Luther honored the truth and loved it, and we love him because he loved it, and the Author and Giver of it—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and we are thankful to God on his account: he was a man, and we accordingly reject everything he held which we do not find according to the truth of God: acting according to the direction of the apostle, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." And so far from asking you to believe Luther, we entreat you to trust in no man implicitly. And it was to the Scriptures Luther and his companions appealed, and to which we appeal, and by which God will judge us all at the last day. If you accept grace, He will deal with you accordingly; you will be freely forgiven; your sins blotted out and remembered no more; and you will find, what you have trusted in, that God is love. If you will persist in seeking to be saved by your works, God will judge you accordingly, and you will be found wanting in that day; for “in his sight shall no man living be justified.” But it was not flesh and blood, much less the enemy of all truth, that made Luther cleave to and preach the Scriptures of truth. And if you read them, you will find so, to your souls' everlasting comfort. Or if the gospel of eternal love, and the truth in them be hid, when they are brought before you, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the hearts of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine into them.
Moreover, brethren, Luther was not alone, but it pleased the God of all grace to raise up, in order to give to the world the fullest testimony that it was his own work, at the very same time, at a distant place, the monastery of Einsedeln, a member of that monastery, named Zuingle, to preach the truths of the Gospel, and protest against the wickedness of the Pope and practices of Rome. And God was pleased so to order it, that these two men, Zuingle and Luther, were never united in sentiment to the day of their death. And so far was Luther from agreeing with Zuingle in his opinion on one point, that he was so angry with him about it that he would never join churches with him. And the truth is, that it rather seems that Zuingle began to preach the Gospel before Luther. The cause of the Reformation was God's mercy and grace, the time for which was now fully come; the occasion of it, under God's providence, was this: Pope Leo the Tenth wanted to finish a very splendid church in Rome, commonly called St. Peter's: and in order to raise money for it, he set indulgences for sin to sale without limit. And this it was which made Luther and Zuingle both at the same time begin to protest against the conduct of the church: though Luther at first did not charge the Pope with it, but only preached against the indulgences. When they tried to silence him, he went on to search the Scriptures in order to defend himself, and find out Where the truth of the matter lay; and there he found that the Papacy of Rome had no foundation for its assumed authority, and afterward was persuaded that it was indeed that Babylon which it is expressly foretold should rise in the Christian Church, and corrupt everything herself, and persecute all faithful witnesses to God's truth. Would to God, brethren, and it is my earnest prayer and trust, that many amongst you may be led by the same means of searching the Scriptures to discover the same truths; and above all, that your souls may find their way by the teaching of God's Spirit, by the means of God's word, to the full power of eternal life and unfeigned holiness of heart and life through the knowledge of Jesus Christ therein revealed; that you may enter with unmixed joy into the presence of your God.
I have added, brethren, a few distinct texts, which show in direct terms the falseness of the doctrines on which you have been taught to depend. They do not deny that the Scriptures are the word of God. And then judge you, whether those men are to be trusted who teach those things, and keep the Scriptures from you, which they must own to be true.
They say that men who are forgiven their sins must nevertheless pass through the fire of Purgatory, in order to be cleansed from them.
The Scripture says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin."
They say that men ought to address the Virgin Mary and the Saints as Mediators.
The Scripture says, “There is one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus."
They say that the Mass is a propitiatory sacrifice, an offering or oblation for the sins of the quick and the dead.
The Scriptures say, that “by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” —that remission of sins is obtained by the new covenant in his blood; and that “where remission of these is, there is no more an offering or oblation for sin."
They say that salvation is obtained by men's works.
The Scriptures say, “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."
I take notice of these here, not to enter further upon them as points of controversy; and indeed where the Scripture has plainly spoken on a subject, I do not see what room there is for controversy, but to lead you to this point: the priests would have you trust blindly in them; at the same time they cannot deny that the Scriptures—take your own Douay, I am content—are the word of the living God. Now I ask you, do they not teach you the things I have mentioned I and are not the Scriptures, your own Scriptures, flat contrary? How can you give the salvation of your souls into the hands of men who acknowledge, the Scriptures to be the word of God, and yet teach things flatly against them? But not to show you error merely, and what you have reason to distrust, but to set before you truths upon which your souls may rest, if God shall give mercy to you that this may reach you, and open your hearts to the acknowledging the truth, I add-
Christ, and Christ alone, is the true sacrifice.
Christ, and Christ alone, is the great High Priest.
Christ, and Christ alone, is the Mediator between God and man.
Christ, and Christ alone, is our righteousness in the sight of God.
Christ, and Christ alone, is our perfect pattern.
Christ, and Christ alone, is the great Head of the Church, and the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.
Christ, and Christ alone, is the true vine, in which every branch finds life; while every believer incorporated into His mystical body by faith and baptism, thus by the communion of his Spirit becomes one with Him, and partaking of His fullness according to the measure of the gift of God, fulfills in his sphere the same offices which he fills as the first-born amongst many brethren, ministering to the completeness and perfection of His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.
Brethren, the Scriptures contain all things necessary to your salvation, because they reveal the fullness of Christ Jesus, “God manifest in the flesh.”
The Apostle Paul says, “By grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast; for we are God's workmanship, created again in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
What we want, then, is to know the way of salvation, and how to be perfected in good works, in which believers walk.
Both are found in Christ by faith-He is our Savior and our pattern.
[The author would now say, no doubt, by the baptism of the Spirit.-ED.]
Both are revealed in the Scriptures, as to which Paul says to Timothy, “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Further, brethren, that the minds of any of you who love the truth, may be undeceived, I add some farther points.
First—You rely upon being Catholic. Catholic means, as your catechism, I believe, tells you, universal, and that it is universal in different ways.
Brethren, the fact is, the Church of Rome is universal in none, except by the antichristian assumption by the Pope of what belongs to Christ alone. A large portion of professing Christians have no communion with the Church of Rome, and have never, at any period, admitted its supremacy. Its faith is not universal; it totally differs from, and is opposed to, “the faith once delivered to the saints;” and for this we appeal to the Scriptures, which they cannot deny contain that faith.
Not only, brethren, are they opposed to the Scriptures, but the articles which we renounce have been added to the creed, in express defiance of the authority of the primitive Church itself. In the year 449, the Third General Council, which sat at Ephesus to maintain the truth against heresies, expressly decreed, that no innovation should be made on the creed then settled. In the eighth century after Christ, Pope Leo the Third wrote to his Legate, (who was attending assemblies of German and French Bishops,) in answer to an inquiry from him, stating, that no addition should be permitted to be made in the creed, which the French and German Bishops were thinking of making; and he set up, out of the archives at Rome, silver tablets in St. Peter's and St. Paul's, with the creed engraved on them, as a memorial of what it was then, for the very purpose that nothing should be changed or added. This happened a thousand years ago. Now the great difference between the Greek Church (which denies the supremacy of Rome, and is separated from it) and the Roman (which calls itself Catholic) is the addition which this tablet was put up to prevent, and which the Greeks have not agreed to the insertion of. And most of the great points in which we, who deny both the Catholicity and the Supremacy of the Church of Rome, differ from you, are, twelve new points added at the time of the Reformation to the creed by Pope Pius the Fourth and the Council of Trent. So that, far from their being Catholic in point of faith, we are sanctioned in our separation from them, not only by the Scriptures, which these new doctrines of theirs are quite contrary to; but they are, in adding them to the creed and attempting to impose them on us, expressly condemned by a General Council, which they receive and declare to be of divine authority, which sat fourteen hundred years ago. And the Greek Church, which they also condemn as schismatics, to say the least, are justified in their separation by the authority of one of their own Popes, who took the pains of fixing up a silver tablet to prevent that which after Popes did or acquiesced in. So utterly unfounded are they in the pretensions which they set up in order to keep you in bondage.
And this fact is as strong against their pretense of Infallibility as Catholicity; for we have the Church, four or five hundred years after Christ, expressly decreeing that no article shall be added; and we have those who call themselves the Church, fifteen or sixteen hundred years after Christ, adding twelve articles as matters of faith, and rejecting all who deny them. Was the Church in the first ages, or the Church of Rome at the Reformation, in the right? or how can that be infallible which contradicts itself? But the true Catholic Church, brethren, that seed of God, which shall indeed never fail, the body of Christ, the real communion of saints, the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, subsists in the company of true believers, in every age united to the great Head, Christ Jesus, by His Spirit dwelling in them, and incorporating them into His mystical body. And while the power of the Lord lasts, even to the end of the world, while the influences of the divine Spirit show to souls His glory in hope, so long will there be a Church upon earth. But to say that this is any particular communion or body of professing Christians (and that too without inquiring whether they hold the faith once delivered to the saints) is nothing else but the spirit of Antichrist.
And now, brethren, see what sort of arguments they use to keep you still in bondage.
Luther did not give scriptural advice in some instances; therefore do not you read the Scriptures, which would have hindered him giving the advice if he had read them properly. Isaiah that sound reason?
Again, King Henry the Eighth was a bad man, and acted contrary to good morals: therefore do not read those Scriptures which condemn his immorality. What reason is there in such an argument as that? Do we say that all Protestants are good men, or under the vital influence of the Spirit of God? Alas! no, brethren; but we do say, that they have the truth and faith and kingdom of God amongst them. But the fact is, Henry the Eighth, though he was an instrument in the hand of God to overthrow Popery in England, never, I believe, even to the time of his death, cordially submitted to Protestant truth, and during some part of his life burnt people for believing it, even after he had thrown off Popery. For Henry the Eighth, although we leave him to God's final judgment, was corrupted by power, and wealth, and pleasure, so as to love his own will rather than either Popery or Protestantism; and the fact is, we have nothing to do with him, nor will his crimes be any answer for your souls in the day of judgment.
The point, brethren, is this—there are certain doctrines in which the faith and hopes of a professor of the Christian religion are deeply concerned. You are told you ought to believe these doctrines. We say there is no foundation for them, and not only so, but that the belief in them precludes the faith by which we find the power and comfort of the gospel of the Son of God come in the flesh; and we appeal to the Scriptures, confessed by all to be inspired and given to us by God for our edification in the truth, written by apostles and evangelists commissioned by God, so that they might say, and none could deny, “He that is of God heareth us.” And we declare to you as honest men, that a person reading them with the assistance of God's grace will find none of these doctrines in them, but what is entirely inconsistent with them, and your teachers while they dare not deny that the Scriptures do contain the truth of God, will not let you read them to see whether these things be so, as we say; while we know that the Bereans are expressly commended for so doing: “they were more noble, searching the Scriptures daily whether those things were so."
Another common difficulty in the mind of a person beginning to see the truth of God, amongst you, is this Protestant faith is a new faith; or, as they are accustomed to say, it came 1500 years too late. I mention these arguments as things which might hinder a sincere soul from receiving the truth. They will tell you, the first religion must be the right one. Undoubtedly, brethren, it must; the first religion must be the right one, and the only one, not because it is the first, but as coming from the Lord. And that is exactly the ground we go upon. And it must be so for this reason, that that is the true religion which came from God Himself—in a word, the only true religion is that which was “once delivered to the saints,” which came from the lips of Christ and His apostles—so much so indeed that Paul is bold to say, that he wished “they were cut off that troubled the Galatians, perverting the gospel of Christ. But,” says he, “though we, or an angel from God, should preach to you any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel than that ye have received, let him be accursed." And now, brethren. where will you find the first religion? Hear Paul — “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son:” and then, after declaring the glory of the Son of God, he goes on, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him, God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” So that we may put the case thus: we agree that the first doctrines are the true ones, as coming from Christ and the inspired apostles: the question is, how we are to find what they are? You take it at the priests' word, who come 1800 years after them. We appeal to the Scriptures, which record Christ's sayings, as none of you deny, and contain the apostles' writings, as none of you deny: is not this a good way of finding out what that first religion was which they taught? And not only do we show that we use the right way to follow the first religion, which I agree we are bound to do; but we show you as a matter of direct history, that they have added twelve articles to the creed which was in use in the primitive or old church, and which is Commonly called the Nicene Creed. I take for granted you know the creed. Now will you tell me what there is in that about the Virgin Mary, or that the saints are mediators? Ought not this to make you doubt whether you are not misled in being made to believe things which are not in the creed, when they refuse you the Scriptures to see if they are there; and when, too, a General Council prohibited any new creed to be made, beside what is called the Nicene Creed?
There is one thing more, brethren (which I should never mention; I should in truth be ashamed to mention it, but that it is commonly said amongst you) that is, that St. Peter stands at the gate of heaven with the keys, and lets in the Romanists as belonging to the true Church, and keeps out other people. Now, brethren, you will not deny that, as Paul says, “we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Keep this in mind: good and bad, we are all to stand at the judgment-seat of Christ. Now this is quite out of the question if that be true about Peter; for, according to that, they will never get to the judgment-seat of Christ, or perhaps you will say it is after they have been judged. But then Peter need not be there at all, for those that the Lord rejects He sends away to hell: as it is written, “Depart ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
Brethren, I have spoken of these things for your soul's sake, with sorrow of heart. We are all sinners, and under just judgment in the sight of a holy God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; nor can there be any sound, real hope to see His face, unless we are cleansed from all sin. It is the very truth and purpose of the gospel to assure us, that there is perfect and entire remission of them in Christ Jesus, for those that believe in Him, and that His blood cleanses from all sin; and also this further blessing to those who by the work of His grace have been brought to desire holiness, that He “will put his law into our hearts, and write it in our minds.” Instead of saying to us, “If you do not do so and so, to keep my law, you will be condemned;” he says, “I have mercy upon you; I will put the love of my law in your hearts; I will give you a new heart; and your sins and iniquities I will remember no more." This is what God has said, brethren, and why should you not believe Him? Oh! comfort to a soul weary in itself, to a heavy burdened conscience, to hear the Lord from heaven saying, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And again, “Your sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” —Think of this.—Yours, with many prayers, J. N. DARBY.