109SermonsbyJCRyle
guard. Why do I say this? I say it because there is no security against the doctrine of the Pharisees—unless we resist its principles in their beginnings!
1. Beginning with a "little more about the Church"—You may one day put the Church in the place of Christ.
2. Beginning with a "little more about the ministry"—You may one day regard the minister as "the mediator between God and man."
3. Beginning with a "little more about the sacraments"—You may one day altogether give up the doctrine of justification by faith without the deeds of the law.
4. Beginning with a "little more reverence for the Prayer-book"—You may one day place it above the Holy Word of God itself.
5. Beginning with a "little more honor to Bishops"—You may at last refuse salvation to everyone who does not belong to an Episcopal Church.
I only tell an old story—I only mark out roads that have been trodden by hundreds of members of the Church of England in the last few years. They began by faultfinding at the Reformers, and have ended by swallowing the decrees of the Roman Catholic church. They began by crying about the way things were, and have ended by formally joining the Church of Rome. I believe that when we hear men asking us to "add a little more" to our good old plain Evangelical views, we should stand upon our guard. We should remember our Lord's caution: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees!"
I consider the most dangerous champion of the Sadducee school, is not the man who tells you openly that he wants you to lay aside any part of the truth, and to become a free-thinker and a skeptic. It is the man who begins with quietly insinuating doubts as to the position that we ought to take up about religion, doubts whether we ought to be so positive in saying "this is truth, and that falsehood," doubts whether we ought to think men wrong who differ from us on religious opinions, since they may after all be as much right as we are. It is the man who tells us we ought not to condemn anybody's views, lest we err on the side of the lack of love. It is the man who always begins talking in a vague way about God being a God of love, and hints that we ought to believe perhaps that all men, whatever doctrine they profess, will be saved. It is the man who is ever reminding us that we ought to take care how we think lightly of men of powerful minds, and great intellects (though they are deists and skeptics), who do not think as we do, and that, after all, "great minds are all more or less, taught of God!" It is the man who is ever harping on the difficulties of inspiration, and raising questions whether all men may not be found saved in the end, and whether all may not be right in the sight of God. It is the man who crowns this kind of talk by a few calm sneers against what he is pleased to call "old-fashioned views," and "narrow-minded theology," and "bigotry," and the "lack of liberality and love," in the present day. But when men begin to speak to us in this kind of way, then is the time to stand upon our guard. Then is the time to remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and "Be careful and be on your guard against the yeast!"
Once more, why do I say this? I say it because there is no security against Sadduceeism, any more than against Phariseeism, unless we resist its principles in the bud! Beginning with a little vague talk about "love," you may end in the doctrine of universal salvation, fill heaven with a mixed multitude of wicked as well as godly, and deny the existence of hell. Beginning with a few high-sounding phrases about intellect and the inner light in man, you may end with denying the work of the Holy Spirit, and maintaining that Homer and Shakespeare were as truly inspired as Paul, and thus practically casting aside the Bible. Beginning with some dreamy, misty idea about "all religions containing more or less truth," you may end with utterly denying the necessity of missions, and maintaining that the best plan is to leave everybody alone. Beginning with dislike to "Evangelical religion," as old-fashioned, narrow, and exclusive—you may end by rejecting every leading doctrine of Christianity—the atonement, the need of divine grace, and the divinity of Christ.
Again I repeat that I only tell an old story—I only give a sketch of a path which scores have trodden in the last few years. They were once satisfied with such divinity as that of Newton, Scott, Cecil, and Romaine; they are now fancying they have found a more excellent way in the principles which have been propounded by theologians of the Broad school! I believe there is no safety for a man's soul—unless he remembers the lesson involved in those solemn words, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Sadducees!"
Let us be on our guard against the "insidiousness" of false doctrine. Like the fruit of which Eve and Adam ate, at first sight it looks pleasant and good, and a thing to be desired. "Poison" is not written upon it, and so people are not afraid. Like counterfeit coin, it is not stamped "bad." It passes for the real thing, because of the very likeness it bears to the truth. Let us be on our guard against the "very small beginnings" of false doctrine. Every heresy began at one time, with some little departure from the truth. There is only "a little seed of error" needed to create a great tree of heresy. It is the little stones which make up the mighty building. It was the little pieces of lumber, which made the great ark that carried Noah and his family over a deluged world. It is the little leaven which the whole lump. It is the little flaw in one link of the chain cable which wrecks the gallant ship, and drowns the crew. It is the omission or addition of one little item in the doctor's prescription, which spoils the whole medicine, and turns it into poison. We do not tolerate quietly a little dishonesty, or a little cheating, or a little lying. Just so, let us never allow a little false doctrine to ruin us, by thinking it is but a "little one," and can do no harm. The Galatians seemed to be doing nothing very dangerous when they "were observing special days and months and seasons and years;" yet Paul says, "I fear for you" (Galatians 4:10, 11).
Finally, let us be on our guard against supposing that "we at any rate are not in danger." "Our views are sound; our feet stand firm. Others may fall away—but we are safe!" Hundreds have thought the same, and have come to a dreadful end. In their self-confidence they tampered with little temptations and little forms of false doctrine; in their self-conceit they went near the brink of danger; and now they seem lost forever! They appear given over to a strong delusion, so as to believe a lie. Some of them are praying to the Virgin Mary, and bowing down to images. Others of them are casting overboard one doctrine after another, and are stripping themselves of every sort of religion, but a few scraps of Deism. Very striking is the vision in Pilgrim's Progress, which describes the hill Error as "very steep on the farthest side;" and "when Christian and Hopeful looked down they saw at the bottom, several men dashed all to pieces by a fall they had from the top." Never, never let us forget the caution to beware of "yeast;" and if we think we stand, let us "be careful that we don't fall!"
IV. I propose in the fourth and last place, to suggest some SAFEGUARDS and treatment against the dangers of the present day—the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of the Sadducees.
I feel that we all need more and more, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, to guide, to teach, and to keep us sound in the faith. We all need to watch more, and to pray to be held up, and preserved from falling away. But still, there are certain great truths, which, in a day like this, we are specially bound to keep in mind. There are times when some common epidemic invades a land, when medicines, at all times valuable, become of special value. There are places where a uncommon malaria prevails, in which remedies, in every place valuable, are more than ever valuable in consequence of it.
So I believe there are times and seasons in the Church of Christ when we are bound to tighten our hold upon certain great leading truths, to grasp them with more than ordinary firmness in our hands, to press them to our hearts, and not to let them go. Such doctrines I desire to set forth in order, as the great prescription against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. When Saul and Jonathan were slain by the archers, David ordered the children of Israel to be taught the use of the bow.
(a) For one thing, if we would be kept sound in the faith, we must take heed to our doctrine about the "total corruption of human nature." The corruption of human nature is no slight thing. It is no partial, skin-deep disease—but a radical and universal corruption of man's will, intellect, affections, and conscience. We are not merely poor and pitiable sinners in God's sight—we are guilty sinners; we are blameworthy sinners: we deserve justly God's wrath and God's condemnation. I believe there are very few errors and false doctrines of which the beginning may not be traced up to unsound views about the corruption of human nature. Wrong views of a disease will always bring with them wrong views of the remedy. Wrong views of the corruption of human nature will always carry with them wrong views of the grand treatment and cure of that corruption.
(b) For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine about "the inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures." Let us boldly maintain, in the face of all the opposers, that the whole of the Bible is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all is inspired completely, not one part more than another, and that there is an entire gulf between the Word of God and any other book in the world. We need not be afraid of difficulties in the way of the doctrine of absolute inspiration. There may be many things about it, which are far too high for us to comprehend. Scripture inspiration is a miracle, and all miracles are necessarily mysterious. But if we are not to believe anything until we can entirely explain it, there are very few things indeed that we shall believe.
We need not be afraid of all the assaults which criticism brings to bear upon the Bible. From the days of the apostles the Word of the
Lord has been incessantly "tried," and has never failed to come forth as gold, uninjured, and spotless.
We need not be afraid of the discoveries of science. Astronomers may sweep the heavens with telescopes, and geologists may dig down into the heart of the earth—and never shake the authority of the Bible! "The voice of God, and the work of God's hands—never will be found to contradict one another." We need not be afraid of the researches of travelers. They will never discover anything which contradicts God's Bible. I believe that if a man were to go over all the earth and dig up a hundred buried Ninevehs, there would not be found a single inscription which would contradict a single fact in the Word of God.
Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that this Word of God is the only rule of faith and of practice—that whatever is not written in it— cannot be required of any man as needful of salvation; and that however plausibly new doctrines may be defended, if they are not in the Word of God—they cannot be worth our attention. It matters nothing who says a thing, whether he be bishop or minister; pastor or pope. It matters nothing that the thing is well said, eloquently, attractively, forcibly, and in such a way as to turn the laugh against you. We are not to believe it except it is proved to us by Holy Scripture.
Last—but not least, we must use the Bible as if we believed it was given by inspiration. We must use it with reverence, and read it with all the tenderness with which we would read the words of an absent father. We must not expect to find no mysteries in a book inspired by the Spirit of God. We must rather remember that in nature there are many things we cannot understand; and that as it is in the book of nature, so it will always be in the book of Revelation.
We should draw near to the Word of God in that spirit of piety recommended by Lord Bacon many years ago. "Remember," he says, speaking of the book of nature, "that man is not the master of that book—but the interpreter of that book." And as we deal with the book of nature, so we must deal with the Book of God. We must draw near to it, not to teach—but to learn; not like the master of it—but like a humble scholar, seeking to understand it.
(c) For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine respecting "the atonement and priestly office of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." We must boldly maintain that the death of our Lord on the cross was no common death. It was not the death of a martyr. It was not the death of one who only died to give us a mighty example of self-sacrifice and self-denial. The death of Christ was an offering up to God of Christ's own body and blood, to make an atoning sacrifice for man's sin and transgression. This sacrifice was typified in every offering of the Mosaic law—a sacrifice of the mightiest influence on all mankind. Without the shedding of that blood there could not be, there never was to be—any remission of sin.
Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that this crucified Savior evermore sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for all who come to God by Him; that He there represents and pleads for those who put their trust in Him; and that He has delegated His office of Priest and Mediator to no man, or set of men on the face of the earth. We need none besides. We need no Virgin Mary, no angels, no saint, no priest, no person ordained or unordained—to stand between us and God—but the one Mediator, Christ Jesus.
Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that peace of conscience is not to be bought by confession to a priest, and by receiving a man's absolution from sin. It is to be had only by going to the great High Priest, Christ Jesus; by confession before Him, not before man. Absolution can come from Him who alone can say, "Your sins are forgiven! Go in peace."
Last—but not least, we must boldly maintain that peace with God, once obtained by faith in Christ, is to be kept up, not by mere outward ceremonial acts of worship, not by receiving the sacrament of the Lord's Supper every day—but by the daily habit of looking to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, eating by faith His body, and drinking by faith His blood; that eating and drinking of which our Lord says that he who eats and drinks shall find His "body to be food indeed— and His blood to be drink indeed."
Godly John Owen declared, long ago, that if there was any one point more than another that Satan wished to overthrow, it was the Priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. "Satan knew well," he said, that it was the "principal foundation of faith and consolation of the Church." Right views about Christ's office, are of essential importance in the present day, if men would not fall into error.
(d) One more remedy I must mention. We must take heed to our doctrine about "the work of God the Holy Spirit." Let us settle it in our minds, that His work is no uncertain invisible operation on the heart—and that where He is, He is not hidden, not unfelt, not unobserved. We believe that the rain, when it falls, can be felt. We believe that where there is life in a man—it can be seen and observed by his breath. So is it with the influence of the Holy Spirit. No man has any right to lay claim to it—except its fruits, its experimental effects, can be seen in his life. Where He is, there will ever be a new creation, and a new man. Where He is, there will ever be new knowledge, new faith, new holiness, new fruits in the life, in the family, in the world, in the church. And where these new things are not seen, we may well say, with confidence, that there is no work of the Holy Spirit in that person. These are times in which we all need to be on our guard about the doctrine of the work of the Spirit. One said, long ago, that the time would perhaps come when men might have to be martyrs for the work of the Holy Spirit. That time seems not far distant. At any rate, if there is one truth in religion which seems to have more contempt showered upon it than another, it is the work of the Spirit.
I desire to impress the immense importance of these four points upon all who read this paper:
(a) clear views of the sinfulness of human nature.
(b) clear views of the inspiration of Scripture.
(c) clear views of the Atonement and Priestly office of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
(d) clear views of the work of the Holy Spirit.
I believe that false doctrines about the church, the ministry, and the Sacraments, about the love of God, the death of Christ, and the eternity of punishment—will find no foothold in the heart which is sound on these four points. I believe that they are four great safeguards against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
I will now conclude this paper with a few remarks by way of PRACTICAL APPLICATION. My desire is to make the whole subject useful, to those into whose hands these pages may fall, and to supply an answer to the questions which may possibly arise in some hearts. What are we to do? What advice have you got to offer for these times?
(1) In the first place, I will ask every reader of this paper to find out whether he has "saving personal religion for his own soul." This is the principal thing, after all. It will profit no man to belong to a sound visible church—if he does not himself belong to Christ. It will avail a man nothing to be intellectually sound in the faith, and to approve sound doctrine—if he is not himself sound at heart. Is this the case with you? Can you say that your heart is right in the sight of God? Is it renewed by the Holy Spirit? Does Christ dwell in it by faith? O, rest not, rest not—until you can give a satisfactory answer to these questions! The man who dies unconverted, however sound his views—is as truly lost forever as the worst Pharisee or Sadducee that ever lived!
(2) In the next place, let me entreat every reader of this paper who desires to be sound in the faith—to study the Bible diligently. That blessed book is given to be a light to our feet, and a lantern to our path. No man who reads it reverently, prayerfully, humbly, and regularly—shall ever be allowed to miss the way to heaven! By it every sermon, and every religious book, and every ministry ought to be weighed and proved.
Would you know what is truth? Do you feel confused and puzzled by the war of words which you hear on every side about religion? Do you want to know what you ought to believe, and what you ought to be and do, in order to be saved? Take down your Bible—and cease listening to man! Read your Bible with earnest prayer for the teaching of the Holy Spirit; read it with honest determination to obey its lessons. Do so steadily and perseveringly, and you shall see light— you shall be kept from the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and be guided to eternal life. The way to do a thing is to do it. Act upon this advice without delay!
(3) In the next place, let me advise every reader of this paper who has reason to hope that he is sound in faith and heart, to "take heed to the PROPORTION of truths." I mean by that, to impress the importance of giving each truth of Christianity the same place and position in our hearts—which is given to it in God's Word. The first things must not be put second— and the second things must not be put first in our religion. The church must not be put above Christ. Ministers must not be exalted above the place assigned to them by Christ. Means of grace must not be regarded as an end instead of a means. Attention to this point is of great consequence: the mistakes which arise from neglecting it are neither few nor small. Here lies the immense importance of studying the whole Word of God, omitting nothing, and avoiding partiality in reading one part more than another. Here again lies the value of having a clear system of Christianity in our minds.
(4) In the next place, let me entreat every true hearted servant of Christ "not to be deceived by the superficial disguise" under which false doctrines often approach our souls in the present day. Beware of supposing that a teacher of religion is to be trusted, because although he holds some unsound views—that he yet "teaches a great deal of truth." Such a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm! Poison is always most dangerous when it is given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food. Beware of being taken in by the apparent earnestness of many of the teachers and upholders of false doctrine. Remember that zeal and sincerity and fervor—are no proof whatever, that a man is working for Christ, and ought to be believed.
Peter no doubt was in earnest—when he told our Lord to spare Himself, and not go to the cross; yet our Lord said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan." Saul no doubt was in earnest—when he went to and fro persecuting Christians; yet he did it ignorantly, and his zeal was not according to knowledge. The founders of the Spanish Inquisition no doubt were in earnest—in the burning alive of God's people. They thought they were doing God's service—yet they were actually persecuting Christ's members and walking in the steps of Cain!
It is an dreadful fact, that "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). Of all the delusions prevalent in these latter days, there is none greater than the common notion that "if a man is in serious about his religion—he must be a good man!" Beware of being carried away by this delusion; beware of being led astray by "serious-minded men!" Seriousness is in itself an excellent thing; but it must be seriousness in behalf of Christ and His whole truth—or else it is worth nothing at all. The things that are highly esteemed among men—are often abominable in the sight of God.
(5) In the next place, let me counsel every true servant of Christ—to "examine his own heart" frequently and carefully as to his state before God. This is a practice which is useful at all times—it is especially desirable at the present day. When the great plague of London was at its height, people marked the least symptoms that appeared on their bodies in a way that they never marked them before. A spot here, or a spot there, which in time of health men thought nothing of, received close attention when the plague was decimating families, and striking down one after another! So it ought to be with ourselves, in the times in which we live. We ought to watch our hearts with double watchfulness. We ought to give more time to meditation, self-examination, and reflection. It is a hurrying, bustling age—if we would be kept from falling, we must make time for being frequently alone with God.
(6) Last of all, let me urge all true believers "to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." We have no cause to be ashamed of that faith. I am firmly persuaded that there is no system so life-giving, so calculated to awaken the sleeping, lead on the inquiring, and build up the saints—as that system which is called the Evangelical system of Christianity. Wherever it is faithfully preached, and efficiently carried out, and consistently adorned by the lives of its professors—it is the power of God. It may be spoken against and mocked by some; but so it was in the days of the Apostles. It may be weakly set forth and defended by many of its advocates; but, after all, its fruits and its results are its highest praise.
No other system of religion can point to such fruits. Nowhere are so many souls converted to God—as in those congregations where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached in all its fullness, without any mixture of the Pharisee or Sadducee doctrine. We are not called upon to be nothing but controversialists; but we never ought to be ashamed to testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and to stand up boldly for Evangelical religion. We have the truth, and we need not be afraid to say so. The judgment-day will prove who is right—and to that day we may boldly appeal!
The Rights and Duties of Laymen
By J. C. Ryle
"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus—To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons" Philippians 1:1
This opening verse of Paul's Epistle to the Philippians is a very remarkable text of Scripture. I suspect it receives far less attention from Bible readers than it deserves. Like the gold of California, men have walked over it for centuries, and have not observed what was under their feet. In fact, if some Anglican divines had stood at the Apostle's elbow when he wrote this verse, I believe they would have hinted that he had made a mistake.
Now what do I mean by all this? What is the remarkable point to which I refer? The point on which I place my finger is Paul's mention of "the saints" before the "bishops and deacons." He places the laity before the clergy when he addresses the Philippian Church. He puts the body of the baptized in the front rank, and the ministers in the rear.
There is no room for dispute about the various readings of manuscripts in this case. It was unmistakably given by inspiration of God, and written for our learning. As such, I see in it the germ of a great truth, which demands special notice in the present day. In short, it opens up the grave subject of the rights and duties of the lay members of a Christian Church.
I approach the whole subject with a deep sense of its delicacy and difficulty. I disclaim the slightest sympathy with those revolutionary counselors who want us to throw overboard Creeds, and turn the Church into a Pantheon, in the vain hope of buying off invaders. I desire nothing but scriptural and reasonable reforms, and I know no reform so likely to strengthen the Church as that of placing her laity in their rightful position. One of the best modes of promoting effective Church defense in this day—is to promote wise Church reform.
What, then, was the position of the lay members of Churches in the days of the Apostles? Let us imagine ourselves paying a visit to the baptized communities at Rome, or Corinth, or Ephesus, or Thessalonica, or Jerusalem, and let us see what we would have found, and what Scripture teaches about them. In this, as in many other matters, we have a right to ask, "What light can we get from the New Testament?"
This is an inquiry which deserves special attention, and I am much mistaken if the result does not astonish some people, and make them open their eyes.
I say then, without hesitation, that you will not find a single text in the New Testament in which the ordained ministers alone are ever called "the Church," or ever act for the Church without the laity uniting and co-operating in their action.
Are the deacons appointed? The apostles recommend their proposal, but "the whole multitude" choose (Act. 6:5). Is a council held to consider whether the heathen converts should be circumcised, and keep the ceremonial law? The decision arrived at is said to come from "the apostles, and elders, and brethren," with "the whole Church" (Act. 15:22-23). Are inspired Epistles written by Paul to particular Churches? In eight cases they are addressed to "the Church, the saints, the faithful brethren"—and in only one case (the Epistle to the Philippians) is there any mention of overseers and deacons" in the opening address. Does Paul send instructions to the Church about the Lord's Supper, and about speaking with tongues? He sends them to "them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus" not to the ministers. Is discipline exercised against an unsound member? I find Paul giving directions to the saints at Corinth, without mentioning the ministry, "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person"
(1Co. 5:13). Is a man "overtaken in a fault" to be restored to communion? Paul tells those who are "spiritual" among the Galatians to do it, and does not refer it to their ministers. (Gal. 6:1). Is an Epistle written to the Christian Hebrews? Not a word is said about "rulers" until you come to the last chapter. Does James write a General Epistle? He addresses the "twelve tribes," and only names "teachers" in the third chapter. Does Peter write a General Epistle? He writes to the whole body of the elect, and says nothing to the "elders" until he arrives at the last chapter, and even then he is careful to remind them that they are not "lords over God's heritage." As for the Second Epistle of Peter, and the Epistles of John and Jude, they never touch the subject of the ministry at all.
Now let no one mistake me. That there was to be a distinct order of men to minister to the Church is, to my eyes, most plainly taught in the New Testament. Paul, we are told, "ordained elders in every Church" (Act. 14:23). See 1Co. 12:28; Eph. 4:11; 1st and 2nd Epistles to Timothy; and Titus. But that "the Church" in any city or country meant especially the laity, and the ministers were only regarded as the "servants of the Church" (2Co. 4:5), seems to me as clear as the sun at noon-day.
As for a Church in which the clergy acted alone, settled everything, decided everything, judged everything, and managed everything, and the laity had no voice at all, I cannot find the spirit of the shadow of such a thing in the Acts or Epistles of the New Testament. On the contrary, while Paul tells the Thessalonians to "esteem their ministers very highly," it is to the laity, and not the clergy, that he addresses the words, "Warn those who are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak" (1Th. 5:13-14).
Before I go any further in this paper, I think it right to say a few words in self-defense, to prevent possible misunderstanding. If anyone supposes that I wish to exalt and exaggerate the position of the laity at the expense of the clergy, and that I think lightly of the ministerial office—he is totally mistaken. In a deep sense of the value of the Christian ministry, as an ordinance of Christ, and a necessity in a fallen world, I give place to no man. But I dare not overstep scriptural limits in this matter. I cannot refrain from saying that a sacerdotal ministry, a mediatorial ministry, an infallible ministry, a ministry of men who by virtue of episcopal ordination have any monopoly of knowledge, or any special ability to settle disputed questions of faith or ritual such a ministry, in my judgment, is an innovation of man, and utterly without warrant of Holy Scripture. It is a ministry which has been borrowed from the typical system of the Jewish Church, and has no place in the present dispensation. The Christian minister is a teacher, an ambassador, a messenger, a watchman, a witness, a shepherd, a steward—and is expressly authorized by the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, where his duties are clearly laid down. But there is a conspicuous absence of New Testament proof that he is a sacrificing priest!
In saying this I do not stand alone. The learned Bishop of Durham, in his exhaustive work on Philippians, uses the following language:
"The kingdom of Christ has no sacerdotal system. It interposes no sacrificial tribe or class between God and man by whose entreaties alone God is reconciled and man forgiven. Each individual member holds personal communion with the Divine Head. To Him immediately he is responsible, and from Him directly he obtains pardon and draws strength" (p. 174, ed. 3).
Again, he says—"The sacerdotal title is never once conferred on the ministers of the Church. The only priests under the gospel, designated as such under the New Testament, are the saints, the members of the Christian brotherhood" (p. 132, ed. 3). This is sound speech, which cannot be condemned. First published in 1868, it has stood the test of eighteen years' criticism, and its principles remain unanswered and unanswerable. To these principles I firmly adhere, and I press them on the consideration of all English Churchmen in the present day.
I leave the subject of the lay members of the apostolic Churches at this point, and commend it to the attention of all who read this paper. It is my conviction that the prominent position occupied by the laity in these primitive communities was one grand secret of their undeniable strength, growth, prosperity, and success. There were no sleeping Christians in those days. Every member of the ecclesiastical body worked. Everyone felt bound to do something. All the baptized members, whether men or women, if we may judge from the 16th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, took a direct active interest in the welfare and progress of the whole ecclesiastical body. They were not tame, ignorant sheep, led here and there at the beck of an autocratic shepherd. The best regiment in an army is that in which officers and privates take an equal interest in the efficiency of the whole corps. It is the regiment in which the officers trust the privates and the privates trust the officers. It is the regiment in which every private is intelligent, and behaves as if the success of the campaign depended on him. It is the regiment in which every private knows his duty, and is honorably proud of his profession, and would fight to the last for the colors, even if every officer fell. Such a regiment was a primitive Church in apostolic days. It had its officers—its overseers and deacons. It had orders, due subordination, and discipline. But the mainspring and backbone of its strength lay in the zeal, intelligence, and activity of its laity!
I hold it to be a canon and axiom of the Christian faith, that the nearer a Church can get to the pattern of Scripture the better she is, and the farther she gets away from it the worse.
A mischievous habit of leaving all religion to the parson of the parish has overspread the country, and the bulk of laymen seem to think that they have nothing to do with the Church but to receive the benefit of her means of grace, while they contribute nothing in the way of personal active exertion to promote her efficiency. The vast majority of church-goers appear to suppose that when they have gone to church on Sunday, they have done their duty, and are not under the slightest obligation to warn, to teach, to rebuke, to edify others, to promote works of charity, to assist evangelization, or to raise a finger in checking sin, and advancing Christ's cause in the world. Their only idea is to be perpetually receiving, but never doing anything at all. They have taken their seats in the right train, and are only to sit quiet, while the clerical engine draws them to heaven, perhaps half asleep.
If an Ephesian or Philippian or Thessalonian layman were to rise from the dead and see how little work present laymen do for the English Church, he would not believe his eyes. The difference between the primitive type of a layman and the English type is the difference between light and darkness, black and white. The one used to be awake and alive, and always about his Master's business. The other is too often asleep practically, and torpid, and idle, and content to leave the religion of the parish in the hands of the parson. When this is the case—and who will deny it? there must be something painfully wrong in our system.
With every desire to make the best of our Church, I cannot avoid the conclusion that in the matter of the laity, its system is at present defective and sub-scriptural. I cannot reconcile the position of the English layman in 1888 with that of his brother in any apostolic Church eighteen centuries ago. I cannot make the two things square. To my eyes, it seems that in the regular working of the Church of England, almost everything is left in the hands of the clergy, and hardly anything is assigned to the laity! The clergy settle everything! The Clergy manage everything! The clergy arrange everything! The laity are practically allowed neither voice, nor place, nor opinion, nor power, and must accept whatever the clergy decide for them. In all this there is no intentional slight. Not the smallest reflection is implied on the trustworthiness and ability of the laity. But from one cause or another they are left out in the cold, passive recipients and not active members, in a huge ecclesiastical corporation,—sleeping members, and not working agents in an unwieldy and ill-managed concern. In short, our laymen have been left as unwanted soldiers— they have fallen out of the ranks, retired to the rear, and sunk out of sight.
Now, what is the true cause of this anomalous state of things? It is one which may easily be detected. The position of the English laity is neither more nor less than a rag and remnant of Popery. It is part of those "damnable heresies" which Rome has bequeathed to our Church, and which has never been completely purged away. Our Reformers themselves were not perfect men, and among other blots which they left on the face of our Church, I must sorrowfully admit that neglect of the interests of the laity was not the least one. To make the clergy mediators between Christ and man—to exalt them far above the laity, and put all ecclesiastical power into their hands— to clothe them with sacerdotal authority, and regard them as infallible guides in all Church matters—this has always been an essential element of the Romish system. This element our Reformers, no doubt, ought to have corrected by giving more power to the laity, as John Knox did in Scotland. They omitted to do so. The unhappy fruit of the omission has been that gradually the chief authority in our Church matters has fallen almost entirely into the hands of the clergy, and the laity have been left without their due rights and powers. The effect at the present day is that the English laity are far below the position they ought to occupy, and the English clergy are far above theirs. Both parties, in short, are in the wrong place.
What are the consequences of this unsatisfactory state of things? They are precisely what might be expected—evil and only evil. Departure from the mind of God, even in the least things, is always sure to bear bitter fruit. Lifted above their due position, the English clergy have always been inclined to sacerdotalism, priestism, selfconceit, and an overweening estimate of their own privileges and powers. Fallen below their due position, the English laity, with occasional brilliant exceptions, have taken little interest in church matters, and have been too ready to leave everything to be managed by the clergy. In the meantime, for three centuries the Church of England has suffered great and almost irremediable damage.
Seldom considered, seldom consulted, seldom trusted with power, seldom invested with authority—the English layman, as a rule, is ignorant, indifferent, or apathetic about Church questions. How few laymen know anything about their own Church work! How few care one jot! How few understand the meaning of the great doctrinal controversies by which their Church is almost rent asunder! How few exhibit as much personal interest or concern about them, as a Roman spectator would have exhibited about the fight of a couple of gladiators in the arena of the Coliseum! How few could tell you anything more than this, "that there is some squabble among the parsons; and they don't pretend to understand it!" This is a melancholy picture; but I fear it is a sadly correct one. And yet who can wonder? The English laity have never yet had their rightful position in the management of the Church of England.
You may lay it down as an infallible rule, that the best way to make a man feel an interest in a business—is to make him a "part of the concern." The rule applies to ecclesiastical corporations as well as to commercial ones. The Church of England has lost sight of this principle altogether. The laity have never been properly employed, or trusted, or considered, or called forward, or consulted, or placed in position, or armed with authority, as they ought to have been. The consequence is that, as a body, they neither know, nor care, nor feel, nor understand, nor think, nor read, nor exercise their minds, nor trouble their heads much, about church affairs. The system under which this state of things has grown up is a gigantic mistake. The sooner it is cut up by the roots and turned upside down the better. If we want to remove one grand cause of our Church's present weakness, we must completely alter the position of the laity. On this point, if on no other, there is great need of Church reform.