Forbes on Article XVIII: Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ

So with regard to the Blessed Eucharist. A belief in a real Presence of Christ cannot co-exist with a theory of irrespectii^e predestination, and of its con sequence, irresistible grace. For if the Body and Blood of Christ, and the grace of Christ therewith, were given through the Sacraments, then since grace, according to them, is irresistible, it would necessarily overpower all who received the Sacrament ; which is patently contrary to what Holy Scripture says of those who ” eat and drink damnation to themselves/’ and to what we cannot fail to see with our own eyes in the case of careless and indevout receivers. The presence of Christ must then, according to them, not be in the Sacrament, but in the believing recipient, and that, in a way not peculiar to the Sacrament, nor in any way higher than that, in which any devout Christian may at any time, mentally and spiritually feed on Christ. As it is only to the elect that the Divine gift is imparted, and the rest are passed over by God, so grace must by no means be connected with the visible sign,

et illi anathematizancli, qui clicere (indent innim- in lego ant sccta, quam profitetnr csse servan-

[…]

” Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by tJie Name of Christ.

“THEY also are to be had accursed, that presume to sa}^ that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that la\v, and the light of nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.”

THE provisional attitude of the Church of England is exhibited in the remarkable fact that she has gene rally avoided enforcing her teachings under the penalty of anathema. Unlike the general and provincial Coun cils, — which, not content with defining the truth, have guarded that truth by anathema, in which anathema dies the essence of what is to be guarded against, and

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per i-onlra, what is to be believed, — the Church of Eng land has in the main been contented with stating her convictions, insisting on subscription to them as a con dition of ministering at her altars, but has not gone so far as to brand the non-reception of her teaching with spiritual denunciations. If the conjecture is right that in 1562 the door of reconciliation was purposely left ajar, the wisdom and charity of such a course as this is evident. To have to retract anything is difficult for man or Church ; to explain is what the most sensi tive conscience can condescend to. Besides, in avoiding anathematisms, a fertile source of irritation is obviously avoided. We are not disposed to be conciliatory to those who have expressed themselves in the sense that our errors peril our immortal welfare.

But there is one remarkable exception to this mo deration, and it is that which is the subject of the present Article. The Church of England anathema tizes one error, one spiritual sin, the sin of latitudi- narianism; and this, because the latitudinarian spirit iinds its logical basis in the abnegation of all objective truth whatsoever. Latitudinarianism is not a tender judgment of the motives of others. It is not a dis position to find excuses, as from the imperfect demon stration of the truth to individuals, inveterate preju dice, peculiarities of intellectual training, or the like, with which it regards the erring. It is the principle that nothing is so certain in religion that it need be insisted on ; that one view is as good as another view ; that it does not much matter what people believe, if

2GO ARTICLE XVIII.

their morals be good ; in short, that there are 110 truths for which a man ought to be prepared to die, no re vealed will of God, to deflect from which, is ruin to the spiritual nature. In the presence of latitudi- narianism, Church authority obviously disappears, Creeds are necessarily mistakes, Holy Scripture be comes an instrument on which one may play any tune, certainty as to religion vanishes.

Latitudinarianism is the logical consequence of the denial of a Divine authority, lodged in the Church, although many by a happy inconsistency, who have denied that authority, have stopped short of this con sequence. There have ever been bigotry and persecu tion on the part of those whose position made bigotry absurd, and persecution a sin. When once the di vine authority of the Church is given up, there is no reasonable alternative but the human authority of the individual. It may be sought to uphold conclusively another divine authority, that of the Holy Scriptures, a process which actually took place, but experience has shewn that this also resolves itself into the judg ment of the individual; the Holy Word of God, as a fact, having been differently understood, so that ” pri vate judgment” appeals, in fact, to the individual’s, enlightened or unenlightened, interpretation of that word.

Closely connected with this, one must consider the cognate question of the practice of the Christian Church to enforce certain truths under pain of anathema. The popular English form of this question exhibits itself

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in the defence or reprobation of the damnatory clauses in the Athanasian Creed. It is said, ” Why impose a complex formula on the most recondite subjects upon the conscience under so tremendous a censure ?” In answer it must be said first of all, that here is no ques tion of those who never heard the name of Christ, nor of those who have not had the truth persuasively and intellectually placed before them, but of those who, having the dogmas of religion plainly and explicitly taught to them, do perversely set up their judgments against the teaching of God’s holy truth, and delibe rately reject those truths, on the mental acceptance of which our blessed Lord and His Apostles made salva tion, in one sense, to depend. And that such is the case, must be admitted by all who confess the authenticity of the last chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel : ” He that be- lieveth and is baptized shall be saved ; he that believeth not shall be damned.” In principle the Athanasian Creed says no more nor no less than this.

The Article then asserts that, in order to attain to everlasting life, it is not sufficient for a man to follow the dictates of his natural conscience. Not only is it asserted that man cannot be saved by the sect or law he professeth, i.e. that there is no objective grace in such law or sect : but it makes the further assertion that the strictest obedience to such a law, though it may obtain temporal rewards, will not affect eternal life : for this reason, that there are certain supernatural gifts which are linked to the manifestation of the Son of God in the flesh. In rigorous justice man has no right as against

God ; therefore he has no right to everlasting life a~ Everlasting life is a free gift to man on the part of God, and He has willed that that gift shall stand con nected in the way of cause and effect with the economy of grace. One of the ends of the Incarnation was to- open the way to heaven ; our access to God is through Christ ; and conversely there is no access to God save through Him. The power of His Passion may extend to many who never heard His Name. TTe have no right to limit the extent of His works, but it must be laid down as a fundamental truth, that whatever grace here or glory hereafter is held forth to sinful man, is held forth in virtue of the merits of the God-man Jesus Christ.

The Article here rises into fervour as it dwells upon the gracious Name of our Saviour, that Name which is as unguent poured out, which whosoever seeketh shall be saved. ” He Himself said, ’ Except a grain of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone : but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit/ Let the grain die, and let the corn of the Gentiles spring up. ’ It be hoved Christ to die and to rise from the dead, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name/ not only in Judea but among all people, so that from that one Man, which is Christ, thousands and thousands of believers should be called Christians, and should say, ’ Thy Name is as unguent poured out.’ O Blessed Name ! O unguent everywhere poured out ! And whither ? From Heaven to Judea, and thence it

» Vide supra, p. 198.

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flows through all the earth, and the Church everywhere says, ’ Thy name is as unguent poured out/ not only in Heaven and Earth but even in Hell, for ’ at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in Heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth/ and every tongue confess, and say, ‘Thy Name is as unguent poured out.’ Behold Christ ! behold Jesus ! Both poured out upon angels, both poured out upon men, and upon those men who, like the brutes, were denied in their own vileness, God ’ saving both man and beast/ ‘for His mercy endureth for ever/ How dear! how cheap ! cheap, but health-giving ! were it not cheap, it would not be poured out for me ; if it were not health - giving, it would benefit me nothing, I am a sharer in the Name, yea, of the inheritance. I am a Christian I am the brother of Christ. If I am what I am called, I am the heir of God and the joint-heir with Christ. And what wonder if the Name of the Bridegroom is poured out, when He Himself is poured out, ’ For He humbled Himself, taking upon Himself the form of a servant/ and at last He says, ’ I am poured out like water/ The fulness of the Godhead dwelling bodily upon earth is poured out, that all we who bear about with us ’ the body of this death ’ should receive of His fulness, and, filled with the odour of life, should say, * Thy name is as unguent poured out b. ’ ’

b St. Bernard in Cant., Serm. xv. 4>.