Christian union : or, an argument for the abolition of sects

Front matter

VanDyck, Abraham, d. 1835.

Christian union t

CHRISTIAN UNION.

Dedication

To the Rev. David Abeel, American Missionary to South Eastern Asia.

Rev. and Dear Sir :

Entertaining the highest respect for your Christian character and intelligence, and appreciating your fervent zeal in the cause of our common Master, as well as your services and self-denial in the promotion of his kingdom as a minister and a missionary, I deem myself happy in dedicating to you this publication.

Chapter II. The Evils Of Sect

1. It banishes love and peace ... 33

2. Cherishes pride ..... 36

3. Muhiphes false professors of reUgion . . 37

4. Keeps men from the proper reading of the Bible 39

5. Prevents reformation in doctrine and Christian

practice ...... 43

6. Strengthens opposers of religion . . 60

7. Retards the latter day glory . . . 51

8. Weakens the church, and tends to destroy it 55

Chapter III. Objections To The Abolition Of Sects Answered

1. That the benefit of emulation will be lost . 63

2. That it involves a sacrifice of principle to unite

with Christians who have not the same faith 66

3. That divers denominations are necessary to pre-

serve the purity of doctrine ... 76

4. That divers denominations are necessary to op-

erate to advantage upon all classes of the people 81 viii

5. The danger of uniting church and state . 82

6. That if sects were aboUshed, the church would

soon be Eigain divided .... 84

Chapter IV. Obstacles To The Reunion Of The Church Consi- Dered

1. The power of long cherished habits and opinions 88

2. The powerful interests that bind men to sect 90

3. The subjection of the periodical press to the in-

terests of sect ..... 93

4. The fear of odiuna and contempt . . 94

5. The many objects of attention already before

the Christian public .... 96

6. The present low state of religion . . 98

7. Human creeds and systems of theology . ICQ

Chapter V. The Facilities Or Encouragements To The Reunion Of The Church

1. Staleness of religious controversy . . 104

2. Experience for two hundred years of the evils

of division . . . . . .105

3. The union of several denominations actually

formed for various benevolent purposes . 105

4. Evidence of the harmonious faith of Christiems,

furnished by the pubUcations of the American Tract Society . . . . .106

5. The alarm manifested by the advocates of sect 106

6. The alarm manifested by the enemies of reli-

7. Recent publications evincing a growing desire

of union among Christians . . .107 ix

8. The diffusion of useful knowledge . . Ill

9. The sure word of prophecy . . . 112

Chapter VI. The Means For Restoring The Unity Of The Church

1. Confess the sin of division, and ask forgiveness

of God 120

2. Cease from unprofitable controversy . . 133

3. Return to scriptural principles in licensing min-

isters of the gospel, and receiving church members 136

4. Cherish love to Christians of all denominations 141

CHAPTER YII.

the means for restoring the unity of the church, (continued.)

5. Labour to elevate the standard of religion . 14S

6. Encourage the benevolent associations of the ,

7. Return to the primitive mode of reading the Bi-

ble 171

8. Cherish the spirit of prayer appropriate to the

times, especially for a more devoted and more efficient ministry . . . . .178

Chapter VIII

the OPERATION AND RESULT OF THE MEANS TO

BE EMPLOYED . . . . .183

IX.

AN APPEAL TO CHRISTIANS OF EVERY DENOMINA- TION 212

Preface

The main subject discussed in the following pages was some years ago pressed, by a particular providence, upon the attention of the author, and has continued to occupy more or less of his thoughts ever since that time. He has endeavoured to discover the truth by a direct application and study of the Holy Scriptures ; and the result has been a strong and settled conviction of the correctness of the principles advocated in this work. He believes that the church was originally constituted by its Founder one and indivisible — that the divisions which have broken it in pieces are in direct violation of this constitution, and have brought a flood of evils upon the church, which have hitherto kept her from rising to the glory to which she is destined.

The author does not advocate an immediate or hasty amalgamation of sects, or the formation of churches embracing all Christians of every creed. He earnestly deprecates such measures until a better feeling shall prevail than exists at the present time. But he insists that as the church was originally constituted one, and will be one in heaven, and also on earth in the period of the latter day glory, it ought to be one now ; but since it is not, that Christians are under obligation to restore its unity, and ought to enter immediately upon the work of prepaxi ration to bring about this desirable result. He has ventured to specify some of the means which he believes will tend to promote it, though he admits that the chief reliance must be on the direction of God, as to the proper means, and his blessing upon them. And this direction and blessing he is confident will not be withholden, when God's people shall have entered in earnest upon the work. It is not deemed necessary to make any apology for presenting this book to the public. The doctrines it advances are not new, but have had their advocates ever since the protestant church has been despoiled of her beauty and shorn of her strength by the loss of her unity. But their voice has been unheard or unheeded amidst the din of religious controversy, and the rage of party feeling. The author is persuaded that at the present time the state of the church imperiously calls for a work of the kind now presented, and that the minds of many are prepared to give it a cordial welcome, although the great mass may yet be unwilling to listen to the overture of union. A considerable change, he thinks, has manifested itself in the feelings of Christians in the course of a few months past. He beUeves that now, in the midst of existing distractions and divisions, the spirit of union is operating upon the hearts of God's children, and that there are now many encouragements to the immediate commencement of the work of healing the breaches of Zion.

The author is not an advocate for latitudinarian principlcs, and would not open the doors of the church wider than the Scriptures rcfjuirc, nor does he wittingly undervalue the importance of any reli^iouM truth. lJut ho believes that a.sifJe frorn the cardinal doctrine« of man'H depravity nnd (^uilt in the wight of a holy God — the way of hi» pardon, and rcHtoration to Divine favour tlirough the blood and mediation of his Son, and the necesHity of re(;;eneration through the influence of the Holy Spirit — there in not, perhapH, any tnilh of the IJible more iiit]><>Ttant to the proHpcrity of the church than the d(x;trinc of it« unity. Now iff there any duty of more prc»»ing obligation u[>on (JhriHtiauM at the prewent tirne than that of labouring and making every allowable sacrifice; to terminate it« diviitionM, and bring it back to itn original unity?

TifE AUTHOR.

January, 1835.

A SKETCH

OF THE

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

The author of this volume was a lawyer by profession, and died in February, 1835, at his residence in Coxsackie, N. Y. Though a man of talents, he was never ambitious of notoriety. He was always ready to do his duty, but never wished to appear conspicuous ; yet his general character was well known to many friends of morality and religion in this country. To others, the following extracts of a letter may not be unacceptable :

" A memoir of Mr. Van Dyck, if justice could be done to the subject, could not fail of being in a high degree, both interesting and useful. He was a Christian of uncommon attainments in religious experience, as well as knowledge. It could truly be said of him, that he lived near to God. Sometimes for months together, in the best sense, he walked in the light of his countenance. At such seasons, divine communion was the element in which his mind habitually moved. So strongly did his thoughts and desires tend upwards, that, at every cessation of professional business, or worldly cares, he found himself with God. Of such things, he was by no means very communicative. He never loved to talk of himself; he always shunned it if he could; yet at times, to an intimate friend, and for some good purpose, he was willing to declare what the Lord had xiv done for his soul. At the close of his life, he was in a state of perfect peace eind assurance. For the last five years, scarce a momentary cloud ever obscured his prospects ; yet he was no enthusiast. No man examined more carefully the ground on which he trod, or could more intelligently give a reason of his hope.

" He had habitually very exalted and endearing views of God and Christ ; and was very sensitive to every thing that might effect his intercourse with them. His mind was much occupied with these great objects, and was much alive to their glory. Hence he not only abounded in prayer, but delighted in it. He loved to pray. It was a pleasure, and not a burden. The sanctuary, the social meeting, the family and the closet, all bore ^v^tness to his devotional spirit. His prayers were particularly remarkable for the confession of sin. That abominable thing was exceedingly his abhorrence ; and he saw a great deal of it where ordinary Christians see but little. His sensibility on this point increased very much in his last days ; yet he was not a gloomy but cheerful Christian. — Equally remarkable was he in prayer for a pleading spirit, and for a childlike simplicity of manner. Then he felt that he had no ground of reliance, but the mediation of Chiist ; and that here he could rest with the utmost confidence. No person could attach more importance to the divinity, atonement, and intercession of Christ, as practical doctiines, especially in prayer. Then he would dwell with peculiar interest on the infinite love and grace of God exhibited in the gospel, as encouragement to prayer, and as calculated to affect'the hearts of sinners. No one could attach greater importance to the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit. The Comforter was a friend whom he most highly valued, and most tenderly loved. He never in-

XV

dulged in any thing like affectation of feeling ; yet his emotions in prayer were sometimes too strong for utterance. Tears then became the best expression of what passed within. Many instances could be named.

" As to doctrinal views, he was far from being loose or unsettled. He was decidedly what is commonly called a Calvinist ; though he was by no means so bigotted but that he could clearly distinguish between what was, and what was not, essential to the system. The relative importance which he ascribed to various truths, was regulated by the best standard. In this respect, as in others, he was eminently a Bible Christian. The sacred volume he studied a great deal ; and that with an humble and teachable disposition. The Spirit he loved to honour in looking for his aid to understand the Scriptures. By this means, he found them an inexhaustible treasure, from \vhich he became greatly enriched.

" Enlightened by revelation, he looked upon the progress of society with the deepest interest. He took pleasure in the fact, that in this country, from the liberal nature of our institutions, necessity was laid upon us for promoting the intellectual and moral improvement of all classes. He anticipated a time when the associations and intercouse of men, would depend more on moral worth, than artificial distinctions. He thought our aim should be to raise the people, and receive from them every wholesome influence. He looked upon mankind with the Bible in his hand; then, seeing at once their ruin, and the way of their recovery, he was anxious that the remedy should be apphed without delay. Regarding the gospel as the only moral renovator of the world, he was very anxious to see its free course, both at home and abroad. For this end, he not only prayed, but laboured and expended. Few persons, in proportion to xvi their means, gave as much for benevolent objects ; and no where, certainly, was there a more cheerful giver. Upon the church, likewise, he looked with the Bible in his hand ; and seeing by its light many things that appeared wrong, he was anxious to see them brought back to where the apostles had left them. Particularly did he long to see that brotherly love, and that union of feeling and effort in the great work of the world's salvation, for which Christians were once so remarkable. What Mr. Grimke called " the genius of the existing order of things," he regarded as an incubus upon the church, which stifled her life an energy.

" From what has now been said, it might be inferred, that he must have neglected the common duties of life, and those of his profession. This, however, was far from being the case. By dihgence, and a proper division of time, he was able to attend to these, as well as to his religious duties. His brethren of the bar will testify, that as a lawyer, he did a great deal, and did it well. Yet religion was his delight. A few years before his death, he entertained serious thoughts of relinquishing the practice of law, for the purpose of being more directly and extensively engaged in doing good. On reflection, however, he became convinced that it was not his duty.

" These must be regarded as merely a few, brief, and very imperfect hints, of what he was. A full portrait would reqviire a volume. None, who have enjoyed opportunities of knowing him, will hesitate to place him in the same rank with such men as Evarts, Grimke and Wirt."

CHRISTIAN UNION;

OR,

AN ARGUMENT FOR THE ABOLITION OF SECTS.

Should our Saviour this day come down from heaven, take up his abode on earth, and in his human nature assume the immediate government of the church, would he look with complacency on its divisions into sects and denominations ? Would his scattered followers appear in his eye as different streams, all beautifully flowing into one mighty river, or as one great army, composed of many legions, all having the same views, and harmoniously co-operating under the same counsels ? Would he not rather express his sorrow and indignation that the demon of discord had been permitted to sow dissention among his disciples, and that thereby the world, instead of having been subdued into faithful subjection to his kingdom, by the united power of his forces, is yet as to nine-tenths of it, under the dominion of Heathenism, delusion, and error.

The personal advent of Christ is expected by orJy a small number of his professed disciples ; and for all the purposes of our present subject, we may take it for granted, that he will continue on his throne in heaven, until his mediatorial work shall be completed ; and that to the end of the world he will govern the church by his ministers, his word, and his spirit, and upon the principles declared in the Scriptures of everlasting truth ; so that we must needs be content to answer the above inquiries from what is taught in the Bible, instead of waiting for a new revelation from the great head of the church, whose word, already written, endureth for ever.

Among Protestant Christians there are some who maintain that the division of the church into sects and denominations, instead of being detrimental, is rather advantageous to her best interests. A second class apprehend it to be injurious, but entertain so little hope of healing the division, that they give a ready ear to any flatterer that may undertake to show its advantages, and are thus kept in a state of doubt, and consequent inaction. There is another class, who seem to be convinced that the schisms in the church are a great evil, but do not put forth a wish to have a remedy applied in any other way than by the universal prevalence of the sect to which they belong. And we are happy in the belief that there are also many among the people of God, who are perfectly convinced that the rending asunder of the church of Christ is the source of many and great evils, and that it is a flagrant breach of the unity of the church, as constituted by its head ; and who are desiring and praying that the omniscient God may lead his children to discern and carry into effect the proper remedy. There are probably but few intelligent Christians, whose minds are not.

in some measure, exercised upon this important subject. A spirit of solicitude and inquiry is abroad, and the interest of the attentive disciple is increased by what he sees to be transpiring in the providence of God. The finger of the Almighty is pointing to a re-union of the church, according to its original constitution, as the only hope of saving her from being torn into such fragments as to render it impossible to sustain her institutions.

We believe that God has graciously provided a remedy for all the evils that afflict his church, and that the time and measure of redress depend upon the discernment and faithful exertions of his children, in an humble reliance upon his assistance. We are confident that the evil of division is palpable and intolerable, and that the remedy is obviously indicated in the word of God itself. But as the first step towards reUef is to convince the serious and watchful Christian of the existence of the evil, and the next step is to point out the remedy, and show the practicability of its successful application, we make our earnest appeal to Christians of every denomination, entreating their candid and patient attention to the discussion of these momentous topics.

Chapter I. Of The Unity Of The Church

1. Proof llial the Church is one. Unity essential to accomplish God's design in establishing the Church. Its unity indicated in the Old Testament. Taught in the New Testament by Christ and his Apostles. — 2, Division into Sects is a breach of its vnity. So believed the Apostles, the primitive Christians of the three first centuries, and Uie Reformers, and so teaches Christ in liis intercessory prayer, and in his figure of the vine and i'.s branches. So teaches Paul in liis figure of the human body and its members, of a family, of a sheep-fold. The bond of union is love, and that is preserved by forbearance in matters of opinion and practice.

The church of God was set up prior to the manifestation of Jesus Christ in the flesh ; whether in Abraham, as the father of the faithful, or in the descendants of Jacob, or at what period of the Old Testament history, it is not material to our present purpose to determine. The design of God in the erection of the church, Avas, in the first stage of its existence, to preserv e a holy seed for his worship and service in the midst of an idolatrous and wicked world ; to receive and transmit to future generaions the revelation of God's will to man in his fallen state ; and ultimately to diffuse the knowledge and influence of religion throughout the whole earth.

Although the holy spirit, speaking by the mouth of David, and the prophets subsequent to his day, foretold a future period, when the church should appear in the greatness and glory to which God had destined her, his ultimate design, in the erection of the church, was not communicated to the Old Testament saints, in the form of a command to extend her bounds and influence, so as to embrace the whole family of mankind. This was reserved until the time of the appearance of Christ in the world, and then was the command given by himself to his disciples to teach all nations, and to preach the gospel to every creature. Yet God, who sees and comprehends all things, from the beginning to the end, so constituted the church, at its first erection, as to combine in it the principles of that moral power which he saw to be necessary for the accomplishment of his ultimate design. The church was to be the instrument, in his hands, of resisting the assaults of wicked men and the hosts of hell, and eventually to vanquish them, and dehver the world from the thraldom of Satan and sin, by bringing it under the lawful and happy dominion of the Saviour.

Whenever power, either of a physical or of a moral nature, is placed in the hands of members, it is essential that there should be between them all that union of which they are capable. And God has most unequivocally declared his mind, that the individuals composing his church , should be held together by a strong, indissoluble bond of union.

1. God has constituted the church one and indivisible. It has but one head, and that is Christ. Col. i. 18. Under the Old Testament dispensation, prior to the build- 1* ing of the temple, the manifestation of God's glory was in the cloud and in the tabernacle. There was but one cloud, and there was only one tabernacle, nor was there more than one ark of the covenant. And thus was the unity of the church represented in that period. After the children of Israel had taken full possession of the land of promise, the unity of the church was demonstrated by the erection of one temple ; and to this one temple all the tribes of Israel were commanded to resort for the pubUc worship of J ehovah.

If the unity of the church constituted any portion of its excellence, beauty, or strength, under the first dispensations, it would be strange indeed, if, under the New Testament, we had found a warrant for the severance of this union. In the history of our Lord and Saviour, we find no intimation from him that the unity of the church was not to be preserved, nor any warrant for a division of the church into distinct denominations, sects, or parties. His intercessory prayer for his church, which consists of all believers, is, " that they all nimj be one," as the father was in him and he in the father, " that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." John, xvii. 21. And in the next verse he says, " And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one." These words do most evidently convey the idea of a most intimate union between the followers of Christ, even as that which subsisted between him and his father ; and this union was to be visible to all mankind, that the world, seeing the union of his disciples, might believe that the father had sent him. An union of heart, merely without an open visible union, which the world would perceive, could h&xe no influence in convincing the world of the divine mission of Christ.

Valuable and indispensable as an union of heart among believers is to the prosperity and beauty of the church, it is the open, visible, and known union of the disciples, that must conquer the prejudices and convince the understandings of the men of the world into the belief that Jesus Christ came from God. There is no force, no appropriateness, (be it spoken with reverence,) in the prayer, if an union of heart is all that is asked. No ; this prayer of our Lord will not be answered ; the avowed object for which he desired that his people might be one, will not be accomplished, until Christians shall be one in affection, in counsel, in action, and in name.

Though the personal ministry of Christ was confined to the Jewish nation, he knew that under the dispensation of the spirit and through the preaching of the Apostles, the Gentiles would also be called into the church, which before that period embraced only the children of Israel. When the Gentiles should thus be brought to embi'ace the gospel, there was not to be a Gentile church as distinguished from that of the Jews, and a line of division drawn between them ; but they together were to form one church. In express reference to that event the Saviour says, John x. 16, " Other sheep I have which are not of this fold ; them also must I bring in, and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." And after the gospel had, subsequent to the death of the Saviour, been propagated among the Gentiles, and many in the city of Ephesus had been received into the family of believers, St. Paul, in the second chapter of his epistle, addressing the Ephesian converts, says, " But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us ; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one neio man, so making peace ; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby ; and came and preached peace to you which were afar off and to them that were nigh. For by him we both have access by one spirit unto the father."

The doctrine of the unity of the church, so plainly declared by the Saviour, was taught and earnestly inculcated by his Apostles, und^r the plenary inspiration of the Holy Ghost. St. Paul represents the unity of the church under the figure of a human body, consisting, indeed, of many members, but between which there is an intimate union and necessary dependence, and between which a schism cannot take place, without endangering the destruction of the body itself. " For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body ; so also is Christ." 1 Cor. xii. 12. " For the body is not one member but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the body?" v. 14, 15. "Now are they many members yet but one body, and the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." v. 20, 21. " That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." v. 25, 26, 27.

When the same Apostle reproves the Corinthians for their contentions and divisions, he proves to them the inadmissibility and absurdity of such divisions, by putting the emphatic question, " Is Christ divided?" leaving it to themselves to draw the inference irresistibly flowing from it, that as Christ, the head of the church, is one and indivisible, so must the members of Christ, constituting the church, be one among themselves, as well as one with him. 1 Cor. i. 10 to 13. Believers are declared by St. Paul to be members of Christ's body. Eph. v. 30. " For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 1 Cor. xii. 27. "Ye are the body of Christ and members in particular." And they are declared to be members one of another, constituting the body of Christ. Rom. xii. 4, 5. " For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." The saints are declared to be the family of God on earth, excluding the idea that there may be more than a single family constituting the church of Christ. And in the first chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle beseeches them, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among them ; but that they be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement. 1 Cor. i. 10.

2. The division of the church into sects is a violation of its constitutional unity.

Having proved the unity of the church by the constitution of G od himself, we proceed to show that its division into denominations and sects, is a violation of this imity. A division into congregations cannot be understood to be a breach of this unity, when made for the sake of local convenience, and in the spirit of love ; but we speak of those divisions which result from disagreement and contention, and from the assumed impossibility or difficulty of remaining together in peace.

The unity of the church was understood in this sense by Christ himself; and it was so understood by his Apostles after his ascension into heaven, and the plenary effusion of the holy spirit on the day of Pentecost. That some difference would arise among true believers, on doctrinal and practical subjects, was known to the Saviour and his Apostles ; for they were well acquainted with the imperfections of the human understanding ; but neither he nor they could have suffered the thought of a division of the church, for such a cause, to have been harboured for a moment in the minds of Christians.