The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-05-09


1T THE DUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
No.9.
OBJECTIONS
9th. There are other portions of Scripture sup
posed by man. to favor the policy of staying in
the church to purify il such as Matt. xiii, 30,
/" Let the wheat and the tares grow together
We reply
]. IL this text means that true Christians ought
TO stay In corrupt church, an anti-Chrstian
church, where the controlling influences sanction
immorsllties, then Scripture clashes with Scrip
ture; for it will not be disputed for moment,
that in Rev. xviii 4, and other like passages, God
commands his people to come out from a corrupt
church
?. The text, as used by the ohjector, would de-
strOy all discipline whatever. Such a CONSUME
ton would open the foodgates Of vice, pour in
upon the church every immortality and make il
the receptacle of drunkards, thieves liars adul-
terers, and murderers. Yet many, and even minis
ters Of the Gospel, give the text such construc-
ton.
g. The error of such persons is in using the
fsfd as the church, whereas Christ uses the field
to designate the world. See verse 3s-"The
field is the worldo God had made the world
gooc and pure. By the temptations Of Satan,
man fell and at that time, under Sitan's infu-
-;,ce aas2X ssy -. PIE Gpl,sss,
ers. Some Of these felt as James and John did
like calling down fire from Heaven to consume
the enemy. Christ said, let the tares and the
wheat grow together n-'' let the wicked continue
to live in the world, as well as the righteous and
by the example of pure church, a consistent
walk on your part, and the saving efficacy Of my
spirit, many of these wicked persons may be con-
verified. If not, at the judgment day will gather
all together" and those that do iniquity will
cast into a furnace Of fire. there shall be wailing
and UnaahiuU nf faafh Than h.n ha oh
shine forth as the stars in the kingdom of their
father Verses Ala
9th. Again, it is said, Christ communicate
ued fellowship-with Judas, and we may with
equal propriety commune with Shareholders.
|. We ask, would the Apostles have continued
fellowship with Judas after the overt act had he
survived it Would you, reader Would
single denomination, now existing be willing to
retain him in their fellowship, still in heart and
practice devil, as the Scriptures declare, and
as the ohjector supposes him to be? Is the
church the place for known devils having
already committed the act Of betrayal and murder.
2. As We cannot see into the hearts of men,
Christ gave us rule that we should judge tree
By us Jruns-judge men by their oUet aas and
gave no rule for excluding any man called brother,
unless he is actually guilty of teaching some cor
rupt doctrine, or living in some immoral practice
Now, Judas was not doing elher of these when
Christ communed with him lie was not yet an
offender; and as such, neither the civil nor di-
vine law would discipline him. Hence Christ
did not. The case sthen no Justification to those
who are eating with--fellowshipping--th actual
tsefy HE5 10 With sat such we are pos
9TH Reverting to Scripture again, the otjectol
says: "Let man examine himself, and 30 LEI
him eat.n Cor, XII, 2S. The objector uses thi,
passage to teach that every man is TO Judge of hi
| nw hfnaa IN huv fa ,,.t IA.
church and that if he eats condemnation to his
own soul, it is none of our business The passage
is very often 80 used in our county, and rs a rea-
son, particularly, why we should make no distnc-
ton between those who are Shareholders and those
who are not. We reply
/. Such a construction would destroy all disci-
pline for an, o6eace whatever.
2. There is not a church, nor, perhaps, a
church member, that understands the text ms
teaching the doctrine assumed by the objector
No one will allow brother, who has become a
gambler, counterfeiter, aduiterer, or acknowl-
edged murderer, to have fellowship with them.
They will not let such be their own judges. They
do discipline such
3. The Apostle never intended the words OF
the text to be so construed. lie wrote them for a
wholly different purpose, as any man can see by
reading the connection in which they are used.
The church at Corinth in imitation Of Pagan
rites or ceremonies, out of which they had just
emerged, and with which they were yet daily
surrounded, had converted the Eucharist into a
Bacchanalan feast-a feast of gluttony and
drunkenness. See yer. 20-23 They were not
partsking Of this feast in spiritual manner, and
for spiritual purposes-not using the emblems
| simply as n remembrance of what Christ had
done and was still doing for them but they
were partakng Of IL in vain, sensual aud most ir.
reverent manner "not eating the Lords SUPPER
yer. 30" not discerning the Lords body,D YER
80 Now, to correct this sensual and irreverent
manner of celebrating the Lords supper, the
Apostle penned the text under consideration and
not for the purpose Of saying that each man
should be his own judge, whether he should come
to the Lords table or not. Not for this, but to
correct an error 10 this manner Of celebrating the
Eucharist or Lords supper--as though he had
said, see to it, that when you come to celebrate
the Lords supper, you celebrate il not in this
profane, irreverent, and sensual manner. Let
man examine both his motives and his acts in
coming to or partaking Of this ordinance To
copstrue the words Of the text as the ohjector
does, would make the Apostle contradict himself;
for in preceding chapter he expressly says,
"wth drunkards, liars, fornicators, covetous per-
sons, and extortioners, no, not TO eatp
sth. Does the objector again say "if this be
true, then we must leave the State and the world
90 where no shareholders or extortioners arer
We reply, the Apostle has answered this otjec-
ton, and " the ohjector n careful reader, he
would have seen It, BY the phrase not to eat, AS
used In Cor chap g. YER II, the Apostle means
that we should not have Christian fellowship
see yer. l3-" therefore put away from among
yourselves that wicked person. in yer. 10, he
says he means not that we should not have COM
mon intercourse with the men OF this world,n
then we must needs 20 out Of the worldn But IL
rpap fLof AZ r1IIsH m LfofLsx ha
extortioner, with such an one have no Christian
fellowship. You may exhort him, labor to con-
vince him Of his error, and though you fri hind
M TO him, and desire him TO be reclaimed from
his error, yet you must obey God and respect bis
church and his religion too much TO consent that
they shall be 70 lowered and corrupted as 10
sanction the immortality. For thereby you will
destroy the standard OF right and take away The
rery po@ey 10 prryy soeitfy: and really do the er-
tonioner an injury, by deceiving him with the idea
that slaveholding Is consistent with piety and ul-
innate salvation.
9th Again the otjector says The Scriptures
teach US to mark them that cause divisions-di-
visions are therefore wrong--unon Is desirable
True, but you do not quote all the text The
Apostle says" Mark them that cause divisions
contrary to the doctrine ye have learnedp-Ro-
mans xvi, II.
1. II this text means what the objector desires
to teach, II forbids any and all separation even
from mystic Babylon, and clashes with that text
which says, Come ont Of her, my people, 1t
forbids even that the Protestants should have
come out from the Roman Catholic church. But
the objector must see better by this time-that
his position proves too much.
q The Apostle had very different object in
view from that Of condemnng those who were
coming out from gross immorslities, 10 form
pure church. lie wished TO condemn those Ju-
dsizing teachers Of his age, who were making
parties for fhs sake Of gain" who counted gain
godlinesso -who SERVED their own bellies
see verse IS. The Apostle had himself come out
| from the Jewish church and was establishing