Benjamin Franklin

“ HOW A PREACHER MAY STAND FAIR.
ALL we have to do to stand right before the people, is to be sound in heart, in the faith, in the life; true to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; honest and faithful in the whole matter; maintaining, defending, advocating it, as the only divine and gracious system for the salvation of a lost world; enforcing it on men for its own sake, and for the sake of humanity. Our safety is not in a tribunal of learned men, who are censors for us, but in the judgment of an intelligent and enlightened brotherhood. ”

“ We can make no change only at our peril—no departure without losing all. We started simply to be the people of God, and to give ourselves unreservedly to the Lord. We can not turn away from God, from Christ, from the gospel, from the law of God, from the Church of God and the people of God, without utter ruin. We can not turn away from the religion of Christ itself and not be lost. We have nothing else. Shall we, then, hold on to our God, to our Lord Jesus the Christ, to our Bible, the gospel and the law of God for the saints? ”

“ Must the public mind be wholly occupied with the useless distinctions between the views of men, the useless comparisons of doctrines and commandments of men, the comparative merits of different human systems, and an eternal train of customs unknown to the primitive church, thus bewildering the people and blinding their minds that they may neither see the Lord nor regard his authority? Is it impossible to bring the authority of the Almighty again to bear upon the world, to lift up the Lord before the people, that he may draw all men unto him, convert them to the Lord and place them under him? ”

“ We, as a people, are set for the defence of the gospel. We occupy the only ground upon which man can stand and successfully do battle with unbelievers, with schismatics of every sort, and maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We are the only people who occupy the proper ground for the evangelization and salvation of the world. We have cut ourselves loose from every thing but Christ. We present him to the world and defend him, both in his divinity and humanity, as the ineffably glorious person in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. ”

“ What ability, knowledge or learning does it require, to deny everything? The most ignorant, illiterate and stupid, can deny as stoutly, as the most learned, enlightened, and talented. It requires no strength of mind to stand and deny—to declare in the most pertinacious manner, disbelief, want of confidence, doubts, distrusts and uncertainties in everything. A man who never read the Bible once through in his life, nor ten other books, who has the most corrupt character, can talk of inconsistencies, incongruities, contradictions and absurdities, in the Bible, as stoutly as anybody. ”

“ We have taken our stand on the highest ground and must maintain the highest purity and order, the greatest perfection and refinement of which we are capable. We must maintain pure morality, pure faith and worship, utter abstinence from follies and all doubtful practices, all things held in suspicion among good people. It is a time for general humiliation and supplication—one mighty and united appeal of all the true and holy to heaven to save us from the general avalanche of iniquity that threatens the ruin of the country, and specially of religion. ”

“ He walks at the head of the army of God, the true Israel, and among the inhabitants of the earth, proclaiming with all authority, both in heaven and on earth, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me.” “I am the resurrection and the life”—“I am he who was dead and am alive, and behold I live forever and ever”—“I have the keys of hell and of death; I can open, and no man can shut; I can shut, and no man can open”—“I am the bright and the morning star, the root and the offspring of David”—“I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me.” ”

“ The sceptic is a man perishing with cold, while he is graciously offered the warmth of christianity; groping in darkness while the light of heaven is as free for him as the rays of the sun; starving, with an invitation to eat of the bread that comes down from heaven; dying with thirst, while God is holding out to him the water of life; a sick man refusing to take an infallible remedy from the physician, simply exercising the power to reject all that could do him any good, resting, refusing, denying and dying. ”

“ Let a man of talent, influence and energy, fall from his station, and become an apostate and enemy, let the cause be made to bleed and suffer from his want of reputation, while he hurls back his javelins with all the malice and fury of the Prince of the bottomless pit; and then, compute the change made in the condition of the church and the world? No one, short of the Infinite Being Himself, can compute the vast number that will be seriously injured, in one century, by such a miserable being. ”

“ In the same way, any man with or without much mind, learning or talent, can leap into the dark abyss of unbelief, rejecting, contemning and despising all evidence; but, would it not be the part of prudence, of wisdom and discretion in such, to look before they leap? It is a fearful experiment they are making. If the step is a mistaken one, it can never be retraced beyond this life. He who makes the experiment, obtains nothing now, only the unbridled privilege of declaring the Bible false—religion priest-craft—that man will never be called to account, hence all men can do as they list. ”

“ Why start these subtleties about immersion, and confuse the public mind in regard to it? Why not get up difficulties about the prayers, the communion, the repentance, the faith, or something else? We are not trying how many difficulties we can find, but trying to clear the way, and show all men that there is a safe and practical way to union, to oneness and happiness, both here and hereafter. We desire to emerge out of the darkness, confusion and misunderstandings of our times, and walk in the clear light of heaven. Whatever is right we accept, and whatever is not right we aim to set it right. ”

“ All men, upon cool and deliberate reflection, must be satisfied, that if all the peoples, nations, tribes and tongues of the earth, were fully under the power and influence of the Bible, mankind would be infinitely blessed by it. Not a sceptic in the world can give a reason for his opposition to the Lord Jesus and the Bible. O, that men knew Jesus! O, that they possessed his spirit and temper! ”

“ We have been made free, in the highest sense, from all the trammels and fetters of men, from sins, from all error and superstition, and are servants of the Lord.
We have now a plain work—simply the work of the Lord and no other. We have nothing to preach but the gospel, nothing to believe but the truth of God, nothing to do but the will of God, and nothing to hope for only [86] what is promised in the word of God. Our work is not new and untried, but old, well tried, and nothing can stand before us. We have truth and righteousness to maintain—sin and the world to oppose. ”

“ It is evident [443] to all, there is no virtue or merit in faith, in itself, to save a man. It is equally evident that there is no merit or virtue in repentance, in itself, to save any one. It must be equally evident to all, that there can be no virtue, merit, or efficacy in baptism, in itself, to save or pardon. It is God that pardons. Who does he pardon? Those who obey him. When does he pardon them? When they obey from the heart, that form of doctrine delivered to them. “Being then made free from sin, they have their fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life.” ”

“ THE grand question to be solved, in this generation, is, whether men can follow the Lord, the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, as their only Leader, receive his truth as their only guide, his faith as their only faith, his religion as their only religion, and be simply his disciples and no more. Is there such a thing in this world as christianity? All the conflicting parties around us admit that there is. Can we determine what it is? If we can not, no man knows whether he is a christian or not. ”

“ Was Jesus perfect in his life? If he was, he was more than man, for no mere man ever was perfect. Were his teachings perfect? If they were, they were not of man, for no mere man ever gave the world perfect teachings. All merely human teachings, in all the world, and in all ages, have been imperfect, and, it is a miracle in itself, for a perfect being to appear among men, in human form, or a perfect system of teaching to be presented by him to man. He emphatically spake as never man spake. ”

“ 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 ”

“ There is no praise of one class, or condemnation of another, for all do just what they do from an eternal necessity! Off, at another angle, another party is found, theorizing upon the whimsical notion of human pre-existence, in which state, they think a consistent origin for sin may be found! Yet another class perceive, that deep down in the Bible, where, till recently, none had ever penetrated, the doctrine is found, that, at judgment, the wicked will be stricken out of existence, thus ridding them of the idea of endless punishment, which had previously given them much distress! ”

“ Many, in this generation, will never be awakened from this deep and awful slumber, and the thick darkness that surrounds them, till the voice of the archangel from heaven and the trumpet of God shall summon them to the judgment of the great day. ”

“ We claim for the law of King Jesus that it is most magnanimous and liberal. It excels in its liberality all laws ever published. It offers citizenship to all who will come and be naturalized, with full, free and equal rights. It offers to all, the privilege of becoming children in the heavenly family by adoption, and makes them all heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, on the same terms. It offers the same pardon and on the same terms to all the world. It offers the same divine designations to all, the same gospel, and the same spirit of life; the same Bible, and the same law for all. ”

“ If we can not determine what the gospel is, we can not decide who comes near to it, or swerves far from it. If [382] the right way can not be known, no man can tell who is near the truth and who is far from it. If we can not tell which the way to heaven is, we can not tell who is near and who is far from it. The world is lost. We are enveloped in impenetrable darkness. The light of heaven is blown out. Hell has triumphed. All is thrown into chaos. An eternal confusion spreads a universal reign. Doubt, uncertainty and gloom extend over the whole habitable earth. ”

“ When a full exhibition of Christ—of the gospel, is made to men, in a series of discourses, and their hearts are moved, their souls filled with love and gratitude to him whom they discover to be their only Benefactor, their Lord, their Savior and only Redeemer, then we meet them with his own infallible directions, as they fell from his own lips and the lips of his holy apostles, and we never find it fail to give peace to the soul, and if carried out to give the utmost assurance in after life and death of acceptance with God and an eternal reward. ”

“ We have one book, a book no where in doubt—the volume of God, the Bible, and, can all with one heart, and one soul, push it through the world, enforce it on men to read it, teach it to others, and make it the great power in the earth, to break down and wipe out Romanism ”

“ Generation after generation comes forth, enters upon the great theatre of life, throngs the world for a little while, falls in death and passes into eternity. Upon an average, about once in thirty-three years, the whole of the inhabitants of the earth, or as many as are upon it at any one time, over one billion souls, are carried beyond the reach of all missionary effort—beyond the reach of all repentance—all gospel invitations, and so many as are not saved, beyond all possibility of salvation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There is no more reason or gospel for addressing a preacher differently from other men than there is for a preacher to be attired differently. If a man is not preacher enough to be known as a preacher, without the white necktie or the priestly coat, let him pass without being known. We like to treat a preacher, or even a Roman priest, with common civility, but we do all that when we treat him as any other gentleman. We want no preacher’s garb nor titles, and will recognize none of them. Many have those who have never been “born again;” who are not in the kingdom of God—not Christians. ”

“ In precisely the same way, scepticism is the absence of gospel light, or faith. The soul without faith is empty, cold, dark, and hungry, suffering and perishing, for light, heat and food. Scepticism is no system, not a reality, substance or entity of any kind, but the absence of all these. To speak in general terms of faith, both christian faith and all other faith, the absence of it, would be the absence by far of the greater part of all we know, or that may be known by man. There is nothing more certain than that a man who knows much, must believe much. ”

“ Every step he takes in the wrong direction lessens the affection for him in the hearts of the people of God, till he finds himself cut off, if not literally by the action of a church, that which is equally as fatal, the general turning away from him, and utter failure in any sense to support him.
May we all maintain soundness in the faith, in the gospel, integrity to it, faithfulness to it in all things, soundness in character, purity and holiness. May we strive to live nearer and still nearer to God. ”

“ 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. ”

“ All stand firm and true, and move on in faith, “the full assurance of faith,” with power and courage, and the Lord of hosts will be our Lord—the King of saints will be our King. Let all men see that we have a right cause, and that we know it is right, and that we never intend to give it up, but that we intend to fill the world with the doctrine of the cross, make the Bible the power in this country. It is the book, the one book, the only book, setting forth the one religion for all peoples on all the face of the earth, and for all time. ”