Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/508

 496 FRIENDS to have the Christian doctrines stated must be sought in the writings of their most approved authors, and in the minutes and epistles of their yearly meetings. In the words of one of these documents, they helieve that " every man coming into the world is endued with a measure of the light, grace, and spirit of Christ, by which, as it is attended to, he is enabled to distinguish good from evil, and to correct the disorderly passions and corrupt propensities of his nature ; and that without the spirit in- wardly revealed, man can do nothing to the glory of God, or to effect his own salvation." The following statement of their doctrines, discipline, and organization was prepared under the authority of the Philadelphia yearly meet- ing, and presents them as they are maintained by that portion of them who claim to be the orthodox representatives of the original found- ers: "They believe in one God, the creator and upholder of all things; and in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things ; and in the Holy Spirit which proceedeth from the Father and the Son: one God, blessed for ever. In treating of the Three that bear record in heaven, they prefer keeping to the language of Holy Scripture, which some- times induced their opponents to accuse them of unsoundness. This was the case in the controversy which led to the writing of Wil- liam Penn's * Sandy Foundation Shaken.' He says the question between him and his op- poser was, ' whether we owned one Godhead subsisting in three distinct and separate per- sons.' The latter words Penn argued against as unscriptural, but to prevent a misconstruc- tion of his views, says : ' Mistake me not, we never have denied a Father, Word, and Spirit, which are one; but men's inventions;' and at different periods of his life he strenuously re- pelled the charge of Socinianism as regarded himself and the society. The same applies to his argument respecting the doctrine of Christ's satisfaction; for while he rejects the school terms in which his antagonist dressed it, he quotes numerous passages of Scripture proving that our Lord Jesus Christ, in his suffering and death, was a most acceptable sacrifice and propitiation for the sins of mankind. They own and believe in Jesus Christ, who was con- ceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the Vir- gin Mary, in whom we have redemption and pardon through his blood, even the remission of our sins; that he was a most satisfactory sacrifice for the sins of the world, being cruci- fied without the gates of Jerusalem, rose from the dead the third day, ascended into heaven, and now sitteth at the right hand of God, our holy mediator, intercessor, and advocate with the Father. They have uniformly believed that he is true God and perfect man in won- derful union, and that the forgiveness of sins which any partake of is only by virtue of his sacrifice. That the Holy Spirit whom Christ said he would send leads and guides his fol- lowers into all truth ; that a manifestation of this Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, which convicts of sin, and, as it is obeyed, gives power to overcome and forsake it ; that it enables savingly to understand the Holy Scriptures, and gives the living experience of those things which belong to the soul's sal- vation. Man was created in the image of God, capable of understanding and obeying the di- vine law, and of holding communion with his Maker. Through transgression he fell and lost this heavenly state. His posterity come into the world in the image of the fallen earthly man, and until renewed by the regenerating power of Christ Jesus, they are dead to the spiritual life in which Adam originally stood, and subject to the power of Satan ; and their imaginations, words, and deeds are evil. Man therefore in this state can know nothing aright respecting God ; his thoughts and conceptions of spiritual things being unprofitable, until he is renewed and quickened by the Holy Spirit. What was lost in Adam is made up in Christ ; and the guilt of Adam's sin is not impu- ted to any until they make it their own by transgression. There will be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, the one to eternal life and blessedness, the other to ever- lasting misery ; and God will judge the world by Christ Jesus. That the Holy Scriptures were written by divine inspiration, and contain a declaration of all the fundamental doctrines and principles relating to eternal life and sal- vation ; and that whatsoever doctrine or prac- tice is contrary to them, is to be rejected as false. The society does not call them the Word of God, this term being peculiarly applied in them to the Lord Jesus ; yet it believes them to be the words of God, written by holy men as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that they are able to make wise unto salva- tion through faith which is in Christ Jesus. It looks upon them as the only fit outward judge and test in controversies among Chris- tians, and is very willing that all its doctrines and practices should be tried by them, freely admitting that whatever any profess or do, pre- tending to be guided by the Spirit, which is contrary to the Scriptures, be condemned as a delusion. As there is one Lord and one faith, so there is one baptism, of which the water bap- tism of John was a figure. The baptism which saves the soul is not dipping in or sprinkling with water, but the answer of a good con- science toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This answer of a good conscience can only be produced by the washing of regen- eration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, transforming the heart and bringing the will into conformity with the will of God. The communion of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is inward and spiritual, a real par- ticipation of his divine nature, through living faith in him and the power of the Holy Spirit, by which the soul is enabled daily to feed upon him and experience spiritual nourishment ; the true Christian supper being that set forth in