Error
The prevalence of error and heresy among professors of the Gospel .
The holy Scriptures reveal to us an all-perfect and infallible rule of faith , worship and obedience , containing all the truths we need to know , and believe , profess and practice in religion . It has been the duty of the Church in every age to proclaim these truths from her pulpits , to set them forth in her public Confession and Testimony , and practically to carry them out in her administration and discipline . Special care should be taken by her when they are denied and opposed , to assert and maintain , and when misrepresented and corrupted , to explain and vindicate them . When this duty is neglected , or not faithfully and seasonably performed by the church , the leaven of false doctrine and of unsound opinions and practices , is suffered to spread , without any effectual means being employed to counteract it , not only is much dishonour done to Christ , but the consequences must be deeply injurious to his public cause in the world , and to the welfare of souls . Now , it is undeniable that there are many such opinions and practices prevailing in our day among professing Christians , some of them striking against the fundamental truths of the Gospel - such as original sin , the work of the Spirit , and the new views of the atonement , which , though less is now said about them , continue to prevail . Others tending to subvert the great leading principles of reason and Scripture , such as Erastinanism , on the one hand , which subjests the church to the state , and is , therefore , subversive of the royal prerogatives of Christ ,her sole King and Head , the spiritual independence of her courts , and the liberties and privileges of her people ; and on the other hand , Voluntarism , which , going to the opposite extreme , would dissolve entirely the connection between church and state , on the ground that nations in their national , and magistrates in their magistratical capacity , have nothing to do with religion , and are stepping out of their province when they use their authority or influence in any way for promoting it .
We might refer to the progress of the Man of Sin in these days , and in our own country . How many millions of our people are the dupes and victims of Popery , are its devoted adherents , and under the influence of its soul destroying errors and delusions . How truly alarming likewise are the Ritualistic and Romanizing practices which are prevailing among Protestants , even among Scottish Presbyterians !Hence the innovations in the public worship of God , of which we have been hearing so much of late , on what ever pretext they may be pleaded for , are strong unmistakeable indications of the Romeward tendencies of our age .
The holy Scriptures reveal to us an all-perfect and infallible rule of faith , worship and obedience , containing all the truths we need to know , and believe , profess and practice in religion . It has been the duty of the Church in every age to proclaim these truths from her pulpits , to set them forth in her public Confession and Testimony , and practically to carry them out in her administration and discipline . Special care should be taken by her when they are denied and opposed , to assert and maintain , and when misrepresented and corrupted , to explain and vindicate them . When this duty is neglected , or not faithfully and seasonably performed by the church , the leaven of false doctrine and of unsound opinions and practices , is suffered to spread , without any effectual means being employed to counteract it , not only is much dishonour done to Christ , but the consequences must be deeply injurious to his public cause in the world , and to the welfare of souls . Now , it is undeniable that there are many such opinions and practices prevailing in our day among professing Christians , some of them striking against the fundamental truths of the Gospel - such as original sin , the work of the Spirit , and the new views of the atonement , which , though less is now said about them , continue to prevail . Others tending to subvert the great leading principles of reason and Scripture , such as Erastinanism , on the one hand , which subjests the church to the state , and is , therefore , subversive of the royal prerogatives of Christ ,her sole King and Head , the spiritual independence of her courts , and the liberties and privileges of her people ; and on the other hand , Voluntarism , which , going to the opposite extreme , would dissolve entirely the connection between church and state , on the ground that nations in their national , and magistrates in their magistratical capacity , have nothing to do with religion , and are stepping out of their province when they use their authority or influence in any way for promoting it .
We might refer to the progress of the Man of Sin in these days , and in our own country . How many millions of our people are the dupes and victims of Popery , are its devoted adherents , and under the influence of its soul destroying errors and delusions . How truly alarming likewise are the Ritualistic and Romanizing practices which are prevailing among Protestants , even among Scottish Presbyterians !Hence the innovations in the public worship of God , of which we have been hearing so much of late , on what ever pretext they may be pleaded for , are strong unmistakeable indications of the Romeward tendencies of our age .
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