BIBLE REASONS WHY WE ARE PROTESTANTS.
[Extracts from a sermon preached in Masonic Temple, New York, Sunday evening, February 23, 1896, by Rev. John Hall, D.D. (Presbyterian), and copied from a report in the Converted Catholic of March.] “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” The epistle of Peter from which my text is taken, begins in that modest and loving way which characterizes the apostle—“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” He is writing to strangers of the various countries, reminding them of the great, glorious inheritance to which they were elected through the sanctification of the Spirit, exhorting them to holiness and abstinence from all lusts, having their conversation honest among the gentiles. It is a letter full of tenderness and affection. It is, however, singular to notice, by the way, that there is not one allusion to Rome in it. Indeed, the word “Rome” occurs only nine times in the Bible, and never is Peter connected with it. A part of the third chapter is written to wives, instructing them in a kind and gracious manner as to their duties and as to the way they should carry themselves. Six verses are devoted to the subject, and he places the wives before the husbands. One single verse is addressed to the husbands, reminding them of their duties. Peter was a married man. We know it from the Gospel telling us that Christ healed his wife’s mother. We can understand, therefore, the sympathy of Peter for home life. The rest of the chapter contains general admonitions to those Christians to whom he is writing, and who were suffering many trials and persecutions because of Christianity, giving them directions as to how they should carry themselves in trying circumstances of life, admonishing them to suffer for righteousness’ sake, but to sanctify the Lord God in their hearts. He uses the solemn words, Sanctify the Lord “in your hearts.” There is no allusion to ceremonies and rites, but the heart is pointed out as the seat of true religion, and God there enthroned as supreme Governor and Ruler. No concealment of these truths from those who persecuted them is advised, but a frank, intelligent adhesion to their religion. “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” He counsels them to know what they believe and be able to answer for their belief to their inquiring fellow-men, not in a haughty spirit, not in a controversial spirit; no, indeed, but in meekness and fear—not in the sense of fear of man, but in the sense of reverence of God’s truth—and also in meekness, with that spirit of tender mercy which best imitates the divine Saviour. Why do we protest? and why are we entitled to the name of Protestants? The first reason is, the living word of God itself. The Holy Scripture, being the word of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. We believe with the apostle James that we receive the engrafted word, which is able to save our souls. It is able to save; for it tells you the way in which you may be saved. The Church of Rome did not regard the word of God in that way. Do not take my word for this statement, but hear the decision of the Council of Trent regarding the Scriptures: “All saving truth is not contained in the Scriptures, but partly in unwritten tradition, which whoever does not receive as the Scriptures, is accursed.” That is to say, human traditions are put on the same basis with the word of God, and given the same authority. We could not accept that, as we put all other authority and unwritten traditions aside. When the Reformation triumphed, the Holy Scriptures were widely distributed among the people in England, Germany, Switzerland, and with the emigrants from those countries the Bible came to the United States. Now in all these lands where the Bible had its right place—as in the leading Protestant nations of the world—prosperity and civilization were the inevitable results, while the reverse can be demonstrated of Catholic countries. Even in Switzerland, in those cantons where the word of God is free, we find greater prosperity than in those cantons that are under the Roman Catholic Church. In recent years the authorities of Rome are said to recommend the reading of the Bible. But that was not so in past ages, and is not so now everywhere. I have had in my hands the burnt remains of Testaments taken from the hands of peasants, burned by their own spiritual leaders. Deny to the Bible its place, and put it on an equal basis with human traditions! We could not receive such a doctrine, and therefore protested against it. The second reason why we are Protestants is the attitude of the Church of Rome towards Christ, an attitude that necessitates protest. The church is compared to a body, the mystical body of Christ, and Christ is the head of the church. The apostle Peter speaks of Christ as the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. He has all power in heaven and on earth. He gave the promise to his people, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Why, then, should there be a vicar, a substitute, a human being, standing in his place, with all power over all rulers and princes of this world, and even with personal infallibility? Christ does not need any deputy in his place. But somebody might object and say, Did not Christ tell Peter, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church?” Does not that give Peter the supremacy? It is not so easy to make the sense of these words as clear in the English translation as it appears in the Greek. Petros, which means in Greek Peter, is masculine; petra, which means rock, is feminine. Jesus says to Peter, Thou art Petros, and on this petra I will build my church. What petra did he mean? Christ had asked, “Whom say ye that I am?” and Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That confession of Petros was the petra upon which Christ was to build his church. Christ meant that Peter saw the rock in his confession of the divinity of Christ. That was the radical truth, the rock, on which the church should be built. The church indeed is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus being the chief corner-stone. But does not Christ say immediately after, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”? That means, Peter was used by Christ to preach the Gospel, the first to open the Gospel to the Jews and gentiles. He was Christ’s apostle, and had by that promise of Christ received the honor to open the door first to the Jews and then to the gentiles. But Christ said, Whosesoever sins you forgive will be forgiven. Does not that give power to Peter to pardon sins?—No. Read Jeremiah, the first chapter, where the Lord said to him: “I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” But Jeremiah never planted, never built kingdoms. It meant that God would use him to tell to the nations how he would build. In other words, he gave him declarative power, not executive power. Christ uses the same language to his other apostles, also telling men how sins may be remitted and how retained. It is on this account that we can not accept the idea to put a man, even the most distinguished and learned man, at the head of the church, as the Papacy has done, Jesus being sole head of the church. He alone has authority and power, and he alone bought that church with his own blood. It was he who sent the Comforter to sanctify men and to prepare the militant church for the triumphant.