Resolutions and Acts.
During a rather prolonged meeting where several “resolutions” were being discussed by a group of churches, an old pastor stood up and remarked that whereas you read a great deal in the Bible about the Acts of the Apostles, you don’t read anything about their resolutions! Perhaps, he suggested, that it was because the churches in that day carried out every thing so speedily and readily that by the time the sacred historian came to write he had nothing else to do except record the execution of the resolution. He wished that the present meeting, and all meetings, would take the hint!
Sin Confessed.
Before sin can be forgiven it must be confessed. This is the law of God. He has joined together confession and pardon. Let no man seek to put them asunder. It is to be feared that many do not believe in this divine connection. Hence, they presume that God will be merciful unto them, and spare them from going down into the pit. How unreasonable! If we offend a fellow-creature, we have no right to expect his forgiveness till we acknowledge our offence. So, if we sin against God; before we can experience his favour, we must confess to him our sin. Forgiveness, however, is not founded on our confession of sin. If so, we should be saved by works and not by grace. God has, in infinite mercy, determined to forgive sin; and to accomplish his determination, he appointed his Son, Jesus Christ the Lord, to suffer and die for the sinner. Forgiveness, therefore, flows from God’s own purpose. Let none imagine, then, that there is merit in confession: all the merit is in Christ. When we confess our sins, we are to trust in him alone for acceptance before the Father. We have no claim upon him for pardon; nor can our confessions, however clearly and heartily expressed, possess in themselves any merit. It is our duty< to confess. It is our privilege to receive pardon. (A.A.)
The Curiosi.
There is one sect in the religious world which though not enumerated in any book of denominations, or in any theological dictionary, is yet entitled to a specific notification. This sect, although it has neither distinctive creed, nor separate temples, has one great identifying trait – which is love of novelty. I therefore denominate it, “The curiosi.” The members of the sect belong to any preacher who for the time being can interest them with something new, and they attach themselves to every congregation that has something going on out of the ordinary. Thus, are they carried along the streams of profession like twigs, and chips, and straws, that float near the edge of the river and are intercepted by every weed and spun in every current. They would fain persuade you that, like the bee, they are sucking honey from every flower. But they are more like the butterfly that roves through the garden of the Lord, not to sip the most luxurious buds, but to flutter around the most gaudy blossoms in the sacred enclosure. (John A. James).