THE OLIVE BRANCH AND THE CROSS or, Quarrels Settled and Trespasses
Forgiven According to the Law of Christ
John Angell James
A word of affectionate advice to professing Christians. "First be reconciled to your brother."
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DEDICATION.
My beloved flock,
It has been my practice, not infrequently, to deliver a few counsels from the press at the commencement of the new year. I now repeat this labor of love. By the present selection of a subject I would not have either you or the public imagine that there is anything in its nature peculiarly applicable to your state as a Christian community. In common however with every Christian minister of every religious denomination, I have occasionally had my surprise excited and my comfort disturbed by feuds and animosities; and like others, have seen the tranquility of the church in some degree jeopardized by the quarrels of some of its members. Both parts of this treatise came under consideration in a regular course of pulpit exposition, and it is now submitted to you in this form because of its great importance, and the too general neglect with which it is treated by those who make a profession of religion.
The church of God in general has yet failed to exhibit in any considerable and attractive prominence, that spirit of holy love, by which it was intended by its Divine Founder to be characterized. The thorn, the briar and the nettle, instead of the fir tree and the myrtle tree, still grow too luxuriantly in the precincts of the church; and the 'wolf and the serpent' are too often to be seen, where only the 'lamb and the dove' should be found. Christianity has not yet left the impression of its exceeding loveliness as deeply stamped as it should be on the characters of its professors—and of all its graces, none is so faintly and imperfectly traced as that which is the subject of this address. It has been found more easy, at any rate more common, to subdue the lustful than the irascible disposition—and yet it is as much the intention of Christ, that His people should be distinguished by meekness and gentleness, as it is by purity, truthfulness, and justice. Love is pre-eminently the Christian grace. Equity, chastity, and veracity, have been found in the list of heathen virtues, but not charity—they have sometimes "shed their fragrance on the desert air" of paganism, but where has love been found, except in the garden of the Lord?
Alas, that even there this plant of Paradise, this heavenly exotic, should so often look shriveled and worm-eaten; and thus fail to procure for its Divine Curator all the praise it should, and in its more flourishing condition would do. My concern that Christian love should be cultivated with more care, and be seen with admiration in healthful vigor and in beauty—has led me to send forth this tract which is now offered first of all to you, and then to the churches in general, with the hope that this effort of pastoral fidelity may prevent in many cases the rupture, and promote in others the restoration, of Christian friendship, and thus bring upon its author from many a reconciled heart, the blessing of the peace-maker.
Commending you to God and to the word of His grace, and praying that He who has "made peace by the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself," would pour His own Spirit into your hearts, and unite you still more closely to one another,
I remain, your affectionate Pastor,
John Angell James
RECONCILIATION
"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won't listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. I assure you—Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:15-18)
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