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ment, to be the terms of union with lier, and by so doing, became a great sect, and body of heretics.** 4* Christ is the Head of his church. There is no true church but Me, and it is one. Its members are his disciples. The great question is, what qualifications are neeessary to constitute a and Master, say on this point? In ad dressing his disciples, shortly before h£ suffered, he says, * Ye believe in God; be lieve also in me/ Jlere then we have, in a brief space, the character «La true dis ciple of Cfrist The sams is expressed, in the sane summary manner, in 1 Tim. iii. 5. * There Is one God, and one Medi ator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.’ This, with much greater propri ety than the formulary usually so called, might be denominated The Apostles’ Creed. For whoever exercises a true faith in this one^God^f' God, and this one Mediator as Mfedstnor, Must be a chris tian, a disciple of Christ, and a member of his church. This truth, Fanj confident, no well informed member of any sect will now deny. If then this is the faith of Christ, and Christianity, it follows that whatever body of people, calling them selves Christians, whether under the ju risdiction of the Pope, or of the Prelacy, or of the Presbytery, insist 0% any other terms, as conditions of union and commu nion with them, they in. so doing plant themselves on another foundation than that unity of faith on which the one uni* versal church of Christ is built, and erect for themselves a standard of heresy, or sect—for they are the same—and encamp apart from ‘ the sacramental host of God’s elect.’ ” pp. 16,17. Again: “ The church of Rome made many and very absurd ad ditions to the foundation laid by Christ; additions which it required, indeed, a ‘ humility qf faith,* oh the part members, to receive: other church I should say—have made fewer, plausible additions, and which, to does not require such a total prostration of the powers of the lluman understand ing; but still, they are additions, and die authority to make them is usurpation: and this usurpation it is, which has produced sect—heresy.” ibid. Dr. Wylie has long-been a distinguish ed minister of the Presbyterian Church, and .a Professor in their colleges. Of la te 'Sf years h^has b tizetl, as gghe: both a Unitari: first page of the preface to the work above mentioned.). He himself says, “ For four years of my life, I was rendered the iwbst / unhappy of mortals ^y believing certain opinions of the character and government of Almighty God, which I have since been compelled to eith* lay wide or greatly modify; and if I am not much mistaken, my faith has been strengthened by it.” p. 35. And at page 130, speaking of Cal vinism and Arminianism, he says, “ I adopt the views of neither system. The _> truth lies often between both.” This, of course, will constitute him a heretic, in die estimatiut both of Calvinists and Ar minians. He. quotes with approbation from Dr. Dick, as follows: *fnilow could God offer salvation to men, if he had ex cluded them from it, by all immutable de cree? And how can God in sincerity in vite, beseech, and expostulate with men*— although he knows infallifly before hand, that they never will change? I know not what may be said in answer to the objec tion; but I confess my inability^to give complete satisfaction to myself, qr you. Let us suspect our own views of the sub ject, rather than suspect the sincerity of God, Of the latter, we arc certain; it is essential to his moral character, and is the foundation of our faitllrn his testimony, and our dependence upon his promises. We can never be certain that we under stand the subject of predestination so well as we understand that God is sincere.” pp. 54, 55. This may serve to give us a clue to Dr. Wylie’s meaning, when he said he was compelled greatly to modify some of his views concerning M the cha racter and government of Almighty God.” ter of his Maker as exhibited in the schools of theology; and it is probable that the f ectarian fathers will be disposed ■ to insist that he ought to have endured this mental unhappiness to the end of life, or even to aU^ternify, rather than “ modi fy” the least jot or titjjp of the orthodox creed. To retum from this digression. The question now before us, is this: was Dr. Wylie correct in saying, “ No or ganization of men has the right to make a creed to be enforced authoritatively upon tendered the tlism rtl the most mal eharae
The Christian Sun (Elon College, N.C.)
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March 1, 1844, edition 1
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