to Tournely, "was not excommunication properly so called," though it separated churches from mutual intercourse. Therefore if the church universal should be divided into two portions by such an excommunication, neither party would be truly cut off from the church, and therefore the church would exist in different communions.

Nicole himself, in arguing for the unity of the church in external communion, makes the following admission. "We do not pretend that the actual unity which consists in the effective union of all the church is essential to the church, because this union may be troubled by divisions and contests which God permits." He even lays down two conditions which exempt from schism the parties so divided. The first is, that "all those who are divided in good faith by some controversy which is not ruled or decided, tend sincerely to unity;' and the second, that they must "acknowledge a common judge, to which they refer their differences, which is a general council"." Therefore, according to the principle here laid down by Nicole, whose book has been copied by all succeeding Romish theologians, and is styled by the bishop of Mans "exquisitum opus; there may be external divisions of such a kind, that ecclesiastical unity is not truly subverted by them.

It may be concluded then, that Scripture, tradition, history, and theological reasons, are so far from proving the impossibility of any division of external communion in the catholic church, that they rather combine to establish its possibility, and I do not seek more than this. All we desire is, that other churches of apostolical form and succession, or who at least claim a regular succession from the apostles, shall not be

" Cited by Jurieu, Unité de l'Eglise, p. 360, 361.

condemned unheard by those of the Roman communion; but that the question of actual schism, separation from, or by the catholic church, shall be fairly examined.

OBJECTIONS.

I. If it be unlawful under any circumstances to separate from a church of Christ, the Reformation must have been unlawful.

Answer. The Reformation was not a voluntary separation from the church of Christ, as I shall prove hereafter if there was such a separation in any case it is not to be defended. Besides, those who consider the church of Christ altogether to have failed in the West before the Reformation, cannot, consistently with their own principle, maintain that there was any separation from the church then.

II. It is intolerant to maintain that separation from any church is a sin.

Answer. It cannot be intolerant in any evil sense, if it be the doctrine of Scripture and of Christians generally, as I have proved it to be. Christ has a perfect right to bestow his favour in the church only if he pleases it. Salvation is the free gift of God, and is not due to man.

66

III. We are commanded in Scripture to "come out of Babylon"." Depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her." "I have written to you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous," &c.

Answer. The former texts refer to some community

▾ Rev. xviii. 4.

" Is. lii. 11.

* 1 Cor. v. 11.

which is not the church of Christ, but has either apostatized from him, or never owned him. The latter only enjoins us to avoid the society and procure the excision of scandalous offenders, which we may well do without forsaking the communion of the church.

IV. The presence of God is promised to all Christian meetings: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. xviiii. 20.). The martyr Cyprian replies: "How can two or three be gathered together in the name of Christ, who have plainly separated from Christ and from his Gospel? For we have not departed from them, but they from us; and since schisms and heresies are born afterwards, they left the fountain-head and origin of truth, when they constituted different conventicles for themselves "."

y De Unit. 256.

CHAPTER V.

ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH IN RESPECT OF FAITH.

THAT Our Lord Jesus Christ did, in the time of his sojourn on earth, and afterwards by his apostles, make a revelation of truths salutary and necessary to be believed, is the general confession of all who call themselves Christians. Such truths ought doubtless to be believed by all his disciples, that is, by the church; and therefore the church ought to have unity of faith; but many questions have been raised as to the invariable unity of the church in faith, and the possibility of salvation under certain circumstances, even when revealed truth is not perfectly received. In treating of this subject I shall prove,

First, that THE TRUTH revealed by Christ must be believed by all Christians in order to salvation.

Secondly, that heresy, or the pertinacious denial or perversion of the truth, excludes from salvation.

Thirdly, that all errors, even in matters of faith, are not heretical.

Fourthly, I shall examine the question of unity in faith, as an attribute and sign of the church of Christ; and,

Fifthly, deduce some conclusions which may aid us in discriminating the church of Christ from all rival communities.

SECTION I.

THE TRUTH revealed BY CHRIST is to be believed by ALL CHRISTIANS.

The whole system and body of the Christian religion is necessarily free from the least mixture of error or falsehood, because it proceeds from the infinitely wise and only-begotten Son of God, who declared himself to be emphatically "the way, the truth, and the life." The very object of his mission was to declare the truth. "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth" (John xviii. 37.); and the reason was: "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. ii. 13.). His promise to his disciples was; "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John viii. 32.): and again, “The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth" (xvi. 13.). It is to be observed, that salvation, and freedom from the dominion of evil, are here connected with the belief of the truth: the holy Spirit even is given for its maintenance: and hence Christians are bound by their hopes of salvation, and by the obligation of submitting their own wills to the will of God, to believe the truth alone, as revealed by Jesus Christ. This truth he commanded his disciples to "teach all nations;" and since truth is but one, the apostle declares that there is but "one faith" (Eph. iv. 5.), for which "faith once delivered to the saints," a faith incapable of improvement, of addition, or