Jane 1924
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
342
“E ven its recom m endations are o f au th ority, com in g as th ey do from a body rep resen tin g the w h o le Church. Its recom m en d ation s co n cern in g th e (Boards are ob lig a to ry . ITS R E PL IE S t o o v e r t u r e s a r e a u t h o r i t a t i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s OF THE CONSTITUTION.' IT S TESTIMONY ON DOCTRINE AND MORALITY IS THE CHURCH’S DECLARA TION OF THE MEANING OF THE "CONFESSION OF FA ITH ” AND ITS APPLICATION. And its ju d icial d ecisio n s are final and o b lig a to ry in a ll sim ilar ca ses. NO LATER ASSEMBLY CAN R E V E R S E ITS JUDICIAL ACTS OR R EV ISE ITS PRO CEEDINGS.” . The Form of Government, Chapter 12, section 4, says: "The G eneral A ssem b ly sh a ll RECEIVE AND ISSUE ALL ap peals,1 com p lain ts, and référen cés, th a t affect th e doctrin e or co n stitu tio n of th e Church.” , Notice again th e fact th a t the deliverance of 1910 came through th e Judicial Commission, and here is th e law; “NO LATER ASSEMBLY CAN REVERSE ITS JUDICIAL ACTS OR REVISE ITS PROCEEDINGS.” The rig h t of the General Assembly to RECEIVE AND ISSUE is, in th is case, made doubly strong by its having come through the Judicial Commission. But fu rth e r th an this let me go by saying th a t every one of the FIVE POINTS is definitely stated in th e Confession of F aith and the Catechisms of the Church. P erm it me to read th e FIVE POINTS as they were stated by th e General Assembly of 1910 and set down in the “D igest” of 1922, page 275; 1. It is an essen tia l d octrine of the W ord o f God and our Standards,! th a t th e H o ly Spirit did so in sp ire, gu id e and m ove th e w riters of the H o ly S crip tures as to keep them from error. Our Confession says, Chapter 1, section 10, "The Suprem e Judge, by w hom a ll co n tro v ersies o f relig io n are to -b e determ ined, and a ll decrees of cou n cils, opinions, of an cien t w riters, d o ctrin es-o f m en, a n d p r iv a te sp irits are to be exam ined, and in w h o se sen ten ce w e are to rest, ca n be none other than the H o ly Spirit sp ea k in g in the S crip tures.” 2. It is an e ssen tia l doctrin e o f th e W ord o f God and our Standards,' th a t our Lord Jesu s C hrist w a s born of the V irgin Mary. The Shorter Catechism states, Question 22, "Christ, th e Son o f God, becam e m an b y ta k in g to H im self a tru e body and a reason ab le sou l, b ein g con ceived b y the pow er of th e H o ly Ghost, in th e w om b of the V irg in Mary, and born of her, y e t w ith o u t sin .” 3. It is an essen tia l doctrin e of th e'W o rd of God and our Standards, th a t Christ offered up H im self a sacrifice to sa tisfy D ivin e ju stice, and reco n cile u s to God. The Scripture saith - "Christ once suffered for sin, th e ju st fo r the u njust, th a t H e m ig h t b ring us to God, b ein g pu t to death in the flesh, but q u ickened b y th e Spirit. The Shorter Catechism says, Question 25; “Christ ex ecu teth th e office of a p riest, in H is once offerin g up of H im self a sacrifice to sa tisfy D ivin e Ju stice, and recon cile us to God, and in m a k in g con tin u al in tercessio n for u s.” 4. It is a n essen tia l d octrine of the W ord o f God and our Standards, con cern in g our Lord Jesus; th a t "on th e third day He a ro se from th e’ dead, w ith the sam e body, in w h ich He suffered; w ith w h ich a lso H e ascen ded in to heaven, and there sitte th at th e rig h t hand of H is F ath er, m a k in g in tercessio n .” Confession of F aith , Chapter 8, Section 4, says: “On the third day H e arose from th e dead, w ith th e sam e body in w h ich H e suffered; w ith w h ich also H e ascended in to héaven, and there sitte th at the rig h t hand of H is F ath er, m a k in g in tercessio n ; and sh a ll return to ju d g e m en and a n g els a t the end of the w orld.” 5. It is an essen tia l d octrine of th e W ord of God as th e . suprem e Standard of our fa ith th a t th e Lord" J e su s sh ow ed H is pow er and love by w o rk in g m ig h ty m iracles. T h is w o rk in g w a s not con trary to nature, but su p erior to it. Scripture says, Matt. 9:35: "Jesus w en t about a ll th e c itie s and v illa g es, tea ch in g in their sy n a g o g u es, and p reach in g th e G ospel, of the kingdom , and h ea lin g ev ery sic k n ess and ev ery d isea se am ong the people.” “These g reat wonders were signs of the Divine power of our Lord, making changes in th e o rder of nature. They (Continued on page 399)
m inority repo rt bearing only my own name, a name un known. The m ajority repo rt was. presented by th e Chair-: man of the Committee, one of th e defeated candidates for Moderator, in a very fine address. Of th e tenseness in w ait ing through th e voting nothing need be said. Of th e deci sion of the General Assembly you all ¿now . By a m ajo rity of more th an eighty the Assembly stood by historic Presby terianism . A Double Storm -Center It has developed th a t th a t action of th e Assembly con tained a double storm -center, i. e. the first and second p arts of th e report. Let me deal w ith the second p a rt first, and merely mention th e first p art in closing. THE FIVE POINTS. This is by far th e g reater and more im portant p art of the two. The first has bu t to do w ith one church of our 9,706, and one m inister who is no t of us, bu t a “ foreigner w ithin our gates” w ithout standing or credentials th a t have been considered. The la tte r has to do w ith the very foundations of our evangelical faith and safety of our g reat church. Here we face th e issue as pre sented by the Christian Century, and here we are forced to decide whether the historic position of the P resbyterian Church is Christian or not. Let us again read the FIVE POINTS by way of remem brance. 1. "It is an e ssen tia l doctrin e of th e W ord o f God and our stan d ard s th a t the H oly S p irit did s o ' in sp ire, gu id e and m ove th e w riters o f H oly S cripture as to keep them from error." 2. “It is an essen tia l doctrin e of, th e W ord of God and our Standards th a t our Lord J esu s C hrist w a s born o f the V irgin Mary.” 3. “I t is an essen tia l doctrin e o f the W ord of God and our Standards th a t C hrist offered up H im self a sacrifice to sa tisfy D ivin e ju stice and to .recon cile u s to God.” 4. "It is an essen tia l d octrin e of th e W ord o f God and our Standards con cern in g our Lord Jesu s Christ, th a t on the third day H e arose a g a in from the dead w ith th e sam e body in w h ich He. suffered, w ith w h ich a lso H e ascen ded in to heaven, and th ere sitte th a t the rig h t hand o f H is F ath er, m a k in g in tercessio n .” 5 “It is an essen tia l doctrine of th e W ord of God a s the suprem e Standard o f our fa ith th a t our Lord Jesu s show ed h is pow er and lo v e by w o rk in g m ig h ty m iracles. T his w o rk in g w a s not con trary to n ature, b u t superior' to it.” Let me call your atten tion to th e preamble to th is p art of th e deliverance for it has a- very im portant bearing on the present discussion and the paper of th e one hundred and fifty P resbyterian m inisters: "Furtherm ore, The G eneral A ssem b ly ca lls th e a tten tio n of the P resb y teries to th e d eliveran ce o f the G eneral A ssem b ly o f 1910, w h ich d eliveran ce is h ereb y re-affirm ed, and w h ich is a s fo llow s: (T hen fo llo w th e five p oin ts w e h ave ju st read.) Therefore, it is necessary for us to go back to th e deliver ance of 1910 if we would learn th e authority, as well as th e provocation for such a deliverance from the General Assembly. An interesting communication came into my hands only yesterday, a p art of which is as follows: “I h ave seen com p a ra tiv ely little referen ce, in the p resen t «controversies, con cern in g th e fa ct th a t the A ssem b ly of 1910, in ad op tin g the Ju d icial C omm ission R eport—w h ich I had som e part in fram in g— declared th a t certa in d octrin es w ere •essen tia l’ to be b elieved and declared by a ll P resb y teria n p reachers: Am ong them In sp iration , M iracles and th e V irgin B irth w ere esp e cia lly nam ed.” Notice especially the statem en t th a t th e Assembly of 1910 in declaring these doctrines to be essential was merely adopting the repo rt of the Judicial Commission. Bear this fact, for fact it is, in mind as we tu rn to th e law of the Church. Hodge, on “W hat is P resbyterian Law” page 271, edition 1886, says, in answer to the question, “W hat authority have the decisions of th e General Assembly” ?
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