USA > Ohio > Journals of the annual conventions of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Ohio > Part 12
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In the Holy Church you are taught to believe in God, to read his word, to fear, to love and obey him, as your first and greatest duty. In the world, you will be enticed constantly to listen to insinuations the opposite of all this. God will be banished from your minds by ten thousand arts the most beguiling. Pleasure will step in with her fatal blandishments. To her will succeed mammon-the pursuit of riches, of honors, and the cares of life.
Should all this be unable to shake your faith and take your thoughts altogether from the Being who made you, a compromise will be attempted. You may believe in God, if you will give your hearts to the world; you may think you believe in his word, if you will never read it; you may fear him, if you will do it only in the hour of danger; you may love and obey him, if you will do it only as a sec- ondary duty, in subserviency to the love of the world, and in obedience to its wicked customs. This is the composition, and these are the terms, on which the enemy delights to see you engaged. Indulge him not, I beseech you. Maintain your allegiance to your Heavenly King, by giving him the first fruits of your choicest affections, of your love and faithful obedience, and his blessing and kind protection will ever attend you.
Again : In the Holy Church, you are taught that God is just-that this attri- bute, to an infinite perfection, constitutes an essential part of the Divine charac- ter. But, in the world, you will find this sacred truth never truly and practically admitted. There, if you are at all permitted to believe in a Divine Being, you must alter his character; and thus, by changing his attributes, you transfer your faith from the true to a false God-to an idol of human imagination, who, it is thought, will save men in all the unhallowed courses of wilfull sin; or who will save them, not according to the demands of justice, as expressed in his Holy Word-not according to their works, as he hath promised, but by an antecedent decree of fate, unalterable by any conditions of faith or good deeds, or the want of them. Be not then deceived, I entreat you. God is just, and is no otherwise the justifier of sinners than as they believe his word, obey his law, and rely on his promises.
Again : In the Church of God, you are taught, and, from the Holy Scriptures therein constantly read, you have the best evidence firmly to believe the mystery of godliness - God manifested in the flesh, to atone for the sins of mankind. That Jesus Christ was both God and man; in the latter nature, suffering ; and in the former, giving value to those sufferings, so as to satisfy the justice of God, and open the door to his divine mercy.
In the world, you will hear this essential and distinguishing doctrine of the gospel ridiculed, abused and rejected, on the sole ground that the mind of man cannot comprehend the manner of its accomplishment !- thus denying the vera- city of God's testimony. and demanding that the capacity of a finite being shall be commensurate to all the deep things of God. Of this, beware. It is a pre-
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sumption arising from deadly pride which caused the fall of angels in heaven, and has ruined its thousands and ten thousands on earth.
In the Holy Church, you have learned that Christ Jesus came on earth, and offered himself a sacrifice for all men ; that he tasted death for every man, and that all are thus raised by this blessed reprieve from a state of death to a state of hope ; and that grace is given unto all, to seek that which they had lost, even life cverlasting.
In the world, you will hear this blessed doctrine so perverted by metaphysical subtleties and false reasonings, as to lose all its truth-all its divine efficacy in encouraging sinners to return unto God-all its healing balm to the wounded heart. You will hear that "all" and "every " do not comprehend the whole; and, of consequence, that Christ tasted death only for a few, leaving the rest to pain and woe eternal. As a check to this most gloomy statement, ever entertain and cherish the consoling, the heart-cheering truth, that justice and mercy have met together in Jesus Christ our Lord; that he died for all, that all might come unto him, renounce their sins, obcy his laws, and be saved. Upon this everlast- ing truth of the gospel, is founded the propriety of all that has been done for you, or that you have done to obtain everlasting life.
In the Church, you have learned not only that Christ Jesus died for you, but that he instituted a society of a heavenly frame, called his body, the ark of his covenant; that of this body he is the head ; of this ark he is the Saviour and di- rector ; and that this Church he hath constituted, in order and beauty, appointing its officers to govern it in his name; that in this church lie ordained his holy sacraments of Baptism and his holy Supper-the one, consisting of outward water, and the Holy Spirit; and the other, of outward bread and wine, and the inward body and blood of Christ. These, his ministers were commissioned and commanded to administer, by his authority alone; that when so administered to the faithful and penitent, they are blessed. The graces of God's Holy Spirit are conveyed, through them, to the souls of men; that they are channels of God's own framing, through which his grace is promised to all who are prepared to receive them. This is the evangelical doctrine, these are the heavenly truths, which you have learned from the sacred scriptures, so constantly prcaclied to you in the lessons, and set forth in the offices of the Church of Christ.
But these doctrines a wicked world will not receive. By those who shut their eyes to the light of divine truth, these beauties of holiness cannot be perceived. The proud hearts of those who have rebelled against the authority of God and his divine law, revolt at the thoughts of divine government. Shall God have a church here on earth ? (Thus the grand enemy persuades them to say.) Shall God have a kingdom under his authority here on earth, where Satan so long has swayed the empire ? Shall the crucified Jesus commission his ministers to build up a peaceful kingdom of order and beauty here on earth, where the madness of the people-where disorder and violence-where sin and wickedness have so long raged and prevailed ? Shall the proud man of worldly wisdom be told, that a little water can be so blessed, by virtue of the divine appointment, as to waslı away the leprosy of sin ? Can the vain philosopher of this world believe that God himself can make spiritual effects follow the use of outward means, when rightly used, as surely as effects follow causes, by his established order of nature ? Can God himself attach the regeneration of tlie Spirit to the outward regeneration of water? Can the ministers of Christ be commissioned to consecrate the ele- ments of bread and wine, so as to become the body and blood of Christ, the great sacrifice for the sins of the world, to all spiritual ends and purposes ; to conse- crate them in such a heavenly, spiritual manner, as that, though they be bread and wine, they be made divine nourishment to the souls of the faithful unto everlasting life? Can Christ thus "give us his flesh to eat, and liis blood to drink ? "
These are truths of our holy religion, which the world, as sucli, never has and never will receive. They are spiritually discerned through faith in the word, in the promise, and in the power of God.
Listen not, then, to tlie unhallowed jargon of the proud disputer of this world, whether he assume the dress of an impious philosophier, or an unreasonable fanatic. God hath a church, and a consecrated ministry ; God hatlı established sacraments and ordinances. To these he hath commanded us to submit and conform, in a deep sense of our own unworthiness, relying on his promise, and trusting in his power and mercy.
Be not then as Cain, who, for envy, slew his faithful brother. Be not as Balaam, who strove for reward, to reconcile God's ways with the ways of a wicked world. Be not as Korah, who, for withstanding the orders of God's Church, was, with his proud adherents, swallowed up in the carth. Reverence tlie institutions of God, regardless of the scoffs of a wicked world. Obcy the commandments of Christ, in full assurance of faith that God will bless you.
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Again : In the Church of God, you have been taught to govern yourselves by PRINCIPLE-to read and investigate the truth of God's word ; and when found, to adhere to it, and to govern your conduct by it in all the circumstances of life, so that, whatever the perplexity of your condition, you have but to inquire, What is your duty ? what do the laws of God, and the consistency of your Christ- ian character, require ?- and by these to be invariably governed.
The very opposite of this is the conduct of the world. There, a fair exterior is all that is required ; hypocrisy and deception are established by universal con- sent; man's wisdom is exalted above God's wisdom; artful cunning is in the place of true understanding, and the maneuvering policy of man supersedes the wise and salutary laws of God.
To preserve yourselves, well armed, against such examples, and amidst such an enemy as this, requires the greatest firmness and assiduity. To this end, never forget that you are constantly in the view of an all-seeing God; that not only your actions, but your every thought and motive, is clearly perceived by Him who searcheth the hearts and trieth the reins of men; that anything done through policy, aside from motives of duty, or contrary to the will of Heaven, will inva- riably be attended with disappointment, in the end,-a deprivation of God's blessing, the greatest of all other disappointments. Never do anything evil, or that hath the semblance of evil. that good may come of it. Thus to do, is directly opposed to the will of God, who never fails to blast those pitiful endeavors and that worthless policy by which man would fain be wiser than his Maker. Speak the truth-act on the principles of truth, and steadily adhere to DUTY. Then, whatever the event-whether you accomplish the immediate object of your wishes or not, one thing you will be sure of, worth all others: you will be sure of the approbation of your Maker; you will be sure of a peaceful conscience.
Again : In the Church of God, you are taught that our Saviour came among men to bear witness to the TRUTH; and that hence arises the bounden duty of every man to receive that witness, and to believe that truth; and that, to enable him to fulfill this duty, God hath given him reason, the Holy Scriptures, and the kind assistance of his Holy Spirit. That this truth is the whole economy of redemption ; that a conformity to it indispensably requires a right faith, and a right practice; that unto this alone (a right faith and a right practice), God hath made all his promises; and, that with these, God hath sealed his covenant. In no other way, is there a promised certainty of salvation to any man; and if any be saved without this right faith and right practice, it is not in consequence of any promise, in the word of God, but through some principle, of which we know little, and can say still less ; perhaps, because of their invincible ignorance ; or, that they never had the means nor opportunity of knowing better.
In this way, the truth of God's word is preserved, and man's duty is still in- cumbent on him. The " strait gate and narrow way that leadeth," through faith and obedience, "unto eternal life," is plain before him ; and man is required, at the peril of his soul, to enter and pursue it. These are the principles you are taught in the Church of God; but these never were, and never will be, admitted by the world.
In the world, you will hear that correctness in faith is of no value; that truth need not be sought ; and that as to the way, it is a creature of individual opinion. That if a man be but "sincere," no matter what he believes or disbelieves ; all is correct which a man thinks to be so; that orthodoxy is an old-fashioned word, fit only to be entertained by primitive Christians, who were not so much enlightened as those at the present day. If you observe in defence of your principles that sin- cerity, however necessary in the profession and practice of the truth, can never be urged to palliate willful error; that if it could, the profession of the Gospel, yea, the knowledge and belief of any of God's laws, are not necessary ; that sincere heathens, Turks, and atheists, are on equal ground with those who died for the faith ; for these unanswerable remarks, you must be content to receive (what every foolish and unreasonable man can so easily give you) the epithets of narrow-minded and illiberal.
I hope and pray this may never move you; for it is the artifice of the enemy of your souls, to make you give up that which is the foundation of all your hopes. He dareth not to assault you on the ground of reason, evidence, and sound argu- ment; he therefore will come to you under the semblance of some virtue. That of liberality is assumed here, though, as you see, it is the reverse. A man must be liberal-so liberal, that truth and falsehood, orthodoxy and heresy, faith and infidelity, virtue and vice, have no distinction, provided they be accompanied with sincerity : they are the same, and all is well. Surely such absurdity must carry its own confutation.
Nearly allied to this manner of deceiving you, is another step which the enemy takes to effect his purpose. When liberality has failed in making you give up your faith in Christianity, and count the Christian and the atheist on the same
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footing, provided they be but sincere, he would fain assume a garb of more daz- zling hue. This he finds in that charity which, when rightly understood, is the substance of so many virtues ; and without which, we become "as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." And can the enemy of our souls work our ruin, when clothed in a raiment so bright as this? Can he, who is hatred itself, assume the robes of love? Can he, who is emphatically styled the Accuser, put on the smiles of tenderness and forbearance? To the great detriment of the Church of God, this, alas! is too often done.
He who once assumed an angel's form, and with an angel's smile deceived an angel's self-he who, under the semblance of wisdom, introduced pain and woe in Paradise, where nothing reigned but innocence and bliss,-can now put on charity-the name and appearance of charity-by which the Church is joined and edificd, to destroy the Church itself.
To guard yourselves against his deceptions, remember, what you are so care- fully taught in the Church of God, that true charity is a principle of love to God and good will towards men-that this love towards God includes, essentially, a faith- ful obedience to his commands, and an anxious desire to know his will. “Here- by," saith the Apostle, " we know we love God, if we keep his commandments," -that this good will towards men, embraced by charity, is an inextinguishable desirc to do them good, in all the offices of kindness, not only to their bodies, but to their souls ; to do them good in the best, in the noblest and highest sense; to lay before them, as God shall give us opportunity, the truths of the gospel; to enlighten their understandings; to convince their judgments; to reclaim them, when they are in error; to call back the wandering sheep to the fold of Christ; to be the instrument of God in healing those who are sick, in raising up those that fall, and in beating down sin and Satan under our feet ;- in one word, to imitate the Great Head of the Church, in speaking and inculcating the truth, and in bringing all men to the unity of the faith, to the bond of peace, and to right- eousness of life. These are the constituent parts-these the manifestations- these the works-these the offices of charity, that bond of peace and union which holdeth the Church of God together here on earth, and which will form its blessed cement forever ;- of charity, which is, to the mystical body of Christ, what love is to the natural body of man; a principle opposed to rending, opposed to divis- ion; which causeth each member to feel the wounds given to another, to fly to its relief, and to restore all to health, order, and beauty. This is that charity incul- cated and required by the Gospel. And what is that which assumes its appear- ance, and by which the enemy would wish to deceive and destroy us? As in most other things, so in this-you may come to the knowledge of the false, by contrasting it with the true character.
True " charity rejoiceth in the truth"-in the truth of God's word, in the truth of his holy promises. False charity doth nothing of this. Truth is its enemy, which it would destroy; and, to this end, it pretendeth great kindness for all opinions and sentiments of men, however inconsistent in themselves, or opposed to the word of God. We must not censure nor oppose them; "we must have charity for them "-not, indeed, by pointing out a fatal error-not by deterring men from the sins to which they lead,-but merely by pretending a blind and in- definite good will to them. And can this, by any reasonable being, be taken for a characteristic mark of true charity? Shall a blind creature, without eyes to distinguish truth from crror-without a heart to feel for the moral degradation of man, be taken for that heavenly virtue which once animated the disciples to blecd and die for the truth ?- to compass the wide world, and to sustain every hardship, that the Church of God miglit be raised on the ruins of error ? Shall a blind idol like this, which would fain deny all distinctions between right and wrong in all matters of faith, be taken for charity ? Has God, then, no being, nor word to believe, because, in this sense, we are to be charitable to the atheist? Has not a Saviour shed his blood for us, and made an atonement for the sins of man- kind, because we are to be charitable to the deist ? Hath Christ left no visible power on earth to govern his Church, because, in this sense, we are to be chiari- table to those who have cast it off? Hath the Church no valid sacraments-no "outward and visible signs of inward spiritual graces " to the souls of the faitli- ful, because, in this sense, we are to be charitable to such as deny their efficacy ? In order to shew charity to all, must we bid them God speed in every course, however erroncous ? Should we sce a fellow-creature hastening down a precipice to his ruin, who would manifest the true and who tlie false charity-he who bade him proceed on his course, or he who made every effort to stop his carcer, by carnest advice and kind entreaty ? "Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him," saith the Scripture (Lcv. xix. 17). Here, then, is the clear distinction : true charity seeketli to do men good, by propagating the truth; false clarity sceketh their greatest harm, by an inconsistent approbation of all their errors. True charity seeketh the greatest good of men, by entreating
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them to enter the Church of God, and by building them up in unity and godly love; false charity seeketh their greatest harm, by making every man a church unto himself-thus justifying divisions, strife, and contentions, to an unlimited extent.
These are the legitimate distinctions which you are entreated ever to bear in mind. Suffer not the enemy to deceive you here. Seek and embrace the truth. Cleave to the Church of God; love all her members, and do good to all men. This is the best advice I can give you, on this important head. Receive it, I pray you, as coming from the same principle of true charity which I would now most earnestly enforce on your minds.
MY DEAR BRETHREN IN THE LORD : I would close my discourse to you here, knowing that the length I have already proceeded demands it, were it not for one great artifice of your spiritual foe which still remains unexposed : this is PROCRASTINATION.
In the Church of God, you are taught the essential doctrine of an immediate conformity to the will of God; that delay, either to know or to do our duty, is of itself a sin so highly offensive to the honor of the Divine Being, that he might justly for this, if for no other reason, turn his face from us, and leave us to our ruin ; that, therefore, we hear it in God's Church constantly asserted, "Behold Now is the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation;" that we know not what a year, a month, or a day may bring forth; that death may seize upon us when we least expect him ; and that to prepare for his approach is our first and greatest duty ;- thus urging the danger of delay on account of its inherent sin, and of the awful hazard we run by indulging it.
In the Church of God, you are also taught the imperious necessity of persever- ance in the ways of holiness; that you are to press forward towards the mark, for the prize of your high calling in Christ Jesus, in all the means of grace : in con- stant prayer to God, in reading of his holy word, in dealing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before him. This is the doctrine which you have [heard], and I trust you ever will hear, inculcated on your minds in the holy Church; a doctrine of promptitude, zeal, and perseverance. And will the enemy of your souls suffer you to listen, to learn, and, above all, to follow it? No; to all his artifices he joineth that most dangerous of all, of making you insensible of the dangers of delay. "The Lord delayeth his coming," and you may delay your duty. Remit your progress for the present, and at some future period you may redouble your speed. Neglect your prayers to-day, for to-morrow may do as well. Think not on the dealings of God's Providence, for that may be done at another time. Call not yourself to an account for your sins now, for you are too busy. Humble not yourselves before God, for it will spoil your present pleasure. Prepare not for the Holy Supper of the Lord, for this may be put off for riper age. Think not of death nor of judgment, for a long life is before you.
Thus you are tempted by the grand deceiver. These are his best and most effectual weapons to render all you have hitherto done, and, I must add, all I now say to you, unavailing. If he can make you delay your progress, to loiter on the road, to put off from day to day your higher duties till a more convenient season, his purpose is answered : your destruction is effected equally as with more violent measures. What careth he for your profession of religion, if he can make you put off the practice of it? What careth he for your vows to keep God's holy will and commandments, if he can make you delay the performance of those which are the most solemn, and which give value to all the rest ? To this end, therefore, he putteth forth all his endeavors. To aid the arguments for delay, he will persuade you that God withholdeth from you the grace necessary to fulfill his will, and that at some future period it may be poured out in greater abundance. This, if you believe and act accordingly, he knoweth throws the blame from yourselves upon your Maker, and thus to presumption adds the sin of blasphemy. Beware, then, I entreat you. Be not deceived. God will require of you an immediate, a hearty, and unremitting obedience to his commands ; and what he requireth of you, he doth and will enable you to perform.
Delay not, then, the pursuit of a holy life. Put not off, through any pretence, the performance of your sacred duties. Remember that life is short; but, short as it is, it embraces your only opportunity to fit you for an eternity of bliss or wo ; -that your days are swifter than a post ;- that soon, very soon, your time of probation will be past, and all will be unalterably sealed to the day of judgment ; -that on your present conduct, perhaps on the resolutions you this moment form, will depend your eternal destiny : whether you sing the praises of God in inconceivable happiness, or join the damned in weeping and gnashing of teeth. Shrink not, then, from your duties of love to God, and of fear of his awful ven- geance. Act always as in his sight; draw near unto him in fervent prayer, that your weakness may become perfect in his strength. Plead the merits of his Son, for heavenly grace to do his will. Plead the mercies of the promises made to you
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in holy baptism. Plead the merits of the body and blood of Christ for spiritual strength in the day of trial, to succor you in temptation, to guard you in pros- perity, to support you in adversity, to comfort you in your afflictions, to soothe you in your sorrows, and to fit you for the whole will of God.
Oh that you may do so, and that the divine blessing may attend you! To this end, most devoutly do I commit you to God's gracious mercy and protection. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you, and give you peace, both now and evermore. AMEN.
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