that any man is specially moved by the Holy | constrained to condemn themselves? But to test Spirit to preach or teach the christian religion. this mode of reasoning, let us see how it applies Neither a license from any established sect, to those who said, in holy writ, that they were nor his own saying or swearing that he is spe- called to the work of the ministry. The Lord, cially moved by the Holy Spirit to the preaching we are told, called twelve men of the Jews or teaching of the christian religion, is a proof during his life time, to be eye and ear witsufficient to render it criminal in any to neglect nesses of all that he said and did. These or despise his instructions. Nothing short of he afterwards called to be apostles, or ambassadivine attestations or miracles can evince that dors, or ministers of the New Testament, as any man is especially called by the Spirit of God they are equally distinguished by any of these to instruct us in the christian religion. Can names or titles of office. These he called by those who say they are moved by the Holy Spirit his own voice, and qualified them to preach and to teach the christian religion, produce this sort teach infallibly the whole scope of their comof evidence? No, no. It is then in vain to say mission. Their instructions always extended they are so moved. Who is called to believe to their commission. In other words, their inany thing without evidence? Does God com- structions or qualifications, and their commismand any man to believe without evidence? No, sion were co-extensive. In their first call and most assuredly. When, then, I hear a modern commission they were sent only to the lost sheep preacher, either with or without his diploma in of the house of Israel, and were commanded to his pocket saying that he is an ambassador of announce the approaching reign, saying, "ReChrist, sent by God to preach the gospel, moved pent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." by the Holy Ghost to take upon him the work of And to despise or neglect their instruction was the ministry; I ask him to work a miracle, or af- criminal in the highest degree. He that despised ford some divine attestation of his being such a them, despised him that sent them. But this character. If he cannot do this, I mark him down could not have been the case, had they had no as a knave or an enthusiast; consequently, an means of convincing their hearers that they were impostor, either intentionally or unintentionally. so called and sent. For this purpose they healBut again-It was said that a special call ofed the sick, they cast out demons, they cleansed the Divine Spirit is necessary to qualify a preach- the lepers, they raised the dead; and as they reer of the gospel. Let it be asked, in what received these powers without money or price, spect to qualify him? Doubtless to give him the knowledge of the christian religion, and the faculty of communicating it. But do those who say they are moved by the Holy Spirit to assume the work of the ministry, possess this gift of knowledge, and this gift of utterance? If they do, let them show it. Have they not, for the most part after they profess to be thus called, to go to study the religion, and to study languages in order to communicate their ideas intelligibly? Then, indeed, their call does not qualify them! The meaning of this call, then, is, "Go and learn the religion, and learn the use and meaning of words, that you may communicate your knowledge of it; and then I will send you to preach, and lay you under a woful necessity of declaring the religion." This is the special call of the Holy Spirit contended for. What an abuse of language! nay, rather, what an abuse of principle!!! This man is especially called to do a work, or to go a warfare at his own expense!" But did this called clergyman hear a voice? He answers, Yes, or No. If he heard a voice, how does he know whose voice it was? If the voice of God, how is it proved to be such? If he says he heard no voice, why then does he say that he is called? Suppose this same man who contends for a call, without a voice, had a son ploughing in his field, and his son leaves the plough and goes to visit his friend. After some time he sends a message for his son. His son appears; and when asked why he forsook the plough, and went about riding and feasting with his friends, he answers, Father, you called me from the plough, and commanded me to visit your and my friends. Nay, son, replies the father, did you hear my voice calling or commanding you to such a course of conduct? No, father, replies the son, I did not hear your voice specially calling or commanding me, but I had a deep impression on my mind that it was your wish and my duty to leave the plough and go a visiting. Go, sir, answers the irritated father, to your plough, and remember it is time enough to consider yourself called when your hear my voice. I say, suppose one of those who contend for a call, without a they freely, without money or price, imparted their benefits. In their second commission, and in the special commission of Peter to open the door of faith to the Gentiles, as "the keys" had been committed to him; and in the call of Saul of Tarsus to become an apostle to, and a preacher and a teacher of the truth among the Gentiles, the same circumstances accompanied their call. A voice was heard, the gift of wisdom, the gift of knowledge, the gift of utterance, and the gift of working miracles, were communicated and exhibited. It is evident that all who were called to the ministry by God or by his Spirit, possessed every thing that has been contemplated as necessary in the antecedent remarks. When other persons called in question Paul's call to the work of the ministry or to become an ambassador of Christ, how did he contend for it? By referring to the wonders he had wrought, as well as to the labors he had endured. See 2 Cor. xii. 12. Truly," says he, "the signs of an apostle were fully wrought among you with all patience; by signs, and wonders, and powers." Again he tells them, chap. xiii. 6. "But I trust when I make you a visit, that ye shall know that we are not without proof"" of Christ's speaking by me." From these premises we may conclude, that every one moved by the Holy Spirit, or specially called to the preaching or teaching of christianity, is possessed of these three requisites 1st. He has heard the voice of God calling him. 2d. He is qualified to speak infallibly. 3d. He is capable of confirming his testimony by divine attestations, or by the working of miracles. Every ambassador of Christ, mentioned in the New Testament, possessed these three requisites. It is absurd, vain and presumptuous for any now to call themselves ambassadors of Christ, or to say that they are specially called to the ministry of the New Testament, who possess not these three essential attributes of the called ministers of the New Testament. But some, unable to resist the evidence of the preceding facts and reasons, will exclaim, What! God? Stop, my friend. What use have we for such men? Do we need any new message from the skies? No. Divine messages require divine messengers. If there be no need of a new message from God, or a new revelation of the Spirit, then there is no need of new ambassadors, of new revealers, or new prophets. If the message of the twelve apostles, or if the revelation of the New Testament is incomplete, is imperfect, is inadequate, then we have need of a new message and new messengers from the skies. But until some bold genius undertakes to prove that there is need for a new revelation or a new message from God, we shall fearlessly declare, that while we have the writings of the four evangelists, the writings of Paul, of Peter, of James, of Jude and John, we want no new message from the skies-no ambassadors from Christ. In short, there is no need to have men among us professing to be "called and sent by God." In the natural world we might as reasonably look for, and expect a new sun, a new moon, and new stars; as, in the kingdom of Christ, to expect new ambassadors, new messages from God, new revelations of the Spirit. On this subject we have much to say; but in the mean time, we shall simply add, to prevent misapprehensions, that, as we have a revelation developing all the mysteries of the love and benevolence of God towards sinners through Christ, a revelation clear, simple, full and complete; it is the duty of every one who acknowledges it to be such, to devote his mind to it, and study it for himself. call any one of their own number, who possesses Amongst those who believe and understand the christian religion, there are individuals called, in the subordinate sense of the phrase, to sundry good works, of much profit to men. Those that are rich in this world, professing the faith, are called by the word of God, written and read by all men, to communicate of their substance to the wants of the poor, to be ready to distribute, to be willing to communicate to the wants of the brotherhood, and to the wants of others. When a brother in distress appears in the presence of a brother rich in this world, the brother of high degree is called by the word of God and the providence of God, or the circumstances of the case call upon him to put his hand into his pocket and to communicate to his distress. Just in the same sense, a brother who is well instructed into the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven who has attained to the full assurance of understanding of what Paul, and Peter, and James, and John, and the other writers of the New Testament have taught concerning the way of life and salvation; when he finds persons ignorant or unbelieving, either in public or private, is called by the word of God, and the circumstances of the case, to teach and preach Christ, or to show the things that the ambassadors have taught and authenticated; these things he may urge on their authority who confirmed their testimony with signs and wonders. And as it would be absurd and vain for the rich man to say that he was specially called and sent by God, or moved by the Spirit of God to give alms; so it would be absurd and vain for the person possessed of the knowledge of the New Testament, to say that he was moved by the Holy Spirit, or specially called by its operations and sent by God to preach. Besides this there is another fact to which we would advert, viz. that when there is a voluntary association of any number of disciples of Christ, met in any one place to attend to the duties and privileges of a church, should they No PHILIP, No. II., on teaching the christian religion, not having come to hand, we will insert an article written by him on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This article furnishes us with an argument in proof of the fact, which we have never seen noticed by any writer on this most important of all the facts recorded by the four evangelists. The whole machina evangelica turns on this pivot, or the whole christian religion rests upon this fact. If Christ be not risen from the dead, the preaching of Christ and the faith of christians are in vain. historic fact was ever so well proved as this, and no fact was ever pregnant with such marvellous and exhilarating consequences. It is not only the highest proof of the truth of all Messiah's pretensions; it is not only a pledge to us of the divine acceptance of the atonement of the Redeemer; but, it is to us the surest earnest, and most convincing demonstration of the hope of christians, viz. a glorious resurrection to eternal life. The objects of the christian's hope are the grandest and most exalted in the whole range of human conception. A new heaven THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST. [VOL. I. and a new earth; a new body, spiritual, incorruptible, and immortal; a society transcendantly during the whole of his public ministry, had pure, entertaining, and exalted; transporting joys, unmingled with sorrow, and increasing bliss, unalloyed with doubt, or fear, or pain, constitute the glorious hopes of every true disciple of Christ; which, when reduced to consist in being made like the Son of God. a unit, This glorious hope immediately germinates or springs from the fact, that the Lord is risen indeed. This article, then, will be, not only edifying, but ineffably cheering, to every one that has this hope in him. importance to those who had slain him, and who, steadily persisted in rejecting and disproving his pretensions. Had the Lord then not appeared he arose, the dispute of the two parties would to some of his followers on that day on which dead, but only which of them had stolen the not have been whether he had risen from the body from the sepulchre. This is evident from the easy assent which the two disciples gave to the hasty suggestions of Mary Magdalene. They believed that the opposite faction had that the disciples knew not yet that he must rise from the dead. The anticipation of such an stolen the body; John alleging for it as a reason, event was equally foreign from the conceptions of his murderers, who barricaded the tomb, and sealed it with the seal of the state, not to prevent his resurrection, but, as they themselves said, to prevent his followers from taking the body by stealth. I think too, that the rulers really and sincerely believed his followers to have taken away the body, and that, in the first instance, they regarded the wonders told them by the soldiers, of earthquakes and angels, to be nothing more than cunningly devised fables, them (the disciples) undisturbedly, perhaps for a sum of money, to bear away the body in the trumped up by his disciples for the safety of the guards, who, as they believed, had permitted dark. But their bribing the soldiers again, may seem to contradict this opinion. Well then, suppose, for argument's sake, that the rulers did believe the reports of the guards, viz. that the The Lord had risen. As this argument was derived from no other [EDITOR. be RESPECTING Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish nation seems to have been divided into two principal parties that which favored, and that which rejected his pretensions. That the views of his scheme too, entertained by both, were not almost, but altogether political, we have all the reason, I think, in the world, to believe. opposition party regarded the whole as a politi- have believed that he would also immediately cal cabal, and its abettors as reformers of the appear among them again in person, to assert If they did, then they must state. Radicals, whose ultimate objects were to put down the prevailing party; to abandon tainty of the confession, for which he had been allegiance to the Romans; to assert the inde- put to death; for of his ascent into heaven they the reality of his claims, and maintain the cerpendence of the Jewish nation; and, under the had no conceptions. If they believed him to conduct of Jesus as their general, or, as his own be risen, to have said that his disciples had party would have it, their king, to maintain it stolen him, would have been a miserable invensword in hand. This is the only view that tion, and nowise suited to the exigency of the accords with the warlike spirit of the times, the case. popular belief respecting Messiah's reign and counterbalanced one single well attested appearkingdom, and with what we read in the four ance of the Lord; and we have seen that they, Such an invention would never have evangelists. Now, it was to check the spirit of having no just notions of his reign and kingthat enterprize that the leaders of the opposite dom, would have expected to see him again in party voted the destruction of Jesus, who was person, if so be they believed the reports of the looked upon by the great men as the life's blood soldiers. After all, if the Pharisees expected of this conspiracy. From the moment when him to rise, why did they put him to death? Caiphas delivered his sentiments on the grand The rulers, then, believed the guards to question, "what was to be done for the safety telling a falsehood, and they bribed them to of the state!" the death of Jesus was eagerly report what the Pharisees themselves conceived desired by them all. These princes, preferring to be the true state of the case. rank and honor with their present inglorious ease ing faction all along regarded the enterprize as under foreign masters, to the distant and uncertain advantages of a noble and magnanimous abettors should get the dead body into their As the opposdeclaration of the nation's independence-these possession, they might make it the instrument a political one, they foresaw that if once its lordlings, conceived power and pomp to be the of greater mischief to the nation than it had chief good and the only thing worthy of ambi- been when alive. They foresaw that one of the tion. They conceived that to form the object reformers might personate their former leader, of the Lord's ambition also, and endeavored by exhibit himself at a distance, and set up for mean arts to draw from him this secret. views of his followers were nothing different in the dead. Such an evidence they foresaw would kind from those of his opposers; they were The Messiah on the grounds of having risen from equally worldly and political; and both parties, to his standard, and the cause would derive contemplating the destinies of the Lord Jesus accessions from all quarters of the land-such be altogether irresistible; the Jews would flock under this mistaken and degraded point of view, accessions, too, as nothing but the arm of the it is not wonderful that his resurrection from the imperial government would be able to break or dead should be an event equally distant from dissolve. If once the Romans had engaged in the expectations of all. Both parties, too, seem the quarrel, their rulers would have seen a realito have considered his decease as an unequivo-zation of all their former fears. The temple cal refutation of his pretensions-as an event which at once reflected the greatest discredit on the party, and great apparent ponderosity and and the city, they foresaw, would ultimately are united to one another by the belief of a matter of fact, viz. that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God," and not by any attribute of government, catholic or sectarian. The second is, that the scriptures propose the belief of this fact, that "Jesus is the Christ," as the only means for increasing the body or church of God. Hence the didactical labors of a bishop or elder who would wish to edify and increase the body of Christ, divide themselves into two several sorts. In order to increase the body, he proves to the world by means of these ancient and venerable monuments which God has put into his hands, the four gospels, that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;" and, in order to edify the church, he points out in all the scriptures, as these holy and sublime interpretations which the Spirit has every where given of this illustrious fact. But if it is true (as we shall imme error, issue in consequences more fatal to their | place and nation than the first, under the conduct of Jesus of Nazareth. All these forebodings of the rulers seem to have arisen out of what the Lord said or dropt concerning his resurrection. The Pharisees then suspected his followers of having stolen the body, and his followers, with the exception of those who saw him on the first day, seem to have suspected the Pharisees or rulers; a circumstance which in itself indeed proves that neither party had done it; for if either party had stolen the body it never could have conscientiously blamed the other, as we have seen it did; if the rulers had it, the disciples would not have dared to say that it was alive; and if the disciples had it under their control, and said it was alive, they would have embraced the first opportunity of exhibiting him in order to refute the calumny of the rulers, who said the body was in the posses-diately see from scripture it is,) that the body of sion of the party, but it was not alive. These things show us, at all events, that on the first day the body was not where it had been originally laid, and where both parties hoped to find it; they show us that both parties agree in this, viz. that the body was missing from the sepulchre, and now there seems to be only two possible ways of accounting for its departure. Seeing, then, it was not removed by any of the parties concerned, it must either have been taken off by some unconcerned party, or have departed itself; which last opinion, indeed, is the more probable of the two; for to suppose that any unconcerned party would endanger themselves, or bribe the guards for a dead person, about whose fate they had been altogether unconcerned whilst alive, would be nonsense. But to suppose that there was any unconcerned party in the capital where Jesus was crucified, would argue great ignorance of the spirit of the times. He was not stolen by any party, either concerned or unconcerned about his fate; and the only conclusion remaining is, that the body departed itself, that "the Lord Jesus has arisen indeed." He has also ascended up on high; he led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men, who have announced to us by the Holy Spirit, the things which are given to us by God without any PHILIP. On teaching Christianity.-No. II. READER, you observe that this piece is entitled "An essay on teaching christianity." Perhaps you are at a loss to know what it means. You will understand it better by and by. My last paper was intended simply to intimate to christian bishops or pastors, that, in spite of the discrepant and inapt schemes of sermonizing that now prevail by means of learned and popular establishments, there yet exists a certain, uniform, authorized plan of preaching Jesus, a plan consecrated by the high examples of all the heavens, and the holy apostles and prophets. Christ is united in its several members by the belief of this matter of fact, viz. that Jesus is the Son of God, and that it is increased by the confession and belief of it-then a number of very important corollaries are deducible from these two revealed propositions: First, the peace and union of a church of Christ are not the result of any sort of ecclesiastical government. Secondly, the increase of Christ's body is not predicated on any thing so exceedingly exceptionable as modern confessions of faith; but on the confession of the first truth. Thirdly, the worshipping establishments now in operation throughout christendom, increased and cemented by their respective voluminous confessions of faith, and their ecclesiastical constitutions, are not churches of Jesus Christ, but the legitimate daughters of that Mother of Harlots, the Church of Rome. In these establishments a breach of canon is punished with ejection, and to nauseate their vitiated creeds is a certain bar to induction, unless a man is rich, and then he may do or deny anything. But, in order that the reader may entertain no doubt respecting the above mentioned propositions, let us attend to the scriptures-let us attend to the voice of the beloved Saviour, speaking in Matthew xvi. 13. "When he came into the coasts of Cesarea, he asked his disciples, saying, who do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, some say that you are John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, but whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say also to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In this beautiful, interesting, and highly significant passage, four things are particularly remarkable: First, the name, Christ, Son of the living God, which Simon gives to Jesus. Second, the name Petros, stone, which Jesus gives to Simon. Third, the truth itself, which Simon confesses. And fourth, the name Petra, rock, by which the Saviour, figu I should immediately proceed to develope it, were I not thoroughly convinced that a recognition of a few preliminaries is absolutely necessary to the adoption of this authorized plan, and even to the understanding of it. These prelim-ratively, in allusion to Simon's name, Petros, inaries, indeed, are neither very numerous nor very remote from vulgar apprehension-they are only two, and a very superficial glance at scripture will put the reader in possession of all that is necessary for understanding the writer of these papers. The first of these prefatory articles is, that the members of a church of Christ stone, designates this eternal truth, that he is the Christ the Son of the living God. On the belief of this fact, then, his church is founded, and by it is held together. I do not remember to have seen it remarked, but it is very much in our Lord's manner to reply in the very same words in which he is addressed. For instance, the reminds them of the fundamental bond of union by which they had been originally congregated, thus: "according to the grace (apostleship) of God to me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds thereon; but let every man take heed how he builds thereon, for other foundation (of union) can no man lay than that is laid, which is, Jesus is the Christ."> These things may suffice to show that the bond of union among christians is the belief of a matter of fact, viz. that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. The reader may consult Ephesians, ii., iii. and iv. chapters, all the Galatians, epistles to the Colossians, Romans, Timothy, &c. &c., where the apostles lay it down as a universal maxim, that this truth or word of salvation works effectually in all them that believe it! leper says, "if you will;" Jesus replies, "I will." Thomas says, "how can we know the way The Lord answers, "I am the way." "Why do your disciples transgress?" say the Pharisees; and "why do you also transgress?" says the Saviour. From want of attending to this, the vivacity of our Lord's reply to Simon is not felt, and the spirit of the whole passage, indeed, almost vanishes-you are the Christand you are stone, Petros. The Lord Jesus was very apt to speak in metaphor too. He styles Herod a fox; he calls his own body a temple, in allusion to the temple in which he at that time was. When he is on Mount Olivet among the vines, he styles himself the vine; he calls death a sleep; his own death a baptism; Simon a stone, Cephas: and in the above passage he calls the grand truth that he was the Son of the living God, a Petra, Rock, in allusion to Simon's name, Stone, and on account of its stedfast and indestructible certainty; and he adds, that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it;" i. e. as I suppose, his death, which was soon to be effected by the wicked Jews, should not disprove his pretensions to the Messiahship; or perhaps he means that the grave should not interrupt the fellowship of his church, which was to be founded on this imperishable fact, that he was the Christ. This passage sufficiently shows us what is the bond of union among the despised people; and it shows us even more, for it lets us know that the confession and belief of this bare fact, (Peter at this moment knowing nothing more, nothing as yet of his crucifixion for sin,) is attended with certain blessing and salvation-truth, is perfectly obvious from scripture. "Who"Blessed are you, Simon," &c. To the same purpose Paul says, "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved." Now, if modern confessions of faith had such blessing and such salvation appended to them by such authorities, their abettors might well boast. But they who bow down to such idols shall go down to the grave with a lie in their right hand. The sword of the Lord's mouth is unsheathed against the man of sin, nor will it kiss the scabbard until his enemies are consumed. O Gamaliel! O Socrates! O Satan! save your sinking disciples whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not! But that the glorious truth, and nothing else, holds the saints together in particular churches, is evident from the holy epistles which are addressed to them in their individual capacities. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, who were beginning to name themselves by their respective favorites, as the moderns do, informs that church, that, when he had first come among them, he had determined to know nothing among them but the bare gospel fact, that Jesus was the Christ, and had been crucified; nor did he attempt to ornament it with the eloquence of words, thinking, as I suppose, that a truth so supremely magnificent in itself, was perfectly insusceptible of extrinsic ornament, and in its own native excellency defied the united pens and tongues of men and angels. His only aim was to demonstrate its reality by the spirit and power of God which filled him, that the disciple's faith might not stand in his word, but in the power of God-the miracles. Knowing that if this great argument, supported as it was with miracles, failed to reduce men to union and to Christ, he had nothing of equal importance to propose for this purpose. The apostle, But our second proposition, viz. that the body of Christ is increased by belief of the bare truth that Jesus is the Son of God, and our Saviour, is a scripture doctrine, which the populars nauseate, if possible, more than our first. It is so simple, so manifestly foolish, that the sons of Gamaliel and Socrates are equally scandalized and ashamed of it. Yet, says Paul, it saves them that believe it. But it is chiefly abhorrent to modern establishments on account of the consequences of which it is pregnant-it sets aside all canon, all confession, every thing indeed which opposes and exalts itself against Christ and the New Testament. Nevertheless, this second prefatory article, that the body is increased by the confession and belief of the soever shall confess me before men, says the Redeemer, him will the Son of Man confess before the angels of God." Peter, we have seen, confessed him to be the Son of the living God, though apparently a mere man; and the blessed Saviour honored his confession with a most gracious benediction-"blessed are you Simon, son of Jonas, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." Now Peter at this moment was perfectly ignorant of every thing besides this truth, which he had learned from the Father, by the miraculous evidence which he had vouchsafed in support of it. It is wonderful the honor which the scripture writers every where do this single truth, that "Jesus was the Son of God." Paul would not dare to use learned words in speaking it, cautions the Hebrews against letting it slip out of their minds, and says to the Corinthians, that they are saved by it if they keep it in mind! John, 1st epistle, chap. v. declared that the man who believed it is born of God; and wrote and recorded all the miracles in his gospel to prove this illustrious fact. "These things are written," says he, "that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name." In John's days there were many antichrists; but that holy man did not dare to use any unlawful means for securing the disciples against their deleterious influence. He did not write to them that they should cove nant like the Covenanters, form any sort of ecclesiastic government, make confessions of faith, liturgy, rubric, &c. &c. No-these things, says he, I have written concerning them that (would) seduce you-these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may (continue to) believe in the name of the Son of God. One has only to believe in |