i8 7 ;] THEOLOGY AND THE CHURCH 319 



Bible, no longer seeking therein, with the Middle Ages, 

 a body of intelligible truths not directly in contact with 

 the practical Christian life, but that living voice of God 

 Himself, which, heard and joyously received into the 

 heart, becomes the direct principle of all spiritual growth. 



This principle is formulated in our Larger Catechism, 

 in the proposition that Christ communicates to His 

 Church the benefits of His mediation by means of His 

 ordinances, the word, sacraments, and prayer. With 

 this must be taken the doctrine which historically was 

 the very starting-point of the Reformation that the 

 effectual factor in the sacraments is not the outward sign, 

 but the word of promise signified. Thus the proposition 

 is, that all participation in the benefits purchased by 

 Christ is to be gained in converse with God, in hearken 

 ing continually to His Word, and in making thereto the 

 answer of prayer and thanksgiving. All Christian life 

 becomes a thing of the understanding and of the will. 

 Each step towards Christian perfection is possible only 

 in the form of conscious submission of the will to a 

 promise or precept of God, definitely grasped by the 

 mind. The operation of the Holy Spirit in the calling 

 and sanctification of the believer does not substitute a 

 new and incomprehensible process for this plain rule of 

 moral growth, but only makes that growth possible by 

 enlightening the understanding and renewing the will. 



Every endeavour to set forth the importance of 

 theology to the Church must necessarily rest on a clear 

 apprehension of the importance of Christian knowledge 

 for the individual religious life. And I have thought it 

 the more necessary to recall to you the characteristic 

 attitude of Protestantism on this point, because, where 

 theology is undervalued by persons standing within 

 the Protestant Churches, it will very often be found 

 that behind this there lies a wrong conception of the 

 whole nature of Christian faith and life. Instead of the 

 Christian life being conceived as a conscious converse with 



