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ALEXANDER AND RUFUS.

PART FIRST.

In which scriptural church communion is stated and vindicated in opposition to latitudinarian schemes.

DIALOGUE 1.

The evil of divisions in the church.....Some separations from particular churches unlaw. ful.....Secession from corrupt churches lawful.....False methods of healing divisions..... Scriptural church communion stated.....An approbation of the public profession of a particular church implied in the partaking of her sacramental communion.....The distinction between the essentials and the non-essentials of christianity, considered.

ALEXANDER and Rurus were both ministers of the Presbyterian denomination; both desired the welfare of the church of Christ; but they had different views of the present state of the church, and of the means which ought to be used for promoting its welfare. Rufus considered it as his duty to warn his hearers against whatever he judged contrary to the word of God in the public profession and avowed prac tice of the various denominations of christians. Alexander, on the contrary, was careful to avoid controversy in his discourses addressed to the people. Satisfied with the declaration of those truths which he reckoned the more important, he seldom stated those which, he knew, were denied by other denominations, among Protestants; and said nothing of the sinfulness or danger of their errors. They lived near one another; and, notwithstanding their different opinions, they often had friendly interviews. One evening, as they took a walk together in the fields, they had the following conversation concerning church

communion.

§ 1. Alexander. I have been much engaged for some time past in considering the evil of divisions in the church. By division the hearts of christians are alienated from one another; and instead of edifying conversation, they exhaust themselves in contentions and endless debates. Amidst this wrangling, the professors of the christian religion neglect the practice of it, and others are hardened in their open infidelity.

Rufus. The divisions of the church are greatly to be lamented, they are awful signs of the divine displeasure and presages of approaching judgments. But the radical evil of them is commonly overlooked, which consists in men's hatred of the truth revealed in the word of God, and in their refusing to be determined in matters of religion by his authority. When a division takes place, we should enquire, on which side truth is held in opposition to error. In the division between the Jews and the Samaritans, our Lord plainly determined, that the truth was held in the profession of the former, and not in that of the latter. Ye worship, ye know not what, said our Lord to the woman of Samaria: we know what we worship, for salvation is of

the Jews.

§ 2. The sin of those who separate from a particular church, because she faithfully censures them for avowing or propagating opinions contrary to the scriptures, or for persisting in sinful and offensive practices, is manifest. These are they, says the apostle Jude, who separate themselves. Such are all separations for maintaining Arian, Socinian, or Arminian tenets; or, for carrying on Episcopal or Independent schemes in the government of the church. Nor can they be justified or excused who make or keep up, a separation from the communion of a particular church from groundless prejudices, or from an attachment to local or ancient customs, for which no warrant can be found in the holy scriptures. Separation from a particular church is not always justifiable, on account of the real evils that may be found in her. Wrong steps in the public administration of her officers; or errors which she is evidently disposed to correct, and which she does not make a precedent for her future conduct, are no sufficient grounds of secession from her communion. A church may have many defects; and yet be in a reforming state: she may not be despising scriptural testimonies, that are given against her errors; nor neglecting any other means of attaining more conformity to the word of Christ, in doctrine, worship, and government: while this is the case, her remaining defects would not warrant us to make or continue a separation from her communion.

Alex. In my opinion, Rufus, separation from a particular church that can be justly called a true church of Christ, is almost always wrong. Whatever may be pretended, passion or prejudice is usually

at the bottom of it.

§ 3. Ruf. You allow, however, that there are lawful separations from particular churches; such as our secession from the church of Rome.

Alex. With regard to the church of Rome, God has described her as Antichristian, as totally gone off from the foundation, impure in doctrine, idolatrous in worship, usurping and tyrannical in her government. She is called Sodom for filthiness, Babylon for pride and cruelty, and Egypt for darkness, idolatry and oppression. Hence the people of God are commanded to come out of her, that they may not partake of her plagues. I grant also that we ought not to have sacramental communion with a church or religious society, that imposes any sinful term of communion. But with regard to the regular Protestant churches, that have clearly expressed their orthodoxy in their confessions of faith; from these churches, although differing from us in some

external modes and forms, we never separated, and we ought not to reject their communion.

Ruf. You allow, sir, that the church communion which is offered upon sinful terms is to be avoided, but, as a Presbyterian, you must grant, that such are the terms upon which the church of England offers her communion; for she requires of all her members, (what they cannot submit to without sin,) an acknowledgment of the authority or lordship of the diocesan bishop over other pastors, and the observation of all the religious ceremonies appointed in her liturgy. Hence we may warrantably separate from her communion, though she be one of the regular Protestant churches. Nay, though a particular church should not expressly require any sinful terms of communion, it would be warrantable to withdraw from her communion on account of her obstinacy in holding error, or in refusing to make a public and particular profession and acknowledgment of the truth as it is in Jesus, in opposition to the errors of the present time and the teachers of them: because something positive, particularly a public confession of the truths of God, that are openly denied, by such teachers is requisite in order to warrantable church communion; for the church, to which we may warrantably join ourselves, ought to be one which maintains and professes the true doctrine and the true faith; she ought to bear the character of the church of the living God, which is the pillar and ground of truth. It would be unwarrantable for us to join in communion with a church whose members, for the most part, maintain and profess Arminian errors, or Arian blasphemies, though it were not required as a term of communion, that we should expressly approve such a profession. When corruption prevails in a particular church, the faithful, being the minor party, ought first to use means, such as, petitions, remonstrances, protestations, for reclaiming the majority. But if these means prove unavailing, and the corrupt majority obstinately persist in their defection from the purity of religion which the church had attained, it is then the duty of the faithful part of the society to withdraw from the corrupt majority. The ministers, particularly, of such a faithful party ought to do what is impracticable in conjunction with that majority; they ought to fulfil the ministry which they have received of the Lord, not only by every one, in his individual capacity, teaching sound doctrine and refuting the errors that prevail; but also by a joint exercise of the ministerial authority which the Lord hath given them, in condemning such errors, in asserting God's revealed truth in express opposition to them, and in thus exhibiting a judicial testimony; in order that they and the people adhering to them may appear as one confessing body, striving together with one mind for the faith of the gospel. When such is the prevailing corruption of a particular church, call it a regular protestant church, or what you will, the secession of those who are faithful in maintaining the cause of truth in opposition to the body of its ministers and other members, becomes lawful and necessary.

§ 4. Alex. These judicial declarations and testimonies, instead of healing, tend to increase our divisions.

Ruf. I am persuaded, however, that, while they are such as maintain no other doctrines than those contained in the word of God, they are of a healing tendency. For, these declarations and testimonies, in

specifying the errors which are propagated in the visible church, cal men's attention to the true causes of her divisions, these cannot be healed, unless the causes of them be attended to and removed. Besides, they direct men to relinquish the false and deceitful methods of union which have been dictated by carnal policy; methods of healing the wound of God's people slightly,* or of daubing with untempered mortar.t

Alex. What are these methods which you censure with so much severity?

Ruf One of them is that of the church of Rome, which requires all to agree in receiving implicitly the dictates of the church, that is, of a pope or council, or both, in matters of religion. But this scheme proceeds upon the supposition that the scriptures are not a perfect or not a plain rule of faith and practice; and leads us to found our faith on the authority of men instead of the authority of God.

Another method is that of allowing magistrates to compel their people to a particular profession of religion by civil penalties. This, as well as the popish scheme, attempts to deprive men of the liberty of judging for themselves in matters of religion; and supposes, that men may be made members of a particular church by military force. The civil magistrate as such, not being any officer in the church, has no right to administer its ordinances, and far less to prescribe its doctrines or the terms of its communion.

A third method, which obtains in the Greek and Roman, and in some measure in other churches, is that of attracting people to their communion by the charms of music and the use of ceremonies, which are recommended not only by ancient use and prescription, but by their effect on the imagination and passions, which govern the igno, rant and unprincipled. But true church union is to be promoted by keeping the ordinances of God pure and entire, by the knowledge and love of divine truth.

The fourth method, which is highly extolled by many in our day, is that which directs all to join together in sacramental communion, who hold the essential articles of the christian religion; and which condemns the practice of those who refuse sacramental communion to any on account of their rejection, however open and obstinate, of nonessential articles of that religion; even though these articles be "important and worthy to be contended for with zeal and constancy." This bears the specious and alluring name of catholic sacramental communion.

§ 5. Alex. What is your notion of church communion ?

Ruf. I shall state what I believe to be the truth concerning that communion according to the scriptures. In the first place, the visible communion of christians in any particular church,|| consists in their

* Jerem. vi. 14. † Ezek. xiii. 10, 11.

Dr. Mason's Plea for Catholic Communion, p. 54.

By a particular church, as the expression is used in these dialogues, is meant a part of the catholic church distinguished from other parts of it, not by the profession of a different doctrine, or by a different form of worship or government, all diversity in these respects being unwarrantable; but by local situation, and by having different ecclesiastical judicatories. The churches of Jerusalem, of Corinth, of Ephesus, of Rome, and others mentioned in the New Testament, were such particular churches.

declared agreement to adhere to one public profession of the christian religion, and in their joint endeavours to maintain and propagate that profession. As the agreement of citizens to support one civil government, may be called civil communion; and an agreement of a number of men to unite their efforts for the raising of a weight, or for the working of a ship, may be called mechanical communion; so the agreement of a number of christians to adhere to and maintain one profession of the christian religion, is religious or church communion. Hence the visible communion of christians is expressed in scripture by the holding fast of their profession, one profession only, not many or different professions; by glorifying God with one mind and one mouth ;† and serving him with one lip. Their communion among themselves in the exercises of religious worship, and in all the other parts of their christian practice, belongs to the joint maintaining of one profession of the christian religion.

In the second place, this profession is a profession of the whole christian religion. We cannot warrantably decline the explicit profession of one jot or tittle of it; since the authority of the Divine Testimony, which binds us to receive any part, binds us equally to receive the whole. All that truly belongs to the christian religion was delivered by Christ as the great Prophet of the church; and the Divine injunction is, Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall soy unto you.||

In the third place, while the profession of the christian religion attained by a particular church, as well as her practice, is imperfect; and while much of her profession is rejected by many bearing the christian name; it is necessary that the articles of her public profession, which are the matter of her communion, be ascertained with precision. In the common affairs of life, there can be no rational communion among any number of persons, unless the matter, about which they are to have communion, be exactly determined. Thus, if it be the raising of a heavy body, it is necessary, in order to communion in that work, to determine by what means it is to be raised; whether by a lever, for example, or by a pulley, or by an inclined plane. So in order to the communion of persons in a particular church, it is necessary that the articles of the public profession which she has attained and which constitute the matter of her communion, be ascertained by her creed, by her confession, or by her declaration and testimony; and that it should be one important part of the work of her ministers, in their public discourses, to explain and vindicate that profession. When a church is honest and faithful in the use of these means, it is easy to know what is the matter of her communion. Faithfulness, in this respect, is one principal mark by which a reforming, may be distinguished from a backsliding, church.

In the fourth place, every person who joins in the public ordinances of a particular church, and especially in the Lord's supper, declares, that he has communion with her in her public profession, as it is ascertained by such means, as those now mentioned; and acknowledges it to be his own profession. For the public profession that is made in the participation of the public ordinances of christianity, can be only

Heb. iv. 14. x. 23. † Rom. xv. 6 Zephan. iii. 9. margin. ! Acts, iii. 22.

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