Mttllflffi ' 1 PRIZE ESSAY GO OR SEND: For M issions. BY ATTICUS G. EAYGOOD, D.D., BOARD OF MISSIONS OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. NASHVILLE, TENN; • SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1874. EntoiiS CopiEi BY Mail, SOc. ; Per Dozen, $3. Uscal Discount to Fbeacuebs. A PLEA OF THE NORTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE. Published by Order op the BOARD OF MISSIONS OF THE dhodisl piscopl Church, OFFICERS: Rev. T. O. SUMMERS, D.D., President. Rev. N. H. LEE, D.D., First Vice-President. Rev. W. G. E. CUNNYNGHAM, U.D. , Second Vice-Pres. Rev. John B. McFERRlN, D.D., Secretary. Rev. a. H. REDFORD, D.D., Treasurer. MANAGERS. Rev. a. G. Haygood, D.D. Rey. W. P. Harrison, D.D. Rev. R. a. Young, D.D. Mortimer Hamilton, Esq. Rev. a. P. McFerrin. Rev. D. C. Kelley, D.D. W. T. Gates, Esq. Rev. W. M. Rush, D.D. Rev. J. Hamilton, D.D. Rev. R. Alexander, D.D. T. J. Magruder, Esq. Ex officio Members of the Board : Bishops Paine, Pierce, Kavanaugh, VVightman, Marvin, Doggett, McTyeire, Keener. •mi mas frsc p-H. 12- Go OR SeND: Flea for Missions. By Atticus G. Haygood, D.D., OF THE NORTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE. Go ye in/o all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. — CHRIST. Who goeth a warfare any time at his o-wn charges? — PAUL. EDITED BY THOS. O. SUMMERS, D.D. Published by order of the Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. NASHVILLE, TENN.: SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1874. Entered, nceording to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, Ijy A. H. REDFORD, Agent, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Wasliington. Dedication TO MY HONORED BEETHREN, THE REV. JAS. W. LAMBUTH AND THE REV. YOUNG J. ALLEN, OCS TWO UIS8IOKABIES AMONG THE HEATHEN, IVAo '‘have borne, and have had patience, and for His name's sake have labored, and have not fainted f This Plea for Missions IS DEDICATED BY The Author. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. The First Question 9 CHAPTER II. The Gospel is Adapted to All Men, and Nec- essary TO All Men 14 CHAPTER III. The Duty of the Church 20 CHAPTER IV. Do Missions Pay? 28 CHAPTER V. Christ Jesus “ Head over all things to the Church ” 56 CHAPTER VI. Conclusion 62 (5) Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/goorsendpleaformOOhayg INTRODUCTORY NOTE. HE Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, -L at its meeting in Nashville, May lo, 1873, resolved to offer a premium of one hundred dollars for the best Essay setting forth the principles, facts, and obligations of the Church in regard to Missions. The Essay was to contain not more than forty-eight duodecimo pages. Bishops Keener and McTyiere, and Thos. O. Summers, were ap- pointed a Committee of Adjudication; and the President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Board, a Committee to supervise the publication and circulation of the Essay. The manuscripts were to be forwarded to the President by October i, 1873. At a subsequent meeting of the Board, for reasons assigned by the Committee of Adjudication, they were substituted by R. A. Young, D.D., R. K. Hargrove, D.D., and the Rev. J. M. Sharpe; the time, also, was e.\tended from October l, 1873, to January l, 1874. This action of the Board was reported in the Church papers, and ten manuscripts were forwarded to the President, and by him handed over to the Committee of Adjudication, January i, 1874. At a meeting of the Board, February 20, 1874, their Report w.as sub- mitted by the Chairman, who stated that the members of the Com- mittee, before consultation, separate and apart, had reached the con- clusion stated in their Report, which was unanimously adopted by the Board, and the Committee received a vote of thanks for their careful attention to the delicate duty imposed upon them. The Report is as follows : (7) 8 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. “ The Board of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at its annual meeting in May, 1873, offered a prize of one hundred dollars for the best Essay on Missions. On New-year’s day, 1874, the Committee received ten manuscripts. We have read them carefully, and have agreed to award the prize to the author of the Essay contain- ing eighty-three pages, and marked X. Y. Z. On opening the sealed envelopes, we find that he is our friend and brother, the Rev. Atticus G. liaygood, D.D. There are other four or five manuscripts of great merit, which we hope the Board will publish — thus making a hand- some volume on the subject of Missions. “ Respectfully submitted : “ Roet. A. Young, “ R. K. Hargrove, “J. M. Sharpe, “Nashville, Feb. 20, 1874. Committee." It will be seen that the Essay covers more than the number of pages specified, as it was thought advisable by the Committee of Publication to print it in rather large and open type. The Essay is sent forth with many prayers that it may accomplish the thing whereunto it is sent. Thos. O. Summers, J. B. McFerrin, A. H. Bedford. Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South, Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 26, 1874. GO OR SEND: A PLEA FOR MISSIONS. HE first question is this : Did Jesus Christ intend his gospel for all men ? Suppose the great commission read thus: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gos- pel to every creature — except to the people in China.” In that case the Church would give itself no concern about the Chinese. And it ought not, if Christ never included them in his gospel plans. The Pharisees settled down complacently in the saying : “ No Jew goes to hell.” They supposed that all others did, and seem to have had pleasure in the thought. With such views they did not organize missionary societies — concern- ing themselves chiefly in preserving the respectabilities of the Church, and in protecting themselves against the uncir- cumcised. But if Jesus did intend his gospel for all men ? Who was Jesus — speaking now of his humanity? What did he call himself? “The Son of man.” He was a Jew after the flesh, being a son of a daughter of Abraham, and “of the seed of David.” But he calls himself “the Son CHAPTER I. The First Question. 10 GO OR send: of man,” as representing not the Jews only, but the entire race of Adam. “The Word became flesh;” it says not, became a Jew. In that case Gentiles could feel no interest in him, except as a teacher, wiser than all the ancients. But in “the Son of man ” — “God manifest in the flesh” — • the Jew has no more interest than the Roman. How does Jesus himself explain his coming into this world? In the dreams of mythology the gods are repre- sented as coming among men to perform prodigies — to rid the world of wild beasts, of plagues, of tyrants, or to take sides with their friends in war. Hence every nation, and almost every city, had its god or gods, expecting at their hands, at best, only deliverance from danger, or some sort of worldly blessing. There is nothing of this in what Jesus says of his mission. He says: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.” There is no mis- taking his meaning. Being lost is being in sin — “without God and without hope in the world.” Seeking that he may save the lost, he seeks that he may save all men. It amounts to this; If any race can be found that has not fallen in Adam, that does not “lie in sin,” and that is not “ under the curse,” and that is not “ lost,” Jesus Christ did not come into the world for that race. It does not need him. The fact of sin proves an interest in the blood of Christ. If we receive the Bible doctrines of sin and redemption, two things are clear: 1. Our race would have died with the first sinners but for the salvation provided in Christ Jesus. So that to live at all is proof of an interest in the atonement. Men are born as well as saved by grace. The first blessing is absolute; the second, conditional. 2. That whatever led the Son of God to be the Saviour of one man, leads him to be the Saviour of all men. A PLEA FOR MISSIONS. 11 Considering who Christ Jesus is, it is incredible that he should have left any man out of his great designs — that by any strange mischance a human soul could come into this world with no interest in his redeeming love. If we could find a man like ourselves in all respects, except that Jesus Christ left him out of the plan of salvation, we should find a moral monstrosity that would appall the intelligent uni- verse. It would be a mystery greater than the origin of evil; it would bring a shadow over the face of the sun; it would discredit the government of God. Suppose that an angel should come down from heaven and proclaim: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life — except the people in China." All who know Christ would brand him with mor- tal heresy. We could give him but one answer: “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. ”d! What does the Book say? It says: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”^ If it said no more on this subject, it would be enough; but this is only the be- ginning. Let us read again, and with a believing heart: “And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ V “ For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge th^t if one died for all, then were all dead.” but there is none. It is singular that it did not occur to Dr. Ryland that God could do as well without his aid in England as in India. What pleases God we learn from his word. That word teaches us that God is pleased to use Christians in preaching the gospel to sinners. What God might have done — why he does not send thousands of an- gels all round the world preaching the gospel — these are not questions we are to consider. As well ask why he did not raise up a Moses in each nation, or give a complete Bible, printed and bound, with marginal references, in each lan- guage ! It did not please him to do this, because there was a better way. Why it would not be best to send the angels to preach and to circulate the Scriptures in every heathen land — thus saving us all the expense, and worry, and toil, and sacrifice! — we “see in part;” but this essay does not allow the discussion. And it is not needed; it is enough A PLEA FOR MISSIONS. 21 for us that God chose none of the plans that curiosity and unbelief suggest as possible. Assuredly we dare not de- sire for a moment any other plan than that which he has adopted. God is now pleased — his word being authority — to con- vert the heathen, and to use his Church in doing it. Here- tofore, as now, God cooperated with man in the work of man’s salvation. He does this in the salvation of one man, and in the salvation of the race. It is out of the question to suppose that he will ever adopt any other plan. We need not wait for new developments, for fresh revelations. The revelation of his will is complete ; he has closed the sacred canon, and the Bible is to have no supplemental chapters. The faith “was once delivered unto the saints”- — once for all. a There is but one salvation, that which is brought to light in the gospel of the Son of God. And God, who sees the end from the beginning, has made, can make, no mistakes, that he should change his plans. He does not experiment in order to discover new, or perfect old, methods. “To the law and to the testimony.” What does the Book say? Beyond that we cannot go; contrary to that no good man wishes to go; by that we shall find out the truth, if we are willing to know it. Christ Jesus, having finished his personal ministry, was about to ascend to heaven, to “sit at the right hand of God,” to enter upon his mediatorial reign. His disciples were “slow of heart to believe;” they understood his plans with difficulty, and acquiesced in them reluctantly. They were still dreaming of temporal kingdoms, and of the resto- ration of David’s throne. And when, at last, they were Jude 3. 22 GO OR send: brought to see that “ the kingdom of heaven” was to be a spiritual kingdom, it was a long time before they understood that Gentiles had as much interest in it as the Jews. a Let us read the great commission, not as the disciples first heard it, but as their subsequent conduct and the fuller revelation of God’s will explain it: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying. All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, there- fore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teach- ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen And as the commission reads in St. Mark : “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. ”c What did Jesus, in these words, command? “Togo,” not staying to preach in Jerusalem only, as if Christ only died for Jerusalem. They were to “go into all the world.” It means just what it says : they were not to be shut in by Judea, by Samaria, or by the empire of Rome. “The field is the world,” and “the world was their parish.” They were to “disciple all nations,” for that is what “teach all nations” means. Not the Jewish nation only, but all na- tions: in the plans of Christ “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision. Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free.” They were to “disciple all nations,” to “preach the gospel to every creature,” proclaiming their message to the individual mind, and heart, and conscience. a They did not understand this till long after the Pentecost. It re- quired a miracle to break down the prejudices and enlighten the eyes of Peter. See Acts x. 9-16, 34, 35. Acts xi. will tell us how slowly the “ apostles and brethren in Judea ” consented to the fellowship of Gentile converts. i Matt, xxviii. 18-20. cMark xvi. 15. A PLEA FOR MISSIONS. 23 They were to “baptize” the nations “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” thus formally bringing them into the fellowship of the Church of Christ. And they were to “teach them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them,” bringing them to obey the gospel as the rule of right and the law of life. All this is very plain : it pleased Christ that all nations should be sat’ed by his gospel, and that his disciples should “go,” and “preach,” and “disciple,” and “teach.” To whom are these words of the Master spoken? To the disciples only who stood by him? No: to them, and to all who “should believe on him through their word.” They are addressed to all Christians, preachers, and laymen, of every age. Whatever these words meant to the few disci- ples who heard them, they mean to us all. There is nothing local or temporary in them; they are the words of a King who never dies; they are addressed, with divine authority, to every one of his subjects. They are as binding upon us as upon the eleven apostles who saw him ascend to heaven. As well confine his blessed promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” to the apostles as to shut up exclusively to their ministry the great com- mission. a St. Paul, in many places, shows that God’s plan of prop- agating the gospel is by the ministry of those whom he has a To understand “ with you ” only of the apostles and their (?) succes- sors is to destroy the whole force of these most mighty words. The command is to the universal Church, to be performed, in the nature of things, by her ministers and teachers, the manner of appointing which is not here prescribed, but to be learned in the unfoldings of Provi- dence recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, who, by his special ordi- nance, were the founders and first builders of the Church, but whose office, on that very account, precluded the idea of succession and re- newal.— Dean Alford. 24 GO OR sknd: already saved from their sins. Let one quotation answer : “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconcil- ing the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation.” “Now, then,” exclaims this first and greatest missionary to the heathen, in a letter to the Corinthians: “We are embassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”cz This principle underlies the very existence of the Church, that those who are already*" reconciled to God” should preach the “ministry of reconciliation” to those who are not. The Church is not a close corporation, as the ancient Pharisees supposed, its business in this world being solely to carry out the great commission. And no purity of or- thodoxy or perfection of organization can make that a Church of Christ which refuses obedience. There may be every thing else but this — creeds, rituals, traditions, ma- chinery, wealth, learning, numbers, architecture, music, millinery, and all manner of human upholstery as substi- tutes for a Church; but to take no part in the evangeliza- tion of the heathen is to be out of sympathy with Christ, and out of harmony with his plans. The true successors^ of the apostles are those who obey, “as much as in them is,” our Lord’s command, “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” a 2 Cor. V. 18-20. b Of that assumed, direct, and manipulated “ apostolical succession,” in which certain make their boast, forgetting, as it seems. Gal. vi. 14. Bishop Pierce has well said : “ It is a fable, without even the merit of being cunningly devised.” A PLEA FOR MISSIONS. 25 Our obligation to do our part in the evangelization of the heathen does not originate in our denominational Church-memberships. It is not simply that as Methodists, or Baptists, or Presbyterians, we are brought under obliga- tion by our Conferences, Conventions, or Assemblies. If we go or decline to go, if we pay or refuse to pay, if we pray or neglect to pray, for the conversion of the heathen, in any case it cannot be simply a question between us and our highest Church authorities. It is a question between us and our Lord and King, our Saviour Jesus Christ. To do our part, is to obey Christ; to refuse, is to disobey Christ; for the obligation grows out of our relation to Christ and to our fellow-men. And this obligation is measured by the blessing we have received from him. What he said to the twelve he says to us : “Freely ye have received, freely give.” His gracious gift is not bestowed on us to keep, but to use. Stupendous is the foil}’, as de- served as terrible the punishment, of the unfaithful — because unbelieving — servant who “hid his Lord’s money in the earth.” A bad use of money that ! a but no worse than the gospel only enjoyed. The divine word is, “Occupy till I come.” If there were but one Christian in the world, he would be obliged, by every consideration of love to man, and of gratitude and of loyalty to Christ, to be a missionary. Let us well consider that numbers do not dilute our obligations. They rather increase them, since numbers allow organiza- tion, and organization multiplies power and opportunity. But the obligation is individual. We cannot escape it ; we cannot divide it ; we cannot be freed from it. If we are so unfortunate as to belong to a Church that will not take part in the evangelization of the heathen, and we can- a Not worse than to tie it up in old stockings, or to hide it away in secret places — to keep. 26 GO OR send: not convert that Church “from the error of its ways,” thereby “saving” it “from death,” and its opposition, or its apathy, or its blindness, is such that we are effectually hindered from doing our part, then we must depart from that Church ; and failing to find another that will endeavor to obey Christ’s great command, we must organize a new “society of faithful men.” Christ’s work must go on, and no Christian man, in sympathy with the Spirit of Jesus, and fully enlightened as to his duty to perishing sinners, can stay in a thoroughly non-missionary Church. That Christian man who lives in the enjoyment of the blessing of the gospel, and dies without having done something for the salvation of the heathen, although through the mercy of God he may be pardoned and saved, has failed to do his duty either to his Saviour or to his fellow-man. a Christ calls some to go in person to preach the gospel to the heathen. Let them go; Heaven can put no higher honor upon them. Men so honored may not trifle with “the heavenly vision.” They “go bound in the Spirit;” I •3 I I i I « (74) COMPARATIVE TABLE: ShoVing the Progress of Christianity in British India since 1852. FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE JJetiiodist f]piscoPAL Qhurcii, §outh. I. Mission to China. Missionaries — Rev. Jas. W. Lambuth, Rev. Young J. Allen a Assistant Missionaries — Mrs. Lambuth, Mrs. Allen... a Native preachers 3 Bible women a Mission Stations — Shanghai, Naziang, Soochow, Chang-chow 4 Schools 3 Teachers 3 Mission-houses (residences) 2 Churches 3 Church-lot i Church-members 83 II. hidian Mission Conference. Traveling preachers 17 Local preachers 73 Indian members 4613 White members 454 Colored meml ers 477 III. Mission to Mexico. Rev. Joel T. Daves, Superintendent. Rev. Alejo Hernandez, Missionary. Churches (in the City of Mexico) a This Mission was organized in 1873 by Bishop Keener, who speaks very encouragingly of its prospects. PERIODICALS. CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. THOS. O. SUMMERS, D.D., Editor. Per annum ^2 oc To ministers i ©c SUNDAY-SCHOOL MAGAZINE. A. G. Haygood, D.D., Editor. Per annum |i ©o To Clubs of five or more, to one address, six Lesson Papers gratis to each subscriber. SUNDAY-SCHOOL VISITOR. A. G. Haygood, D.D., Editor. IVeeify, sing]e copies, per annum 75 One hundred copies $^o 00 Semi-monthly, single copies, per annum 40 One hundred copies 25 00 Monthly, single copies, per annum 20 One hundred copies..... 12 50 OUR LITTLE PEOPLE. A. G. Haygood, D.D., Editor. One hundred copies, per annum ^10 00 Catalogues of the House sent to all persons, on appluation. Address uJVJsL REDFORD, Agent, Nashville, Tenh. . ■