Anonymous

“ It is quite certain that in the vast majority of instances of persons coming to the Lord they had not the least idea of owning him as God. And it falsifies the sense in a material point to use the word now. That we worship Christ, who do know He is God, is another matter. In the English Bible it is all right, because worship did not mean what it does now. The man when he is married says, ‘with my body I thee worship,’ etc. ”

“ Had the Romish theologians in the sixteenth century made the discovery that “justification by faith” was justification “on a principle,” they would have made short work with poor Martin Luther, who staked his all in this—“the just shall live by faith.” They had only to show it was, with God and man, a principle in common with other principles, such as the principle of charity or the principle of works (as above, No. 12) , or the principle of baptismal regeneration—the last notably so; as to enter the kingdom of God, a man must be “born on the principle of (ek) water and the spirit;” ”

“ Now, the High Church position is this—it claims apostolic succession. Wherever the succession is, the true Church must be, and to be outside of it is to be outside the true Church. This is their position. ”

“ Patterson in his Blackrock lectures (p. 32) , calls the Church the City of Refuge, of which their meetings are now the expression on earth. He says, “The Temple at Jerusalem was an empty house, and Israel an untoward generation. The assembly was now ‘the city of refuge’ for the slayer of blood, where those who bowed to the guilt of their Messiah’s blood could flee;” and in the note adds, “The assembly of God is ever since the city of refuge’ for the poor Jew; guilty of his Messiah’s blood, and fleeing to it he is safe from the avenger of blood.” ”

“ Suffice it to say, that some renderings are good, and some of the notes good; but, taken as a whole, with a great dis play of learning, the ignorance of the results of modern criticism is almost incredible. And the fatal upsetting of vital doctrines condemns the work altogether as more calculated to promote scepticism than true religion—the most sacred subjects being handled with irreverent familiarity. ”

“ It is a provision supplied by prayer, and the power which prayer gives at the throne of grace, on the part of any who gather together to the name of the Lord Jesus. “It shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Such is the nature of the passage and the promise attaching to it, as any attentive reader can see; and if any claim a right to it, par excellence, or a monopoly of the promise to themselves, they can prove the claim in one way, and in one way only. ”

“ Mr. Darby has made a version and translated the New Testament into English, French, and German, for the benefit of the Christian public in general, and his own party in particular, being assisted by friends like minded with himself, on the continent and elsewhere. This version is used exclusively in their meetings on the continent, and looked on somewhat as Romanists look on the Vulgate, as little short of the divine original. Yet in all these versions, the worship of our Lord is determinedly and carefully excluded ”

“ We need not multiply references. And the Lord Jesus, when born, was announced by an angel as this “Immanuel—God with us” (Matt. i.) , and acknowledged at the beginning of His ministry as “him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write” (John, i.) , and confessed by Peter as “the Christ the Son of the living God.” “Doing works which no other man did amongst them.” ”

“ And though others take a different view of these passages, there can be no question of the fact on which the Provost dwells—that divine gifts of government reigned in the Church at the first, as it is said, “God hath set some in the Church; first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, &c., Helps, Governments, diversities of tongues” (1 Cor. xii. 28) , and these, like other gifts, were exercised “according to the measure of faith” (Rom. xii.) . For instance, we find an Apostle wielding the power of life and death (Acts, v. 5) ”

“ But how two men could agree together to impose thus on a confiding community, and trade on their ignorance by assertions on the most vital subject of Christianity which have not the shadow of a shade of truth to rest upon, beats anything that we have met in our experience as coming from evangelical men. ”

“ If not, then He addesses the individual in such words as—“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear;” and “to him that overcometh will I do so and so,” etc. Now, how does all this comport with the notion of apostolic succession ? Apostolic suc cession supposes that divine government is always present to keep things right ; whereas the Lord’s own apostles testify that nothing would be kept right in the Church after their decease, and com mend the Church to God and the word of His grace. ”

“ Dogmatic assertions supply the place of proofs; a style adapted to captivate females and young people. And our solemn advice to all is, to receive nothing in these days without a concordance in hand. If a Greek or Hebrew concordance, so much the better. ”

“ The people, however, are to be felt for who, in their simplicity, are so carried away, that one cannot help exclaiming with Bossuet, that “good intentions, combined with slender enlightenment, were a great misfortune in so exalted a position.” ”

“ They have no vessels at all.” And again, “It is not that I regret the work of those to whom I have alluded, but I would not co-operate with them, I would not touch the net while they were touching it.” ”

“ The Levites were appointed “to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister (latreuin) unto them” (Numb.xvi. 9) . “Gifts and sacrifices which could not make him that did the service perfect (ton latreuonta) as pertaining to the conscience.” (Heb. ix. 9.) . “We have an altar whereof they have no right to eat who serve (hoi latreuontes) the tabernacle.” (Heb. xiii. 10.) “Who worshipped and served (elatreusan) the creature more than the creator.” ”

“ We find extreme parties in all communities, and at this moment there are before us two extreme parties—one amongst Episcopalians, another amongst Dissenters, which assert themselves and make a noise altogether beyond their numerical value, or the value of their views and doctrines. ”

“ And when a good natured minister carries out its rules, and “absolves the penitent from the censures which he has incurred by reason of his former errors schisms and heresy” (p. 75) , the commission of Christ is fulfilled. ”

“ And this method of Gospel preaching has been adopted by many for years, and furnishes a ready mode of conversion, with which Satan has little or no controversy, as it can always be “anon with joy received.” ”

“ Critical reasons. 11
Justification by faith. 14
Conclusion. 18
The power of the keys. Appendix A. 19
Appendix B. 21
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”