Farewell to the First Congregational Church in Norwalk, Conn. (bound with other addresses)

"While the author of the scheme discards the doctrine of a vicarious atonement as untrue and absurd, [see 211, 247;] he seems to himself to hold all that those who coinplain of him suppose him to deny; the matter of their Gospel is the mat- ter of his ; and the only reason they do not see it is, that ■when that matter is set forth apart from the tiny measures of their system, the quantities are so large, and the riches so va- rious, that the matter of their system appears to be lost; they cannot find it,, [212, 213.] He only sweeps away the logical mat- [P. 212-13.] "On the contrary, I seem, in almost every case, to hold, as ear- nestly as they, though under a different form or a different resolution of the subject, all which they suppose me to deny. The matter of their Gospelsepar- ated from their Kgical or theolo^eal system, is : the matter of mine ; and the only reason why they do not see it to be so themselves is, that they have reduced 63 ter of their representations to assert again, with greater force, all which constitutes the inmost and proper evangelic sub- stance of their belief in the use of them, [pp. 214-14a.] Dis- carding the opinion that Christ suffers evil in direct substi- tution for the evil that was due to us, he agrees, as he suppo- ses, with most of the teachers in New England, that God only esspresses in the sufferings of Christ, what he would have ex- pressed by our punishment ; and that one expression is sub- stituted for the other as a ground of justification'. The only difference is, that he does not exactly agree as to the mode in which the expression is made, [211.] His doctrine is, not that Christ by tiis sufferings and death has atoned to divine justice for our sins, for this he declares to be absurd, [p. 271,] but that Christ is " wholly a power," " a convincing, constraining, justifying grace of love, offered to thought without, and oper- ating formatively with the undistinguishable grace of the spi- rit within." In this doctrine Christ is seen in all that he does, to be acting (not as a propitiation to God, but) as a power, a renovating and quickening power. " All results he accom- the matter to the tiny measures of their system ; so that wheii it is set forth apart from the meastireSj-Hnot as expiation only, but as the Eternal life that ■was with the Father, and was manifested unto us ; Christ the Wisdom of God and the Power ; God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, — ^the quan- tities are so large, and the riches so rarious, that the matter of their system ap- pears to be lost ; they can not find it. And what, then, shall they infer but he- resy ? Much as if some child, or over siniple person, were to judge that immense piles of coin, at the mint, must be counterfeit, because he cannot find his particu- lar dollar among them." [P. 214.] " I was only sweeping away the logical matter of these representa- tions, to assert again, with greater force, aU which constitutes the inmost and properly evangelic substance of their beliefs, in the use of them." [P. 214.] "Meantime, I am going on myself, as just having come to the sub- ject, to 'reclaim and restore' (p. 203) every thing that has been cast away ; that IS, every thing but the points of theory rejected." [P. 217.] " Descending to the notice of a few points of difficulty or censure that are more subordinate and particular, it is often alleged, as a fatal heresy, that I reject the opinion that Christ ' suffers evil in direct substitution for the evil, or penal suiiering, that was due from us,' (p. 194.) Doubtless, this may well enough be taken as a heresy, by those who beUeve that Christ was literally punished for our sins, or suffered penally on account of them. But this is a doc- trine openly discarded by most of the teachers of New England. They hold, instead, that God only expresses in the sufferings of Christ what he would express by our pwnAshmmft, and that one expression is substituted for the other as a ground of justification. And exactly this is what I have asserted. The only dif- ference is, that we do not exactly. agree as to tJie mode in which the escpression is made." 63 plishes by wliat lie does in us," [pp. 298-9.] Christ, the Hying "Word, is lifted up to be a Gospel of power in the world's feel- ing; becomes an active force in the outward history of the race, God manifested to feeling, and breathed, as an atmosphere of life, into the world ; and " hiding the all regenerating leaven of Divinity in the alienated and better history of the world," [p. 221.] In all this the demonstration, was not made by penal suffering, nor by the, expression of suffering as laid on Christ to manifest God's abhorrence of sin, [see p. 218,] nor by any intent of benefiting us directly by designed death, nor having suffering or death as the direct object of bis mission; but, as the author has before said, " The expression of God which is made in the sufferings of Christ, and which avails for our justification, is only in virtue of the fact that it is inciden- tal" in the prosecution of " his grand attempt to regenerate the world, and so reestablisb the lost unison of souls with the Divine nature," [p. 218(Z.] [P. 298-9.] "Meantime Christ is seen, in all that he doe's, to be acting as a power, a renovflting and qui<;leening pmoer ; just as he is constantly represented in the Scriptuf es. All results,' whether of justification or sanctification, for they are essentially implicated one with the other, he accomplishes, by what he does in us, and not by something done upon God. And so that large part, that almost body itself of the Christian doctrine of grace, which has fallen, so generally, out of place in the meager terms of our speculatiTC theolo^, is restored It is not said that Christ ha^ opened a passage through the law, by some action on one side of us, and bought the Holy Spirit to lead us th/i'ough it ; and that this is the whole plan of salvation — which, m fact, no preacher, though he affirm it a hundred times a day, can really adhere to so as not to break over it, in appeals that offer Christ to Idve and feeling — but the doctrine is, that Christ is wholly a power, the wisdom of God and the power ; a convincirig, eonstrainiiig, justifying grace of love offered to thought witlf^ut, and operating formatively with the undistingmsnable grace of the Spirit within ; so that wheii the soul receives him and rests her faith in him, Christ is.formed within as the principle of eternal life and beatific union with God. If this be heresy, it is yet the truth of Scripture, which if any man deny or cannot preach, he disallows the corner stone itself." [P. 221.] "Christ, the Living Word, appears, and is lifted up to be a Gospel of power in the world's feeling." ■ [P. 221.] "Here preeminently is that Christ whom we preach — God with men ; God in his love and essential divinity, organically united with the hnman state, and become an active force in the outward history of the race ; God mani- fested to feeling, and breathed, as an atmosphere of life, into the world." [P. 221.] "Tliat Christ came to bring God's pure love and presence down to our human feeling, and hide the all-regenerating leaven of Divinity in the alien- ated and bitter history of the world." [P. 218.] " What now if I have denied that this ' demonstration' was made in a given way ; that is, by penal suffering, or by the expression of suffering, regarded as a laying on upon Christ of the direct abhorrence ^ God to sin?" [P. 218a.J "But I have said that the expressioa of God, which is made in 64 In doing this, he by implication or indirectly expresses the abhorrence of God to sin, as profoundly as It is possible to be done even by punishment itself, [p. 218.] Meantime the author of this scheme coincides with the real truth of im- putation, and actually maintains whatever is vital and practi- cally valuable in it, [pp. 308-9, 317, note.] Nevertheless he discards the doctrine of imputation as untrue and absurd, [p., 333.] Our common treatises of theology, in the doctrine of vicarious atonement, human depravity, and the sovereignty of God in the renewing of the Holy Ghost, as they lift up no Son of Man to draw us to God, set forth a Gospel which is no gospel, but only a dull mechanical contrivance of theology. the Bufferings of Christ, and Tvtich arails to our justification, is real and effica- cioua only in virtue of the fact that it is incidental, [pp. 201-2,] being Tvhat he suffers, not in the ostentation of suffernig, or having that as the direet object of his mission, but what he suffers in his grand attempt to regenerate the world and reestablish the lost union of souls with the Divine nature." [P. 218.] "Agreeing, meantime, that by 'implication' or indirectly, he does express the abhorrence of God to sin as profoundly as it is possible to be done, even by punishment itself." [P. 317.] Note. — "The doctrine of imputation, as contained in the'Catechism, was voted by the General Association of Connecticut, at their last meeting in Litchfield. I refused concurrence in the vote, in the distinct understanding that as regards my own position, I might probably affirm it with greater propriety than any other five persons present. But as the vote afiirmed what I supposed was universally known to be untrue — viz., that the churches and ministers of the State hold the doctrine — I feel obliged to decline it" [Pp. 308-9.] "That the subjective-objective, or representatively objective doctrine I have asserted, coincides with the real truth of imputation; justifying a qualified assent to that doctrine; requiring it in the practical uses of life; and con- taining, I suppose, all that has made it true to its adherents; — precisely that, nei- ther more nor less. Thus it will be found that, while the greater part of the New England teachers reject this doctrine, which ho one can deny is a doctrine of the Reformation, and with Dr. Emmons declare it even to be ' absurd ;' / am actually maintaining it, in a form that preserves whatever is vital and praictioally valua- ble in it. Instead of allowing the oft reiterated declaration, that there is no such thing as imputation in the Scriptures, they seem to m,c, on the contrary, to leful^l of it. The whole objective side of the Scripture doctrine of Christ — "bearing our ' sins," **made sin for us," "having th^ iniquity of us all laid upon him^" **wound- ed for our transgressions,'' "our ramom," "our righteousness imputed without works" — in all these objectivities the mind is occupied with notions of a puta- tive or imputed grace. Neither are these barren notions, but they have all a sound reahty and force ; and they are even necessary, in that view, to the full power and easy working of the grace of the Gospel in us." [P. 333.] "For the latter dismisses, under sentence of 'absurdity,' all those conceptions of imputation, which figure so largely in the teachings of the Re- formers, and even constitute the staple of their doctrine ; while I, coinciding in the speculative absv/rdity of imputation, undertake also to show how these olyjec- tive conceptions get their proper validity, and enter, even as necessary elements, into the practice economy of the; Christian life." 65 It is not the Gospel jit is only a specnlatire figment, cold and dry, whicli scholastics have schemed for us in the petty measures of the scientific understanding, [pp. 219, 220 ;] while in Dr. B.'s scheme, " Christ the living Word appears, and is lifted up to be a Gospel of power in the world's feeling," [pp. 220-1.] EEMAEKS.