Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-09-01
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REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
IOrIginal
JOINING THE CHURCH.

lorIginal]
JOINING THE CHURCH.
That Jesus Christ came into this world,
and that he died upon the cross, are facts
which no one will dare call in question. That
there are, in this world, class of people who
claim to be the followers of Jesus Christ and
who constitute the visible Church, il another
fact that does not admit of disppte. 1t will
also be admitted that joining the Church and
making public profession Of religion, are
one and the same thing. There is no prac-
tical way by which profession of religion
can be: made, except by joining the Church.
If it be admitted that Jesus Christ is the Sa.
viour of sinners, and that he, and not man,
established the Church, and that the Church
is designed by Jesus Christ for the gathering
of all bis people into one body and thus sep
arating them from the world, then it is the
duty of all men who are willing to be saved
by Jesus Christ, and saved in the way he pre-
scribes, to come out from the world and join
the Church.
We are taaght in the Bble that the Holy
Spirit convicts men of their sins and converts
men from their sins. This being the case, it
is safe to conclude that every truly convicted
and savingly converted sinner will, if it be
physically possible, make . public profession
of religion or, as is usually said, "jjoin the
Church."
It is, at least, not impossible to cosceive Of
circumstances which might hinder a truly
converted man from making public pro-
fession Of religion, Such, circumstances very
rarely surround any one:s Certainly no one in
our favored land.
Without proper reflection and correct
knowledge of the teachings of the Scriptures,
we might come to the hasty conclusion that
all the converted members of the human
family are members Of the Church, and all
the unconverted are not members of the
Church. If this were correct conclusion,
we would have but little trouble in making
out the list of those who are in heaven, and
of those who are IN the. pit of woe. &s!
We have no warrant in the Scriptures for
concluding that all who join the Church are
truly converted. On the contrary, we are
taught in the Scriptures, by the parable Of
the wheat and tares, that many persons are
in the visible Church Who have nothing Of
true religion. By the parable of the Prodi.
gal Son, we are taught that so soon as a sin
ner comes to himself, be arises and returns
to his father, and makes an honest and sin.
cere confession of his sins and pleads for mer-
cy-"make me as one Of thy hired servants. y
It is possible for converted man to live
and die out of the Church.. but it is bare
possibility, of which there is not an inch of
ground on which to build a probability.
There are two extremes to be avoided.
One is, that there is just as much piety out of
the Church as there is in it; and, consequent.
ly, just as many non-professors of religion
will be saved as professors. The other ex.
treme is that all who join the Church, will be
saved and, hence, all that men have to do in
order to be saved. is to make profession of
religion. It is very difficult to tell which
of these extremes is the more dangerous.
Both are fearful deusions. If there are just
as good men out of the Church as in it, then
all the convicting, converting and sanctifying
power of Gods word and spirit is nothing
and all the means of grace are absolute nui-
sances. As we'll might it beargued that there
are just as many wise men among the Hot
tentots, as there are among the English, as to
argue that there is as much piety among the
men of the world as there is among the pro.
fessed people of God. The truth is, there is
no visible piety among the people of the
world. There may be, and is, much niorali.
ty; but no Bible piety-no sorrow for sin,
no humility, no devotion to the God Of our
salvation.
The other extreme is just as dangerous as
this. 1t is a most dangerous theory which de-
ludes into the belief that all that is necessary
to be saved, is to join the Church. Individu-
ais, beguiled by this snare, of the wicked,
fold their arms in spirited Indifference and,
instead of using the means of divine appoint
ment that they may grow in grace, trust all
to the worthless fact of their having joined
the Church. On this they base all their hopes.
In this they trust
Sometimes, ministers of the gospel urge, too
strongly, individuals to make profession of
religion. Means are used which Gods word
does not justify. There is, in reality, very
little need for the minister of the Gospel to
urge bis hearers to come out from the world
and make public profession Of religion.
He will succeed more certainly in his work by
instructing his hearers, out of the word of
God, that, by nature, all men are sinners. So
soon as any man actually finds out that he is
what he really is, and apprehends the mercy
of God in Christ Jesus, he will make pro-
fession of religion in spite of devils. So we
are taught by the parable of the Prodigal
Son. He came to himself. He learned that
he was ruined-about to starve for the lack
of bread. He exclaimed, '"Tnere is enough
and to spare in my fathers house. l will
arise and 60 to my father" 1t is impossible
to keep the truly converted man away from
Jesus. He is drawn by a magnetism which
is stronger than the devil, the world and the