The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-01-20
PEOPLES PULPIT.
THE COST OF
CHURCH
FEDERATION
TO CONGRECATlONALISTS
PRESBYTERlANS
METHODISTS

Evidently there will be few people
in these highly intelligent Christian
bodies ready to insist. as our fore
fathers did, that this element of faith
is essential to salvation. Few of us
would agree with Brother John Calvin,
the great architect of this creed, that
fellow-Christians rejecting this doc
trine should be burned at the stake,
as Brother Calvin decided in respect
to Brother Servetus. No, thank God.
We have outgrown some of the mar
rowness which so terribly fettered
some of our brethren during the dark
ages.
Few any longer believe that there
are Infants in hell not span long"
because non-elect. Even where the
doctrine of Election is still bindly
held. few have the temerity to state
their belief that any innocent infant
was predestinated to everlasting tor
ture. But Brother Calvin's conten-
ton expressed in the Westminster
Confession is that there are no innocent
infants-that the condemnation Of
Original Sin was to eternal torture and
that Adams children, born in sin and
shapen in iniquity," were therefore not
innocent, but gui'ty-born under the
sentence of eternal torment and sal
vable from it only through membership
in the Church of Christ. Indeed we
may say that this theory was still
older than Calvin, for did not st. Au-
gustine first declare the danger of in
fants to eternal torture and the neces-
sity of their being brought into the
Church of Christ by baptism in order
to escape eternal torture? And is not
the force of this teaching still manifest
amongst both Protestants and Catho-
lies. as evidenced by their fear to
have an infant die unbaptized-so that
some, in extreme cases. even practice
baptism in utero"
Doctrinally Methodism is indirectly
opposed to Calvinism in every sense
of the word. Possibly Methodists will
have less to concede than Calvinists,
because, although in Wesley's day the
doctrine of Free Grace was combatted
on every hand. it is now the tacit faith
Of the vast majority of Christendom.
The doctrine that God had premedi-
tated and irrevocably foreordained the
eternal torture of our race except a
handful of the Elect was too horrible
one to stand. So the Methodist doc
trine Of Divine Love for all and Free
Grace as respects salvation has ap-
pealed more and more to the growing
intelligence of mankind. Nevertheless
we cannot do otherwise than concede
that it will matter little to the thou
sands of millions which all "orthodox"
creeds consign TO eternal torture
whether they shall suffer eternal
agonies as result of Divine loveless-
ness in foreordaining their sufferings
or to Divine inability to outwork for
their benefit the supposed advantages
Of Free Grace arranged for them by
Divine Love.
The More Excellent Way.
Our suggestion is that now, in the
tapping time Of this Gospel Age with
the oncoming Milennial Age. as the
the past into the shadow, so the clear
er light now shining from the pages
Of Gods Word casts into the shadow
all the doctrines of the dark ages"
relieving us of the horrible nightmare
which once beclouded our hearts and
lives and made us fearful of our Gre
ator as an all-powerful. but merci-
less sovereign. In this blessed light
now shining from Gods Book have we
not basis for Christian union? Let
us see. If we can find in Gods Word
that the doctrine of Election and the
doctrine of Free Grace are both true.
both Biblical. but that one belongs to
the Church in this Gospel Age and the
other to mankind in general in the
coming Millennial Age. will not this
solve our problem and give us doc.
trinal union instead Of a mere fcdera-
ton based upon the ignoring of doc.
trine? We can all assent to this, there
fore let us examine the facts.
The Bible assuredly declares a Di-
vine election according to Divine
purpose foreordained-but not such an
election as Brother Calvin outlined.
God fOreordained the selection of a
Church, predestinating the number
who would constitute its membership
and the character of each one who
would be acceptable as a member He
foreordained tests of the worthiness of
these members and the glorious re-
ward that should be theirs and a great
work which they shall be privileged TO
do for mankind-llmitedly now, fully
during the Millennium. Accustomed to
the election of fellow-citizens to the
Presidency, to Congress, ETC., where
they will have the opportunity for
blessing the non-elect we should have
carried this same thought to the Di-
vine election Of the Church. We should
have discerned that the elect Church,
the seed OF Abraham" Galatians Iii.
29), is specially intended to be the
channel of Divine blessing to "all the
families Of the earth" Genesis xviii,
Ia.
How strange that we overlooked this
and the assurance that with the COM
pletion of the Church Messiah would
exalt her in the First Resurrection"
to be his Bride and joint-heir in his
Millennial Kingdom. to be established
for the blessing of all mankind. How
strange that we did not notice that
every text of Scripture used by our