F. H. Berick

“ Thunders mutter in the distance; winds moan across the raging bosom of the deep; all things betide the rising of that final storm of Divine indignation, which shall sweep away the vain refuges of lies. When the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lightning down His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of devouring fire ”

“ Rally around this central principle, look to the Lord, and you are impregnable." The waves of the coming conflict, which is to convulse Christendom to her centre, are beginning to be felt.
The deep roarings begin to swell beneath us. All the old signs fail. God answers no more by Urim and Thummim, nor by dream, nor by prophet. Men's hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth. ”

“ Here is a minister—and, by the way, there has been many of them—who embraces the truth of the Lord's speedy coming; it is as fire shut up in his bones; he comes with the joyful intelligence before his congregation, and in the fulness of his soul he preaches that truth, which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ”

“ There we learn the history of man—created as he was in the image of Him who rules the universe; endowed with intellectual powers, and moral capacity, perfect and upright—a candidate for immortality. Restrained by one command, yet acting with a free, unbiased will, we see him transcend the law of God, we hear the sentence fall from the lips of his "Maker,"—"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." ”

“ The question is not, what does Christ require?—but, what says the bishop? Now, we would say nothing, but for the fact, that the same principle is developing itself in our own ranks. This miserable creed system is now exerting upon Adventists an unsuspected, but tremendous power against the liberty of the gospel.
It is stealthily creeping upon us. May God unscale our eyes, before we get entangled in the meshes of the net of the Devil! "It is true, each denomination says, we inflict no penalty; we only decline to receive into our ranks one who does not agree with us. ”

“ The man of God must not be a "brawler," but quiet and peaceable. He must be no "striker," not quarrelsome; not a persecutor of those who may differ from him; for, to indulge in such a spirit, is to give our profession the lie. He must be apt to teach. "Study," says the apostle, "to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." ”

“ Look at the Bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Constantinople, &c., striving for the mastery; till finally the Bishop of Rome succeeded, trampling under foot all others, and then rearing a mighty fabric, and taking his seat in the temple of God, showing himself that he was God. But we must remember that this was not done in one year, or one century. It was like the leaven in the measure of meal—a gradual work. The deviation was so small at the first, as not to be noticed. The professed Church were imperceptibly assimilated into the same spirit; like priest, like people. ”

“ But some may say, that it is of no use to expose our brethren;—ah, to hold our peace would be to follow in the same track—to adopt the same policy of an apostate church. We wish our brethren to know, both far and near, that this is the policy of some at the present time. We have nothing to say against men, but against their courses and their measures. Let every Adventist, who wants to be free, beware of this human machinery—these sectarian pens—this last effort of Satan to destroy souls. ”

“ There we behold the most sublime truths—the most comprehensive sentiments; principles more philosophical than those of "Pythagoras"—of more moral worth, than those of "Socrates." There we see shepherds, announcing the birth of the Son of God, and listening to that enraptured strain, "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to men." ”

“ Hundreds of professed Christians deny the personal coming of Christ: they teach that persons, when they die, go immediately to heaven; that people have immortal souls; that the spirits of men, after they are dead, return to this world; and that they are peeping, rapping, and muttering, which, by the way, is a legitimate fruit of the Immortal soul theory;—a counterpart of that lie of Satan—"Thou shalt not surely die." These, together with the idea that heresy may be kept out by human machinery, are some of the leading errors of the age. ”

“ There we see men of the meanest condition, the smallest capacity in the eye of the world, inspired by the spirit of Him who fills immensity with His presence; revealing the fact of man's salvation, through a crucified Saviour. ”

“ Every effort to keep the Church together by making creeds, is an innovation.—There were divisions in the apostles' day, and there have been divisions in every age since that time. Every effort on our part to steady the Ark, when such effort has not been put forth in accordance with the plan of God, has been frowned upon by the Almighty. It is often the case that those who seem to have so much anxiety, and manifest so much zeal to hold and to "build up the cause," as they are pleased to term it, are, when the truth is known, trying to build up themselves. ”

“ If the Bible is a sufficient rule of faith and practice, every thing used as a substitute is an innovation. We have no right to make any tests; all that are necessary to salvation, may be found in the Bible.
All creeds, from the Thirty-nine Articles down to the most simple, as used by Adventists, are wrong. Not that they contain no truth; but the principle is wrong. It is the same in every instance. ”

“ The professed church to-day stands just where the Jews did eighteen hundred years ago; and the language of Christ, as addressed to the Pharisees, is applicable to the various denominations: "But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." Fine meeting-houses, costly pulpits, and a ministry that will please itching ears, are the things with the great mass. They are guilty of turning the Lord out of doors, for they have rejected His truth. ”

“ How foolish it is for a class of persons to get together in conference capacity, and resolve what is and what is not truth! It is assuming that which does not belong to any man, or body of men; it is a relic of the "Roman Church,"—an usurpation of the "Mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth." ”

“ Instead of looking to commentaries, or depending on what the Fathers of the Church have said for doctrine, or making creeds for our own use; we are to search the Scriptures—relying on what has been spoken by the Saviour and the "Prophets," and the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only doctrine able to make us "wise unto salvation."
But the apostle goes further, and declares, that the Scriptures are profitable for reproof; they are able to convince men of the truth, and to confound those who would deny it. ”

“ We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. We are opposed to these religious combinations, because we believe they are opposed to God and His cause. ”

“ He who is to come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth, trampling His enemies in the dust, destroying the works of Satan, breaking up all these compacts which are opposed to His truth, establishing his everlasting kingdom, which is not to be left to another people, but which is to break in pieces all other kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. ”

“ Like the car loosed from the train on a downward grade:—at first it moves so gently, no fears are entertained—how little will it take to stop it, is the feeling that pervades the mind of the passengers; each one feels secure. ”

“ Well, now, to take one step towards adopting a system, the perfection of which leads to such damnable results, must be a departure from the simplicity of the truth—a recreancy to the cause which, in the end, will be more baneful than beneficial. ”

“ And thus, in loving God with all our hearts, and speaking the truth in love, "we shall grow up into Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compact by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." ”

“ While it is our duty to do all we can, under the blessing of Heaven, to promote the welfare of the cause with which we are associated, we must be careful not to indulge a thought that its prosperity depends upon our feeble efforts: for it will live, whether we do or not. ”

“ A great majority of the professed Church, at the present time, notwithstanding their organizations, are as corrupt as was the Church in the dark ages. But,
4th, It keeps out heresies.—If this be so, why did not the apostles keep out heresy? For we are told by some, at the present time, that they had creeds and compacts? There were some in the apostles' time who believed in circumcision. He, the apostle, inquires of the Galatians, Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? ”

“ They so proclaimed them, and came into the liberty of the gospel. And though we may not be all agreed as to what constitutes Babylon, we are agreed in the INSTANT and FINAL SEPARATION from all who oppose the doctrine of the coming and kingdom of God at hand. We believe it to be a case of LIFE and DEATH. It is DEATH to remain connected with those bodies that speak lightly of, or oppose, the coming of the Lord. It is LIFE to come out from ALL HUMAN TRADITION, and stand upon the word of God, and look daily for the appearance of the Lord. ”

“ It is like Rome handing over the victims of the Inquisition to the civil arm, charging it to do them no harm, and then piously lauding her own lamb-like disposition. It is true, the denominations do not do the candidate any harm; they only leave him to his inevitable fate." But it may be remarked, that it is of no use to say any thing about it; and should the individual lift his warning voice against it, he is accused of having a hard spirit—of opposing somebody. But we wish it distinctly understood, that we are not at war with persons, but principles ”

“ And if men will not stand without this miserable man-made stuff, the quicker they fall, the better.
But it is not only so with creeds, but every organization and compact, separate from the word of God, is of the flesh. But as there are many reasons urged in favor of creeds and compacts, we may perhaps now, as well as any time, call them upon the stand in this connection. And—
1st, It is said they had churches in the apostles' day. True; but the term Church, as Adam Clark says, simply means an assembly or congregation, the nature of which is to be understood from connecting circumstances. ”

“ But we do not stop here; that spirit, or desire to lord it over God's heritage, which characterized the councils of Rome, has been transferred to the various synods of our time. It is often the case, that a few persons get together, take into consideration the wants of the cause, as they call it, reduce them to one or more propositions, and then bring them before the meeting. ”

“ Yes; we have men among us who have declared, that these questions shall not be preached in their pulpits. But the question may be asked, "Have we not a right to say what shall, and what shall not, be preached in our pulpits? and shall we not use our utmost endeavors to keep the Church pure?" ”

“ AMEN and AMEN.
2d, These "creeds" and compacts are opposed to free speech. One great object of creeds is a union of sentiment. Hence, when a man joins any one of the various denominations, the creed is presented, or the question asked, do you believe so and so? Should he dissent in some particulars, yet being an influential or wealthy person, he may join by promising he will not agitate the points of difference. ”

“ The history of all the past is against it. The Church, in every age since the apostles' time, hath been troubled with wicked men. The Saviour taught His disciples that, "the wheat and the tares should grow together until the harvest." ”

“ If he persists, he must be admonished. If he continues to act the part of a man and a Christian, turn him out—"yes, shear off the troublesome thinkers, and sing stagnant hallelujahs."
But we may come nearer home. ”

“ But nothing like authority or lenity is given for creeds, or any of this human machinery. The Apostle Paul informs the Church, that men "would arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." ”