QUESTION VI. 77- A brother, or a sister, is not in bondage in. such cases; and the pastoral office, and all church power is for edification, and not for destruction, as St. Paul speaks, 2 Cor. xiii. 10. Now this necessity of changing our communion may happen several ways : As when a person removes his habitation to such a distance, as that he cannot conveniently attend and perform the duties of church- fellowship in that society; or when the chùrch falls into pernicious errors and heresies; or when upon any other account his own edification in that church is not to be attained ; or when other necessary circumstances of life, or religion, make his union toanother church of ranch more importance. But in these cases let the conscience of a man be well informed, and let him duly consider all circumstances before he put this in practice : For it argues a light and changeable temper to be running always from one church to another, and unbecoming the spirit of the gospel. Yet where the reasons of removing this communion from one church to another are just and good, and after dueapplication to the church, if they refuse to dismiss him, he may fairly depart without it, and join himself to any other church that is satisfied in his credible profession of christianity. QUEST, VLWhether fixedCommunion with some Particular Church be a Necessary Duty? Andwhether any may be ad- mitted to Occasional Corn,i:union, who are no fixed Members of any Church ? It is a natural enquiry flowing from the former question whether any person is at liberty to content himself merely with occasional communion, sometimes with onechurch and sometimes with another, without becoming a fixed member of any church at all ? Or whether a church may forbid a person occasional com- munion, who refuses utterly to join in any fixed communion? The duties of holy fellowship for the glory of God and mutual edification, which are most regularly practised in a state of fixed communion, are so many and so plain in scripture, and in the reason of things, that very few persons can be exempted from them : For those duties are such as these, to attend on public mi- nistrations together, to pray and confer together about spiritual things, with a sort of holy intimacy or friegdship, to encourage and support the ministry, to maintain the poor, to uphold the public worship of God by assisting in the provision of a place, and all other external things necessary for public worship, to re- ceive members into the church, to censure and reprove, and cast out scandalousmembers, to watch over one another in their holy conversation, &c. to admonish and to receive admonitions. I grant that so many of these duties as can be conveniently per- formed toward all- fellow- christians, should never be omitted
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