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Slavery And The Church: For The Signal Of Liberty

Slavery And The Church: For The Signal Of Liberty image
Parent Issue
Day
6
Month
October
Year
1841
Copyright
Public Domain
Letter to the Editor
OCR Text

It isohjected by sotne candid umi intelligent Chnstians, thal s!avebo{üiirs siiould rmi be excluded from the conimuniOn and inutnbership ofchürches in theisee Suites, beertuse ihere irc imóng ihem rii CiiriSiüiiis vyjit) ii.iuestiy thims it rfcht ïu hold properly in man, ü;ií &Ü! ii üugftl Hul lo be excluded. They (hink rcaï CliriRlian is éntiüéd to u place in the Lord Vía mi y. . Now, wc Lditvij liicir whole ('iffieulty lies in a niisapprèliension of the oijeeis oí church discipliuë, and a ful Ley ín the pioposition wilh wlnch they stirti.. Evorv ohedienl Cbristiun sentitlcd to vhe followship ofliis breibren every where; md l.his i is as fnr as the Gospel extende ilie iiinits. The Apostle write3 to the Corinthiaoa nol lo kee; coinpauy with áñy tiian tbot is 'j.illcd a brotlier who is u iornicaiur, or an iüulater, urcovetous, or a raiier, or a drunk.u-J, ur ati extortiuncr. líete ihecofhtnand is absolute. No provisión is itjndc lor keeping conipany witii un extortioner, becnuse he is a Cbnsliun, ur be'caose lie ;Iiit:ks same peculiar species ofextörtion is right. Tüe tact that the exuntioner is coiiscieutious in doing wrong does noi come iató ilie accoutit. Thecíiurch amsi decide by the help uf the Biblo whit ex iortion is, and deul with him who perpétrales il accordingto the cnmmtinds of the K-e:i)tnrc. Suppse the excéptions cuiilended fur, were admittcil. ThcAoosile's injuuction wouid readthus: K-ep nol cum pany with an èxloruoner unleío be is sincere in thinking extortion to bo ght, and unless yon buiieve him to be a chrjstian, tiitd ia sucii case receive bjrq iiuo tin: church. The consequence would be,'hat sincere chrLtiana might tío all kinds of wickedness 'm the church, provitled thv did it cunscientiousiv. öuch n cöurse would tolérate every sin. The effect ui sueh a provisión is rendi' ly seen by upplyiog tbc rule to similar ! cases. Soine cburclics exeiiule ruinaolIcrá and dislillers (Vorn fellowtship. N av whocYyr thuuhl of-iackiñgló ijie ru!e a provitinii, that tb', se runisellers who 1 eUeved il was right lo sell ruin, and iybo also yave evidence of picty, sbould bereeebed nüo ilie church, ;nid &till huve the privilege of selling rum: that is, Uir privilege of' doing wrong, provided tbey ibink it 10 be right. The same observation appliea to the Sabbalh, Bapiisin, the LordV Siipper, &c. The siavehoider slands on ibe same fooiing wilh ti:e rumseller. - Theiraclsare bith vvrong, and while they follow thern,hovever sincere they may be, they ougin to bc excluded from the churcli of Cljrist. Among the hundreds ofresolvcs by diderent bodies and churches that have been published, nol one is known where the exceplions contended for, were made. These churches savv the impropriety of t?uch regululions. Admitiitig, then, that thcre are sincere Christians among slaveholders, wlio think it right to buy and scll those for whom Christ dicd, it does nol follow that theirsinoerity entiiles ihcm (o n regular i in'in Christ's family, wUUc they do those tlíings whiclinrc dircctly contrary lo his cxampleuiid injunclions. ■:(â–