his laws. Upon this profession they were admitted into the Church; and, unless there was something found in them to discredit that profession, they continued in the fellowship of the church, and in the communion of the faithful, all their days.

Let us now examine the particular cases, recorded in the New Testament, on which this general doctrine is founded.

In the gospel of St. Matthew, xvi. 18, we hear our Lord Jesus declaring, that upon the acknowledgment of this truth, that he was "the Christ, the Son of the living God," he would build his church. He had just heard from the disciples the prevailing opinions among men respecting himself; and he asked them, "But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered, and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered, and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock (upon this confession which thou hast made,) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." And though the church may be said to be "built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles ;" yet, that our Lord did not mean to say that he would build his church upon Peter himself, but upon Peter's confession, that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of

the living God,” is manifest from the fact, that this is the confession upon which the primitive Christian church was collected, and members uniformly admitted to her communion.

When believers were added to the Lord, what do we find to be their usual declarations? I will give you a few examples of it from scripture. -When many of the Samaritans believed on him, they "said unto the woman (of Samaria) now we believe, not because of thy saying; for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

When Jesus, near the tomb of Lazarus, declared himself" the resurrection and the life," he asked Martha, "believest thou this? She saith unto him, yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."

This too was the confession which entitled the Ethiopian eunuch to the rite of Christian baptism at the hand of Philip. For when this treasurer of Queen Candace requested to be admitted a disciple of Christ by baptism, saying, "Sir, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered, and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Upon which Philip baptized him; and he went on his way rejoicing.

To establish the truth contained in this confession is the declared object of the evangelical

writings:-"These things are written," saith the evangelist John, xx. 31, "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name."

This was as evidently the scope and object of the apostolic preaching also.-When Saul was miraculously converted to the Christian faith, "he straightway preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. And confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ."

When the same Apostle came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews, as his manner was, he "went in unto them; and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures; opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ," saith the Apostle John, "is born of God." And "who is he that overcometh the world," saith the same Apostle, "but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

We need not multiply examples to prove what you must all know, that, as the declaration of this truth-that Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour of the world-was the scope and burthen of evangelical and apostolic instruction; so, the open avowal of this great truth, was the footing on which believers were received into the com

munion and fellowship of the Christian church. And the confession of this truth cannot be considered as binding them either to believe any doctrine, or to observe any precept, but such as came with the authority of their one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. But it must be understood as obliging them to the belief and obedience of the doctrine of Christ, duly authenticated:—that is, to take the Holy Scriptures as the sole rule of their faith and practice. And why should the followers of Christ now, more than then, be obliged to any thing beyond a sincere desire and endeavour, through the grace of God, to conform themselves as closely as possible, both in faith and practice, to the Christian scriptures, as being the confessed and only proper standard of both? In fixing the terms of church fellowship and Christian communion, it appears to me that this is the one safe and satisfactory rule; and that the nearer we can approach to this rule, the more conformed are we to the example of the purest primitive Christian churches.

There is no question, that any gross violation of, any wilful departure from, the clear and undoubted principles and rules of Christianity, should exclude the guilty individual from the fellowship of the church; but the decision of the church, in such cases, should rest exclusively upon the Holy Scriptures. And there can be as little question, that such exclusion should continue until, in the judgment of charity, the of

fender shall have exhibited genuine tokens of repentance and amendment; but in the formation of that judgment also, scripture alone ought to be the rule.

And we have in the apostolic writings various special instructions and instances of the application of this rule of discipline in reference to Christian communion, and of the spirit in which it ought to be applied. Let us attend to a few examples of this description.

"Brethren, (saith Paul to the Galatian church,) if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." The case here supposed is not that of a person guilty of deliberate, wilful, continued transgression, but of a person surprised, as it were, into a fault, by the power of temptation. And they who are spiritual, who possess the spirit of the gospel, are enjoined to labour, “in the spirit of meekness," to restore such an one to the path of Christian duty, and accordingly to the comfort and advantages of Christian communion.

Where the offence was one of deep moral turpitude, and great scandal to the church, we find the same apostle giving very different instructions about the treatment of the offender. Thus to the Corinthian church he says,—(1 Cor. v. 11,) "But now I have written unto you, not to keep company if any man that is called a brother