QUESTLON ii. 107 II. I add further, if you allow that a perverse or antichris- tian exposition of scripture in fundamental points, may exclude -a manwho professes the words of scripture from the communion, then a just and reasonable suspicion of any persons's antichrist tian exposition of it, may give just ground for enquiry into his tense of it, before he be received to a christian church ; even as 'a just and reasonable suspicion of any mart's immorality, gives just ground for a stricter enquiryinto his morals ; for if he hath not christian faith, he is no more fit for the christian commu- nion, than one who hath not christian practice. Now suppose a person be a mere stranger to you in his moral life, you ought to make enquiry concerning his morality before you receive him, and not take his virtue for granted : And by the same reason, if he be a mere stranger to you in his faith, you ought to make the same enquiry concerning his sense of scripture, in order to know that he is not an heretic, or that he does not profess spiritual words in an hêretical sense; and not always take it for granted, that he believes the scripture in its true sense. Thus these two parts of the test of communion, viz. profes- sion of the true faith, and a pious practice, will stand upon the same foot; anda man may be excluded even by your own con- cession, if lie wants either of them, even though he profess the words of scripture. And there ought to be an explicit discovery of both these by the candidate in order to christian communion, and not merely an implicit belief of them in those who are ap- pointed to examine him. As 1 grant with you, that where a person has in general a fair moral character among those who know him, we ought not to take up and indulge groundless and unreasonable suspicions of his virtue; so where a person, who appears to be sincere and pious, makes profession of his faith in more general language, we ought not to take up unreasonable and groundless suspicions that lie is an heretic. But as in times of universal and spread- ing corruption of manners, there should be a more strict enquiry into theconversation of everycommunicant, so in times of spread- ing error, where scripture words are frequently used in an here- - tical sense, there ought 'tò be a more strict enquiry into lu faith; and it is a very reasonable demand, that he should ex- plain his particular sense of thegeneral wordsof scripture in fundamental points, and tell what he means by them, that he may not cover gross heresies and antichristian opinions, under the confession and disguise of scriptural language, that so antichristians may not be received into a christian church. SECT. VII. The last argument I shall propose against making a confession of the express words of scripture a sufli- eient evidence of christian knowledge is this, that the scripture
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