FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

SERIES III.

VOL. IV.	BETHANY, JULY, 1847.	NO. VII.

      BY society we mean the free social intercourse of friendly attachment towards each other, to which we are naturally inclined. But while this intercourse is common to mankind, there is yet as great a difference in its nature, effects, and consequences, as there is in the disposition and conduct of the persons thus associated. And as society has both a formative and developing influence upon the mind and manners of mankind; it is, therefore, a matter of great radical importance, that our social intercourse be of a right kind: for--"Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it;" saith the scripture, Prov. xxii. 6. And saith the proverb, "Show me a man's company, and I will surely tell you what sort of a man he is." It is also a Bible truth, that a man is known by his conversation, even as the tree is known by its fruit. "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh:" Luke vi. 45. And, of course, a man's conversation must suit his company. These things being evidently so, it is not possible that Christianity should not demand and form a special kind of society peculiar to itself: for, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away from him; and all things are become new." And all these things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. See 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. Therefore, it both commands and inspires its happy subjects to practise self-denying obedience. Matth. xvi. 26. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."--And again, we are most urgently called upon to carry out this self-denying obedience to the very uttermost. See Luke xiv. 26, 27, 33, with Rom. xii. 1, 2. "Whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the tender mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove, what is that [394] good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. Set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth: for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."

      A religion that confers such privileges, and insures such blissful and glorious prospects as Christianity does, is naturally calculated to form a peculiar kind of character, as far superior to natural humanity, as the Divine Spirit is to the human soul. And if any man have not this spirit, he cannot be a Christian. For "if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Rom. viii. 9.--Indeed, how can he? For every Christian is begotten of God--born of the Spirit--led by the Spirit--a habitation of God through the Spirit. See John i., 12, 13, and iii. 5; Rom. viii. 14; Eph. ii. 22; James i. 17, 18. Therefore, his conversation must be divine, unless he acts out of character and disobeys his Creator and Redeemer.--We do not mean, however, that a Christian must be always conversing about divine things, but that his conversation must be always governed by the divine law. Christians must necessarily converse with the world, and with each other, about worldly things, as far as necessary; yet redeeming the time, as much as possible, for better purposes. Eph. v. 16, and Col. iv. 5, 6. "See, then, that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Walk in wisdom towards them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt. That ye may know how to answer every man."--"Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel--For our conversation is in heaven, whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus." Phil. i. 27, and iii. 1-10. "Let no corrupt conversation proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption." Eph. iv. 29, 30. "Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the appearance of Jesus Christ: as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts, in your ignorance: but as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy." 1 Pet. i. 13-16. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving thanks.--I said of laughter it is mad; and of mirth, what doeth it? Eph. v. 4; Eccl. ii. 2. Upon the whole, is it not evident from the Author, the Spirit, the subject matter, and intention of our holy religion, that [395] the real subjects of it must be a serious, sober, heavenly minded, exemplary people? For is not Christ the divine exemplar, and the Holy Spirit the immediate author of it? And are not the faith and obedience of the Gospel and Law of Christ the subject matter? and conformity to Christ, both here and hereafter, the divine intention of it? as appears from the above quotations;--and, indeed, from the scope of the whole Book from which they are taken; the doctrinal topics of which stand intimately connected with our nature, condition, and destiny; showing us what we were by creation, what and where we are by transgression, with the divine provisions and purposes for our redemption and salvation, with its blissful effects and consequences; and the use of the means divinely appointed for obtaining the actual enjoyment of it. Now these are topics supremely interesting and inexhaustible; for this is the life eternal, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. John xvii. 3. And how is this vast and blissful knowledge to be obtained, and retained, but by diligent and persevering study, meditation, and conversation, upon the divine word and works? Wherefore, these all-important topics supremely demand our diligent and persevering attention. Now, for our assistance in so doing, we shall state them catechetically. And, first, What were we by creation? Second, What are we by transgression? Third, Into what condition has sin brought us? Fourth, What are the divine provisions for our deliverance from the guilt, the depravity, and the punishment of sin? Fifth, What are the blissful effects and consequences of this happy deliverance? Sixth, What are the means divinely appointed for obtaining the actual enjoyment of them? Now to obtain and retain the full amount of the scripture answers to these six infinitely important queries, demand our constant and supreme attention, seeing that our present and eternal happiness depends upon our so doing: for what we do not possess, we cannot possible enjoy. Let us, therefore, proceed accordingly:--take up the holy Book; search it diligently upon all these important topics; and pray to God continually to dispose and enable us to reduce them to practice. Psalm cxix. 36; Rom. xii. 12; 1 Thess. v. 17.

      Query 1. What was man by creation, as to his nature, condition, and destiny?

      Ans. "God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; a male and a female created he them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be ye fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing [396] that moveth upon the earth."--"God made man upright." "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life, also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.--And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden, to dress it, and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Genesis i. 27, 28; Eccl. vii. 29; Genesis ii. 8, 9, 15, 16, 17.

      Hence it appears that in the constitution of his nature, man was conformed to his Creator, was qualified to converse with him, and to understand the nature of the living creatures that God had made for his use and enjoyment, for when they were made to pass before him, he gave appropriate names, descriptive of their distinctive properties, without making a single mistake: "for whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." And even the woman, whom God created out of one of his ribs, whilst in a deep sleep of insensibility, when presented to him, he knew all about her, described her origin, and gave her a corresponding name; as appears from the close of the second chapter above quoted. Thus was he qualified for the society of his Maker; and for the enjoyment of the surrounding beauties of creation with which he was encompassed in that blissful garden of delights. And as for his destiny, the perpetual and uninterrupted enjoyment of his natural, blissful, and happy state was graciously secured to him, upon the cheap and easy condition of abstaining from the use of the fruit of a single tree in that beauteous garden of delights, in which was a specimen of every thing of the kind, that was pleasant to the eye, or good for food.--But, alas! notwithstanding all this gracious kindness of his bountiful Creator, man was tempted to transgress this easy and all-important command, through the seduction of a subtle tempter, called the serpent, who said to the woman, "that in eating it she should not surely die: for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to [397] her husband, and he did eat." Gen. ii. 4-6. Thus was the divine law transgressed.

      Query 2. What is man become by transgression?

      Ans. He is become a guilty, depraved, perishing sinner:--wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they saw that they were naked."--And the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the first born man was a murderer; he murdered the second, so that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" For "the fleshly mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So, then, they that are in the flesh, cannot please God." Gen. iii. 7; iv. 8; vi. 5. Jer. xvii. 9. Rom. viii. 7, 8. It is not the intention of this essay to exhibit the contents of the Bible upon all or any of those all-important topics, above specified, which are intended to make the believing and obedient student wise to salvation; but only to introduce them; and thus to direct the attention to the examination of the contents of the good book upon each and all of them, for this blissful purpose.

      Query 3. Into what condition has sin brought the human family?

      Ans. By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin:--for in Adam all die:--all are by nature children of wrath:--dead in sins, for "the wages of sin is death." Rom. v. 12, 19; 1 Cor. xv. 22; Eph. ii. 3, 5; Rom. vi. 23.

      Query 4. What are the divine provisions for our deliverance from the guilt, the depravity, and the punishment of sin?

      Ans. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to be lifted up upon the cross as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John iii. 14-16. God commendeth his love to us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more, then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Rom. v. 8, 9. Who was delivered up to the death of the cross, for our offences, and was raised again for our justification? Wherefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God; for whom he justifies, them he also glorifies. Rom. iv. 25; v. 1, 2, vii. 30. But God has not only given his. Son to justify and redeem us by his most precious blood; but has also with and through him, given his Holy Spirit to sanctify us, "for, without holiness no man shall see (that is enjoy) the Lord." Heb. xii. 14. Wherefore the [398] Christian is begotten of God, born of the Spirit, a new creature. For "of his own will begat he us by the word of truth." And except a man be born from above--born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:--created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. See James i. 18; John iii. 3, 5; 2 Corinthians v. 17; Ephesians ii. 10; Romans viii. 9, 14. And, the Apostle, to the Corinthians, speaking of the righteous, says--"Such were some of you; but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor. vi. 11. But God has not only given his Son to justify us by his blood, and his Spirit to sanctify us by his blessed word; but has also therein ordained appropriate means for the enjoyment of those blissful provisions of his love: to which we shall advert in the sixth query.

      Query 5. What are the blissful effects and consequences of this happy deliverance?

      Ans. First--Adoption into the family of God--"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Second--"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." See also, Col. iii. 4; John iii. 2. For he saith--"He that overcometh shall sit on my throne; even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father on his throne." Third--And again, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." See Gal. iii. 26, 27; Rom. viii. 18; Col. iii. 4; 1 John iii. 2; Rev. iii. 21, and xxi. 7. In these quotations we have a brief comprehensive display of the blissful and glorious effects and consequences of the divine provisions for our deliverance from the guilt, the depravity, and the punishment of sin. Indeed language cannot express, nor can we possibly conceive or imagine any thing more blissful and glorious. For what can God do more for any creature, than to confer upon it, for its enjoyment, all that he is, and all that he has? Surely such privileges and prospects, as above described, are all-sufficient to dispose us, to the due use of all the divinely appointed means to fit us for, and introduce us into, the actual enjoyment of them.

      Query 6. What are the means divinely appointed for this infinitely important purpose? [399]

      Ans. First, the acquisition of the knowledge of the doctrinal contents of the Holy Book, which are designed to make us holy and happy; and, of course, "wise to salvation--thoroughly furnished for all good works"--namely, the knowledge of God;--of man;--of sin;--of the Saviour;--of his salvation;--of the principle and means of enjoying it;--and of its blissful effects and consequences. Therefore we should make it our constant study and intention in the perusal of the holy scripture, to take out of every portion of it, the instructions it contains upon all or any of these seven topics;--asking ourselves upon the perusal of each chapter;--What does it teach us; or what have we learned from it--concerning God--or man--or sin--or the Saviour--or his salvation--or the principle and means of enjoying it--or of its blissful effects and consequences? By the principle of enjoyment, we mean faith, that is, the belief of the divine testimony, without which we can enjoy nothing of it. For testimony, which we do not believe to be true, whether divine or human, can have no effect upon us. And, by the means of enjoyment, we mean the practical observance of all the divine commands and ordinances of our holy religion, without the due observance of which we cannot enjoy it. For it is self-evident that what we neglect we cannot enjoy. These things being so, we should make it our constant study and practice to understand, believe, and obey the sacred oracles; for without the knowledge, belief, and obedience of the Divine Book, we can neither be happy here nor hereafter.

      Upon the whole, we humbly and earnestly appeal to the readers of this essay--Are not its scriptural contents, presented in the above queries and topics, the all-important subjects, which claim our supreme and constant attention? Ought we not, therefore, to make them, as much as possible, the constant subjects of our social intercourse with each other? What says our Divine Teacher? See Deut. xi. 18-21, with Col. iii. 16, 17. "You shall lay up these my words in your heart, and in your soul: and you shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.--That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children--as the days of heaven upon earth."--"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him." Were these divine injunctions duly observed, what a blissful improvement would it make upon Christian society! [400] We mean the society of the majority of those who bear the Christian name. What unprofitable vain conversation--yea, what foolish laughing and jesting would thus be happily prevented, both to the honor of God and man. And what an enjoyment of heaven upon earth would be the happy consequence, if the professors of our holy religion would practise nothing in word or deed, which they could not scripturally do "in the name of the Lord Jesus"? May the good Lord hasten the happy time, when all his professing people will be governed by his holy example and precept! Amen, and amen!

THOMAS CAMPBELL.      

[The Millennial Harbinger (July 1847): 394-401.]

      Thomas Campbell's "Christian Society" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 4, No. 7, July 1847. The electronic version of the essay has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1847), pp. 394-401.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's (or editor's) use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the essay. Emendations are as follows:

            Printed Text [ Electronic Text
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 p. 395:    See, then, [ "See, then,
 p. 396:    Psalm cxix, 36; [ Psalm cxix. 36;
 

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 26 March 1998.
Updated 9 July 2003.