The Formal Professors of the Last Days.
GOD has said "in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy," having no reverence for God. "Without natural affections, truce-breakers, false-accusers." "Slanderers," striving always to ruin the characters of others, "incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." Pleasure and sensual gratification are their God. "Having a form of godliness," destitute of the life of God in their souls, "but denying the power thereof; from such turn away;" do not imitate them, have no kind of fellowship with them, they are a dangerous people; and but seldom suspected because the outside is fair. Is not this the very time referred to in the alarming passage quoted, when error puts on the semblance of truth, and religion itself, in forms of mere earthly aggrandizement, becomes one enormous, despotic, consolidated lie? When truth retires and is hidden, or subdued and stricken down in the popular churches in our land? Is it not the age when the religion of the New Testament is not the standard to be seen, but the dead forms of religion are exhibited in the churches? When we take the reflection of the gospel from such sources, as the standard of religion, do we not lose all sense of its native simplicity, power and glory? From past experience and history, can we hope for any reformation in the fashionable, worldly-conforming churches, which yet retain the pleasing forms of religion, but positively deny the power thereof? We may not know whether this age will ever awake to a sense of its departure from God, and of the degraded and slavish state of its piety; but we do know that this soiled, earthly, doubting, unbelieving, plodding, pale, careworn, self-aggrandizing form in which religion goes about in popular churches, is not the open, soul-stirring, noble, trusting, singing, rejoicing, angelic religion of the Bible. Hallelujah to God and the Lamb forever, for this heavenly light and knowledge! "These things," said our blessed Saviour to his disciples, "have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." There is a glory and power, a beauty and a depth of blessedness in the New Testament religion, that never has, and never can be seen or known in these formal churches. A belief of the truth that millions of professing Christians, having the form of godliness (believing146they are going to Heaven and wrapping themselves up in this terrible delusion) are dropping from the thresholds of their churches into endless ruin, calls for a firmness and power which characterized the apostles and early martyrs. Jesus could weep over Jerusalem, heal the diseased, sympathize with the mourners over the dead, but when he came in contact with a church which relies on forms and ceremonies for salvation, he could only say "Woe unto you hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanliness. Ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell." May the God of Heaven inspire those that have obeyed the truth, and have come out from among them, who will not touch the unclean thing, to demand an unconditional surrender of formalists, that they may become the loyal "sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." No plea will stand in the judgment, for the unchangeable word of God is, "Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord." And if there ever was a time when this injunction, "From such turn away," ought to be obeyed, it is now. May the great Ruler of the universe stop the business of apologizing for, or bolstering up dead churches, or formal professors of religion, by means of which millions are on the direct road to ruin. With what energy would a sainted Wesley rebuke this compromising conformity to the world. At what an expense of blood God hath set us free from the despotism of sin, and shall we again pass under the accursed yoke? "How turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage." How much we all need the baptism of the Holy Ghost that we may receive power to annihilate all mere dead forms, and in their stead, exhibit to the world a living Jesus, that cleanseth from all sin, and fills the soul with all the fullness of God. Was it exhausted at the reformation, when it flashed out so gloriously and shook the world with its power? Why is it not seen in equal glory now? Why such a resurrection of refined pomp and gilded formalism; and such an exhibition of the church in the place of a living Jesus? May we call all true followers of Jesus by this means back to the rock and refuge of primitive simplicity and holiness! Indeed without this baptism what are we doing? where is our efficiency? we are no better than petrified monks, and might as well be thrown back into the dark ages, preaching to the fish in the Atlantic. Oh, how many are to-day blindly kneeling to Bishops, and worshipping a Christless church! Would to God that a voice from Heaven, "awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead" would arrest them, and the living light of Jesus take possession of their hearts. With this living experience, no false form of religion could stand before the church. Ministers need this primitive fire, members need it; all need it and must have it in order to break up this body of death, and let in upon the church the light and freshness of God's eternal love.—Earnest Christian.