The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1892-05-25
The Church

Inc Church.
To be born and nurtured in the
pure and loving bosom of the true
Church of the living God is bless
ing of inestimable value. There
the truth is learned and cherished
and acted upon. Error is known
IN order that it may be stunned.
Christ reveals Himself as the wav.
the truth and the life. There is
communion with the purest. the
most loving, the most heavenly and
Christlike souls OH earth. A true
church is like a little Heaven
below" Indeed it furnishes glimps-
es and foretastes of Heaven. Hap
PLY thousands of such churches,
more or less nearly approaching our
ideal, are found throughout our
land. Such churches are found
wherever the true Gospel is preached.
and the blessed Saviour held forth
as the Redeemer, the atoning sac
rltice, the great High Priest. All
these particular" churches are por-
lions of the Church Catholic. All
who profess and hold the true re-
ligion are members of the true
Church. There was church in the
house of Aquila and Priscilla, and
in the house of Nymphas. There
were churches in Ephesus, in Cor
NTH, in Achaia, in Asia" in Rome.
All these so long as they adhered to
the true religion belonged to and
were embraced in the one true
Church of the living God. One and
another of these churches fell into
fearful errors. Some of them per-
lshed from the face of the earth.
But the Lord never has been with
out his faithful witnesses, and
against the Church as whole the
powers of He'll have never been able
to prevail. The falling away" in
jerusalem, in Antioch, in Constan-
tinople, in Alexandria, in Rome
alas, In how many more places -
was very sad and very hopeless.
Heresy proudly lifted its head as
holy men of old had prophesied.
None of the heretical churches has
gone farther away from primitive
truth than the Church of Rome.
The explanation is not far to seek,
though that makes it all the more
to be deplored. The beautiful
Bride of Christ has been replaced
80 far as the organized Church of
Rome is concerned by the grim
spectre of the defunct old Roman
Empire. Happily, most happily,
within the organization of the Ro-
man Catholic Church there have
been and there are an unnumbered
host of faithful souls who have not
" bowed the knee to Baal"-who
have found the truth despite the
dominating errors of the system and
who loves and serve the Lord of all.
Such souls belong to the "true
Church." for they are true dis
ciples; and the Master, Christ, is
the centre of unity of the true
Church and is here only King and
Head.
The true Church is built upon the
foundation of the Apostles and
Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself be-
ing the chief Corner Stone" "Other
foundation can no man lay save
that which is laid, even Jesus
Christ" Thank God: we have no
need to build our Church on anv
Pontiff, or Pope, or Patriarch or
monarch; not on Henry VIII, the
man of many wives and many muir
ders; not on Pope John XII, the
Pope of many murders and many
not on Pope Boniface
VII, the gigantic criminal not on
Pope Alexander VI, the matchless
sinner-no not on any of
the long line: for we may almost
say with the Prophet the best of
them was as a briar and the most
upright of them as a thorn hedge.
Where Christ is there the Church
is Where Christ is dethroned, the
Church so-called is buta synagogue
of Satan. The only lawgiver of the
Church is Jesus Christ Himself.
God forbid that we should have anv
King or Pontiff over us. in the
Church, but Jesus who is Prophet,
Priest and King.-HaJifa1 Witness.