THE SABBATH SCHOOL - COOPERATION WITH GOD
A sermon delivered on Wednesday, August 28, 1850,
BY THE REV. PROFESSOR FINNEY,
OF OBERLIN COLLEGE, U. S.,
To the members of the Sunday School Union,
at the Tabernacle, Moorfields.
“We
are laborers together with God.” (1 Cor
3:9)
We are sometimes
mere instruments in bringing about certain events; and sometimes we act as responsible
agents in bringing about other events.
When we do anything without our intelligent cooperation, we are
basically an instrument; but when we are sympathizing, intelligent, planning,
thinking, co-operating agents, we become co-laborers with God in producing results
by working together. There are many
cases where we work together with God.
For example, in raising crops necessary for our existence, we are
co-workers with God. God not only uses
us as instruments, but as designing, active agents aiming to secure a result
while God is sympathizing with us in the great end that we aim for. Without the loss of our own responsibility,
we are freely cooperating with Him purposefully and understandingly. It is enough to say, that when we have the
same end in view, when we sympathize with God and take the same means to secure
the same end, we can be called “laborers together with God”.
In speaking to the
subject before us, I shall notice--
I. THE PARTICULAR
WORK SUGGESTED HERE.
II. WHO ARE
PECULIARLY CO-LABORERS WITH GOD IN ACCOMPLISHING THIS.
III. WHY GOD MAKES
USE OF THIS COMBINATION.
IV. THE ELEMENTS
OF SUCCESS.
V. VARIOUS
HINDRANCES THAT RETARD THE WORK.
I. THE PARTICULAR
WORK, which the apostle refers to here, is the conversion and sanctification of
sinners. In bringing about their
salvation, God has, of course, done a lot without our co-operation. Christ has made atonement without us; until,
however, the time came to apply this atonement, and this was the particular
work that the apostles were engaged in.
II. WHO ARE
CO-WORKERS WITH GOD?
In this passage,
the Apostle Paul was talking about himself and his fellow-laborers for the
Gospel. His eye was particularly on
them; but from the very nature of the case, and what is said in other places,
we understand that Paul was talking about everybody engaged in religious
teaching, everyone planning to accomplish God’s great end and engaged in giving
instruction for the purpose of accomplishing it, everyone sympathizing with God
in the grand end in view and trying to accomplish it by the means God has appointed. All such people are “laborers together with
God”. Now, not only all teachers, but
all those who are employed in any department of labor necessary to accomplish
this result, may be said to be “laborers together with God”. Such, for example, are editors and others,
laboring directly or indirectly, to achieve the desired goal; but this evening,
I will focus especially on Sunday school teachers, who are co-workers with God
in the highest sense.
III. WHY GOD MAKES
USE OF THIS COMBINED AGENCY?
We should never
forget that God always acts wisely.
Whatever He does, we are bound to assume that no other course than the
one He pursues, would be as wise and as good, if another course is wise and
good at all. Now, God cannot depart
from the path of wisdom. First, then,
God has chosen to associate man with Him in this matter; we are, therefore, bound
to conclude that He has acted wisely in doing this; and that another course
would not be wise. To doubt this, is to
call into question God’s goodness; and we can also conclude from the fact that
He has chosen this method of doing this work, that He could not wisely attempt
to do it alone. I will not speak of the
possibility or impossibility of it. The
simple fact that this is the way God takes, shows that, in His judgment, this
is the wisest way. It follows,
therefore, that since this is God’s way, He will not do it any other way; and
that if there is no cooperation on the part of man, we have no right to look
for the promised result.
Another reason why
this is true is because we need this labor.
We need this exercise to prepare us for heaven. We need to cultivate our benevolent feeling
and affections; this is just the kind of culture that is necessary for our
spiritual well being. These are just
the channels our thoughts should be directed towards.
It is honorable to
God and man. If God requests man’s
feeble instrumentality, why the greatness of the work will be seen to be
entirely of God, and not be attributed, even in part, to man, as might be the
case if angels were used in man’s place.
Furthermore, man can sympathize with man. God will get glory by bringing about a great work by such
means. Man will benefit; and surely he
is greatly honored to be associated with God in such a great work.
I will now proceed
to point out the conditions of success, and then the hindrances that stand in
the way.
IV. THE CONDITIONS
OF SUCCESS.
The first
condition of success is sympathy with God, on the part of those who labor to
this end. You must agree with His plans
and views, having confidence in His wisdom and judgment, deeply sympathizing
with the self-sacrificing spirit of Christ.
There must be deep sympathy with Him concerning His universal passion
for souls. Deep sympathy on the part of
those who are co-workers with Him is indispensable to success. Who doubts that one of the greatest secrets
of the success of the early Christian ministry was this deep sympathy with
Christ in His work. Their self-denying
labors, their self-sacrificing spirit, showed that they entered deeply into
sympathy with their Divine Master in this work. Now, until men truly enter into sympathy with Christ in this
matter, as the apostles and early Christians did, don’t let them pretend that
there is some Divine Sovereignty, or anything else, preventing similar success.
Man must
understand what needs to be done. If he
sees that saving a soul is a total act of Divine creation, what does he have to
do with it? What co-operation is
needed? But this is not true, and man
must, therefore, understand what is the nature of the work that must be done.
He
must understand the laws under which God’s work takes place, and how it should
be done. If he is to be involved in it,
he needs to understand clearly what part he must take, and how he must do it. He must know whether men are converted by
persuasion accompanied by a presentation of the truth, or by a physical act of
creation. If he is wrong here, he won’t
be of much service in carrying forward the work; he must not go blindly forward
without wanting to know his part in God’s work.
Man must possess
the required skills. He must be
divinely taught. He must know God’s
truth. He must understand what it’s
like to be converted, or how can he labor for the conversion of others. What infinite folly it is for such someone,
who doesn’t know what conversion is like, to try to convert others! It’s like a man with a beam in his own eye,
trying to pluck out a speck from his brother’s eye; let him first cast out the
beam from his own eye, and then he will see well enough to pluck the speck out
of his brother's eye. He should have
some knowledge by experience of what conversion is like. If he is going to teach the sinner how to
obtain a new heart, let him first understand in his own heart what it means; for
if he undertakes the work without knowing anything about it in his heart, he
will make a mess of it. Ministers, who
pretend to point out the way of salvation without being saved themselves, cause
tremendous damage.
Man must
understand the means needed for this end.
Once he has the end in view, and he knows the means appointed by God to
secure it, he can apply the means to the end in an intelligent manner. Would you expect someone to be converted by
talking to him about the Bay of Algiers?
Yet, this is just as closely connected with the subject in hand as some
of the methods many use to bring about the conversion of sinners. If you are to be co-workers with God, you
must know what God wants to do. You
must wisely adapt the proper means to the end like a physician, who asks about
the habits of his patient, what caused the disease, what prolongs it, and the
difficulties in getting rid of it. Now,
suppose a physician, pretending to be a co-worker with God, should give up
using the proper means, giving one and the same prescription to all his
patients, writing a common prescription for all their ailments. What would you think of such quackery? But is not spiritual quackery even worse
than this? Has not God ordained that
man shall be converted by the truth?
What then, is most calculated to impress the sinner with an awareness of
his need and with faith in his remedy?
What will be the best thing to teach him, so he may grab a hold of
salvation? The Truth!
Therefore, if we will
be co-laborers with God, we must be sure to adapt our means to our end. We have no more right to expect to secure
our end without the use of suitable means, than the physician has who does not
adapt his means to his end, or any other man, attempting any other thing. God is perfectly wise in selecting the
instruments by which he does things. He
has told us that He converts men by the truth.
He has made us understand this.
From the Bible and the universal conscience of all who were ever
convicted by the truth, everybody can see that there is a Divine philosophy in
every step, a proper means to every end, all things work together so that there
is a divine, a philosophic beauty throughout all of it. The man who does not comply with the
prescribed conditions is just as absurd as one who decides, in his business, to
neglect the means from which certain results are always expected, and by which
they are naturally accomplished, and yet expect to succeed.
I don’t mean to say that this result happens naturally without the direct intervention of the Almighty; but that it happens by laws that He never interferes with. His natural laws are everywhere present, and He will no more violate them in the spiritual, than in the material world. Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t believe that the means can accomplish the end without Divine intervention, but the means are adapted to the end. Who can expect that God would convert a man if you preach some truths that are in no way connected with him? Nobody. Suppose I go to an unrepentant sinner, and try to convince him of sin by discussing some purely abstract truth that has nothing to do with his conduct and responsibility. How could I expect him to be converted by such means? Would any of you expect it? No indeed! But why not just as well convert him when using a mix of relevant and irrelevant things when you witness? Or, suppose you talk about things partly relevant and partly irrelevant. But you must come to the conclusion, that the more you adapt the means to the end, the more certain you are of securing it. You would not expect Divine intervention unless you acted wisely. Suppose a minister preaches from week to week about Cicero, or Plato, and other irrelevant topics? You would never expect him to be instrumental in conversion. God will not make use of such means as these in converting men. Now, carry this out in all your teaching, your Sunday school instruction, and preaching; and never forget that when you do not apply the proper means to accomplish your goal, you not only don’t act wisely, but you are not likely to secure your end.
Another condition
is diligence. God himself is diligent,
and He loves to see you diligent. If I
take my own case, I can say that, since I have been in the ministry, I have
been pressed, I cannot say how many times, to spare myself and take more rest,
and take more care of myself. But Jesus
Christ laid down his life, and I can afford, if necessary, to lay down mine. It is not the point how long anyone lives,
but what he does. If a man is trying to
spare his own health, and to make that his primary object, setting it before
his duty, he is not doing very much.
It is necessary
for people under some circumstances, to work with all their might, or do
nothing at all. Suppose, for instance,
you see a man out on the Niagara in a little boat, some two or three miles
above the Falls, drifting gradually onwards to that mighty cataract. He has oars, but the day is warm, and he
doesn’t want to exert himself too much, since it would damage his health. The longer he rests, the faster he drifts,
and therefore, the greater is his danger.
It increases visibly at every step, until he comes to the Falls, when
the whole river seems to roll back in tremendous volumes, and now he must
struggle lest it tosses him into the thundering abyss beneath. Now suppose, under such circumstances, that
he only takes moderate strokes with his oars, because he doesn’t want to become
over exerted! Why, he might just as well
not move at all. He is placed in
circumstances where he must work hard and continuously, or everything he does
is useless. He must work with all his
might. To preserve one’s life is a
duty, when it can be done consistently with other and more important duties. But it is often our duty to sacrifice life,
or at least, to risk it; and the man who cannot do this will never accomplish
very great things. The work must be done, come life or come death.
Another condition
is faith in the Divine presence and co-operation. Christ has told his Church to accomplish this work, and He has
promised to be with them, not sometimes, but always, even to the end of the
earth. They are to go forth, and to
make disciples of all nations; and “Lo”, He says very emphatically, “Lo I am
with you always” and everywhere to the end of the world. Now, it isvery important that those who
attempt this work should understand that God is always with them, and that they
may rely on His co-operation with complete certainty that He will not lie. If they will only sacrifice themselves out
on the altar, as they should do, I don’t believe that I know of one situation
where the proper means have been perseveringly used in a true spirit, that
success has not crowned the efforts.
The promise here given may be depended on, just as much as a natural or
physical law. It is the Divine promise
of an omnipresent Jehovah to be always with those who engage in His work. Always!
To the end of the world! It is
just as if He had said, “whatever there
may be for Me to do, I shall not be wanting; I shall always be with you”. Let us assume then, that God will intervene,
as confidently as an engineer in the construction of his mechanism expects it
to obey natural laws, which will cause it to act when it is built according to
those natural laws. Listen! I don’t confuse this Divine interference
with natural laws. But look at the
historical facts. When there has been a deep sympathy with God and means wisely
adjusted to the end; in short, when God's commandments and requirements have
been complied with in the proper spirit; when has God not fulfilled His promise?
It
is very easy for men to blame Divine sovereignty when they have done their work
improperly, and then say, “I have done my duty, and I must leave the rest in
the hands of God”! But even if you have
complied with God’s requirements, who does not see that you must follow it
up! It never will do to give up after a
single effort!
Another condition
of success in this work is that we must leave nothing to miracles. We must not assume that God is going to
convert men by miracles. We must not
expect men to be convinced by miracles.
Miracles never did convert men; they were only used to strengthen their
faith in the message that was sent from God.
This having been accomplished, they had the same gospel that we
have. We do not need direct revelation
as they did. I have said we must not
leave anything to miracles; miracles happen wherever God is left to work
without instrumentality. “How then
shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom
they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? And how shall
they preach unless they are sent?”
(Romans 10:14-15) Now, the
apostle reasoned that no such thing was to be expected unless the proper means
were used. If, therefore, we expect God
to work miracles, and expect things to be done by Him miraculously, we tempt
God just as much as a farmer would who waited for God to raise their crops by
miracles.
We are to expect
nothing without Divine involvement. We
are to remember that sinners are so obstinate and stubborn that they will not
turn to God unless He intervenes to persuade them. Our persuasion will not be enough without His enlightenment.
We
should also to understand that we can’t expect God to do this alone. He has chosen to do His work by means of
cooperation with co-laborers with Him in it; and while we can’t expect that we
can do it without His aid, we are not to expect Him to do it without ours.
But this leads me
to say that we must not stop short in seeking our end. We must not confine ourselves to sowing the
seed, and neglect to water it . We must press ahead until we obtain our goal,
and not leave it for God to finish the job alone.
Another important
condition is that we must take care not to hinder the work by throwing
obstacles in the way; but since this subject will come under the heading of
“hindrances”, I will not discuss it here.
Next, if we are to
secure this end, we must pray to be instructed; we must study the laws that
will accomplish this, and the means best adapted to secure
it. We must adjust the means to our end
as carefully as a chemist who measures out his chemicals for his experiment,
and confidently expects results. We must study the state of mind in a man or
child. What is the child taught at
home? What does she know? What is she ignorant of? We must thus try to remove every obstacle,
as a chemist in his laboratory would prepare all the component parts in a
mixture, to secure the result of his experiments. Unless he adjusts these things in their exact proportions, his
experiments will not succeed. Yes, it
is a natural law, but if he does not comply with it, he will not secure his
end. Now, who does not see that, in the
gospel, there is a fine adjustment of the truth to the end that it’s designed
to accomplish? Now, suppose you are
going to try to do your part towards converting a certain child to God. What are you going to do? Are you going to tell him some story that
has no connection with the subject? How
can you wake him up to a sense of sin?
How can you set his mind fermenting on the subject? How can you best explain to him the
atonement? Who does not see that there
must be many fine adjustments of the means to your end? If this is done in a proper spirit, you may
expect the result, and you will not be disappointed either.
V. HINDRANCES.
The first great
hindrance to this work is the many false assumptions that are made; and as a
result, a lot of false instruction is given.
These assumptions are extremely mischievous. For example: It is often presumed that God does His work
alone. Now, I’m not saying He can’t
possibly do it alone, but I will say He can’t wisely do it alone; but to say
that the Almighty can’t wisely do a thing is to say He can’t do it at all,
because He cannot act unwisely. This hindrance
is extremely powerful; for of course, if anyone thinks God does it alone, he
doesn’t have any desire to co-operate.
Another assumption
is, that His sovereignty is such that it makes it extremely doubtful if God
will co-operate with us. Where people
believe this, men only expect success, they aren’t interested in adapting the
means to the end; and the result is naturally a failure. Show me a man who, though doing the best he
thinks he can, he doesn’t feel confident of success, and you will show me an
unsuccessful man. This man, instead of
being duly impressed with a sense of the presence and cooperation of God, of
the fact that God is most minutely watching his efforts, and always ready to
apply His seal of approval to the result; instead of addressing himself to the
work with the expectation of seeing it accomplished, he will do little or
nothing. This is one of the greatest
errors in the Christian Church. Why
didn’t the apostles assume God’s sovereignty in this sense? Everybody can see that the early Christians
went right to the work, as if they expected God’s agency to depend on it, taking
it for granted that Divine cooperation would not be lacking. Is there anything in the prophecies, in the
Gospels, in the Epistles; is there anything in the entire Word of God to warrant
our saying that the time for such things is past? No indeed; judging from the Bible, we have a right to expect more
and more of God’s cooperation and power.
This error, I have noticed, dampens the energies of the saints; and
prevents them from securing their end.
Another error is
assuming that the lack of success is because of God’s sovereignty. Now, this is tempting God. There are men half asleep in their work,
blaming the lack of success on God’s sovereignty! Men who have actually not used the proper means! Indeed, the entire affair is nothing more or
less than overlooking the fact that God’s government is a moral
government. They confuse physical with
moral government, and physical with Divine influence, confusing and bewildering
their minds; no wonder, then that their efforts are not crowned with success.
Another hindrance
may be found in assuming that if the work is God’s work, there is no such thing
as HINDERING it! No such thing as
hindering it! Indeed! In what part of the Bible have you made that
discovery? Was there nothing that could
hinder conversion in the days of the apostles?
The fact is, that if the means are not suitable to the object to be
attained, it never will be attained. To
say that the means “will surely be adjusted to accomplish the end”, is just as
reasonable as the parent who abandons his child on the plea that “if God wants
her to get well, she will get well; I don’t have to send for a physician, it’s
useless for me to do anything”! “I know,"
he says, “that God has settled in His own mind whether she will or won’t get
well, and the means will not be neglected if the end is to be secured”. But it is just as easy to devote one’s self
to converting the soul, as to healing the sick. Why then do men apply rules to save souls, which would be foolish
if they applied these same rules to anything else?
Children are told
to pray for the Spirit, when all the time they are resisting it. Instead of throwing all the blame on the
sinner, and making him see that he is always resisting the Holy Ghost, they
make it appear to him as if he is more willing to receive the Holy Ghost than
God is to bestow it! However, if he
would only yield to the convictions of the Holy Ghost, he immediately becomes a
converted child, or man. Yielding to
the truth presented to the spirit is conversion.
A child is told to
pray for a new heart, instead of being told to give his heart to God
immediately, thus completely confusing the whole question, by assuming that he
has nothing to do except to wait for God to make him a new heart, which he
expects to come, like an electric shock, or something like that. Now, what kind of assumption is this? Why, it assumes that he wants to be a
Christian, and that he is waiting for it!
Now, does the Bible teach this?
If so, where? Essentially,
you’re telling someone that he is willing enough to be converted, but he must
pray to God to male God equally willing!
Now, this is as gross an error as it is possible to propagate. Conversion is an act of the will in turning
from sin to God. The truth is, the
sinner is not willing; because the moment he is willing - that is conversion. The very act of being willing is the act
that constitutes conversion. Now, to
set a sinner to do anything that replaces willingness on his part, throws the
responsibility on God. Now, my dear
hearts, what can be a more deadly error than that?
A lawyer once came
to me in one of the great cities of Pennsylvania, “Mr. Finney, is there any
hope for me? When I was at college, I
and two or three of my fellow students visited the college president, and asked
him what we should do to be converted.
He told us to keep out of bad company, to read the Scriptures, pray for
a good heart, and in God’s good time, we should either be converted or go back
again into the world”. And just like he
said, they went back into the world.
Bursting into tears, he continued, “My two companions are now in a
drunkard’s grave, and I have barely escaped!
Now, is there any hope for me”?
I told him, “your president was probably a good man, but he taught you
just what the devil wanted you to hear.
Instead of immediately accepting Christ, believing the truth, breaking
down before Him, he set you to read the Bible and to pray, thus throwing all
the responsibility on God. You were
waiting for God to convert you without your cooperation. That was just what the devil wanted!” “Oh!
I see it”, he replied, “I see it”!
Now, how many souls have been ruined this way? Is that the way to toy with immortal souls? To assume that they are willing, when Christ
says they will not come to Him. I don’t
know, brethren, how guilty you are of this; but this I know, that these are errors
which are now doing incalculable damage among children and others.
Often, instruction
given to children, places them in a false position concerning the Spirit of
God, the use of means, and their own duty.
It places them in a position of being willing to do their duty; although
they are unrepentant and unbelieving.
It makes them think that they are willing, and that God is causing the
delay. It makes them think that they
are using the proper means, and doing all they can to obtain their own
conversion; but this is false! Completely
false, and deadly! It is as false as
teaching universal salvation. Why, I
would just as soon teach infidelity right out, or any other error that can be
taught, rather than delude people with the idea that they are willing to come
to Christ, that if the Spirit of God will only help them, everything will be
all right, while they resist the Holy Ghost with every single breath they
breathe. What man was ever converted
that did not learn that he had, all along, been wrong in thinking he was using
means with God, instead of God using means with him? Now, if a man has not learned this, I don’t believe he is
converted at all. When people are truly
converted, they see that the difficulty is not with God, but in their own blind
resistance, perseveringly holding on to their sins, trying to make themselves
better; trying to do something else than immediately coming to Christ.
Another great
hindrance is the assumption that we cannot expect the immediate conversion of
children. Why, that is strange! Instead of expecting conversion, such
expectations have been discouraged. I
believe that there are many Sunday school teachers in this house right now, who
would be afraid to mention it, if his children were converted. In fact, even if he should have the highest
confidence possible without a direct revelation from God, he still would be
surprised, and would not expect his fellow teachers to believe it. His fellow teachers would say, “Don’t say
that. Don’t stir up any emotional excitement
here! We don’t believe in it.” Why,
now, no wonder they don’t succeed; their failure is just what might reasonably
be expected under such circumstances.
The idea whether
young children can or cannot be converted, is still a matter of doubt to many. How infinitely strange this is! In the first place, children are exceedingly
sensitive to the conviction of sin.
Their little consciences are very tender. Their sins, if pressed on them, will sometimes throw them into
utter agony. I have seen times when my
own dear little ones could not commit sin without it causing them to perspire
and tremble! I have seen this also in
others. I’m sure many of you can remember
some sin which your parents almost overlooked, but which stung your little
heart to a high degree.
Children
are more inclined to believe than people who have put it off and gone on
hardening themselves. They can see they
are sinners, that they need a Savior, and that Christ is that Savior. I don’t mean to say that children when they
become moral agents are not unholy; I believe they are, but they have not
become so inevitably hardened like many older people; consequently, everything
teaches us to expect the conversion of little children. They are the most hopeful objects; they are
the most likely to be converted; the work of conversion, as far as man’s agency
is concerned, is the easiest with them, because it takes less instruction to
gain their conversion than those who are settled down.
Some
of them think that when they get older, they will be better. That their conversion will then be easier.
Some ministers have actually refused to convert children solely on the ground
of their age.
There was a case
of this in New York. One of the
principal physicians there was an infidel, but his wife was a Christian. They had a little girl between seven and ten
years of age. There was a great revival
in the church to which the lady belonged; and this little Hannah, one of the
most beautiful little children I ever met, became seriously anxious about her
soul. The father found this out and was
bitterly opposed to the mother for cherishing it, and reprimanded her for
it. He said he “could not understand
it, and he did not believe the child could”.
He would not, therefore, have the mother encourage such a delusion. However, one day, some time after this, as
he was on his way to a patient’s house, he began to think seriously on the
subject, and saw at a single glance his relationship to the Savior. He changed his mind, went home, and confessed
to his wife that he saw his error; that his pride had led him to overlook the
same thing that the child, in her simplicity, had immediately seen. Now, who does not see that this is the true
teaching of the Bible? There are truths
in religion, which the more lofty men’s minds are, the more will they be
impressed by them; but the simple truth of the way of salvation is so simple,
that they are less likely, as we have seen, to understand and receive them.
Another hindrance
is that teachers have sometimes been flattered, puffed up, and became proud
when they needed reproof. What would
you think about a minister, who is always flattered? Why, he must be a man of great grace, or he would quickly be a
ruined man. Wouldn’t you expect such a man
to be ruined, to lose his unction and power?
Sunday school teachers are often spoken to in such a way that it puffs
them up when they were actually doing more harm than good. I will share some terrible facts before I am
done, which will show you that they are often doing irreparable damage, while
they flatter themselves, thinking that they are doing an incalculable amount of
good! The children are becoming
hardened, while the teachers think they are doing a lot of good. I always love to comfort those who need,
deserve, and can legitimately be comforted; but far be it from me to plaster
where probing is needed. If you want to
be flattered, you must go somewhere else; for I can’t flatter those who are not
bringing about the great end to which Christ has told them to direct their efforts!
Another hindrance
is, the best talents are not engaged in the work. Let matrons that know how to deal with children, men of mind and
talent, parents acquainted with the management of the young, let such come
forward, and take hold of the work.
They should be leaders in it.
Often,
Sunday school teachers don’t have the sympathy, co-operation, and prayers of
the Church, but are left to themselves, all but uncared for by the body of
Christians with which they are more immediately connected.
Sunday
school teachers have not by precept and by example warned the young of the sin
and danger of their behavior.
I said I must
present some facts. Now, I have some
documents before me, containing statistics compiled by one who has long been
engaged in Sunday school operations, which go to show that a vast proportion of
the inmates of our prisons, have at one time or another, for various lengths of
time, been under instruction in our Sunday schools! In fact, some of them have actually been Sunday school teachers
themselves! In one prison, it was found
that thirteen out of sixteen had been in a Sunday school. The total number of inmates of Gath from
which these returns have been collected is 9,960; of these, 6,261 have had
Sunday school instruction! This is
almost two-thirds! From the matrons of
a number of Penitentiaries, similar facts have been collected: number of
inmates, 431; of these, 311 had received Sunday school instruction; and
thirteen had been teachers! Thus, more
than two-thirds of these degraded males had been in Sunday school; and more
than three-fourths of the females! In
the Wakefield House of Correction, for instance, 310 of the inmates had been in
Sunday school, 93 of whom had attended them for over five years! 68 between 3 and 5 years, 59 between 2 and 3
years, 47 between 1 and 2 years, and 43 under 1 year. Now, what do we have here?
Just the very opposite of what we might naturally expect from Sunday
school instruction. If Sunday school secured
what it should expect to secure, the figures would be reversed.
Making all
allowance then for the diversity of agencies and other matters, when the
question came to be made, it was found that a large proportion of these fell through
the abuse of alcohol. One of the
chaplains says: “Put away strong drink, and these institutions may quickly
close their doors”. All of them bear
similar testimony. I have here lots of
judicial testimony to the same effect.
Pains were taken to ask these poor children, “Did your teacher teach you
temperance? Did he or she by precept
and example try to protect you against a custom so dangerous?” “No!”
Thus, their greatest danger they were never warned against. They were never warned about his very
violent situation that swallowed so many of them! Is this the way?
Now let me say,
brethren, in America, precisely an opposite state of things have been the
result of Sunday school instruction. At
least such has been my experience; and I consulted my friend, Brother Beecher,
the son of the Rev. Dr. Beecher, and his testimony coincides with mine; and the
uniform testimony of our country is that, seldom is a Sunday school scholar
found to be a criminal. The facts of
the cases in our country are actually quoted to defend and support Sunday
schools. In every situation that I am
aware of, total abstinence is pressed on Sunday school children, and indeed on
a very large proportion of the pupils of our common schools. Mr. Beecher agrees with me that, as far as
our united experience goes, we are not aware of a single Sunday school where
this is not true.
In seeking to
promote revivals of religion among children, we must take care to make use of
the great law of sympathy, and the laws of mind to work our end. It has been absurdly assumed that, what is
produced through the law of sympathy is not from God. But this is not true; for the law of sympathy has a great deal to
do with motivating the mind of man. One
man’s conversion is frequently instrumental in effecting the conversion of
another. This is just what might be
expected; and to bring a whole mass of children to act together and on one
another is the true philosophy of converting children; and in converting the
world. It is God’s method to bring men
to act on one another. Scores of
thousands of American children have been converted in religious revivals. If children are instructed without securing
this result, they are hardened, and grow worse and worse. See how awfully this is true in this
country!
Now, I do not know
how you have tried to secure revivals among the children of this country, or
whether you have tried it at all; and since I read the facts I have stated, I
cannot tell you how my mind has been burdened that such should be the results
of the Sunday schools in this land. I
never heard of anything like this before.
Now, what’s the matter? Can
these facts be denied?
I have right
before me the name of the man who told me that the Sunday-school Union does not
favor the Temperance movement! That
some of its most influential members are engaged in trafficking liquor, and set
their faces against supporting such principles. Now, I speak with kindness; but if this is true, it is too
bad. It is awful! And although the voice is here coming from
the prison and from the tomb--although the earth is loaded with wailing and
lamentation because of this traffic, yet they will not give it up. Oh!
Tell it not in Gath! Can such
people expect the blessing of God? No
indeed! It would be tempting God to expect it!
It would be tempting God to expect it!
IT WOULD BE TEMPTING GOD TO EXPECT IT!
Now, beloved, will
you allow such facts to go forth, and yet make no efforts to guard the children
against this danger? Will the teachers
now in this house let this state of things go on and on! Will you not put a stop to it forever.
In many parts of
the United States, it is as much expected that young children should be
converted, as their parents and the older children. Sunday school teachers work for it, expect to secure it, and do secure
it. Everything favors the idea of the
conversion of little children. We find
them reputable members of our churches.
They are the most hopeful subjects in the world; and the Church should expressly
lay themselves out to secure their conversion to God.
I will finish this
topic next Wednesday evening.