To the editor of help and food.

My beloved Brother:–A copy of a type-written circular letter on church principles has lately come to my hand. It is being privately circulated in the parts where I am. Its teaching is so mischievous that I crave space for a few remarks upon it in your periodical, as I believe it may be helpful to some who have been, or are, in danger of being misled by its specious argument and show of piety. In order to do so I quote at length the portion of the letter referring to ecclesiastical matters:

"To the laws of their countries men yield a silent obedience. Some of the acts of their legislators may, in their judgment, be faulty, yet, bearing the seal of state, they are absolute in their authority. To take exceptions, or refuse subjection, to such acts would be counted anarchy and rebellion.

"On the other hand, to express one's approval by saying that you had carefully examined their requirements, and, having found them justifiable, would render obedience, would be an assumption of superiority, and an intimation that their acts were not binding without your indorsement.

"Of these defective human laws it is written in Rom. 13:1-5, 'They are ordained of God'; and of the fallible rulers, ' They are the ministers of God'; and to us, 'Ye must needs be subject.' We find this perfectly borne out in the Perfect Man. He proves clearly to His disciples that the demanded tax is unjust, and then honors it by paying the tax.

"Again, our blessed Lord has established governmental authority among His own which are in the world; but the administrators of it, though of heavenly birth, are still fallible, and what they do must often be faulty in His eyes. He does not invalidate their acts, however, on this account; but (as far as our responsibility to render subjection is concerned) He has said it is ratified in heaven. They may err ignorantly, possibly wilfully, and subject themselves to correction; but this is a matter entirely separate and distinct from the former.

" Beloved, we often speak of the beautiful simplicity of the gospel of God's grace, and contrast it with the intricate ways of man's devising:but is not the same true of the above simple principles concerning governmental authority ?

"God's way is ever to circumscribe evil, and to keep it within narrow limits.

"First it is, 'Thee and him alone'; then, 'One or two more'; then, ' Tell it to the church.'

"Thus far we have plain directions from God's word, but no further. Thus far we are in a plain, beaten path, where even the babe in Christ may walk and act intelligently. But beyond this there are no scriptural way marks for faith to walk by. Thus far saints may walk with God; but if they go further, they must walk without Him, having no light save the glow of the sparks of their own kindling; and as faith cannot serve them there, cold intellectualism must take its place. A. C. F."

Such are the unholy principles advocated in this letter, and I ask in all seriousness, could "cold intellectualism" go much further, or Jesuitical sophistry be much worse, than this ?
It has been well known to many of us that for years teaching like this has been tacitly accepted by advocates of church authority as opposed to the subjection of the individual conscience to the word of God; but it is only of late, I believe, that the theory has been so baldly stated as this. I think every Romish priest from pope down to deacon would say "Amen" to the claim for obedience to ecclesiastical decisions here made.

If Luther, Calvin, Farel, et al., had only seen that God has committed authority to the Church, which must be obeyed even though she has erred ignorantly or wilfully, it would have saved all the trouble and pain of the great rebellion against divine (because ecclesiastical) authority commonly miscalled the Reformation! Those admittedly earnest and conscientious, though utterly misguided, men actually supposed that the Church was responsible to hear and bow to the authority of the word of God, in place of being itself constituted the authority to which all who would have the Lord's approbation must yield an unhesitating, "silent obedience," without either examining her requirements or investigating the rightfulness and scripturalness of her decrees! As a result of the independency of these obstinate heretics, a great division was perpetrated, and a wretched fuss stirred up which has not been straightened out yet, and is not likely to be unless the teaching of A. C. F.'s letter be universally accepted among Christians, real and professed. The so-called reformers imagined that only what was "bound on earth"-by Scripture, of course-was "bound in heaven." Had they but seen that heaven ratifies (so far as our obedience is concerned) all that the Church does, whether bound by the Word or not, they would have lived and died in the Roman communion !

What a pity the apostle Peter had not read this letter before he made his famous (or was it infamous?) blunder of the 4th of Acts! There he actually dared to examine a decree of the rulers of the people to see if in obeying it he would be disobeying God; and believing such would be the case, he acted accordingly.

Well, some of us are making great progress backward. It would seem unbelievable, were the evidence not so manifest, that men who, rather than bow to human decrees bearing the stamp of divine authority, turned away from the systems of men and came out to the name of the Lord alone, could now be turning back to that which is the very pith and marrow of sectarian pretension.

I would notice, ere closing, the Jesuitical sophistry contained in the following sentence:" He does not invalidate their acts, however, on this account; but (as far as our responsibility to render subjection is concerned) He has said it is ratified in heaven." Can it be that A. C. F. shrank from actually saying that the Holy God really ratified wilful wrong-doing in heaven ? And so he inserted a parenthesis to let us know that while God cannot do this, He does ratify "our responsibility to render obedience" to the evil or unholy judgment! What state can one be in to write like this! But I forbear. May God keep His people from calling good evil, and evil good! H. A Ironside