86 A CHRISTIAN CHURCH, particular cases. It is this society that will suffer reproach, and bear the trouble of it, if a person admitted; prove scandalous and unworthy ; cad it is but reasonable therefore that they should de- termine whether be be a person fit and worthy to come among them or no; but still according to the rules of Christ, so far as theycan understand his meaning. And as this is the voice and language of common reason, so it is also the appointment of Christ in his word, and this was the practice of the primitive times, as I shall spew hereafter, The society ought surely to have the saine liberty which the proposed person has, and if he has liberty to judge whether he should seek communion with them, they ought to have liberty to judge whether they should receive him. Each has a right to judge of the sense and appli- cation of the rules of scripture to direct their own actions. Nowsince there can be no regular or proper christian com- munion held and maitítained but in and with a church of Christ, we must enquire into the nature of the christian church to find out which are the persons iii, or of this church, that must judge and declare others fit for communion with it. Sect. dl. TheChurch of Christ is either visible or invisi- ble. The invisible church includes all the real saints that are in heaven or on earth. But our question lias not to do with the church in this sense, The whole visible church of Christ upon earth, consists of all those persons in'the world that make-a visi- ble and credible profession - of the claristian religion, however scattered through all nations, And whether joined together by mutual agreement in particular societies, or not. The New Tes- tament sometimes uscih the word church in this sense ;. Mat. xvi. 18. 1 Cor. xii. 28. and other places; and it is in this sense when a person is baptized, he is said to be received into the Christian church, for hereby he becomesá member of the catholic church visibleon earth. But all this vast scatteredmultitude cannever maintain and perform acts of christian communion together in the Lord's- supper, which in the other chief ordinance of special communion : Nor indeed can they keep tip the public honour of God, a public profession of the nameof Christ, nor the duties of public worship, without their being dividedinto particular societies, which agree at stated times and seasons to coins' together to one place, as the apostle expresses it, for purposes of christian worship; 1 Cor. xi. 18, 20. and xis. 23. Such " a society or congregation of persons, both men and women, making acredible profession of chpistianity, and united by mutual agreement or consent to meet together usually at the saine time and place for the performance of Christian worship," is a church of Christ; anti this is the clearest and plainest notion that 1 can learns of a particular church of Christ, according to
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