God; and that all men would obtain salvation, although they rejected the Gospel; provided they observed the rules of the religion which they professed, and acted in conformity to the dictates of

reason.

THEY ALSO ARE TO BE HAD ACCURSED2 (that is, they are to be looked upon as subject to the wrath of God, and unworthy of communion with the Church,) THAT PRESUME TO SAY, THAT EVERY MAN

SHALL BE SAVED BY THE LAW OR SECT WHICH HE PROFESSETH; SO THAT HE BE DILIGENT TO FRAME HIS LIFE ACCORDING TO THAT LAW, AND THE LIGHT OF

NATURE. It is important to observe the exact words here used, "that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth," that is, by virtue of his religion, whatever it may be, without the merits of Christ. Let it not, therefore, be understood, that this Article confines salvation to one sect of Christianity, or that it excludes from the benefits of Christ's incarnation all to whom the Gospel has not been made known. It has no reference whatever to the unhappy divisions which have always subsisted, and still do subsist, among Christians; it only condemns those who confound all religions, who make revelation

useless, and the grace of God of none effect, by denying the necessity of believing the Gospel when it is proposed, and by asserting that everlasting happiness would have been equally attainable if Christ had not been born into the world.

Such principles as these are refuted by the plainest declarations of Scripture; FOR HOLY SCRIP

TURE DOTH SET OUT UNTO US ONLY THE NAME OF

JESUS CHRIST, WHEREBY MEN MUST BE SAVED. "Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."""Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."_" And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

C

All to whom the Gospel is revealed are under an indispensable obligation to believe and obey it; and upon those conditions, and those only, salvation is promised. If God has declared his will, it is impossible that we should be at liberty whether we will obey it or not; if he has commanded a religion, it can never be a matter of indifference whether men embrace it, or continue to worship false gods. Were not even the Jews, who worshipped the true God, condemned and punished, because they refused to acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah? The severest threats are denounced against all, without any discrimination or exception, who obstinately reject the Gospel: "He that John, xiv. 6

a

b Acts, iv. 12.

1 John, v. 11.

believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned."a

On the other hand we are told, "that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." But such declarations must be considered as belonging to those only who were never made acquainted with the Gospel, and still their acceptance will be for the sake of Christ Jesus, who died as a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. The merits of his death are not limited to those who call upon his name, for, "how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" St. Paul, by thus showing that it has been absolutely impossible for a great part of mankind to believe in the Gospel, intimates that their unbelief will not be imputed to them as a fault. He also says, that "the Gentiles are a law unto themselves";" therefore Gentiles, Jews, and Christians, have all had their respective rules of conduct, equally derived from God, by which they will be judged at the last day; and the salvation of the Jew and Gentile will be no less owing to the merits of Christ than that of the Christian,

for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."e

But though Christ is the Redeemer of the whole race of mankind from the guilt and corruption produced by the sin of Adam; though all are cleansed by his blood, and restored to a possibility of happiness; yet a federal certainty of salvation, secured to the true believers of the Gospel exclusively, must be esteemed a high and invaluable privilege. None but Christians can enjoy the blessed hope of everlasting life upon the sure ground of promise; they alone look forward for "the prize of their high calling, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for them in heaven."a Nor does it follow, that the benefits which the virtuous heathen will derive from the incarnation of Christ will be equal to those of the sincere Christian. Christ tells us, that in his Father's house there are many mansions; and it seems contradictory neither to reason nor Scripture to suppose that different persons will hereafter enjoy different degrees of happiness, although they may be all eternal, and certainly all purchased by the precious blood of our blessed Redeemer.

ARTICLE THE NINETEENTH.

OF THE CHURCH.

The visible Church of Christ is a Congregation of faithful Men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached,

a Phil. iii. 14. 1 Pet. i. 4.

and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's Ordinance, in all those things that of Necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church of Hierusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their Living and Manner of Ceremonies, but also in Matters of Faith.

WE now enter upon the fourth and last division of the Articles, namely, those which relate to Christians as members of a religious society; and the first point to be settled upon this subject is, the meaning of the word Church.

The expression of "the visible Church of Christ," with which this Article begins, seems to be used in contradistinction to the mystical or invisible Church of Christ. The mystical Church consists of those persons who have truly believed and obeyed the Gospel, and who are conceived, although they have lived at different periods, to be united into one body, which is called mystical or invisible, not only because they are not now all upon earth, but because the qualities and properties, which gave them a claim to be members of this blessed society were never the objects of sense, and could not be judged of by men from merely external circumstances. The visible Church, in its most extensive sense, may include all persons who are or have been, by outward profession, Christians, whether they have or have not believed all the doctrines, or obeyed all the precepts, of the Gospel. This may be called

a Thus in the Creed we profess our belief in the holy Catholic Church, that is, that Christ has

formed all faithful Christians into one society.