On Departing The Church

How fascinating to find history – especially our own Anglican history – informing us with regard to our current circumstances.

A giant of Anglicanism, and personal hero, John Jewel (one of my sons carries “Jewel” as his middle name) authored a treatise in 1562 entitled An Apology of the Church of England.  His work helped to firmly establish the legitimacy of Anglicanism as consistent with the biblical and historical faith by demonstrating the continuity between the reformers and Scripture, the apostles (especially, Paul), the church fathers (i.e., Augustine, Tertullian, Ambrose, Jerome, etc.), and church councils. Here’s what he had to say about departing churches:

But, say they, ye have once been of our fellowship, but now ye are become forsakers of your profession and have departed from us.  It is true we have departed from them, and for so doing we both give thanks to Almighty God and greatly rejoice on our own behalf.  But yet for all this, from the primitive church, from the apostles, and from Christ we have not departed.

Wherefore, though our departing were a trouble to them, yet ought they to consider withal how just cause we had of our departure.  For if they will say it is in no wise lawful for one to leave the fellowship wherein he has been brought up, they may as well in our names, and upon our heads, condemn both the prophets, the apostles, and Christ himself.  For why complain they not also of this, that Lot went quite his way out of Sodom, Abraham out of Chaldee, the Israelites out of Egypt, Christ from the Jews, and Paul from the Pharisees?  For, except it be possible there may be a lawful cause of departing, we see no reason why Lot, Abraham, the Israelites, Christ, and Paul may not be accused of sects and sedition as well as others.

And if these men will needs condemn us for heretics because we do not all things at their commandment, whom (in God’s name) or what kind of men ought they themselves to be taken for which despise the commandment of Christ and of the apostles?

We truly have renounced that church wherein we could neither have the word of God sincerely taught . . . and wherein was nothing able to stay any wise man or one that has consideration of his own safety.  To conclude, we have forsaken the church as it is now, not as it was in old time, and have so gone from it as Daniel went out of the lions’ den and the three children out of the furnace; and, to say truth, we have been cast out by these men rather than have gone away from them of ourselves.

Amen.