fessed followers of Christ, destroys the unity and impairs the efficiency of the church. The church may have a form of sound words; a splendid and impressive ceremonial; a pure and efficient ministry; the external advantages of wealth and power, without charity and without charity, there will not only be differences of judgment, but alienations of affection, the prejudices of party, and every evil work. As there can be no peace, so there can be no prosperity, where there is no charity. The love of the brethren is the badge of our discipleship; and never does religion present a fairer form, or address itself with more subduing energy to the hearts of men, than when it is seen as the bond of union among the followers of Christ. Let Christians "love one another; " let them be of one heart and soul; let them exhibit a strong regard for each other's interests and welfare; and then even the enemies of religion will not be able to withhold the homage of their respect and approbation, and multitudes will be converted from the error of their way. But let Christians exhibit a captious and contentious spirit; let them bite and devour each other; let them injure one another in character or business; and as soon may you expect to gather grapes of thorns and figs of thistles, as witness the furtherance of the Gospel in the world. The absence of brotherly affection prevents also that union of Christian effort, which is one of the chief means of religious prosperity. A

united church is always a working church; but where there are divisions of heart, and parties springing from them, there cannot be united counsel, united prayer, and united exertion.

The eloquent eulogy of the Psalmist, on the unity of the church, may form an appropriate conclusion of this chapter. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."*

*Psalm cxxxiii.

CHAPTER VI.

VISIBLE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE CHURCH IS THE DUTY OF ALL TRUE BELIEVERS AND REPENTANT SINNERS.

"THE modern notion, that we may be saved at last just as well out of a church as in one, is as dangerous as it is novel. I cannot trace it back much beyond a century; and I am quite sure it has nothing to support it in the Bible."-DANIEL ISAAC.

“VISIBLE fellowship with the church is the duty of all who profess faith in Christ; for in this, in part, consists that confession of Christ before men, on which so much stress is laid in the discourses of our Lord."-RICHARD WATSON.

PERHAPS no question is of greater importance to us than, Who ought to be received into the church of God? and this question must be answered before the duty of church fellowship is argued. The characters privileged, or the persons upon whom this duty devolves, are described in brief, but most emphatic terms, in Acts ii. 47: "And the Lord added to the church daily τοὺς σωζομένους, such as should be saved." On this most important passage there has been a great variety of opinion; and the controversy has resolved itself into one of grammar and criticism. The τοὺς σωζομένους of the apostolic church are to be regarded as model members of the Christian

rest, were actually

church to the end of time. The Greek word owoμévovs is the present participle, in a middle sense, of the verb ow, "to save; " and it means "the saved," or "those who were in the way of salvation; "-"the saved" denoting believers, and "those who were in the way of being saved," penitents. Some, farther advanced than the saved; and others were near to the very threshold of salvation. moment be imagined that they were all precisely in the same state of grace, though they were all inspired with the same desire, and thirsting after the same blessing. The primitive church was thus made up of believers and penitents; and unbelieving and impenitent sinners were not admitted within its sacred enclosure.

the kingdom, on It cannot for a

This rendering has been sanctioned by the highest authorities. "Toùs owloμévovs," says Dr. Alford, "those who were in the way of salvation:' compare σweŋтe, verse 40: 'those who were being saved.' Nothing is implied by this word, to answer one way or the other the question, whether all these were finally saved. It is only asserted that they were in the way of salvation when they were added to the Christian assembly. Doubtless, some of them might have been of the class alluded to, Hebrews x. 26, 29: at least there is nothing in this word to preclude it."

“ Τοὺς σωζομένους—present participle in a middle

sense," says Dr. Wordsworth; "and it designates those who were escaping (as it were) from the Flood, and taking refuge in the Ark, the church; those who were flying from the bondage of a spiritual Egypt, and were entering on the way of salvation toward the land of promise; those who were being delivered from the death of sin, by incorporation into the owτýpov σŵμа тоû σwτĥpos. (Ephesians v. 23.) Calvinism has made great use of this text, and important consequences have been deduced from it. But the phrase of the original is τοὺς σωζομένους, where the tense employed shews that the expression applies only to those who are in a state of salvation, as Toîs àπоλAvμévois (1 Corinthians i. 18) applies to the opposite; discouraging the Calvinistic interpretation."

"It is remarkable," says Professor Blunt, "that the tense used (viz., the present) is the only tense which excludes the Calvinistic interpretation: both the future (σωθησομένους) and the past (σεσωσμέ vous) would have favoured it."

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Προσετίθει τοὺς σωζομένους. On the exact sense of these words," Dr. Bloomfield remarks, "considerable difference of opinion exists. Our authorized Version renders, 'those that should be saved;' but it is now almost universally agreed that this mode of rendering cannot be admitted, since it would require, not σωζομένους, but σωθησομένους. The version in question must therefore be rejected, not (as Wetstein