Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

THE

CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.

No. 226.]

OCTOBER, 1820. [No. 10. Vol. XIX.

RELIGIOUS COMMUNICATIONS.

For the Christian Observer.

ON THE LESSONS TO BE LEARN-
ED FROM THE DIFFERENCES
OF OPINION IN THE CHURCH
OF CHRIST.

HE Searcher of all hearts and
Disposer of all events might

doubtless, if he had seen fit, have made such a visible distinction between the good and the bad, the righteous and the wicked, that no difficulty should in any case have occurred in referring each individual of mankind to his proper class, Instead of suffering the wheat and the tares to grow together, and oftentimes to bear so close a resemblance that no human eye can perceive the distinction between them, he might have fixed such characteristic marks on each, that no class whatever of sinners should have been for a moment able to obtrude into the visible church of Christ; and that not only the open transgressor, but the pharisaic formalist, and the insincere professor of religion should have been instantly detected, and the earthly pale of the sanctuary have been preserved as free from defilement and hostile intrusion as the celestial temple itself.

But such has not been the arrangement of the Divine Providence. The wheat and the tares are suffered to grow together; and it is not for the members of the church militant here on earth effectually to make the separation. God alone knoweth those that are his; and it is the part of each individual to direct his scrutiny chiefly towards himself, and to CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 226.

ascertain his own character in the sight of his Creator. With regard to our neighbour, "to his own Master he standeth or falleth;" we cannot read his heart; we cannot measure the extent of his offences, punishment: our duty is, indeed, or apportion the just degree of his patiently and meekly to reprove,

rebuke, and exhort: we are to avoid the wicked, to shun their example, and to discountenance sin but beyond this we have no auin whatever shape it may appear; thority to advance. Persecution is not only contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, but is quite inadequate to the delicate task of separating the tares from the wheat. "The reapers are the angels:" yet even they are not to put in their sickle till the harvest is ripe; while the infallible Judge will himself maintain the sole prerogative of determining the respective. characters of each.

for human vigilance or wisdom to But though it is not practicable eradicate from the visible church of Christ every noxious weed, or in all instances to discern between the wheat and the tares, yet from the mixture of the two we may derive many useful lessons, and infer some of the probable benefits which the ed to be elicited from this appa all-wise Disposer may have intendrent evil. It is very evident, that the character of the Christian is tried and purified by the struggle which he is thus obliged constantly to maintain with surrounding conself-examination; he is preserved tamination: he is led to deeper in a state of greater spiritual vigilance; he is kept diffident and pe

4 N

nitent; and, by feeling it his duty to live in the world as not of the world, he is constrained to seek for support and guidance from the Holy Spirit, and to look constantly to his gracious Saviour" to keep him from falling, and to present him faultless before the presence of God with great joy."

But there is yet another circumstance in the appearance of the visible church, which may seem even more difficult of solution than the permitted admixture of the righteous and the wicked; namely, the differences of opinion, and oftentimes the alienation of heart, which are to be found among its true members themselves. The Christian church, even if we could exclude from its visible pale all unsound professors of religion, would be far from presenting to our view that universal aspect of peace, uniformity, and fraternal co-operation, which we anticipate at a future and brighter period of its history. The best men have their differences of opinion; and a variety of points, allowed on all hands not to be essential to salvation, divide the disciples of the same Master into numerous sects and parties,-the followers of which are too apt, in their partial differences, to forget the duty which they owe to their common Lord, and their obligation to love each other for his sake.

Now it does not become us to defend this state of things; for the differences and divisions of the Christian church are doubtless an evil of the most serious nature. Nor is it right to impute such an arrangement to the Almighty Disposer, except permissively; for, though he may overrule evil for good, he must never be charged for a moment with being its author. Nor, again, ought we to extend our researches, farther than is revealed, into the reasons why God may have seen fit to permit such a state of things on this point, as on the whole question of moral evil, we must be content to acknowledge

our ignorance, and to exclaim in devout acquiescence, "How unsearchable are thy judgments, and thy ways past finding out!" But without intruding upon unhallow. ed ground, we may profitably inquire into the actual effects which result from a permitted evil, and endeavour to gain the instruction which the circumstances of the case seem calculated to suggest. In this view, even the differences of opinion in the Christian church, much as they are to be deplored, and anxiously as they are to be avoided, may not be unproductive of many useful lessons to mankind. We shall briefly touch upon some of these lessons and effects.

One very obvious consequence resulting from the difference of sects and opinions in the visible church of Christ, is, that it excites all parties to greater diligence and circumspection.-Each watches over his neighbour; and thus all are, more or less, preserved from gross defections. Surrounded only by persons of their own views, men are apt to relax in their vigilance, and thus many a prosperous church has fallen into decay. But the inspection of a rival presents a check to the dangerous effects of prosperity, and prevents that fatal stagnation which often arises from undisturbed repose. It is true, that party emulation is not an unexceptionable motive; except indeed within the narrow limit prescribed by the Apostle, of provoking each other only to love and to good works. Yet its effects have been often overruled for good. Many who would have become wholly torpid have been thus aroused; a useful division of benevolent labour has been effected, and the tendency of each party to turn aside from the strict line of duty, or to neglect some particular doctrine or precept of the Gospel, has been checked by the presence of those who would immediately detect and expose the inconsistency.

Another useful effect which a

survey of the divisions of the religious world may produce in our minds, is to convince us more fully of the truth of our common Christianity. The minor differences of opinion among true believers affect not the great foundation of faith ; and amidst a multiplicity of rival opinions, the essential doctrines of the Gospel are embraced with equal zeal by many who vary from each other in numerous points of secondary importance. The points held in common thus become doubly confirmed; and what adds greatly to the force of the inference, is, that the personal experience of believers is every where, and under every modification, essentially the same. Differ as they may in minute points of controversial theology, they are all penitent for their transgressions, all are mourning over their innate depravity, looking up to the same Saviour for pardon through his blood, praying for the influences of the same Spirit, striving against the same "body of sin," and pressing forward towards the same mark of the prize of their high calling of God in Christ Jesus. As the zealous vigilance of rival sects has preserved the sacred text from being corrupted, so the uniform experience of true Christians in all ages and countries, has exhibited a strong proof of the reality of genuine religion, and has shewn to an unbelieving world its blessed character and effects.

Another important lesson which we should learn from the unhappy divisions in the Christian church, is the duty of self-diffidence and humility. When we behold many who are perhaps our superiors in thought and information, and far more advanced in piety, cherishing very different conclusions from our own on points of doubtful disputation, should it not moderate our opinion of our own spiritual attainments, and repress the harsh and dogmatical spirit which so often displays itself in religious controversies? Let us but duly feel what

weak and erring creatures the best of us are; how impotent is our reason, how dark our understanding, how wayward our passions, how deeply rooted our prejudices; and then we shall no longer exclaim, "We are the people, and wisdom shall die with us;" but shall find a monitor to our pride in the diversities of opinions which perplex our understanding.

And while we thus learn diffidence in ourselves, let us also practice forbearance and candour towards others.-The tempers, the prejudices, the education, the associations of persons differ so greatly, that the same truth oftentimes presents itself to different minds, under very dissimilar aspects. The motives of our neighbours may be as honest, his prayers as sincere, and his diligence as unquestionable as our own, and yet his conclusions on many points may not be the same. If we think these conclusions wrong, it is our duty to use our efforts to point out the error; but we must not violate Christian charity, in hopes of correcting it, and much less in order to gratify a disputatious or intolerent spirit. The servant of God "must not strive;" he is a subject of "the Prince of Peace," whose empire was never yet extended by intemperance or persecution. Far then from inflaming the differences which exist among true Christians, it ought to be our earnest endeavour to heal them; and, instead of deciding uncharitably on the spiritual state of other men, let us examine more minutely our own; and first cast the beam out of our own eye, that we may see more clearly to pluck out the mote that is in our brother's eye,—an office, be it remembered, which ought never to be undertaken in an unkind or uncandid spirit.

But while, from the differences of opinion among Christians, we learn the duty of diffidence in ourselves, and candid construction towards others, we ought also to

cherish a thankful frame of mind for the light which we enjoy.-Is our knowledge of Sacred Truth in the main clear and scriptural; and have we, as we suppose, even in minuter points, a more correct view than some whom we still esteem as fellow-disciples of the same Master? To whom shall we attribute this difference? Shall we suppose that our own minds were by nature more open to Divine truth, our hearts more soft, or our understanding more enlighten ed than those of other men? No; let us rather lament over our native blindness, our indifference to spiritual objects, and the still remaining ignorance in which we are so often involved; while at the same time we look up with grateful adoration to the Author of every good and perfect gift, for the measure of knowledge which he has been pleased to bestow upon us, and which may be sufficient to make us "wise unto salvation," though it can never be such as justly to minister to pride or self sufficiency.

Again the differences in the Christian church may be permitted, among other reasons, in order to lead us to the diligent study of the Scriptures, and to earnest prayer to God to lighten our darkness, and to guide us into all necessary truth.We have the satisfaction, amidst all our discrepancies of sentiment, to know that there is still an infallible Oracle and an unerring Guide. Were our examination of the word of God more diligent and unbiassed, and our application to him as our Teacher more filial and implicit, many points perhaps of doubt, and certainly all essential doctrines, would be rendered so far clear to our minds as to cease to agitate and alarm our spirits. The Scriptures are not dark and obscure in themselves; but too often we read them "with the vail upon our hearts :" we cast around their most obvious declarations the mists of human passions, and obscure their bright

ness by our prejudices and partyspirit. In order to arrive at truth, we must study them with simplicity and godly sincerity: our prayer should be, "What I see not, teach thou me;"-"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold the wondrous things of thy Law." If the differences of opinion among human controversialists, and the difficulty of discovering truth amidst the tumult of contending parties, thus lead us from such broken cisterns, to the Fountain Head of wisdom and intelligence, we shall have derived from them a lesson of no slight importance in the Christian life.

Again: from the same consideration we should endeavour to acquire large and unbiassed views of the Gospel.-We should guard against the little prejudices which separate brother from brother in the church of Christ. We should contemplate the doctrines and precepts of revelation as a large and magnificent whole; and the kingdom of our Redeemer, not, as it at present appears to human vision, rent into sects and factions, but as it is contemplated by the Omniscient Eye, as one extensive household united under one common Master, and "at unity in itself." Our party-spirit too often confines our grasp of Divine truth to a few exclusive points: on these we are apt to reiterate the same thoughts and expressions, instead of endeavouring to enlarge our conceptions so as to take in the plenitude of scriptural information. Avoiding this narrow and sectarian spirit, let us scripturally examine all things, and "hold fast that which is good:" let us traverse every accessible region of spiritual knowledge; let us go throughout that fertile country “in the length thereof,and in the breadth thereof;" assured that "there is still very much land to be possessed," and that it is often our confined information and uncharitable spirit, far more than our alleged zeal for sacred truth, that inflame the party feuds which divide the

true members of the invisible church of Christ.

In connexion with this idea, let us further endeavour to promote religion itself, rather than its mere modifications and unessential accompaniments. If we cannot bring all men to think alike in matters of discipline, or to express in the same terms with ourselves their opinions on various secondary points, let it be our effort to infuse around us that which is the best bond of peace, and the best preservative against error; a deep, humble, and unaffected tone of piety; an ardent love for the Saviour; a self-abasing feeling of human weakness; a penitential contrition for sin; a selfrenouncing humility; a simple and implicit faith in the sacrifice and death of Christ; a grateful acquiescence in this Divine means of salvation; a spirit of prayer and watchfulness, of love and joy, of sincerity and zeal, of diligence and Christian unanimity. Let us aim wholly to subdue our prejudices where they are unfounded, and, even where they are reasonable, to keep them in such just bounds as not to blend what ought to be di vided; not like the sectarian Pharisees, to insist on matters of " mint, anise, and cummin," so as to neglect the weightier matters of the law; not to think more of proselyting our neighbour to our party, than of saving his soul; not to regulate our opinion of him more by the name which he bears than the spirit which he discovers; not in our zeal for the mere outworks of Christianity to leave the citadel itself undefended; in a word, not to degrade the cause of the Redeemer into a petty rivalry of factions, instead of maintaining it in its true spirit and dignity as an empire of peace and love, of glory to God, and good will to mankind.

And-to mention but one lesson more which we may derive from the unhappy differences which exist in the outward church-we should

learn to aspire more earnestly after that celestial state in which our knowledge shall be perfect, and our union complete.-Wearied with the jar of endless controversy in the church upon earth, the spirituallyminded Christian will delight to rise above the gross mists which float around terrestrial objects, and to breathe that pure atmosphere which is never ruffled by the agitations of earthly contests. He beholds in all their folly and littleness, as well as in their guilt, the party cavils, the unkind surmises, and the cruel misapprehensions which deform the visible church. He longs for a more peaceful scene; "where the wicked shall cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest;" where " Ephraim shall no more envy Judah, and Judah shall no more vex Ephraim." Compelled himself sometimes by unexpected circumstances, and oftener by his own restless passions, to mix in these rude scenes, he is at length anxious for repose, and for the undisturbed serenity of a world which can afford no temptation to the exercise of unhallowed tempers, nor be broken in upon by the din of unedifying polemics. He wishes to be where he shall see and know even as he is seen and known; where, from the infinite Source of Wisdom, his beatified spirit shall drink in the full tide of knowledge, and derive from the overflowing Fountain of Peace and Love a temper the very opposite to that which causes so many disorders in this lower world. He reverts his eye from the stormy ocean of human life, to a shore where every wave flows in an eternal calm of peace and joy; unruffled by the rocks and breakers, the surf and eddies, of sublunary passions. "I am meditating," said the dying Hooker, (who truly had lived to see that this world is made up of perturbations,") "the number and nature of angels, and their blessed obedience and order, without which peace could not be in heaven ;and O that it were so on earth!"

« AnteriorContinuar »