Page:Groves - Darbyism - Its Rise and Development and a Review of the Bethesda Question.djvu/38

 our brother’s intention to act as he has done, nor any knowledge of his intention to circulate any letter, until it was put into our hands in print.

“Some weeks ago, he expressed his determination to bring his views before a meeting of the body, and he was told he was quite at liberty to do so.

“He afterwards declared that he would waive this, but never intimated, in the slightest way, his intention to act as he has done, without first affording the church an opportunity of having his reasons for separation.

“Under these circumstances, we feel it of the deepest importance, for relieving the disquietude of mind naturally occasioned by our brother’s letter, explicitly to state that the views relative to the Person of our blessed Lord held by those who for sixteen years have been occupied in teaching the Word amongst you, are unchanged.

“The truths relative to the divinity of His person—the sinlessness of His nature—and the perfection of His sacrifice, which have been taught both in public teaching and in writing, for these many years past, are, through the grace of God, those which we still maintain.

“We feel it most important to make this avowal, inasmuch as the letter referred to is calculated, we trust unintentionally, to convey a different impression to the minds of such as cherish a godly jealousy for the faith once delivered to the saints.

“We add, for the further satisfaction of any who may have had their minds disturbed, that we utterly disclaim the assertion that the blessed Son of God was involved in the guilt of the first Adam; or that He was born under the curse of the broken law, because of His connection with Israel. We hold Him to have been always the Holy One of God, in whom the Father was ever well pleased.

“We know of no curse which the Saviour bore, except that which He endured as the surety for sinners,—according to that Scripture, ‘He was made a curse for us.’

“We utterly reject the thought of His ever having had the experiences of an unconverted person; but maintain that while he suffered outwardly the trials connected with His being a man and an Israelite,—still, in His feelings and experience, as well as in His external character, He was ‘entirely separate from sinners.’

This preamble shows how clearly those who signed the letter, had perceived the tendencies of the views in question, and how fully and carefully, as those placed “to guard the sheep,” they had set themselves on their watch, to maintain sound teaching touching the Person of the Blessed Lord, whether as to His perfect Godhead, or spotless and perfect manhood, which had been jeopardized in more ways than one. In this they sought to pursue the divine plan of bringing the Light of living truth to bear on the consciences of the saints, and thus fortify them against the inroads of heresy; taking the shield of faith to ward off the distant arrow of the enemy in the first instance, as afterwards to protect against the sword of a hand to hand conflict, when demanded by circumstances that might arise.