THE TRANSACTION IN ACTS 15, CONCLUDED (TROTT) 1838 2/2

Brother Beebe: I will now assign a third reason for assuming the negative in the inquiry before us, that the plain example set in the transaction, is very different from that of leading our churches to look to uninspired men, for council, and to settle their difficulties for them.

How stood the case? A difficulty was introduced into the church at Antioch, relative to circumcision, by certain Judaizing teachers, those disturbers of the peace of the churches in every age. There arose a discussion on the subject. Although Barnabas and Paul both appear to have had Apostolic gifts, and Paul evidently has Apostolic authority, they were not so acknowledged by those Judaizing teachers, because they were not of the original twelve, hence their decisions were disregarded. What was to be done? The scriptures of the Old Testament did not clearly decide the case; the New Testament was not then written, at least not the greater part of it. This was an important circumstance attending a difficulty, which cannot occur in our day. An infallible decision it seems they wanted, and such, and such only ought our churches to seek for, in any difficulty which may arise. 

Where was the church at Antioch to look for this? Where did they look! To the twelve apostles at Jerusalem, whom the Lord having qualified with special gifts and inspiration for the office, had appointed and enthroned as judges, with this seal already set to their decisions, that “whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.” For in addition to what I have already quoted relative to the special appointment of the Twelve, we find the Lord said unto them, “You that have followed me in the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve Thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19.28. Again, “you are they which have continued with me in my temptations; and I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my father has appointed unto me; that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom,” (in other words be acknowledged as especially associated with me in the government of the Kingdom,) “and sit on Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel,” Luke 22.28-30. And so it had been foretold, Isaiah 32.1, “a king shall reign in righteousness and Princess shall rule in judgment”. The apostles being here denominated Princes, both the four shoulders being enthroned as judges, and in reference to the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel being called Princes, numbers 7.2. The inquiry here arises, when is the period of the son of man's “being seated in the throne of his glory”? 

The scriptures answer, from the time that he “ascended up far above all heavens” until the “last enemy shall be destroyed,” which is death, Ephesians 4.9-10; 1st Corinthians 15.25-26. During that period the twelve apostles, then, shall sit on twelve Thrones as the Lord's judges, for when the son of man shall sit, you also shall sit. They are as much enthroned now, according to this, as to judges appointed of the Lord, to decide all cases relating to his Kingdom, as they were when the church at Antioch sent her messengers to them; with this difference, then instead of now having to send up to Jerusalem to consult them in any case of difficulty, we have their decisions already written out, at hand in a New Testament; and we have it in the New Testament, in addition to the instructions of the Old Testament, all that the Holy Spirit has seen necessary for the churches to have as a perfect rule of faith and practice, to which he has a fixed this broad seal at the conclusion of the last book, “if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. And if any man shall take away,” Revelation 22.18-19. 

When the pattern here set is so plain, for appealing to the Lord's Princess and judges for counsel; will old school brethren advocate the idea of churches appealing to humanly devised self-constituted advisory councils, to settle their difficulties for them to the neglect of the Lord's appointed judges, in the face of the example set by Paul and Barnabas and the church at Antioch, and all this under the notion that they are copying after the pattern set in that transaction.

Perhaps someone may say that difficulties may arise in our churches on the subjects about which the New Testament is silent. I have only to say on this head, that the fact that the New Testament is silent concerning any subject of doctrine or practice, is conclusive testimony to a Church of Christ, that such subject ought not to be discussed by her; And members persisting in bringing such subjects into the church, after she by a careful examination, has satisfied herself that the New Testament is silent concerning it, is good ground for those members, “after the 1st and 2nd admonition,” being rejected as heretics.

Others may say that the appeal by the church at Antioch was to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. True; And it is equally true, that we have in the New Testament, the writings of elders, other than the original 12 apostles, Mark, Luke, and Paul.

I have brought to view the testimony of scripture, concerning the special authority vested in the 12 apostles as judges to the 12 tribes of Israel, that is spiritually, to the visible Church of Christ in all ages. Why the Holy Spirit did not influence the church at Antioch to make their appeal alone to the apostles, or why the Lord did not direct a New Testament wholly to be written out by the apostles, and that we should have something therein from each apostle, is not for me to say; For us, is it, that apostles were associated in both cases, and therefore that Apostolic authority rests upon both; that the decision concerning circumcision at Jerusalem, and the whole New Testament bear the stamp both of Apostolic authority and on the inspiration of God.

1. The whole church coming together, and the subject being examined and decided in general church meeting, is worthy of notice.

Some of the circumstances connected with this transaction, it may not be amiss here to notice, and all are undoubtedly recorded for our instruction.

The apostles and elders might have come together to consider this matter without troubling the whole church to assemble. But that might in after ages, have been pled as an example for the elders of the churches, to take the discipline into their own hands, and decide independently of the churches, as we see in the discipline of the Presbyterian Church, and in the principle of the government of the Methodist, episcopalian, and other churches. But that the dignity of the church, the bride of Christ, might in this case, be set forth and acknowledged, the church came together on the occasion, and her voice was heard as approving the decision, in the sending of letter and messengers to the church at Antioch, verse 22.

2. As the Church of Jerusalem was the mother church, and therefore properly the pattern of all gospel churches, it was proper that she in the absence, by reason of distance, from the apostles of the Antioch church, should represent the church requiring an Apostolic decision. In this view of the subject, what does the pattern teach? Evidently this: that would a church is difficulted upon any point, instead of the members contenting themselves with looking into the scriptures at home, and as is too often the case column merely to furnish themselves with arguments to defend their points in the debate before the church, when the churches come together, let the appeal be made direct to the apostles and elders, and let the New Testament be read and examined before the whole, or so much of it as to satisfy them what the apostles decision is in this case. And when does decision is found, let them acquiesce in it as that which is bound in heaven. And I verily believe that if churches, when difficulties arise in them, would promptly pursue this course in dependence on God for wisdom to direct, they would find much fewer occasions for going to advisory councils to decide, and therefore to exercise their government, for them.
Neither would this course altogether preclude the aid of helps when convenient to be had, of which I have already spoken. Barnabas, and Paul the messengers from the church at Antioch, were undoubtedly helps in this case. 

The relation they gave “of the miracles and wonders that God had wrought by their hands among the gentiles,” to which all the multitude gained an audience, had I presume a solitary effect on the mind of those Jewish disciples of which this church was composed, to reconcile them to the decision of the apostles in the case. It is equally evident that Judas and Silas, the messenger sent from Jerusalem to Antioch on this occasion, to “tell the same things by mouth” which the apostles had decreed, were also helpful to the church at Antioch to calm their minds; for it is said they confirmed them, verse 32. So brethren from other churches coming in and sitting with a church, now, may be helps to her in her difficulties. But let them after being informed as to the death difficulty confine themselves to relating the experience they have had, like Barnabas and Paul, of God's dealings in similar cases, and to stating the same things which the apostles have decreed in the case. As recorded in the New Testament, with exhortations to a steadfast and united adherence to the apostles' doctrine and order, like Jude and Silas.

3. The messengers from the church at Antioch being received by the Church of Jerusalem, And they, in turn, sending messengers to the church at Antioch, and those being received by them, it is an example of a correspondence being conducted between two churches, through the instrumentality of messengers, and by the churches themselves, without the intervention of any other body like an association being constituted out of the churches to govern and manage the correspondence.

I will now pass to notice some parts of Brother James West's letter already referred to.

1. The sentiment that Brother West's remarks seemed to convey, is that there is no constitutional compact entered into, to bind; No rules of decorum drawn up to govern, messengers from other churches meeting with a church, as in the corresponding meeting described by brother Chrisman, must constitute a lawless assembly, having no rule, no government.

Let us notice this point. Those who unite in their meetings for correspondence, meet as messengers of churches of Christ, or as brethren of the same faith and order, and with a church assembled as a Church of Christ. Hence the same provisions that the New Testament contains for the orderly conducting of a church in meetings they consider as binding upon them. If their love for the brethren, a respect for their fellowship and feelings, a regard for the honor of the cause of Christ, and a reference for that God, as a God of order, whom they have met together to worship, and of whose dealings they would talk, will not constrain old school Baptists to an orderly department in their meeting together, and to a strict regard to the exhortations of the New Testament in the transactions of their meeting, I apprehend that the chords and bands of humanly written constitutions, and rules of decorum will be but of little avail to do it. And if they are not drawn to meet together by brotherly love and fellowship, I think they might as well stay separate.

I will now mention a little of my experience in the case for if Brother Wesr should see nothing better in it than he did in Brother Chrismas' report invitation of the brotherly love, and sense of the presence of God which pervaded the corresponding meeting with the Bethlehem church, yet others may.

I will notice foremost our old school meetings. We have now held several of them in succession, in which brethren, not only of different churches but from different sections of our have congregated together. And I appeal to those brethren who have attended these meetings the most favorably to constituted associations, to say whether they have ever attended the same number of successive meetings of any kind, were more order, more harmony, more regular attendance to the objects of the meeting, more brotherly love moral the spirit of the gospel was manifested that in these meetings. And yet these meetings have never been constituted into a standing body, nor any written human formulas whether adopted to control their meeting, or govern them when met. Again I have been with churches that have thought it necessary to maintain order in their church meetings, to have a standing set of rules of decorum of their own devising to govern them. I have been with other churches that would esteem the introduction of any such human rules among them for the government of their meetings, to be like Uzzah’s unhallowed touch of the ark; and my experience, in this case, compels me to say that this latter class of churches has greatly the preference the other in reference to a real respect to the feelings and fellowship of brethren, and strict regard to the order marked out in the New Testament this is what we might expect, for the introduction of those human rules, is a virtual declaration of a want of confidence, in a New Testament as being a suitable rule of government to a church and in the members, as being capable of being restrained by brotherly love, the fear of God. Hence it is no wonder that the members of such churches should in their church meetings, have respect to no other principles of restraint in their debates, than what their rules of decorum prescribe. There is to be sure a great difference in members and churches and disrespect, many while they have their rules of decorum, are governed by a higher principle in their church transactions. Of our corresponding meetings I will not further speak, after what Brother Chrisman has said, and Brother West's conclusions drawn therefrom; but will return to the 15th of Acts for examples in the case. We have a net chapter 2 assemblages mentioned one with the church at Jerusalem, the other with the church at Antioch, and in each of which meetings there were messengers from the other church. Reward of no human constitution or rules being provided to govern either of these meetings, and yet I can find nothing in the description given of them, that would lead me to consider them lawless assemblages, having no rule, no government.

To conclude, I have said that the idea, that the signing of a temperance pledge is necessary or proper to keep Christians from drunkenness, is a libel upon the religion of Christ. And were I to speak unreservedly my views of the sentiment, in itself considered, that human constitutions, rules, are necessary to constrain brethren to conduct orderly when met together from fellowship and love, and for mutual correspondence in the worship of God. I should pronounce it equally as bad as the other. But I will not say it, for my brethren and companion sake, whom I esteemed, who from long custom, have been so attached to constituted associations, that they cannot think of giving them up. I rather say to such, my brethren, so long as the Lord is pleased to leave you to go on without seeing the inconsistency of keeping up these human guards and bands, and you associate together only to keep up a correspondence among the churches, I wish to bear with that thing, and still to mingle in your meetings. But if you undertake the claim for your associations' authority from the 15th of acts, to assume the apostolic throne, and to sit as judges to decide the difficulties and exercise the discipline of the churches for them, I must drop intercourse with you, as I would with a new school state convention or the like.

I do desire that our southern, and all other brethren who still hold up their associations as advisory councils, would seriously reflect on this subject, and examine it in the light of the New Testament before they go further in the steps of, I will not say what; for I wish not to offend.

Yours in the bonds of the Gospel of Christ,

S. Trott Fairfax CH, Va., September 7, 1838

THE COMPLETE DIGITAL SIGNS OF THE TIMES FROM 1832-2017

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