Page:Darby - A narratives of the facts.djvu/32

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by faith, that were that authority once shaken there would be danger that no one would know what was certain. It would be scepticism as to every thing. So I have seen it with Roman Catholics. I have myself heard it taught from Heb. ix. 27, that Christ had to be judged after his death as another man. As it was appointed to men to die, and he was a man. It has been taught that Christ was born under death, being a constituted sinner, and worked his way up to life by His obedience, so on Lev. i., that covering sin was not merely by sacrificial atonement making satisfaction for it, but that Christ's devoting Himself, as typified by the burnt offering, made up by a thing of the like kind for our imperfect devotedness, and what a blessing it was that it should be of the like kind, and so filled up and completed, its defects covered. The statement as to the Holy Ghost was, that they did not look for His presence in the assembly, but for God to be over it to bless it. I admit that, since the question has been raised, it has been stated otherwise. But the explanation recently given, to which I have alluded elsewhere, was, that they went to meet God, not the Holy Ghost; we the Holy Ghost, not God. I leave any sober and intelligent Christian to judge what the state of those must be, as to steady certainty on fundamental truths, who were habitually under this kind of teaching. I have given but specimens; I may add from my own experience that most decided legalism took the place of Christ and grace. I could not have recommended a person about whose soul I was anxious, to go there, nor was I singular in this feeling. And these things are urged with all the solemnity of the most important fundamental truths. The godliest of the poor happily never understood Mr. Newton at all. But I return to the history of circumstances.

When speaking was really impossible for unallowed brethren, some of these read a chapter in the bible some times. This was stopped as hindering the ministry. This happened to three different brethren; to one of them it was one of the ruling sisters who went. The brother, a reserved and blameless brother, was told that