118 A CHRISTIAN CHURCH. unlawful to communicate with each other, but merely because their different and contrary forms of worship render it imposai. ble. Let them not therefore censure or judge one another, but so far as true piety appears, let them account each other good christians, and be ready to do all proper christian offices for, and toward each other and let them wait till God shall convince either of them of their excessive rigour, and unreasonable strict- ness, in their particular opinions, and in the mean time let them be heartily willing to join with each other in suchparts of wor- ship in which they agree, where just occasions may require it. Secondly, If the thing were possible, and such a mingled communion of all professed protestants could be practised, yet thereare some cases wherein it would be unlawful, and ought not to' be practised : For several persons may believe the bible to bd the only and perfect rule of faith and duty, and yet may put such a sense upon it, as is either dishonourable, dangerous, or destructive of the christian faith; I have made this appear at large under the foregoing question ; there I have shewn that there maybe Anthropomorphite and Arianprotestants, Sabellian, Socinian, and Pelagian ; rational and enthusiastic ; literal and allegorical ; Calvinist, Arminian, asid Antinomian ; there I -have largely proved, that persons professing the bible, maydeny the,divinity and satisfaction of Christ, the real resurrection of Christ, the operations of the Holy Spirit, the final resurrection of thebody, and several other such important doctrines, by turn- ing the expressions of scripture to a mere allegorical and figura- tive sense : Now as a a certain author says, " If a man use the words of scripture, but impose a very different and new sense upon them, he may thereby as well bring in a new gospel, as if . he used words of his own ; and so he subjects himself justly to the anathema, or curse of the apostle. Gal. i. 8, 9. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto ,you, than that ye have received, let him be accursed. It is a very just and remarkable saying to this purpose of .doctor Reynolds, in conference with Hart: " He who believes the words of Christ, in the sense of antichrist, and rejects the sense of Christ, and his Spirit, is not a christian, but is, indeed and truth, antichristian." Nowwith such sort of persons, christian communion ought not to be maintained, for they who deny the christian faith, can have no right to the special ordinances of Christ. Thirdly, if such a promiscuous communionof all professing Protestants were both possible and lawful, yet it is highly inex- pedient. Now the apostle has determined it, that things which are utterly inexpedient, and such as hinder the edification of the church, should not be. practised; 1 Cor. x. 23. The great and evident inexpediency, and the many inconveniences of such a cotbmnnity, will appear under the following heads :
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