The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-02-02
Plymouth Pulpit:

Ilyll0uIn fulplt.
VIEWS OF THE REV. HENRY WARD
BEECHER on SECTARIANISM.
Unity Of Hearts as we'll as Of Creeds
the TrHe Principle Of Christianity;
Otherwise Religion weakened Of its
Strength.
"Fnr In Christ Jesus neither circumcision Rvniletl
anything, nor uncircnincisinn, bnt q new creature.
And As many rs walk acc riding to this rule. peace br
% them. md mercy, and upon the Israel of God."-
Gal. Vi Is. 10
One grand ceremonial Of the Jews that had both a
nntinnal and a religious character was circumcision.
We have not made rs much OF any U her service Is
the jews made of circumcision. 1t IL sid that hap
tssm has taken thu place OF it and In some sense 1t
Inns hut not Historically nor by command It simply
has been employed rs On ~ dinancc in Initiating one intn
the Christian community as q mn WIS initiated int0the
Jewish by ths act Of circumcision; and this ordinance,
like the ordinance Of circuincisi0n, once experienced,
10 supposed by many To have In It n charm. The or,Ii.
Nance Of was n sort uf exnrcisrn Of evil, or
an amulet with all charms contained In It: md men
were very proud Of It.; and they had n Contempt,
therefore, for ali those who had not been 81 fortunate
rs to have experienced II: and ynn could not have
strnck anything else In the whole jewish rcunU,ny
that would have had clustered arnuHd about II so many
!!rcs Of imp"rtance running nui Of every part Of the
sysIrri. But the apostle declares that neither the
presence of It nor the absence Of I! m ,de any differ.
cnce. lie Is describing the n,w life; or, in Other
words he is giving what's called the gospel view
the marrnw Of the Gospel-anu he means. substantially,
that in NIL forms, al ordinances, nll things external
whatsoever, however much Importance they mas hive,
II Is the new creature that IL The one effective thing
that. md that only.
Paul and his Master both handled, Oh, .sved, and to
GONE extent rererrd hervtces, rs VIC call them, uB the
means Of grace. Our Masier attended the synagoglcaI
Worship of the sabbath days, rs he was accustomed, 1t
Is snid- NJ he was wont. he WINS n thorough jew tie
did not tread down the Jewish manners and habits.
Wherever they were nsrd to promote 4 ". ong spirit
he brought them to nnught; In wherever they we're
nf any benefit he not only did not discourage them. but
WIS himself a Curious observer "f them
THERE WAS NOT 30 JEWISH 4 JEW IN ALL PALESTINE
As JESUS CHEST
In his dry; and that WAS one uf the reasons of hi. great
popularity far The time. Among his own cunntrytnrn
h" was o lypicalLrw, and brought b 'ck. they thought,
the aysofhcr"ic Jews-lhe old rrophetha and dclIvrrcrs
Paul himself, We need not coy, II we have read his bio.
giarty with any attention land he give. us something
Of It IN almost very thing he ~rotr). WAS an intensely
Jrwl.h jew, second to none; nor did he ever drsriBr,
ridicnlu or throw aside his adhesion to jewish customs
On the c, ntrury, even t0 the last days Of his life, aud
within u wear or two Of his death. he Internationally
went through the ritual OF the temple; but he declares
In another passage that. fur the sake 0f winning men
tn spiritual life, he became oil things to all men.
Among the Jews he WAS under the lhw-undcr Moses
nw-iur the sake Of winning them; and when hr WAS
among the Gcn,iles he laid aside The law OF Moses MS
such, and was without law TINT IL without that law
although he snys liz WAS under the law IF hrist.
Here Is an instance, then, both Of the Master aid OF
his fore most apostle, In two rcspcc's- first, MI oh.
seryance Of Instrumentation, and secondly, q persist
ont and luminous CONCEPTION bearing Testimony to
the fact that none Of these things We're religion In
other words, that they did not constitute the GOSPEL.
Everywhere the Gospel Was Taught rs bcing-whats
Not n historical document; not . history Of the life Of
ia . nat n nno,eH ~ hia q q tnuo md ultn w..
In r general sense. use the term 50; but In its vital aud
spiritual sense, everywhere It WAS taught, b til by the
.Iastrr and his npnatlrs, that the GOSPEL was n living
experience In human hearts; not the educating infn.
ence by which that was inspired and developed, INT the
thing i,s-lf-the new creature created In righteousness
BY the power Uf the Holy Spirit.
The GOSPEL, then according to their conception. was
n living st tic Of spiritual facts: It was not o book, nor
wa, It n system of truths, philns"phicaIly reduced and
connected; 1t was that which these things were in
tended to produce-a new creature. A DEVELOPED
manhood around tie ccnter OF l"vr BY the p,wcr Of
the Holy Oh ,st-that Is the Gospel. In e.ch man,
and In every assembly Of men called a church, the
q spel Is not what they believe, but what they are.
We ace NOT TO rSDERvALUE CHURCH oEGASIzA-
nor church ordinances, be they more or b.. they less.
some Ike them and arc ben, titrd by thrIn. hume d"
not caru fur them because the ue not BEN titel by
them. We nre not to tread Oh each Others prefer
rnccs, tast,s, associations or education: but We are
never to allow ourselves to be 50 miBlrd ns TO mis-.
tike the instrument FIR the end, the cause for the RI
lect-thst is, the minist,unt cuuse. We shon'd fail
into precisely the same mistake II We should sprnk Of
sch"ol. houses, black boards, books, or physiology and
mathematics, with the greatest reverence mrnning
all the time simply the educated refined ard intelll.
gent man. We discriminate CT once in the case OF cul-
turr and intellectual d~eyrlr pment. We know that u
train Of institutions and Influences art necessary for
broad d. vrloplnent. but the development Itself, the
education, Is always not In thu books, nor In the
corps Of professors, but In tn echolar-thrre Or no
.l..s. n tu lyiux hin I. u l. N frF,n ~ hruan
that c"nvcys the idea of u Gel tain condition VI nc.uul
living men.
Nov, the Gpspel, MS It was taught by the apostles,
was light from on high in the souls OF men. II WIS q
condition OF cunduc e wing from u condition If char
actrr. 1t was the living experience OF + soul attnncd
to The love of God aud Of men BY the lid dwelling oil
the divine Spirit
THIS 1T WAS WHAT WAS PREACHED.
Listen to such language as Is found In Titus. tho
scc"lld chapter aud the eleventh and fifteenth verses
inc usiv.:
Fer the grace Of God ,hst brIng-tl salvation hath
appeared to all men. teaching us that, deny Ing un-
gsdliuess and worldly IusIs, We would live sub. rly.
riyhteously and cody In The present world locking
for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing Of the
great God ind "ur Saviour Jesus CHRIST; Who gave
himself for lis, that he might redeem US from oil in
EQUITY, md purify INTO himself u peculiar people,
zealoun OF god works. These things speak, nnd tx
hurt, nni IcGukc with all authority. Lat nu mum de-
s,rise thee"
Here, then. Il what men were to preach-the dispos
session Of evil, and the peife :li"n aud b. atiticati"n %!
the .oul by reason nf this spiritual life flowing ir.m
the hr:.r: of God. 1hu: wus the gospel To cv.ry nlnn.
or Course there is 4 i re range of drhatable ground
rs to the method BY which one can produce H. men
this scLse ul their need, Oi the nature VI sin. the phi
lOsoihy Of II, the mode oi curvict'ng men oi It, and
OF tile transition from tie do minion and power Ut Gin
to the development and power of q truly rrern, rated
life in the soul. There Is a wide variation which is
quite permissible hcHr but according to The l,neunGr
Of church disputunts, one m.n hU ding 4 Gel tain linr
nj hiatt All fC iiufh I,r rIH tlIut that Ia the (OsDpl IL
Is no murc the Gospel than an rgsshrll Is the chicken.
1t is very necessary that every r.g, should have u
shell 10 prot, Ct 1t but IT Is not the Chicken, nor the
bird, nur the eagle. 1t Is oil ext,rnnl cnnd ton miu.
lot, ring to M end but the cnd Is the life Of the thing
itself.
Here are men .intrcnchrl hrhinh institutions that
have, as they think, the historical pIUiUn:utinn back
waid, until. link alter Ink. the staple is hi,chcd to the
throne vi G"d-the apostolic succcssiun. And they
hold that they have the true Gospel by virtu" Of TINT
~jointel succrssinn. In other words, here Is IN eater
nal historical development /; and III. y h"!d that that
incloses the only true Gospel. II the historical apns.
to:ic churches, as they are called, could make II nlprar
to every dispassionate man that within the circuit
Of their walls there was II sweetcI, purcr, n"bler de-
v-inpment Of human life, their argument would be-
sus:n.nabir. perhaps but II within the circuit Of bis.
lurical churches human natur, docs not risr above the
average level Uf hat which Is outside OF them the W.
gumcnt fhils.
THE GOSPEL DOES NOT LIE IN HISTORICAL sEorIHcEs,
but In the living development, the spiritual conscious.
Ness Of men.
Here is the creator church out Of whose luins the
Episcopal Church Bprang, reformed truth the mother
church, that holds ;hat It has o living connection br.
tween 1t and its Head, properly augmented and auxil-
iuried by It's officers; TINT there Is substantially q liz
Ing God H. the midst Of the Church uf Rome and
that there IL no salvation out Of Rome except the
mere gratuity which God, out Of his generosity, may
b. pleased to give, but of which there Is no guarantee
no warrant, no proper grounded expectat'or. ,
Now IT, with all the ACCUMULATED organizations and
r lunn and 4 n manu- r.EnnCfa iInAfti ms hiRfnI "
that have gone with that gr, ut sect (iur 1t lie noIhins
hut q sect, there was also uniformly, Or 80 generally
as to indicate the working Of cause and Effect, the
highest style OF manhood. and a nObier life In the fam
lily and Suite; II ulcn had Become clearrr-mindrd,
with q lurger conscience and purcr aspiration; II the
household life were sweeler and richer; II there were
found there the garden and orchard Of spiritual expe-
Hence, then manllestly that sect would give evidence
Of being more Christlke thnn any other; and | would
e" into o community that WAS more Christlike than
any %other-that is to ray, II 1t were q community that
had existed u sufficient length OF time To show that 1t
had universal relations with mankind. and that 1t did
produce q noblcr type Of life, social, domestic ind civ
ic, rs we'll rs spiritual, than my other community. |
would seek such u community ~ that no matter whit
wlerr human ra,ure etluresces and comes to It's high
est Development.
THE CLAIM OF TEE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Calyinist.c-the Presbytcr'an-church holds
that having subordinatrd all history and ext. rnnl ele-
ments and mad, them merely the servants Of the
church. they have a better declaration Of Gods truth
and will than any other church. and That within the
SCOPE of their belleyings q man 10 q great deal saier
and o great hral nearer 10 duty and to Goh than be
could Ie else where. If 1t could BE- shown that human
nature generally hud risen higher within thuse limits
than anywhere else, there would be a Yer, strong pre-
sumption in favor OF their statement; out 1t Is not
enough that there .re here and there stately growths
these s. In every community. I Is not enough
that you point out much that Is good and admirable
there are saints belonging 10 almost every sect In the
-Il De-. L.. ,L-. .n,k N A. Ill ~ rA