Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-09-13
well adapted to the terminating and growth

well adapted to the terminating and growth
of Schisms. This is the history of all the
schisms in the church. They are tares Of
the DEVILS sowing.
What is to be done to heal all these breach
esq Some one says let us ignore all these
party lines, abandon all principles and leave
every individual to do as seemeth good in
the enemy of all good desires. 1t was this
that brought on all the trouble. 1t was the
abandoning of principle by some that made
the first rent and disregard for the prohi
bitiOns and precepts Of law, or each one do
ing as appeared good in his own eyes, pro-
duced all the rest of the evil. A poison is
not an antidOte for itself. An individual
poisoned with strychnine or arsenic is not
relieved by takingas an antidOte strychnlne
or arsenic No. He must take something
that will, in some way, counteract or des-
troy the effects Of these deadly poisons and
itself produce no evil
The remedy for all the schisms in the
church, we honestly conceive to be a strict
adherence to the word of God in all things
pertaining to belief and practice. The only
safe rule in religion is the positive command
of God for every doctrine, and for every
thing which pertains to Gods worship:
Abandon this principle, or refuse to adopt
it, and the whole matter of religion-all its
doctrines, all its rites and ceremonies are
subject to the whims of the superstitious
and wicked multitude. The question to be
asked in religion is "What does God in his
word command 2" not what does he forbid.
TO the law and the testimony, if they speak
not according to these, tits because the truth
is not in them. The divisions in the church
must-we say must-continue to exist and
new schisms must continue to be made and
rfi ho oaIc
lect or refuse to make the Bible the rule and
the only rule Of faith and practice. Until
men abandon the untenable and dangerous
position that whatever is not positively for
bidden in the Scripture is right in doctrine
and lawful in worship, the visible church
must continue to be what it is to-day, and
what it has been for eighteen generations
a mixed multitude professedly on the road
to the heavenly Canaan, butWrangling about
supposed nigh-cuts and forbidden by-paths.
The apostle Paul solemnly and affectiOnate-
ly admonishcS professed Christians in every
quarter of the globe to speak the same thing,
to be perfectly Joined together in the same
mind and in the same judgment. This is
the church which Jesus Christ established
on earth, and it is the church which every
true Christian longs to see.
The remedy for existing schisms in the
visible church, and the preventive against
all future rents Is easily pointed out If all
professed Christians would severally elimi-
nate from their formulas of doctrine and di-
rectories for worship everything which is
not clearly laid down as precept, and en-
Joined as duty in the word of God, all past
schisms would be healed and all future sep
arations prevented, and the people of God
would present an unbroken and unwavering
front against the common foe. For such a
state Of things it is the duty of us all to la
Dor diligently, pray without ceasing, and
hope unto the end trusting G."
It should be remembered that this very
desirable and much to be desired state OF
| things cannot be accomplished by recklessly
abandoning party standards. This would
| be to make another opening in the ranks for
| the entrance of the enemy. The moment
we abandon our party or denominational
standards that moment the enemy will make
| a rush.
The tares must remain until the harvest.
| 1t is the duty Of those parties between
| which their difference are feWest, and ofleast
importance to begin first, this work of unity
| ing the visible Church. May the day soon
come when all our party animosities and
bitter feuds will melt into brotherly love
and the banner of Jesus Christ shall float
wherever on this broad earth their is a hu-
man being, every other banner being pull
ed down and buried in the gulf which is
washed by the waters of oblivion.