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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 77

Appendix II

Appendix II.

The following is the "Report of Committee on Union of Churches," which was in circulation among the Assembly reports, 1903. It contains the Articles of the Faith so much criticised. This report, however, was not presented to the Assembly

Report of Committee on Union of Churches.

Your Committee were instructed by last Assembly to approach the Methodist Conference and the Congregational Union, and to inform these bodies that, in the opinion of the Assembly, the time had come to consider seriously whether a Union of the Churches they represent with our own might not be accomplished. In accordance with these instructions the Committee waited on the Congregational Council at its meeting in Dunedin last February, and by delegation on the Methodist Conference at its meeting in Christchurch in the month of March. By both Council and Conference the delegates and the proposals they submitted were received with great enthusiasm, and at later sederunts resolutions similar to that of the Assembly, and appointing committees to co-operate with the Assembly's committee, were unanimously adopted.

Your Committee were further instructed, in the event of the Assembly's proposal receiving a favourable reception at the hands of the Conference and Council, to bring up a report to this Assembly, indicating the main lines of doctrine and polity, on which negotiations for a Union of these Churches with our own might proceed. After careful consideration the Committee came to the conclusion that it would be well to confine their deliberations this year to the matter of doctrine alone. This resolved on, they next determined to take as the basis of their work the very admirable articles prepared some years ago by a committee of the Presbyterian Church of England—Principal Dykes, convener—and approved of by that Church as a statement of the living faith of the Church. The Committee were of opinion that with the elimination of one or two articles and the modification of certain others these Articles of the Faith would commend themselves not only to the Presbyterian Church of Now Zealand, but also to the two other Churches with whom we have entered into negotiations. This anticipation has been amply fulfilled, as far as the three committees can be regarded as reflecting the opinions of the Churches concerned. With one or two merely verbal alterations and the addition of an Article setting forth the sanctity of the Lord's Day, the Methodist Committee have accepted the doctrinal basis sent on to them by your Committee. The Congregational Committee are also in almost entire accord with the Methodists and ourselves in this matter. They would prefer a slightly different statement in a few of the Articles, but as they have not completed their work at the date of writing this report, the slight changes they desire will be brought before the Assembly when the report is under discussion. The following are the articles unanimously approved of by the Methodist and Presbyterian Committees:—

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Articles of the Faith.

I.—Of God.

We believe in and adore one living and true God, who is spirit and the Father of spirits, present in every place, personal, infinite, and eternal, the almighty Author and sovereign Lord of all; most blessed, most holy, and most free; perfect in wisdom, justice, truth, and love; to us most merciful and gracious; unto whom only we must cleave, whom only we must worship and obey. To him be glory forever! Amen.

II.—Of the Trinity.

We acknowledge, with the ancient Church, the mystery of the Holy Trinity as revealed in Scripture, and believe that in the unity of the ever blessed Godhead there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of one substance, equal in power and glory.

III.—Of Creation.

We believe that Almighty God, for His own holy and loving ends, was pleased in the beginning to create the heavens and the earth, by the Son, the Eternal Word; and through progressive stages, to fashion and order this world, giving life to every creature; and to make man in His own image, that he might glorify and enjoy God, occupying and subduing the earth, and having dominion over the creatures, to the praise of his Makers name.

IV.—Of Providence.

We believe that God the Creator upholds all things by the word of His power, preserving and providing for all His creatures, according to the laws of their being; and that He, through the presence and energy of His Spirit in nature and history, disposes, governs, and over-rules all events for His own high design; yet is He not in anywise the author or approver of sin, neither are the freedom and responsibility of man taken away, nor have any bounds been set to the sovereign liberty of Him who worketh when and where and how He pleaseth.

V.—Of Sin.

We believe and confess that all men, through disobedience to the will of God in whatsoever way made known, are in a state of sin, and so are estranged from God, have come under just condemnation, and are subject to the penalty of death;; and we acknowledge that out of this condition no man is able to deliver himself.

VI.—Of Saving Grace.

We believe and proclaim that God, who is rich in mercy as well as of perfect justice, out of His great love to man was pleased to hold forth from the first a promise of redemption, which from age to age He confirmed and unfolded; and that, in the fulness of the time. He accomplished His gracious purpose by sending His son to be the Saviour of the world; wherefore our salvation out of sin and misery is ever to be ascribed to free and sovereign

VII.—Of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe in and confess, with the ancient Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the Eternal Son of God, became man by taking to Himself a true body and soul, yet without sin, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary; so that He is both God and man, two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the divine and the human, being inseparably united in one person, that He might be the Mediator between God and man, by whom alone we must be saved.

VIII.—Of the Work of Christ.

We believe that the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, being anointed with the Holy Spirit to proclaim and set up the Kingdom of God among men, did by His perfect life on earth, through words and deeds of grace, declare the Father, whose image He is; and did fully satisfy the demands of the Divine nature, and obtain for us forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God, and the gift of eternal life, through His obedience on our behalf to the law and will of His Father, even unto the death of the cross, wherein, bearing our sins, He offered Himself up a sacrifice without spot to God.

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IX.—Of the Exaltation of Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ, being for our offences, crucified, dead, and buried, saw no corruption, but was raised again on the third day, and declared to be the Son of God with power, in whose risen life we live anew, and have the pledge of a blessed resurrection; that in the same body in which He rose, He ascended into Heaven, where, as our High Priest, He maketh continual intercession for us; and that He sitteth at the right hand of God, Head of the Church, clothed with authority and power as Lord over all.

X—Of the Gospel.

We believe and proclaim that God, who willeth that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, has, by His Son our Saviour, given commission to the Church to preach unto all nations the Gospel of His Grace, wherein He freely offers to all men foregiveness and eternal life, calling on them to turn from sin to God, and to receive and rest by faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

XI.—Of the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who worketh freely as He will, without whose gracious influence there is no salvation, and whom the Father never withholds from any who ask for Him; and we give thanks that He has in every age moved on the hearts of men; that He spake by the prophets; that through our exalted Saviour He was sent forth in power to convict the world of sin, to enlighten the minds of men in the knowledge of Christ, and to persuade and enable them to obey the call of the gospel; and that He abides with the Church, dwelling in every believer as the Spirit of truth, of holiness, and of comfort.

XII.—Of Justification by Faith.

We believe that everyone, who through the quickening grace of the Holy Spirit repents, and believes the Gospel, confessing and forsaking his sins, and humbly relying upon Christ alone for salvation, is freely pardoned and accepted as righteous in the sight of God.

XIII.—Of Union with Christ.

We believe that those who receive Christ by faith are vitally united to Him, and become partakers in all the benefits of His redemption; that they are adopted into the family of God; and that they have the Spirit of His Son abiding in them, the earnest and witness of their inheritance.

XIV.—Of The Law of the New Obedience

We believe and acknowledge that the Lord Jesus Christ has laid His people by His grace under new obligation to keep the perfect Law of God; and that by precept and example He has enlarged our knowledge of that law, and illustrated the spirit of filial love in which the divine will is to be obeyed.

XV.—Of the Church.

We acknowledge one holy catholic Church, the innumerable company of saints of every age and nation, who, being united by the Holy Spirit to Christ their Head, are one body in Him, and have communion with their Lord and with one another; further, we receive it as the will of Christ that His Church on earth should exist as a visible and sacred brotherhood, organised for the confession of His name, the public worship of God, the upbuilding of the saints, and the proclamation of the Gospel; and we acknowledge, as a part, more or less pure, of this universal brotherhood, every particular Church throughout the world which professes faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him, as Divine Lord and Saviour.

XVI.—Of Church Order and Fellowship.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the sole Head of His Church, has appointed its worship, teaching, discipline, and government to be administered, according to His will revealed in Holy Scripture, by officers chosen for their fitness, and duly set apart to their office; and although the visible Church, even in its purest branch, may contain unworthy members, and is liable to err, yet believers ought not lightly to separate themselves from its communion, but are to live in fellowship with their brethren; which fellowship is to be extended, as God gives opportunity, to all who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

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XVII.—Of Holy Scripture.

We believe that God, who manifests Himself in creation and providence and especially in the spirit of man, has been pleased to reveal His mind and will for our salvation at successive periods and in various ways; and that this Revelation has been, so far as needful, committeed to writing by men inspired of the Holy Spirit, so that the Word of God is now contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, which are therefore to be devoutly studied by all; and we reverently acknowledge the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scriptures to be the Supreme Judge in questions of faith and duty.

XVIII.—Of the Sacraments.

We acknowledge Baptism and the Lord's Supper, the two Sacraments instituted by Christ, to be of perpetual obligation, as signs and seals of the new convenant ratified in His precious blood; through the observance of which His Church is to confess her Lord, and to be visibly distinguished from the rest of the world; Baptism with water into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost being the sacrament of admission into the visible Church, in which are set forth our union to Christ and regeneration by the Spirit, the remission of our sins, and our engagement to be the Lord's; and the Lord's Supper, the sacrament of communion with Christ and His people, in which bread and wine are given and received in thankful remembrance of Him and of His sacrafice on the Cross, and in which they who in faith receive the same do, after a spiritual manner, partake of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to their comfort, nourishment, and growth in grace.

XIX.—Of The Lord's Day.

We believe that the Lord's Day, or Christian Sabbath, is a Holy Day, and is to be observed for rest and worship.

XX.—Of the Second Advent.

We believe that on a day known only to God, the Lord Jesus Christ will suddenly come again from heaven with power and great glory, for which appearing we ought always to wait in sober watchfulness and diligence, that we may be found ready at His coming.

XXI.—Of the Resurrection.

We believe that the souls of the righteous enter at death upon a state of rest and felicity at home with the Lord; and we look for the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust, through the power of the Son of God, when the bodies of all who are fallen asleep in Christ, as well as of the faithful who are then alive, shall be fashioned anew and conformed to the body of His glory

XXII.—Of the Last Judgment.

We believe that God will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, before whom all men must appear, who shall separate the righteous from the wicked, make manifest the secrets of the heart, and render to every man according to the deeds which he hath done in the body, whether good or evil.

XXIII.—Of the Life Everlasting.

Finally, we believe in and desire the life everlasting in which the redeemed shall receive their inheritanee of glory in the kingdom of their Father, and be made fully blessed in the presence and service of God, whom they shall see and enjoy forever and ever. Amen.

Your Committee ask the Assembly to consider these articles seriatim, to adopt them provisionally, and to send them down to Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions with an inquiry as to whether they consider Union with the Methodist and Congregational Churches desirable on this or a similar doctrinal basis. It is not suggested at this stage that the articles should be sent down under the Barrier Act, or that Presbyteries and Sessions should express other-than a general approval of the proposal for Union on the basis suggested. In the event of the Assembly's agreeing to this course, the Committee, in pursuance of the resolution adopted a year ago, ask authority to formulate, in co-operation with the Methodist and Congregational Committees, suggestions towards a Basis of Union in respect of the polity of the Church.

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The movement inaugurated by last Assembly for the Union of the Evangelical Churches of the colony is happily on a line with similar movements in other parts of the world. In Canada the question is being eagerly discussed. In Australia, at the recent meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the recommendations of the Committee for a Union of Presbyterianism, Methodism, and Congregationalism were adopted by a very great majority. On every hand there are indications that the Churches of Jesus Christ are drawing together. The time is assuredly not far distant when not only in this colony, but in every land, the Churches that practically hold the same creed and follow the same methods of work will throw down their denominational barriers, and unite to form one grand victorious body, in which the desire of Christ for the unity of His people shall be realised, and by which the waste and strife occasioned by sectarian competition and rivalry shall be brought to a perpetual end. May God speed the day!

James Gibb.

Convener