The Christian Professor
John Angell James, 1837
WHAT THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION IMPORTS
A profession of Christianity is the most solemn engagement on earth, and he
who makes it, is either one of the best or one of the worst members of
society. Much then does it behoove all who call themselves by the name of
Christ, to inquire with the deepest concern, whether they are sufficiently
aware of the nature and obligations of the act which they performed, when by
entering into fellowship with the church of God, they publicly said, "I am a
Christian." Being apprehensive that there is much ignorance on this subject,
and much neglect even where there is not ignorance, I most earnestly entreat
the serious and prayerful attention of all professors who may read these
pages to what may now be stated, as to a matter personally and individually
applicable to them.
To "profess" means "to declare publicly and solemnly
something that we believe, or that we intend to do so," that a "profession"
of Christianity signifies, a public, solemn and emphatic declaration that
we believe the truths and submit to the obligations of Christianity. The
translators of the Scriptures have given in our English version, two
renderings of the same original word, sometimes construing it profession,
and sometimes confession. In this they have conformed to a difference
which modern use has established, and by which profession means, the
declaration of our religious faith in the ordinary and tranquil
circumstances of the Christian Church, without any reference to persecution;
while confession means the avowal of our belief, in times of danger,
and before persecuting rulers. A confessor is synonymous with a
martyr—while a professor means simply a person publicly declaring
himself a Christian. Still, however, it must be admitted that as there is no
difference in the original Scriptures, so there is none in reality; for he
who makes a profession of religion declares, if he be sincere, his
intention to seal his testimony, if required to do so, with his blood.
It may not be amiss to present the reader with some of
those passages of holy writ in which the two words are employed. Speaking to
Timothy, the apostle Paul tells him that he had "professed a good profession
before many witnesses." 1 Tim. 6:12. This refers to the declaration of his
faith before the Church—while in the text verse he is said to have witnessed
or testified a good confession before Pontius Pilate. Jesus Christ is
called "the Apostle and High Priest of our profession." Heb 3:1.; and in
Heb. 4:14, it is said, "Seeing we have a great High Priest who has passed
into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession."
The passages in which the other term is used are still more numerous; only a
few of which need be given. "Whosoever," said Christ, "shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 10:32. "If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall
be saved—for with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation." Rom. 10:10, 11. "Whosoever shall
confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God." 1
John 4:15.
Let us now consider,
1. WHAT the Christian profession includes.
It is a public, solemn, and emphatic declaration to this
effect, "I am a Christian; I wish to be considered one; and I mean
to live as one." Or, to use the comprehensive language of Christ, it is
confessing HIM before men. It is important to remark, that whatever
be its import, it has special and explicit reference to Christ; it is not a
declaration of belief merely in the existence, attributes, and purposes of
God, as the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the universe; an avowal of
Theism, as opposed to idolatry—no, it is a profession of CHRIST! Whoever,
said our Lord, shall confess ME, I will confess him. Whoever, repeats the
Apostle, "shall confess that he is raised from the dead shall be
saved. To him every tongue shall confess." This is both instructive
and impressive, and contains a strong presumptive proof of his true and
proper divinity.
The Christian church is a collection of witnesses for
Christ; a public embodied testimony to Christ—a spiritual temple, bearing on
its lofty front the inscription "TO THE GLORY OF CHRIST." Everything under
the New Covenant refers to HIM; the Sabbath is to honor HIM, it is the
Lord's day; the Lord's table is to commemorate HIM; the Christian profession
is to testify of HIM—so that if Christ is not divine, we are under a
dispensation which seems to shut God out. If Christ is not divine, worship
and obligations are diverted from God, and directed to a mere creature.
There was nothing like this under the Old Covenant. Moses was but a servant
of the house under that economy, and is not held up as receiving the honor
of a proprietor; but Christ is a Son over his own house. This is our
profession—that we are Christ's.
But what is it concerning CHRIST that we declare when we
make a profession of him? We profess to believe in him and receive him as
the Son of God, and the Savior of the world, divinely appointed by the
Father as the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God, to be the
great PROPHET by whom is made known to man the nature of
Jehovah and his purpose of redeeming mercy towards our fallen race; and that
with docility and meekness we receive all his doctrines, whether declared by
his own personal ministry on earth, or by his inspired apostles, however
mysterious their nature, or humbling their tendency.
We profess that we are convinced of sin as transgressors
of the law of God, that we repent of our manifold and aggravated
transgressions; that God will be just in our destruction; and that hating
and forsaking iniquities, we mean to live a righteous and holy life.
We profess that as sinners lost and condemned, not only
by the fall of Adam, but by our own actual transgressions—we truly believe
in him and thankfully receive him as the divinely appointed PRIEST
and sacrifice for sin, and that we rest exclusively upon the infinite
merit of his obedience unto death for our justification, together with all
the blessings of grace here, and glory hereafter; and that through faith in
him we have received a present salvation, and do really hope for an eternal
salvation.
We profess that we cordially receive Christ and
cheerfully submit to him as our KING, Lawgiver, and Judge—who
has promulgated his Laws in the New Testament, and who requires an
unhesitating, unreserved, willing, affectionate and uninterrupted submission
to his authority; however self-denying that submission may sometimes be as
regards our ease, wealth and worldly esteem. We acknowledge his right to
rule over the body, with all its senses, organs, members, and appetites; and
the soul, with all its varied and noble faculties. We declare that the
rigid, refined, solemn morality of the sermon on the Mount, and the
law of brotherly love laid down in the epistle to the Corinthians,
are and shall be the rule of our conduct; and that as Christ has enjoined
it, we will, by God's help, follow whatever things are true, honest, just,
pure, lovely, and of good report. And also since he has instituted various
ordinances of religion for his own glory, and our benefit, such as the
Sabbath, the sacraments and other public services—we will punctually, and
seriously, and constantly observe them.
"Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly
calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." Heb
3:1. We profess that we receive Christ as our pattern and example,
and that we are determined, as God shall assist us, to conform ourselves to
him in our spirit, temper, and conduct; that we will strive to come, as near
as our circumstances will allow, to Him, who was so dead to this
world, that he renounced wealth, rank, ease, fame. Jesus was so holy that he
could appeal to the most malignant of his foes for the sinless purity of his
conduct. Jesus was so submissive to the divine will, that he drank the
deepest, fullest, bitterest cup of human woe, without a murmur. Jesus was so
meek and lowly, as to bear the greatest injuries and insults with unruffled
serenity and peacefulness. Jesus was so full of benevolence, as to pray for
his foes, to die for them, and save them. Yes, we say to the world, "Look at
Jesus of Nazareth in his holy and beneficent life, or in his ignominious and
agonizing death—see him whose whole character was a compound of purity and
love—and there is our model."
We profess to receive his cause and kingdom in the world,
as ours; to identify ourselves with true religion, and to unite our hearts
with the church as the most important community on earth; we avow that
whatever relative and temporal importance may attach to the cause of
literature, science, liberty, commerce, yet the salvation of immortal souls
is the most momentous interest in the universe, and that our time,
influence, talents and property, are at Christ's command, to promote this
object.
We profess that we have received Christ as the scope and
end of our very existence; that we have ceased to live for wealth, ease, or
reputation, as the supreme object of pursuit; that for us to live is
Christ; and that so long as he is honored by us, it is of secondary
consequence in what situation or circumstances he may place us for this
purpose.
We profess to be looking for Christ's universal spiritual
reign and second coming to manifest himself to his church and to judge the
world, as the supreme object of our joyful hope; and compared with which,
all the greatest changes and most glorious revolutions that are expected on
earth, are but as insignificant and uninteresting events.
We profess that we hope to be accepted by Christ in the
day of judgment; expect to be received into his heavenly kingdom, where we
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, and dwell for ever with
the Lord; and that until then, we are living by faith on earth, sending our
affections after him to glory. And considering our situation in this world
as that of an affectionate wife left for a season for wise reasons in a
strange land, and looking forward with eager anticipation to the time of
meeting with her husband to part no more; and that by the prospect and faith
of that glory to be revealed, we have overcome the 'love of life' and 'fear
of death'.
We profess that for the performance of duties so solemn,
so weighty, so important, so difficult—we have no ability of our own, that
all our dependence and hope are founded on the supply of the spirit of
Christ Jesus; and that conscious of many defects, we are humble before God
and man, and constantly need the exercise of God's forbearing and forgiving
mercy.
Such is the Christian profession.
What height, what length, what depth, what breadth! Well
might we ask, who dare take it up? Or who taking it up can sustain it? We
now consider,
2. HOW the Christian profession is made.
What I have before stated contains the matter of
our profession, but in what manner is it to be made? What is the
precise formal act in which it consists? To whom, and in what way, is the
declaration of our faith to be delivered? If we go back to the promulgation
of Christianity, we find our Lord delivering the following commission to his
disciples, "Go therefore, and teach, (or make disciples of, as the
word signifies,) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." In compliance with this charge, the
apostles required all who believed in Christ to be baptized, join themselves
to the church, receive the Lord's Supper, and observe the other ordinances
of the Christian religion—and upon a profession of their belief in Jesus,
they were received into the fellowship of the faithful. This their
declaration of faith, accompanied as it was by baptism, and their reception
into the church, was their profession. Until they did this, however
frequently they may have attended the Christian assembly, however deeply
they may have been convinced of the truth of the gospel, however freely they
may have communicated their sentiments to any members of the church
privately, they made no confession, and were not ranked among professors.
In the conventional use which the term has acquired among
our churches, it means much the same thing, and signifies a person's
declaring to the pastor and the church, with which he desires to be
associated in visible communion—his repentance towards God, and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ; and on the ground of that declaration, after it has been
examined and found to be conformable to the mind of God, and sincerely made,
so far as appears by inquiry, his being received into the church. It is his
public witness to those whom God has authorized to receive the confession,
his testimony to the character and work of Christ, and of the state of his
own mind towards him. Public testimony in the scriptural manner, is
essential; there may be religion, sincere, fervent religion, but till we
have publicly and formally before the pastor and church, declared ourselves
believers, there is no true profession. With us then profession means the
act of joining ourselves with the people of God, upon an avowal of our
sentiments, accompanied by a declaration, that we believe we are justified
by faith and truly regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
It is professing this I say publicly,
Before the
church;
the particular church with which we enter
into fellowship, and before that as the representative of the whole
universal church. We say to the church, "I take your God to be my God, your
Savior to be my Savior, your people to be my people, your ordinances to be
my ordinances. I partake with you of the common salvation and like precious
faith. I receive you as Christians, and beg in the name of our common Lord,
to be received as such by you."
It is a profession before the
world.
It is saying, "Hear, you who are disobeying God, and neglecting Christ—I
was one of you, but I am no longer one of you—I can no longer
live as you do, and as I once did. I am in Christ a new creature, old things
are passed away, and all things are become new. I come out and am separate
from the world, and give myself up to Christ and his church, to follow him
in all things, as my Savior, Ruler, Pattern; and I consent, and am willing
that you should be judges how far I fulfil my solemn obligations."
And then, be it recollected, the declaration is made not
only before the world, but in the world, in the shop, in the
market, in the exchange. It is a profession not only for Sabbath days, but
for all days; not only for the place of religious meetings, but for the
places of secular resort. "Wisdom calls out in the street; she raises her
voice in the public squares. She cries out above the commotion; she speaks
at the entrance of the city gates—How long, foolish ones, will you love
ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you
fools hate knowledge?" and wisdom's children must do the same, honoring by
imitating their mother. To the man who invites or tempts them to an unkind,
untrue, unjust, dishonest, malicious word or action—or who suspects them to
be capable of one, they should reply, "I profess Christ, and can I deny or
betray him?"
It is a profession before
angels,
who, as the ministering spirits that minister to the heirs of salvation,
must be the spectators of their conduct. It is a profession before
devils,
who tremble as they hear those solemn words, "I am a Christian," drop from
their lips, and from that moment have all their enmity and subtlety roused
and employed to make them if possible faithless to their calling. Yes, it is
a profession before
God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ bends from his throne to hear them utter the
announcement, "I am a Christian!" and from thenceforward ever looks from his
seat of glory to see how they fulfill the obligations which they have thus
publicly, solemnly, and voluntarily taken upon themselves. He never loses
sight of them for a moment—but is ever watching to see how they sustain his
name—his dear, and sacred and honored name—which is above every other name,
and which they have confessed before men.
What a profession, and how publicly made! By how many
spectators you are surrounded and watched. From the hour you call yourself a
disciple of Christ, the church with a tender interest, the world
with malignant curiosity, angels with kind solicitude, devils
with rooted enmity, God with a jealous eye, and Christ
with tender sympathy—mark every step of your progress; for "you have come to
Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
innumerable angels in festal gathering,
and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in
heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous
made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant."
The nature and obligation of the Christian profession is
confirmed and forcibly stated in the following address to people on their
joining the church, is taken from a manual used in one of the Presbyterian
churches in America.
EXPLANATION.
"You have now presented yourselves in this public manner
before God, to take his covenant upon you—to confess Jesus Christ before
men—to testify your faith, and hope, and joy in his religion—practically to
condemn your former selves, together with the 'whole world as lying in
wickedness'—unreservedly to dedicate yourselves to the service of your
Creator—and definitely to incorporate yourselves with his visible people.
You are about to profess supreme love to God, sincere contrition for all
your sins of heart and life, and sincere faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You
are about publicly to ratify a solemn compact to receive 'the Father, and
the Son, and the Holy Spirit,' as revealed in the Scriptures, in all the
agencies they execute for the government of the world, and in all the
offices they sustain for the salvation of the Church; and to 'walk, from
this point on, in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord,
blameless.'
ENCOURAGEMENT.
"We trust you have fully considered the purpose of these
several professions and engagements. The transaction before you is solemn in
its nature, and will be followed with eternal consequences. God and holy
angels, as well as this Church, these spectators, and your own
consciences—your Pastor and these Elders, are witnesses. Your vows will be
recorded in heaven—and they will be publicly exhibited on your trial at the
last day. Nevertheless, with these reflections you need not be overwhelmed.
In the precious name of Jesus Christ, which is 'as ointment poured forth,'
you may 'boldly enter into the holiest, by a new and living way, which He
has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh—and
having a High Priest over the house of God, you may draw near with a true
heart, in full assurance of faith, having your hearts sprinkled with his
atoning blood, from an evil conscience, and your bodies washed with pure
water. God is indeed great in majesty, infinite in power, 'glorious in
holiness,' inflexible in justice, and 'fearful' even in 'praises,' still, he
is abundantly 'merciful and gracious,' and as such, manifests himself by
graciously condescending, through Jesus Christ, to enter into covenant with
sinners. You may venture then, in the filial spirit, IRREVERSIBLY thus to
commit yourselves, and trust to his promised and inviolable 'faithfulness,'
for strength to discharge your obligations, and perform your engagements.
DEDICATION.
"And now, in the presence of God, angels, and men, you do
solemnly avouch the LORD JEHOVAH to be your God and portion, the object of
your supreme love and delight; and the LORD JESUS CHRIST to be your Savior
from sin and death, your Prophet to instruct you, your Priest
to atone and intercede for you, and your King to rule, protect, and
enrich you; and the HOLY SPIRIT to be your Illuminator, Sanctifier,
Comforter, and Guide, looking to HIM for light, grace, and
peace—unto this TRIUNE GOD—this wonderful 'Name of THE FATHER, and
of THE SON, and of THE HOLY SPIRIT,' into which we are
baptized—you do now without reserve, give yourselves away, in a covenant
never to be revoked, to be his willing servants forever, to observe all his
commandments and all his ordinances, in the sanctuary, in the family, and in
the closet. You do also bind yourselves by covenant to this Church, to watch
over us in the Lord, to seek our purity, peace, and edification, and
conscientiously to submit to the government and discipline of Christ as here
administered; counting it a privilege and a favor—not a privation and a
grievance—to be subject in the Lord, to that authority which HIMSELF has
established in his church, and which HE has made it not more the duty of his
officers to exercise, than of his members to obey. All this, in the divine
strength, you do severally profess and engage.
ACCEPTATION.
In consequence of these your professions and engagements,
we do affectionately open our arms to receive you as members of this Church,
and, in the name of Christ, declare you entitled to all its visible
privileges. We welcome you, as brethren in Christ, to this fellowship
with us in the labors and the blessings, the toils and the honors, the
crosses and the crowns, the trials and the rewards of the Gospel of our
risen Redeemer—and on our part, engage, in his strength, to watch over you,
to seek your edification, and to aid your progress through this
wilderness—to the fields of real pleasure beyond it. Should you have
occasion, in providence, to remove from us, to live within the bounds or in
the neighborhood of another church, we shall hold it our duty to give, as
it will be yours to seek, a recommendation from us, which will place you
under the watch and care of that portion of the family of Christ—for,
hereafter, you can never withdraw from the pale of the church, or live in
the neglect of sealing ordinances, without a breach of covenant.
EXHORTATION.
And now, beloved in the Lord, let it be impressed on your
minds that you have entered into a solemn condition, from which you can
never escape. Wherever you may be, and however you may act, these vows will
remain upon you through life. They will follow you to the judgement of God,
and in whatever world you may be fixed, they will abide upon you to
eternity. You can never again be as you have been! You have unalterably
committed yourselves, and henceforth you MUST be the servants of God!
Hereafter, the eyes of the world will be upon you, and as you conduct
yourselves, so will religion be honored or disgraced. Only let your life
be as it befits the Gospel of Christ, and you will be a credit and
comfort to us—but if it be otherwise, you will be to us a grief of heart, a
stumbling block, and a vexation! and if there be a woe pronounced upon him
who offends one of Christ's little ones—woe, woe to the person
who offends a whole Church! But, dearly beloved, we hope better things of
you, and things which accompany salvation, though we thus speak. May the
Lord strengthen you, and give you a comfortable passage through this
transitory life, and after its warfare shall be accomplished, bring us all
together into that blessed Church, where our communion shall be forever
perfect, and our joy for ever full. Grace be with you. Amen."
Christians, you who make this profession, and make it
thus—does not the subject require and demand your very serious
consideration, and your devout and prayerful examination, whether you are
sincere and consistent? Do you understand what is included in that
all-comprehensive appellative, "A CHRISTIAN," in that public declaration, "I
AM a Christian"? Have you studied your name, analyzed your profession? Are
you aware what the world, the church, and angels expect from you—and what
God and Christ demand of you? Or have you thrust yourself into the
church, rushed to the Lord's table, and thoughtlessly assumed the Christian
name in ignorance! Do you understand your profession, and does the
world believe that you are sincere in it? While you are telling them that
you are Christ's—is your conduct such, that they are compelled to admit the
truth of it? Do they see a copy of your profession written out in living
letters upon all your conduct?
Perhaps the view that has been given of the Christian
profession may startle some of you and make you tremble—I wish it may; for
there is need of trembling with some. Should you endeavor to protect
yourself against these searching inquiries, by affirming that I have
represented the subject in too alarming an aspect, and have made the
Christian profession too comprehensive, and too strict—I ask for proof. My
appeal is to your Bible. I cite but one passage, "None of us lives to
himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord,
and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we
die, we are the Lord's.
For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he
might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Rom. 14:7-9. This is what
is required in every professor of religion, to live and die for Christ; to
have no separate existence from the dominion of Christ, so as to be enabled
to say with the apostle, "for me to live is Christ." Is this our profession
or is it not? If it is—are we aware of it, or are we ignorant of it? Too
comprehensive and too strict it may be for some, and if so, they are none of
Christ's; they had better abandon his name, which they do but dishonor, and
a profession which they only contradict. But better still is it that by
studying it afresh, they should strive by divine grace to come up to the
high and holy standard.
What cause for deep humiliation does this subject
afford to the most eminent and consistent professors. Even the best of them
must take shame and confusion of face to themselves that they have lived so
far beneath their own public declaration. Well is it, that there is mercy
for saints, as well as sinners; for even the most distinguished of them
must exclaim, "God be merciful to me, a professor." O how little have we
by ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years, honored Christ, glorified God,
recommended religion, strengthened the church, and blessed the world.
Therefore, be clothed with humility.
Shall we not from this time begin afresh. Let us read
over this imperfect outline of our profession, this sketch of our covenant
with the Lord, this bond of surrender to him, this record of our vows—and
with a deliberate purpose, and a believing dependence on the promised help
of the Spirit of God—let us consecrate ourselves afresh to the glory of
Christ, according to the tenor of our Christian profession.
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