The CHURCH
This ebook edition has been proofed and corrected for errors and compiled to read with pleasure!
*****
An excerpt from the very beginning of:
SECTION II.
Has Christ instituted any precise form of church government?
It has been made a question, whether there is any precise model of church organization and government laid down in the New Testament, to which Christians universally are under obligations to conform. By some it has been contended, that this is the case;—that nothing is left to the discretion of the church; —that we are bound to copy, in every particular, after the divine pattern which has been given us. By others it is asserted, that we have no divine pattern which is at all obligatory;—that Christians are left to their own judgment in this matter;—that it is not only their right, but their duty, to modify the government of the church according to the circumstances of the age and country in which they live.
The truth, I think, lies between these two extremes. The Scriptures do furnish us with at least some general outlines of church organization and government, from which no body of Christians is at liberty to depart. They describe, for example, the object of church organization, and the character of church members; and no Christians would be at liberty to form a society for a merely moral or secular object, and without any regard to the character of its members, and to call it a church of Christ. Nor has any body of Christians, calling themselves a church, a right to dispense with religious worship and divine ordinances, or with the ministry and officers of a church. Nor, in place of a stated pastor, would the members of a church have a right to assume the pastoral office in rotation,
one after another, for a limited time. Nor, in place of deacons, would they have a right to substitute a church committee, chosen annually, or for a shorter period. The practice of nearly all Christians shows, that they conceive some things in regard to church order to be settled in the New Testament; and so settled, that they are not at liberty to depart from them.
On the other hand, it would be idle to pretend, that everything relating to church affairs, is authoritatively settled in the New Testament, so that nothing is left to the judgment of Christians. For example, the Scriptures prescribe that ministers of the gospel are to be supported; but they do not fix the precise amount of their salaries, or define the mode in which their salaries are to be raised. The Scriptures enjoin the duty of public worship; but they do not direct Christians where they shall meet, or at what hour of the day, or in what shape or form they shall build their temples. We shall search in vain for any inspired precept, requiring or forbidding church organs, or church bells, or defining particularly the length, or the precise order, of the services of the sanctuary. We have a general injunction, that "all things be done decently and in order;" but in what particular order many things are to be done, is wisely left to the judgment of Christians.
1100008581
*****
An excerpt from the very beginning of:
SECTION II.
Has Christ instituted any precise form of church government?
It has been made a question, whether there is any precise model of church organization and government laid down in the New Testament, to which Christians universally are under obligations to conform. By some it has been contended, that this is the case;—that nothing is left to the discretion of the church; —that we are bound to copy, in every particular, after the divine pattern which has been given us. By others it is asserted, that we have no divine pattern which is at all obligatory;—that Christians are left to their own judgment in this matter;—that it is not only their right, but their duty, to modify the government of the church according to the circumstances of the age and country in which they live.
The truth, I think, lies between these two extremes. The Scriptures do furnish us with at least some general outlines of church organization and government, from which no body of Christians is at liberty to depart. They describe, for example, the object of church organization, and the character of church members; and no Christians would be at liberty to form a society for a merely moral or secular object, and without any regard to the character of its members, and to call it a church of Christ. Nor has any body of Christians, calling themselves a church, a right to dispense with religious worship and divine ordinances, or with the ministry and officers of a church. Nor, in place of a stated pastor, would the members of a church have a right to assume the pastoral office in rotation,
one after another, for a limited time. Nor, in place of deacons, would they have a right to substitute a church committee, chosen annually, or for a shorter period. The practice of nearly all Christians shows, that they conceive some things in regard to church order to be settled in the New Testament; and so settled, that they are not at liberty to depart from them.
On the other hand, it would be idle to pretend, that everything relating to church affairs, is authoritatively settled in the New Testament, so that nothing is left to the judgment of Christians. For example, the Scriptures prescribe that ministers of the gospel are to be supported; but they do not fix the precise amount of their salaries, or define the mode in which their salaries are to be raised. The Scriptures enjoin the duty of public worship; but they do not direct Christians where they shall meet, or at what hour of the day, or in what shape or form they shall build their temples. We shall search in vain for any inspired precept, requiring or forbidding church organs, or church bells, or defining particularly the length, or the precise order, of the services of the sanctuary. We have a general injunction, that "all things be done decently and in order;" but in what particular order many things are to be done, is wisely left to the judgment of Christians.
The CHURCH
This ebook edition has been proofed and corrected for errors and compiled to read with pleasure!
*****
An excerpt from the very beginning of:
SECTION II.
Has Christ instituted any precise form of church government?
It has been made a question, whether there is any precise model of church organization and government laid down in the New Testament, to which Christians universally are under obligations to conform. By some it has been contended, that this is the case;—that nothing is left to the discretion of the church; —that we are bound to copy, in every particular, after the divine pattern which has been given us. By others it is asserted, that we have no divine pattern which is at all obligatory;—that Christians are left to their own judgment in this matter;—that it is not only their right, but their duty, to modify the government of the church according to the circumstances of the age and country in which they live.
The truth, I think, lies between these two extremes. The Scriptures do furnish us with at least some general outlines of church organization and government, from which no body of Christians is at liberty to depart. They describe, for example, the object of church organization, and the character of church members; and no Christians would be at liberty to form a society for a merely moral or secular object, and without any regard to the character of its members, and to call it a church of Christ. Nor has any body of Christians, calling themselves a church, a right to dispense with religious worship and divine ordinances, or with the ministry and officers of a church. Nor, in place of a stated pastor, would the members of a church have a right to assume the pastoral office in rotation,
one after another, for a limited time. Nor, in place of deacons, would they have a right to substitute a church committee, chosen annually, or for a shorter period. The practice of nearly all Christians shows, that they conceive some things in regard to church order to be settled in the New Testament; and so settled, that they are not at liberty to depart from them.
On the other hand, it would be idle to pretend, that everything relating to church affairs, is authoritatively settled in the New Testament, so that nothing is left to the judgment of Christians. For example, the Scriptures prescribe that ministers of the gospel are to be supported; but they do not fix the precise amount of their salaries, or define the mode in which their salaries are to be raised. The Scriptures enjoin the duty of public worship; but they do not direct Christians where they shall meet, or at what hour of the day, or in what shape or form they shall build their temples. We shall search in vain for any inspired precept, requiring or forbidding church organs, or church bells, or defining particularly the length, or the precise order, of the services of the sanctuary. We have a general injunction, that "all things be done decently and in order;" but in what particular order many things are to be done, is wisely left to the judgment of Christians.
*****
An excerpt from the very beginning of:
SECTION II.
Has Christ instituted any precise form of church government?
It has been made a question, whether there is any precise model of church organization and government laid down in the New Testament, to which Christians universally are under obligations to conform. By some it has been contended, that this is the case;—that nothing is left to the discretion of the church; —that we are bound to copy, in every particular, after the divine pattern which has been given us. By others it is asserted, that we have no divine pattern which is at all obligatory;—that Christians are left to their own judgment in this matter;—that it is not only their right, but their duty, to modify the government of the church according to the circumstances of the age and country in which they live.
The truth, I think, lies between these two extremes. The Scriptures do furnish us with at least some general outlines of church organization and government, from which no body of Christians is at liberty to depart. They describe, for example, the object of church organization, and the character of church members; and no Christians would be at liberty to form a society for a merely moral or secular object, and without any regard to the character of its members, and to call it a church of Christ. Nor has any body of Christians, calling themselves a church, a right to dispense with religious worship and divine ordinances, or with the ministry and officers of a church. Nor, in place of a stated pastor, would the members of a church have a right to assume the pastoral office in rotation,
one after another, for a limited time. Nor, in place of deacons, would they have a right to substitute a church committee, chosen annually, or for a shorter period. The practice of nearly all Christians shows, that they conceive some things in regard to church order to be settled in the New Testament; and so settled, that they are not at liberty to depart from them.
On the other hand, it would be idle to pretend, that everything relating to church affairs, is authoritatively settled in the New Testament, so that nothing is left to the judgment of Christians. For example, the Scriptures prescribe that ministers of the gospel are to be supported; but they do not fix the precise amount of their salaries, or define the mode in which their salaries are to be raised. The Scriptures enjoin the duty of public worship; but they do not direct Christians where they shall meet, or at what hour of the day, or in what shape or form they shall build their temples. We shall search in vain for any inspired precept, requiring or forbidding church organs, or church bells, or defining particularly the length, or the precise order, of the services of the sanctuary. We have a general injunction, that "all things be done decently and in order;" but in what particular order many things are to be done, is wisely left to the judgment of Christians.
1.99
In Stock
5
1
The CHURCH
The CHURCH
eBook
$1.99
Related collections and offers
1.99
In Stock
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940011864643 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Leila's Books |
| Publication date: | 11/05/2010 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 239 KB |
From the B&N Reads Blog