PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Systematic Theology — Volume 3
Hodge, Charles, 1797–1878 · 407,138 words · 462 reading sections
§18.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 445
Mental Reservation. This class includes also all cases of mental reservation. It should be said in justice to the teachers of Moral Theology in the Romish Church, that, although the Jesuits made themselves so obnoxious by asserting the propriety of mental reservation, they at least in general terms condemn it. " Restr…
960 wordsSECTION 242§18.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 447
detectiyes for the discovery of crimes; or those which are de- signed to prevent evil or secure good for ourselves or others. All such falsehoods are pronounced by Romanists to be venial sins, mere peccadilloes.1 The example given by Dens, in the place referred to, of this class of sins, is the case of a man having mon…
988 wordsSECTION 243§13] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 449
tion, and argued that a lie was always a lie, and always wicked ; that it was not lawful to tell a falsehood for any purpose what- ever. " Interest quidem plurimum," he says, " qua causa, quo fine, qua intentione quid fiat : sed ea quae constat esse peccata, nullo bonae causae obtentu, nullo quasi bono fine, nulla velu…
850 wordsSECTION 244§13.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 451
contains is unknown. Its- date is fixed by Gieseler between 829 and 845. These decretals u were soon circulated," says that his- torian, " in various collections, appealed to without suspicion in public transactions, and used by the popes, from Nicolaus I., im- mediately after he had become acquainted with them (864), …
882 wordsSECTION 245§ 13.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 453
distinguished Romish ecclesiastics of France, whose death has just been announced. In these masterly letters the writer es- tablishes two points, as he says truly beyond the possibility of rational denial. The first is, that the popes have erred when speaking " ex cathedra," and therefore are not infallible ; and the s…
1,117 wordsSECTION 246§18.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 455
brute nature, uninfluenced by man." A more felicitous illustration can hardly be imagined. The contrast between the Gospels and the legends of the saints, is that between the divine and the human and even the animal ; between Christ (with reverence be it spoken) and St. Anthony. Another principle on which these ecclesi…
1,117 wordsSECTION 247§1S.J THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 457
There are, however, two special and standing miracles to which Romanists are fully committed, and which in the judgment prob- ably of nine tenths of the educated men in Christendom are bare- faced impostures. The Church of Rome by its highest dignitaries and representatives asserted and still continues to assert that t…
951 wordsSECTION 248§13.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 459
full.1 Dr. Newman in his " Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England," delivered after his reconciliation with the Church of Rome, says, " At Rome there is the True Cross, the Crib of Bethlehem, and the Chair of St. Peter ; portions of the Crown of Thorns are kept at Paris ; the Holy Coat is shown at Tre…
1,027 wordsSECTION 249§ IS.] THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 461
Robinson, one of the most reliable of explorers, says, " The hy- pothesis which makes the second wall so run as to exclude the alleged site of the Holy Sepulchre, is on topographical grounds untenable and impossible." 2 That is, assuming the truth of the statement of the Evangelists that Christ was crucified without th…
950 wordsSECTION 250§14.1 THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 463
Holy Scriptures, then to a certainty all the pretended miracles wrought in their support are " lying wonders ; " and those who promulgate and sustain them are guilty of pious fraud. If, there- fore, as Newman says, The Catholic Church, from east to west, from north to south, is, according to our conceptions, hung with …
907 wordsSECTION 251§ 14.] THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 465
man has a secret satisfaction in the misfortunes even of his dearest friends. As envy is the antithesis of love, it is of all sins the most opposed to the nature of God, and more effectually than any other excludes us from his fellowship. Thirdly, the Scriptures, however, make mention most fre- quently of covetousness…
321 wordsSECTION 252THE MEANS OF GRACE.
By means of grace are not meant every instrumentality which God may please to make the means of spiritual edification to his children. The phrase is intended to indicate those institutions which God has ordained to be the ordinary channels of grace, t, e., of the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit, to the souls…
336 wordsSECTION 253§1.] THE WORD. 467
pel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned." The end to be accomplished, was the salvation of men. The means of its accomplishment was teaching. The disciples were to teach what Christ had taught them. That is, they were to teach the Gos- pel to e…
945 wordsSECTION 254§ 1.] THE WORD. 469
truth to secure their salvation.1 Nevertheless it remains a fact patent to all eyes that the nations where the Bible is unknown sit in darkness. The absence of the Bible is just as distinctly dis- cernible as the absence of the sun. The declaration of the Scrip- tures is that " the whole world lieth in wickedness " (1 …
928 wordsSECTION 255§ I.] THE WORD. 471
mind is roused to action and expanded, and its power is in- creased by the truth, and, other things being equal, in proportion to the amount of truth communicated to it. (2.) It is the ten- dency of all moral truth in itself considered, to excite right moral feelings and to lead to right moral action. (3.) It is furthe…
1,421 wordsSECTION 256Part 256
producing their legitimate effects. There is nothing in the opera- tion of physical causes transcending their legitimate effects ; and there is nothing in the regeneration, conversion, and sanctification of men which transcends the legitimate effects of moral truth. The one series of effects is just as natural, and jus…
1,420 wordsSECTION 257§1.] THE WORD. 477
when the object to be seen has the attribute of beauty, a fourth condition is essential to its proper apprehension, namely, that the observer have aesthetic discernment or taste natural or acquired. Two men may view the same work of art. Both have the same object before them and the same light around them. Both see ali…
975 wordsSECTION 258§1.] THE WORD. 479
tion and fear toward God, except in view of the truths revealed concerning Him in his Word. We can have no love or devotion to Christ, except so far as the manifestation of his character and work is accepted by us as true. We can have no faith except as founded on some revealed promise of God ; no resignation or submis…
1,536 wordsSECTION 259Part 259
2. This doctrine is inconsistent with the constant representa- tions of the Scriptures, which set forth the Spirit as attending the Word and giving it effect, sometimes more and sometimes less ; working with and by the truth as He sees fit. It is inconsistent with the command to pray for the Spirit. Men are not ac- cus…
1,281 wordsSECTION 260§2.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NATURE. 485
he took the ground that the Spirit never operated on the minds of men except through the Word and sacraments ; and, as he held the conversion of sinners to be the greatest of all miracles, he was constrained to attribute divine power to the Word. He was not content to take the ground which the Church in general has tak…
866 wordsSECTION 261§ 2.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NATURE. 487
" Accedit verbum ad elenientum, et fit sacramentum ; " the latter,1 M Sacramentum est invisibilis gratiae visibilis forma." These defi- nitions however are too vague. It is obvious that the only safe and satisfactory method of ar- riving at the idea of a sacrament, in the Christian sense of the word, is to take those …
775 wordsSECTION 262§2.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NATURE. 489
.... separatur ab usu communi, et destinatur usui sacramen- tali ; deinde promissio atque ea quidem evangelio propria, per sacramentum adplicanda et obsignanda. Per elementum non quodvis, sed certum et verbo institutionis expressum accipitur." * In all this the Reformed and Lutherans are agreed. The differences between…
795 wordsSECTION 263§ 2.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NATURE. 491
promissa, non modo nobis repraesentat et adumbrat, sed et certo modo exhibet atque obsignat : nosque vicissim palam publiceque declaramus ac testamur, nos promissiones omnes divinas vera, firma atque obsequiosa fide amplecti, et beneficia ipsius jugi et grata semper memoria celebrare velle." l " Restat, ut dicamus, De…
1,224 wordsSECTION 264Part 264
initio semper observavit, et observat, alienum esse ab institu- tione et mandato Christi, et inventum esse humanum ; anathema git."1 In sin there is both a "reatus culpse " and a "reatus pcenae." The former, together with the penalty of eternal death, is removed by absolution ; but " reatus poenae " as to temporal puni…
414 wordsSECTION 265§3.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NUMBER. 495
ther claimed nor pretended to exercise the power of confer- ring the sanctifying or saving influences of the Spirit. As the Church of Rome claims for its clergy a power far above that of angels or archangels, so it claims for its bishops powers far tran- scending those of the Apostles. Matrimony. Matrimony is declare…
805 wordsSECTION 266§3.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NUMBER. 497
external ceremonies were appointed to be " means of grace," then they were declared in this light to be the only Christian sacra- ments. Justin Martyr,1 Cyril of Jerusalem,2 and Augustine,3 so speak of them.4 (4.) As a ritualistic spirit increased in the Church, first one and then another rite was assumed to be a 44 me…
892 wordsSECTION 267§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 499
only produce historical, but not religious faith. Zwingle in the use of such language, had doubtless more a negative, than an af- firmative object before his mind. He was more intent on denying the Romish doctrine of the inherent power of the sacraments, than of asserting anything of their real efficacy. Nevertheless i…
931 wordsSECTION 268§ 4.1 THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 501
use of baptism " the grace promised is not only offered, but really exhibited and conferred by the Holy Ghost, to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace belongeth unto, according to the counsel of God's own will, in his appointed time." With this view of the sacraments as means of grace all the other leading sy…
863 wordsSECTION 269§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 503
mors est : res vero sacramenti, etiam, prseter sacramentum, su- menti vita aeterna est." 1 The Lutheran symbols on this point are perfectly explicit. In the " Augsburg Confession " 2 it is said : " Itaque utendum est sacramentum ita, ut fides accedat, quae credat promissionibus, quae per sacramenta exhibentur et osten…
846 wordsSECTION 270§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 505
accedens,' that the grace is in, and not merely with or by (mit oder neben), the sacraments. " * He refers to the language of Luther in his Larger Catechism in reference to baptism. Luther says : " Interrogate, quid baptismus sit ? ita responde : non esse prorsus aquam simplicem, sed ejusmodi, quae verbo et praecepto D…
853 wordsSECTION 271§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 507
in referring the efficacy of the sacraments to the Word. The elements without the Word, are mere elements. It is the Word in which the supernatural power resides which produces the effect the sacrament is intended to accomplish. But according to this later view there are in the sacraments two things, the sign and the t…
839 wordsSECTION 272§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 509
and " conferring grace " " virtute sibi insita," are explanatory forms of expression. The sacraments are said to contain grace because they confer it by their inherent virtue. This" is intended as a denial that their efficacy is due to the moral, or to the super- natural power of the truth ; or to the attending influen…
932 wordsSECTION 273§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY 511
ments convey grace only to believers. Whereas Romanists, as understood by Lutherans and indeed by all Protestants, deny this necessity of faith or of good dispositions in order to the due efficacy of the sacraments. This, however, Bellarmin pro- nounces a deliberate falsehood on the part of the Protestants; and he uses…
854 wordsSECTION 2748 4.] THE SACEAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 513
sen devotio interior in suscipiente."1 In like manner also Duns Scotus declares,2 "prseter istam (primam causam merito- riam sc. Christum) non oportet dare aliam intrinsecam in recipi- ente, qua conjungatur Deo, antequam recipiat gratiam;" and Pe- trus de Palude,3 u In sacramentis novae legis non per se requiritur, quo…
911 wordsSECTION 275§4.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR EFFICACY. 515
Council of Trent.1 We read thus : " Si quis dixerit, Christianos omnes in verbo, et omnibus sacramentis administrandis habere potestatem ; anathema sit." The Council say in " all " the sacra- ments ; for the Church of Kome, although denying the power of any but canonically ordained priests to render the administration …
884 wordsSECTION 276§5.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NECESSITY. 517
regenerated and saved, though, neither sacrament has ever been received. The Lutherans and Romanists, on the other hand, hold that the sacraments are necessary means of grace, in the sense that the grace which they signify is not received otherwise than in their use. There is no remission of sin or regeneration without…
891 wordsSECTION 277§5.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR NECESSITY. 519
diversorum. Nam infantibus quidem seque omnibus per baptis- mum primum confertur et obsignatur fides, per quam meritum Christi illis applicetur : Adultis vero illis tantum, qui fidem ex verbo conceperunt ante baptismi susceptionem, baptismus earn obsignat et confirmat." So also Gerhard says : " Infantibus baptismus pri…
853 wordsSECTION 278I*,] THE SACRAMENTS. THE1K NECESSITY. 521
teach that God looks upon the heart ; that He requires of fallen men simply faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and repentance to- ward God as the only indispensable conditions of salvation ; that all men have free access to God, through the mediation of Christ, to obtain at his hands the remission of sins and all the benef…
985 wordsSECTION 279§6.] THE SACRAMENTS. THEIR VALIDITY. 523
4. The above remarks are not intended to apply, and in fact are not applicable to the Lutheran system. Lutherans do, indeed, teach the necessity of the sacraments, but as they also teach that true, living, saving faith is the indispensable condition of their efficacy ; and, as they further teach that in the case of adu…
912 wordsSECTION 280§ 6.] THE. SACRAMENTS. THEIR VALIDITY. 525
• offices. (3.) That those who aspire to them are to be examined as to their call and qualifications. (4.) That if found competent they are to be set apart or ordained in an orderly manner to the office to which they deem themselves called. (5.) That the special functions of one class of these officers, are preaching …
875 wordsSECTION 281§ 7.] BAPTISM. ITS MODE. 527
fiaTrri£u), and their cognates, are used with such latitude of mean- ing, as to prove the assertion that the command to baptize is a command to immerse, to be utterly unauthorized and unreason- able. Ever since the Reformation and the rise of the Baptists as a distinct denomination, who hold that " baptizing is dippin…
985 wordsSECTION 282§ 7.] BAPTISM. ITS MODE. 529
'* The feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped («/?<£- <f>T)o-av') in the brim of the water." 1 Samuel xiv. 27 : Jonathan 11 dipped " (tfiatytv) the end of the rod which was in his hand u in an honey-comb." Psalm lxviii. 23 (24), " That thy foot may be dipped (/?«</>??) in the blood of thine enemies." These e…
945 wordsSECTION 283§7.] BAPTISM. ITS MODE. 531
The New Testament Usage. The word /Scwi-rav is used four times in the New Testament, in no one of which does it express the idea of entire immersion. In Luke xvi. 24, " That he may dip QPa-fif) the tip of his finger in water." The finger, when dipped in water, is not submerged When placed horizontally on the water and…
946 wordsSECTION 284§ 7.J BAPTISM. ITS MODE. 533
children of God, ^a. rJJs 7rurr««>s lv XpwrTw 'I770-0V. Ephesians i. 15, " After I heard of your, ttlo-tlv lv rw Kvpiiu 'I^o-oS," and many others of like kind. In like manner because the instrumental force of lv is rare in the classics, it is avoided as much as possible in the Scriptures. Baptism lv Trvevpari, instead …
969 wordsSECTION 285§ 7.] BAPTISM. ITS MODE. 535
It is, therefore, to the last degree improbable that the thou- sands mentioned in the early chapters of Acts were baptized by- immersion. The same improbability exists as to the case of the centurion in Caesarea and the jailer at Philippi. With regard to the former, Peter said, " Can any man forbid water ? " which nat-…
916 wordsSECTION 286§ 7.] BAPTISM. ITS MODE. 537
deluge was a baptism, not only for the world, purging away its sins, but also for Noah and his family, as a means of salvation. As they were saved by the waters buoying up the ark, so are we saved by baptism. (2.) The baptism of Moses when he passed through the Red Sea. The sea was the symbol of the water of baptism ; …
992 wordsSECTION 287§8.] BAPTISM. ITS FORMULA. 539
of the Holy Ghost. (6.) It is admitted that the communication of the sanctifying influences of the Spirit is expressed in the use of two familiar figures, that of anointing with oil, and that of the pouring of water. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed. The people of God are called his " anointed." The Apostle J…
965 wordsSECTION 288§9.J BAPTISM. ITS SUBJECTS. 541
volves, (1.) A profession of faith in Christ, and (2.) A promise of allegiance to Him. This is clear, — 1. From the command of Christ to make disciples of all na- tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. A disciple, however, is both a recipient of doctrines taught, and a foll…
852 wordsSECTION 289§9.] BAPTISM. ITS SUBJECTS. 543
The question, although thus simple in its general statement, is nevertheless one of great difficulty. As it is almost universally the fact that, so far as adults are concerned, the qualifications for baptism are the same as those for admission to the Lord's table, the question, What are the qualifications for adult bap…
932 wordsSECTION 290§9.] BAPTISM. ITS SUBJECTS. 545
beth and Charles I. were desirous of a further reformation of the Church. Many prelates, and thousands of Episcopalians and Presbyterians, were included in that class. Modern usage has confined the term to the Independents or Congregationalists, the followers of Brown and Robinson. They were, therefore, often called Br…
875 wordsSECTION 291§10.] BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 547
cannot exercise faith, therefore they are not members of the Church, and consequently ought not to be baptized. In order to justify the baptism of infants, we must attain and authenticate such an idea of the Church as that it shall include the children of believing parents. The word Church is used in Scripture and in …
1,374 wordsSECTION 292Part 292
God, then, did enter into covenant with Abraham. In that covenant He promised that Abraham, although nearly a hundred years old, should have a son. He promised that his descendants, through Isaac, should be as numerous as the stars in heaven ; that He would give them the land of Canaan for a possession ; that He would …
465 wordsSECTION 293§ 10.] BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 551
must be justified by faith, because Abraham was thus justified. Christians, therefore, are said to be the sons or heirs of Abraham, because faith in the promise of redemption secures their redemp- tion just as faith in the same promise secured his. And he tells the Galatians, " If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's …
1,379 wordsSECTION 294Part 294
the covenant (that is the Scriptural and proper word) made with Abraham. The essential features of that covenant we learn from such passages as Genesis xii. 3, u In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." xvii. 7, " I will establish my covenant be- tween me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generati…
465 wordsSECTION 295§10.] BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 555
and ot other believers says, "We are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. iii. 3.) Such being the spir- itual import of circumcision, its reference to the national covenant was a very subordinate matter. Its main design was to signi…
880 wordsSECTION 296§10.] BAPTISM OF INFANTS. 557
dead ; the ranks of the Church, as they were thinned by the de- cease of believers, being filled by those who were baptized to take their places. In the time of Tertullian and Origen infant bap- tism is spoken of, not only as the prevailing usage of the Church, but as having been practised from the beginning. When Pela…
877 wordsSECTION 297§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 559
(1.) That the Church and State could no longer be united or identified as they had been under the theocracy. The Christian Church at the first was established in an enemy's country. For three centuries it was not only independent and separate from the State, but it was in every way opposed and persecuted by the civil p…
924 wordsSECTION 298§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 561
der the State its tool, it openly asserts its right to do so. One of the encyclical letters of the present pope so openly denied the liberty of conscience, the liberty of the press, and the lawfulness of tolerating any other religion than that of the Church of Rome, that the late Emperor of the French forbade its publi…
895 wordsSECTION 299§11.] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 563
to form an external, visible Church, furnished with a constitution, laws, and proper officers for their administration. The conditions of admission into this visible society, were the profession of spec- ulative, or historical faith in his religion, and external conformity to its laws and the laws of his Church. To thi…
987 wordsSECTION 300§11] BAPTISM. WHOSE CHILDREN TO BE BAPTIZED? 565
in this view, namely, as visibly subsisting between God and his Church, considered as a visible society, a public body separated and distinguished from the world, and dedicated to God, that the sacraments are annexed as visible signs and seals thereof." * A man, therefore, in coming to the Lord's table, or in present-…
980 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1872). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.