regard the minister as "the mediator between God and man."
and Satan in the garb of an angel of light, who have always proved the most dangerous foes of the Church of Christ.
I believe the most powerful champion of the Pharisees is not the man who bids you openly and honestly come out and join the Church of Rome: it is the man who says that he agrees on all points with you in "doctrine." He would not take anything away from those evangelical views that you hold; would not have you make any changes at all; all he asks you to do is to "add" a little more to your belief, in order to make your Christianity perfect. "Believe me," he says, "We do not want you to give up anything. We only want you to hold a few more clear views about the Church and the sacraments. We want you to add to your present opinions, a little more about the office of the ministry, and a little more about the authority of Bishops, and a little more about the Prayer-book, and a little more about the necessity of order and of discipline. We only want you to add "a little more" of these things to your system of religion, and you will be quite right.
But when men speak to you in this way, then is the time to remember what our Lord said, and to "Be careful and be on your guard!" This is the, yeast of the Pharisees, against which we are to stand upon our 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.