The Chief Essentials of True Evangelical Churchmanship

Humanity has been and is affected by movements working along quiet lines, narrow in principle, numerically insignificant, yet wielding an intense and powerful influence for the highest, because finding their way through a narrow channel to those whom they are designed to help. This influence, strong in proportion to the narrowness of its underlying principles, while affording the minimum of gratification to the humour of the moment, appeals first and foremost to all that is below the surface in man, often resulting in the complete conversion of heart, will and conscience. One great influence of this kind in the Church of England was the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century of which what is termed the " Evangelical Party " is the outward exponent. What is the position of this historic party to-day? Is it as faultless a mirror as ever of Evangelical truth? When investigating the present state of the party, one seems to revert in thought to the position of the Jewish people before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Hellenistic section, loving liberal intercourse with Gentile peoples, and outwardly triumphant, was in reality bartering away the national greatness; the moral superiority of the more narrow and insignificant "Pious" element was obvious to any impartial thinker.

History repeats itself in the present stage of the progress of Evangelicalism in the Church of England. On the one hand are the ambitious pushing people who hate to be thought narrow and who are therefore endeavouring to bring the party into contact with various forms and shades of Romanism and Rationalism, depriving it thereby of many of its individual characteristics. On the other hand are found the more thoughtful section of the Evangelical party who are vigorously termed narrow for no other reason apparently than that they have no intention of surrendering the distinctive attitude and practices of their party in the interests of a game of ecclesiastical politics based on pride, or of yielding under present conditions to the imperious demand for "a more united front."

Such is the state of parties existing at present among the Evangelicals in the Church of England;and the question of what will in future be the essentials of adherence to the party must be faced. No one with any knowledge of things Evangelical can deny that we are just now in the somewhat perilous state of halting between two opinions. Many from whom leadership might be expected are showing hesitation; they have misgivings as to the ultimate goal of what has been boastingly called the " new spirit of the party " but are at the same time dazzled by the vision of that supremacy of the Evangelical party in our Church which some suppose will be accomplished at no distant date.

But before any re-affirmation of Evangelical principles can be made, on liberal terms or the reverse, we must be tolerably certain as to what position Evangelicism, from its very nature, might be expected to take up in relation to other Church systems, and as to the real scope of its influence. These two points should be ascertained from the principles underlying the name Evangelical. Briefly the name Evangelical signifies people of the Gospel; our Lord has intimated to such that the way they are called upon to tread is narrow; from the Acts of the Apostles we gather that the people of the Gospel are a few and that their contact with the world is on a very small scale, but that the influence exerted in connection with that contact is deep, powerful and intense, making disciples of all nations. If it be conceded that these words give an accurate idea of the status in the world of our Lord's most devoted followers-among whom all Christians accepting the name Evangelical desire to be numbered-then the new movement in the Evangelical party is in error, both as to its outlook and its aims. The former it defines as liberal, the latter as the outward
and visible supremacy of the Evangelicals in the Church of England.

The time has come for rallying together the faithful that remain, who ask for the old paths ; and for a clear repetition rather than a rash restatement of what constitutes those old paths, along which Evangelicals have advanced in the past as those who prevailed with God, winning souls from darkness into light; despised indeed of men but rich in the fullness of the strength of God and the assurance of the power of His might.

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