And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here: or deny the peace of forgiveness to such as truly repent."

Our Saviour, when on earth, spoke of the "sin against the Holy Ghost” as being unpardonable; as neither being entitled to forgiveness "in this world or in the world to come." A difference of opinion has obtained among commentators in relation to what constituted the sin against the Holy Ghost, and whether such sin can now be committed by any man. Without entering into a discussion of the subject, we may simply state, that the strong probability is, that this sin consists in attributing the miracles wrought by Jesus Christ to the agency of the devil; as in the case of those who accused the Saviour of "casting out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." That the possibility of committing the unpardonable sin was not confined to the life-time of our Saviour on earth, appears evident from the assertion of John, 1 John v. 16, "There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he shall pray for it," and we believe the same idea is intended to be conveyed by the apostle Paul, when, in speaking of those who had been once enlightened, &c., says, "It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." in the language of the Article, it is not every sin willingly committed after justification which is the sin against the Holy Ghost; a good man may fall into sin, lose his state of justification before God, as in the case of David, and like him may repent and be restored again to the "joys of salvation."

But

As the question, whether the child of God may so fully and finally fall away as to be forever lost, is not settled by the Article before us, we will reserve our remarks on this particular point for another Article. But before we dismiss this Article, the doctrine taught near the close of the same is worthy of particular notice, "They are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here."

The object of this part of the Article is to guard men against the foolish and dangerous doctrine, that after justification a person may do what he pleases and still retain his justification; that he may, as a child of God, commit adultery, fornication, murder, &c., and yet these acts not be considered sinful in the sight of God, because, forsooth, he is a child of God! That such diabolical sentiments have been entertained by many, and are yet entertained by some, there can be no doubt, and hence the manifest propriety of guarding the Church against a doctrine that must prove destructive, wherever it is embraced, to the interests of true religion, virtue, and morality. The text, "he cannot sin because he is born of God," yields no support whatever to this pernicious doctrine, for the design of the apostle evidently is to show that he that is born of God, and would have an abiding evidence of the fact, can have it only by abstaining from the commission of every sin; that he cannot sin" and retain such evidence, or remain a child of God.

The last clause of the Article is also instructive, as it teaches not only the possibility of obtaining forgiveness at the hand of God when sin is committed after justification, but the importance of extending our forgiveness to our erring brethren, provided that in both cases there is true repentance exercised by the offender.

ARTICLE XIII.

OF THE CHURCH.

"The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly administered, according to Christ's ordinance in all things, that of necessity are requisite to the same."

This Article teaches, 1. That the visible Church of Christ is a congregation or assemblage of faithful men; that it does not

consist of the pope, or his councils, or the priesthood, nor of any order or body of bishops or ministers exclusively, but of a congregation of faithful men," embracing the laity as well as the priesthood or ministry of the church.

2. The Church is composed of “faithful men," and although the “wheat and tares" are necessarily found together, and will continue so to be found until the "harvest," yet the true Church consists only of those who are faithful; of all others, be they popes, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, deacons, or members, it may be said, as of Simon of old, "they have neither part nor lot in the matter, for their hearts are not right in the sight of God."

3. "The pure word of God is preached" in the Church; not the decrees of popes, the decisions of councils, the traditions of the fathers; not some fine system of morality, independent of the gospel, or philosophical disquisitions on abstract questions of science, literature, or art; but the pure word of God,-"Jesus Christ and him crucified,"-is preached and expounded with all due ministerial fidelity.

4. The Sacraments are duly administered. The sacrament of baptism and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper are duly administered, not by any and every person choosing to administer the same, but by those who are called by God and his Church to the sacred work of the ministry.

Where all these things are found-a congregation of faithful men, the preaching of the pure word of God, and the due administration of the sacraments-there is a true Church of Jesus Christ, let it be called by what distinctive appellation it may, and let it be organized on what ecclesiastical basis it may

there is, we repeat, a true Church of Christ, against which "the gates of hell cannot prevail."

“The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshipping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the word of God.”

The doctrine of purgatory, it is well known, is one of the distinctive features of the Romish Church, and it is also true that the doctrine is taught, if not in name, yet in fact by modern Restorationists, and some other Protestant sects, and yet such a doctrine is evidently without support from the word of God. In no place in that word do we read of the purgatorial fires of a middle state. On the contrary, mankind are divided by the sacred writers into two great classes-the righteous and the wicked; and their future and eternal destination is heaven or hell. The most important text relied upon by the advocates of purgatory in support of this dogma, is the one in 1 Peter iii. 18, 20, where Christ is represented as preaching "to the spirits in prison, who were disobedient in the days of Noah." It is agreed upon by the best biblical critics, however, that the meaning of the passage simply is, that Christ went and preached, through Noah, to the antediluvians who were disobedient, and who were in the prison of hell at the time in which the apostle wrote the epistle. But, admitting, even, that Christ, after he “ was put to death in the flesh, and quickened in the spirit, went and preached to the spirits in prison," what support does this give to the fabled doctrine of purgatory? The term "preach," as found in the original Greek, it is well known, signifies simply "to proclaim, to announce as a herald," &c., and in itself nowhere signifies to preach the gospel, or deliverance from punishment, unless the connection requires such a meaning. John "preached" repent

ance; Christ "preached" deliverance to captives on earth; the apostle says, "preach the word," and in all these cases the matter of preaching is determined, not by the word preach, but by the words used in connection with the same. So that could it be proved that Christ went and preached after his death to the spirits in the prison of hell, what, after all, could be inferred therefrom? Simply a declaration or announcement of the fact of his death, which no doubt had been predicted to the unbelieving antediluvians, and the fulfilment of which prediction would serve only to increase their misery, as the announcement of the same would their guilt and condemnation.

The Romish doctrine of pardon is also protested against in the Article. It is a well-established fact that the pope, bishops, and priests of Rome, claim the power to absolve the offender, and pardon the transgressor, but it is also certain that none can forgive sins but God only, so that the Romish doctrine on this point is as false as it is dangerous.

Worshipping images, relics, and the invocation of saints, are also condemned by this article of religion; and it is a gratifying fact that the Methodists have always been at the farthest remove from the introduction of images, pictures, embellishments, &c., into their churches, while it is to be deplored that in some Protestant churches a disposition is manifested to return to the Romish practice of decorating the house of God with pictures and images, crosses and candlesticks, which, if not worshipped, are nevertheless the means of drawing the attention of the worshippers from the only proper object of adoration-God the creator. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve," is the positive command of Jehovah himself.