"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." And conversely, as a man is, so he thinketh in his heart. Nay, more; as a man is, so are his ideals, his aims, and his accomplishments. It is the good man who out of his good treasure brings forth good things. Character and conduct are essentially the same, and what a man is, determines the quality and quantity of what he does.

S. M. JEFFERSON.

Of the fundamental factors of human life--heredity, environment and personality--personality, at least in moral and spiritual matters, is by far the most powerful and the most important.

      In the light of these truths it is evident that Isaac Errett's contribution to our movement can be stated most succinctly and suggestively in terms of his personality. For, first of all, and most significantly, he gave himself to the movement--himself, in all the plenitude and power of his rich and rare personality.

      In the entireness, excellence and harmony of all his qualities and powers, Isaac Errett was a man of extraordinary endowments and attainments. Physically, he was a great man. His height above the average, frame large and symmetrical, forehead high and broad, eyes deep and soulful, his mein majestic and mobile--his very person was imposing and impressive.

      Mentally also he was a great man. His perception was clear and comprehensive, his imagination vivid and constructive, his thought deep and logically consistent, his will regal and resistless. In every situation, however complex, he discriminated, as if by intuition, truth from error, right from wrong, expediency from inexpediency. Speculative and practical problems which were difficult and distressing to many, he mastered with ease.

      But the crowning greatness of Isaac Errett, and that which best fitted him for his great religious work, was his pure and all-pervading spirituality. He was a good man, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. In his heart of hearts he enthroned Jesus Christ as Lord of all, and sought ever to be loyally and lovingly subject to him. Truly and reverently it may be said that Christ lived in him, and the life that he lived he lived by faith in the Son of God. Pure in heart, humble in spirit, conscientious in conduct, he was a man of the highest moral and spiritual integrity and power.

      Such was the exalted and elevating greatness of the man. Possessing all these rich and abundant endowments and accomplishments, Isaac Errett gave himself in entire and ardent devotion to our movement, and for more than a quarter of a century, during all his mature manhood, with wonderful wisdom and consummate skill, he mightily aided in guiding the movement safely and successfully past every threatening [406] danger and impending disaster. We can see now, and gratefully acknowledge, that God in his good providence raised him up for this purpose, and adequately fitted and furnished him for the great work; even as he himself humbly believed that he was called and sustained by God, found in this trust his inspiration and strength, and ascribed to God all the honor and glory.

      Isaac Errett was a recognized representative and trusted interpreter of the Disciple movement. And still more; during twenty-five years of its most critical history, he was its leading advocate and its most powerful champion. No man ever had a better knowledge of our movement; no man ever excelled him in the clear and cogent presentation of our plea, nor surpassed him in the zeal and efficiency with which he devoted himself to its world-wide propagation. He was intimately acquainted with the originators and leaders of the movement. He fully understood and appreciated all their high aims and holy impulses. He was familiar with all the history and literature of the movement, its origin and its development, the evils which it sought to supplant, and the benefits which it hoped to accomplish. The famous "Declaration and Address" was as familiar to him as it was to its author; and all its great principles and purposes were intelligently and heartily adopted by him as his own. He saw clearly that the movement was designed and adapted to eradicate the sin of sectarianism with its manifold evils, and to restore the religion of the New Testament in all its divine purity and power. Accepting with the full consent of his understanding and of his heart these principles and purposes, with their necessary implications, and believing their realization to be essential to the highest moral and spiritual welfare of the world, he gave his life to their propagation and defense, as most sacred human interests, which must never, under any temptation, be disregarded, perverted, compromised or surrendered. It is in the clearness and firmness with which he grasped and held the essential principles of our plea, and in the consistency and concentration with which he limited his advocacy to these, that he accomplished his most characteristic and valuable service. He once solemnly said to me, "I will not fight for anything for which I am not willing to die; and the things for which I am willing to die are few--very few." From "that most unhappy of all practices, sanctioned by the plausible pretense of zeal for the truth--religious controversy among professors"--he was consistently free; but for the few fundamental things that are necessary for the redemption of the world through Christ, for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, he was willing both to fight and to die; nay, for these he was willing to live and labor, which is harder and more heroic than to die. These lofty principles of loyalty to Christ and liberty in Christ were the constant inspiration of his life and the explanation of all his conduct.

      To speak now more in detail, but still with necessary brevity. His interpretation and application of the famous maxim, "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent," is a typical example of the spirit and manner in which he represented everything connected with our plea. He interpreted the maxim to mean loyalty to Christ in all that he requires of us, and freedom in Christ from all other and alien authority; and its application he consequently restricted to articles of faith and terms of communion. It did not mean that aids and agencies found in experience to be efficient and desirable, mould not be adopted as necessary or wise human expedients, simply because they are not found on the page of express revelation; but that nothing of this nature should be imposed or required as a term of communion.

      Isaac Errett regarded the sacred Scriptures as the inspired record and interpretation of God's progressive revelation of himself in word and deed, culminating in Christ as the divine Redeemer of men; and their chief design to make men wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. He recognized the Christianity of the New Testament as a religion for the race, a worship for the world, adapted for all lands and times, consistent with all real acceptance of Jesus as the Saviour of sinners; and saw clearly that in Christianity as thus truly universal, and as [407] absolutely ethical and ethically absolute, there are and can be but few inflexible forms; that while the spirit must remain the same, it may and will develop, under the law of liberty, in living harmony with circumstances, times and places. This is not to discredit or disparage the Scriptures; it is to use them all in accordance with their real nature and design. To the Scriptures, properly interpreted and applied, he yielded reverent and joyful submission, as bringing to him a message from God, which is not only of the highest authority, but also of the highest wisdom. But it is this divine message and meaning, and not the mere written words, which he recognized as the word of God. And he therefore rejoiced in the growth of the science of Biblical criticism, and

T. E. CRAMBLET.

welcomed all of its really assured results, as he did also the results of learning and scholarship in all the allied sciences, as leading to a more enlightened study and interpretation of the word of God. His confidence in that Word, as embodied and expressed in the Scriptures, was so firm and well founded that he felt no fear that it might be shown to be in conflict with any real fact or truth wherever found.

      In the same wise and winning way he represented all the principles of our plea. He stated his understanding of the peculiar characteristics of this plea with admirable precision and brevity: "(1) It insists on faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, as the only condition of admission to baptism and membership in the church. (2) It enjoins obedience to Jesus, the Head of the church, as the only condition of fellowship in the church. (3) It advocates the union of all believers on these two considerations: Faith in Jesus; obedience to Jesus--thus letting party means and organizations and creed give place to a spiritual brotherhood which, possessed of whatever diversity of opinion or of practice outside the simple teaching of the New Testament, should be one in faith and character as the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ." "Clearly, then, the object was not to promulgate a new doctrine, nor to establish a new party, but to unite the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ on the word of God, in faith and obedience, leaving them the largest liberty, as to expedients, to adopt such measures as could be mutually agreed on for edification, and the completest freedom of opinion, provided no man sought to force his opinions on another."

      The faith which is insisted on is faith in a person, not in a proposition, much less in a theory or in a system of doctrine. It is a personal committal to Jesus Christ as our personal Redeemer and Lord. All are to know him, though they may not know all the truth taught by him or about him; and to all who receive him, he gives the right to become children of God. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." Human creeds and confessions may be excellent, and serve a good purpose in their place, as compends of religious facts and truths; but they are at the best necessarily partial, local and temporary; and subscription to them should not be demanded or desired as a test of Christian character or a qualification for Christian work. With the supremacy of the word of God and the right of private judgment held sacred, there will always exist diversity of opinion and of practice; but not all diversity is either disunion or dissension.

      The obedience to Jesus which is required respects not any particular act pre-eminently, but denotes, rather, willing submission to all the known will of the Lord; and this not according to a law of works, but of grace; not to earn a reward, but to receive the gift of God.

      The union which is advocated is the union of all believers in Christ and for Christ. This is indeed Christian union. The unity of the members of the church is determined by their unity with Jesus Christ, the one Saviour and Lord of all. This is the oneness of all his followers for which the Master prayed: "That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they [408] also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me." Clearly, this oneness, which embraces all believers in Christ, of all peoples and tongues, and of all classes and conditions, does not imply unity of external organization; nor does it require, even where it permits, identity of knowledge, sameness of opinion, or uniformity of practice. Rather, the church in and through which this unity and union of all Christians, so earnestly desired and devoutly prayed for, is to be realized, is the church of Christ, the body of which he is the head, a spiritual brotherhood, a community and communion of saints in Christ. It is essentially oneness in faith, in affection and in effort for the redemption of the world.

      "Surely it becomes the pleaders for union to rise above all narrow prejudices, and take in worthy conceptions of this mighty plea. It wants strong minds and big hearts and generous culture. Two things must be carefully guarded, and the desired result is certain. We must guard with uncompromising integrity the essentials of this plea; namely, faith in the Lord Jesus, and obedience to him in all things clearly taught in his Word. We must as carefully guard, and with an equally uncompromising faithfulness to principle, against all attempts to coerce unity either in regard to inferential truths or matters of expediency. That is to say, while insisting on loyalty to Jesus, we must allow every man to be loyal to himself in all things not expressly commanded or taught, and regard this liberty as his right and not as our gift. Let no false tests of fellowship be instituted, no unwritten creed be allowed to bring God's people into bondage."

      Isaac Errett's attitude towards other religious bodies, especially the great Protestant parties of to-day, implied in what I have said, deserves a more explicit statement. While consistently refusing to recognize them, in their exclusive denominational organizations, as realizing the ideal of New Testament churches, he regarded their established congregations, in so far as they are constituted of obedient believers, as real, though imperfect, churches of Christ, in a fair if not in the full sense of that term. Justly discriminating what is essential to the being of a thing from what is essential to its well-being or perfection, he admitted the real existence of the former even where truth demanded the denial of the presence of the latter. He claimed that all religious parties should abandon whatever in their doctrine or practice is inimical to true Christian union, and where needful follow the way of the Lord more perfectly. But, in view of the Christian character and conduct of their members, he did not regard the great Protestant parties as antichristian or unchristian sects. Sects in a sense they are; but there is a fundamental difference between them and the sects reprobated in the New Testament. The word "sect," therefore, must be freed from much of its bad meaning, before it can justly be applied to them. He esteemed all sincere believers in Christ as brethren beloved in the Lord, and sought for mutual fellowship with them so far as this is possible without sacrificing the principles of the gospel. The sectarian spirit, with its divisive and disruptive practices--the spirit of bondage to party and of refusal to labor for the unity and union of God's divided and scattered people--whether found in the ranks of others or in our own, he denounced as sin and opposed with all his power. But he welcomed in Christian fraternity all who were giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. It was not from lack of love or of liberality, but in humble loyalty, that he contended for the one baptism of this seven-fold bond of peace. He would have the church faithful to her commission: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you." He would give sinners Scriptural assurance of salvation in the words: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." But he was too great both in head and heart to convert this affirmative into the proposition, "All the saved are baptized believers," or to infer from it that none but the baptized [409] will be saved. Not his to limit God!

      He often quoted with approval the words of Alexander Campbell: "Who is a Christian? I answer, Every one who believes in his heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God, repents of his sins, and obeys him in all things according to his measure of knowledge of his will. A perfect man in Christ, or a perfect Christian, is one thing; a babe in Christ, a stripling in the faith, or an imperfect Christian, is another. The New Testament recognizes both the perfect man and the imperfect man in Christ." "I can not, therefore, make any one duty the standard of Christian state or character, not even immersion into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and in my heart regard all that have been sprinkled in infancy without their own knowledge and consent as aliens from Christ and the well-grounded hope of heaven."

      The ways and means by which Isaac Errett made his great contribution to our movement, were many. I have time merely to mention his effective pulpit and pastoral ministries, his powerful public lectures and addresses, and his widely read and persuasive published volumes. His most conspicuous and most constructive service was wrought in connection with our missionary societies, and through the columns of the Christian Standard. He was a lifelong advocate of world-wide missions. He realized that to preach the gospel to the whole creation is the mark and mission, the work and worth of the church. With the vision and vigor of a great statesman he sought to inspire and organize all our churches for earnest and united co-operation in the conversion of the world to Christ. He knew that Jesus himself prayed for the oneness of all his followers as the desired means of the world's conversion, and that this oneness surely includes the largest and most efficient co-operation for this glorious end. Isaac Errett was for three years the successful corresponding secretary of the American Christian Missionary Society. He was one of the first to advise and assist in the organization of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions. He was one of the founders of the Foreign Christian Missionary Society. He zealously supported these societies, and all other forms of organized and co-operative work among our churches, by voice and pen, by prayer and purse. He was president of the Foreign Society from its organization till his death, and did much by his wise counsel and his zealous labors to give it early and growing greatness. To free our churches from extreme and inert congregational independency, and unite them in the conquering power of their combined resources, both spiritual and material, was one of his most determined and hopeful endeavors; and probably no work of all his life gave him greater pleasure, or resulted in giving to our movement wiser direction, worthier impulse, or more gratifying success.

      Of the Christian Standard, as founded and edited by Isaac Errett, and as the great channel through which for twenty-two years he poured the full tide of his powerful and purifying influence, I can not here and now speak as it deserves. He made and maintained the paper an admirable model of religious journalism: dignified and independent, fearless and forceful in defense of truth and righteousness, honest and honorable in all its utterances and dealings, free from partisan ambition, paltry prejudice and personal pique. The paper was devoted to the exposition and defense of the essential principles of the Christian religion and their practical application to the individual and social life of to-day. The chief feature of the paper was Mr. Errett's masterly editorials, full of sweetness and light, and leading the advance in ever larger and better service for Christ. He also secured the most intelligent, influential and representative writers in our brotherhood as contributors to its columns. In the discussion of important matters all sides were fairly represented. Even when pernicious errors were exposed and denounced, offensive personalities were avoided; and unless one had denied the faith or disgraced his Christian character, he was acknowledged and even defended as a brother. In short, the Christian Standard was in matter and manner, in word and spirit, in temper and tone, worthy of its name. As edited and conducted by Isaac [410] Errett the Christian Standard was grandly representative of all that is wisest and loveliest in our plea; and as such it won for our movement more intelligent understanding and worthier appreciation from the public press of other religious bodies than we had hitherto received. And its weekly visits into thousands of homes of our own people liberalized their views, sweetened their spirits, deepened their devotion, and multiplied their good works.

      My time forbids further details. But I trust I have presented enough from the written record of his life and work, and from personal recollection of the intimate friendship with which he honored me, to characterize Isaac Errett's contribution to our movement. Permit me to sum it up now in a single sentence. Isaac Errett's contribution to our movement was the contribution of all his mighty powers and manifold labors to preserve and propagate this movement, in the purity and integrity of its original purpose and principles, as a movement towards the restoration and world-wide extension of the Christianity of Christ and his inspired apostles, in all its simplicity, spirituality, unity and catholicity. In another, but no less significant, sentence: He gave his life to spiritualize, unitize and universalize our movement, and to save it from being diverted or degraded by ignorance or design from its original and catholic purpose and principles into a literalistic and legalistic party as sectarian in spirit and practice as any sect we ever opposed.

[CCR 406-411]