The Truth in the Church
Joseph Haslegrave, M. A. Galatians 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. I. The truth of the gospel is essentially embodied in the doctrinal articles, and the devotional services, of the Church of England. Her basis is the Word of God. There is no one truth contained in the Bible which does not appear interwoven in her services; and, what is of vast importance, those truths are every one of them brought forward throughout her ecclesiastical year with a distinctness, and yet with a beautiful consistency and harmony, according to the analogy of the faith. II. The reformers, both in their lives and by their deaths, evinced a deep anxiety that the truth of the gospel, by means of a scriptural Church, might continue with us. III. It becomes us their children, blessed with such privileges, to be alive to the importance of maintaining the truth of the gospel, and handing it down unimpaired to posterity. Gratitude demands this at our hands; the mercy of God in the bestowment of these blessings, and the salvation of souls which is so closely bound up in them, enforce this duty upon us. If religion be anything, it is everything. And surely, if men be anxious and persevering and brave in securing temporal freedom and national liberty, oh! shall the Christian, actuated by the love of Christ, the most constraining principle, be afraid, or unwilling, or indifferent, to perpetuate the truth which sets free the immortal spirit, and obtain, so far as human instrumentality can, the blessings of salvation to children yet unborn? 1. If we would effectually promote the interests of Divine truth, we must take care, first of all, that we ourselves embrace it. 2. And then, having embraced the truth, I would say, "Contend earnestly for the truth" — not in the spirit of party, not in the pride of reason, not with any secular motives, but because of its vitality and importance to the present and eternal well-being of man. And as the truth itself is but a modification of love, let your contention be in the spirit of love, seeking to reclaim those who are in error, in meekness and affection. 3. And see to it, that it is "the truth" you are contending for. In essentials let not false charity or a spurious liberality lead you astray; there ought to be, there can be, no compromise of the one saving truth. IV. The education of the young in the principles of Divine truth, as embodied and taught in the formularies of the Church, must commend itself as a means at once simple and efficient. (Joseph Haslegrave, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. WEB: to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you.