CHAPTER VIII.

TO REMOVE OFFENCES, MUTUAL CONCESSION IS GENERALLY NECESSARY.

WHEN One member of a church receives an offence from another, a willingness to make concessions on both sides is in general necessary to the removal of it. Even where there may be much blame on the part of the individual who gives the offence, as it seldom happens from the imperfection of human nature that it is treated altogether in the spirit of the Gospel, an impartial observer will generally discover that there are faults on both sides. If the one party, then, insist that he is entirely in the right, while the other is entirely and exclusively in the wrong, it is extremely difficult to promote reconciliation. On this account, whenever a person in a case of this nature can conscientiously say, that in some points it would have been better had he acted otherwise, (and it is seldom necessary for a man to stretch his conscience to say so,) he ought cheerfully to do it. If the party offended be willing to admit this much, though the impropriety with which he is chargeable be nothing compared with that of the other, such a concession will tend greatly to promote a reconciliation, and to lead the offender to see the evil of his conduct.

If one man has given such obvious ground of offence to another, that, as the phrase is, he may be

said fairly to have committed himself, the spirit of the world would dispose the offended party not to be reconciled, till he got the aggressor completely humbled, and thus obtained a sort of personal triumph. The spirit of the Gospel, on the other hand, which regards not the gratification of our own pride, but the restoration of an offending brother, will make us thankful for any appearance of his being convinced he is wrong, and dispose us to restore him, in as easy a manner as we can judge to be at all consistent with fidelity to his soul. Instead of peremptorily demanding the strongest language of confession and humiliation, it will lead us rather, in the first instance, to try the effect of a forgiving disposition, in order to promote the spirit of genuine repentance. In this case, the more we demand, the less we usually gain. It is commonly after the exercise of such a forgiving spirit, that the offender most deeply feels the impropriety of his conduct.

Here, we have an admirable model for our imitation, in the manner in which our divine Master treats his offending people. How does he overcome them, and destroy their rebellion against him? Is it by keeping them at a distance, and refusing to receive them? No! but, by the riches of his condescension and grace, he disarms their opposition. He melts down their pride, stubbornness, and disobedience, by heaping coals of fire on their heads. It is in the same way we ought to endeavour to gain an offending brother. If we are influenced by a desire to gratify our own spirit, we shall be disposed to bring the offender in submission to our own feet. If we supremely aim at his spiritual profit, we shall be

more concerned to bring him to the feet of our Master.

How finely is this illustrated in the conduct of the father in our Lord's beautiful parable of the returning prodigal! There is no demand of deep humiliation, no appearance on the part of the father of a difficulty to be won, or of a hesitation in accepting the first expressions used by his offending child, of his regret and humiliation. He hails with joy the first symptoms of his sense of guilt. He does not allow him to finish the speech, short as it was, he had proposed to address to him, before he interrupts him with the language of kindness and forgiveness. This parable, like all the rest delivered by our blessed Lord, clearly indicates, that he who spoke it intimately knew what is in man. But when we recollect who is represented by the father in this parable, let us at the same time remember our obligations to be "followers (imitators) of God, as dear children," and "to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful." Eph. 5:1; Luke 6:36.

We shall only farther remark, that there is often a danger of gratifying our own pride, when one has offended us, under the plausible guise of solicitude about our brother's spiritual good, and that he may be properly humbled, on account of the evil manifested in his conduct. Every one who knows the deep deceitfulness of the human heart, will strongly perceive the necessity of being on his guard here. Such a solicitude ought undoubtedly to be felt; but we should beware of confounding it with that selfgratulation, which is apt to arise from our supposed superiority to our offending brother. This belongs

to a very different spirit; and as it is by far more common to demand too much, on such an occasion, in the way of confession, than too little, wherever this extreme is to be found, whatever plausible pretence it may assume, it may in most cases be very fairly traced to the unhallowed principle of secret triumph and self-gratification.

CHAPTER IX.

THE SPIRIT WITH WHICH DISCIPLINE OUGHT TO BE ADMINISTERED.

WHEREVER either private reproof or the public discipline of the house of God is administered, it ought ever to be done from sincere love to the offender, and under a sense of deep humiliation before God, on account of that departure from the law of Christ, which renders such reproof or discipline necessary. The reproof of a private offence should be accompanied with the most heartfelt regret that the offender should have fallen into sin, and a tender solicitude that he may be suitably affected with it, and restored. Where, in consequence of the failure of the other steps appointed by our Lord to remove an offence, it is unavoidably laid before the church, and public reproof must be administered, in addition to our concern for the offender, we ought to feel for the occasion that is given, by the incon

sistent walk of professors, to the enemies of the Lord Jesus, to speak reproachfully. Again, where it is necessary, on account of gross iniquity, to have recourse to immediate exclusion, even this step must be conducted with that all-pervading spirit, by which every thing that is connected with Christianity is distinguished, the spirit of Christian love. It ought to be done from love to the offender, that he may be brought to repentance; from love to the cause of the Lord Jesus, that it may not be reproached by countenancing men in iniquity; and from love to the general body, that they also may fear. Every case of discipline, the members of a church should consider as an affecting and impressive commentary on that text of sacred writ; "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."

It is a truth, which cannot be too strongly inculcated, that the external forms prescribed in Scripture may be observed where the spirit of them is totally wanting. Nay, it is possible to be very zealous for the observance of the form, while that zeal may be expressed in a spirit very different from the spirit of the Gospel. If a private offender, for example, is reproved, not in love, but in an opposite temper, the reprover in this case becomes himself an offender against the law of Christ. In like manner, if, when public discipline is administered, we should feel, in consequence of some previous difference we may have had with the person who is the subject of this discipline, a secret gratification that he has fallen into sin; that he has met with something to humble him, and that now his character is made manifest, and that it only confirms the view we entertained of