ON PROTESTANTISM, DELIVERED BEFORE THE North of London Auxiliary TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND YOUNG MEN'S SOCIETY, IN OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER, 1851. With an Entroduction BY THE REV. W. W. CHAMPNEYS, M. A., Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral, and Rector of Whitechapel, London. LONDON: JOHN FARQUHAR SHAW, 27, SOUTHAMPTON ROW, RUSSELL SQUARE, AND PATERNOSTER ROW. 1852. 110.6.273. PREFACE. PROTESTANTISM is "Bible Christianity." is the Word of God in direct antagonism to the word of man. It is God's truth in active opposition to man's errors-God's verities to man's innovations. It is the sword of the Spirit, drawn out of its scabbard, and pointed at the advancing enemy. Christianity must be protestant. It must protest against every thing that is contrary to God's revealed will and hostile to man's salvation. True Christianity was ever protestant, though not always called so. When Arianism came forth to perplex the simple by its subtleties, and render unavailing, by limiting, the Divine atonement, Christianity protested. When Pelagianism poisoned the waters of life at their fountain, and made entire renewal by the Holy Spirit appear unnecessary, and infinite satis faction by the Saviour's death redundant, Christianity protested. Its creeds are a string of protests. Every clause in those creeds is a direct protest against some then prevailing, and still not extinguished or uprooted error. And when Rome had gradually insinuated (as she imperceptibly built them up) her anti-scriptural and anti-christian errors, true Christianity always protested. The men of Lyons were Protestants. The men of the Piedmontese valleys were Protestants. The Lollards of England were Protestants. Wickliffe, and Huss, and Luther rekindled the protestant spirit only because they spread the fuel of Bible-truth in the earth. And the candle which our martyred bishops lighted at their death, was fed then, and has been kept burning since, only by Bible Christianity. Blessed be God for our English Protestantism, because it is Bible Christianity! The mere political Protestant is a creature of time—“ a man of the earth -as much as the covetous and the gold-gatherer; but the true Protestant is one who, leaving the question of the day to the men of the day, is "valiant for the truth upon the earth," and could think no party triumph to be other than abiding loss, while God's truth and Christ's gospel are not helped and promoted. True Protestantism, then, is God's truth in the attitude of defence-entering its solemn protest against, and declaring war to the death with, man's traditions and human figments. It is the pardoned sinner clinging to his one sacrifice- full, perfect, and sufficient;" rejoicing in his one Mediator, "ever living to make intercession for him;" and glorying in his one new and living way to God. Rejecting as "fables" the sickly legends of equivocal saints,-whose very saintship has not been established without long pleading, hired advocacy, and fruitful gains to that "man of sin" who sits to judge what should be clear as one of God's own sunbeams, but is doubtful as the light of some flickering taper,the true Protestant sees no cloud of mediators surrounding the Eternal Throne, never doubts the love and tenderness of Him "who can be touched with the feeling of all our infirmities, because he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin; " but, in the "spirit of adoption," not "the spirit of bondage "-the spirit of a son, not of a slave-" has access with confidence by the faith" of Christ, and rejoices in God through Christ, by whom he has received the atonement. It is hoped that the following Lectures will, |