24. “W. S.,” Derby. Suffering with Christ is the result of our identification with Him. “The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (John 17) So also, chapter 15:18-20. Suffering for Christ is more the result of devotedness to Him. Phil. 1:2929For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; (Philippians 1:29), BE.
25. “Η. Ε. B.,” London. Yours is only one of the numberless cases that have come under our notice, during the last 36 years, illustrating the truly deplorable effect of mere theology, whether high, low, or moderate. What a mercy, dear friend, for such as you, that God never puzzles people about their souls. The devil is sure to do so, if he can; and he is never better pleased than when he can make use of theology and religiousness to accomplish his end. He cares not what he uses, provided he can keep the soul from Christ. We earnestly recommend you to fling, far and forever, away from you all the puzzling statements of men—the bewildering dogmas of divinity—the conflicting opinions of theologians, and hearken to the gracious words of a Savior-God, “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Where, we would ask those friends of yours, are we told in scripture that, “we must continue a long time in an anxious state of mind?” How long are we to continue? Who is to prescribe? We fully believe in the abiding necessity of repentance—the deep and thorough judgment of ourselves. But we are not saved by our repentance but by the precious atoning blood of Christ. None can so fully value a lifeboat as a drowning man; but it is the lifeboat that saves him and not his feelings as to his danger, or as to the value of the lifeboat. We are not to build upon the depth, intensity, or duration of our repentance, but upon the finished work of Christ.
Again, you say your friends do not believe in sudden conversions. Then they would not believe in the conversion of the woman of Samaria, of the thief on the cross, or of Saul of Tarsus; for, most assuredly, all three were what would be called sudden conversions. The fact is, it is not a question of the suddenness of the conversion at all; it is simply a question of the genuine work of God’s Spirit in the soul, revealing Christ by the word, and causing the heart to believe in Him for salvation and peace. It is the Christ I reach, and not the way I reach Him that saves my soul and satisfies my heart. Nothing can be more miserable or depressing than this occupation with our own experience so sadly characteristic of both the high and low schools of doctrine. It is a common saying that extremes meet; and its truth is illustrated by the fact that Calvinism and Arminianism, though so unlike, both meet in the one point of self-occupation.
Finally then, dear friend, let us assure you, on the holy authority of the New Testament, that there is nothing whatsoever to hinder your resting, at once and forever, in the amazing love of God to you as a sinner, on the finished work of Christ, and on the imperishable testimony of the Holy Ghost. Turn your back, with decision, on schools of divinity, and think of the loving heart of God, the precious blood of Jesus, and the clear and tranquilizing record of the blessed Spirit, in the holy scriptures. Then will your peace flow as a river, and your heart, your lips, and your life will praise and magnify the God of your salvation.
26. “J. D.” Man consists of “spirit, soul, and body.” When scripture speaks of the spirit of a beast, it means the mere animal life. When man was created, “The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” This was peculiar to man. Here we have the solid basis of the truth of the immortality of the soul. The Lord be praised for your precious testimony to the beauty, the harmony, and the value of holy scripture I May you go on to know more of these things, and to bear witness to them in the face of all the infidel attacks upon the peerless Volume of Inspiration!
27. “H. H.,” Devizes. Surely, dear friend, if it be contrary to the Spirit of Christ, for a Christian to go to law, it must be equally so to employ a society to do so on his behalf. If it be right to go to law, let it be done openly and honestly. If it be wrong, why attempt to do it by proxy? We note what you say of the “Letters,” and the paper on “One-sided Theology.” The Lord will guide as to their publication. We desire to bless His name for what you say as to their usefulness.
28. “A Perplexed One.” You have our fullest sympathy in all your mental exercise. We believe you are perfectly right in refusing to be present where a woman undertakes to speak or pray in public. The spirit and teaching of the New Testament are against any such practice. “Silence” is enjoined on the woman in public, or in the presence of a man. As to 1 Cor. 11, you have nothing about the assembly until verse 17, where a new subject is introduced; and, as you truly remark, the Spirit of God cannot contradict Himself. He cannot, in one place, tell a woman to keep silence, and, in another, tell her to break it. It is, at once, contrary to God and contrary to nature, for a woman to come forward as a public speaker. She is to illustrate the proper place of the church—subjection—not teaching. The church does not teach—ought not to teach—she is false if she does. “Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach.” This is the spirit and genius of popery. To say that the church hath power to decree, enact, or teach, is apostasy. The church is taught by the word of God. She is to obey and be in subjection. She ought to be the pillar and ground of the truth—to hold and maintain the truth, but never teach. Such is the invariable teaching of the New Testament, as to the church of which the woman should be the illustration.
It will perhaps be said in reply, that God uses the preaching and praying of women, for the blessing of souls. Well, what does this prove? The Tightness of female preaching? No; but the sovereign goodness of God. Were we to argue from the fact of the divine blessing, what might we not be led to approve? God is sovereign, and may work where and by whom He pleases; we are servants and must do what He tells us. In the time of the awakening in Ulster, in 1859, souls were smitten in Roman Catholic chapels, in the presence of the sacrifice of the mass. Does that prove popery to be right? Nay, it only proves that God is good. To reason from results may lead us into the grossest error. It ought to be sufficient, for everyone who bows to the authority of scripture, to know that the Holy Ghost strictly commands the woman to keep silence, in public assembly. And truly we may say, “Doth not even nature itself teach” the moral unfitness of a woman’s appearing in a pulpit or on a platform? Unquestionably. There are many and varied ways in which women can “labor in the gospel” without the unseemliness of public preaching. We are not told how “those women labored” with the blessed apostle; but, most assuredly, it was not by speaking in public.
As to the four daughters of Philip the evangelist, “who did prophesy,” it rests with the defenders of female preaching to prove that they exercised that gift in public. We believe it was in the shade and retirement of their father’s house.
In conclusion, then, dear friend, we would just express our ever deepening conviction that home is, pre-eminently, the woman’s sphere. There she can move with moral grace and dignity. There she can shine whether as a wife, a mother, or a mistress, to the glory of Him who has called her to fill those holy relationships. There the most lovely traits of female character are developed—traits which are completely defaced when she abandons her home work and enters the domain of the public preacher.