Adoption of the Confession of Faith [pp. 669-692]

Adoption of the Confession of Faith. [OCTOBER
who receives these several classes of doctrine, (viz. those
common to all Christians, those common to all Protestants,
and those peculiar to the Reformed churches,) holds in its
integrity the system of doctrine contained in the Westminster
Confession. This is all that he professes to do, when he adopts
that Confession in the form prescribed in our Constitution. A
man is no more at liberty to construct a system of theology
for himself, and call it the system contained in the Confession
of Faith, than he is authorized to spin a system of philosophy
out of his head, and call it Platonism. The first argument,
therefore, in favour of this interpretation of our ordination
service, is that it is in accordance with the literal, established
meaning of the words, and attaches to them a definite meaning, so that every one knows precisely what the candidate
professes.
2. A second argument is, that such was and is the intention
of the church in requiring the adoption of the Confession.
This has already been proved from the meaning of the lang,uage employed, from the official explanations given of that language, from the declarations of the framers of our Constitution,
and from the uniform practice of the church. No case can be
produced from our annals of any man being censured or rejected, who received the system of doctrines contained in the Confession of Faith, in the sense above stated. The church, in
point of fact, never has required more, and no man has now the
right to exalt or extend her requirements. What is here said
does not imply that the deliverances contained in the Confession relating to civil magistrates, the power of the state, conditions of church membership, marriage, divorce, and other
matters lying outside of "the system of doctrine" in its theological sense, are unimportant or without authority. They are
the judgments of the church solemnly expressed on very important subjects; but they are judgments which she most wisely
has not seen fit to make conditions of ministerial communion.
As she does not require the adoption of her whole system of
doctrine as the condition of church fellowship; so she does not
require the adoption of these collateral and subordinate judgments as the condition of ministerial communion. And as her
receiving gladly to her bosom thousands who are not able intel
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