We utterly repudiate the idea of men setting about church-making, or pretending to ordain ministers. We look upon it as a pure a.s.sumption, without a single shadow of Scripture authority. It is G.o.d's work to gather His Church and raise up ministers. We have no business to form ourselves into a church, or to ordain office-bearers. No doubt the Lord is very gracious, tender, and pitiful. He bears with our weakness, and overrules our mistakes, and where the heart is true to Him, even though in ignorance, He will a.s.suredly lead on into higher light.

But we must not use G.o.d's grace as a plea for unscriptural acting, any more than we should use the Church's ruin as a plea for sanctioning error. We have to confess the ruin, count on the grace, and act in simple obedience to the word of the Lord. Such is the path of blessing at all times. The remnant, in the days of Ezra, did not pretend to the power and splendor of Solomon's days, but they obeyed the word of Solomon's Lord, and they were abundantly blessed in their deed. They did not say, "Things are in ruin, and therefore we had better remain in Babylon, and do nothing." No; they simply confessed their own and their people's sin, and counted on G.o.d. This is precisely what we are to do.

We are to own the ruin, and count on G.o.d.

Finally, if we be asked, "Where is the true expression of this a.s.sembly of G.o.d now?" We reply, "Where Christ is truly the Centre of gathering; the one body the ground; the Holy Spirit the Leader; the Holy Scriptures the sole authority; and holiness the practice."

Reader, are you a.s.sembled on this divine ground? If so, cling to it with your whole soul. Are you in this path? If so, press on with all the energies of your moral being. Never be content with anything short of His dwelling in you, and your conscious nearness to Him. Let not Satan rob you of your proper portion by leading you to rest in a mere name.

Let him not tempt you to mistake your ostensible _position_ for your real _condition_. Cultivate secret communion--secret prayer--constant self-judgment. Be especially on your guard against every form of spiritual pride. Cultivate lowliness, meekness, and brokenness of spirit, tenderness of conscience, in your own private walk. Seek to combine the sweetest grace towards others with the boldness of a lion where truth is concerned. Then will you be a blessing in the a.s.sembly of G.o.d, and an effective witness of the all-sufficiency of the name of Jesus.

The veil is rent:--our souls draw near Unto a throne of grace; The merits of the Lord appear, They fill the holy place.

His precious blood has spoken there, Before and on the throne: And His own wounds in heaven declare, Th' atoning work is done.

'Tis finished!--here our souls have rest, His work can never fail: By Him, our Sacrifice and Priest, We pa.s.s within the veil.

Within the holiest of all, Cleansed by His precious blood, Before the throne we prostrate fall, And worship Thee, O G.o.d!

Boldly the heart and voice we raise, His blood, His name, our plea: a.s.sured our prayers and songs of praise Ascend, by Christ, to Thee.

FOOTNOTES:

[XVIII.] The same Greek word, _ecclesia_, has been rendered both "church" and "a.s.sembly" in our English translation--"a.s.sembly" gives the true meaning.

[XIX.] It is of the utmost importance to distinguish between what Christ builds, and what man builds. "The gates of h.e.l.l" shall a.s.suredly prevail against all that is merely of man; and hence it would be a fatal mistake to apply to man's building words which only apply to Christ's. Man may build with "wood, hay, stubble," alas! he does; but all that our Lord Christ builds shall stand forever. The stamp of eternity is upon every work of His hand. All praise to His glorious name!

[XX.] There is no such thing in Scripture as being a member of _a_ church. Every true believer is a member of _the_ Church of G.o.d--the body of Christ, and can therefore no more be, properly, a member of anything else, than my arm can be a member of any other body.

The only true ground on which believers can gather is set forth in that grand statement, "There is one body, and one Spirit." And again, "We being many are one loaf, and one body" (Eph. iv. 4; I Cor. x. 17). If G.o.d declares that there is but "one body," it must be contrary to His mind to own more than that one.

Now, while it is quite true that no given number of believers in any given place can be called "the body of Christ," or "the a.s.sembly of G.o.d;" yet they should be gathered on the ground of that body and that a.s.sembly, and on no other ground. We call the reader's special attention to this principle. It holds good at all times, in all places, and under all circ.u.mstances. The fact of the ruin of the professing Church does not touch it. It has been true since the day of Pentecost; is true at this moment; and shall be true until the Church is taken to meet her Head and Lord in the clouds, that "_there is one body_." All believers belong to that body; and they should meet on that ground, and on no other.

[XXI.] The reader will need to ponder the distinction between the Church viewed as "the body of Christ," and as "the house of G.o.d." He may study Eph. i. 22; I Cor. xii. for the former. Eph. ii. 21; I Cor. iii.; I Tim.

iii. for the latter. The distinction is as interesting as it is important.

[XXII.] The reader will do well to note the fact that, in Matt. xvi., we have the very earliest allusion to the Church, and there our Lord speaks of it as a future thing. He says, "On this rock I _will_ build My Church." He does not say, "I _have_ been, or I _am_ building." In short the Church had no existence until our Lord Christ was raised from the dead and glorified at the right hand of G.o.d. Then, but not until then, the Holy Ghost was sent down to baptize believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, into one body, and unite them to the risen and glorified Head in heaven. This body has been on the earth since the descent of the Holy Ghost; is here still, and shall be until Christ comes to fetch it to Himself. It is a perfectly unique thing. It is not to be found in Old Testament Scripture. Paul expressly tells us it was not revealed in other ages; it was hid in G.o.d, and never made known until it was committed to him. (See, carefully, Rom. xvi. 25, 26; Eph. iii. 3-11; Col. i. 24-27.) True it is--most blessedly true--that G.o.d had a people in Old Testament times. Not merely the nation of Israel, but a quickened, saved, spiritual people, who lived by faith, went to heaven, and are there "the spirits of just men made perfect." But the Church is never spoken of until Matt. xvi., and there only as a future thing. As to the expression used by Stephen, "The Church in the wilderness" (Acts vii. 38), it is pretty generally known that it simply refers to the congregation of Israel. The _termini_ of the Church's earthly history are Pentecost (Acts ii.), and the rapture (I Thess. iv. 16, 17).

THE CHRISTIAN

HIS POSITION AND HIS WORK.

PART I.

What is the true position of a Christian? and what has he got to do? are questions of the very deepest practical importance. It is a.s.sumed, of course, that he has eternal life: without this, one cannot be a Christian at all. "He that believeth on the Son of G.o.d hath everlasting life." This is the common portion of all believers. It is not a matter of attainment, a matter of progress, a thing which some Christians have and others have not. It belongs to the very feeblest babe in the family of G.o.d, as well as to the most matured and experienced servant of Christ. All are possessed of eternal life, and can never by any possibility lose it.

But our present theme is not life, but position and work; and in considering it, we shall ask the reader to turn for a moment to a pa.s.sage in Heb. xiii. Perhaps we cannot do better than quote it for him.

There is nothing like the plain and solid word of Holy Scripture.

"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines; for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (vers. 9-14).

Here, then, we have one grand aspect of the Christian's position. It is defined by the position of his Lord. This makes it divinely simple; and, we may add, divinely settled. The Christian is identified with Christ.

Amazing fact! "As He is so _are_ we in this world." It is not said, "As He is, so _shall_ we be in the world to come." No; this would not come up to the divine idea. It is, "so are we _in this world_." The position of Christ defines the position of the Christian.

But this glorious fact tells in a double way; it tells upon the Christian's place before G.o.d; and it tells on his place as regards this present world. It is upon the latter that Heb. xiii. instructs us so blessedly, and it is that which is now more especially before us.

Jesus suffered without the gate. This fact is the basis on which the apostle grounds his exhortation to the Hebrew believers to go forth without the camp. The cross of Christ closed his connection with the camp of Judaism; and all who desire to follow Him must go outside to where He is. The final breach with Israel is presented, morally, in the death of Christ; doctrinally, in the Epistle to the Hebrews; historically, in the destruction of Jerusalem. In the judgment of faith, Jerusalem was as thoroughly rejected when the Messiah was nailed to the cross, as it was when the army of t.i.tus left it a smouldering ruin. The instincts of the divine nature, and the inspired teachings of Scripture, go before the actual facts of history.

"Jesus suffered without the gate." For what end? "That He might sanctify (or set apart to G.o.d) the people with His own blood." What follows? What is the necessary practical result? "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach."

But what is "the camp?" Primarily, Judaism; but, most unquestionably, it has a moral application to every organized system of religion under the sun. If that system of ordinances and ceremonies which G.o.d Himself had set up--if Judaism, with its imposing ritual, its splendid temple, its priesthood and its sacrifices, has been found fault with, condemned, and set aside, what shall be said of any or all of those organizations which have rebuilt it? If our Lord Christ is outside of that, how much more out of these!

Yes, Christian reader, we may rest a.s.sured that the outside place, the place of rejection and reproach is that to which we are called, if we would know aught of true fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Mark the words! "Let us go forth." Will any Christian say, "No; I cannot go forth. My place is inside the camp. I must work there?" If so, then, there must be moral distance between you and Jesus, for He is as surely outside the camp as He is on the throne of G.o.d. If your sphere of work lies inside the camp, when your Master tells you to go forth, what shall we say for your work? Can it be "gold, silver, precious stones?" Can it have your Lord's approving smile? It may exhibit His overruling hand, and ill.u.s.trate His sovereign goodness; but can it possibly have His unqualified approval while carried on in a sphere from which He commands you to go forth?

The all-important thing for every true servant is to be found exactly where his Master would have him. The question is not, "Am I doing a great deal of work? but am I pleasing my Master? I may seem to be doing wonders in the way of work; my name may be heralded to the ends of the earth as a most laborious, devoted, and successful workman; and, all the while, I may be in an utterly false position, indulging my own unbroken will, pleasing myself, and seeking some personal end or object."

All this is very solemn indeed, and demands the consideration of all who really desire to be found in the current of G.o.d's thoughts. We live in a day of much wilfulness. The commandments of Christ do not govern all.

We think for ourselves, in place of submitting ourselves absolutely to the authority of the Word. When our Lord tells us to go forth without the camp, we, instead of yielding a ready obedience, begin to reason as to the results which we can reach by remaining within. Scripture seems to have little or no power over our souls. We do not aim at simply pleasing Christ. Provided we can make great show of work, we think all is right. We are more occupied with results which, after all, may only tend to magnify ourselves, than with the earnest purpose to do what is agreeable to the mind of Christ.

But are we to be idle? Is there nothing for us to do in the outside place to which we are called? Is Christian life to be made up of a series of negations? Is there nothing positive? Let Heb. xiii. furnish the clear and forcible answer to all these inquiries. We shall find it quite as distinct in reference to our _work_ as it is in reference to our _position_.

What, then, have we got to do? Two things; and these two in their comprehensive range take in the whole of a Christian's life in its two grand aspects. They give us the inner and the outer life of the true believer. In the first place, we read, "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to G.o.d continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."

Is not this something? Have we not here a very elevated character of work? Yes, verily, the most elevated that can possibly engage the energies of our renewed being. It is our privilege to be occupied, morning, noon, eventide, and midnight, in presenting the sacrifice of praise to G.o.d--a sacrifice which, He a.s.sures us, is ever most acceptable to Him. "Whoso offereth praise," He says, "glorifieth Me."

Let us carefully note this. Praise is to be the primary and continual occupation of the believer. We, in our fancied wisdom, would put work in the first place. We are disposed to attach chief importance to bustling activity. We have such an overweening sense of the value of _doing_, that we lose sight of the place which worship occupies in the thoughts of G.o.d.

Again, there are some who vainly imagine that they can please G.o.d by punishing their bodies. They think that He delights in their vigils, fastings, floggings, and flagellations. Miserable, soul-destroying, G.o.d-dishonoring delusion! Will not those who harbor it and act upon it bend their ears and their hearts to those gracious words which we have just penned, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me?" True, it is, that those words are immediately followed by that grand practical statement, "And to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I show the salvation of G.o.d." But still, here, as everywhere, the highest place is a.s.signed to praise, not to work. And, most a.s.suredly, no man can be said to be ordering his conversation aright who abuses his body and renders it unfit to be the vessel or instrument by which he can serve G.o.d.

No, reader, if we really desire to please G.o.d, to gratify His heart and to glorify His name, we shall give our heart's attention to Heb. xiii.

15, and seek to offer the sacrifice of praise _continually_. Yes, "continually." Not merely now and then, when all goes on smoothly and pleasantly. Come what may, it is our high and holy privilege to offer the sacrifice of praise to G.o.d. It does so glorify G.o.d when His people live in an atmosphere of praise. It imparts a heavenly tone to their character, and speaks more powerfully to the hearts of those around them than if they were preaching to them from morning till night. A Christian should "rejoice in the Lord alway," always reflecting back upon this dark world the blessed beams of his Father's countenance.

Thus it should ever be. Nothing is so unworthy of a Christian as a fretful spirit, a gloomy temper, a sour, morose-looking face. And not only is it unworthy of a Christian, but it is dishonoring to G.o.d, and it causes the enemies of truth to speak reproachfully. No doubt, tempers and dispositions vary; and allowance must be made in cases of weak bodily health, and of circ.u.mstances of sorrow. It is not easy to look pleasant when the body is in suffering; and, further, we should be very far indeed from the commending anything like levity or the everlasting smile of mere unsubdued nature.

But Scripture is clear and explicit. It tells us to "offer the sacrifice of praise to G.o.d continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name." How simple! "_The fruit of our lips._" This is what our G.o.d delights in. It is His joy to be surrounded with the praises of hearts filled to overflowing with His abounding goodness. Thus it will be throughout eternity, in that bright home of love and glory to which we are so rapidly hastening.

And let the reader specially note the words, "_By Him_." We are to offer our sacrifice of praise by the hand of our Great High Priest, who is ever in the presence of G.o.d for us. This is most consolatory and a.s.suring to our hearts. Jesus presents our sacrifice of praise to G.o.d.

It must therefore be ever acceptable, coming thus by the priestly hand of the Great Minister of the sanctuary. It goes up to G.o.d, not as it proceeds from us, but as it is presented by Him. Divested of all the imperfection and failure attaching to us, it ascends to G.o.d in all the fragrance and acceptancy belonging to Him. The feeblest note of praise, the simple "Thank G.o.d!" is perfumed with the incense of Christ's infinite preciousness. This is unspeakably precious: and it should greatly encourage us to cultivate a spirit of praise. We should be "continually" praising and blessing G.o.d. A murmuring or fretful word should never cross the lips of one who has Christ for his portion, and who stands identified with that blessed One in His position and His destiny.

But we must draw this paper to a close by a rapid glance at the other side of the Christian's work. If it is our privilege to be continually praising and blessing G.o.d, it is also our privilege to be doing good to man. "But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices G.o.d is well pleased." We are pa.s.sing through a world of misery, of sin and death and sorrow. We are surrounded by broken hearts and crushed spirits, if we would only look them out.

Yes; this is the point; _if we would only look them out_. It is easy for us to close our eyes to such things, to turn away from them, to forget that there are such things always within reach of us. We can sit in our easy chair, and speculate about truth, doctrines, and the letter of Scripture; we can discuss the theories of Christianity, and split hairs about prophecy and dispensational truth, and, all the while, be shamefully failing in the discharge of our grand responsibility as Christians. We are in imminent danger of forgetting that Christianity is a living reality. It is not a set of dogmas, a number of principles strung together on a thread of systematized divinity, which unconverted people can have at their fingers' ends. Neither is it a set of ordinances to be gone through, in dreary formality, by lifeless, heartless professors. No; it is life--life eternal--life implanted by the Holy Ghost, and expressing itself in those two lovely forms on which we have been dwelling, namely, praise to G.o.d and doing good to man. Such was the life of Jesus when He trod this earth of ours. He lived in the atmosphere of praise; and He went about doing good.

And He is our life, and He is our model on which the life is to be formed. The Christian should be the living expression of Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is not a mere question of leading what is called a religious life, which very often resolves itself into a tiresome round of duties which neither yield "praise" to G.o.d nor one atom of "good" to man. There must be _life_, or it is all perfectly worthless. "The kingdom of G.o.d is not meat or drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to G.o.d, and approved of men" (Rom. xiv. 17, 18).

Beloved Christian reader, let us earnestly apply our hearts to the consideration of these great practical truths. Let us seek to be Christians not merely in name but in reality. Let us not be distinguished as the mere vendors of peculiar "_views_." Oh! how worthless are views! How utterly profitless is discussion! How wearisome are theological hair-splittings! Let us have life, light, and love.

These are heavenly, eternal, divine. All else is vanity. How we do long for reality in this world of sham--for deep thinkers and earnest workers in this day of shallow talkers!