It is well known that both [George] Whitefield and [Gilbert] Tennant insisted upon personal piety as an
essential qualification for the work of preaching the Gospel, and that they had
no confidence in the religious character of large numbers who then held the
pastoral office. At the close of his
first visit to New England, Whitefield wrote in his journal: "Many,
perhaps most, that preach, I fear, do not experimentally know Christ." This remark has been condemned as uncharitable
and imprudent, yet there was too much reason for him to doubt the piety of not
a few. Certainly it is no more sweeping
than the language of Gilbert Tennant: "It is true some of the modern
Pharisees have learned to prate a little more orthodoxy about the new birth
than their predecessor Nicodemus, who are in the meantime as great strangers to
the feeling experience of it as he. They
are blind who see not this to be the case of the body of the clergy of this
generation.” Nor is it severer than the words of Mr. Porter
of Bridgewater, who says of many graduates from college: "Alas, for the
encouragement they meet with! No sooner
do these light, airy, fashionable young men, who evidently deny, oppose, and
banter, both publicly and privately, the great soul-humbling and Christ-exacting
doctrines of the Gospel, and ridicule experimental religion as enthusiasm, and
resolve christian experiences into an over-heated imagination and disordered
brain, if not fanatical delusion; I say, no sooner do these young men come
forth from the feet of Gamaliel into the world, and begin to exercise their
gifts, but they are at once invited to preach and settle in the ministry; and
there are ministers and churches enough that will ordain them, notwithstanding
the testimony which the serious, and such as are concerned for the doctrines
and interest of Christ, bear against it. This is too much the case at this day. We have frequent and flagrant instances of it;
he that runs may read it, and he is wilfully blind that does not see it. And, alas, how dark the aspect on these
churches! 'These things are a
lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.'"
"Mr.
Ruggles," says Trumbull, "was a scholar and a wise man; his morals
were not impeachable; but he was a dull, unanimating preacher; had a great
talent of hiding his real sentiments, never coming fully out, either as to
doctrinal or experimental religion;" and there appear to have been at that
time not a few in the pastoral office to whom this description of the Guilford
minister was applicable.
When Whitefield
proposed the question: "Are not unconverted ministers the bane of the
Christian church?" Dr. Chauncey
replied: "If, by unconverted ministers, you mean, those who appear to be
so by a faith or life visibly contradictory to the Gospel, I entirely agree
with you. But if you intend, by
unconverted ministers, those whom God knows to be so, though from what
outwardly appears they ought to be well thought of, I doubt not but you are
under a great mistake." And in his
"Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in New England," he
offers this remark: "Conversion does not appear to be alike necessary for
ministers in their public capacity as officers of the church, as it is in their
private capacity." This view of the
matter seems to have been quite prevalent before the great awakening. It is not, therefore, surprising that educated
men, "if orthodox in doctrine and regular in their lives" were
admitted without hesitation to the sacred office.
In 1712, the ministers
of Connecticut at their general association, recommended that a candidate for
the ministry should be required to give satisfaction to the association
examining him, of his skill in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongues, in Logic
and Philosophy; of his acquaintance with the main grounds or principles of the
christian religion and his assent to the confession of faith publicly owned by
the united churches of the colony; and of his sober and religious conversation.
It will be observed,
that "sober and religious conversation" is a very indefinite
expression, by no means equivalent to "experimental religion," and
that no allusion whatever is made to an internal or spiritual call to enter the
ministry. Indeed, we do not find that
such a call had ever been esteemed necessary by churches of the standing order
in New England; and there is reason to believe, that from 1712, until the great
revival, candidates for the ministry were not generally expected to give an
account of their religious experience.
But when the "set
time to favor Zion had come," and genuine converts to the faith were
multiplied, better views of the new birth began to prevail, and the labors of
spiritual men were anxiously desired. Yet
many churches of the established order remained under the care of those who
were strangers to vital piety. In many
instances their people were for the most part content with such instruction as
they gave; yet, had it been less satisfactory, a supply of educated and devout
men could not have been found to take their places. For it must be remembered that no one was
thought to be qualified for the ministerial office without a liberal education.
Even Jonathan Edwards
wrote in opposition to the opinion, that the office of the gospel ministry need
not be limited to persons of a liberal education. He remarks that "some of
late have been for having others that they have supposed to be persons of
eminent experience, publicly licensed to preach, yea, and ordained to the work
of the ministry; and some ministers have seemed to favor such a thing; but how
little do they seem to look forward, and consider the unavoidable consequences
of opening such a door!" "Not but that there may probably be some
persons in the land that have had no education at college, that are in
themselves better qualified for the work of the ministry than some others that
have taken their degrees and are now ordained. But yet I believe that the
breaking over those bounds that have hitherto been set, in ordaining such
persons, would in its consequences be a greater calamity than the missing such
persons in the work of the ministry."
If one who knew the
importance of religious experience to the minister of Christ could use this
language, it is easy to imagine the bitterness and contempt with which less
charitable and less spiritual men would speak of uneducated preachers. Yet we are by no means surprised that
clergymen of the standing order in New England were resolved to welcome none
but men of classical learning into their ranks. For they were convinced on the one hand that
such learning is exceedingly desirable for religious teachers, and they were
doubtless reluctant on the other hand to surrender a weapon — namely, the
reproach of ignorance — which had done them good service against the Baptists. Several of the first Baptist preachers in New
England, were, it is true, men of liberal culture; but this was not the case
with all. The churches did not esteem an
acquaintance with the dead languages necessary to qualify one for the
ministerial office. Nor did they believe
it right to close the approaches to this office against all who were unable to
produce a diploma. It had therefore been
found in many cases easier to abridge the influence of Baptist ministers by
sneering at their ignorance than by replying fairly to their arguments from the
Word of God; and hence, even christian men were disinclined to relinquish the
advantage of using such a weapon. Nor is
it strange, all things considered, that the Legislature of Connecticut made the
following law in 1742: "And be it further enacted, that no person that has
not been educated or graduated in Yale College, or Harvard College in
Cambridge, or some other allowed foreign protestant College or University,
shall take the benefit of the laws of this government respecting the settlement
and support of ministers."
Those, however, who
separated from churches of the established order were stanch advocates of
"lowly preaching." They rated
spiritual discernment far higher than classical learning. They held "that every brother that is
qualified by God for the same, has a right to preach according to the measure
of faith, and that the essential qualification for preaching is wrought by the
Spirit of God; and that * * * the
tongues and liberal sciences are not absolutely necessary; yet they are convenient,
and will doubtless be profitable if rightly used; but if brought in to supply
the want of the Spirit of God, they prove a snare to those that use them and
all that follow them." They also
believed "that all the gifts and graces that are bestowed upon any of the
members, are to be improved by them for the good of the whole; in order to
which there ought to be such a gospel freedom, whereby the church may know
where every particular gift is, that it may be improved in its proper place and
to its right end, for the glory of God and the good of the church."
Mr. Backus heartily
embraced these views; and soon after the Separate Church was organized in
Norwich, he was led to devote himself to the ministry of reconciliation. We submit an account of his call to this holy
work in his own language. "Hitherto
a private life had been my choice and delight; but a new scene was before me,
which I had no idea of, till I was led into it in the following manner. Being at a certain house where a number of the
saints were met, the command, 'pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He will
send forth laborers into his harvest,' was read and spoken upon. A conviction seized my mind that God had given
me abilities which his church had a right to the use of, and which I could not
withhold with a clear conscience. Soon
after, a spirit of prayer for divine teaching was given me in a remarkable
manner, and eternal things were brought into a near view, with a clear sight of
the truth and harmony of the Holy Scriptures; also these words were impressed
on my mind: "Son of man, eat this roll." Never did I more sensibly
eat natural food than did my soul feast upon the solid truths of God's Word. Yet I did not then conclude that I should ever
preach the Gospel in public.
"A few days
after, our minister invited me to go with him to Colchester and Lyme, where
there was a revival of religion. I went
accordingly, and on the journey two souls were hopefully converted. I returned home with rejoicing, and much life
in toy soul. The next day, September 27,
1746, new views were given me beyond those which I had before received. My
business led me out to work alone in the woods, where, with none to interrupt
me, I had such converse with my God as I never had before. His former teachings now came to this point,
that He called me to preach his Gospel. And
I was then led to count the cost of obedience to the will of God in this work,
as distinctly as ever to cast up any particular sum. Many and great enemies appeared in my way,
reproaches, losses, imprisonment, and death; but God showed me that He could
make them all fly from my path as chaff flies before the wind. I thought of my own ignorance and weakness;
but He gave me to see that He had knowledge and strength for me. I urged the plea that I was slow of speech and
very bashful; but the answer came: cannot He who formed man's mouth, cause him
to speak? I said if I should go and
preach the Gospel with success, I might be lifted up with pride and fall as
many others have done. This difficulty
seemed to me like a great mountain, rising far above all the rest; but God
said: My grace is sufficient for thee; the mountain was taken away and every
excuse gone, so that it appeared like trifling with Divine majesty to make
another objection. And though I looked
upon the work as too great for an angel to go through with in his own strength,
yet I saw it was easy for God to carry such a poor worm through it, make him
faithful unto death, and give him at last a crown of life. So I was enabled then to give up my soul and
body afresh to God, with all my interest, to serve Him in preaching his Gospel.
He then gave me a particular message
from the fifty-third psalm, to lay open the universal corruption of mankind. And as our church allowed each brother free
liberty to improve his gift in teaching, I delivered that message the next day
(Lord's day, September 28, 1746) with special clearness, and with acceptance to
the church. And as I was then free from
all worldly engagements, I devoted my whole time to that great work."
It may be well to
notice in this place, a "Discourse on the Nature and Necessity of an
Internal Call to preach the everlasting Gospel," published by Mr. Backus
in 1753. In this Discourse he undertakes
to show that "all true ministers of the Gospel are called into that work
by the special influences of the Holy Spirit," and in the Preface he makes
the following remark: "Much of what I have here written I knew experimentally
before I did doctrinally." He puts
it down as the belief of many, that ministers are authorized to license
preachers of the Gospel, and that whoever engages in this work without their
license runs before he is sent; that ministers and churches are to examine and
ordain all the clergy, and that this action, and this alone, gives to the
latter their commission and authority. He
testifies that it was often asserted, both from the pulpit and in conversation,
That the call of man is the call of God; that if a man has college learning and
is regularly introduced according to their order, he is a minister of Christ
and sent of God, though unconverted; and that one must have an understanding of
the original tongues, or else he does not know whether he preaches right or
wrong.
He speaks of his own
view as novel, and therefore likely to encounter many objections; and he
proceeds to answer briefly the most material of these objections,
"though," he says, "I know that a man may as easily stop the
winds from blowing with his words, as to still all the cavils of such as do not
love to receive the truth." He
protests against being regarded an enemy to learning, and grants that a
knowledge of the original tongues may, by the help of the Divine Spirit, be
improved for the good of others. He
pronounces an acquaintance with the languages useful in itself, but considers
it evident "that in our colleges many learn corrupt principles, not only
about what makes a minister, but also about what makes a Christian." And he takes the ground that a true minister's
qualifications consist more in divine enlightenings than in human learning,
that his authority to preach depends more upon his being internally called by
the Spirit of God, than upon his being externally sent by the voice of man.
According to this
discourse, the Holy Spirit inwardly calls men to preach the Word, by giving
them a specially clear view of the present state of the church and the world,
by opening and committing to them the treasure of the Gospel, and by
constraining them sweetly and powerfully to enter upon this great work at God's
command. Mr. Backus concedes, however,
that "the Lord deals variously with different persons as to the means and
manner of their call," yet insists that all who are moved by the Holy
Ghost to take upon themselves this ministry, have such views of the actual
condition of immortal souls and of the glories of divine truth, that they are
constrained by divine power, and animated, by love to the children of men, and
zeal for their good, to go and speak unto them all the words of this life.
He moreover denies
that holding to an internal call invalidates external ordination in the least;
for as a converted person, he argues, has an internal right to all the
privileges of the Christian church, yet has no external right to them, till he
is openly received as a member; so a person who is called to preach has no
right to act in duties peculiar to an officer of the church, till he is
publicly set apart therein. Praying,
exhorting, and preaching, though duties to be performed in the church, are not so
confined to it, that they may not rightly be performed where there is no church
at all. But only those who have a
visible standing in the church can administer special ordinances or act in
cases of discipline, for these are things peculiar to a visible church.
1
Backus stood
firm in his conviction that only those men who were truly regenerated and had
been called by the church ought to be ministers of the Gospel. Lord willing, we will look more into this man’s
earthly ministry in a future post.
Christ, not man, is King!
Dale
