A Book of Gems, or, Choice selections from the writings of Benjamin FranklinFranklin, Benjamin
Religion
A Book of Gems, or, Choice selections from the writings of Benjamin Franklin
Franklin, Benjamin
Churches of Christ
No _general division_ can come. The main ground we occupy precludes
the idea of any _general division_. A vain man, or a bad man, may
occasionally scatter a flock, tear up a church and ruin it. But, then,
such a man will soon find his level and come to nothing, or become
surrounded by influences strong enough to control him. There is no
machinery of which he can get hold to produce a general division, nor
is there any place where an entering-wedge can be introduced to rive us
asunder.
No man can depart from the doctrine sufficiently to produce a division,
without losing his influence, so that he will have no power to do
anything more than lead off an insignificant faction, such as will
die out in a short time. Take any one of the elements now annoying
us, and tell us how a general division can grow out of it. You will
see that it can not be done. Take, for instance, the question about
evangelizing and the different methods insisted on, and inquire how we
can divide on it. One man is for this plan or that, and goes for it.
Another man is not for this plan or that, and goes against it. The one
for it, works for it, and the other does not. After a little space the
difference will wear out, and they will fall into the same channel and
work together. Different schemes will be tried, found inefficient and
useless, and be abandoned. After the brethren have time to mature the
matter they will come round to the right ground and go on in harmony.
Unscriptural things will be discarded, impracticable things will prove
failures, and shallow things will be treated with contempt. Men that
are unlovely, of bad spirit, spiteful and revengeful, will soon develop
themselves to the satisfaction of all. True men—men of faith and love
and zeal—will go on and work where the Lord shall open the way for
them; not for man, nor to please man, but for the Lord, and to please
the Lord, and the work will go on. Men that will not work, that have
no work in them, but want large pay, will seek fat places, and get
them, if they can, and if they can not, croak about our lack of system,
disorder, want of organization and the like, pine away and vanish out
of sight.
But may we not have a general division about the organ? Not at all.
We have none among us that will exclude us if we will not _fellowship
the organ_. This is all the difficulty there is. Some of us will not
_worship with the organ_ nor _fellowship it_. Will not that divide us?
Not at all. Those who would rather have their organ in their worship,
than those who will not, and can not worship with it, _will have it_,
and let those who can not worship with it, _stay away_. Those who can
not worship with it will seek some place where they can worship without
it, and worship as they know to be according to Scripture. They know
this to be safe.
SOME THINGS CAN NOT BE SETTLED.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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