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About Christian herald. (Portland ;) 1882-18?? | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1883)
T * ■' _, - CHRISTIAN HERALD 8 *—— the most effective work. They are found clustered at different points in such close proximity to each -other that they are in actual oppo sition, instead of-their influence be ing extended through wide circles. Missions halls and consecrated mis- sionanea may do rnuch to reach Snr masses who are outside and beyond those contracted church nucleuses, but evidently there is a question here of much interest for the church es of all denomination in Brooklyn to take into earnest consideration,, , ~— ------------ - -------------------------------- -"B—~ a decline of interest in the minister ial profession? It is far below the average of former years, especially the early yefirs of American colle ges. We fear that the decline is general, and it is time to ask the reason for it. A correspondent of The Rock asserts “ the younger generation of fashionable Englishmen and Eng lishwomen have been taught to look upon Protestanism as ungen- teel. The corner-stone of the Ashborne • • • - Presbyterian Church, in the Presby tery of Philadelphia, North, was laid on the 29th ult., in the pres ence of a large audience, by the pas tor, Rev. Richard Montgomery. The building is to cost about 310,- 000. The stone, valued at 32,500 has been donated by Mr. Dobbin, the extensive contractor and build er, who fur nished the congregai ton Rev. Theodore Edson, D.D., d ied with the chapel which they have on the morning of June 23d, in the been using. The location of the 90th year of his age, and the GOth church is one of the beautiful su year of his pastorate of St. Anne’s burban spots of Philadelphia. Church, Lowell, Mass. The income of the- London Mis The following figures, showing sionary Societies of all denomina tions amounts to some §7,000,000. the strength of nonconformity, in The Bible and Tract Societies add Wales, have just been issued. over §2,000,000 more to this grand When the last computation was mjkfle the humber of Presbyterians total. oi^ Calvinistic Methodists was 119,- The Norwegian Missionary Ofte- 000, and the increase during the bro, at Ekjowe, Zululand, on a re last ten years is at the rate of 2S cent Sunday baptized twenty-five per cent., while the increase in the heathen. Most of the converts had population was only 12 per cent. been receiving instruction in the The Congregationalists, Wesleyans, and Baptists among them number school for several years. 215,000, and the increase during the Ferdinand Schumacher, the Pro last ten years is at the rate of 34 hibitionist candidate for Governor per cent. The Nonconformists have of Ohio, not only refrains from the 3,000 places of worship in the use of liquor and tobacco himself, Principality, and their annual col but he requires his employ w« rdien lection amounts to 32,000,000. about the mills to do the It is said that to live well we Mr John Thorne, son of lue late must pray well. All true. The Col. James Thorne, of New York, reverse is true also, that to pray returned last week from China, af well we must live well. When life ter an absence of twenty-three is correct; when the walk is thor years. For five years Mr. Thorne oughly conscientious and upright; has been in the service of the Amer when the speech savoureth of the ican Bible Society, and in that time things that profit and elevate, then has travelled more than 20,000 miles it is not difficult to pray. Unbe chiefly on the Yangtze River and coming conduct makes a sluggish its tributaries, going as for w’est as heart, and words unfitly spoken are the Providence of Sze Chuen. a weight upon the pinions of the soul. No preparation for a prayer Of eighty-five professors of relig meeting is so good as work done for ion, in the last graduating class at the Master. Yale —there were in all 149—only five express an intention to study The Danish Evangelical Lutheran for the ministry. This is a very Church in America has twenty-nine small number. ,Does it not indicate ministers, and other Lutheran or- on the part of educated young men, | ganizations in this country have ■'WMn»»««»*»'**''**-"'-' . -* i i wu wi W i ii . u i > i WÌ»■—■.- ..i w —nn n in ni not less than fifty Danish clergy men. The body first named main tains ecclesiastical relations with the church in Denmark. The Augustana Synod, Swedish Lutheran, at its recent Synod, wlriuli wHB’iuiguly »LUjudwJ, iiutud M. Renan gives us a new view of the prophet Isaiah, when he assures the world, in a speech made before a learned society in Paris, that the evangelical prophet who lived in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, was among the first founders of a movement of emanci pation which culminated in the French Revolution! 1 ' '.. to raise 3100,000 during the year for additional college buildings at Rock Island, Ill. The Synod or-’ dained sixteen candidates for the ministry. ♦ To the Law and to the Testi- mony. Referring to the discussion which has been going on in our columns with regard to justification, it is deemed important to look at the whole question from a purely Biblical point of view. We are not unmindful of what a difficult thing this is. The tyianny of opinion- ism is generally so great that any effort to break its force is sure to be met by a most determined op position. This opposition is not al ways to be expected in manly open i JL iiij . iii . iii , liu t rather in whispered inuendocs, ignoble insinuations, or in open cries of heresy. It is one of the misfortunes of the human ized Christianity of the present day that much of its teaching will not bear the light. And what is still more to be regretted is the ex treme sensitiyenesafiL the teachers themselves in regard to any effort to point out to them " a more ex cellent way.” Believing as we do, that nothing in religion is worth anything which will not stand the test of God’s Word, we hold our columns free for the discussion of any and every question which is related in a practical way to the salvation of souls. We do not claim to be infallible ourselves and we are, therefore, slow’ to allow in fallibility in others ; and as we are perfectly willing to submit all our teaching to the Divine Word, we think we have a right to demand the same thing in all who assume, to criticise ub . But we most re spectfully suggest that mere asser tion ¡8 not argument, nor is the de liverance of a few platitudes or stereotyped phrases any reply to the positive testimony of the Holy Spirit. We have pleasure in call ing attention to the earnest efforts of some of our correspondents to throw light upon the subject of justification, but there are sure to be critics who have not the courage to enter the lists, who will, never theless, cry heresy to everything that may be said that is not in ac cordance with their view of the matter. But may we not be allowed to ask all our readers to prayerfully consider this whole subject from a purely Biblical standpoint before any decision is “FenderedL at alt, "and if they are guided by an honest earnest spirit we feel confident that we shall have practical unity in the con clusion to which we shall all come. Let it, then, be distinctly* under s tood t hat... th e New » Testament ascribes justification to several things. First: It is stated that we are “justified freely by his grace.” (Rom. 3: 24.) Second: We are “justified by his blood. (Rom. 5 : 9.) Third: We are justified by faith. (Rom. 5: 1 ; Gal. 2:16; 3: 24.) Fourth: We are “justified by the name of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor. 4: 11.) Fifth: We are “justified by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 4:TT.) SixUT: We are “justified by Christ.” (Gal. 2 : 17.) Seventh: We arc “justified by works.” (James 2^37^ Hence, it will be seen that 'we have the - most positive testimony of the Holy Spirit for saying that justi fication in some sense is connected with not less than seven causes or means, viz.: grace, blood, faith, his name, the spirit, Christ, works. It. must be evident, therefore, to any one who is at all capable of reason - ing, that justification cannot be “ by faith only.” Nor is there the slightest difficulty in harmonizihg the various statements in the Divine Word to which we have called at tention. Justification is undoubted ly by Grace. “ God so loved the world that be gave his only begot ten Son,” &c. Hence, Divine Grace is the oriqinal or the moving C8ui.se. But the Son had to shed his blood ; for without the shedding of blood there could be no remis sion. Here, then, we meet the meritorious or procuring cause. The acceptance of Christ’s sacri ficial death by faith is essential to justification, and this makes taith the instrumental or appropriating cause, &;c, &c. Of course, the various things, to which justifica tion is ascribed, must be looked at from the proper standpoint. Each one of these causes or means has its specific place in the Divine order, and it is perfectly in harmony with the laws of language to speak as the New Testament does upon this subject. But there are no rules of either language or logic by which it is possible to say that we are
