“Who cares about the Free Church, compared with the Christian good of the people of Scotland? Who cares about any Church, but as an instrument of Christian good? for, be assured that the moral and religious well-being of the population is of infinitely higher importance than the advancement of any sect.”
-Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847)
West Port Experiment 
[…] https://westportexperiment.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/denominations-the-cause-of-the-gospel/ […]
Yes, good question. I think this was part substance, part rhetorical flourish. I think he was simply putting denominational commitment in perspective and emphasizing that the purposes of the Kingdom are transcendent.
If Chalmers thought the FCoS was just a sect, what was the point of having the denomination in the first place? Wasn’t the whole point to have the FC be the Church of Scotland in exile?