THE FORM OF PUBLIC ADMISSION TO THE CHURCH. ADDRESS TO THE CANDIDATES. You have thus presented yourselves* before Almighty God, with a view to dedicate yourselvest to His service, and to be received as members of His visible church. By a public contract you are about to surrender yourselves to your Creator; to avouch the Lord to be your God; Jesus Christ your Redeemer; and yourselves His servants forever. You are surrounded by witnesses who attest the compact into which you enter. The all-seeing eye of Jehovah is upon you; and His holy angels are spectators of this scene. Brethren, we trust you have not rashly come up hither. And in this confidence we invite you to approach, with a holy boldness, unto the great Head of the Church; casting all your anxieties and cares upon Him, and relying on Him alone for grace and strength, to fulfil your solemn engagements. PROFESSION OF FAITH. You believe that there is one true God constituting in his incomprehensible essence, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three persons in one Godhead. You believe in the divine inspiration of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament: and that they contain the only rule of faith and practice. You believe in the fall of man, in his entire depravity by nature, and in the necessity of repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe, that by His humiliation, obedience and death, Christ made such a satisfaction to divine justice, as is sufficient to expiate all sin, and to remove and wash away all the guilt incurred by both original and actual sin, from all who rest upon him in truth and sincerity. You believe in the doctrines of a general resurrection, and future judgment; in the everlasting blessedness of the righteous, and in the endless punishment of the final impenitent. *The singular or plural may be used as required. for to renew your dedication. This may be used when any one joins on certificate. COVENANT. And now in the presence of these witnesses, you do solemnly surrender yourselves to the Lord Jehovah, receiving Him as your portion, and acknowledging Him to be the supreme object of your love. Depending upon divine grace for assistance, you hereby sacredly bind yourselves to glorify God by obedience to His laws, and by a diligent observance of His ordinances. You promise to separate yourselves from the world, so far as its engagements would cool your attachment to piety, or bring a stigma upon your holy profession. You are willing to consecrate a reasonable proportion of your time, influence, and property to the cause of Christ; to co-operate in every good work; to live not unto yourselves, but unto Him who died for you; and in your closets, in your families, and in the world, to act as becoming the gospel of Christ; and as you are required in the word of God. You pledge yourselves to obey the laws and regulations of this particular church, and to submit to its discipline, while you continue members of the same, throwing yourselves upon its care, and affectionately regarding its inter ests. CONCLUDING ADDRESS. You Beloved in the Lord, your engagement is sealed now. have formed a contract which no power on earth can dissolve. These engagements will follow you through time, and accompany you to the judgment seat. We who are members of this church, affectionately welcome you to a fellowship with us. We hail you as participants in the same glorious hope and blessings of the gospel. And now when you depart from this place, carry with you the salutary recollection, that the eyes of the world are upon you, and that as you henceforth conduct yourselves, religion will be disgraced or honored. Remember that your engagement is not with man, but with God. The negligence therefore, or the folly, or the coldness of others around you, can never furnish an excuse for your own dereliction. You stand or fall, each one of you by yourselves. Abide then, near a throne of grace; be diligent in duty; watchful in life and conversation; and you shall be assured of the fulfilment of that promise "that he who has begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." |