John Newton's Letters
Candor
(Definition: Openness of heart; frankness; ingenuousness
of mind; a disposition to treat subjects with fairness; freedom from tricks
or disguise; sincerity.)
Dear Sir,
I am, with you, an admirer of candor; but let us beware of counterfeits.
True candor is a Christian grace, and will grow in none but a believing
heart. It is an eminent and amiable property of that love which bears,
believes, hopes, and endures all things. It forms the most favorable
judgment of people and characters, and puts the kindest construction upon
the conduct of others that it possibly can, consistent with the love of
truth. It makes due allowances for the infirmities of human nature, will not
listen with pleasure to what is said to the disadvantage of any, nor repeat
it without a justifiable cause. It will not be confined within the walls of
a party, nor restrain the actings of benevolence to those whom it fully
approves; but prompts the mind to an imitation of Him who is kind to the
unthankful and the evil, and has taught us to consider every person we see
as our neighbor.
Such is the candor which I wish to derive from the
Gospel; and I am persuaded those who have imbibed most of this spirit, will
acknowledge that they are still defective in it. There is an unhappy
propensity, even in Christian men, to a selfish, narrow, censorious turn of
mind; and the best are more under the power of prejudice than they are
aware. A lack of candor among the professors of the same Gospel, is too
visible in the present day. A truly candid person will acknowledge what is
right and excellent in those from whom he may be obliged to differ: he will
not charge the faults or extravagances of a few--upon a whole party or
denomination: if he thinks it his duty to point out or refute the errors of
any people, he will not impute to them such consequences of their
tenets as they expressly disavow; he will not willfully misrepresent or
aggravate their mistakes, or make them offenders for a word: he will keep in
view the distinction between those things which are fundamental and
essential to the Christian life, and those concerning which a difference of
sentiment may and often has obtained among true believers. Were there more
candor among those who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity,
the emotions of anger or scorn would not be so often felt or excited by
pronouncing or hearing the words Churchman, or Dissenter, or Calvinist, or
even Arminian.
Let us, my friend, be candid: let us remember how totally
ignorant we ourselves once were; how often we have changed our sentiments in
one particular or other, since we first engaged in the search of truth; how
often we have been imposed upon by appearances; and to how many different
people and occurrences we have been indebted, under God, for the knowledge
which we have already attained. Let us likewise consider what treatment we
like to meet with from others; and do unto them as we would they should do
unto us. These considerations will make the exercise of candor habitual and
easy.
But there is a candor, falsely so called, which springs
from an indifference to the truth, and is governed by the fear of men and
the love of praise. This pretended candor depreciates the most important
doctrines of the Gospel, and treats them as points of speculation and
opinion. It is a temporizing expedient to stand fair with the world, and to
avoid that odium which is the unavoidable consequence of a steadfast, open,
and hearty adherence to the truth as it is in Jesus. It aims to establish a
fellowship between light and darkness, Christ and Belial; and, under a
pretense of avoiding harsh and uncharitable judgments, it introduces a
mutual connivance in principles and practices which are already expressly
condemned by clear decisions of Scripture. Let us not listen to the
advocates for a candor of this sort; such a lukewarm temper, in those who
would be thought friends of the Gospel, is treason against God, and
treachery to the souls of men.
It is observable, that those who boast most of this
candor, and pretend to the most enlarged and liberal way of thinking, are
generally agreed to exclude from their comprehension all whom they call
bigots; that is, in other words, those who, having been led by Divine grace
to build their hopes upon the Foundation which God has laid in Zion, are
free to declare their conviction, that other foundation can no man lay; and
who, having seen that the friendship of the world is enmity with God, dare
no longer conform to its leading maxims or customs, nor express a favorable
judgment of the state or conduct of those who do. Those with this false
candor, know not how to be candid to those who are truly godly; their
singularity and importunity are offensive; and it is thought no way
inconsistent with the specious boast of benevolence and moderation to
oppose, hate, and revile them. A sufficient proof, that the candor which
many plead for is only a softer name for that intolerant spirit of the
world which opposes itself to the truth and obedience of the Gospel.
If a person be an avowed Socinian or Deist, I am still to
treat him with candor; he has a right from me, so far as he comes in my way,
to all the kind offices of humanity. I am not to hate, reproach, or affront
him; or to detract from what may be valuable in his character, considered as
a member of society. I may avail myself of his talents and abilities in
points where I am not in danger of being misled by him. He may be a good
lawyer, or historian, or physician; and I am not to lessen him in these
respects, because I cannot commend him as a divine. I am bound to pity his
errors, and to pray if perhaps God will give him repentance to the
acknowledgment of the truth; and if I have a call to converse with him, I
should speak with all gentleness and meekness, remembering that grace
alone has made me to differ. But I am not to compliment him, to
insinuate, or even to admit, that there can be any safety in his principles.
Far be that candor from us, which represents the Scripture as a nose of wax,
so that a person may reject or elude the testimonies there given to the
Deity and atonement of Christ, and the all-powerful agency of the Holy
Spirit, with impunity.
On the other hand, those who hold the Head, who have
received the record which God has given of his Son; who have Scriptural
views of sin and grace, and fix their hopes for time and eternity upon the
Savior; in a word, all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity—these, I
apprehend, if they are prevented from receiving, acknowledging, and loving
each other--as he has received, owned, and loved them--are justly chargeable
with a lack of candor. Shall I be cold to those whom Jesus loves? Shall I
refuse them whom he has accepted? I find perhaps that they cannot rightly
understand, and therefore cannot readily embrace, some points of doctrine in
which the Lord has been pleased to enlighten me; that is, I (supposing my
knowledge to be real and experimental) have received five talents, and they
have as yet obtained but two; must I for this estrange myself from them?
Rather let me be careful lest they be found more faithful and exemplary in
the improvement of two talents, than I am in the management of five.
Again: why should some of those who know, or might know,
that my hope, my way, my end, and my enemies, are the same with theirs,
stand aloof from me, and treat me with coldness and suspicion, because I am
called a Calvinist? I was not born a Calvinist, and possibly they may not
die opposed to Calvinism. However that may be, if our hearts are fixed upon
the same Jesus, we shall be perfectly of one mind before long; why should we
not encourage and strengthen one another now? O that the arm of the Lord
might be revealed, to revive that candor which the Apostle so strongly
enforces both by precept and example! Then the strong would bear the
infirmities of the weak, and believers would receive each other without
doubtful disputation.
Once more: However sound and orthodox (as the phrase is)
professors may be in their principles, though true candor will make tender
allowances for the frailty of nature, and the power of temptation; yet
neither candor nor charity will require us to accept them as real believers,
unless the general strain and tenor of their deportment be as becomes the
Gospel of Christ. It is to be lamented that too many judge rather by the
notions which people express, than by the fruits which they
produce; and as they judge of others, so they often judge of themselves. We
cannot have opportunity to say all we could wish, and to all to whom we
would wish to say it, upon this subject, in private life. Therefore it is
the wisdom and duty of those who preach, and of those who print, to drop a
word of caution in the way of their hearers and readers, that they may not
mistake notion for spiritual life, nor a form of godliness for
the power.
"When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of
God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with
all their hearts." Acts 11:23 The grace of God is an operative principle;
and where it really has place in the heart, the effects will be seen;
effects so uniform and extensive, that the Apostle James makes one single
branch of conduct, and that such a one as is not usually thought the most
important, a sufficient test of our state before God; for he affirms
universally, that "if any man seems to be religious, and bridles not his
tongue, his religion is vain." And again he assures us, that "whoever will
be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." And to the same purpose Paul
expresses himself on the subject of love (that love which he describes so
accurately, that none can mistake it, unless they willingly deceive
themselves): he declares, that, without this love, the brightest knowledge,
the warmest zeal, and the most splendid gifts, are nothing worth.
It is to be feared these decisions will bear hard upon
many who have a name to live among the churches of Christ. They are hearers
and approvers of the Gospel, express a regard to those who preach it; they
will stickle and fight for the doctrines, and know not how to bear those who
fall a hair's breadth short of their standard; and yet there is so much
levity or pride, censoriousness or worldliness, discoverable in their
general behavior, that their characters appear very dubious; and though we
are bound to wish them well, candor will not oblige or warrant us to judge
favorably of such conduct; for the unerring word of God is the standard to
which our judgments are to be referred and conformed.
In the sense, and under the limitations, which I have
expressed, we ought to cultivate a candid spirit, and learn, from the
experience of our own weakness, to be gentle and tender to others; avoiding
at the same time that indifference and cowardice, which, under the name of
candor, countenances error, extenuates sin, and derogates from the authority
of Scripture.