truth and duty; and constituting the subject of it a disciple of Christ, and a proper subject of christian ordinances and of church fellowship.

This change, which every man must experience in order to be saved, is accompanied and succeeded by exercises of mind, of which he is conscious, and can give some account; so that those who have passed through it may be distinguished from others, not with unerring certainty, for that is the province of Him who judgeth the heart, but with sufficient certainty to make this the dividing line between the church of Christ and the world. It is perfectly reasonable, to believe that persons who have passed through this great spiritual change, can form a reasonable judgment whether others have done so. It is easier to detect pretenders in religion than in science, though impostors of both classes frequently escape detection for a time. No one can describe those new discoveries of religious truth, and the emotions which accompany christian experience, who has not made and felt them, except by imitation and pretence; and there are few subjects on which detection is so easy.

All who do not give satisfactory evidence of this change, ought to be regarded and treated as sinners, living without hope and without God in the world, and in the way to ruin; as not belonging to the household of faith, or proper persons to be admitted to baptism, or to the communion of the churches. All claim to church membership is founded, therefore, on the evidence of this spiritual change, of which the assembled church is the authorized judge. This, and not the form of administering an ordinance, is the principle which lies at the foundation of all true churches, and on which all claims to their church fellowship and principles proceed: viz. the personal satisfaction which each member has given to all the rest, that he is born of the Spirit, and is a child of God. If the assembled church is not the judge of the characters and claims of all applicants for its membership and privileges, there is no earthly judge, there can be no church fellowship, no scriptural discipline, no distinct, visible church.

This view is in exact accordance with the Saviour's commission to his ministers. They were commanded, First, to make disciples; Second to baptize them, by which they become professing Christians, or church members; and Third, to teach* them all the doctrines and duties of religion. The claim of the young convert to church membership, is founded on the evidence of his conversion to Christ, and not on the amount of his knowledge of christian doctrine.

SECT. 1.

General Design of a Church.

The purposes for which the Saviour requires his people to form churches, so far as they can be ascertained from the scriptures, and the nature of the case, are, 1. To pro- : mote their own piety and happiness. 2. The spread of Christianity.

1. Their piety is increased by watching over, and praying for each other; by mutual exhortation; by frequent meetings for worship, hearing the word of God preached, and for partaking of the Lord's Supper; by the use of scriptural measures to reclaim such as neglect duty, or fall into sin; and by putting away from their fellowship the disorderly and the unholy. Their happiness is promoted by their fellowship in the truth, by the exercise of brotherly love, by sympathy in each other's trials, by counsel and aid, and by the purifying, elevating influence of that social principle, which unites in sacred friendship those of similar feelings, aims, hopes, and trials.

2. As a means for the spread of Christianity. A pure, zealous, intelligent church is in itself attractive, and influential as an illustration of the truth and excellence of religion. It is a specimen of the Saviour's workmanship. It is an organized body for sustaining the ministry of the gospel. It is a permanent missionary society to the world. In the church, christian influence is combined, purified, and concentrated, that it may operate with the utmost power in

* This is a very different word in the original, from the word translated "teach" in the preceding verse.

promoting religion in its own members, and in all other

men.

Such is manifestly the Saviour's design in the formation of churches. "A church, as such, has no proper connection with any measures except those which aim at the salvation of the soul. There are many projects for the melioration of human woe, in which individual Christians may properly cöoperate, but the church is an institution exclusively religious, and should confine its associated action to religious objects."*

SECT. 2. Manner of Forming a Church.

When it is proposed to form a church, the persons wishing to unite, first seek, by earnest prayer, for Divine guidance, then ask the advice of their pastors, or of ministers and judicious brethren in the neighboring churches, if there are any; after which, if such appear plainly to be the will of God, they proceed to draw up articles of faith and covenant, with rules for their mutual government and practice as a church of Christ. They then forward "letters missive" to such neighboring churches as they choose, inviting their assistance, through their pastors and delegates, in forming the new church.

The pastors and delegates meet them at the time and place appointed, organize an ecclesiastical council, and then proceed to inquire into all the circumstances connected with the origin of the enterprise, and examine the certificates of church standing, of those who propose to unite in forming the new church, and of dismission from the churches to which they respectively belong. If there are persons who have been baptized, but are not members of any church, who wish to unite with them, they should not be received till after the church is formed, nor should the names of absent persons be included. The council then examine their articles of faith and covenant, and if all is satisfactory, they express, by vote, their readiness to publicly recognize

* Knowles' Manuscript.

this company of disciples, as a regular church of Christ. A list of all their names, including none except those who are present, is then called by the Moderator of the council, and as they stand up together, he asks them, in the presence of the bishops and elders of the churches, if they heartily believe and desire to maintain the doctrines of the gospel, and voluntarily assume the covenant which unites them in the church relation, and to maintain the worship, ordinances, and discipline, of the house of God, watch over, admonish, and reprove each other, according to the precepts of Christ. When they have thus publicly signified their united, deliberate assent, the formative union and constituting act is completed by which they become a true church of Christ. The church and council then unite in prayer to God, that the act may be ratified in heaven, and that the Christ, their only Head, may be with them.

presence

of

6.

The usual public exercises at the recognition of a church are, 1. The proceedings of the council are read by the clerk. 2. Invocation of the Divine presence and blessing on the approaching services. 3. Reading suitable passages of scripture. 4. Introductory prayer. 5. Sermon. Reading of the church covenant with the consecrating prayer. 7. Fellowship of the churches by the Moderator of the council. 8. Address to the church. 9. Concluding prayer.

orderly and proper proYet it should be borne

Something like this would be an ceeding in forming a new church. in mind that the voluntary union and covenant of the members is the act which constitutes the church.* A regular proceeding like this is needful, because in ordinary cases the persons wishing to form themselves into a new church are already members of existing churches, which have a right to watch over them, till they shall have been regularly dismissed to some regularly constituted church. The measure, too, is an important one, requiring the deliberation, counsel and cooperation of other churches and their min

*See Part 1, Chap. 1, Sect. 6, and Chap. 2, Sect 2.

isters. All the authority which the council has in the case, is, after examination, to decide for the churches for which they act, whether the new body ought to be considered. and treated as a sister church. If, however, a council could not be convened, or if the existing churches had become corrupt, a suitable number of baptized believers have the right to constitute and organize themselves into a distinct church of Christ.

It is not important to inquire how many members are necessary to constitute a church. There should be a sufficient number to fulfill the purposes of such a union, and a reasonable prospect of increase, as it is very undesirable to multiply the number of feeble churches. And when a church becomes too numerous to labor with advantage for the conversion of the world, some of its members ought to volunteer to be formed into a new church.

SECT. 3. Church Fellowship.

When Christians unite together in a church, they come into that peculiar relation to each other, which is called church fellowship. This term, when applied to churches formed on apostolic principles, is full of meaning. "Fellowship" in the first church Acts 2: 42 immediately followed conversion and baptism, and formed a tie stronger than worldly interests, and stronger than the love of life.

A looseness in language, consequent on a general departure from the primitive church order, has encumbered this subject with obscurities and difficulties. An important distinction exists between church fellowship and general christian fellowship, as the latter term is commonly used. The former includes the latter, but the latter does not necessarily include the former. By the latter we approve all the good we see in another, so far as it goes; by the former, we testify our confidence that those to whom it is extended have conformed to the laws of Christ's visible kingdom. Church fellowship extends to those only who are united in covenant in one church; christian fellowship