against the Holy Ghost, which has alarmed and puzzled so many in all ages,
is nothing else but unbelief; and that the expression, “it shall not be
forgiven, neither in this world nor that which is to come,” means only
that a person dying in infidelity would not be forgiven, neither under the
former dispensation by Moses, (the then present dispensation, kingdom, or
government, of God,) nor under the gospel dispensation, which, in respect
of the Mosaic, was a kind of future world, or kingdom to come.
4. The Bereans interpret a great part of the Old Testament prophecies,
and, in particular, the whole of the Psalms, excepting such as are merely
historical or laudatory, to be typical or prophetical of Jesus Christ, his
sufferings, atonement, mediation, and kingdom; and they esteem it a gross
perversion of these psalms and prophecies, to apply them to the
experiences of private Christians. In proof of this, they not only urge
the words of the apostle, that no prophecy is of any private
interpretation, but they insist that the whole of the quotations from the
ancient prophecies in the New Testament, and particularly those from the
Psalms, are expressly applied to Christ. In this opinion, many other
classes of Protestants agree with them.
5. Of the absolute, all-superintending sovereignty of the Almighty, the
Bereans entertain the highest idea, as well as of the uninterrupted
exertion thereof over all his works, in heaven, earth, and hell, however
unsearchable by his creatures. A God without election, they argue, or
choice in all his works, is a God without existence, a mere idol, a
nonentity. And to deny God’s election, purpose, and express will, in all
his works, is to make him inferior to ourselves.
The Bereans consider infant baptism as a divine ordinance, instituted in
the room of circumcision, and think it absurd to suppose that infants,
who, all agree, are admissible to the kingdom of God in heaven, should,
nevertheless, be incapable of being admitted into his visible church on
earth.
They commemorate the Lord’s supper generally once a month; but, as the
words of the institution fix no particular period, they sometimes
celebrate it oftener, and sometimes at more distant periods, as it may
suit their general convenience. They meet every Lord’s day, for the
purpose of preaching, praying, and exhorting to love and good works. With
regard to admission and exclusion of members, their method is very simple:
when any person, after hearing the Berean doctrines, professes his belief
and assurance of the truths of the gospel, and desires to be admitted into
their communion, he is cheerfully received, upon his profession, whatever
may have been his former manner of life. But, if such a one should
afterwards draw back from his good profession or practice, they first
admonish him, and, if that has no effect, they leave him to himself. They
do not think that they have any power to deliver a backsliding brother to
Satan; that text, and other similar passages, such as, “Whatsoever ye
shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,” &c., they consider as
restricted to the apostles, and to the inspired testimony alone, and not
to be extended to any church on earth, or any number of churches, or of
Christians, whether decided by a majority of votes, or by unanimous
voices. Neither do they think themselves authorized, as a Christian
church, to inquire into each other’s political opinions, any more than to
examine into each other’s notions of philosophy.
They both recommend and practise, as a Christian duty, submission to
lawful authority; but they do not think that a man, by becoming a
Christian, or joining their society, is under any obligation, by the rules
of the gospel, to renounce his right of private judgment upon matters of
public or private importance. Upon all such subjects, they allow each
other to think and act as each may see it his duty; and they require
nothing more of the members, than a uniform and steady profession of the
apostolic faith, and a suitable walk and conversation. (See Acts 17:11.
Rom. 10:9.)
The Berean doctrines have found converts in various parts of Europe and
America.
MATERIALISTS.
Materialists are those who maintain that the soul of man is material, or
that the principle of perception and thought is not a substance distinct
from the body, but the result of corporeal organization. There are others
called by this name who have maintained that there is nothing but matter
in the universe.
The followers of the late Dr. Priestley are considered as Materialists, or
philosophical Necessarians. According to the doctor’s writings, he
believed,—
1. That man is no more than what we now see of him; his being commenced at
the time of his conception, or perhaps at an earlier period. The corporeal
and mental faculties, inhering in the same substance, grow, ripen, and
decay together; and whenever the system is dissolved, it continues in a
state of dissolution, till it shall please that Almighty Being who called
it into existence, to restore it to life again. For if the mental
principle were, in its own nature, immaterial and immortal, all its
peculiar faculties would be so too; whereas we see that every faculty of
the mind, without exception, is liable to be impaired, and even to become
wholly extinct, before death. Since, therefore, all the faculties of the
mind, separately taken, appear to be mortal, the substance or principle,
in which they exist, must be pronounced mortal too. Thus we might conclude
that the body was mortal, from observing that all the separate senses and
limbs were liable to decay and perish.
This system gives a real value to the doctrine of the resurrection from
the dead, which is peculiar to revelation; on which alone the sacred
writers build all our hope of future life; and it explains the uniform
language of the Scriptures, which speak of one day of judgment for all
mankind, and represent all the rewards of virtue, and all the punishments
of vice, as taking place at that awful day, and not before. In the
Scriptures, the heathen are represented as without hope, and all mankind
as perishing at death, if there be no resurrection of the dead.
The apostle Paul asserts, in 1 Cor. 15:16, that “if the dead rise not,
then is not Christ risen; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain,
ye are yet in your sins: then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ
are perished.” And again, verse 32, “If the dead rise not, let us eat and
drink, for to-morrow we die.” In the whole discourse, he does not even
mention the doctrine of happiness or misery without the body.
If we search the Scriptures for passages expressive of the state of man at
death, we shall find such declarations as expressly exclude any trace of
sense, thought, or enjoyment. (See Ps. 6:5. Job 14:7, &c.)
2. That there is some fixed law of nature respecting the will, as well as
the other powers of the mind, and every thing else in the constitution of
nature; and consequently that it is never determined without some real or
apparent cause foreign to itself, i. e., without some motive of choice; or
that motives influence us in some definite and invariable manner, so that
every volition, or choice, is constantly regulated and determined by what
precedes it; and this constant determination of mind, according to the
motives presented to it, is what is meant by its _necessary
determination_. This being admitted to be fact, there will be a necessary
connection between all things past, present, and to come, in the way of
proper cause and effect, as much in the intellectual as in the natural
world; so that, according to the established laws of nature, no event
could have been otherwise than it _has been_, or _is to be_, and therefore
all things past, present, and to come, are precisely what the Author of
Nature really intended them to be, and has made provision for.
To establish this conclusion, nothing is necessary but that throughout all
nature the same consequences should invariably result from the same
circumstances. For if this be admitted, it will necessarily follow that,
at the commencement of any system, since the several parts of it, and
their respective situations, were appointed by the Deity, the first change
would take place according to a certain rule established by himself, the
result of which would be a new situation; after which the same laws
containing another change would succeed, according to the same rules, and
so on forever; every new situation invariably leading to another, and
every event, from the commencement to the termination of the system, being
strictly connected, so that, unless the fundamental laws of the system
were changed, it would be impossible that any event should have been
otherwise than it was. In all these cases, the circumstances preceding any
change are called the causes of that change; and, since a determinate
event, or effect, constantly follows certain circumstances, or causes, the
connection between cause and effect is concluded to be invariable, and
therefore necessary.
It is universally acknowledged that there can be no effect without an
adequate cause. This is even the foundation on which the only proper
argument for the being of a God rests. And the Necessarian asserts that
if, in any given state of mind, with respect both to dispositions and
motives, two different determinations, or volitions, be possible, it can
be on no other principle, than that one of them should come under the
description of an effect without a cause; just as if the beam of a balance
might incline either way, though loaded with equal weights. And if any
thing whatever—even a thought in the mind of man—could arise without an
adequate cause, any thing else—the mind itself, or the whole
universe—might likewise exist without an adequate cause.
This scheme of philosophical necessity implies a chain of causes and
effects established by infinite wisdom, and terminating in the greatest
good of the whole universe; evils of all kinds, natural and moral, being
admitted, as far as they contribute to that end, or are in the nature of
things inseparable from it. Vice is productive, not of good, but of evil,
to us, both here and hereafter, though good may result from it to the
whole system; and, according to the fixed laws of nature, our present and
future happiness necessarily depends on our cultivating good dispositions.
ARMINIANS.
Those persons who follow the doctrines of Arminius, who was pastor at
Amsterdam, and afterwards professor of divinity at Leyden. Arminius had
been educated in the opinions of Calvin; but, thinking the doctrine of
that great man, with regard to free will, predestination, and grace, too
severe, he began to express his doubts concerning them in the year 1591,
and, upon further inquiry, adopted the sentiments of those whose religious
system extends the love of the Supreme Being and the merits of Jesus
Christ to all mankind.
The distinguishing tenets of the Arminians may be comprised in the five
following articles relative to predestination, universal redemption, the
corruption of man, conversion, and perseverance, viz.:—
“1. That God determined to bestow pardon and present salvation on
all who repent and believe in Christ, and final salvation on all
who persevere to the end, and to inflict everlasting punishment on
those who should continue in their unbelief, and resist his divine
succors; so that election was conditional, and reprobation, in
like manner, the result of foreseen infidelity and persevering
wickedness, (See Ezek. 18:30-32. Acts 17:24-30. Matt. 23:37. Rom.
2:4, 5; 5:18. 1 Tim. 11:1-4. 2 Pet. 1:10; 3:9.)
“2. That Jesus Christ, by his sufferings and death, made an
atonement for the sins of all mankind in general, and of every
individual in particular; that, however, none but those who
believe in him can be partakers of divine benefits. (See John 2:2;
3:16, 17. Heb. 2:9. Isa. 50:19, 20. 1 Cor. 8:11.)
“3. That true faith cannot proceed from the exercise of our
natural faculties and powers, nor from the force and operation of
free will; since man, in consequence of his natural corruption, is
incapable either of thinking or doing any good thing; and that,
therefore, it is necessary, in order to his conversion and
salvation, that he be regenerated and renewed by the operation of
the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God through Jesus Christ.
“4. That this divine grace, or energy, of the Holy Ghost, begins
and perfects every thing that can be called good in man, and,
consequently, all good works are to be attributed to God alone;
that, nevertheless, this grace is offered to all, and does not
force men to act against their inclinations, but may be resisted,
and rendered ineffectual, by the perverse will of the impenitent
sinner. Some modern Arminians interpret this and the last article
with a greater latitude. (See Isa. 1:16. Deut. 10:16. Eph. 4:22.)
“5. That God gives to the truly faithful, who are regenerated by
his grace, the means of preserving themselves in this state.”
The first Armenians, indeed, had some doubt with respect to the closing
part of the latter article; but their followers uniformly maintain, “that
the regenerate may lose true, justifying faith, fall from a state of
grace, and die in their sins.” (See Heb. 6:4-6. 2 Pet. 2:20, 21. Luke
21:35. 2 Pet. 3:17.)
METHODISTS, OR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This denomination arose in England, in 1729, and derived their name from
the exact regularity of their lives. In 1741, they divided into two
parties, under George Whitefield and John Wesley. The former adopted the
sentiments of Calvin, and the latter those of Arminius. The Arminian class
compose the great body of Methodists in this country and in Great Britain.
Both of those men were eminently distinguished for the variety and extent
of their labors.
The following are the articles of religion, as published in the “Doctrines
and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church:”—
“1. There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without
body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker
and Preserver of all things, visible and invisible. And in unity
of this Godhead, there are three persons, of one substance, power
and eternity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
“2. The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal
God, of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the
womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures,
that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, were joined together in
one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God
and very man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried,
to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for
original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men.
“3. Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his
body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s
nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth,
until he return to judge all men at the last day.
“4. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of
one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son,
very and eternal God.
“5. The holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation;
so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby,
is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an
article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to
salvation. By the name of the holy Scriptures, we do understand
those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose
authority was never any doubt in the church. [Here follow the
names of the canonical books of the Scriptures.]
“6. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for, both in the
Old and New Testament, everlasting life is offered to mankind by
Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both
God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, who feign that
the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although
the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites,
doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of
necessity to be received in any commonwealth, yet,
notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the
obedience of the commandments which are called moral.
“7. Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the
Pelagians do vainly talk,) but it is the corruption of the nature
of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of
Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness,
and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.
“8. The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is such, that he
cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and
works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power
to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the
grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good
will, and working with us when we have that good will.
“9. We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own
works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith
only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.
“10. Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and
follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure
the severity of God’s judgments, yet are they pleasing and
acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively
faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently
known, as a tree is discerned by its fruit.
“11. Voluntary works, being over and above God’s commandments,
which are called works of supererogation, cannot be taught without
arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not
only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but they do
more for his sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ
saith plainly, ‘When ye have done all that is commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants.’
“12. Not every sin willingly committed after justification, is the
sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant
of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after
justification; after we have received the Holy Ghost, we may
depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of
God, rise again, and amend our lives. And, therefore, they are to
be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live
here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.
“13. The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful
men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments
duly administered according to Christ’s ordinance, in all those
things that of necessity are requisite to the same.
“14. The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshipping
and adoration as well of images as of relics, and also invocation
of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no
warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the word of God.
“15. It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the
custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the
church, or to minister the sacraments, in a tongue not understood
by the people.
“16. Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens
of Christian men’s profession, but rather they are certain signs
of grace, and God’s good-will towards us, by the which he doth
work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also
strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.
“There are two sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord to the
gospel; that is to say, baptism and the supper of the Lord.
“Those five commonly called _sacraments_—that is to say,
confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction—are
not to be counted for sacraments of the gospel, being such as have
partly grown out of the _corrupt_ following of the apostles, and
partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have
not the like nature of baptism and the Lord’s supper, because they
have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.
“The sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or
to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such
only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or
operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to
themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith. (1 Cor. 11:29.)
“17. Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of
difference, whereby Christians are distinguished from others that
are not baptized, but it is also a sign of regeneration, or the
new birth. The baptism of young children is to be retained in the
church.
“18. The supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that
Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but
rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death;
insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith,
receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the
body of Christ, and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of
the blood of Christ.
“Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and
wine in the supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but
is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the
nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many
superstitions.
“The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the supper,
only after a heavenly and scriptural manner. And the means whereby
the body of Christ is received and eaten in the supper, is faith.
“The sacrament of the Lord’s supper was not by Christ’s ordinance
reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.
“19. The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people;
for both the parts of the Lord’s supper, by Christ’s ordinance and
commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike.
“20. The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect
redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of
the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other
satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of
masses, in the which it is commonly said that the priest doth
offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain
or guilt, is a blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit.
“21. The ministers of Christ were not commanded by God’s law
either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstract from
marriage; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other
Christians, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge
the same to serve best to godliness.
“22. It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all
places be the same, or exactly alike; for they have been always
different, and may be changed according to the diversity of
countries, times, and men’s manners, so that nothing be ordained
against God’s word. Whosoever, through his private judgment,
willingly and purposely doth openly break the rites and ceremonies
of the church to which he belongs, which are not repugnant to the
word of God, and are ordained and approved by common authority,
ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do the like,
as one that offendeth against the common order of the church, and
woundeth the consciences of weak brethren.
“Every particular church may ordain, change, and abolish, rites
and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification.
“23. The president, the congress, the general assemblies, the
governors, and the councils of state, _as the delegates of the
people_, are the rulers of the United States of America according
to the division of power made to them by the Constitution of the
United States, and by the constitutions of their respective
states. And the said states are a sovereign and independent
nation, and ought not to be subject to any foreign
jurisdiction.(2)
“24. The riches and goods of Christians are not common, as
touching the right, title, and possession, of the same, as some do
falsely boast. Notwithstanding every man ought, of such things as
he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to
his ability.