A Noble Work Begun — Departing from the Fundamental Principles
By S. B. HORTON
"T"HE Bible, I say, the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants," was the famous slogan of Chillingworth, which was based upon the principles underlying the Reformation. Said he: "Propose me anything out of this Book, and require whether I believe it or no, and seem it never so incomprehensible to human reason, I will subscribe it with heart and hand, as knowing no demonstration can be stronger than this: God hath said so, therefore it is true." ("Works of William Chillingworth, M. A.," Oxford University Press, 1838, volume 2, pages 409-411.)
This became the slogan of all the Protestant churches, and the principle is to-day incorporated into the various denominational creeds and confessions of faith. For the purposes of this article, we refer to the following as indicative of the fundamental view held in regard to the all-sufficiency of the Scriptures: "We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error, for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us, and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried." ("Baptist Declaration of Faith.")
Does It Make Any Difference?
ELABORATING on what Baptists believe, Dr. J. L. Burrows says: "Every intelligent disciple should be satisfied in his own mind as to the Scripturalness of the faith that is commended for his adoption. But do not allow yourself, in relation to any article of revelation, lazily and indifferently to acquiesce without thought and examination for yourself into the truth of received theories. . . . We should never hear from a disciple of Christ such utterances as, 'It does not matter what we believe on such subjects,' 'One way is as good as another.' It does matter, or the Lord would not have inspired His apostles to write for our instruction. One way is not as good as another. The only good way is that which God has revealed." ("What Baptists Believe," by J. L. Burrows, D. D., page 17.)
This principle is set forth in a specially clear and comprehensive way in the following article: "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not written therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." ("Articles of Religion," Article 6, Protestant Episcopal Church.)
As if to emphasize doubly this principle, Article 20 of the Episcopal Church adjures that "it is not lawful for the church to ordain anything that is contrary to God's word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another." All of which is in keeping with, and is demanded by, the work of the great Reformation.
Spheres of State and Church
IT will also be recalled that the Reformation "rejects the civil power in divine things, and says with the prophets and apostles, 'We must obey God rather than man.'" With this principle also are the Protestant churches in accord. The Presbyterian brethren accept it in the following language: "Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, or in the least interfere in matters of faith..500. . It is the duty of the civil magistrates to protect the church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest. . . . And as Jesus Christ hath appointed a regular government and discipline in His church, no law of any commonwealth should interfere with, let, or hinder the due exercise thereof among the voluntary members of any denomination of Christians according to their own professions and belief." (Chapter 23, "Confession of Faith.")
On the other hand, the Roman Catholic Church, true to her past record, which called forth the work of the Reformation, maintains that all must follow the traditions of the church, for the reason that "like two sacred rivers flowing from Paradise, the Bible and divine tradition contain the word of God, the precious gems of revealed truth. Though these two divine streams are in themselves, on account of their divine origin, of equal sacredness, and are both full of revealed truths, still, of the two, tradition is to us more clear and safe." ("Catholic Belief," Di Bruno, D. D., page 33.)
In the matter of civil government and religion, Rome maintains that "it would be very erroneous to draw the conclusion that in America is to be sought the type of the most desirable status of the church, or that it would be universally lawful or expedient for church and state to be, as in America, dissevered and divorced," as we gather from "The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII," page 323.
Can It Be Changed or Annulled?
LET us now apply the test of the Reformation and of the Protestant articles of religion to present practice. The word of the Lord says: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20: 8-11.
This commandment is part of that law which all Protestant bodies proclaim to be unchangeable. Binney's "Theological Compend, Improved," states the thought common to all such bodies: "This law is spiritual and perfect, extending to all the inward creations and outward actions of men, and can never be changed or annulled," basing this deduction upon such scriptures as Ps. 19: 7, 8; Prov. 30: 5, 6; Rom. 7: 12, 14; Rev. 22: 18, 19.
The word of the Lord also says, "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath" (Mark 2: 28), which is stated in the fourth commandment to be the seventh day; and as Sabbath observance belongs to the Maker of it, the Saviour said that we should "render . . . unto God the things that are Gods." Matt. 22: 21. Two questions are now pertinent: Can it be said that in observing any other than the seventh day of the week, one is following the "Thus saith the Lord," and the Thus saith the article of religion, "Whatsoever is not written therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man"? and, Assuming that Sunday observance is rendered to God by virtue of the fourth commandment, as many Protestants interpret, are these Protestant brethren following the "Thus saith the Lord," and the Thus saith the denominational article of religion which debars the magistrate from interfering in "matters of faith," when they appeal to Congress and to legislatures for laws to compel the observance of Sunday?
Seeking Aid from the State
THE Protestant churches are committed to the policy of compelling Sunday observance, as will appear from the annual reports of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, notable among which is that of 1914, in which are noted the following resolutions:
"3. That we approve the introduction in the House of Representatives and in the Senate of the United States of a Sunday rest bill for all government employees, said bill to be indorsed by the Committee of Direction hereinafter as provided, and submitted to the commission (Commission on Sunday Observance) for its approval.
"4. That we ask all public officials for better Sunday laws throughout all our states where such laws obtain, and express an urgent hope that at the earliest possible moment, a Sunday law be enacted for the District of Columbia and the state of California, where no such laws exist."
At its meeting in Chicago, December 5, 1912, the federation was swept upon Roman Catholic grounds on the subject of civil government and religion, by the following report, unanimously adopted: "The business of the state is to bring about such economic conditions and environment that the idealism of the gospel may have as clear and fair a field as possible. It is this that justifies the church . . . in turning to the state for coöperation which will enable her to do her sacred task."
Note the deadly parallel in Leo XIII's encyclical of January 6, 1895, in which, speaking of the Catholic Church in America, he says: "She would bring forth more abundant fruits if, in addition to liberty, she enjoyed the favor of the laws and patronage of the public authority."
It is evident that present-day Protestantism not only has failed to complete the work so triumphantly begun by the Reformation, but has made a definite departure from the faith once delivered to the Protestant churches.
In our next issue, Mr. Horton will continue the consideration of this most important theme, dealing specifically with the Sabbath question and the Reformation. EDITOR.
