The Church (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: have been converted into princely thrones, and aspirants would not have waded into them through scenes of turmoil and blood. SECTION IV. The apostolic Churches voluntary associations. The churches, in the days of the apostles, were all of them voluntary associations. The apostles had no compulsory power to bring men into the churches, nor did they desire any. All who joined themselves to any of the churches did it freely, and of their own accord. The three thousand, who were baptized on the day of Pentecost, acted freely. So did the Ethiopian eunuch, and Saul of Tarsus, and the Philippian jailer, and the family of Cornelius, and every other individual who, at that period, was added to a Christian church. There was no compulsion, or any thing approaching to it, in any case. The churches then were, and ever should have been, strictly voluntary associations. But although every church of Christ is, and of right ought to be, a voluntary association, still, every voluntary association is not a church.It is necessary to inquire, therefore, what there was peculiar in the associations of which we speak, which went to constitute them churches of Christ. And, 1. These associations consisted of persons of a particular character. All who joined themselves unto the churches of the apostles were required to profess faith in Christ, and to give credible evidence of piety. It was those " who were pricked in the heart," and repented, and "gladly received the word," who were admitted to the church on the day of Pentecost. It was not till the Samaritans " believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of Christ, " that they were received by him to baptism and the church. The Holy Ghost fell on the family of Cornelius, and satisfied Peter as to their piety, before he would...