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danger and

repent

with proper fincerity, they are then, juft what the heathens and Jews of old were upon their first admiffion into the church; they have just begun to be christians, and no more. If they live long enough to bring forth the proper fruits of repentance; they are then advanced fome degrees in the christian life, and in the next state (where the degrees of glory and happinefs are various) they will be rewarded juft in proportion to their growth in grace.

THE Gospel knows no other preparative or qualification for eternal happinefs, but innocence of manners. Every one, that nameth the name of Chrift, muft depart from iniquity, ii. Tim. ii. 19. i. e.

he cannot otherwise be a real living member of the

here on earth. *

christian church And without holiness

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*THERE is a feeming contradiction in all difcourfes upon this fubject. A few words, though they cannot

put

no one shall see the Lord. Heb. xii. 14. i. e. no one can be a partaker of the church triumphant in a better state.

WE

put the doctrine beyond the poffibility of cavil, yet will serve to render it fufficiently clear to every reader of common understanding and candour.

ALL men must be confidered as being in some one of these three states, in a capacity of virtue; in the actual practice of it; or in a state of reward. This obliges us to distinguish the general word church into three kinds, the church visible, invisible, and triumphant. The vifible furnishes men with the necessary means of grace, as free creatures; the invisible is the dispersed multitude of good men, that use the means of grace properly, in different communions, a body, vifible only to the fearcher of hearts; the triumphant confists of good men in a future ftate of happiness.

THERE is no difpute about the two laft fenfes : but what errors have there been about the firft! what clamours, what reproaches! Barclay (in his Apology, 8vo. p. 276) tells us, "that it belongs to the followers "of the Devil to affirm, that men, who have this out"ward profeffion, though inwardly unholy, may be "members of the true church of Chrift." Enthufiafts in all ages and countries have talked in the same strain; and Bp. Hoadley amongst ourselves, to ferve a favourite turn, has proceeded upon the fame confufion of ideas.

THAT there is, and must be, an outward church,

N 3

confifting

WE read indeed, that there is joy in heaven over one finner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons

that

confifting of free creatures making different uses of the means of grace, is as certain as that there is a fun, which fhines upon the thankful and unthankful alike.

TAKE a few authorities: And the Lord added to the church daily fuch as should be faved. A&s, ii. 47. What is the church here? It is that multitude, which are said v. 44. to have believed. Well then we read chap. iv. v. 4. of a fimilar addition. Many of them which heard the word, believed, and the number of the men was about five thousand. Were not these likewise, by parity of reafon, added to the church? We read of no other converfions; and yet, we find in the very next chapter two falfe members, of this very body called the church; I mean, Ananias and Sapphira.

THE believers at Corinth had divifions and other immoralities among them; and yet St. Paul calls this body the church. i. Cor. i. 2..

NICOLAS was chosen one of the seven firft deacons, men of honeft report, full of the Holy Ghoft and wisdom. Acts, vi. 3. Yet he proved a heretic as we find, Rev. ii. 6. St. Paul calls Demas his fellow labourer. Philem. xxiv, yet this man proved a falfe member of the church. ii. Tim. iv. 10. Our Saviour compares the kingdom of heaven unto a net which gathereth of every kind, and unto a field, where tares grow up among the good

feed.

that need no repentance. Luke, xv. 7. But this, we muft obferve, was fpoken in the beginning of the Gofpel to invite

men

feed. Mat. xiii. The man must be blind, who cannot fee here the idea of a church, as confifting of members making different ufes of the means of grace.

AGAIN, if we attend to the nature of the thing, we find a neceffity of adopting this idea. As long as we are free, we must be capable of falling. And as long as we are capable of falling, fome moral discipline is neceffary. Now there is not a religious denomination in the world, which confiders not outward profeffion at least, as a neceffary or useful means of this kind. I ask then, is there a body of men in the world, capable of hindering hypocrites from mingling with them? They muft have the gift of omniscience to know the human heart, they must have the gift of omnipotence to controul the waywardness of human will, before they can pretend to fuch a privilege; and they must have matchlefs impudence, to claim what the world knows to be an impoffibility.

LASTLY I would observe, that this idea of a church is beft accommodated to the wants of human nature. Every church, indeed, fhould have a power of excluding open notorious ill livers out of its communion, and exercise it alfo in fuch a manner as beft anfwers the purposes of general edification. But as for others, it is beft for weak frail creatures to have the means of grace free and open; as truth by this method has a chance of finding them, in some happy hour or other, in a proper

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men into its terms, not to fuperfede them. Open as the gate of mercy ever lies to a reformed finner, yet he never can be as highly rewarded, as one, who has uniformly proceeded in a virtuous course; until he has as virtuous difpofitions, and as many good actions, to fupport his claim. We read too, in the parable, that the returning prodi

gal,

difpofition to receive it. Thus the weak and frail are treated as moral agents, capable of virtue; and the better fort are encouraged and ftrengthened in the progress of virtue.

THIS then removes the feeming contradiction mentioned above: a man may be, and may not be, at the fame time, a member of Chrift's church. The immoral hypocrite is and must be a member of the vifible church; he has a right to the means of grace; he may some time or other fee his error and repent. But unless he reforms, and leads a life agreeable to the moral precepts of the gofpel; he will not be acknowledged by Chrift as a true disciple either here or hereafter, as a member either of the invifible or triumphant church.

SEE Dr. Rogers' visible and invisible church, and his defence of it against Dr. Sykes. It is a pity his dif perfed obfervations were not collected into a regular treatise.

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