head and forerunner, who opened the way, and always has the preeminence. Is it given to him of the Father to execute judgment; so is it to his people. "Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world." Is he the high priest of his people, to whom it is proper and necessary to make confession of sins; so are his ministers his subordinate priests, as has been fairly stated and proved. Had the Son of man power on earth to forgive sins, by the commission and gift of the Father; so have his ministers by the commission and gift of the Son. "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose→ soever sins ye retain, they are retained:" and so in other respects, as shown in its place.

Once more, Jesus said to his disciples: "He that receiveth you receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me." And that saying is true, not only as it respects the first disciples, but of all his ministers. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. ." (Matt. x. 40; John xiii. 20.) Therefore, seeing the Son and the Father are in his ministers, or ambassadors, to that effect, that he who receiveth them receiveth both the Son and the Father who sent him, no reasonable objection can be raised; yea, it is undeniable and irresistible, that they who confess their sins to them that he has sent, that is, to any faithful and true minister of Christ, in the faith of his authority and his commission to his ministers, do in reality confess to him and to the Father who sent him. And on the other hand; "He that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." (Luke x. 16.) It is therefore evident, that they who reject or despise the ministers of Christ, refusing to confess their sins to them, or to God in them, and in their hearing, will be esteemed by Christ as refusing to confess to him. Without this confession therefore, no real or acceptable confession of Christ in his true character and commission can be made and they who deny it deny Christ; and he will deny them before his Father and before the holy angels. He is no finished minister of Christ, who will refuse to stand in the place of Christ as his witness, or living temple, and hear the honest confession of those who are intent on having salvation. "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, [¿æèp Xpiosỡ; in Christ's.stead, or in the behalf of Christ,] as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in Christ's stead, [or in the behalf of Christ, rèp Xpiors as above,] be ye reconciled to God." (2 Cor. v. 20.) And on the same principle of receiving Christ and rejecting him, confessing him and denying him, serving him and neglecting him in his people, the final judgment of all men is eternally decided. "And the King shall answer, and say unto them, [the righteous who have done good deeds to their brethren,] Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me." Again: "Then shall he answer them, [the wicked who have not done good to his people,] Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matt. xxv. 40, &c.)

It is objected by some, as being of great weight against the order of confessing sins to God in his ministers, or to men, as they call it, that it sets men in the place of God and robs God of the honour due to him, transferring it to the creature. To remove this difficulty from the minds of the honest, let it be observed, that what God requires is obedience, which is better than sacrifice, and to obey, than all whole burnt-offerings. The true way to honour and glorify God, is to yield a willing and hearty obedience to his order and appointments, and his order is to do his work through the medium of men, or by men, who are his ministers, appointed to that office. "Now then," saith the Apostle, " we are ambassadors for [in the behalf or instead of Christ,] as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." And saith Jesus; "He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me.

Now the question is; does it honour God most to submit to his institutions and receive his ambassadors in their full and proper character, or to pass them by, saying, we will go directly to God, or to Christ, and treat with him, and so make our peace? When the American Government sent ambassadors with full powers, (or plenipotentiaries, as the modern term is: and such are all Christ's ministers,) to treat with Great Britain, did Great Britain do most honour to the American Government by consenting to treat with her ministers and thus acknowledging the validity of her instructions; or would it have been more honourable still to the American Government, for Great Britain to have said, "We acknowledge you as the true ministers of the American Government, and we joyfully receive all the tidings which ye bring, relating to proposals of peace; nevertheless, it is not sufficient to sign a treaty with you, but we will receive and obey you so far, that we will go to the American Government and to the President and Congress, and there make peace with them." Will not every one understand, in a moment, that the last proposition would have been an affront on the Goverment, by disallowing the validity of her instructions? Or on the other hand; had the American ministers told the people or ministers of Great Britain, saying: "We are indeed American ministers in as full power as any such can be, so that if ye receive us and make a treaty of peace with us, ye do the same with our government; nevertheless, if ye would be at peace with America, ye must go immediately to the President, or to the Congress, and there make your offerings and come on terms." Would not every one see, at first view, that they had dishonoured their mission, and no longer deserved the name of ministersplenipotentiary?

Thus it is sufficiently plain to be understood, that any man who comes forth, in the character of a minister of Christ, called and sent of God, and says to the people, "I am sent to preach to you the Gospel of Christ, for your peace and salvation; nevertheless I cannot help you, ye must go to God, or to Christ, [be it in secret or, where it may be except through the ministry,] and make your peace with him;" he dishonours God, and forfeits the character of a minister of the Gospel of Christ. And the people who will acknowledge the ministers of Christ, as such, but are too incredulous to risk making their peace with God through them, or hope to find God in some other way, are evidently unacquainted with God, ignorant of his true order of salvation, and do

dishonour him, by discrediting and rejecting his institutions and instructions.

The embassage, or ministry of reconciliation, with which the ministers of the Gospel are intrusted, is indeed a more finished commission than any such thing among the nations. God's terms with which he furnishes his ambassadors, and by which he limits them, are the most equitable, and the most profitable which can be proposed, so that there is no need or room for men to propose any alteration to suit their inclinations or abilities: it is for them to take him on his terms or remain enemies; whereas nations have no natural right to such power over one another. Besides, as the nations have their governments, or centres of power, ministers from one to another, treat with the nation through that centre, and not with each individual separately; whereas God's ministers are sent to each and every individual, separately and collectively, and if a nation or neighbourhood will not receive them, each individual who will comply with the proposals, is noticed of God and taken into the number of his family, as freely and safely as if all had complied, and none have any right or power over him, to hold him back. For "God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him." (Acts x. 34, 35.) In every nation or neighbourhood where the ministers of the perfect Gospel of Christ come, whosoever will keep treaty with them, as the ministers of heaven, confessing and forsaking their sins, shall find mercy, and experience the pardon of their sins and established peace with heaven, without the labour of sending their treaty to London, or to the Federal City, or up to heaven to have it ratified.

"But

The Gospel brings salvation to the sinner's door, puts it into his mouth and his heart, and calls him to keep it and use it. the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, [do not even think,] Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above;) or Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead :) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach." (Rom. x. 6, 7, 8.) And again, as stated above: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you [and others] in Christ's stead: be ye reconciled to God." We are ambassadors for Christ, in Christ's behalf, or in Christ's stead, it being the same Greek phrase which is so rendered in an after clause of the verse. Christ Jesus is the first true ambassador of God to men, and next, his true apostles and ministers are God's ambassadors in Christ's stead, to do his work, according to God's established order to these he has committed the word and ministry of reconciliation. Other arguments might be introduced, and other objections raised and answered; but the foregoing will satisfy the honest, who weigh matters candidly, and are willing to obey the truth when they know it.

CHAPTER III.

EVIDENCES RELATING TO THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, MAINLY NEGATIVE.

THE two former chapters show the order and power of the true Church, with respect to the confession of sins. A question may arise; How are we to know who are the true Church of Christ, and where shall we find them? So many divisions of professors claim a relation to Christ that something clear and definite is necessary, satisfactorily to show with whom to cast our lots.

Such clear and definite knowledge is indispensably necessary; because out of that body salvation is unknown, and wherever it is there is salvation. As it is written: "I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory." (Isa. xlvi. 13.) To the same effect are the words of Christ: 66 Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." And again: "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted to them, and whosesoever ye retain they are retained." (Matt. xviii. 18; Jno. xx. 23.) So that what the Church do in relation to the forgiveness of sins, is by Christ counted valid, to all intents. That none can be saved in a disunited state, or separate from the only true Church, is farther evident, because there is but one Christ, and one way. "I am the way," said he: and there is not another. As under the law of Moses, which was a pattern of the Gospel, there was one high priest, and also one law and one way for all. Thus it is written:

One law shall be to him that is home-born, and to the stranger that sojourneth among you." (Exod. xii. 49.) So, under the Gospel, there is one body and one Spirit, one faith, one Lord Jesus Christ, one High Priest, one faith and one way, for the Jew and Gentile, the professor and non-professor, whosoever will eat of the bread of life. And disunited from the one body and one faith, no man can keep the faith of Christ. For in the first place: He cannot have a sufficient motive. Every man is influenced by motive; no man, therefore, can perform any great work, or effectuate any arduous and important purpose, without an adequate motive. But no man's motive can exceed his faith: By faith we stand. And no faith, in whole, or in part, separate from the one faith of the one body, the Church, can furnish and maintain sufficient motive to overcome all sin, root and branch, because as long as any one has any hope or expectation that salvation can possibly be found without the full cross, his faith is inadequate. In connection, therefore, with the various denominations of professors, whose faith is so indefinite and precarious, no man can keep the faith of Christ, or walk in him. And again: No man can stand alone. Not only the strength, but the life of the body and of each member, depends on union; and without it all is lost. No one member can live disconnected with the body. So is Christ, and so is the Gospel Church. "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. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body; whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." (1 Cor. xii. 12, 13, 14.) Could any man, therefore, have the true faith of Christ, mentally, while separate from the body, he could not keep it practically, he could not have it in the truth and the substance, for the want of union: he could not be saved. And take away the visible union of the member with the body, and the member must perish; for there can be no invisible union extant, so as to support life, without a visible. The knowledge, therefore, of the true Church, and an open profession of the one faith, are indispensable in attaining to final salvation, and full redemption.

To those, therefore, who inquire as stated above, if candid and intelligent, a reply to the following purport will be satisfactory: That nothing more is necessary to distinguish the true Church, than to understand the order of the Church and to see the people who keep it. For as the order of the true Church is that which no other people can keep, (as will be shown hereafter,) among whomsoever that is seen, it will sufficiently evince that these are the true body of Christ. A sufficient evidence, therefore, to any one honestly in quest of salvation, is for a people to be able to tell what are the true order and power of the Church of Christ, and to keep that order and power themselves, as far as can be discerned: for where these things do not exist in reality, the disguise can be detected; as will appear in the sequel. It is, therefore, an invincible truth, that no man who knows the true character of the Church of Christ, will remain at any loss where to find it. But it is also true that it is easier to get satisfactory information than to submit to it, when offered; "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Rom. viii. 7.)

But considering the great importance of being able to discriminate between the 'Antichristian and the Christian Church we will state the evidence or character of the Christian Church in the following propositions, that the honest man may be informed, and occasion cut off from those who desire occasion. Not that we expect what is here stated to be cordially received by all, or by a majority; the testimony of Christ has always been opposed, and we look for it to be so still; there are yet those who stumble at the word being disobedient, and the way of life is narrow as well as heretofore: but truth must prevail in the end.

The first general proposition is this: Wherever the Church of Christ exists, it is accompanied with such discriminating characteristics as are sufficient satisfactorily to distinguish between those of whom it consists, and all other people or professions on the earth. Now, unless this be true, all the marks of the true Church, given by Jesus Christ and his apostles, fall to the ground; but God does nothing in vain, and his word shall not return empty, but shall prosper in the thing whereto he sent it. But if the body of Christ cannot be known with certainty, all men are left in uncertainty whether they are united to it or not, and therefore whether they are in the way of life or death; consequently every man is at full liberty to make his own choice his rule, and no one has any authority to dispute his being