The relation or baptized
CHILDREN TO THE CHURCH
COFFIN.
THE
Relation of Baptized Children
to the Church.
By L. J. COPPIN, 0.D.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.:
A. M. E. Publication Department,
631 Pine Street.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Preface, 5
1. Judaism and Christianity, 9
2. Theory and Practice, 29
3. Mode of Baptism 46
4. Condition and Mode of receiving Children into full
Membership, . 62
ADDENDA.
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL.
1. Its Origin, 79
2. Design, 81
3. Duty and Qualifications of Teachers, 87
4. How to make Room for it, 9^
PREFACE.
IN presenting this little work to the
public, it is earnestly hoped that a
careful perusal of its contents will awaken
a new interest in a subject that deserves
careful and serious attention. My con¬
clusions are reached after twenty-five years
of membership in the Christian Church, all
of which have been spent in official capa¬
city, both in the Church proper and in the
Sunday-school department of the Church.
I have observed how the children of some
families wander away from the Church as
they reach manhood and womanhood, while
those of others grow up in the Church and
never leave it. I have also observed that
when series of special meetings are held,
and many adults are converted and brought
into the Church, the prevailing opinion
(5)
6
preface.
seems to be that if fifty per cent, remain
the effort has been a success. Of course
the other half drifts away with those who
are called backsliders. The thought that
has followed me through these years is
this: Is such a condition of things ab¬
solutely necessary? if not, where lies the
trouble ? This led to a more careful read¬
ing of the Word of God and a study of the
Discipline of my Church. I am satisfied
that both the Bible and the Discipline
warrant the position which I take in the
following pages, and that the trouble is
not in the plan of salvation, but in the
neglect of Christian parents and Christian
people generally to do their whole duty.
This humble contribution upon the sub¬
ject is given in good faith, and with no
other desire than to do my share of the
work of saving our children from sin and
ruin.
The Author.
Relation of Baptized Children to
the Church.
CHAPTER I.
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY.
OD, whether in nature or revelation,
is a God of system and order. It is
this fact clearly seen that immortalizes
Pope's saying, "Order is heaven's first
law." The orderly development and ex¬
tension of the kingdom of heaven on earth
is a beautiful and systematic unfolding of a.
great plan, marked at every step with evi¬
dent design. The Church organized in the
tent of Abraham, and handed down by
patriarch and prophet through the ages, is
unique. From Abraham to Christ there
can be traced an unbroken chain of events,
(9)
io BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
all of which conspire to the establishment
of the Christian Church, and this makes
it the legitimate offspring of the Jewish
Church. Long before the Messiah came,
the Messianic idea was prevalent among
the Jewish people. I grant that the entire
significance and scope were not fully com¬
prehended, even by the foremost of Mes¬
sianic writers; but they had the right
notion about it, and the unfolding and
enlargement of it were the work of suc¬
ceeding generations. A peace kingdom,
a reign of righteousness, a subjugation of
evil forces, a supreme central power that
would radiate an influence upon all people,
and gather them, and subdue them, was
the conception of the prophets who are
called Messianic. But all the time the
fact that this movement should be of
Jewish origin was not lost sight of. At
last, when the Messiah came, " He came
unto His own." And, again, when the
first command was given by Him to His
disciples to go forth and proclaim His
presence and mission, they were told that
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. II
their work was among the Jews only; not
a city of the Gentiles was to be entered by
them.
This initiatory work being done, the dis¬
ciples returned to await further orders.
When they were again sent forth it was
with the following commission: "Go ye
therefore, make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
The limitations of the first command
were but for a time; now, in keeping with
the original plan, all restrictions are re¬
moved, and all nations are to be brought
into the fold.
But how were disciples to be made?
That is, by what rite, if any, were they to
be inducted into this newly organized
Church, and made to feel entitled to its
blessings and to its privileges ? The*
method of making Jews was well under¬
stood. Circumcision was the solitary way,
at least so far as ceremony was concerned.
If a man rejected circumcision, he thereby
made himself an alien to the common heri¬
tage of the covenant people.
12
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
During the flight from Egypt and the
meanderings and wars in the wilderness,
this sacred rite of circumcision was neg¬
lected; but it was held in solemn remem¬
brance, and as soon as Canaan was reached
it was administered even upon the adults.
I hold, then, that without circumcision (un¬
less it was impossible to perform it) no
man was within the limits of the covenant
people; but with it, no one dare dispute
his rights. Now we come to the pivotal
point: The Old or Jewish Church was not
destroyed, but reorganized, and this is an
important fact which should be remembered.
Whatever else our Lord may have
taught enigmatically, He taught plainly the
relation of the Old and New Dispensations.
" Think not that I am come to destroy the
law or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy but to fulfill," were His utterances
in the sermon on the Mount.
Again and again He quoted from the
Old Testament. When He said, " Search
the Scriptures," He gave as a reason the
fact that they testified of Him. When He
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 13
gave a rebuke to the disciples who were
journeying to Emmaus, it was because they
were slow to understand the Scriptures
concerning Himself.
Now, regarding Christ as the connecting
link, the Jewish and Christian Churches
were united in Him, and the work begun
by the former was carried on by the latter
on a larger scale. Our Lord Himself took
charge of the Church as reorganized, in¬
troduced and expounded its doctrines, and
set forth its claims. John the Baptist,
acting as the forerunner of Christ, intro¬
duced the rite of baptism by water, as the
door of entrance into the new Covenant.
Our Lord accepted this new rite, and was
Himself baptized. The work of John the
Baptist was substantially completed when
he baptized the Lord Jesus. Previous to
this act, John the Baptist ceased not to
proclaim the coming kingdom and to initi¬
ate the newcomers; but as soon as Christ
practically indorsed the work, John said,
" He must increase, but I must decrease."
Some of John's disciples immediately left
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
him and followed Christ, who thenceforth
became the center of influence and author¬
ity. Baptism was continued by the dis¬
ciples of our Lord in His immediate
presence, and when it was established
beyond a possible doubt that baptism, not
circumcision, was the door of entrance,
Christ left the region of the Jordan, and
went with His disciples into Galilee, and
turned His attention to preaching. He
announced that the kingdom of heaven
was at hand, and called upon men to re¬
pent and believe the Gospel. During the
remainder of our Lord's ministry, the
Church work was under His supervision.
Now mark well the way in which it was
formally and finally transferred to His suc¬
cessors. They were commanded to wait
at Jerusalem until they received the Holy
Ghost as the seal of their mission; then
they were to go forth and make disciples,
and baptism was again specifically named
as the ceremony to be performed in mak¬
ing them. How carefully the door of en¬
trance was guarded! Notwithstanding that
TUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 15
the rite of baptism had been most defi¬
nitely indorsed by our Lord, yet He left
no room for a misunderstanding upon
the subject. And so, upon handing the
work over to new hands, the charge to ob¬
serve this new rite was solemnly renewed.
Thus the work of reorganization was com¬
plete, and the Church regularly handed
over to the Apostles. I do not see how
any one reading the Scriptures without the
blindness of prejudice can fail to see, first,
that the Christian Church is the successor
of the Jewish; and, second, that baptism
in the Christian Church regularly succeeds
the circumcision of the Jewish.
The next thing in order to be considered
is, who are the proper subjects for baptism?
Concerning circumcision, the subjects were
all of the Jewish people, the children in¬
cluded. Indeed, it began with the children.
Now, in the absence of a command to
the contrary, it would be but logical to con¬
clude that the same rule must obtain in the
Christian Church. According to this, then,
16 BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
I should say in answer to the question, Who
are the proper subjects for baptism? Be¬
ginning with the children, all who accept
Christ as their Saviour. A large majority
of the Christian world take this ground,
but there are those who hold that children
are not to be included. Much has been
said upon this subject of infant baptism,
but, as by many the propriety of adminis¬
tering it is still questioned, it may be well
to give a few additional reasons for indors¬
ing it. In the New Testament, no express
command is given to baptize children; and
this, all things else considered, is a point
in favor of it, instead of against it.
It is so clearly inferred that one has to
go out of his way to steer clear of it. It is
taken for granted and, therefore, not men¬
tioned.
We have already shown that baptism
takes the place of circumcision, and it is
well known that children were taken into
the Jewish Church by circumcision.
In the light of these two facts alone, then,
how can we in reason deny the children of
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. I "J
Christians the blessing enjoyed by the
Jewish children, when we are so ready, as
adults, to claim the blessing which was en¬
joyed by their parents ?
If in this new arrangement the children
are not named for admission, neither are
they named for exclusion.
The command was simply to baptize; the
subjects, as a matter of fact, are not named
at all (see St. Matt, xxviii. 19), and why
should they be ? I think it is Hibbard on
Baptism who makes the point, that if a
man who had his sheep and lambs all
designated by a certain mark should give
an order for the mark to be changed, the
shepherd would be presumptuous to leave
out the lambs, unless expressly ordered to
do so. Now, it is by just such an infer¬
ence that we hold to infant baptism. We
have no command to leave out the children.
Again, granting that there is no express
command given to baptize children, we
have another parallel in the matter of
administering the Lord's Supper. There
were no women present when it was
18 BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
ordained, but has the Church, at any
period of its existence, excluded them
from a participation in the body and blood
of our Lord ? If, then, baptism is binding
upon Christians, and if children are not to
be excluded, they must bear some definite
relation to the Christian Church; they must
have certain rights and privileges; there
must be a principle involved. But a step
farther: Did our Lord, the great Founder
of the Christian Church, say anything about
the children and their relation to the king¬
dom of heaven on earth, by which His lov¬
ing voice can be interpreted?
Fortunately we are not left entirely to
inference. Our Lord has spoken most
definitely upon the subject. The follow¬
ing quotations bear directly upon the
spiritual relation of children to Christ's
kingdom:
"Verily I say unto you, except ye be
converted, and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven" (St. Matt, xviii. 3).
" Suffer the little children to come unto
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 19
Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the
kingdom of God" (St. Mark x. 14).
In St. Luke xviii. 15-17, the statement
is similar to that above quoted in St. Mark,
except, in St. Mark, the word is children,
translated from xaidta, while in St. Luke it
is infants, translated from The oc¬
currence of both words is fortunate, as it
removes the possibility of a doubt as to
the age of the persons referred to. For
some have suggested that the phrase little
children might have the same meaning in
this place as that generally given it in the
Epistles of St. John.
But concerning this point it should be
remembered that the word in the Epistles
that is translated children is which,
though sometimes interchanged with it aidta
when children is the meaning, is almost
always used to express a state of kindly
feeling, which has no reference at all to
age. Therefore, darlings would be a
much better translation for rixyta than
would children. Now let us notice in
order this set of words:
20
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
-xaidia, children; they may be large or
small.
Tixyta, darlings ; they may be children or
adults.
Bpiy-q, babies, or infants; certainly never
adults. Now, it is important to remember
that the word rewia—darlings—never oc¬
curs in our Lord's reference to children.
I think it is abundantly established, then,
that the persons of whom our Lord spoke
were small children. But some have
acknowledged, as acknowledge they must,
that the persons referred to by our Lord
were small children; but, they say, what
He meant to teach was this: those who
humble themselves and become in humil¬
ity, innocence, etc., like children. Well,
granting that His meaning involves this
idea, you must remember that one thing is
settled beyond a shadow of doubt, namely,
that He assigned those very little children
in question a place in His kingdom: their
membership in the kingdom of God is em¬
phatically declared, and that is just what
we are now endeavoring to prove.
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 21
The first thing to settle is, are children
members of Christ's spiritual kingdom
which He came to establish on earth?
How they came so to be involves another
question.
Having shown that children are recog¬
nized citizens of the "kingdom of heaven,"
we come next to consider what citizenship
in that kingdom involves.
The terms, kingdom of heaven and king¬
dom of God, are synonymous, and mean the
spiritual reign of the Messiah on earth,
the kingdom of God's grace. Those who
belong to this kingdom were by Divine
arrangement organized into a visible
Church; hence, the terms kingdom of
heaven, kingdom of Qod, mean, secondly,
the visible Church. Now do not consider
this far-fetched, for if we say that the vis¬
ible Church is not the kingdom of heaven
in its visible aspect, it makes the phrase
simply figurative, and refers only to a kind
of influence upon earth, but not something
visibly set forth in the lives and conduct of
those who are given membership therein.
22
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
So, to avoid meaning worse than nothing,
we must concede the point that the reign
of the Messiah on earth is only seen and
known as it operates in and through the
Christian Church. Since, then, the king¬
dom of heaven is the visible Church, and
children are members of the kingdom of
heaven, it follows, by a syllogism, that
children are members of the visible Church.
Did it ever occur to you that children
have this advantage of adults, viz.: the
adult gets his membership in the kingdom
through the visible Church, z>., through an
acceptation of the plan of salvation as
brought to his knowledge through the
teaching of the Christian Church, while
children come in exactly at the other door?
They are in the kingdom of heaven in spite
of the visible Church. So when we deny
them a right to ceremonial membership in
the Church as organized, we are simply
denying them the less, while they, by Di¬
vine right, are already in possession of the
greater. That children are included in the
covenant of redemption no one denies,
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 23
and it is of the greatest interest to bear in
mind that they are so affected by their
relation to Christ through the Atonement
that they begin life in a state of exemption
from original guilt. This statement does
not deny the fact that they are born in the
image of fallen Adam, and that they inherit
from him a corrupt nature; but it does af¬
firm that they sustain a twofold relation :
a natural relation to Adam, and a spiritual
relation to Christ.
This twofold relation is not a contradic¬
tion. The same is true of an adult.
Even after his conversion there remains
in him a primal bias to evil. He must
watch and pray, lest he enter into temp¬
tation.
The flesh continues its strivings against
the spirit; he is still tempted and tried, and
without Divine assistance he cannot stand.
If, then, the adult holds this twofold rela¬
tion, it must be easy to see the possibility
of the child's holding a similar one. As my
subject has to do with baptized children, one
may be led to infer that I am an advocate
24
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
of baptismal regeneration ; but let me say,
once for all, I am not. I accord nothing' to
a baptized child that I do not to an unbap-
tized one, except external privileges. I
have said elsewhere that, without the re¬
generation that comes of conscious faith,
all infants are by virtue of the Atonement
placed in a state of gracious acceptance,
which is equivalent to the state reached
by the adult through justifying faith and
obedience.
But another question arises: Do the
children for whom we are claiming; Church
privileges on account of their baptism
need to be converted ? This depends al¬
together upon what we mean by conver¬
sion. In the words of our Lord, " Except
ye be converted," the word translated con¬
verted is straphete, from the verb strepho,
which means to turn. This turning may
be either of the body or mind. In the
middle voice it would mean, to turn one's-
self. Again, it may mean to turn from
a good to a bad purpose. However, it
means to turn from a given position, or
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 25
belief, or course of action to its opposite.
It will be important in this connection to
notice that our Lord never said concern¬
ing children that they must be converted,
or born again; but it was concerning adults
that He used this language; whereas, con¬
cerning the children, He says, Of such is
the kingdom of heaven. It is only when
they come to the years of accountability,
and enter upon a life of disobedience, that
He says they must change their course.
I think we might as well hold correct views
concerning native depravity, original sin
and actual transgression.
No man ever was or ever will be held re¬
sponsible for Adam's sins. This would be
unjust, and God is just. Every man is to
be punished for his own sins, and no one
can sin till he is capable of committing a
moral act. The sins of the fathers that are
visited upon the children, as spoken of in
the second commandment, are the sins of
the fathers that have been adopted by the
children and thus made their own; they
consequently fall heir to the same punish-
26
BAPTIZED CHILDREN,
ment that was inflicted upon their parents;
but it does not and could not mean that
an innocent child, who never sinned, will
be punished for his father's sins. But to
put the question in another form: Have
children a sinful nature at birth ? and is not
a work of grace needed in order to make
them heirs of the kingdom ?
I answer, yes; but, thanks to a wise and
loving Heavenly Father, who gave His
Son to redeem the world, children in¬
cluded, this necessary work is done for
them by the Atonement, else how dare
we claim that our children, dying in in¬
fancy, are saved. Certainly it is not the
accident of death that saves them, nor is it
logical or sensible to infer that the Atone¬
ment benefits them, provided they die, but
not otherwise. In order to present the
subject, as it appears to me, I suggest the
following formula :
1. Children are born with a depraved
nature, in the image of fallen Adam; but
their salvation is secured by the Atonement.
2. They cannot sin until they are capable
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY. 2 7
of performing moral actions, hence they
are in a state of gracious acceptance, and
so remain till they reach the years of moral
responsibility.
3. They are members of Christ's king¬
dom, hence of the Church, which is the vis¬
ible or objective aspect of that kingdom.
4. Children when baptized are cere¬
monially handed over to the Church, and
at once, by virtue of this initiatory rite,
have certain claims upon and rights in
that Church as an organization.
5. Those rights and privileges are, as a
matter of fact, the very same that are en¬
joyed by any other member; but children
should be exempted from certain discipli¬
nary regulations, and from the obligations
to take communion and perform other
Church duties until they are capable of
understanding such obligations. Then,
even when that period of understanding is
reached, they are bound to subscribe to
them, in order to deserve their punishment
or enjoy their blessings.
It is the indispensable duty of the Chris-
28
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
tian Church to begin the work of instruct¬
ing the children in those things as soon as
they are able to understand them. This
instruction, faithfully and properly given,
will enable the child, even when quite
young, to have a fair knowledge of what
the Church teaches concerning Christianity.
One of the most pious women I know says,
she can remember distinctly things which
occurred when she was but three years of
age, but she cannot remember when she
did not love the Lord. Of course, this re¬
sult came only of faithful and timely train¬
ing, and is a proof of what can be accom¬
plished under proper direction.
CHAPTER II.
THEORY AND PRACTICE.
ALL regularly organized churches have
perhaps a theory upon this subject of
child training, but what about the practice ?
A theory without practice is worthless.
What is the theory of the A. M. E. Church
upon this subject ? See Book of Discipline,
page 125, section iii. There the minister
in charge is required by a " shall" to
1. Gather in the children.
2. Instruct them in the Catechism of our
Church.
3. Preach to them on the subject of
education.
4. Talk with them at their homes.
5. Explain to them the nature of re¬
ligion.
6. Take the names of those who have
(29)
30
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
been truly awakened and admit them to
society.
7. Form them into classes for the pur¬
pose of giving them religious instructions.
8. Teach them the nature, privileges,
design and obligations of baptism.
9. He shall further appoint a suitable
leader for each class to instruct it in his
absence, and recommend to him those who
are suitable to be admitted on trial.
I think it would be difficult to find in
'any church a larger array of requirements
concerning the religious care of children.
But what comes of all this ? I have been
a communicant member of the Church
since 1865 (twenty-four years), and have
been in the ministry since 1876 (thirteen
years), and I have not, in a single instance,
seen those provisions practiced by any one.
And more than this, whenever I have
tempted to dfc so, I have been told thai'
the idea was a new and dangerous one,
and was un-Methodistlc. *
I have conversed with a large number
of the leading ministers of our Church
THEORY AND PRACTICE. 31
upon the subject, and with but few excep¬
tions they have bidden me be careful.
And so it is; the disciplinary require¬
ments, under the head of " Duty to Chil¬
dren," remain a dead letter as to practice,
and it is clear to any close observer that
the sentiment of the Church is against its
practice.
If during any given quarter, on a circuit
or in a station, no adults die, however
many children may die, no matter what
their age or when baptized, when the"
question is reached in the Quarterly Con¬
ference, " How many have died this
quarter," the answer is, "None." Let
us draw a picture. Here is a child of a
member of the Church; it has been bap¬
tized at the altar; its name has been re¬
corded upon the Church register; it has
joined the Sunday-school and has been
again registered there. During its illness
it has been visited by the teacher of the
class to which it belongs in Sunday-school;
its death is reported to the minister, who
attends the funeral; in his address he
32
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
refers to its Sunday-school career, and
tells the parents that they have an angel in
heaven. He holds Quarterly Conference
the same night, and the recording steward
answers question eleven, by saying that
nobody has died this quarter, and the sec¬
retary promptly records it as if it were
true. This picture is not overdrawn ; it is
the invariable practice of our Church.
Now I, for one, believe it is time to look
squarely at this matter, and call upon the
Church to demand that its ministers carry
out the requirements of the discipline.
From what I have learned by convers¬
ing with thoughtful men upon the subject,
the difficulty seems to be this: how shall
we induct the child into the Church when
it reaches the years of moral responsibility f
"He has not been born again," says one;
"he has not been converted," says an¬
other; "he must have a new heart," says
a third. Then another, who is quite con¬
fident that he is right, says, "he is too
young." Well, I think all this brings us
into quite a dilemma. If these things be
THEORY AND PRACTICE.
33
true, I see nothing to do but allow the
child to go out and mingle with the world,
get steeped in all its vices, then let the
Church send for an evangelist, an expert,
get up a protracted meeting and go in hot
pursuit after the prodigal, and catch him
if you can. But if this course is absolutely
necessary, then I say that our whole re¬
ligious system is a house upon the sand,
and is safe only provided a storm doesn't
come.
Is it not possible for me to meet my
child at the age of moral responsibility,
tell him that he was baptized and why;
tell him that Jesus died to save him, and
that from his baptism till now I have held
myself bound by vows to see that he
obeyed the Lord; and now that he is old
enough to know the nature and end of the
sacrament of baptism I can no longer be
surety for him, but he must take upon
himself the vows which I have been carry¬
ing ? Now, if we grant, as grant we must,
that the child is not held responsible for
natural depravity, but only for actual sins
34
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
committed by himself, it must be easy to
see that there is no great sacrifice for him
to make upon approaching conscious re¬
sponsibility. How can he feel the remorse
and shame and contrition of one who has
been openly and willfully living a life of
sin for many years ? Teach the child that
he should truly repent and ask God's for¬
giveness for any sin that he has committed
since his conscious knowledge of sin. Be
sure to tell him that if he does so, he will
be forgiven by God. Tell him what a
dreadful thing it would be to turn his back
upon the Lord who died for him, and to
dishonor his parents who stood surety for
him when he was too young to act for
himself. Tell him that at a certain time
the class to which he belongs will be pre¬
sented for admission on trial, and that if
he consents to give himself to the Lord,
He will receive him, but if he refuses to
do so, he willfully rejects the only means
of salvation.
Let some such course be wisely and
faithfully pursued, and I venture to say
THEORY AND PRACTICE.
35
that a large majority of our children would
never enter upon a life of wretchedness
and sin.
But someone will probably say, this
method is too easy to be genuine; but he
who takes this stand must be content to
be illogical.
If a number of persons start out on a
journey, destined for a certain place, some
may go by rail, some by boat, some in
carriage or on horseback; others still may
walk. They will arrive at their destination
at different periods, but once being there,
the fact that they are there is the same in
each case. Hence, no one can dispute
the genuineness of the presence of the
person. The only thing left for him would
be to criticise the manner of coming. In
like manner, if a person is Christ's at all,
he is genuinely His, no matter how he
came so to be. Do not, therefore, mistake
the thing itself for the method of accom¬
plishing it. Now, it is the "more excellent
way " that I here insist upon, and I do in¬
sist upon it for the following reason : First,
36 baptized children.
because our Lord said, " Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them
not." O how we delight to make this
quotation when we are addressing our
Sunday-schools ! How, then, can we for¬
bid them ? CouIq our Lord have spoken
more plainly on the subject? When the
disciples asked Him concerning who should
be greatest in the kingdom, did He not
stand a child in the midst of them and re¬
fer to it as a guide for them ?
Let us refer to St. Matthew xviii., where
the conversation in question is recorded,
and we find there the following (verses i-6):
"At the same time came the disciples to
Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven ? and Jesus called a
little child unto Him, and sat him in the
midst of them, and said, Verily, I say unto
you, except ye be converted, and become
as little children, ye shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever,
therefore, shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in die
kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall
THEORY AND PRACTICE. 37
receive one such little child in my name
receiveth me. But whoso shall offend
(cause to sin) one of these little ones
which believe in me, it were better for him
that a millstone were hanged about his
neck and that he were drowned in the
depth of the sea."
Then notice verse 10: "Take heed that
ye despise not one of these little ones; for
I say unto you, that in heaven their angels
do always behold the face of my Father
which is in heaven." Conclude now with
verse 14: "Even so, it is not the will of
your Father which is in heaven that one of
those little ones should perish." To hunt
other passages to prove that children are
accepted by Christ would be superfluous;
these abundantly prove it. If it should be
suggested that the child in question may
have been a babe, and, therefore, too young
to either accept or reject Christ, whereas
my argument is in favor of bringing chil¬
dren to Christ after they have reached the
years of moral responsibility, I answer by
referring again to St. Matthew xviii. 6,
38 BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
in which the words " which believe in me "
occur. I have no idea that this little child
which "believed" in Christ knew the
Apostles' Creed, or understood the doctrine
of the Atonement, or could tell whether or
not the Holy Ghost proceeds from both
the Father and Son; but he accepted
Christ, and this is all he could have done
if he had already served a probation at
sinning. But be this as it will, I plant my¬
self upon the Scripture, and upon it I
stand or fall.
Again, I call coming to Christ in child¬
hood a more excellent way, because reason
teaches that it is a thousand times easier,
better and safer, for one to turn to the
Lord in the days of youth (as Solomon
puts it) before he learns the ways of sin;
before sinful habits are formed; when
there is really but little to give up ; before
he learns the fascination of worldly pleas¬
ure. A young person who enters into
society without the restraining influences
of Christianity may naturally enough be
led astray. Besides the fact of a natural
THEORY AND PRACTICE.
39
evil inclination there are many objective
evil influences to allure him. But the first
and greatest reason I wish to give for in¬
sisting upon an early decision is that God
requires it. " Remember now thy Creator
in the days of thy youth" is the language
of the Bible, and no Christian can afford
to treat lightly, much less reject, any¬
thing that our Lord requires of mankind.
No promise is given for the morrow, but
to-day is the day to which our attention is
called. Then, I beg to call attention to
what I regard a very serious matter: there
is a great deal of allowance made for per¬
sons who are out of the Church, especially
if they are young. By a sort of common
consent we give them great license, not
seeming to remember that a disrespect for
right-doing not only weakens the character
of the person himself, but may also defile
those with whom he associates. For in¬
stance, a Christian parent who is careful
about the company of his daughter might
see no good reason to object to the visits
of a young man (provided he made no
4°
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
profession of religion) who was a lover of
the ballroom and of the theater, a moderate
drinker and profane swearer, and even one
who gambled a little occasionally when he
went out to luncheon with a "few friends."
A young man "of the world" might indulge
in any or all of those habits, and yet rank
as a first-class gentleman. But what if he
professed Christianity and yet was addicted
to such habits ? He would be regarded as
an unsafe person to have the love and con¬
fidence of a chaste young woman. Now
all this is equivalent to saying that out of
the Church a person may do many ques¬
tionable things and yet not be questioned,
while in the Church he will be expected,
aye, required, to be upright in character.
I think it is but just to say that Christians
in general do not indorse the things I
have named, even when practiced by ir¬
religious persons; but they say, "What
can we do about it ? He does not belong-
o
to Church, hence we cannot exercise any
disciplinary authority over him." But since
those vices are ruinous even to those who
THEORY AND PRACTICE. 41
may at first indulge in them but mod¬
erately, and since association begets as¬
similation, do not Christian parents and
Christian people in general see the abso¬
lute, may I say awful, necessity of striving
to keep those very young people within
the restraining influences of the Church,
to the end that those habits may never be
formed ? But yet another reason for
making an early decision. Habits once
formed may never be overcome. There
is a story of a young man who was a fam¬
ily favorite. He was permitted, and es¬
pecially by his over-indulgent mother, to
have and to do anything his fancy de¬
sired. At last it became evident that he
had entered fully and permanently upon a
life of wretchedness and sin. All efforts
to reform him proved futile. At last, in a
drunken quarrel, he committed murder,
for which crime he was tried, and sentenced
to be hanged. During his confinement in
the prison his almost heartbroken mother
was permitted to visit him. When at length
the time came for his execution, and she was
42
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
bidding him the last affectionate good-by, he
beckoned her to hold her head close to his
face as if he would whisper something to
her. When she did so, he, like an angry
beast, caught her ear between his teeth, and
severed it from her head, saying, "This is
to enable you to remember that it is your
fault that I am here. When I was young I
was left without restraint, and here is the
awful result." The time-honored adage
that an ounce of prevention is better than a
pound of cure should be a daily text for all
who in any way have the care of children.
Let the work of training begin in infancy;
that is, let the parent or guardian make
it a business to observe all the evil ten¬
dencies of the child and correct them. But
more than this, let positive instruction upon
the subject of religion be given, till the child
is old enough to, make a choice for himself.
No age can be fixed upon as the period of
moral responsibility for all children. Some
have a better understanding at six than
others at twelve years. I would suggest
that we deal with the child somewhat after
THEORY AND PRACTICE. 43
the manner that Philip dealt with the Ethi¬
opian. When he understood what Philip
taught, he said, "Here is water; what hinders
me from being baptized ? " The answer was,
"If thou believest, thou mayest." And so
I say, when the child is ready to accept
Christ as his Saviour, permit him to do so,
no matter what his age. I desire to give
one more reason for making an early de¬
cision. By entering upon a life of sin, both
the physical and moral strength of the child
may become destroyed. As to the physi¬
cal, the body may by dissipation become
so weakened, that even if the person were
fortunate enough to reform and come in
at the ninth or eleventh hour, he is in no
condition to do the work of the Lord.
His best days have been wasted; he
is now well-nigh a physical wreck. His
strength and vigor are declining, and he
now comes to offer to the Lord the rem¬
nant which he cannot even successfully use
in the service of Satan. Then there is also
the moral aspect. Granting that he is not
a physical wreck, he has certainly to some
44
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
extent weakened his moral nature. He is
like a broken dish that has been mended,
but yet has the mark upon it. And more
than this, it is possible that he has formed
habits that are destined to be a stumbling-
block to him through life. It is no easy
matter for one who has gone a long time
in any given way to undergo such a thor¬
ough and complete reformation as that no
trace of the old life will, at any time or
under any circumstances, show itself. I
find every reason for becoming a Christian
early in life, but can see no advantage what¬
ever in delaying a decision. There is a
greater risk in turning to the left for even
a short space of time than there can be in
the most feeble effort to turn to the right.
All that is required of one is a decision
which involves two things; namely, an un¬
conditional surrender of himself to Christ,
and a complete acceptance of Him as his
Saviour. Hunt out all the passages in the
Bible which answer the question What must
I do to be saved? and you will find that
but three words are employed: those three
THEORY AND PRACTICE. 45
words occur at different places, and in
slightly different relations. They are,
Repent, Believe and be Baptized. Often
"believe" occurs without any reference to
the others, though they are logically in¬
cluded. Once (Acts ii. 38) the phrase is
" Repent and be baptized;" but here also,
I take it, faith is included, else obedience
would not have been shown. The word
"baptize" never stands alone as an answer
to the question; so we may sum this up:
(a) Repentance (fieravma), change of
mind or of purpose; penitence implying
sorrow for unbelief and sin, and a turning
from them.
(b) Believe (*■terreuia), to have faith; to
put faith in; to trust; to confide. All this
implies action, for an unwillingness to act
upon faith is but to be faithless.
(c) Be baptized (£«?mSa>), to administer
the rite of baptism in the Triune name.
CHAPTER III.
MODE OF BAPTISM.
WHEN I began writing upon this
subject I did not intend to discuss
the mode of baptism, but in proceeding
with the subject this phase of it naturally
forces itself upon me. And as it may be
of benefit to some of our younger mem¬
bers to know what the African Methodist
Episcopal Church does teach concerning
this matter, I think it will be well to take
it up. First of all, I wish to call attention
to the too frequent custom of saying that
we christen our children as if we did
not baptize them. In our Book of Dis¬
cipline, page 209, chapter iii, under the
head of Special Directions, the following
occurs: Let every adult person and the
parent of every child to be baptized have
(46)
MODE OF BAPTISM.
47
their choice either of immersion, sprink¬
ling or pouring. Notice, baptized\ not
christened, is the word employed. Then,
on page 215, where the words used in
baptism occur, we have the following:
" N., I baptize thee in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost." Here again it is baptize, not
christen. Webster's Dictionary inter¬
changes the word christen with the word
baptize. I do not object to this; on the
contrary, I think him quite correct. But,
as many may be misled by the use of the
word christen, and use it to the exclusion
of the word baptize, it would be best for
us who believe in baptism to use the word
that is less likely to mislead. A glance at
the history and use of the word is in place
here. The word belongs to the New
Testament and is found in the Latin, Greek
and English versions. First of all, let me
say that we do not deny that immersion is
baptism, but we affirm that baptism may
be performed other than by immersion.
As there is nothing so good in polemics
48
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
as good authority, I shall here quote from
the Greek Lexicon of Edward Robinson,
D.D., of eighteenth century fame; a grad¬
uate of Hamilton College, New York, 1816;
instructor of Hebrew at Andover, 1823;
published an edition of the Iliad; went to
Europe in 1826 and studied Hebrew under
Gesenius at Halle, and history under Ne-
ander; was professor extraordinary at
Andover of Biblical literature, 1830; trans¬
lated Buttman's Greek Grammar, 1851 ;
revised Newcome's Greek Harmony of the
Gospels. In 1836 he published the Greek
and English Lexicon from which I quote.
Concerning the word pannsw, he says:
" 1. To dip in, to sink, to immerse.
"2. To wash, to lave, to cleanse by wash¬
ing ; to wash one's self, i. e., one's hands
or body; to perform ablution.
"3. To baptize, to administer the rite of
Baptism.
" Note. — While in Greek writers, from
Plato onward, $amiza> is everywhere to sink,
to immerse, to overwhelm either wholly or
partially, in Hellenistic usage, and espe-
MODE OF BAPTISM.
49
cially in reference to the Rite of Baptism,
it would seem to have expressed not al¬
ways simply immersion, but the more gen¬
eral idea of ablution or affusion. This ap¬
pears from the following consideration:
(«) The circumstances named in St. Luke
xi. 38, compared with those in St. Mark
vii. 2-4, where vktoj is employed, imply,
according to Oriental custom, a pouring
of water on the hands. See in m«« and
2 K. iii. 11; likewise the use of paxTtatioq,
St. Mark vii. 4-8, as also passages from
Septuagint.
"(b) In Acts ii. 41, three thousand are
said to have been baptized at Jerusalem in
one day, at the season of the Pentecost in
June; and in Acts iv. 4 the same rite
is necessarily implied in respect to five
thousand more. Against the idea of full
immersion in these cases there lies a diffi¬
culty, apparently insuperable, in the scar¬
city of water. There is in summer season
no running stream in the vicinity of Jeru¬
salem except the mere rill of Siloam, a few
rods in length; and the city is and was
5°
baptized children.
supplied with water from its cisterns and
public reservoirs. (See Bibl. Res. in Pal¬
est., i, pp. 479-516.)
"From neither of these sources could a
supply have been well obtained for the
immersion of 8,000 persons. In the ear¬
liest Latin versions of the New Testament,
as, for example, the Italia, which Augustine
regarded as the best of all, and which goes
back apparently to the second century and
to usage connected with the Apostolic age,
the Greek verb paizTtqco is uniformally given
in the Latin from baptizo, and is never
translated by immergo or any like word,
showing that there was something in the
rite of Baptism to which immergo did not
correspond. (See Blanchini Evangelia-
rium quadruplex. ect. Rom., 1749.) The
baptismal fonts still found among the ruins
of the most ancient Greek churches in
Palestine, as at Tekoa and Gophna, and
going back apparently to very early times,
are not large enough to admit of the bap¬
tism of adult persons by immersion, and
were obviously never intended for that
use."—Edw. Robinson.
MODE OF BAPTISM.
51
It seems useless to enter into a citation
of facts that are at the command of any
student of history to show that immersion
was never the exclusive practice of the
Christian Church or any branch of it for
more than sixteen hundred years. How
strange it would seem to indulge the belief
that the Apostles, the immediate succes¬
sors of our Lord, and the " Fathers," the
immediate successors of the Apostles, and
all Christendom, should lose the door of
entrance into the Church, and for nearly
two thousand years come in some other
way without discovering their mistake! As
Methodists, we are wont to lay more stress
upon what the thing signifies than upon
the mode of administering it. This idea of
the subject is evidently in keeping with the
teaching of John the Baptist, for he warned
the Pharisees and Sadducees, when they
came to his baptism, reminding them that
they should bring forth fruits, meet for re¬
pentance ; show the reality of their re¬
pentance by forsaking their sins, and not
to rely simply upon the ceremony; for,
52
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
said he: "I indeed baptize you with water
(ecqfieravocao) into repentance." In Acts
xix. 4, St. Paul calls the baptism of John
a baptism of repentance (/Scwr-rt^a, fiezavotaq).
It was a public demonstration to the world
that the person receiving it had renounced
his sins and accepted Christ, and was there¬
fore a proper subject to receive the bap¬
tism of the Holy Ghost. It is an act of
obedience, an outward sign ordained of
God, and to reject it is to disobey. But
no undue stress should be laid upon the
mere mode of administering it. The sac¬
rament of baptism surely cannot be more
sacred than that of the Holy Communion,
and yet there is no controversy about the
niode of administering this latter sacrament,
although it is a fact, possibly a fact to be
regretted, to say the least, that, in almost
every religious sect, where the communion
is given at all, it is by a slightly different
mode. The thing agreed upon by all, how¬
ever, is that bread and wine are the proper
articles to use. In like manner should it
be in baptism: let water be used in the
MODE OF BAPTISM.
53
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost; and, as no specific mode of
administering is named in the Bible, let
common sense and convenience dominate
in settling this.
There are scores of circumstances under
which it would be impossible to baptize by
immersion—as in time of war. Men who
are wounded and nigh unto death may sur¬
render their hearts unto God and desire
the Christian baptism, to be performed by
the chaplain who is upon the spot for the
purpose of administering to the. spiritual
wants of the soldiers—again, in cases of
extreme illness, in which persons may desire
baptism, but cannot be moved from their
bed-chamber. The all-wise God, who or¬
dained the sacrament and demanded its
observance, did not say repent, believe and
be immersed, knowing that there would be
cases where immersion would be impos¬
sible; hence He used a generic term. Now,
returning to the main subject, whatever
may be said about children becoming
Christians, or however little we may do to
54
BAPTIZED CHIM)REN.
encourage them, in spite of our negligence,
there are children who are early drawn to
the Christian life. It would seem harsh
and unchristian-like to prohibit them. So,
when they have given evidence of their
sincerity, they are received on probation,
just as older people are. Those who think
it necessary to justify themselves for this
action say "Well, after all, who can tell
at what age the Lord may speak to children,
even as He did to Samuel?"
But why not be logical and make this
principle a guide for our actions in all
cases ?
There is nothing .in the history of Sam¬
uel to warrant us in supposing that he was
supernatural, and if there was, there have
been scores and hundreds of similar cases
both in ancient and modern times—not
cases in which God spoke orally and liter¬
ally to a child, as in the case of Samuel,
but where He called them by His Spirit in
early youth, and in which their lives have
been consistently Christian from youth to
age. I have now in my mind as many as
MODE OF BAPTISM.
55
a half-dozen testimonies of this kind, and
there may be hundreds of persons in pos¬
session of similar knowledge. This, I
think, is sufficient to refute the supernatural
idea.
Again, prominently in Biblical history
is the case of Moses. Nothing is said
descriptive of him in infancy, beyond the
fact that he was a goodly child. He was
placed in his mother's care, and by her
nursed and trained till he could be weaned
and taken to his foster-mother, the Egyp¬
tian Princess, by whom he was educated
at the Royal Court in all the wisdom of
the Egyptians. Now, when we see him
in after-life deliberately choosing the por¬
tion of a suffering and enslaved people, in
spite of the kingly honors to which he was
already heir, we at once agree with Black¬
wood that this fact was doubtless due to
the early impressions made upon his plas¬
tic soul by his mother. But if, despite such
abundant testimony to the contrary, some
should still incline to call, at least, those
Bible cases exceptional, then let us remem¬
ber that the Bible abounds with evidence
56
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
that God's way of introducing great prin¬
ciples to mankind is by giving a solitary
exhibition, and always but few at most.
When He would show the exceeding sin¬
fulness of sin to the antediluvians, He
brought a flood upon the earth. But
when He threw the bow upon the clouds
as an evidence that there shall be no more
flood while the world stands, it was not an
evidence that sin should, at any time, be
less grievous to Him. When He would
teach a lesson upon the awful conse¬
quences of disrespect for the aged, He
permitted bears to come up out of the
earth and slay the children who insulted
Elisha. When He would show the sacred-
ness of the priesthood, He slew Nadab
and Abihu for offering strange fire. When
He would show the great crime of stealing,
He permitted the whole army of Israel to
suffer defeat till Achan was discovered and
punished. So in like manner can we say
that when He would show it to be possible
for a very small child to hear and under¬
stand His voice, He spoke to Samuel, who,
MODE OF BAPTISM.
57
in after-years, became the chief represent¬
ative of God among His people. None of
the above cases were ever repeated in pre¬
cisely the same manner, but they set forth
a great truth, which is as abiding as eternity.
Inconsistency—as between what we say
and what we do—is often shown in an¬
other respect. For instance, when chil¬
dren give themselves very early to the
Lord, so early that we are in doubt as to
whether or not they fully understand what
they are doing, when we take them into
the Church we should, in keeping with our
doubts, take extra precautions to have
them nourished and trained until they be¬
come strong enough to resist evil. They
are children, and they need milk ; they are
weak, and need physical aid; they are not
skilled in spiritual warfare, hence they
need to be guided and instructed to a
greater degree than those of riper years.
And herein lies a fatal mistake. We seem
to have an idea that it is necessary for
the child to wait till it is far enough
advanced in knowledge to understand the
53
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
plan of salvation before it attempts to be
a Christian. We seem to lose sight of the
idea of Christian nurture. Special pains
should be taken with those who are inex¬
perienced to train them up into right ideas
of Christian character. That is why the
Church has been so careful to provide for
special work in this direction, as I have
elsewhere pointed out. With the wisest
and most experienced Christians, Chris¬
tian character is a thing of growth, and the
sooner it is begun the better it is for the
Christian himself.
In the family circle our children are con¬
stantly doing things peculiar to childhood
that would be inexcusable in older per¬
sons ; but we do not think of saying that
they are irredeemably lost as to good be¬
havior, and so we continue the work of
correcting and instructing. In like man¬
ner should we treat them in the spiritual
household, the Church. When we dis¬
cover mistakes that they have made owing
to their inexperience and their childlike
thoughtlessness, we should not begin to
MODE OF BAPTISM.
59
say, "Yes, I knew you had no religion, you
are a pretty Christian;" but, like true
Christian guardians, we should all the
more instruct them and watch over them
in love. If wrong-doing after conversion
is to be taken as an evidence that the con¬
version was not genuine, then may we all
hide our faces and flee from the presence
of the Lord.
Finally, duty is ours, and consequences
belong to the Lord.
As in the Jewish Church children were
included in the covenant under the law,
and as in the Christian Church they are
also included in the covenant of grace,
and as both reason and experience justify
the wisdom of such a course, let us
as Christians lose no time, spare no en¬
deavor to lead the little ones in their youth
to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the
sin of the world.
Now, in answer to the question What
relation do baptized children sustain to the
Church ? they are inseparably a part of it.
In a word, they sustain the same relation
6o
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
to the Church as such, that they sustain to
the family as such. No one ever thinks
of regarding small children as being other
than legitimate members of the household,
or of giving them an inferior place therein.
To the contrary, they are accorded all the
rights and privileges of older members,
according to their ability to appropriate
them. And in case of making a will, all
the children are remembered, no matter
what their age. Guardians are appointed
for such as are under age, to see that no
advantage is taken of them, and that they
are not deprived of their legal share of
the inheritance. And so with children of
the Church. They are a part of the house¬
hold of God, and no one has a right to dis¬
possess them. Christ* and not the Church,
made the provision for them, and all Church
legislation against them is illegal and un¬
christian. The exercise of guardianship
over them, till they can act for themselves,
is not discretionary with their parents and
the Church, but it is a sacred obligation.
If they are ever disinherited, they must do
MODE OF BAPTISM.
61
it themselves. They are a part and parcel
of the Church which Christ purchased with
His own blood, and will so remain till, by
their own will, they make choice of another
lot. This general definition will apply to
all children whether baptized or not; but
children baptized in a particular Church
are ceremonially made members of that
Church, and should be so regarded and so
treated.
CHAPTER IV.
CONDITION AND MODE OF RECEIVING
CHILDREN INTO FULL MEMBERSHIP.
NE of the objections frequently made
to infant Baptism, and also to child¬
hood Christianity, is that our Lord says,
" He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved." The argument based upon
these words of our Lord is this: children
cannot believe; therefore, they cannot com¬
ply with the above condition. Any one
who has studied child-nature, child-disposi¬
tion, with any degree of accuracy, will dis¬
cover the weakness of this position. If
there is any one thing a child can do, it is
to believe—yes, to confide in. The belief
of a child amounts to faith, sure enough.
It not only believes, but it trusts; and that
is what adults so often fail to do. Perhaps
(62)
FULL MEMBERSHIP.
63
this, more than anything else, is what our
Lord means when He says, " Except ye be
converted and become as a little child "—
not as a child in understanding, but as a
child in simple faith—a faith that does not
even question His word. Majority of years
and maturity of judgment often produce a
state of mind that does not aid one in the
attainment of that faith which asks no ques¬
tions. Just at this point, the agnostic and
the Christian part company. The agnostic
takes the position that it is wrong for a man
to say that he is certain of the objective
truth of any proposition, unless he can pro¬
duce evidence which logically justifies that
certainty ; the Christian takes the ground
that there are propositions which should be
accepted as worthy of belief, without logi¬
cally satisfactory evidence such as the ag¬
nostic demands ; that revelation is above
reason, and in it will be found many things
that cannot be understood by the finite, yet
must be accepted in order to please God.
I think I have fairly stated the points of
issue between the Christian and the agnos-
64
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
tic. It is as important for the Christian to
be consistent as it is for others, and, like
others, they weaken their case to the extent
that they are inconsistent. I suppose it
would be difficult to find any one who will
deny that there are things in the Christian
code which cannot be understood even by
mature minds ; and yet, this failure to un¬
derstand certain things does not disqualify
one for membership in the Christian
Church. Things being thus, why should it
be regarded as intolerable for a child to be
granted Christian privileges in the Church,
simply because he cannot give a scientific
answer to the question what is faith ?
Should we, as Christians, bind upon our
children burdens which we acknowledge
we cannot bear ? The danger of becom¬
ing so critical and skeptical as not to be¬
lieve anything for which a scientific reason
cannot be given is the danger of every
age, and may we not say especially of the
present age ?
If we, as Christians, really believe that
the Bible is true, there certainly can be no
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65
objection to inducing our children to accept
its teachings, even before they can give a
good reason why. But there are also
other important considerations; though
children may be kept out of church their
minds are not kept blank upon other mat¬
ters. There is always something to occupy
them. If good impressions are not made,
surely bad ones will be. Their characters
are being formed, and will take this or
that shape, according to their surroundings.
But why multiply words? If Christians
believe that the Bible offers the only way
of salvation, it is their indispensable duty
to do all that is in their power to have their
children begin life in that only true way.
We are constantly confronted with the
argument that children cannot be trained
into Christianity; that to hold this doctrine
is to oppose conversion. Do persons who
hold this position forget that the very word
of God upon which they base their argu¬
ment says, " Train up a child when it is
young in the way that you would have it
go ?" This very word " train" so fre-
66
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
quently and persistently objected to by
those who oppose childhood Christianity,
is the very word that is employed by the
wise man, and is indeed a significant word.
It is not simply to teach. Precept might be
given till it became monotonous. Nor is
it simply the time-honored custom of hav¬
ing him say prayers before going to
bed ; but it is to " trainIt may, however,
be suggestive to the reader to call atten¬
tion in this connection to the difference be¬
tween the words teach and train. Teach:
to show; to impart the knowledge of; to
give intelligence concerning; to impart, as
knowledge before unknown, or as rules
for practice ; to inculcate as true or impor¬
tant; to exhibit impressively; to tell. Other
kindred meanings belong to this word, but
they are all in the line of "giving instruc¬
tionTrain : to draw along; to trail; to
draw by persuasion, artifice and the like ;
to entice; to teach and form by practice ;
to exercise ; to discipline; as, to train sol¬
diers to the use of arms; to break, tame
and accustom to draw, as oxen. It can be
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67
seen at a glance that the important differ¬
ence between those words is in the one—
to teach—an announcement is made ; not
necessarily more than this ; while in the
other—to train—the person addressed is
put into action, and actually drilled. Now,
study the word in its Scriptural relation, and
it will be found to imply not simply Chris¬
tian instruction, but Christian practice.
In discussing a question so important as
this—a question which involves the salva¬
tion of souls—much care should be had in
stating positions and in interpreting state¬
ments. If we are understood to be intro¬
ducing a new doctrine—a doctrine that
means to do away with conversion and re¬
generation—then we are greatly misunder¬
stood. The position we do take is this:
the Bible does not teach, either directly
or by inference, that a probationary period
of willful sinning must necessarily precede
regeneration ; or, to put it in other words,
the Bible does not teach that an individual
must reach the years of maturity and enter
from choice upon a life of sin in order to
68 BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
give " regeneration" something to act
upon. If it is claimed that we draw the
lines too closely when we expect a child
to pass from moral irresponsibility to moral
responsibility, without committing an actual
sin/we admit that this maybe true, and,
as a matter of fact, this is not our position.
This brief space—if we may so put it—be¬
tween the time that moral responsibility is
reached and an active Christian life is
entered upon, together with the "sinful
nature" of the'child, affords abundant op¬
portunity for regeneration. The position
we take is this: it is possible to so train
a child in the ways of right living that,
when the period of moral responsibility is
reached, he will readily, and from choice,
make choice of a Christian life, and so
practically avoid joining himself to the
world to live a life of sin. But how¬
ever this may be, we claim that it is the
indispensable duty of the Christian parent
and the Christian Church to labor to this
end ; if, despite these efforts, the child goes
astray, his blood be upon his own head.
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69
Concerning conversion it is well to dis¬
tinguish between this and regeneration.
Conversion may be called a purely mental
process, and is possible only for persons
who have a normal intellect. We never
talk to idiots about being converted; we
leave their case entirely to Christ and the
Atonement. But we do talk of conversion
to persons to whose understanding and
reason we can appeal. We ask them to
consider the matter for themselves. We
persuade them to accept Christ, and we
hold them responsible for failing to do so;
if it were something which they could not
do, they could not consistently be held re¬
sponsible. This preparatory work is what
is meant by conversion ; it is a change of
desire, of purpose, of life. Quite different
is the work of regeneration. This divine
mystery, this process which makes one a
"new creation," belongs entirely to God's
part of the contract, and is never done
without the consent of the individual for
whom it is done. It is our duty to lead
the children up to the point of making the
7°
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
choice; and when this they do, God will as
readily perform the work of grace in their
hearts as He would had they first entered
upon an active life of sin, and afterward
turned to Him. Now you see, dear reader,
that we agree perfectly concerning the
spiritual work which must be done for every
one who is made a fit subject for the king¬
dom of heaven ; but I do not, and never
shall grant, that this spiritual work can
better be done if the devil is given a hand
in it
Many children come to the years of
moral responsibility with a decided leaning
toward Christianity, but are finally led
astray for the want of proper encourage¬
ment or definite guidance at this critical
and important period. However carefully
children have been trained in morals and
religion, they are not Church members prac¬
tically until they have been regularly in¬
ducted into the Church. Up to this point
the parent or guardian has been largely,
indeed chiefly, the responsible person ; but
now the chief responsibility must be placed
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71
upon the child himself. The Church, in its
organized capacity, affords the needed op¬
portunity for placing definite responsibili¬
ties upon an individual. A person may
have known the Scriptures from childhood,
like Timothy, but a Paul is needed to lead
him into the work ; or, like the rich young
ruler, he maybe able to say, "All these
things have I kept from my youth up," and
still he may lack that which is necessary to
the perfecting of a Christian life. The
young ruler was all right as to morals, and
this constituted a large portion of Chris¬
tian practice ; but when he was brought,
for the first time, face to face with the per¬
sonal Christ, he was astonished to learn
that with such a stock on hand he should
yet fall so far short of being a perfect
Christian.
There must be a period in Christian ex¬
perience when a personal and conscious
consecration is made. This consecration
must have in it the condition of willing
obedience. Much of the goodness of a
child who is brought up virtuously is nega-
72
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
tive goodness; that is to say, the child is
not good from having made an intelligent
choice of goodness, but from having never
been brought into contact with evil in a
sense that would oblige him to make the
choice between good and evil. The moral
condition and the religious tendency of a
child, up to a certain period, are more the
result of restraint and direction from others
than of a personal choice of his own. And
thus it follows that however correct in
morals the child finds himself when he
reaches the years of accountability, he must
then make choice of what his future life
shall be. The life previous to this period
has been according to the decision of an¬
other ; but henceforth it must be accord¬
ing to the decision of himself. With all
the weight of influence on the side of right,
it will be comparatively easy to secure a
decision on this side; but unless the claim
is forced, and a decision demanded at the
proper time, all the benefits of previous
training may be lost. It is, therefore, of
the greatest importance that the Christian
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73
Church should provide a means, an ordi¬
nance, by which her children shall be given
an opportunity to say whether or not they
will voluntarily assume the obligations that
were taken for them by their parents or
sponsors.
Such a provision is as necessary as the
work of early training. Indeed, unless
this early training is a means which looks
forward to a definite end, it matters but
little whether or not it is performed. Just
what this service or ordinance shall be
called is not of vital importance. But in
order to be definite, and to avoid placing the
responsibility upon another, I would sug¬
gest that the A. M. E. Church adopt the
confirmation service of the Protestant Epis¬
copal Church as the best and most authori¬
tative means of inducting our children into
the Church, after the proper preparation
has been made, both by their parents and
by themselves.
It may be well to give some reasons why
I suggest the adoption of this particular
system, which reasons I shall give as fol¬
lows :
74
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
i. Because the Scriptures teach it, and it
was practiced by the apostles. Concern¬
ing the two sacraments, viz., Baptism and
the Lord's Supper, we have a definite
command; concerning Confirmation, we
have not a command in so many words
from the Lord; but the very same is true
of the consecration of bishops, the ordina¬
tion of priests and deacons, and the rite
of Christian marriage ; yet who among us
would for a moment question the propriety
of any of these ?
The Scriptures tell us that during the
forty days of our Lord on earth, after the
resurrection, He spoke to the apostles
concerning things pertaining to the king¬
dom of God. He had already promised
them that when the Comforter came He
would bring to their remembrance all tilings
whatsoever He had commanded them.
Now, after the ascension, the apostles
waited at Jerusalem till the Holy Ghost
came down upon them, and immediately
thereafter they began their work. As many
as professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
were baptized and received into the Church.
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75
The people of Samaria accepted the Gos¬
pel preached to them by Philip, the deacon,
and were baptized, whicli, when the apostles
at Jerusalem heard, they sent Peter and
John, who went and laid their hands on
them, and they received the Holy Ghost
(Acts viii. 14-17).
When our Lord took the little children
in His arms, He laid His hands upon them
and blessed them. No doubt this was a
foreshadowing of one of the ceremonies of
the Church which He was to establish on
the day of Pentecost, for thereafter we find
the apostles ministering this rite to the
newly-baptized converts.
When Paul visited Ephesus he found
there certain disciples, and he asked if they
received the Holy Ghost when they became
believers. It was equivalent to asking
them if they had been received into the
communion of the Church. Finding that
they had not received Christian baptism at
all, he first baptized them, and then laid
his hands on them.
In Hebrews, vi. 1, 2, we find an enumera-
76
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
tion of the "first principles"—TO° rvff apM$
roo xptarou koyw — and among those first
principles here named is the laying on of
hands. Bishop Hall, in his " Chirothesis,"
says : " Dare any Christian to presume to
say that the apostle, the great and wise
master-builder, mistook the foundation
whereon he builded ? or dare any pre¬
sumptuous soul single this one article from
the rest as merely temporary, when all the
rest are granted to be of eternal use ?"
2. It was the practice of the primitive
Church.
Tertullian says : "After coming out from
the-bath we are anointed with sacred unc¬
tion ; then the hand is laid upon us for
the benediction."
Referring to the Samaritans who were
confirmed by St. Peter and St. John, St.
Cyprian says, "Which is also now our
custom."
Firmilliam of Cesarea speaks of baptiz¬
ing, laying on of hands and ordination.
Theodoret, commenting on Hebrews,
vi. 2, says: " Those who believe come to
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77
Divine Baptism, and by the sacerdotal hand
receive the grace of the Spirit."
The dates to which these references
belong are from 192 to 450. So much
for primitive custom.
3. The Greek, the Roman, the Anglican,
the German Reformed and the Lutheran
Churches have always practiced it, and
now practice it. These churches represent
a communion of four hundred million souls,
and what church historian upon the face of
the earth can pronounce them unchristian
or their orders and rites invalid ?
4. I advocate it because we have not
substituted anything in its place, and it is,
to say the least, a very dangerous thing to
allow our children and young people to
pass from the Church into the world with¬
out even an attempt in any kind of syste¬
matic way to retain them in the Church.
To recapitulate: I recommend confirma¬
tion—
(«) Because the Scripture teaches it, and
the apostles practiced it.
(6) Because the primitive Church held
to it.
78
BAPTIZED CHILDREN.
(c) Because the Greek, Roman, Angli¬
can, German Reformed and Lutheran
Churches have always had it.
(d) Because we need it, or something in
its place, and we have neither.
When the child has been brought into
the fold, then let it be properly nurtured,
and gently and wisely led along, till it is
able to stand alone, and take its part in the
manifold duties that are incumbent upon a
Christian life.
ADDENDA.
S the principal part of the work of
preparing children for a Christian
life, so far as the Church is concerned, is
done in the Sunday-school, I think it ad¬
visable to append a few thoughts concerning
this important department of church work.
The earliest record that we have seen
upon the Sabbath-school subject dates as
far back as the sixteenth century, and is
placed to the credit of Saint Charles Bor-
romeo. Another record is made a hundred
years later of the efforts of Rev. Joseph
Alleine, of Taunton, to gather children to¬
gether on the Lord's day for instruction.
Then, subsequent to those dates, mention
is made of several persons visiting, clothing
and instructing the children of the poor,
ORIGIN.
(79)
8o
ADDENDA.
selecting the Sabbath as the most propitious
time for the work.
But it was not till the period of 1778—
1783 that the effort was so organized as to
become a distinct department of Christian
work, and be lifted from local obscurity to
national repute. Robert Raikes, who gave
this impetus to the Sunday-school idea,
bears, as he well deserves, the honored
name of founder. He was an Englishman
by birth and education; born in Gloucester,
England, on the 14th day of September,
1735. Mr. Raikes was a man eminently
fitted for the exalted position of leader in
this new field of Christian work ; a man of
great business ability, honest and charita¬
ble, public-spirited and philanthropic. His
charity was first shown to the world by his
attention to the poor and imprisoned of his
district. When I was " naked ye clothed
me : sick and in prison ye visited me."
Engaged in this work of love the founder
was impressed with the great need of an
organized and well regulated means of
reaching the youth in time to save them
design.
81
from sin and ruin, from poverty and dis¬
grace. On the 3d day of November, 1783,
Mr. Raikes published in his paper, The
Gloucester yournal\ and gave to the world
for the first time his idea of the Sunday-
school System. The work was of God;
and though, like the grain of mustard-seed,
small at first, yet, like the cedar of Leba¬
non, it has grown, spreading its branches
outward and upward, growing in power
and influence with each century, period
and decade, and will continue to grow till
the world is filled with its sanctifying influ¬
ences, and heaven made to re-echo with
its songs of praise.
DESIGN.
There are different kinds of knowledge
to be obtained in this world. Man himself,
the heavens above, the earth beneath, the
world of waters and all that they contain
are exhaustless storehouses of truth, won¬
der and beauty. The study of these sub¬
jects is useful and honorable, and they
should not be neglected ; but the study of
82
ADDENDA.
God Himself, as revealed in His word, and
our relations to Him, is first in the order of
importance and should be made first in
order of time. This knowledge is as much
higher than earthly knowledge as the
heavens are higher than the earth, and as
much more important as the soul is more
important than the body. Listen: "Thus
saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory
in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man
glory in his might, let not the rich man glory
in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory
in this, that he understandeth and knoweth
me, that I am the Lord which exercise
loving kindness, judgment and righteous¬
ness in the earth; for in these things I
delight, saith the Lord." It is the work of
the Sunday-school to study those subjects
which do not begin and end with this world,
but which reach beyond time into eternity.
Without a knowledge of God, man is like
a ship at sea without a compass or rudder.
Amid the storms of earthly passion, and
the whirl of temptation, his precious soul
may, at any moment, be dashed to pieces.
DESIGN.
S3
The Sabbath-school labors to lay a moral
foundation, broad and wide ; while its doors
are open to all ages, from the child of three
summers to the hoary head, it deals especi¬
ally with the young, realizing the fact that
prevention is better than cure. Untruth¬
fulness, dishonesty, impurity, intemperance
and other vices are lying in wait to seize
upon the souls of our innocent ones ; hence
they must be guarded by parental vigilance
and religious instruction.
Children, from their very innocence and
inexperience, are apt to fall into snares;
hence childhood is the age to watch with
the greatest vigilance. It is a saying, as
true as it is old, that " as the twig is bent,
the tree is inclined."
Would we have our children form healthy
moral habits, we must begin the work of
training when the character can be easily
impressed with truth.
But where should this work be done ?
The proper place for it to begin is in the
family circle. But shall not the Church
supplement the work of the home, since it
84
ADDENDA.
requires the combined effort of the Chris¬
tian home and Christian Church to coun¬
teract the inducements offered by the world
to lead the young astray? Moreover,
parents often for want of time are unable
to give the necessary attention to this work;
nor have they always the facilities for train¬
ing the youthful mind. Many parents have
not the ability to teach the mysterious truths
of the Bible like those who make it their
especial work. Again, we must remember
how many children there are whose parents
are not Christians, and who, consequently,
cannot feel the serious responsibility which
rests upon them to lead their little ones
early to Christ.
O Christians ! it is our sacred duty to
see that these children are led into the fold
of Christ. The Sabbath-school is to them
their only church; indeed, the Sabbath-
school is the children's church. There
they are taught to read the Bible, to sing
and pray; thus they often become a means
of grace to their unconverted parents; for
where the lamb goes the old sheep is sure
DESIGN.
85
to follow. The Sabbath-school undertakes
to do this work in preference to the church
proper, because the regular pulpit service,
the prayer and experience meetings are
not adapted to the child's limited under¬
standing.
We take our children to the church; this
is right; for by so doing, they learn to love
and respect the place, and they are im¬
pressed with the order and solemnity of
the sanctuary; but they cannot take part
in the services as in the Sabbath-school,
where everything is brought down to their
comprehension.
Much has been said concerning: the age
o o
at which children become accountable for
their acts. Some say at seven years, others
say at twelve. I don't believe that any age
can be settled upon that would apply to all
children. Some know more at seven years
than others do at twelve. The fact is this:
it is our duty to begin the work of spiritual
training as soon as the child can under¬
stand what it is that you are teaching;
when it is old enough to learn the names
86
ADDENDA.
of persons and places, it is old enough to
learn the name of Jesus.
I knew a young girl of eleven years who
died from our Sabbath-school. She had
never made profession of religion ; but she
had been taught to love Jesus, and that He
loved her. So, in her death's sickness,
though but a child, she believed on the
Saviour with faith unfeigned, and calmly
gave up her life to Him whom she had
been taught to love; and, instead of leav¬
ing her parents in heaviness and doubt,
she gave them the blessed assurance that
she enjoyed great peace. I knew another
who, at the age of seven years, visited me,
as her pastor, at a time when I was sick in
bed. She bowed at my bedside, and, with
the simplicity of a child, asked the Lord in
her prayer to make me well. There are
many persons living to-day, advanced in
years, holy in life and ripe in Christian
experience, who date their conversion from
childhood.
We all know that evil, like weeds, comes
voluntarily; while good, like grain, must
duty and qualifications. 87
be sown and cultivated. So the Sabbath-
school proposes to sow the seed of right¬
eousness early, that it may have fair play in
the child's character before it is irredeem¬
ably overgrown and poisoned by the weeds
of sin. There are two ways of keeping a
field clear of weeds—one by pulling them up,
and the other by sowing grain in the field.
For such work "the harvest truly is
plenteous and the laborers few; pray ye
therefore the Lord of the harvest that He
may send forth laborers into His harvest."
THE DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS OF
SUNDAY-SCHOOL SUPERINTEND¬
ENTS AND TEACHERS.
What is a Sunday-school ?
It is a school held upon the Sabbath-
day, for the study of the Bible and for
moral and religious instruction. Its pupils
may be young, middle-aged, or old, but it
is intended especially for the training of the
young. A Christian Sabbath-school is one
that teaches the doctrines of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ as given in the Bible.
88
ADDENDA.
What should be the duty and qualifica¬
tions of those who teach and of those who
superintend such a school ?
I. The Teacher.
He should be a Christian, not nominally,
not theoretically, but one who has experi¬
enced a change of heart (St. John iii. 3).
For only such a person can properly ap¬
preciate the infinite importance of the truths
which he is teaching. As a Christian, he
must be pious and consistent; as an officer,
prompt and reliable; as a man, kind and
lovable. He should possess a fair amount
of acquired ability and should be a good
reader. To read the Bible correctly is the
first step toward teaching it, and to under¬
stand the subject to be taught is a necessity
for all successful teachers. But to read
the Bible correctly is not only to pronounce
the words as they should be, and to give
proper attention to emphasis and inflec¬
tions, but it is to read with that deep and
serious sense of what the words mean,
which may be called reading with the spirit
DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 89
and with the understanding. It is very
important also that the teacher should
have the gift of imparting his knowledge
to others. Many learned persons have
failed as teachers because they did not
possess this talent.
We deem the foregoing qualifications
necessary for a Sabbath-school teacher,
because his work is not temporal, but
spiritual; therefore, secular knowledge
alone will not fit him for this work. Again,
child-nature is tender and plastic, and chil¬
dren are imitative, especially of their
-teachers and of those who are their guides;
hence the character and influence of the
teachers should be such as will reach the
hearts of their pupils and will impress them
for good. An irreligious and worldly-
minded teacher would doubtless have as
much influence upon his pupils as would
the most careful Christian; but how dif¬
ferent would this influence be! Not
more different are the effects of light and
darkness. Childhood is the time when
lasting impressions are made; when habits
9°
ADDENDA.
are formed which, in all probability, will
follow the child through life, controlling,
correcting and lifting him up, or enslaving,
debasing and dragging him down ; there¬
fore too much care cannot be exercised
with respect to a child's early religious
teachings.
Like a pastor, the Sabbath-school teacher
should know somewhat of the daily life and
home surroundings of his pupils; where
they live, how they live, and what manner
of company they keep. The work of one
day, the Sabbath, may prove quite insuffi¬
cient to counterbalance the doings and in¬
fluences of six days.
The failure of good impressions, as well
as the absence of conversions, may often
be traced to the counteracting influences of
the child's everyday surroundings. There¬
fore, the Sabbath-school teacher should, as
nearly as it is possible, keep in sight of his
class, that he may exert a constant influence
over his children.
DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 91
II. The Superintendent.
He should possess all the qualifications
of a first-class teacher, and more; for the
superintendent is a teacher promoted, just
as a general is a promoted soldier, or a
soldier of higher official rank. He must
be a competent teacher, because he is to
have charge of the weekly teachers' meet¬
ings, and must be able to instruct his
teachers, whenever it is necessary, in the
lessons which they are to impart. To un¬
derstand and to explain the Holy Scrip¬
tures, we must understand Bible Historyf
also its geography and biography. In all
of these the superintendent must be well
informed in order that he may not only
train his teachers and arrange their work,
but that he may interest them and inspire
them in the truths which they are to teach.
He must be a good governor. " Order
is heaven's first law," says Pope ; and it
is the first law of every well-regulated
Sabbath-school. Certainly nothing could
be more damaging to a school than a want
of system, or confusion and division, and
92
ADDENDA.
nothing more sure to defeat its objects.
The superintendent, at the head of his
board of officers and teachers, must see
that all are working together in harmony
for the common welfare of the school. To
do this is often a difficult task, and it will
require all the tact and governing ability
of the superintendent to secure it. He
should possess originality. However much
general knowledge of his work he may
have, there will often be need of measures
to meet certain conditions of his individual
school; those needs he must be able to
see quickly, and equally as quickly must
he be able to invent and formulate means
to meet them.
In carrying out his original plans, as well
as in managing the routine work of the
school, the superintendent will fail unless
he is a man of good executive ability. A
man may succeed admirably in forming a
mind-picture, and yet be unable to develop
his ideas and reduce them to practice.
The good judgment of the superintend¬
ent will so often be in demand that it is
DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 93
difficult to find the place where it is not
needed. In selecting and situating his
teachers the best of judgment will be re¬
quired. A teacher who might be a perfect
success with a Bible class may utterly fail
in the infant department; hence, as the
success of the school depends largely upon
the fitness of the teachers for their respect¬
ive positions, much care should be had in
their selection and appointment.
The superintendent must not be skepti¬
cal. The Christian Sabbath-school must
be headed by, and imbued with, the spirit
of one who is sound in orthodox theology.
If the Sabbath-school does its work well, it
will send out its pupils with settled convic¬
tions of truth ; and if that truth be error,
great is the error. In the selection of
Sabbath-school helps and libraries the su¬
perintendent should see that nothing unfit
is used.
How many young people have been led
astray and their future usefulness destroyed
by reading sensational stories and books
of fiction ! We must place in our libraries
94
ADDENDA.
books on solid and practical subjects for
our young men and women, and picture-
books with stories of the honest and truth¬
ful lives of many who have walked the
earth and have now passed to their reward.
Have a competent librarian who will take
proper care of the books, and see that they
are not lost. When they become worn
out or lose pages, lay them aside to be re¬
bound, or fill their places with others.
Supply the school with maps on the
Bible lands ; with blackboards; with Bible
dictionaries and reference books for the
use of teachers. Have spelling books for
persons who are willing to come to school,
but cannot read. Persons who are too old
to attend the day-schools should be put
into a class by themselves and given a
faithful teacher.
Next, we want music—instrumental and
vocal. Music has its charms for both old
and young. It has often been a question
in my mind by what means the more people
were led to Christ, by the preaching of
Moody or by the singing of Sankey. Sing-
DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 95
ing is attractive: first, because it is a sign
of good humor; we seldom, if ever, feel
like singing if we are angry; but the angry-
heart is often made glad by sweet music,
as in the case of Saul and David. To hear
a multitude of infant voices lifted up to
heaven, chanting the praises of God, is
like an angelic choir.
To furnish a school with the necessary
appliances will cost something; but if you
would have a profitable school you must
spend something. Every school is not
able to secure at once all that is necessary
to a perfect outfit; but no school should be
afraid to spend money so as to come as
near to it as possible.
The supplies must be abundant, varied,
of the best kind and frequently renewed ;
therefore the superintendent must be a
good financier, for he must know how to
raise money and how to spend it to the
best advantage. If the money management
is not good the school will become bankrupt.
Loyalty to one's church is a quality of
no little importance to a superintendent;
96
ADDENDA.
he is molding the future Church ; and if he
himself loves and respects the laws and
government of the church of his choice,
those who are being trained at his hand
will partake of his spirit, and this will fit
them for their future responsibilities. There
must be no discord between the Church
and Sabbath-school; their relation is that
of mother and daughter ; and to insure
harmony between them, loyal persons
must fill all important posts.
Now the thoughtful reader, as he peruses
these pages, may exclaim, " O ! that I were
such a teacher, or such a superintendent!"
Why not become such ? Are you a Chris¬
tian ? If not, " Seek first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added unto you." But an¬
other may say, " I have long since become
a Christian, but have had no educational
advantages; so I find it very difficult to
interest and impress my pupils as I should
like to do." To such an one I say, look
about you, treasure your spare moments,
seize every opportunity of improvement,
DUTY AND QUALIFICATIONS. 97
and you will soon be astonished at your
own progress. Elihu Burritt, the Connec¬
ticut blacksmith, who became an eminent
scholar and the master of fifty languages,
is an illustrious example of what a person
may accomplish by his own unaided efforts.
In this enlightened and progressive age,
when books, newspapers, magazines and
educational helps of every kind, both secu¬
lar and religious, can be had almost for
the asking, no one need be ignorant. Take
any great painter or sculptor who has risen
to eminence, like Michael Angelo, and con¬
sider how much pains and labor were re¬
quired before he could express upon can¬
vas or in marble the ideal of his mind; and
surely the Sabbath-school teacher, who
labors upon the imperishable material of
an immortal soul, should think no sacrifice
too great, no toil too laborious, to develop
all its grace and beauty. O ! that the en¬
lightening influences of the Holy Spirit may
direct our teachings and bless our work!
98
addenda.
HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT.
One of the barriers to successful Sab-
bath-school work is the want of time
to do it in. In Sabbath-school gatherings
we have often heard this spoken of as " one
of our discouragements." In conversation
with individuals who are interested in the
work of training the young we have heard
the same complaint. The cause is not that
any church or pastor—so far as we have
been able to learn—is opposed to the work
of the Sabbath-school, but that many are
unwilling to give entirely one of the three
regular church services, and let the time
be used exclusively, for Sabbath-school
work. The prevailing custom has been
the preaching of three sermons on Sab¬
bath, viz., morning, afternoon and night,
with a brief session of Sabbath-school in¬
terjected somewhere between the regular
services. Now, the friends of the Sabbath-
school cause come asking for the time of
one of those services, and as the best time
to gather the children, select the afternoon.
HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. 99
Should the request be granted ? It should,
provided it can be shown that by doing- so
more good for the cause of Christianity
can be accomplished. Which, then, is the
more productive of intelligent and practical
Christians—the preaching of three sermons
every Sabbath, or the preaching of the
Gospel morning and night, and devoting
the afternoon of every Sabbath to Bible
classes for the old and the young to study
the word of God by system ?
1. The Negative.—Concerning the preach¬
ing of three sermons every Sabbath, it has
been said by wise and experienced theo¬
logians that a man cannot prepare and
deliver that number in such a manner as
to properly instruct and edify his hearers.
If this be true, then it follows that in such
a case the sermons would come short in
their first and most important objects.
Then, to establish a three sermon system
offers a temptation rarely overcome—to
place incompetent persons in the pulpit.
In either of the foregoing cases there is
IOO
ADDENDA.
danger of reducing the service of preaching
to a mere formality.
When the pulpit is not effectual in
awakening sinners and enlightening and
strengthening Christians, it loses its power
for good. Again, granting that the people
could be furnished with three well-prepared
sermons each Sabbath, the valid objection
follows that so much matter could not be
digested in a day. There is a striking
analogy between the way the body is fed
and the way the mind is nourished. How¬
ever good our food may be, we are limited
to a certain quantity of it. Overload the
stomach, and the process of digestion goes
on with difficulty, or perhaps stops alto¬
gether ; then death ensues. So it is with
the mind. Crowd it with thought from
morning till night, and instead of its being
digested, assimilated and changed into the
very blood of spiritual life, it simply lies in
a confused and inactive mass in the mind.
Therefore people are not made better ac¬
cording to the number of sermons that
they hear, but they are benefited by words
HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. IOI
which, having been understood and re¬
flected upon, enter into their lives, and shape
and control their whole character.
2. The Affirmative.—The second propo¬
sition is, a sermon morning and night, and
the afternoon service consecrated to Bible
classes in which both the old and the young
may engage in the study of the Holy
Scriptures. In this service an opportunity
is given for mutual benefit; all may read;
each may give his views upon the passage
read; one may profit by the views of
another, and all may be benefited by the
views of the teacher. Then, this being the
only service for the afternoon, an hour can
be fixed upon when the congregation will
have had sufficient time to attend to home
duties after the morning service before
being called to attend that of the afternoon.
Whenever two services are held upon
the afternoon of the same day, as preach¬
ing and Sabbath-school, one is sure to
infringe upon the time of the other ; else, if
they are held simultaneously in separate
102
ADDENDA.
rooms, those who attend one cannot attend
the other; hence the interest is divided,
and both services weakened thereby. Then
the study of the Bible is of inestimable
value to Christian growth. Therein alone
are found the law, the testimony, the
statutes and the commandments of the
Lord; therein alone is found the lamp to our
feet, and the light to our path; therein alone
is found that wisdom which is more to be de¬
sired than gold—yea, than much fine gold.
While nature makes her contribution of
information concerning the existence of a
God, revelation tells us what His will con¬
cerning us is. Probably the Bible is regu¬
larly or systematically read in but few fami¬
lies for want of time, inclination or ability. It
is therefore the duty of the Church to supply
this need. That which made the Bereans
in point of intelligence and proficiency in
the advance of other Christians of their
day was, they not only listened to and ac¬
cepted the preaching of the apostles, but
they searched the Scriptures daily to see
whether the things preached were true. The
HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. IO3
study of the Scriptures by the young is
especially necessary. The development of
the Church in active Christian work, and
the final salvation of the human family
from sin, is not so much dependent upon
reformation as it is upon formation. We
recognize in a human being three natures,
viz., physical, intellectual and spiritual;
and the happiness and usefulness of the
individual will be in proportion to the har¬
monious development of all three of these
powers. Neither the intellectual culture
of the Greeks nor the physical prowess of
the Romans prevented those nations from
falling into vices which finally brought
about their decline and fall. "We may
measure the growth and the decline of a
people by the purity or corruption of their
morals." Nothing less than the grace of
God can keep a man or a nation from be¬
coming a castaway. But in spite of the
fact that the importance of moral training
is brought home to us by the accumulated
history of all past ages, as well as by the
everyday occurrences of the present time,
io4
ADDENDA.
we are still unwilling to devote one-fiftieth
part of the time to the moral and religious
training of our children that we do to their
secular education ; for we keep our chil¬
dren in the day-school six hours each day
for five days in the week, and send them
to Sabbath-school once a week for two
hours. At the end of a school year the
child has had twelve hundred hours in day-
school and eighty hours in the Sabbath-
school. Yet we seem astonished when we
see our young people going astray, as if
we had not known that mere secular learn¬
ing could not teach them to avoid evil, or
give them the power to resist temptation.
Said the great Apostle Paul, who was
brought up at the feet of that master teacher,
Gamaliel, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord." It
is this saving knowledge which the Church
is under sacred obligations to give her
children. If she neglects to lead them to
God, Satan will not neglect to lead them
away. There is no hope that this work
HOW TO MAKE ROOM FOR IT. IO5
will be done in the secular school, for the
Church wisely and properly assumes the
duty herself. In some schools even the
reading of the Bible is forbidden in order
to avoid sectarianism. The Sabbath-school
is not, therefore, a place where persons
come simply to be entertained or amused ;
it is a school whose high purpose is to train
souls for heaven. Here the teaching is of
sufficiently high grade to interest and in¬
struct the most advanced Bible student,
and is also brought down to the compre¬
hension of the youngest pupils; and thus
those little ones do not have to be brought
into the Church in after years, for they
were never out of it; they grew up in it.
It has been well said that habit, at first a
thread of silk, finally becomes a band of
steel; hence the Church owes it to her
own perpetuity to train her children early
in habits of right thinking and right doing,
that they may go forth to take their places
in the Church, in society and in the nation
with enlightened consciences, firm princi¬
ples and unwavering faith in God ; for the
io6
ADDENDA.
glory of the Church, the highest welfare of
society and the perpetuity of republican
institutions must, in the end, depend upon
the moral and religious character of the
men who form them. Therefore, if the
plan of two sermons, one in the morning,
the other at night, with the afternoon
devoted to the study of the Bible, were
generally adopted, and pains taken to
make such service what it ought to be, I
believe that the result would be a growth
in religious knowledge, an advance in
Christian activity and a revival of Script¬
ural holiness.