A manual of Faith Practice.
By
William Styles
1897
PART ONE PERSONAL RELIGION.
INTRODUCTION
IN the following pages an attempt
is made to present the reader with an abstract of the plan of Salvation. They
are divided into chapters, each devoted to some important branch of truth, and
these into paragraphs in every one of which some weighty doctrine is succintly stated, and proved from the Word of God.
At the
onset it may be desirable to give a resume of the views which it is here sought
to unfold and enforce. The following may, therefore, be acceptable as a brief,
but clear and comprehensive condensation of those momentous facts in which it
is our highest happiness to be vitally interested :
“The
principles upon which I go, and by which I hope by the grace of Gtod eternally to abide are That the triune Jehovah, having
made all things for Himself, and having an undoubted right to do what He wills
with His own creatures, governeth them all according
to His predetermined plan. (a) That as to mankind, He hath chosen a
remnant, whom He hath loved with an everlasting love, (b) which love and
choice was not made on account of any seen or foreseen excellence in the
objects of it; who were chosen, not because they were, or because they would
be, but that they might be holy. (c) That all mankind falling in Adam,
the rest were left in this ruin; and, being utterly unable to extricate
themselves out of it, the non-elect are for acts of wilful
sin condemned and perish. (d)
(a) 1 John v. 7; Prov xvi. 4 ; Rom. ix: 21; Eph. i. 11. (b)
But God's elect alone are
delivered from the curse due to all men, by their God and Saviour
Jesus Christ, who entered into covenant with the Father and the Spirit for them
; wherein He gave His word and oath, that He would be their Head and Surety ;
and, taking upon Him their nature, would make satisfaction to the injured
justice and purity of God, by both obeying and suffering in their stead ; that
thus He might not only procure them a free pardon, but bring in an everlasting
righteousness, in which they shall be presented before God, with exceeding joy,
and without spot. (e) All which He finished in the fulness
of time, being born of a virgin, made under the law, and at length not only
died the cruel and cursed death of the cross, but His soul being made an
offering for sin, He was made sin and a curse for us. (f) After which He
testified the perfection of His satisfaction, by rising from the dead, and
ascending to the right hand of God, where He ever liveth to make intercession
for His people (g) That all mankind are utterly abominable in the sight,of God, not only as the sin of their first father is
justly imputed to them, but as they derive from him, and bring into the world
with them, a sinful nature, whereby they are inclined to evil alone, and to all
evil, and are the subjects of a total contrariety and enmity to holiness (h);
which enmity nothing can subdue, which depravity nothing can change, or produce
in the heart a contrary principle thereto, but the almighty, sovereign, free
operations of God the Spirit, who will in His own time work certainly,
powerfully, (i) effectually, and lastingly, upon each of His elect,
creating them anew, giving them a new heart and a new spirit ; producing in
their understanding a perception of the evil of sin, the beauty of holiness,
and the fitness of Christ to save them; and, in their will and affections, an
inclination to holiness ; and a disposition to take Christ for their own, and
that as Prophet and King, as well as a Priest (j)
(E) Psa. Lxxix. 2, 8; 2
Sam. xxiii. 5; Isa. xlii. 6; Jer.
xxxi. xxxii xxxiii. Heb. ix.
15; Isa. Liii. ii, xii; Heb.x: 5,7, 10, and 13,
20; Dan. 9: 24; Jude 24; John xvii. 4 ; (F)
Gal. iv. 4 ; Phil. ii. 8 ; Isn. liii. 10; 2 Cor. v. 21; Gal.
iii. 13. , (G) Acts ii. 24; 1
Pet. I. Ill. 18-21; Heb. vii. 25; (H)
That
all who are thus wrought upon were elect, and then (but not till then) have a pleadable right to Christ (l); or ground and
authority to look upon themselves as interested in Him, in His everlasting
love, in His blood, His righteousness, and every blessing, which through Him
flows to His people. All who think well of Christ, who would gladly take a
whole Christ for their own (by a whole Christ, I mean Christ as King to rule
over them, as well as Priest to atone for them) may and ought to be encouraged
to believe Him to be their own, (m) without being set to get such or
such a measure of legal repentance and fitness for Christ (as some talk) before
they may come to Him ; seeing Christ alone can give repentance, and the only
good repentance is produced by a sense of His dying love. (n) True
believers, after calling, though they have the habit of faith, may often want
the lively acts thereof; yet is assurance a blessing that many are favoured with, and the more true comfort a Christian hath,
the more holiness will he have; (o) but absolute perfection is not
attainable by any one in this life (p); yea, the elect, after calling,
may fall foully, though never shall one fail finally, or even totally. (q)
If this could happen, Christ would be an eternal loser, for who could pay back,
not gold, or silver, or worlds, but blood and soul-rending pangs, occasioned by
the wrath of an infinite God ! And therefore, wherever
in consequence of His eternal love, the Lord hath given grace in the least
degree, He will carry on His work, and crown all with glory." (r)
(John Ryland, D.D., 1771.)
Such is
the system of Theology, which in its details, now claims the reader's
attention. It is commended on the following grounds.
1 . Its scripturalness. It appeals alone to the Word of God, "king but that
each proof verse adduced should be understood in its plain, obvious, and
grammatical meaning, and in connection with its surroundings.
2. Its coherency and
harmonious character. A contradictory
creed must strike every intelligent person as involving what is fatal to its divine authenticity.
That here unfolded is a connected and consistent whole.
3. It refers all difficulties to God Sinaelf.
Every scheme of Divinity must admit the existence of mysteries, which no
ingenuity of explanation can remove. The introduction of moral evil, and its dire results confront all who give attention
to Theology, whatever may be the sentiments they are led to adopt. These
difficulties we neither deny nor seek to explain. We admit their existence, and
confess our present inability to cope with them. We, however, leave them with
God, considering them to be necessarily enshrouded in the mystery that must
ever attach to the doings of an inscrutable Being of infinite goodness and
wisdom.
4. Its practical usefulness. It is friendly to morality; to
benevolence; to Christian fraternization; and to the spread of the gospel, by
all legitimate means at home and abroad. It commands all at once to abandon
what they know to be wrong; while it affords all possible help to any to whom sin is burdensome and bitter. It affords the fullest
scope to every preacher to address all within sound of his voice. It bids him
instruct the ignorant, warn the sinner, direct the acquirer, and invite the
anxious one. It gives him matter with which to encourage the tried believer, to
comfort the faint-hearted, and to seek the restoration of the wanderer.
Lastly. Its Christ-exalting character.
God has so simplified the vast business of salvation as to comprise and
comprehend all its essentials in the one glorious person of Emmanuel ; and
surely the Theologian's task is but imperfectly performed, until he has matured
an harmonious scheme, in which the Master is presented as the sum, the centre,
the substance,s “the all and in alt" This, it is
submitted, is the excellence of the system of Divinity here briefly presented,
and they to whom Christ is dear will find " Him first, Him last, Him
midst, and without end."
We can
but pray that it may command the attention; Inform the
understanding; and, through all-enriching grace, prove of spiritual profit to
the souls of many of the brotherhood of faith.
L. 1 Pet. 2: 7; 1 John 5: 1; 1 Cor. 12: 3; Rom. 7: 22; John
1: 12; M. 1 Pet. 2: 7; 1 Cor. 12: 3;
Mat. 5: 6; N. Acts 5: 31; Zech. 12: 10; Ezek. 36: 31, and 20: 43,
and 16:63.O.
CHAPTER 1. THE WORD OF
GOD.
The Bible, its inspiration,
authority, and sufficiency.
We acknowledge the Word of God, as
contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, to be verbally
inspired (A), and the sole, supreme, and all sufficient directory of our
Faith and Practice (B).
A. John 10: 35; 2 Tim. 3:16, and 2 Pet. 1: 20, 21. B.
2 Tim. 3: 16-17, and Psa. 19: 7, and Psa. 119, whole Psalm.
“a
glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic, like the sun,
It gives a light to every age;
It gives, but borrows none.
"The hand that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat
Its truths upon the nations rise
They rise, but never set.
Let everlasting thanks be Thine.,
For such a bright display,
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day."
The Bible never contradicts
itself
Since
truth is evermore consistent
with itself, it follows that two contradictory statements,
however high the authority that may be pleaded in their favour,
cannot both be in accordance with fact. We therefore hold that to represent
that the Bible in one place asserts what is elsewhere denies, is to invalidates
its authority as the pure truth of God, and we repudiate all systems of
interpretation which admit that contradictions are contained therein.*
2 Cor. 1:19 ; 2 Tim. 2: 13.
"How well those blessed truths agree
I How wise and holy Thy commands I
Thy promises how Arm they be !
How Arm our hope and comfort stands I
" Should
all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art,
I'd call them vanity and lies,
And bind the gospel to my heart."
God’s Word reveals many
mysteries
While we hold that the Bible
contains no contradictions or absurdities (A), we yet admit that it reveals
many mysteries (B) or divine facts, which man's natural reason on neither
discover nor explain (C), and which can only be apprehended by the
understanding imparted by God to His own people (D).
A. 1 Cor. 2: 6; B. 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 5: 32; 1 Tim. 3:16. C.
John, 3: 3; 1 Cor. 2:14;
D. Mark 4:
11; Eph. 3: 4; Col. 2: 2; 1 Tim. 3:9; 1 John 5:20..
"Say. Christian, wonld'st
thou thrive
In knowledge of the Lord !
Against no Scripture ever strive,
But tremble at His word.
Revere the stared page;
To Injure any Part
Betrays, with blind and feeble rage,
A hard and haughty heart.
"If ought there dark
Bewail thy want sight;
No imperfections can be there
For all God's words are right.
"The thoughts of man are lies,
The Word of God is
true.
To bow to Iced is to be wise;
Then hear, and fear, and do."
The Bible its own interpreter
We hold that the Scriptures so
explain themselves, that an unlearned person may from them alone become " wise unto salvation, through faith which is in
Christ;" and that none that prayerfully seek to know the mind of God from
His Word will fail to obtain all needed light.
Isa. 35: 8. 1 John 2: 27.
"Sea the fair way His hand
hath raised;
How holy, and how plain I
Nor shall the simplest traveller err,
Nor ask the track in vain."
*Christianity involves many
paradoxes, but no contradictions. - Bishop Horsby.
The Spirit’s help essential to the understanding of the Word
of God.
We hold that the supernatural
assistance of the Holy Spirit is essential to the profitable spiritual
reception of the truths of the divine word (A) ; and
that He stands engaged to afford such aid to all the people of God (B).
A. Psa. 119: 18; 2 Pet. 3:16; B. Isa. 54: 13; John
16: 13.
“Come Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire,
Let Us Mine influence prove,
Source of the old prophetic fire,
Fountain of light and love.
"Come, Holy Ghost, (for
moved b The
The prophets wrote and spoke ) .
Unlock the troth, Thyself the key,
Unseal the sacred book."
CHAPTER 2.-THE SUPREME BEING.
The Unity of God.
We
believe that there is one true, living, and self-existent God (A); who
is the only proper object of Christian worship (B).
A. Deut. 6: 4; Psa. 42:2; 1 Cor. 8: 4-6; B. John 4:
23; and 17: 3; Phil. 3:3; Rev. 22: 8-9.
"Before Jehovah's awful throne,
Ye nations, bow with sacred Joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone ;
He can create, and He destroy."
The Spirituality and
Perfections of God.
We believe that God Is a
Spirit (A) ; infinite (B) ; eternal (C)
; and unchangeable (D) ; in His being (B') ; wisdom (F); power (G) ; holiness
(H) ; justice (1); goodness (J) ; and truth (K).
A.
John 4: 24; B. Job. 11: 7; C. Pas. 90: 2; and 1 Tim. 1:
17; D. James 1: 17. E. Exod. 3: 14. F. Isa. 40: 28.
G. Psa. 147: 5. and Dan. 4: 35. H. Rev. 4: 8;