert the right ways of the Lord—to try to turn any one away from the faith, or to put asunder that which God has joined together, and which he forbids man to put asunder.

In the last commission, the only authority for all gospel preaching, the Lord has joined together, preaching the gospel, believing the gospel, repentance, baptism and salvation, or pardon of sins, and no man can part these asunder, except at the peril of his soul. Is it possible that any man can fail to see that no man can be, in the true sense, a preacher of Jesus and ignore any part of this commission, or any part of the way of salvation, as set forth by the apostles under this commission?

THE KIND OF PREACHING REQUIRED.

In the same way, insipid preaching about sweet birds and sweet flowers, plants and stars, etc., etc., appears to have streaks of light in it, but after it is over, the darkness appears greater than before. No gospel light is shed forth, no truth of weight and importance in the salvation of man brought forth or enforced; no obedience is enjoined and no hope is inspired. No Felix trembles. Nothing is said about the preaching, unless it be that “it was splendid,” and “I do love to hear him so much;” “It was very fine,” etc. But, put the question, What did you learn? and silence would reign. This kind of thing may please people who do not intend to hear the gospel, or who, in the language of Scripture, “Turn away their ears from the truth;” but we must have something different from this, something more tangible, intelligible and impressive to save men. We must have something more than mere vaporing.

We must have “first principles,” as they are now styling _the gospel_, and have them in profusion. We must have them for the instruction of the vast numbers who have been brought in without understanding them, and who must understand them before they can be intelligent christians, and we must have them for the multitudes who have never been brought to God. Somehow, from some source, we have a few among us who are styling the gospel “first principles,” and then insist that we must leave the first principles. Those who are in the world must be converted, brought to God, and to this end they must have the gospel, no matter if men and the adversary do call it “first principles.” The right way for those who have never begun, is to begin, and there is no right way to begin only to begin _at the beginning_, no matter if sectarian faces do scowl, or some worldly member of the church grumble. We must walk into the gospel, not as if we were afraid some one would hit us in the face, but “in full assurance of faith,” under a sense of the truth of the gospel, and the conviction that it is good enough for anybody, and that no excuse need be made for preaching it; the certainty that men must hear the gospel and learn the way to God before they start at all. We must show the people that the Bible contains a revelation from God, the only revelation from God; that it is _complete_, _perfect_ and _final_, so far as relates to time; that Jesus is divine; that he is all that he is represented to be in the Bible; that he is sustained by all the testimony necessary to convince candid people; that no man comes to the Father but by him; that no man comes by Moses now or any other; that the Lord Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; that the way set forth by him is the only way to the Father.

We must not preach _about_ faith, or repentance, or baptism; but preach _the truth_ concerning the Lord Jesus, the Christ, which, when heard, and received into good and honest hearts, _produces_ faith that leads to repentance, and immersion. Preaching _faith_ never made a believer, and preaching repentance, never leads to repentance, _of itself_. In the same way, preaching on baptism, of itself never led any man to baptism. The great truth of all truth, that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God,” lies at the bottom and puts all the balance in motion. Jesus, the Anointed, full of grace and truth, is the supreme authority. The first thing, first in order and first in importance, is the work of bringing the Lord before men and preparing them to regard him; to recognize his authority and become willing to follow him—be led by him. Till this is done, it is useless to tell men what he says, or what he commands. Men must be convinced that he has authority to command, and that they are bound to submit to him or be rejected by him forever.

In presenting the claims of the Lord Messiah, we must clear the way of all rubbish, all written and unwritten traditions of men, all doctrines and commandments of men, all rule and authority lording it over the heritage of God; all creeds and councils of men, all religious bodies and establishments having no divine authority; all usurpations and encroachments on the prerogatives of the Lord Jesus; all religious names and titles, forms and ceremonies, having no precept or example in Scripture; all sects and sectarianism—all these must be swept away; and the supreme and absolute authority of the Lord restored. The law of God itself, as found on the pages of the inspired Scriptures, must be restored to the people of God. There must be no compromise of truth with error, the kingdom of God with any thing else, the law of God with any other law. The law of God must be maintained as _the law_, the supreme and absolute law, and all other religious law must be set aside as law and repudiated. The union of the people of God must be maintained, defended and continually advocated, as right in itself and divinely required.