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 CHURCg DISCIPLINE 
 
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 DOCTRINAL DEGLARATION 
 
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 PRINTED BT JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 
 
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 PREFATORY NOTSf 
 
 \:. 
 
 Tni first EvAHOStioAL Union Cmmon in the City of Toronto wa 
 organized on SaUbath, the 3d of November, 1801. 
 
 The C6n8tituti|n, Order and Dlsclplino of a Christ[an Church, adopted 
 by the ra^mberslt Ita formation, is here published for their own special 
 use, and for thel^formation of all who wish to become acquainted with 
 theur principles and church polity. j|^-- "' 
 
 Instead of publishing a compeniP^Jew of the leading doctrines of 
 Ohnstianity, held by themselves as a distinct chu'rcl., they%ave adopted 
 the Doctrinal Declaration drawn up by the Evangelical Union Con- 
 ference of Scotland in 1858, and generally held by that denomination. 
 
.*t-* > 
 
 h 
 
■ T -*»('»■" ~iv?* -r nit 
 
 CONSTITUTION; 
 
 ORDER, AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 ■ , . , .■■. ■ . ■ ■ ■•■ . , . 
 
 'Of THl ■ 
 
 BVANGELIOAL UNION CHURCH, 
 
 TOBONTa ^ ; ; ■ ■ 
 
 ■ It is necessary to state that our object in giving an outline of 
 the Constitution, Order, and Pisciplino of a Christian Church, is 
 principally for the information of applicants for membership. It is 
 also necessary to state that the Church is in conneotioa with the 
 E.U. of Scotland.* 
 
 I. — Constitution oi" the Church. 
 
 Without entering into details, the following appear to us to be the 
 leading features of the Constitution of a Church of Christ 
 
 Ist. In itt external relations the Church ia independent. ' 
 
 It is complete within itself. It manages its own affairs ; elects 
 its own office-bearers: and, if need be, calls upon any of them to 
 resign, without interference irom other Churches, beyond the 
 fraternal liberty of tendering counsel and warning when required. 
 This is one of the fundamental principles of Congregationalism ; 
 and we believe it to be an essential element in the opnstitution of 
 a Christian Church. Each Church in the New Testament is spo- 
 ken of, and addressed as separate and distinct "from all other 
 Churches.— See I Cor. i> 2. I Thess. L 1. Rev* n, 1 ; vm, 18. 
 m. 1. 7. 14. 
 
 • When we speak of this Church being in connection with the Evan* 
 gelieal Union of Scotland we do not mean to intimate, or insinuate that 
 this Church is under the control of that Union, but simply that we be- 
 liere, approve of, and adopt those fundamental truths of Christianity 
 wbich are embodied in Me nibjoined statement of its princittles. 
 
 ■.'4, 
 
/ 
 
 6 
 
 
 CONSTtTimON. 
 
 2nd. Inits internal ConstimionthiB Church U Prahyterim, 
 
 It has a plurality of presbyters, or elders (including the minis" 
 ter),who lire also in the New Testament cfalled Bishpps and 
 Paslbrs, that is overseers and sheph^ds. Acts xiv. 23, xv. 4, xx. 
 17, X. 28. PhU. 1. 1. Titus I, 5., 1 Tim. v. JX, Heb. xiu. 17. 
 These elders are invested with the«over8ight of the Church. They 
 attend to cases of admission and ©f discipline, and exercise a^ 
 watchful care over the spiritual interests of the Church. 
 
 They meet as often as circumstances require, for consultation 
 and prayer. They discharge their duties without interference 
 from Church members, as long as they retain thft Church's confi- 
 dence, and remain in office. But they avail themselves as far as 
 practicable, of the ooK)peration of their brother members; and 
 %hey never admit, suspend, or expel members, <»: decide on any 
 thing import^t, without communicating . it to the collective 
 brethren with the requisite particulars at a regvilar meeting of 
 the Church. 
 
 3rd. The Church equally recognizes the scripturality of the 
 office of Peacons to attend to the temporal concerns of the Church. 
 Acts vi. 1-4. Phil. 1. 1. 1. Tim. iii. 8. 13. 
 
 4th. The Church is composed of those who give evidence of 
 having peace with God, and of being new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus; and who can yield a cordial and practical submission to its 
 recognized Order and Constitution. 
 
 5th. The only standard of doctrine recognized by the Church 
 as infallible is the word of God, as that word is revealed in the 
 Old and N0W Testament. 
 
 V II.— OBMR OP tHE^CHDBOH. ' 
 
 1st. The Public services of the Sabbath are conducted at the 
 usual hours. 2hd. The Church hold the praotice of infant 
 Baptism. "^ 
 
 •3rd. The Church statedly observes the Lord's Supper every 
 three months, and more firequently if deemed expedient by two 
 thirds of the members. 
 
 
 
.. \. ■•/■.. 
 
 . . \ . ^. ■ 
 
 OONSTmiTipif* 7 
 
 4tli, The Ohuroli being bound to honow and worship God 111 
 their ooUeotive capacity, and to "do all things decently and in 
 order," with a view to maintain uniformity bf worship, to fore- 
 eloee strife and division, and, to prevent, any ordinance which they 
 4eem Divine from falling into contempt oi neglect, receive non® 
 Into Church membership, but those who, besides giving evidence 
 of being Christians and of one mind with them in their evang»- 
 lioal views, are able conscientiously and Kkood faith, to observe 
 the various reli^ous Ordinances and ecclesiastical regulations 
 recognized and established In the Church, . ' 
 
 6th. The Church see it to be their duty, a^d feel it to be their 
 i^rivilc^, to admit to the ordinances (which are not theirs but the 
 Iiord's) and to welcome to their fellowship 'at their various meet- 
 ings^for prayer aAd exhortationj all brethren in whom they have 
 ooufidence as Christiuis who desire their fellowship, and who are 
 willing in peace and love to Tinite thus far with the Church, 
 
 The roll of communicants is not r^arded as identical with the 
 iroU of members, and on this ground the Church and such brethren 
 as those referred to, can enjoy each Other's fellowship without comr 
 promise, dissimulation, division or restraint. The Pastor of the 
 Ohurch will' deem it a duty and privilege to care for, and yi^t 
 such brethren though not members of the Church, 
 
 6lh, ,A meeting of the Church will Be held on some evening of 
 , ^very month for the pui|)ose of transacting any business that may 
 be brought before the Church, 
 
 7th. A Special meeting of the Church may be called by the 
 elders as often as they deem it necessary, either at their own ins- 
 tance, Or at the su^estion of other office-bearers or members ; the 
 meeting to be publicly intimated from the pulpit on the Lord's 
 
 : day.; :;,■..::;:,.:;/;::•::■:,/ ,;:■:;.:..•-'■-;;..■:■-■-■:: 
 
 III.— Admission INTO THE Church, 
 
 . 1st. Application for Church membership is made to the minis* 
 ter, or in his absence to one of the elders, who mentions it at the 
 Bat meeting of the Chuzoh; when the Pastor will appoint two of 
 
8 
 
 OONSTITDTION* 
 
 the brethren to conTerse with the applicant and rc^rt at SflKt 
 nteeting. 
 
 2ncl. Any member having objections to the admission of an apr 
 plioant into membership, or desiring delay in his admission, maluB 
 his mind known to someone of the elders preyiously, and the infor- 
 mation thus oommupibated is taken into consideration at their 
 next meeting. / ' 
 
 Srd. Should no one object to the applicant's admission, or desire, 
 delay, and should, both elders and Ghurohbe satisfied with the oaWi. 
 -the applicant is reported to the Church as approtr^ of, and 
 aotoally and solemnly received into fellowship. 
 
 New members are thus reported, recognized and received at 
 me^ngs of the Churchy at which the Lord's supper is observed, 
 when the Pastor, if tinie permits, gives them an appropriate address, 
 and along with the Bl^^i^, and in name of the entire Church, wd- 
 oomes th^into it by ^ving them the right hand of fellowship. 
 
 IV.-^QUESTIONS TO BE PUT TO MKMBEU3 WHIM ADlOTinD 
 INTO THE VBLLOWSHIP OF THE ChTJBOH. ~;~~~ 
 
 1st. Do you believe that the Bible is the Book of God, and the 
 only infallible rule of faith and practice ? 
 
 2nd. Do you believe that there are three Personalities in the 
 one Ch)d, called in Scripture, Father^ Son, and Holy Ghost ? 
 
 ^rd. Bo you(iieli^ve that the Divine Father, Son, and Holy 
 Spirit love all men, and sincerely desire the salvation of all men, 
 without distinction and wiihout exception? 
 
 4th. Can you conscientiously say that you have experienced 
 the saving power of the gospel in your Own heart, and that ydU 
 wi)& to enjoy the privil^s of the Church, and do what you can 
 for ite peace, purity, imd spiritual prosperity ? 
 
 6tii. Do you promise while you remain in connection with this 
 Ghuroh, to be subject to those who are over you in the Lord in 
 fiuoh a manner as to receive their admonitions^ Uieir warnings, and, 
 tif need ble, their repro<)fs? 
 
 6th. Do you promise in the strength of J)ivine grace to tiy and 
 
 ' . 
 
 ■ 
 
CONSTITUTION* 
 
 i 
 
 -»«*" 
 
 9 
 
 d 
 
 jidorn the doctrine of God onr Saviour by a walk and oonvena* 
 tion beooming the Oospel, and will you also tiy and win souls to 
 Clmst? 
 
 y. — DiSOIPLIMX OF TH« GhUBOH. 
 
 1st. Should any member be "found guilty of acting disorderly; 
 after due investigation by the Pastor and Elders he is suspended 
 from Church fellowship, and the Church is informed at its next 
 meeting of what has taken place. 
 
 2n(|. In a case in which the Pastor and Elders may deem ex- 
 pulsion to be necessary, they delay decision for at least seven days 
 after the Church meeting ; thus affording an opportunity to niem- 
 bers who may object to the contemplated excommunication to 
 state' their objections to the Elders privately. Should no objeo- 
 tion be lodged with the Elders, it is understood that the whole 
 .Church a^ees to the contemplated expulsion. Silence is under^ 
 stood to mean cdnsent. Should objections be made, the Elders 
 prayerfully and carefully consider them, and give them the fullest 
 .weight in their deliberations, and then pursue the course which 
 appears to them most likely, to glorify Qod, and advance his cause. 
 \ 3rd. In the ease of suspension the Elders affectionately iilterest 
 themselves in the individual, and take opportunities of dealing with 
 him in order to bring him to a satisfactory state of mind. 
 
 If they have reason to believe that they have been successful in 
 their dealings, they state their opinion to the Church and delay 
 for seven days, and after tibat, provided no objections be lodged, ' 
 they proceed in the manner indicated in the preceding article. 
 
 4th. In the case of expulsion should the individual expdied 
 afterward desire to be restored to Church membership, he must go 
 through the same proce^ as an entirely new applicant. 
 
 
 
 «3 
 
 •- ^. 
 
 ~m^ 
 
 ■-.'% 
 
 r, 
 
\ 
 
 JJOCTRINAL DECLARATION. 
 
 .'■ ! 
 
 1?tf« members of the Conference of the EvangeHcttl ITn^n assembled U 
 Olasgowr, September 29th and 30th, 195», understanding that many 
 parties are.desirous to possess, at once, for purposes ordenominatiojial 
 •oonTcnience and^or public information, a compendious view of thd 
 leading doctrines generally held by the adherents offthe ETangelical 
 Union, deem it fitting to issue the following Doctrinal EfeclajratiOn, which 
 though approved of b^' the Conference, is nevertheless to be regarded, 
 not asl anything tantamount to an authoritative impositjion, but simply 
 ^ a Manifesto declai^tive of the distinctive views, on thib topics treatedj 
 of the members of/ the pr'esent Conference. Withoutl presuming to 
 speak for others, or/ even to hold each other bound to eVery shade of 
 thonght or expres^pn in such a document, they nevertheless agree to 
 iasue it, for the e^ specified, as a correct and bond fide Declaration of 
 their sentiments./' "^ A 
 
 ; An aim SO specific would probably be hitidered "rather thai helped by 
 any attempt to i^ive this Declaration the symmetrical form ofVn outline 
 Of a complete theologijsal system ; for this would be to occup^ it need- 
 lessly ly^ith the formal statement of a multitude of doctrines Which we 
 hold in common with all other evangelical Christianss On the being-^^ 
 And attributes of God ; the trinity-in-unity of the adorable Godhead; 
 th^existence of divine ^oral government'; the rational and moral nature 
 of man as an accountable subject of that government ; the moral latr, 
 in the varied forms in which it has been revealed; the universal guilt 
 »nd ruin of men as transgressors of that law<; the sovereign scheme of 
 Weovery through the mediation and atoning ^erits of the Lord Jeaug / 
 Christ ; his true and proper Divinity, and true and proper humanity ; hii/ 
 true and proper atonement as the meritorious ground of forgiving mercy .■ 
 the Divinity and personality of the Hbly Spirit, and the necessity of hi^ 
 trorktorf the salvation of men; repentance and faitli, as the means, on 
 the sinner'apart, of receiving salvation ; free forgiveness and justification* 
 lis the inunediatd result, tmd sanotification aa the continuous and pro-' ' 
 
 
iT 
 
 12 
 
 D^UTRINAL DEOLARATIOir. 
 
 gresslre resQlt of belleTlng; the diTlne aathorltj aad p«rinaneat 
 obligation of baptism and the Lord's Supper ; and the true and plenary 
 Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures as the infallible record and rule of 
 faith ; on these and many other important doctrines that might be.named, 
 we shall either not touch at all^ or touch but lightly, seeing that the 
 sentiments entertained in regard to them by the members of the Evange- 
 lical Union present no.denominational peculiarity that distingulshes'dieni 
 
 ■ from those held, with less or more uniformity in matters of detail, bj 
 all other classes of eTangelical Christians. 
 
 As respects the particular doctrines now to be stated, they are by no 
 neans to be regarded as distinctive of the Evangelical Union in any such 
 sense as to imply that they are not shared in by others. The oontriuy 
 for the most part, will be at once apparent. They are ezMbited simply 
 as the doctrines for which we are most generally known, and which are 
 most characteristic and representative of our particular type of theologr. 
 They may be reduced to the following heads. 
 
 1. Free-will. The human will is free: not merely in the evasive 
 sense that we ate free to do as we choose, which is often not true, but that 
 we aijB free /o choote^ which is always true. While thought and feeling 
 
 ^..-•re under the law of necessity, will is free. God has made it free. Since 
 the fallj as truly as before it,, man is in this sense free ; and free in this 
 same sense he remains, whatever the character he develops. Bias or 
 settled character is in no respect subversive of freedom, as witness the 
 case ofangels, good and bad, and especially the great Jehovah, whose 
 character is infinitely and unchangeably holy, while his will is not less 
 infinitely and absolutely free. Free-will is in man a lineuneot of the 
 divine image that will eternally remain, misuse it as much as he may. 
 It is essential to his accountability. Under this character he is deidt 
 with in all the arrangements of 'm/Brcy. His free-will is respected 
 throughout ; and<^t|^8 illumines difficulties otiherwise inexplicable. And ■ 
 ttius, in opposition to the scheme of a necessitated will as held not by 
 Oalvinists Only, but (as would appear) by all classes of infidels, the B. 
 IT. Conference holds tenaciously the doctrine of free-will as lying at the 
 foundation of all religion, natural and revealed. In holding this, they 
 do not hold the heathen doctrine of chance^ or that any event happens 
 without a cause ; but they hold that the will-endowed mind, though 
 acting in view of motives, is the free and self-determining cause of its 
 own choices. The proof of the perfect freedom of the hamati will is to 
 be found in universal consciousness, universal conscience, universal 
 language, and in universal law. 
 a. JHvint Sovereignty. By the Sororeignty of God, we, in common with 
 
DOCTRINAL D«OI.AIlAHON. 
 
 18 
 
 immonwitb 
 
 bear on >hto point have to do. not with the question, I» God in thia se^ 
 •orere^ ? but with the ulterior question, What, n the e,ercLeVf thta 
 wrereigntjr, haa it pleased and does it please him U> doV ?he,e con^ 
 
 hiH own testimony in the volume of inspiration. «» mamiy to 
 
 ' '8. Divine Foreknowledge and Foreordination. God's forekf.«.l-*-. i- 
 not his fo«,ordination, nor is it based on his foreorJiJatSn '^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 foreotdimition is In every case conditioned on his knowledr^f f 
 
 ev^ts, actual or possibly, fixed or contingent, just as thty are-!n7cfsS 
 tated event, a, necessitated, free events as free, withoufm^gthl 
 dther the one ortheother. His foreordination, on heotherhrdiJnJt^^^^ 
 ^lutenoruniv^aLThedoctrine of the Westminsters 
 Ood^hath eternally,.uncbangeably. and uncondlUonally, foZldlln^i 
 Whatsoever comes to pass, ^ take to be in principle subversive nf.n 
 talityandofallreligion. Notwithstanding the ca«rthltt^^^^^^^ 
 
 Mtomake Qodtheauthorofsin.itdoes,if LdatallmakeGcSth?a"i^^^ 
 Of Bin, the prime author, and, properly soeakin J th«„t *1 *''°' 
 
 jJtigatingdisUncUon a^vanciJ bHoL:^^ ^r^^^ 
 
 •fficacous permission, is a distinction without a dilTerence, or w^T.u^J 
 
 dUrerence only asis altogether devoid of doctrinal signmcanT xJe 
 
 foreordination in either case is alike absolute and universal andt. J 
 
 fox. such as to inwreathe all events into one adamaXrcS^tet 
 
 •ity. Nor can we admit the justice of the rato,.* ♦!,-♦« J, "" 
 
 foreknowledge, which we hoi, ne^J^:/^ t^^ ^tSj"*^. 
 
 truly as universal foreordination, Not by any J°^' To"!^'**?' "• 
 
 for God to know a crime, say the crucifixion of Christ befor«T' 
 to pass, no mo«, identifies him with it; than our kn"wledr«f ^^^^^^^ 
 it has come to pass makes us sharers in its crimiiaU^^JJ^ H ^^^ : 
 •Mwer. to say, that God could have prevented it bad he .^11 ",°** 
 tUa. in so far as it ia true, means siLply th -tlioJs teZ W ? ' ^' 
 •Omits the possibility of sin, but has nevertheks, '. f'**^"^'*"' Vl'iti 
 .dhe.dMaa,allthingscons;de^ S:S^^ 
 
 on the^ther hand, is an act of the Wand directly imp wL^^ * 
 
 •r with the action ordained; the Lhner of a ci^n^TSebir n^S "I 
 ,«rtimateofmankind,evenmorocriU»lthanthe^^^^^ = 
 
 ^contrast then to the doctrine of the Westminster ^ntrrCioM 
 that God'a foreordination ia not uWversally absolute, but ^tnll^Z 
 
 ,..v - 
 
 ^ .^^hkA^'R'^' 
 
u 
 
 DOOTRnfAL DBCLAEATIOl*. 
 
 ■ I 
 
 I., i 
 
 i' 'r 
 ■ r 
 
 ■*^, 
 
 hf hli wisdom M often IncluBlve of hiB foreknowledge { and that thongh.. 
 Si foreordinatloa has relations to everything thi|t comes to pass, he^hai 
 ^ot foreordained whataoever comes to pass, but only whatsoever he bUa^ 
 
 self brings to pass. i , j ^ _-_ - 
 
 4 Original Sin. On this topic l^ may suffice to state, In order to prj- ^ /. 
 «ni or correct misconception, that we hold as strongly as any the 
 doctrine of the depravity of man and his utter helplessness and hopeles.- . 
 nofls In the matter of salvation till he comes under the gracious provision 
 of the plan of mercy. We believe the divine eonstitutlon with Adam 
 to have been federal In Its character, and that his sin In consequence Is, 
 to the extent of the primeval curse, Imputed to his posterity. We be- 
 lieve that the ImpuUtlon of Adam's sin cxfends to the whole race, and 
 tbtfk embrace's Infants ; but as. Infants werWln no respect morally implU 
 «ated in that transgression, we reject with abhorrence the dogma that 
 iny who die in Infancy are subject, on the ground Of Adam's first sin, 
 « to the pains of hell for ever." , , i., 
 
 Is Unity of the Godhead in the remedial plan. Our theology enable* 
 " 4 to discern in the adorable Trinity a gloriously harmonious universal- 
 ity of aspect and operation for the salvation of mankind. We reject; 
 4helimltarlan distinctions of a double will in God th« Father, a double- 
 reference in the propitiation of God the Son, and a double kind of In- 
 Buence In^e work of God the Holy Ghost. In contrast to these unscnp^ 
 tnral dogmas, we hold the love of the Father, the atonement of the Son, 
 and th«S work of the Holy Spirit, to be mutually consistent and co-extent 
 Blve throughout, and that each embraces, in its merciful scope, the entire 
 
 fiiinily of man. •,,!<.. t ■ i*« 
 
 6. The Nature and Extent of the love of God the Father. In it» 
 nature the love of the Father Is free, sovereign, unbought ; embracingus 
 aa sinners, guilty andrulned ; so compassionating ua aU to contemplate not 
 qnlyour deliverance from hell, but also our elevation to heaven} 
 and of such unparalleled Intensity as to embody itself in the nn- 
 speakable gift and sacrifice of hU own Divine and well-h«loyed 
 Son. In Its extent this love of the Father embraces all manJj»dror every 
 age and land, without distinction, without exception, an^,i^ithout respect 
 of persons. The dogmaof a double contradictory will in God the Father^ 
 —a public will and a secret will, a wUl of command and a will of decWfr, 
 —we reject, as a libel allke^on God'a truth and l.ove. Scripture expreflsly 
 disowns and contradicts it. " God is no respecter of persons." "Thj 
 Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. 
 ««A3 X live saitfc the Lord God, I have ho pleasure in the death of ihi 
 wicked." " God commandeth idl men everywhere to repent." He i» 
 
 

 '-'/'■■ n 
 
 IJOOTRINAL DECLABATION. 
 
 u 
 
 that thoogh-. 
 pass, he has 
 iver he bim^ 
 
 rder to pre- ; 
 as any the 
 id hopeless-'. 
 usproTision 
 
 with Adam 
 isequence ist 
 ty. Wo be- 
 lle race, and 
 orally implU 
 
 dogma that 
 m's first Bini 
 
 logy enablet 
 us universal" 
 . We reject; 
 her, a double< 
 lo kind of in* 
 these unscrip^ 
 Qtof the Sony 
 and co-e]tten« 
 opOi the euttro 
 
 itker. In its 
 ; embracing U8 
 jntemplate not 
 n to heayenS 
 If in the no? 
 1 well-beloyed 
 nkjadT^eTery 
 (Without respect 
 3tod the Father^ 
 I will of decrcfr, 
 ipture ezprenslj 
 ersons." " Th» 
 alibis works." 
 he death of thi 
 repent." ^e if 
 
 
 « *ot willing that any should perish, bat tbirt all should come. 
 
 ItnTT"":". "«/'^"» fi*vo .11 men to be saved and to comT 
 QBto the knowledge of the truth." vy«w 
 
 ». Th€ Nature and Extent of the Atonement of the Son As reiMeta' 
 the Nature of the Atonement, we believe the Saviour's "ibedience unj 
 dwth to have been strictly vicarious or substitutional, and to have coBU 
 eatuted a propitiation, or sacrificial satisfaction ^ot the sins of m^nl 
 
 SwH?""'^^."' *'^"' •"'' •'"^«''''' *s inertricably involved^ 
 aU this, we believe Jesus to have been, in his pelon, ministry, and work 
 of atonement, the grandest revelatfon ever glTen of the unutterablt 
 
 ZrTh i°l "'T * ■" ^**''" *" the/entire fallen and undone 
 fcmily of humankind ; and in this grand featu/e of (le atonement as an 
 embodied revelation of Qod's unparalleled benignity not onlv 1^11^ 
 wretched but to the hell-deserving, lies the cLnfng s'ec't oTlJs lir Jj 
 fts an instrument of sanctificatiou to the iinner, and of potent and 
 permanent benign influence to the enUre un/verse of God 
 
 We reject the teaching of those who woiild strip Christ's work of it^ 
 peculiar or expiatory character, and make/ it eflftcacious merely in the 
 way of moral mfluence upoii men, as the grandest moral act ever peiv 
 fcmed inour world That it was indeed the grandest moral act e^e^ 
 j^rformed in our world, and that its moralinfluence, as such, is mighty - 
 through God, to Projiote our sanctificatiou, we admit, and have all along 
 
 mo^l ^1 "'r ^n''/^*U* """' ''^ «-P«diP-t introduced into tSJ 
 moral government of God, in Vhich, to the extent required, Ohrist waa 
 teeated^s we deser^d, that we might be treated as he deserved ; in w wS 
 to rendfth" "" ^-^'^ ;^fi"« the place of the sinner's punishment 2 
 torendertheremission of sin's penalty morally possible and safe and 
 thus ^move all legal barriers to the salvation of man ; a' d on 'he 
 ground of which, accordingly, God can be at once "the i.,<,f a^A 1 
 the SaviouV'-at once "just and the justlfier ofT: w^^^^^^^^^^ 
 Jesus." ThUa^peetoftheatonementis vital to the blesserdot;^^^ 
 man's justification, while yet a sinner, on the ground of the Sawl 
 merits, and through the free grace of God ; a doctrine whicr^J 
 Lu^er we hold to be the criterion of a standing or a' fluS^'thuTcS 
 ff jhe former aspect of the atonemeht tends to promote;^ sanciificatiom 
 it does so by virtue of its connection with this aspect«SdW?S^ ^ 
 provides for our free justification. To accept tL'foS^si^tonZ 
 tnent, and reject the latter, is to halve the gospel: it is'to retain^ 
 aspect of it which bears on our sanctificatiou, and reject another whioh 
 makes express provisionfpr our justification. And as, on every prS 
 pie of free grace, a gratuitous juaUfication by fiuth. fo, the sakT^ f 
 
 « 1 
 
 V )1 
 
K- 
 
 t:-.:^ 
 
 Id 
 
 \ 
 
 DOCTRINAL DECLARATION* 
 
 . OhrUfl dMerrlngi, If th« dlTinely •ppoloted •nd only atenue to Mn<h 
 tifioAiioD, the rejection of that Tital Mp«ot of the atonement wh oh 
 proridei for man'« free juitiflcatlon aa a ilnner, ii In eflfeot the reJecUoa 
 Of the latter aspect a« well, Beelnit that It leares ungpanned that yawning 
 tolf which onr sins hare Interposed between oor souls and God. Instead 
 Of accepting one of these aspecis of Christ's work, to the exclusion of the 
 Otbar. we afccept both aa*mbr4ced In the idea and scope of the atone- 
 ment ; and, so doing, weWs^e, what else we could not, how " OhrUt 
 Jesuals made of God unto us i^Udom and righteousness and sanctlflc*- 
 
 Honliind redemption." I 
 A^espects the extent 4f the Atonement, w» hold It to hate been m^e 
 
 Ibr aii men without distinction, exception, or respect of persons. Wo 
 fdecl the modern dogmaV a] Double Reference In the atonementp-* 
 ipeclkl and ^ifflcacious reference to .the elept, a general and inefflca- 
 eloniTreference to the nonnslect. What the atonement as an atonement, 
 was adapted and Intended to accomplish for aay, lAo* It actually did 
 Mcompllsh fbr all for trhom It was made-otherwI«e It was more than 
 : tn atonement in relation to the one class, or less than au atonement 
 In relation to the other. That Double Reference scheme, as it is termed, 
 ' owes its existence entirely to the necessities of a false or transition^ 
 theological position: It Is an ambiguous provision for the special and 
 temporary benefit of those who at present stand with one foot in Oalrin- 
 tom. and with the other bejond It. It is destitute of foundation either to 
 Scripture or ^ason ; and It sheds on the sinner, when on the very thresh- 
 
 hold of peace, the eclipse of a chiUingr and repelling doubt ;-for, by do. 
 
 curing that Christ so died for the non-elect as to remove legal barriers to 
 
 \ . their salvation, but not so as to procure for them a converting Influence 
 
 of the Spirit, vrhereas he so died for the elect as infallibly to secure their 
 
 ' &Ith and final salvation. It leaves the returning sinner in hopeless per- 
 
 plexlty as to whether, In the saving sense, Christ has died for him. In 
 opposition to this noUon, we hold that Christ's atonement wears the same 
 
 plenary aspect to one and all for whom it was made ; and that there^livei 
 ioti nor ever lived, in any age or clime, the human being for whom Christ 
 did not shed.his sin-expiiitlng blood. Proofs of the strict universality of 
 the atonemebt are of the most varied and abundant character, consUting 
 Ofdlrectstatementsjtypes and emblems; world-embracing invitations 
 ereiyotteof which Isa cruelmockery if Christ died notforall;-to which 
 
 ,.-:. maylbe added^ In addition to the nature of the case, all the aspects of the 
 W ' ": disȣsi*tions and all the' analogies of Providence. Among the direct 
 
 prool 
 
 foUo^ 
 
 -deal 
 
 , may be mentioned, for their sententious brevity, the one or two 
 ^ing: Christ "died for all"; " gave himself a ransOm for all"; « tasted 
 {for every man"; "is the propiti ftUon for our sins, aJnd not for oura 
 
 I ' 
 
v^. 
 
 i^ffki?,: 
 
 e to Mno> 
 •nt which 
 « rejection 
 \i yawning 
 i. Instead 
 laion of the 
 the atone* 
 w " OhrUt 
 lanotifiOA- 
 
 I been made 
 rgons. We 
 >Dementp— A 
 nd ineCDcfr* 
 atonement, 
 ictually did 
 I more thaa 
 1 atonement 
 t is termed, 
 tranBltio&al 
 special and 
 t in Galvin- 
 ion either in 
 ▼ery thresh- 
 — for, by de. 
 kl barriers to 
 ngf influence 
 secure their 
 opeless per* 
 for him. In 
 ars the same 
 t there liTes 
 rfaom Ohrist 
 liyersality of 
 r, consisting 
 I invitations 
 1;— to which 
 spects of the 
 ig the direct 
 i'one or two 
 all"; ^'tasted 
 [ not for ours 
 
 
 DOCTRINAL DECLARATION. 
 
 %1 
 
 only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (a Oor. t. U j I Tim. U. 
 6;Heb. II. 0; Ijohnii. 2.) ./ 
 
 8. TK, Natur, and Bxttnt of ihtunrk oftht Holy Spirit. As respect! 
 the nature of the Holy Spirit's worl^, we believe, in harmony with the 
 ▼lew above set forth on the perfect fl^eedom of the human will, that the in- 
 fluence which that Divine Agent eJterts on the human soul Is moral and 
 reslstiblo. In thus reJecUng the dbgma of Irrc.lstlble, wlll-suapendlng, 
 and falth-neccaaltating grace, we do not limit the Holy Spirit, nor do 
 we deny the necessity of hit work, in order to salvation. We trace 
 iWth in every Instance, with al| its antecedents and consequents, to hii 
 ftee, sovereign, anticipating grace; and we could admit as many Inscro- 
 ts*le modes and medU In his operation as may reasonably be im- 
 agined, provided none of them imply any antagonism to the respon- 
 ■IbiUty of man, or any Infringement of the Inviolable freedom of the 
 human will. This moral and resistible feature lm,)art8 a grandeur 
 ftOd sublimity, and a transparent consistency, to the work of the Spirit, 
 which the doctrine of irresistibility completely destroys. It is in har^ 
 mony alike with every principle of tlje moral Government of God, and 
 With every dictate of the moral nature and conscious experience of man. 
 Its proofs are Inwoven into the entire texture of revelation— the Bible 
 throughoutbelngone sublime and majestic Persuasive. Every warning, 
 entreaty, remonstrance, promise, and threatening of the Book of God* 
 and every instance in which a believer makes shipwreck of his faith is 
 ft proof of the moral and resistible nature of the Holy Spirit's Influencei— 
 not to mention such direct proofs as those in which inspired men speak 
 on the one hand, of the Spirit " striving with roan," and on the other of 
 sinners " vexing," ". grieving," "quenching the Spirit," and "always 
 resisting the Holy Ghost." W^ reject, then, the distinction between the 
 special and the common influences of the Spirit usually propounded ; and 
 hoId,on the contrary, that,, notwithstanding all the varieties, compli- 
 cations, and inscrutable mysteries <:onnected with his work. Its essential 
 •haracter is in every Instance one and the same, namely, to do all that infi- 
 nite Love, guided by inflnite Wisdom, morally can, to arrest the sinner In 
 l^ hell-ward career, and hedge him up to attend to and believe the glo- 
 rloas gospel of the gra^ of God ; and to promote the sanctificatlon and 
 0(Hnfort of the believer. 
 
 Js respects the E^ent of the Spirit's work, we believe that, compat- 
 ibly with all the varieties and s|H5cialltle8 it implies, its aapectand bear- 
 fag arenas Wpartlaliy benignant, and strictly universal, as the love of 
 the Father, and the atonement of the Son. This is demonstrated by the 
 latue of the case ; for, besid^is the harmony of counjMl and aim that ever 
 
 ^ 
 
 
: • ■'■>.» 't 
 ''-<'•'■ • '■■■ , 
 
 >^- 
 
 •I- 
 
 
 ' J.' 
 
 ^ 
 
 DOCTRINAL DBOLARAnON. 
 
 pcnradei th« Godhead, tb« Spirit la lent ob hia eTsngelical mlMion by 
 the Father and the Son ; and if he truly layi hart the heart of the Father, 
 who " will hare all men to be laTed," and truly unfolda the work of tba 
 Son, " who gare himself a raniom for all," he will exert an inflnene* 
 eo^iteniire with the fallen family of mankind. At there muit be into* 
 Ite (larmony of heart and aim among the co-eternal Three, to limit the 
 'work of the Spirit la, in eflTect, correapondingly to limit the loveof tha 
 Father and the atonement of the Son. No inconaiatenoy, then, can b« 
 greater than that of mainUining that the Son died for all, and that hie 
 atonement expressed the Pfither'a lore for all, while at the aame time, 
 it ii contended that the needed influence of the Spfrit atopa abort of all, 
 Md embracea thoae only who are included in tba. tfircle of the uncondi- 
 tionally elect. Either the limitation beliep tbf)4||^ersality, or the nai- 
 Teraality belies the limitation. We, for our pma/bave choaen the alter- 
 natire of universality ; and we do ao, not oterely tecauae (though thli 
 were proof aufflcient) the lore of the Father and the work Of the Son are 
 demonatrably univeraal, but also becauae the language oi' Scripture ii 
 not leaa explicit in proof of the .uniTeraallty of the work of the Holy 
 Spirit. The Spirit is aaid tQ '^strive with man" — a generic term incluaire 
 of the wh|»le human race. He *' conrincea the world "—a term identical 
 and co-ex^MjUire with that world which the Father lored, and for which 
 the Savidd^ed. Be, equally with " the Bride," aaya<*Oome~WhoaoeTer 
 will, le^him take of the water of life freely ; " which it were unwarrantablj 
 to afBrm, if, along with this invitation, an influ^jipe which it was bia^ 
 beatow and which waa indiapenaably neceaaary t<Wable men to come,j 
 gatib t>nly to aome, and withheld from all the reat. 
 
 9. CoTtcHrrtnei^ of (A< Divine and Human agencie$ in the matter of 
 ealvation. By co^pa^ing what has been juat advanced on thenature and 
 extent of tl]uBi^i|BJliV»>''Qrk, with what is above aet forth in Articles 1st, 
 
 . 2nd, and 3rd, 
 \knowledge, 
 
 iynergiam oi 
 l^atter of aalva' 
 M Oalvinism 
 
 |otfa9^ free-will of nuln, and the sovereignty, fore* 
 ' Ood, |t will be seen that we believe in 
 He Divine agency and the human, in the 
 of runn&||t^^«y with the Divine element; 
 Tfttual emnsion of the human and to the 
 •toltification of Ihie innumerable statements of -Scripture that teach ni 
 our ^sponsibility and urge us to action ; and instead of running away 
 with ihe human element, as Pelagianism does, to the virtual ignorement 
 «f the divine, and the contradiction of every text that gets forth the f)ree 
 grace and sovereignty of God ; we believe in the indispensable necessity 
 and hannonious concurrence of both, aihd are thus enabled to reconcile 
 •11 the va^eties of Scriptoie phraseology, otherwioe irreconcileable, on 
 
 f 
 
migfion by 
 r the Father, 
 work of tha 
 M infloeoM 
 lit be infin- 
 to limit the 
 
 love of th« 
 ben, c«n be 
 ind that hli 
 same time, 
 short of all, 
 lie uncondl- 
 or the nni* 
 !D the alter- 
 though thii 
 the Son are 
 Bcriptare li 
 >f the H0I7 
 m incluslTe 
 rm identical 
 d for which 
 ■WboaoeTer 
 irarrantabl 
 i was bi>^ 
 to comCi 
 
 e matter of 
 i,natare and 
 .rticles lit, 
 ignty, fore- 
 e biBllere in 
 man, in the 
 DO element; 
 and to the 
 at teach ni 
 ining away 
 tgaorement 
 rth the free 
 ie necessity 
 o reconcile 
 sileable, on 
 
 ^TT^AL DECLARATION. 
 
 ■.im. 
 
 v 
 
 
 " 19 
 
 iclM .^.trumentaliHe, connected with salfatfon fl. , 
 
 the ■Inner'i faith in that truth Thu. M . . ^ '"'' "«"«•"'"" to 
 •«od, regeneration, .anctiflCtlon ..^.M^ " ' '" ^"'P'"" «" ««n^r. 
 
 olplN Wt at once discern the con»ruitv of Ll ♦•! "'" "'"• P""* 
 
 « to prayer, and consequent dewndll! J""f ''""•«" ^^Murge 
 
 those other, that urge u.\o the etntZtoV'''''*^^ '^•"*'~^' ^'^ 
 the Divine and human in our ««l v»in„ ^. "• "»'» concurrence of 
 theology based on .bsoIutHnd ; ::,:rfo "^^^ P'"" '" *V 
 
 tion ; but in our theology it has The <„! ^,r^»"«» ""J necessiu- 
 wiUbeingrecogaisedafaner 'adini rrr '* ^'*'"»°'» "^ the human 
 tlon, the sovereV age^c/of OoX' f '" '" ^'"'^ ^'^^ 
 
 •nabledtoexplai',-i,;t%„ot " i^i^'^^^ *"' ''^"* - "• 
 
 Pllcble, but also Liaous y bec.oud le I '' ? ""^ ""''"""'J 'ne,. 
 foreordlnation and necessit^tt X Ju ":rirth:[t ^ ^;i' *^ '"'- ' 
 the perplexing anomalies and failures To wit K » .'"' ^ '"'''^>'' 
 dispensations, and the suasire chJIctlr 7hL I ""*"' "•« <^o"r- of the 
 tare of revelation. "^' throughout of the entire struc- 
 
 , "d^-»lATared.iswhony.^abIe b^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 himsirne cannot make atonemem for t Jis h.T" 'T"'"' '' "•^« 
 on God the Son. Nor can he. after a onement k M' *°""'^ ''"P«''*'«* 
 .elf. by his own unaided ntreiJ^^^^XZTJZT: •"*''^' ''''"» ""»• 
 I. entirely dependent on God the HorOhost r ^k '""'' = '"'^^ '^^' »»• 
 truly described as " without strength '> 7nJ ^T. '"'^'"' ^^ •« 
 atonement has been made, and the floly Spirit^/ . ^ , '^"* ^''*° ^l** 
 record ofitin the inspired gospel bojfs hri. *''''^*°''>«<J'«*i the 
 
 guide the sinner to the fait? oTl th^slon "i 1^,^"' '' P*"-**" •«« 
 te^hisdivine Influence, and believe ?„/ J «'^/" "T'" '*'•""»' 
 " believe the witness of man," the wiCs of hTk , "'^ '^ ""> «*» 
 fiOlible. maybe morceasilybdieJ:,:^ 0^^::'; "S"^ '^^•^r ^ 
 is man responsible for his belief? a\a J^-^-> *•"«. on what ground 
 from the charge of being "^hlltat^^^^^^^^^ God be vindicated 
 
 .owed, and gathering ^.r.^^^t^t^Z^^"' "'^ '' *'*'' "°* 
 on pain of " the wrath to come," yea, aid of « L '""" *'"** «°^' 
 commands men to believe and be saved 1 ,. . *"*' Punishment," 
 
 "^p* 
 
 <t 
 
so 
 
 DOCTIHNAL DECIiAMHOlT. 
 
 would brand that man ai a romoraelesi and a nlentlesa moeker of honum 
 helplessness and uroe I 
 
 11. Reptntanet^d Faith. In harmonj with the usage of the original 
 terpis, we underStond repentance to mean simply a change of mind and 
 frith to mean simply " the belief of the truth. " When both terms ars 
 •paployed i^ connexion with the g))8pel, they denote a change of mind 
 that jssuyin thereception of the truth. When only one term is used, 
 the othe^is implied. Each is to be distinguished from its consequents 
 «-^uch/as peace, lore, godly sorrow, or godly joy. As respects faith, 
 there 6 but one term in the original for the two English words which 
 /are ihdiscriminately used to represent it, namely faith and belief; and 
 this/ denotes simply what is Understood by belief in every day life, the 
 difference between saving and eommon faith consisting not in the man- 
 nft.of believing, but Ig the saving and sanctifying virtue of the gospel- 
 tfuth believed. This truth is, that " God so loved the world," including 
 bvery soul in it, that ^' he gave his only begotten Son," on the ground • 
 / of wljose atonement for every man he is now, in reUtion to all, " the just ^ 
 God, and the Saviour," and pardons and justifies, on the ground of the 
 Saviour's merits, every sinner that believes, the very moment he beUeves. 
 Such, and so world-embracing, being the object of faith as understood 
 >r by us, wo are under no temptation vi^hatever to complicate the nature of 
 
 faith^s limitarians do; The object of faith, as taught by them, being 
 limited, and as such insufficient to give peace to any man's soul they 
 ue drivenflto supply that radical defect in the o6;ec/, by Bupplementini 
 and complicating the ac<,— thus perplexing the'sinner who is inquiring 
 after peace, and averting his eyes from the Crucified in whom alone he 
 can find it, and sending him In to his own heart where groupd of peace 
 there is none. In our theology, on the other hand, the more we simplify 
 our views ^f faith, the more consistent are we ; for so gloriously full and 
 complete, as meeting the sinner's entirecase, is the object of faitlrpresent- 
 ed to us in the free and universal gospel, that it will be found to be "the 
 power of God unto salvation "to eVery man, even the worst, who really 
 believes it, and perseveres therein to the end. " ' - ' 
 
 12. Relations 0/ Prayer and FaUh. To remove or prevent misconcep- 
 tjon. It may be desirable to state, that we would greatly deprecate apy 
 attempt to stand between the anxious sinner and his God, in the way of 
 discouraging him to pray. The more the sinner gets hSnself into the felt 
 presence of God, and realizes that it is God and not man that is pleading 
 with him, the better. Far be it from us io seek to stifle in any anxioutf 
 soul Such genuine breathing^ as, " God be merciful to me a sinner I" « The ° 
 liord directpie into all the truthi " What we urge on the sinner is, that" 
 
 \^ 
 
./■ 
 
 DOCTEINAL DECLARATION. 
 
 4 
 
 pUiat,on of Jesua for him and the whole world which he/ by his coX 
 ued unbehef, persists inrejecting; «„d that IT he caXueJl in thj 
 
 resistible influence to .e:::^:::^,::^^:^'^^ 
 
 w/ e f M^^ T "^ '* '^ ** *»•«>"» "f J^'' ««»l if he longer Majl 
 »Iver u?.ed ' *'*' *»«« ^P«««— ^ prin>iti.e herald, ^salvation 
 
 Wd«,e^lo ^r""*:^f""'" ''^'^'^ ^'^''' but told them the« 
 S^t.^^'r;t ■"' -'»-«'"^-t<'««»«- New Testament 
 
 ^ ^aver'^tarnir'^'''^^^* ''■'■■ '''''' ^''''«* and thou shalt be 
 ihpZ ."^f 7*™ ^he anxious .elttner to take ^ire lest be should put a 
 
 C^s^^o^^"! '?"^''''*' "^*^ ' *"'* *^"' pray/himself pL t^ 
 
 S'^^Vor SrZ; V° "i"'-; ^^^-y^^^* -^ urgingsinnt™ 
 
 mukL th/oos-l . H^ """''' Ideology, which first 
 
 uuiaies the Gospel, aud then sends the sinner away past it to aslr p«^ 
 
 13. Justification by Faith. On this vital subject we hold as strict! J a» 
 
 ' ^S^ SSti^r^r'^.^^r "^^^^^^ themomenAebelie.i 
 W h. a^iU ^ K ' °°' *' "• ''™'*''' righteous, but as a sinner believ- 
 
 irou^d of h s n"' "^ "T^ *"' '''''' ' '' J"«^'««^' ^'^^^-r not opthe 
 £ n»r? 5 1 ^° "ghte^usness, past, present or to come, in whol or 
 
 ^lS^^*^H '*"' '""" the ground of his mere act o^b^S ^a 
 ^^H:uV^iS" °' '•" -^^tltutionary, propitiatory, and i^lt^J^ 
 
 All f !,« ,„ I. . ' ^' '° "*® sovereign mercy, been provided fo* 
 
 ss:nS;:^r:::rr^^^«rc^artera^ 
 
 justification^ ; r^h«.freepftofrighteoushessunto all toen, unto 
 tion according; * ^^'""•'"•23= v, 17, 18.) The doctrine of imputa. 
 tion, accordingly, aa a prominent feature in God's moral goverament of 
 
 '."5 
 
-, -WB-^ jT ^ 
 
 22 
 
 DOCTREfAL DEOOilATlON 
 
 r 
 
 our worlds— as Been, for example, in the imputation Of Adam's sin to his 
 posterity, in the symbolical imputation in the ancient Sacrificature of the 
 oQ'erer's sin to the victim, in the imputation of o^r sins to the Saviour as 
 "made sin for us," and finally, in the imputation ot his righteougness to 
 us, as thereby made " the righteousness of God in him, "—is a doctrine 
 vrhich has all along been "most surely believed amobg us," as one 
 which cannot be denied or explained away without marring the entire 
 scheme of revelation, and rendering many portions of it, both in the Old 
 Testament and in the New, incapable of any consistent or intelligible ex- 
 position. We disclaim as an injurious imputation sometimes cast. upon 
 us, and for which we never, in any of our teachings, furnished the slight- 
 est occasion, the disposition or tendency to make a saviour of our faith. 
 On the contrary, we claim to be more free from this tendency than oui' 
 brethren who hold limited views of the gospel, and we claim to be more 
 true than they to the great docrines of free grace ; for by limiting tne 
 provisions of mercy, the inquiring sinner, i,s naturally thrown in upoi 
 
 own worthless experiences, to supplement, by evidences of saving 
 
 the defect which has been introduced into the GospeUtestimonV; and 
 thus he is tempted to make a^aviour of his faith, or in somie other way to 
 pervert the evangelical doctrine of iPree grace. Whereas by presenting a 
 uU, free, and unfettered gospel^ which brings, in the finished, /rork of 
 Jesus, "the free gift of righteousness, " in the same sense, " unto /ll men, " 
 to be received by faith, the door is open to any and every sinne/,* as such, 
 to enter, by thesimplebeliefof God's testimony, on a justifie/ state, and 
 "have peace with God, " dn the sole ground of the Saviour's atone- 
 ment ; without the slightest occasion or inducement to inagnify the act 
 of believing, or to look into his own experiences at all f/r a ground of 
 safety and peace. *' . ^ . 
 
 14. Peace with God. The immediate and invariable result of believ- 
 ing in Jesus is, besides justification, such a realisation </f this first great 
 blessing as gives a sense of saftsty, or sentiment of peAce in relation to 
 God. Peace with God is not to be confounded with "the full issurance 
 of faith, " or " fufl assurance of hope, "—for these are urged on belicvera 
 as attainments, which, by supposition, some of them, believers though they 
 arej'have yet to make. Peace admits of degrees, and is subject to inter- 
 xuption. As the result of the truth believed, it wijl necessarily partake 
 in the vicissitudes to which pur faith itself is liable, as weak or strong 
 intermittent or sustained. But still, peace with God, to the extent of -« 
 true and genuine filial sentiment toward God, is the fruit of true.faithi 
 and is essential to sanctification. Its place is not at the goal, but at 
 the starting point of the Christian race ; and with rtr. Chalmers we be- • 
 
/: 
 
 / 
 
 DOCTRINAL DEOLARATIOIT, 
 
 28 
 
 lieye that "grievous indeed is their misunderstanding 6f the gospel, 
 who think that peace must be postponed till we know that holiness is 
 Itt progfess within us, and that repentance is going onwards even unto 
 perKjCtion./' • *, 
 
 iiifg-encra/ion. With all evangelical Christians, we understand 
 * F-E^- **®''°^* * ^'**^ -^"^^^^ of disposition and character ; but consider- 
 '■^^^W^ Jewish usage from which the term was borrowed, it may be a 
 ^f Me^ion whether the prior change of relationship implied ought not also 
 tef be included. If30,regeneration will embrace adoption, or the restored 
 relation of sonship, and the initial stage of sanctification, or the restored 
 filial disposition. Under this latter aspect, it displaces « the spirit of 
 bondage" by « the Spirit of adoption"-tho disposition of the slave by that 
 of the « dear child. " It is of vital necessity to the sinner. "Except a 
 man be born-again, bo cannot see the kingdom Of God." It consists, not 
 in a change of intellectual faculties, nor in a cliange of emotional suscep- 
 tibUities, nor in a change of natural temper&ment, for in these respects, as 
 . in bodily feature and figure, the subject of regeneration remains the same ; 
 but in a change of disposition and character by virtue of which those natu^ 
 raj powers are exercised on new and worthy objects, and thereby come 
 theins^lves to be react|vely expanded, harmonized, and sublimed. The 
 agencies concerned in regeneration are. First in the order both of nature 
 and of time, aiid transcendently so in the order of importance, that of the 
 HolySpirif; cotiem-rent withwhich are. Secondly, that of the sinner him- 
 self, in the way.of voluntarily attending to and taking in the regenerating 
 truthof the gospel; and Thirdly, thatof the prebcher, or other Christian 
 agent, by whom, through voice or pen, that gospel'truth has been exhib 
 ited and enforced. Hence regeneration, while the resultof free sovereign 
 grace, is at the same time the sinner's duty : who accordingly is expressly 
 commanded to "make himself a new heart, and a new spirit." (Ezek. 
 xviu. 31). And hence, too, as illustrative of the co-operative human 
 agency, Paul says to the Corinthians, " In Christ jcsus I have begotten 
 you through the gospel." (1 Cor. iv. 15.) The instrument of regeneratiod 
 is the gospel-truth: " Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." 
 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, kt of incorruptible, by the 
 Word of God which iiveth and abideth for ever." (Jas. i. 18 ; 1 Pet. i. 23.) 
 It is, accordingly, the duty of the sinner, in the <salm and earnest exercise 
 of his rationalfaculties, to atten^ to and-bfelieve the gospel truth, whi6h, 
 With innumerable accompanying inducements, the Holy Spirit brings 
 him ; and as that truth is « the poWr of God unto salvation to every One 
 that believoth" (Rom, i. 16.) he is, i^e belief of itj regenerated in heart 
 .andiife. (JameaL 25.) Jlencewe readj^t^Whosofrver beHevetlr that Jubui 
 
 
 ' f 
 If 
 
 • I 
 
^ijr-w- 
 
 ■!.■'■ 
 
 1 -: 
 
 u 
 
 DOCTRINAL DECLARATION. 
 
 Is the OhriBt, is born of God." (I John t. 1.) B^jfencrntion^ then, Is not 
 
 to faith, but through faith— not before it, and in order to it, but after ii 
 
 And by means of it. The notion that regeneration is an immediate, myg. 
 
 terious, and in fact miraculous renewal of the human faculties, before 
 
 believing, and to enable them to beliere, we reject as unscriptural, as 
 
 labversive of firee-agency and moral goTernment, and as of pernieions 
 
 tendency in the way of leading the sinner to postpone the immediate 
 
 ., dutjBpf believing the gospel, jinder the fatal and delusive ejcpecUtionof 
 
 a so-called "day of power." Whatever doctrine teaehes the sinner, 
 
 implicitly or explicitly, thatany kind of influence is yet needed to enable 
 
 ' him to believe, other than that which is exerted on him now, by that vety 
 
 feature demonstrates itself to be a gospel-beclouding and soul-ehsnadng 
 
 doctrine,— as sure as the divine declaration, " Now is the accepted time, 
 
 behold, note is the day of salvation/' (2 Cor, vi. 2.) 
 
 16. Election and Reprobation. The undeserved mercy fur man revealed 
 in the gospel, being a provision of infinite wisdom as well as of infinite 
 love, develops its blessed and stupendous results according to a divinely 
 devised and eternal plan. ' This, in its general a4)ect, is recognisedin 
 Scripture under such expressions as'^ his eternal purpose," or "the coun- 
 \ Ml of his own will." In its relation to human destiny, it is specially 
 referred to in the. word predestination, and kindred terms ; and; in har- 
 mony with its illustrious character as a " counsel of peace," in terms of 
 which Christ " came not into the world to condemn the world, but that 
 the world through him niight bis saved," these expressions will be found 
 in Scripture to have, for their proper connexion, '^ the glory to be re« 
 realed" as the inheritance of the faithful, and not^" the wratftto come" 
 as the sfkA alternative of the lost. Under such benignant aspeets, the 
 general plan of mercy will be found referred to, as in many other pas- 
 ' sages, so more fully and specifically in the Epistle to the Ephesians, and 
 in the Eighth and Ninth of Romans. In the last named chapter the 
 doctrine of the divine sovereignty is built up, not as a wall of'uncondi- 
 tibnal excltisio'n, in favour of the few, agaiast the overwhelming major*^. 
 ities of the human family, but as a wall of defence, in favour of the 
 many, against the exclusiveness lof the Jews, who would have uncondi- 
 tionally shut the gatesof mercy on all th^rest of mankind. As absolutely 
 sovereign, "God tvill have mercy on whom he will have faercy; " and as 
 sovereignly, impartially, and universally benistolent, he wili adhere to 
 his plan, in opposition to a,ll the heartless and partial systems of men. 
 That plan is there exhibited (see Rom. x.,) as one of universal and im- 
 partial love to the human race, in terms of which, and on the ground of 
 Christ's "propitiation for the sins of the whole world," God's sovereign 
 
 1 
 
»-■■■ ' 
 
 I ..i« 
 
 ])OGTRINAL DBGL ARATION. 
 
 2^ 
 
 and DQalterable determination Is, to save all who believe in Jesus, QentU* 
 as well as Jew, and to condemn all the finally impenitent, Jew as well 
 as Q«ntile. Ah, to.what hideous views h^ve men dared to wed the trnlj 
 - august and gracious do.ctrine of the sovereigtrty of God ! In the matter 
 Of salvation, as in so many others, we might well appropriate the words 
 Of payid, "Let m0 fall now into the hands of the Lord, for very great 
 at. his mercies j but let me not fall into the hands of man." f 1 Obron 
 xxi. 13^ ' 
 
 In beautiful acdordance with these general features of the divine pltai 
 are the teachings of Scripture on the subject of election and reprobtttion| 
 the only terms, in this connezion, which it seems further needful to 
 wtplftin. The two terms are manifestly cprrelative and antithetic ; and 
 the explanation of the one wjll go far to elucidate the other. 
 
 To begin with election, believers are, in Scripture, called the elected 
 or elect. (Rbm. xi. 1 ; Epji. i. 4 ; 1 Thes».- i. 4 ; 1 Pet. i. 2 ; ii. 9.) In 
 the last of these passages, the designation occurs as one of a series which 
 are transferred from the theocracy of the Old Testament to the Christian 
 church of the New. As Christians are « a royal priesthood," « an holy 
 nation," and « a peculiar people," in a spiritual and vital sense anal<^ 
 gous to that in which Israel was in the external and typical sense, so in 
 a similar sense are they a "chosen generation." In what sense, then 
 was Israel a « chosen^ generation "-or, as Jehovah calls them, « Israel 
 min6 elect"? Certainly not in the sense of having been eternally, 
 unconditionally, and personally preappointed unto salvation ; or in any 
 sense at all analogous to that: but simply in the sense of having been 
 actually separated frOto among the nations, by a divine process with 
 Which their own free agency concurred, to special privileges and 
 honours, and to corresponding duties, in the character of God's theo- 
 cratic or peculiar people. To rejoin that what God thus did in time he 
 decreed in eternity, is to say what we at once admit, but dismiss as irre- 
 levant ; for the same thing falls to be affirmed Of every divine act : and 
 surely no one will affirm that because these were all decreed in etemik 
 therefqra creation, the delugp; the call ©f Abraham, the destruction of 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, and all the rest, belong to eternity and not to 
 time. This will suffice to dispose of the one or two passages, of which 
 Eph.i.4may be taken as a specimen, in which, along with the act of 
 election, there is allusion made to its purpose from eternity. In these, 
 as m other cases, the ^t is contemplated in purpose, but not on that 
 account the less,— on trfb contrary all the more,-does the fact remain 
 evident, that election is/ one thing, which dates in time, and that the 
 pnrpoae of it is ano^iek which dates from eternity. From the natore 
 
 y 
 
 / . 
 
 : /.. 
 
V 
 
 •^ 
 
 DOCTRINAL DECLARATION. ' 
 
 , ' ■■ 'tL 
 
 of the,oaM, moreorer, it wu natdral and quite to be expected, tb^ttSfi 
 oOBoexion or occasion that suggested the mention of election, would 
 lometimes also make it needful or f icpedient t<} refer to that sublime and 
 I eternal plan whose prorisions deteifi^ined its principle, objects, and eb(i9> 
 The sense, as abore explained, in which Israel was God's elect, will 
 be found analogically to correspond in every particular, to that in which 
 Qbriit^ns, in the New Testament, are called God's elect. The original 
 ^iheverb " to elect" means to select, pick out, or set apart for one's 
 ■elf. /^hisofitselfproves election to be a;n actual process in time; for 
 the verb is. often so used with reference to other objects, and always in 
 this sense, Whether the selecting act be affirmed of God or of man. A» 
 truly, then, as Israel's election meant an actual process, in time, of 
 separation from among the nations, the election of Christians means 
 their actual separation in time from a " world lying in wickedness." As 
 is was God that selected and separated Israel " with a strong hand and 
 a stretched out arm," so it is God that elects Christians ; who, accord- 
 ingly, besides being called "the elect Of God," whifeh might merely 
 mean the elect belonging to God, are expressly declared, in other pas- 
 aages, to be persons whom « God hatt chosen." (Epb. i. 4 ; 2 Thess. ii. Is', 
 Ac). As God's election of Israel did not preclud?, but called into requi- 
 Bition^the concurrent agency of Israel, so in Christiah election: It is 
 God that elects or separates us from the world, but his wisdom sees 
 meet to do it in concurrence with our own agency ; for Christians are 
 said,^ one Apostle, to be " eleiet through sanctification of the Spirit," 
 which implies their own concurrent agency; and by another, to bo 
 "chosen unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and 6e«^ 
 "0/ the ttuth," a Uit in which the vital element of that concurrent 
 agency, namely, faith, is positively expressed. (1 Pet. i. 2 : 2 Thess. ii. 
 13.) God's end in Christian election, in addition to his supreme-aai 
 infinitely benevolent end, " the praise of his glorious grace," is twofold : 
 «s in the case of Israel, it is an election to peculiar privileges and to 
 ^culiar duties. Christians are elected to peculiarprivileges, namely, 
 f»giveness here and eternal glory hereafter r^unt^rgiveness here, for 
 .they are said to be "Elect unto the sprinkling Of ^he blood of Jesus 
 Christ.; '' and unto glory hereafter, for they are further said to be "cho- 
 sen to salvation,", and to be chosen " heirs of the kingdom which God 
 balh promised to them that love him." (1, Eet,J, 2: James il. 6.) And 
 CBristians are chosen to peculiar duties i they are said to b&«electe4 
 unto obedience, " and to be " chojj^ that they should bp holy aiid with- 
 out blame before God." (1 Pet. i. 2: Eph. i. 4.) To these graciour 
 and glorious ends {he b^jliever is elected, not oM^ in consideration of 
 
 ■( 
 
DOOTRnTAI. BECLKBAnOJX. 
 
 S7 
 
 As 
 
 t 
 
 \. 
 
 hia being a bellcrer, but, as already proved, hj means of hit Mitring 
 M the vital element of the human agency that must here condut with 
 the divine ; and as faith is the instrument of his justification, regenera- 
 tion, and progressive sanctification, it is, by virtue of this, and all its 
 other developments, the instrument of the Christian's progressive separa- 
 Won from the world. Hence he is commanded to «• malce his calling and 
 election sure " (2 Pet. i. lO) j the sureness h<^re inculcated being, as the 
 original shows, an objective confirmation^ or a malting sure of the elec- 
 Uon Itself, and not a subjective certainty, or a sureness merely in the 
 mind ; which, moreover, ou predestination prijiciples, It were very hard 
 to attain. , * " v "»*'» 
 
 Ou the subject of election, according^, Qur views present a marked 
 •nd decided contrast to those of the Westminster theology. The elec- 
 tion we hold is not unconditional, but conditional; not an absolute 
 decree, but a selecting process , not k thing of eternity, but a thing of 
 timp I notan election to faith, but an election /Aro«gA faith, and a result 
 Which, accordingly, and as the Apostle Peter expressly declares, it is 
 tap duty and within the power of every man to secure. (7Ao.e« to faith-' 
 that w the watchword of predestinarians ; but not a text can they bring 
 .ojit of the Bibl^ that shall as much as seem to teach any such thing 
 Chosen T^ovo^ faith : that i^our watchword ; and our gcripture vouch- 
 ers for it are svicb explicit testimonies as this; "C4d hath from the 
 beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctificatioB of the Sbirit 
 and belifi£i^f the- truth." (2 Thess. ii. 13.) , ™ ^ 
 
 ^n the subject of reprobation, we hold tie attribution to that God 
 wflose name is Love, of ah absolute and unconditional decree of repro- 
 bation, to be the climax of blasphemy, a fnomtrum Aomnd«m in theology. 
 The one solitary respect iu which, on this subject, we agree with Calvin. 
 h in aclcnowledging the fidelity with which he himself characterizes his 
 own doctrine, when he calls the reprobating act, as understood by him. 
 
 ;« decretum horribile.^So revolting is the dogma, that, by niodernCalvin- 
 i8ts,^t ,8 fbr^he most part disowned. And yet nothing is more demon- 
 strable thanthat,if theyhold eternal, personal and unconditional election, 
 they are bound in consistency to hold all that is essential M the doctrine 
 of absolute reprobation." Whether, they choose to retain that phrase, or 
 disown It as^ reprobate, the thing exp/essed by it essentially remains, 
 80 long as the doctrine of unconditionfl' election remains. iThe predes- 
 tinating decree can have no side of unconditional brightness for the 
 elect, without ah untithetio side of equally uncohditioiial bhickness for 
 tbe^on^^ct. The latter^s the logical correlate, the Inseparable 
 shadow, of the former ;.and whether it be conceived of, w ith th. ,t^rn 
 
 \, 
 
m- 
 
 ■'!"^' 
 
 ■ {• 
 
 sa 
 
 DOCTRINAL DECLA|lA%OII. 
 
 Old Oalrlnlsts, u « thundergloom ^f-'poiitrre and absolate reprobation 
 or, with tMr more relenting suctfessors, as the chill of a negative hat 
 not less absolute, and therefore not less deadly, act of preterltio,, A 
 little^moment, so long as the infinite virus of uncondltionallsm reibiini. 
 Rejecting, as we do, the doctrine of unconditional election, we iTata- 
 ralljr and consistently hold the doctrine of conditional reprobation The 
 ^^Jj^P'^'^" °>e««»s disapproved, rejected, condemned: and 
 Wiei original terms have the same significance. The word repro- ' 
 bat* y^ccurs but once in the English version of the Old Testament 
 nam^y, in Jer. vi. 80; and six times In the New Testament, to which / ' 
 may be added other two passages in wHicb -the original occurs.- 
 n«inely,^om.l.28rl Cor. ix. 27. 2 Cor. :.m. 6, 6, 7; 2 Tim. ill. 8 ; 
 III. 1. 16 ; Heb. vi. 7. 8. Let these passages be examined in detail, and 
 In every one of them it will be found that, so far from betraying any 
 trace of unconditional reprobation, the reprobation they teach la in • 
 every instance conditional, and so far as it respects the final destiny of 
 the smner, it has its place at the directly opposite pole to that assigned 
 to unconditional reprobation. Instead of preceding the sinner's career 
 its proper place is at the end of his career. It is not the absolute forel 
 dooming of any man considered merely as a creature. It is not even / 
 the conditional foredooming or actual dooming of i» man considered / 
 simply as a sinner. It is not even the conditional fore-dooming or 
 actual dooming of a sinner considered as a gospelrejccter: The object 
 of Scriptural reprobation, in its ultimate form, is the Gospel rejecter on 
 whom has been expended the last resources of a wise benevolence, and 
 who IS thus reprobated under the character of one who has proved him- 
 self .incorrigible and finally impenitent. In Jer. vi. 30, the " silver " ig 
 jot called " reprobate "till "the bellows," in the assaying process, are 
 dwribed as "burnt." In Heb. vi. 7, 8, the ground is not " rejected " and 
 burned," till it has been often rained on, and after all yieWed nothing 
 but briars and thorns." So in thef other passages above-named. In 
 80 fkr as reprobation is desStibed as the present condition of sinners, it 
 expresses merely their state as disapproved and condemned, though not 
 as yet finally, on account of their sin. And in so far as It relates to their 
 ultimate destiny, it i|described'as in no case taking effect till the last /• 
 and the utmost to prevent- it has been done; and it has thus for itr^V" 
 sole objects, the finally Impenitent. 
 
 We have thus touched on the main points embraced in onr distinctive . 
 views. We have endeavoured to be, explicit ; for it is alike our wish 
 and our interest to be understood. In prosecution of this aim, we have 
 necessar^ygivijnjjxpmsionjo muph Uiatls not pecoliar to oursftbrefc. 
 
 
 /. 
 
 / - 
 
/■■ 
 
 DOCTRINAJi DECLARATION, 
 
 20 
 
 jlriththerlcw of bringing out our distlnctlre sentiments In bolder relief 
 It only romains to add that wo claim to share with our Christian brethren 
 Of every name, on the qne hand, in all the righu of free and Independent 
 lnTe8tlgat.on,^and on the other, In all the charities and catholicitiea of 
 our common faith. As honest aiid earnest men we will speak wha» we 
 believe, but we should ever do our best to "speak the truth in lore " 
 At a great price have we purchased our freedom from the bonds of tra- 
 ditioniil imposition ; and baring thus bought what we take to be trutV 
 
 wm noTf u . "7' '"'"^'' "^'^^ '' ^"^P^-*™ investigation, we 
 will not sell these advantages for any consideration whatsoever, it ig 
 however, our wish, and prayer, and shall be our increasing endeavour! 
 
 ^Ir I' T''' *'" ^'"'' •■* '''' •^""^ °' ^-^^" We own and 
 eiteern ae brethren many who, from culpable ignorance or narrow- 
 mindedness, speak and think of us only as the disseminators of danger- 
 
 Zr7n . i°"*^ ""^ P"^ '"" '^' increased prosperity of the entire 
 h^of God From the heart we say, " Peace bo withlAer walls and 
 prospenty wiih.n^ her palaces." < "Peace be to the brethren, and love 
 w^th^;?,' ^'«'" »';'»»»•« Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace J, 
 with all them that tove our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen." 
 
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