Men And Brethren,
I consider often within myself, when I write these things to you, what motive have I for doing it? Ah! if you can find any but love to Christ and your souls, that, by the truth, coming to Christ, you may find the holy liberty of Christian obedience, then blame me. I consider further—is the way in which I do it according to the will of God and the Spirit of Jesus Christ? If you can show me that in anything it is not, I will acknowledge it with sorrow.
In my intercourse with you I am conscious of no fault, unless it be not having spoken the truth to you in love sooner: I pray you to forgive me this—I will endeavor to repair it towards you.
Yet is it in no righteousness of my own, brethren, I am or seek to be justified, but in the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ. I know that some of you count me to have turned your enemy, because I tell you the truth—show me wherein. It is because I love you, and would have you to know the blessings of Christ's grace, that I am willing to sacrifice my good name amongst you, that I may win your souls for Christ. That is my whole and sole desire: my allegiance is to Christ; the rule of my faith, the word of the living God. My object is in no way to gain proselytes to any outward human system, but to bring you (if God will please to accept and bless my humble endeavor), in the acknowledgment of sin, to the truth of God, and the pure faith of the gospel, your souls to a hearty confession of it unto salvation, and your lives unto the way of his will, and the rejection of everything that is contrary to it.
Here, brethren, I find the rest of my own soul, which was once as far from God, and consequently without hope, as any of you, till I found the good Shepherd, Christ Jesus, who gave His life for the sheep, and has gathered me, as I trust undoubtingly, into His fold, and whose best and proper mercy and grace I count it, till He gather me to Himself, or rather while we wait for His appearing, to be the humble instrument of gathering others into the same place of security and blessing.
I am led to some of these remarks by the little book called “Reasons which Roman Catholics offer why they cannot conform to the Protestant religion.” I shall make some observations on these, in the hope that they may lead you to inquire diligently on what ground the hope of your souls rests. One reason given is the impossibility of the Church of Christ erring from the true faith; and I know this weighs much with many sincere persons amongst you. Now, brethren, I freely admit this, for rightly understood as to the true Church, it is a self-evident truth; for this reason, that where there is no true faith, there could be no Church, for the Church thus understood is properly an assembly of believers, that is, of people that have a true faith. And I further freely admit, as the promise on which my soul rests, that from Christ's first coming in the flesh, till His second coming in His glory, there undoubtedly has been and will be such a company of believers, and this company of believers are all witnesses to the faith, and maintain in and to the world the profession of faith, and thus the honor of the Redeemer's name! And this is what the Apostle Paul means by the Church of God being the pillar and ground of the faith. And my assurance of this, which makes me full of joy and gratitude, is rested on the promise of God in His word, (and its actual fulfillment at this day,) and, amongst others, on the very texts given in the little book I have mentioned: so that they are proving what I joyfully confess and praise God for. And more, brethren, I say that it is the Church of Christ who have the only hope of salvation; so that this is not the question between us at all. The question is, who is able to say that he is in that Church, and keeping the sayings of the great Head of it? So that they should show, which they do not, and it is absolutely impossible that they should do, that the Church of Rome, and none else, is the Church of Christ. On the contrary, brethren, I affirm, and call upon you to search the Scriptures whether it be so or not, that every true believer is a member of Christ, that is, one of His true Church; as the Lord Christ says Himself, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." And here I think I am bound to notice an argument which is given publicly amongst you, and which I heard also from one of yourselves, and that is this— “If you say 'that every one that is a true believer in Christ will be saved, why may I not stay in the Church of Rome and still be saved by being a true believer; especially as your divines say that a man can be saved as a Roman Catholic, and we say that he cannot be safe as a Protestant!”
Now I must say, that this is not like the objection of one that fears God, for such an one seeks with a willing heart what the whole will of God is; and does not say, if I am safe here, why should I not stay? And, brethren, I should have awful fears for the safety of a soul that should willfully use this argument at all, instead of seeking to follow Christ with all his heart, in whatever He showed him to do: it is the spirit of a true believer to say, “Lo, we have left all and followed thee;" so that a person cannot be safe willfully continuing in that which is contrary to the truth and will of God, for every true believer takes the will of God as the rule of all he does; so that if a man continues in what he sees to be contrary to it, he is not a true believer. And I honestly confess to you, that this seems to me not only an unsound but a very wicked argument.
The reason then, why it does behoove men to separate themselves from the communion of the Church of Rome, is this one, given by our Lord Himself, that they make the word of God void, and that their worship is vain, because they teach for doctrines the commandments of men. You say you hold the fundamentals; if you do, this proves nothing, for, as James says, “The devils believe and tremble." The question in which your souls are concerned is—Have you believed the Gospel of the Son of God with the heart unto righteousness?
But our Lord declares that there is such a thing as making void the commandments of God by traditions: it was this very thing that our Lord charged upon the Jewish teachers. You boast in traditions: should not this sentence of our Lord's teach you to reflect on such a boast! And accordingly, what is looked for from a Roman Catholic, who desires to become a Protestant, is to renounce those doctrines and commandments which have no warrant in the word of God, avowing his faith in that which is found there, and to receive the word of God as the warrant of his faith, and Christ himself as the only hope of his soul. And the name of Protestant was received from protesting against practices contrary to his will and goodness—against laying on men's consciences the burthen of things which God had not laid, and thereby keeping them from the knowledge of the exceeding riches of God's grace, in His kindness towards us by Christ Jesus. And thus making Him seem to men a hard Master, instead of a tender Father to those that believe in Him. As the Scripture says, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you." Again, “Every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
They teach things, brethren, which have no warrant in the word of God, and (by offering remedies for sin which God has not offered, and therefore will not accept) prevent men from being led to true repentance and faith in Christ Jesus for remission of sins and salvation, which is expressly offered by God as the remedy for sin, and the only one. There is therefore, in the present doctrines of the Church of Rome, no real remission of sins at all; and not only so, but it is expressly denied. And they say that the doctrine which God has set forth in His word about it, tends—dreadful thought!—to sin. The doctrines they teach, and the character they assume—I speak it, brethren, with deep sorrow, directly dishonor the Lord that bought us with the price of His own most precious blood, by assuming to themselves the honor and authority which belong to Him alone, whose glory is the believer's satisfaction.
They teach and command things which have not only no warrant, but are in truth contrary to the word of God.
You who have ears to hear are called upon by the voice of the Lord's love to separate yourselves from them, that you may find the true grace and truth of the Gospel for your soul, and lest the judgment and plagues which will come upon them for these things should find you amongst them, and fall upon you also.
Brethren, I presume not to say when that hour of judgment will come. It will come suddenly and with terror upon those who have lived carelessly and at ease, saying, We shall see no sorrow—we are safe. But I could, brethren, earnestly desire to see you, having believed the testimony of God, watching as men prepared for your Lord, as those that are of the day, so that it should not come upon you unawares, but “when these things begin to come to pass,” you may be among those who shall “lift up their heads, because their redemption draweth nigh;” who have put their trust in Christ, and the promises of God in Him, so that when He appears, ye may rejoice before Him with exceeding joy. Oh! how differently will that man feel, who has trusted in His word and promise, and acted upon faith in Him alone, when He shall appear, from one, who not relying upon His word, that He would save all that trust in Him, has trusted in his own works, has put his hope in man, and man's word, and man's work.
Look unto Him, I beseech you, that cares for your souls, while He calls, “Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found, and call upon him while he is nigh. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." And if it bring reproach upon you, and trouble, dearest brethren, and they cast out your name as evil, is not this very thing rather a mark of truth! “For all,” says the apostle, “that will live godly in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution:" nay, as our Lord Himself said, “Rejoice and be exceeding glad (that is if ye suffer as witnesses of God's truth), for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." And when Paul went round the churches he had planted among the Gentiles, he went “confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,"
I say, then, that the whole hope of the Gospel is denied by the doctrines of the Church of Rome—I mean the free, full, entire redemption purchased for us by the blood-shedding of Christ, and laid hold on by faith; that consequently there is no saving faith amongst you at all; and this is why I am in earnest in speaking to you on the subject. I own to you, brethren, that though I was firmly convinced that you were utterly in the wrong in every point in which I was acquainted with the differences between us, I never felt the deep necessity that now lay upon you of coming to Christ out of the system of Popery, as I do now. I entreat every one, with my whole soul, who loves our Lord Jesus Christ and his honor, to come out from among them and be separate. I would lead you to the discovery that you have not Christ amongst you, and that you are given “another Gospel” than that which the Lord and the Apostles preached, “which is not another, but there are some that trouble you, subverting your souls;” but the Lord will judge them in his own time, when he hath gathered his own sheep. I know not, brethren, the hour when the Lord will call me, and I solemnly assure you, that you will find in Christ, and in Christ alone, by faith in Him, that which your priests falsely pretend to give you, and yet which none of you have—the solid comfort of Christ's Gospel. I ask you if you have, yourselves; and I tell you it is expressly promised in God's word, and the power of it is brought to a believer's soul by the Spirit promised to them that believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. Why will they not even let you read it? Brethren, they keep you in bondage, because you know not the glorious promises of the Father of mercies; and they are enemies, and try to make you enemies of all that have them; but the voice of the Gospel is gone abroad, and His sheep will hear it: yes, brethren, salvation by the blood of the Lamb of God, free, undeserved—reconciliation to God by the death of His own Son, come amongst us in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, is proclaimed, and He will see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. His own word shall not fail— “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” Will you count yourselves unworthy of eternal life Hear, I beseech you, brethren, and save yourselves from this untoward generation, who hate and oppose the knowledge of Christ by the Gospel. Ask any real believer of any denomination, of the Established Church, of the Presbyterians, of the Independents, or by whatever name they may be called; and see if they do not agree in the faith, that “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin;” but why do I say, ask a real believer?—Ask the word of God, in which they find the promises on which their faith is founded. What infatuation is it of your priests, under the name of Christianity, to deny all the efficacy of God's promises in the Gospel!—the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ, and the renewing, enlightening power of the Holy Ghost, and to lead you—to what? To that which is not to be found in His word, and has no warrant but the word of men like yourselves: if they can show any authority for it, it were all well; but they show none but of men like themselves, or perhaps none at all; and they will not suffer you to have God's word to see if it be there or not. Oh! they are heaping up wrath against the day of wrath in a way they little know. They say you cannot understand it, and yet the Lord says, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." And he declares, that He Himself was anointed to preach the Gospel to the poor; and who were His disciples?—Were they rich or poor? They were fishermen; and I tell you why they understood it—they were taught of God: as it is written, “They shall be all taught of God: whosoever, therefore, hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." The Jews of that day said they were the only children of God, and yet those only who left them and came to Jesus, were saved from the judgment that came on their nation. Brethren, the Lord Jesus is not now amongst us in the flesh, but the Scriptures of God declare the truth and power of His coming in the flesh; and they keep these from you. They hide the glory of His free and glorious salvation to the utmost of their power; and when those actuated by the Spirit of truth would declare it to you in love, and appeal to these Scriptures, they do all they can to prevent your hearing the one or searching the other. Why could not you understand when you read it by the teaching of God, as well as the poor of that day, when they heard it by the teaching of God? —Is God less powerful, or less near us than He was? and so far from saying that the Jews could not understand the Scriptures, He says the greatest of all wonders would fail of convincing them if the Scriptures did. “If they hear not Moses and the prophets” —that is the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which was what the Jews had— “neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Hear too what Paul says— “It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise?—Where is the scribe?—Where is the disputer of this world?—Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For the Jews require a sign” —as your teachers ask for miracles— “and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God"—them which are called, brethren, when the power of Christ's voice reaches the heart so that it feels the call. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is proclaimed to you: some are daily hearing the voice of the good Shepherd: who among you will follow Him, and who will count himself unworthy of eternal life? “By me (says he) if any man enter in, he shall go in and out and find pasture; and I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no man shall be able to pluck them out of His hand." Mark by me, as he says, “Come unto me." We preach to you Christ, brethren—Christ crucified, the good Shepherd laying down his life for the sheep—we preached Christ all in all, as Paul preached him. What will they add to him? Can the offerings of men, or the works of men, add to Christ? Or has he laid down his life in vain, and done half his work? You say you believe in Christ; yet those that lead you deny his work, the power and efficacy of his blood to cleanse from all sin! What!—I repeat it, brethren—the blood of the only-begotten Son of God, come in the flesh for our sakes, be insufficient, and your priests can do what He cannot!—Oh! here is the iniquity of these men keeping the sheep of the great Shepherd from the comfort of his love. I will copy for you a passage in the Scripture, which declares his saving love in his own words— “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep: to him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out; and when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice; and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.” — “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep: all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine: as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Again— “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.”
Oh! brethren, dearly beloved, I pour out my heart to God for you, and I know that He hears my prayer; and herein I find comfort in the thought of declaring these things to you, that you should be gathered unto Him. Brethren, there is not one doctrine of those which are peculiar to yourselves, on which you are taught to depend for your souls for present grace or future glory, that has the least warrant of God's word: and, moreover, there is not one of them which is not the invention of Satan to hinder your souls from coming to Christ. Ask those who have had their eyes opened by reading the Scriptures, whether they found them there, or free salvation by Christ? Nay, read rather, yourselves, dear brethren, and see; and oh! when you see, confess Him with your mouth unto salvation, for His own love's sake, for the sake of your brethren who may be still in darkness, and as you would find mercy yourselves in that day.
I shall go on to mention some things, not for their own sake, but because they use them to keep you in darkness.
They tell you Luther was a bad man. How does that change the truth of the Gospel? I firmly believe I shall meet Luther in heaven, through the free grace of God: but, brethren, did he tell the great truths of the Gospel, which had been hidden or corrupted? But though I have not the least doubt that his name was written in heaven, our faith is in no way founded in him, but in Scripture, where his was in all its main points founded; and the reading of which made him, by the teaching of God, wise unto salvation, as they will every one partaker of the same grace, and that by leading him to that entire and unmixed dependence upon Christ, which can alone give peace to the soul “Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you;” even the full treasure of the unsearchable riches of Christ, freely, “without money and without price,” as says the word of the Lord: “Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why spend ye your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not?"
Brethren, I had thought of some arguments as to this matter, but I will not lead your souls from the word of the living God the Savior, to human arguments: I pledge myself to satisfy, out of the word of God, every one who in sincerity of heart will take the word of God for his authority: and, brethren, will you dare to deny the authority of the Word of God? Your teachers wickedly say, that Luther held communion with Satan; tempted by Satan, no doubt, he was; but you know, brethren, this is the lot of every man, as it was, for our sakes, of the sinless Son of Man himself. For the rest, neither you nor I are his judge: and more, if they loved the truth, they would not, if there were faults in the teachers of it, seek to overthrow the truth by means of those faults: if they loved God's word, they would not defame the instruments by which God has made it known; and, I must add, brethren, that denouncing the enemies of God's truth and righteousness where they show themselves such, in a spirit of zealous faith, is not contrary to Christian faith.
(To be continued)