A Compendium of the Chief Doctrines of the True Christian Religion/Chapter 50
L. Concluding Reflections.
HAVING thus stated the chief doctrines of the true christian religion in as concise a manner as the different subjects would permit, all of which are most clearly founded on, and deducible from, the Holy Word, we shall bring this Compendium to a close by observing, that the whole system of christian theology resolves itself into two fundamental articles, which enter into, and render interesting to the highest degree, every truth of divine revelation. These are,
I. That there is only One God in One Divine Person, in whom nevertheless is a Divine Trinity of Father, Son. and Holy Spirit, similar to the human trinity, in every individual man, of soul, body, and proceeding operation; and that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is that One God.
II. That, if man would be saved, he must not only believe in the Lord, but also live, or endeavour to live, according to his divine precepts of love and charity, shunning evils of every description as sins against him.
These two fundamental articles of the true christian religion may well be considered as the two witnesses, of the last days, heretofore clothed in sackcloth, and rejected in the church, but now at length reviving, standing upon their feet, and testifying to the world, in the first place, the true Object of divine worship; and in the second place, the manner how such worship ought to be performed, so as to become acceptable in the sight of Heaven, and to secure to man the happiness of eternal life. The first distinguishes the true christian religion from every other in the known world: for it teaches, that the Supreme Being, the Creator and Preserver of the world, has actually manifested himself as a Divine Man; that he is himself the Redeemer and Saviour of the human race; and consequently that a genuine faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, is at the same time a faith in him as the Everlasting Father. The second article holds up to view, not merely the duty of believing in him with the understanding, which of itself will in the end avail nothing, but (what is of greater importance) insists upon the necessity of conscientiously obeying his sacred laws, by departing from every thing that is opposed to his Word, by embracing with the supreme affections of the heart every principle of the heavenly life, and by reducing to practice all that we know or believe to be the divine will.
The great end of religion is to render man useful and happy, both in this life, and in that which is to come. But the true christian religion, above all others, is capable of producing this effect; because, being derived immediately from the God of heaven, whose adorable name it carries on it's front, it contains a full display of his divine person, attributes, and perfections; and lays down, in the clearest and plainest manner, those rules of life, which, if attended to in sincerity and faithfulness, according to the light received, cannot fail to qualify for the full enjoyment of everlasting bliss.
Many are the particular truths included in the great doctrines submitted, in this little volume, to the perusal of the serious and candid reader, which the limits of our plan would not permit to be distinctly enlarged upon: but we trust, that enough has been advanced to engage, not merely his curiosity, but the best affections of his heart, in the pursuit of subjects, which confessedly carry with them the highest interest, because they are so intimately connected with his final destiny. Let no one, therefore, either on account of the apparent novelty of some of the sentiments above stated, or the obscurity and weakness of the instruments made use of to publish them to the world, treat with contempt what may not at first be clearly understood: for it is confirmed by universal experience, that many things, which have been disapproved of, and even rejected, at one time, have at another, and in a different state of mind, been acknowledged and cordially embraced as the very truth of heaven.
The surest qualification for the discovery and enjoyment of genuine truth, is not the cultivation of the understanding only, but the regulation and improvement of the will, with it's various affections; these having a power, according to their agreement or disagreement with the laws of divine order, either to give just discernment to the understanding, or to overshadow it with a cloud of spiritual darkness. So important indeed is this consideration, that it was thought proper to apprize the reader of it, even before he entered upon the work, by affixing upon the title page our Lord's own words, as the best possible direction how to proceed in the investigation and study of doctrines claiming to be those of the True Christian Religion. And now, having delivered them in a plain, open, and candid manner, appealing, when necessary, to the direct testimony of the Sacred Scriptures, for authority and confirmation, we leave them to the judgment of the reader, and to the operations of the Divine Providence upon his mind; being well assured, that whosoever is already in the good, cannot be far from the true, and that "if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God," John vii. 17.
END OF THE COMPENDIUM.