how to conduct himself in the episcopal office, he forewarns him, that in the lat"ter days, some shall depart from the "faith;" and points out others to his notice, who, having been seduced by 1" the "love of money, which is the root of all ❝evil, have erred from the faith;" that is, from the saving doctrines contained in the Gospel. In other places, the term is used in a sense somewhat more comprehensive, though still signifying that one code by which all Christians were to be bound. Thus we read, that Felix sent for St. Paul, and m❝ heard him concerning the faith in "Christ;" where "the faith" means, not only the distinguishing doctrines, but also the great moral precepts of the Gospel; for the Apostle, on this occasion, “rea"soned of righteousness and temperas well as of a "judgment to "ance, If then it be admitted, that what God has clearly revealed in the Scriptures is of necessity to be believed upon his testi k 1 Tim. iv. 1. 1 1 Tim. vi. 10. m Acts xxiv. 24. G mony, it will follow, that the doctrines, which make a part of this revelation, are to be accepted simply as they are revealed. The faith therefore, by which Christians are to be distinguished, and for which they are to strive, ought to be one and the same for a reference to that Scripture, in which it is contained, proves that it is not a mere system of opinions, which every person is at liberty to frame for himself, by affixing that sense to the word of God, which may best suit his prejudices or his self-conceit; but a connected series of doctrines, taught by men, who “spake " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;" and who could have had but one object, that of inducing all who heard them to believe, as they did, that the important truths which they were instructed to deliver came from God, and were to be accepted in singleness and sincerity of heart by all who sought his favour. 65 II. We have abundant evidence, that such has ever been the settled conviction n 2 Pet. i. 21. of the Church; because, from the earliest days, some confession has been adopted by every branch of it, to which the several members of that branch have been required to adhere. The Scriptures, it is true, contain no regular formulary of faith; and the reasons why they do not must be obvious to every one, who knows the particular design with which each of the sacred books was written. But there is strong ground for believing, that forms, in no essential particular differing from that now commonly received under the title of the Apostles' Creed, were used in the churches which they founded, and were sanctioned by their authority. Many passages moreover, in the writings of the early Fathers, shew, that the fundamental articles of the Christian faith were, from the first, drawn out in regular order; for the purpose of establishing a rule, by which error might be distinguished from truth. Ignatius, the companion of • See Note XXXVIII. Appendix. P See Note XXXIX. Appendix. the Apostles and the disciple of St. John, warning the Trallians against the Gnostic heresy, delivers a summary of the Scripture doctrine concerning our Saviour, and exhorts them to be deaf to all who do not teach it. Irenæus recapitulates the articles of a creed, which he declares that the Church, wherever dispersed throughout the whole world, receives, maintains, and believes, as if it had but one heart and one soul; teaching and delivering it, as with one mouth. r Tertullian gives ves a similar rule of faith, as instituted by Christ; and asserts that no questions are raised against it, but those which heretics have introduced: and, in ' another place, he declares of the same rule, that it is " altogether, one, alone, immoveable, and unalter"able." Were it necessary to pursue the investigation farther, every one of the Fathers might be appealed to; for perhaps there is not any position on which their sentiments q See Note XL. Appendix. will be found to be more unanimous than on this; that he who would be "perfect," or arrive unto "the measure of the stature "of the fulness of Christ," must hold the one true faith once delivered to the saints, and now preserved in the Scriptures. But it is needless to dwell on individual testimony, when we may refer generally to all the Fathers of the first Nicene Council, the free, unbiassed representatives of the whole Christian Church. What, it may be asked, could have summoned so many venerable bishops from their sacred charge; what could have induced so many learned and pious pastors to absent themselves from their flocks, and to journey even from the remotest parts of the then known world, to dignify this synod by their presence, and assist its deliberations by their collective wisdom, but a deeply rooted sense of the paramount duty of establishing the unity of the faith? Had these holy men conceived that every Christian may frame his creed for t See Note XLIII. Appendix. |