A Sermon to the Lord’s Little Children

A Sermon to the Lord's Little Children

(No. 1711)

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MARCH 18, 1883,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you
for His name's sake." 1 John 2:12.

"I write to you, little children, because you know the Father." 1 John
2:13. (Revised Version).

PROBABLY you ask, "Why does John say, first, 'I write,' and then, in
verse 14, 'I have written'?" There is a beautiful touch of nature in
this speedy change of tense. John was an extremely old man and,
therefore, while he says, "I write," he adds, "I have written," as if
he felt that it might be the last time that he should take his pen in
hand. Very soon with him, the present tense would change into the
past–and he indicates the fact by changing his mode of speech. Perhaps
he even felt that, possibly, before the letter reached the Brethren to
whom he addressed it, he would be no more among the sons of men.
Therefore he says, "I write," indicating that while he was still with
them, with warm and loving heart he solemnly exhorted them. And then he
adds, "I have written," as if he had recorded his dying testimony and
left it as his last legacy of love.

To us, today, John's words run altogether in the past tense–"I have
written." But we need not, therefore, forget that they were the
well-considered words of a venerated father in Christ and that he wrote
them as one so near to his departure that he regarded himself as
already on the move and, therefore, scarcely knew which tense to use.
Ah, my Brothers and Sisters, how soon our, "I speak," will change into,
"I have spoken!" Let this invest every word with solemnity. Remember,
also, what order of man John was–that disciple whom Jesus loved, whose
head had leaned on Jesus' bosom, whose eyes had seen the King in His
beauty and whose strengthened gaze had looked within the gates of
pearl! This is he who, at one time, saw the pierced heart of the
Well-Beloved pouring forth blood and water! And at another beheld the
Lion of the tribe of Judah prevail to take the book and loose the seven
seals thereof! It is the Apostle of Love who says to us, "I write to
you," "I have written to you."

Let us carefully note what the Spirit says to us by His servant, John.
Observe that our text is addressed to the "little children." It is
thought by many wise interpreters that under this term John includes
the whole Church of God and that afterwards He divides that Church into
two companies–the fathers and the young men. Those who, under one
aspect, are all "little children," but are, under another, regarded as
young men or fathers. There is very much to support this view. In
several instances in this Epistle, John is evidently addressing all the
saints when he speaks of them as, "my little children," as, for
instance, in the 18th verse of the third chapter, and also in the
closing verse, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

Surely, all the saints are included in these exhortations. There is a
sense in which every Christian is still a little child, a sense in
which he ought to be so–always dependent upon the great Father, always
ready to receive the Word of the Father without question, always
teachable–always restful in the Father's care and full of love to Him
who is his All in All. Of necessity we must always be children before
God, for our finite capacity is so limited that we are mere babes in
knowledge in the Presence of Infinite Wisdom and as very sucklings in
understanding, when contrasted with the great Father of Spirits. We
know enough to make us know that we know very little! The most advanced
intellects in the Church are but as infants compared with the Ancient
of Days. We are of yesterday and know nothing–with all our experience,
with all our study, with all our meditation, with all our illumination
we remain, "little children," when measured by the boundless knowledge
of the Lord.

Yes, I mean the fathers, the men who bring sinners to Jesus, the men
who teach others and are, themselves, taught of God–even these must,
each one, cry out with Jeremiah, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak:
for I am a child." I

mean the young men who have overcome the Wicked One, whose holy valor
sets them in the forefront of the battle where they turn to fight the
armies of the aliens. "They are strong," says John, and yet, in the
Presence of the mighty God of Jacob, what are our champions and our
valiant men? Are they not, still, but as, "little children"? It may do
us all good to join the infant-class this morning, or, at least to sit
with the boys in the school of grace. Even those who have made the
greatest advances in Divine Grace may do well to " become as little
children," that they may more fully enter into the Kingdom of Heaven
and have closer fellowship with "the Holy Child Jesus." It may even be
an advance for some who have grown self-willed as they have advanced in
knowledge, if they will say with David, "Surely I have behaved and
quieted myself. As a child that is weaned of his mother, my soul is
even as a weaned child." Happy childhood when it means entire
submission to the Father and sweet delight in His will!

Still, I am inclined to think that in this case John really does divide
the entire Church into three classes–the babes in Grace, or the
children. Or, as one of the words might properly be translated, the
boys–those who have not long been born into the family–these are an
interesting company. Then follow the young men–these are the second
class–and a valued body of Christians they are, in the fullness of
their vigor. They are strong in faith, giving glory to God, mighty in
prayer, vehement in action, bold in testimony! May the Lord muster
among our hosts a grand army of these vigorous heroes who shall
earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints! The
fighting power of the Church militant must come out of them! These are
they that turn the battle to the gate. Blessed is the man that has his
quiver full of them!

Then there is the third class–the fathers, the mature, the
experienced. These do not quite so much delight in war as the young men
do, but at home they diligently care for the household of faith,
watching over the feeble, strengthening and comforting them. These are
able, by their experience, to answer gainsayers and to guide the
ignorant to edify the untaught. Their knowledge is deep and they are,
therefore, able to become teachers of others. They are men of spiritual
force and have come to the full stature of men in Christ Jesus.
Therefore they are the solid strength of the Church! If the young men
are the Church's arm, these are the Church's backbone. We need to have
many such, though, alas, it is to be feared that our Churches are much
like the Apostolic ones of which Paul said, "You have not many
fathers."

This morning I am going to say nothing at all to the young men, nor to
the fathers, except so far as they are willing to include themselves
under the term of, "little children." And, as we have already said,
there is just reason why they should do so. Little children, it is to
you I speak this day–I mean you that have newly been converted, whose
first cries of repentance are still in our ears! You, I mean, whose
Grace is feeble; who are new to everything in the House of God and, as
yet, need to be fed with the milk of the simple elementary Truth of
God. You are the little children, dear to the whole family. You, I
mean, who are but little in Israel as yet–little in knowledge, little
in faith, little in strength, little in service, little in patience!
You cannot, as yet, keep the watch of the House of the Lord, for you,
yourselves, need to be watched over. You tremble when you try to stand
and your unaccustomed feet can scarcely bear you along the road without
a helping hand. You are very apt to tumble down and probably will do so
many times before you learn to walk with the fathers, or run with the
young men.

You little children may, by some, be thought to be a burden, but the
wise among us count you a blessing–the more of you the merrier in the
Church of God–for you are the blessed of the Lord and we are glad to
hear your youthful voices in the streets of the New Jerusalem! To you I
shall speak this morning, as the Holy Spirit shall enable me. I would
say these things to you. First, observe your privilege–"I write unto
you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you." Then, note
your knowledge–"I have written unto you, little children, because you
know, or have known, the Father." And thirdly, consider the precepts
addressed to you. When we get to that point I shall ask you to refer to
your Bibles that we may run through the whole of this Epistle and see
what John has to say to little children. May we receive the Word of God
with meekness, that we may grow thereby.

I. First, I want the babes in Grace, the weak in faith, the lambs of
the flock, to notice THEIR PRIVILEGE. "I write unto you, little
children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." This
is a privilege extremely desired by the little children. They have but
lately felt the burden of guilt–they still smart under the lashes of
conscience. The Spirit of God has but newly convinced them of sin, of
righteousness and of judgment. And, therefore, above everything, their
prayer is, "Father, forgive me." To them the remission of sins stands
out as the first and most desirable of all bless-ings–and, truly, they
are right in their estimate, for what possession is there which can be
called a blessing at all until sin is forgiven?

It matters not how healthy a man may be–if his conscience is worried
with his sin–his inmost heart is sick. It is small comfort to him to
have all the comforts of this life if his heart feels the gnawing of
the undying worm of conscious guilt. "God be merciful to me, a sinner,"
comes often from his breast as he beats upon it in the deep humiliation
of his soul. There can be no joy and rest for him till he hears the
words, "The Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die." To the
freshly saved, it is a joy worth worlds to have their sins forgiven! It
is a bliss akin to the Heaven of angels and this joy belongs by right
to all the saints, yes, even to the little children in the family of
God!

You were only born again last Sunday, but your sins are forgiven you!
Perhaps it is only this morning that you have sought your Savior's face
and have come to believe in Him–and, by His Grace, your sins are
forgiven you! This assurance is as sweet to you as a seraph's song! I
could not have told you a better piece of news. The pardon of sin is as
the pearl of great price to you in your present stage of spiritual
life–you would have sold all that you had in order to procure it–and
now that you have it, your heart is aglow with gratitude! The wound in
your conscience, so lately raw and bleeding, makes you set a high price
upon the healing balm of free and full forgiveness! Far be it from me
to stay your holy joy, and yet the Lord will show you greater things
than these!

At your stage of experience, pardon is the most prominent blessing of
the Covenant. A newly converted man does not know much about
sanctification or union to Christ. Perhaps he does not know much about
election, calling, or sealing. The principal point he dwells upon is
pardon. It is written in the Creed–"I believe in the forgiveness of
sins"–and the man who has newly found peace with God by Jesus Christ
repeats that article of the Creed with solemn emphasis. "/ believe in
the forgiveness of sins," he says, for he has just realized it, and to
him it is a gift so great that, like the moon and the stars, it shines
as a queen among the blessings of Grace! Pardon of sin seems to the
"little children" to comprehend the whole work of Jesus and the whole
work of the Holy Spirit, too!

Vast favors lie beyond, but to him who has newly crossed the Jordan,
this one valley of Eschol fills all the range of vision and the soul
hardly dreams of any further benediction! The newly-pardoned does not
yet see the innumerable other blessings which come in the train of
forgiveness. He is, for the present, absorbed in the hearing of that
one sentence, "Go in peace; your sins which are many are all forgiven
you." Well, beloved child, many more blessings await you! Pardon is but
an entrance blessing, a welcome at the doorstep–there are rarer joys
within the house! You have become an heir to a boundless inheritance!
All things are yours! Heaven, Christ and God are yours! Yet I marvel
not, that at present all your heart is taken up with a sense of
pardoned sin! I will not disturb you, but I will rejoice with you. I
will even sit down and sing with you–let this be our hymn–

"Now, oh joy my sins are pardoned! Now I can, and do believe! All I
have, and am, and shall be, To my precious Lord I give."

Even the full-grown child of God highly values this gift so dear to
little children and, although he has received many other mercies,
besides, yet still, it is a chief part of his joy that he has been
cleansed from sin and clothed with righteousness. Ah, and our elder
Brothers who are now in the King's country, this is a chief point, even
with them, that they have washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb! And therefore are they before the Throne of God and
serve Him day and night in His Temple. Yes, dear little children, you
have obtained a most precious favor in which you do well to
rejoice–"your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." Here let me
observe that the forgiveness of sins is assuredly the possession of the
new beginner in the Divine Life. He is as certainly forgiven as he ever
shall be. The forgiveness of sins is not a matter of degrees or of
growth. It is done in an instant and done forever, never to be
reversed!

The child of God who was born but yesterday is not as completely
sanctified as he will be. He is not as completely instructed as he will
be. He is not as completely conformed to the image of Christ as he will
be. But he is as completely pardoned as the full-grown saint! He that
just now passed the Gate of Pearl–did you not hear the shout as he
entered, like a shock of corn fully ripe that comes in his season?–he,
I say, was not more truly pardoned than you who but an hour ago
believed in Christ unto the salvation of your soul! The dying thief had
not many minutes found mercy and yet the Lord Jesus said to him, "Today
shall you be with Me in Paradise!" It is plain, therefore, that he had
been perfectly cleansed in a moment!

To wash in the fountain filled with blood is not a business of weeks
and months and years, nor is it to be repeated many times and often!
But he that is washed is, then and there, made whiter than snow, and
there is, from then on, no

defilement upon him. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them
that are in Christ Jesus." "I write unto you, little children, because
your sins are forgiven you"–they are all gone–Divine Grace has most
effectually removed them from you as far as the east is from the west!
The Egyptians at the Red Sea were not destroyed by little and by
little–they were not swallowed up in the flood, a regiment at a time!
The eager depths which had, by miracle, been divided, for a time,
leaped together and Pharaoh and his hosts–all of them–were covered,
to be seen no more forever! Sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed
gloriously! "The depths have covered them; there is not one of them
left."

The Israelites had but barely set their foot upon the other side of the
Red Sea and yet all their enemies were as completely drowned as when
the people entered into the Promised Land–it is even so with you who
have believed in Christ but newly–your sins are cast into the depths
of the sea! Your iniquities are subdued by the Lord Jesus who has come
to save His people from their sins. Therefore, little children, praise
your God and sing unto His name with all your might– "Who forgives all
our iniquities; who heals all our diseases."

Note, also, that your sins are forgiven you on the same terms as those
of the Apostles and the greatest of the saints– "Your sins are
forgiven you for His name's sake"–that is, for the sake of Jesus, for
the sake of His glorious Person, for the sake of His honorable offices,
for the sake of His shed blood and atoning death, for the sake of His
glorious Resurrection, for the sake of His perpetual intercession
before the Throne of God! Your sins are not forgiven you because of
anything you are or hope to be, nor because of anything that you have
done or have suffered–you are forgiven for Christ's name's sake–and
all the saints of God can say the same. This is a sure ground of hope!
Quicksand there is none, but a solid rock is under our feet.

Had the pardon been granted for our own work's sake, it might have been
reversed upon our disobedience. But as sin is pardoned for Christ's
sake, the pardon is irreversible, since there is no change in Christ!
Is not this a dainty sweet for the little children? How gladly do I
come and sit at the children's table when I see such food placed
thereon! Now notice that this is the reason why John wrote to you,
little children. People do not generally write letters to little
children, but John does because of these special little ones it can be
said, their sins are forgiven them. The moment, then, that a man has
his sins forgiven, he is old enough to begin to understand that which
is written–and he should become a Bible reader and a Bible searcher!
The moment that his sins are forgiven him for Christ's name's sake, he
becomes capable of exhortation–and it is his business to attend to
what is written to him.

If pardoned as criminals, we are enlisted as workers! Why, I think if
my sins have been forgiven me, my Heaven-born instincts make me ask,
"Lord, what will you have me to do? Have You done so much for me? Then
set me about doing something for You! Give me, as a privilege, the
opportunity of serving You." Therefore, John, knowing that the little
children would be eager to obey, has written to them, in this Epistle,
certain commands, of which I will speak to you further on. Only, little
children, be on the alert to begin, at once, your work of faith and
labor of love.

II. Secondly, I have to speak of THE KNOWLEDGE of these little
children. "I have written unto you, little children, because you have
known, or know, the Father." The tiniest babe in the family of God
knows the Father. For, first, as we have seen, his sins are forgiven
him. By whom is that pardon given? Why, by the Father, and, therefore,
he that has had his sins forgiven him necessarily knows the Father.
When the poor prodigal felt the kisses of his father's love and saw the
best robe adorning his person, then he knew the Father. All the
philosophers in the world do not know so much of the Father God as a
forgiven sinner knows!

I go a little further–if there are any that have never fallen into
sin, but are like the 99 just persons who need no repentance, or like
the elder brother who had never, at any time, transgressed his father's
commandment, I say that these do not know and cannot know the Father as
the forgiven child does–for the Father's heart comes out most fully
and expressly when He says, "Bring forth the best robe, and put it on
him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. For this, My
son was dead, and is alive again! He was lost and is found." Then, as
he looks up through his tears and sees the ineffable smile of the
Father's affection, the forgiven child knows the Father! The very least
child of Grace, having received the forgiveness of sins, knows the
Father in this most important sense.

Moreover, this is a piece of knowledge, dear Friends, which the child
of God obtains very early in his spiritual life, for whatever a child
does not know, he knows his father. Think of your dear little one at
home. He cannot, as yet, read a letter in the book. He knows nothing of
the things which his elder brother studies, but he knows his father! He
may not know very much about his father–he certainly could not speak
to others about his father's business or his father's

wealth–but he knows him! The child cannot help his father, or
understand what his father does, but he knows his father and would
choose him out from among a thousand. See how his eyes twinkle, now
that Father has come home! See him stretch out his little hands! See
how eager he is to get into those dear arms! He knows his father and
never forgets that knowledge.

Dear child of God, this is a piece of knowledge which you have, also!
And in this you will yield to none of all the sacred family. Benjamin
knows his father with an absolute certainty–he is as sure of it as
Reuben is the firstborn. We go to school and college, but long before
that we know our father–the fear is lest we overlay that precious
knowledge with something not worth half as much! Little children, you
know God, now, in your spiritual childhood. You could not preach about
Him; you could not write a treatise upon His attributes; you could not
describe His mighty acts–but you know Him by the instinct of a
child–and in you is the promise fulfilled, "Israel shall cry unto Me,
My God, we know You." Little children, the result of your knowing God
as your Father is that when He is away from you, you are in the habit
of crying after Him. If you cannot feel your Father's love shed abroad
in your heart by the Holy Spirit, you are miserable and you hasten to
your closet and begin to pray, "Come to me, my Father! Manifest
Yourself to me, for I cannot live without You."

On the other hand, when you do get to your Father, you show that you
love Him by the perfect restfulness of your spirit. In God you are at
home. Once get into your Father's arms and you feel quite safe, quite
peaceful, quite happy. The Presence of God is the paradise of the
Believer! God is the ultimatum of our desires–we speak of Him as "our
exceeding joy." If in my Father's love I share a filial part, I ask no
more than to know and enjoy it! We say, "Our Father which are in
Heaven"–we might as truly say, "Our Father, You are our Heaven." Hence
we seek after Him. "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You."
Here, then, we have a token that we know the Father, when we weep
because He is absent, or rejoice because He is present. We know the
Father, Brothers and Sisters, even we who are but little in Israel, for
we love Him! Do you not feel that you love God, this morning? You might
not dare say so in public, and yet you would die for Him. Sooner than
renounce your God would you not give up all that you possess? It may be
you will never be tried as the martyrs have been, but if you were, can
you suppose it possible that you could part with your God? No, your
inmost heart loves Him! You know it does and, loving Him, you are
united to Him by bonds which cannot be severed!

Moreover, we know the Father, for we trust Him. Is it not written,
"They that know Your name will put their trust in You"? Can you not
trust God with everything? A child has no cares. His father cares for
him. A child knows no anxiety. His father bears all the anxiety on his
behalf. Is it not so with you? Though you are babes in Grace, do you
not trust?–trust for time, trust for eternity, trust for your bodies
and trust for your souls? I am sure you do! If you are what you should
be, you know the Father, for your faith rests upon Him. It is also true
that you seek to imitate Him. It is wonderful how little children
imitate their father, perhaps more than grown-up children do, though
the influence of example is also seen upon them. The very little ones
will try to do everything exactly like Father. It must be right, it
must be perfect! If father does it, they make us smile as we see in
them ourselves in miniature!

Is not this the very thing which you try to do? Though you were
converted but a very little while ago, yet you wish to be like Jesus!
You long to be like the Father. Would you not be perfect if you could?
If you could, would you not be rid of every sin? If some painful
surgical operation could take away from you the black drops of
indwelling sin, would you not cheerfully bare your breast to the
sharpest knife? I know you would! You would die to be rid of sin, for
that is the thing you hate. This proves that you know your Father in
Heaven, for you are trying to be like He is. And do you not glory in
Him? Little children, when they begin to talk and go to school–how
proud they are of their father! Their father is the greatest man that
ever lived–there never was the like of him! You may talk to them of
great statesmen, or great warriors, or great princes, but these are all
nobodies–their father fills the whole horizon of their being!

Well, so it certainly is with us and our Father God–

"Since no works are like Yours, None so glorious, so Divine. Since
whatever gods there are, None, O Lord, are like You, Let me bow before
Your Throne And exalt Your name alone."

We cannot make enough of our God! We extol Him with all our might. With
the blessed virgin we sing, "My soul does magnify the Lord." What does,
"magnify," mean? Why, to make great! We feel as if we would make God's
name great and would greaten Him in the minds of men and make them
think what a blessed Father we have! Now, listen! This is the reason
why John has written to you, little children, because he says, "They
know enough to understand my letter, for they know the Father." We do
not think of writing a letter to a little child. "Ah," says John, "but
the Lord's children know their Father" and he that knows God is capable
of any kind of knowledge! He who knows God is a fit person to be
accepted as a disciple of the beloved Apostle. I cannot desire a better
congregation than a congregation of men and women that know the Father.

What if they are little children? Well, they can understand anything
that I, another child, can have to say, for they know the Father and,
therefore, they have an unction from the Holy One and are able to know
spiritual things! To know God is the center and the circumference of
all knowledge! If you know the Father, do you not see the reason why
John writes to you? Because now that you know Him, you are bound to
love Him, to trust Him and to serve Him! Having received such knowledge
as this, you are bound to impart it as far as you can! You are bound to
live up to it and to show to all around you what a child of God is–and
how different he is from the children of darkness! Thus, out of your
privilege and out of your knowledge, there arises an obligation which I
trust you will not be slow to acknowledge.

Here is a prayer for you–

"If I've the honor, Lord, to be One of Your happy family. On me the
gracious gift bestow To call You "Abba, Father," too. So may my conduct
ever prove My filial piety and love! While all my brethren clearly
trace Their Father's likeness in my face." III. Now we come to our
third division. Will you kindly follow me with your Bibles, especially
you that are "little children," while I commend to you THE PRECEPTS
which John has written for your guidance. First, look at 1 John 2. "My
little children, these things I write unto you, that you sin not." That
is the first precept–"Little children, sin not." Children ate very apt
to get into the mud. Most mothers will tell you, I think, that if there
is a pool of mud anywhere within a mile, her first-born joy and comfort
will find it out and get into it if he possibly can! And no matter how
often a child is washed, he seems to always need washing again–if
there is a method by which he can foul his hands and his face–your
pretty cherub is most ingenious to find it out!

I am afraid this is too much the case with the children of God. There
is so much of carnality about us, so much of the old Adam, that the
question is not into which sin we fall, but into which sin we do not
fall! Alas, we are apt to be proud, though we have nothing to be proud
of! We are prone to despond and doubt our Father, though He never gave
us any cause to do so! We are inclined to be worldly, though there is
nothing in the world worth loving! And we have a tendency to grow cold
and chill towards God, though He is altogether lovely and ought to win
our warmest affection. We are apt to speak unadvisedly with our lips.
We are apt to be full of foolish thoughts. We are apt to be
self-willed. We find an angry temper rising against some Brother of
ours whom we ought to love–and we have not long got over that before
we are half-afraid to utter a word of rebuke lest we should incur the
laughter of the ungodly!

We glide from one sin to another, even as a waterfall descends from
rock to rock. As weeds multiply in the soul, so do sins spring up in
our hearts. We are a mass of faults. Like the pendulum, we swing to the
right hand and then to the left–we err, first, in one way and then in
another–we are always inclined to evil! And, therefore, the Apostle
sweetly puts it, "My little children, I write unto you, that you sin
not." Avoid every sin–forsake it altogether! Ask for the Grace of God
to sanctify you wholly–spirit, soul, and body. Though you are only
newly born, yet, my little children, sin not. You will soon lose your
comfort if you do. Little children, sin will hurt you, damage you,
grieve you, and displease your heavenly Father! Sin will raise a cloud,
behind which His Presence will be hidden from you! It will stop your
heavenly growth. It will prevent your usefulness.

My little children, I earnestly entreat you that you sin not! Burnt
child, dread the fire you have just been plucked out of, do not go back
to it. Do not play with sparks! Keep clear of every kind of match that
might create a flame. Seek after

holiness with all your might. Though born but yesterday, do not sin
today. God help you to fulfill this holy precept. Further on in this
second chapter, the Apostle writes to them again, and tells them (v.
18) that it is the last times and that there are many antichrists
abroad. You will have to run your eyes right down the chapter till you
come to verse 24, for that is what he says to little children, because
there are many antichrists in the world that would seduce them–"Let
that, therefore, abide in you, which you have heard from the
beginning."

Little children are very fickle. The toys which they cry for one day,
they break the next. Young minds change with the wind. So, little
children, there are many evil ones who will endeavor to seduce you from
the Truth of God and, as you have a natural instability of mind as yet,
for you are only newly converted, it is well to be on your guard
against those who would mislead you. Till we are rooted and grounded in
the Truth of God, new things have great charms for us, especially if
they have about them a great show of holiness and zeal for God. Listen,
then, dear children but newly born into the Savior's family–"Let that,
therefore, abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning."

Alas, even those who are older in Grace than you are have shown a sad
readiness to be duped by plausible persons who have invented fresh
notions and methods! I have lived long enough to have seen a
considerable variety of follies and manias in the religious world. They
have sprung up, grown great, declined and vanished. One day it has been
one thing, another, another. I have lived to see those things justly
ridiculed which, a few years before, were cried up as the wonders of
the age! I thank God I have not been moved by any of these periodical
fits of frenzy, but have been content to keep to the one old Truth of
God which I have gathered from the Scriptures and made my own by
experience and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit! I have not had to
tack about, for I have been enabled to steam ahead–and I hope I shall
do so to the end.

I have no respect for these upstart inventions. I regard them as so
many phases of human delusion. One never knows what will come next, but
of this we are pretty sure, that every now and then a new doctrine is
brought forth which turns out to be an old heresy with a fresh coat of
varnish on it! Or else some new method of saving souls is found out and
the work blazes away like a house on fire till it dies out in smoke.
Let us not be carried off our feet by every wind of doctrine! We may
live to see the present craze ended and another or two after it–only
be it ours to be steadfast, immovable! "Little children, let that,
therefore, abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning."
Leave to others the soon exhausted novelties and you keep to the
eternal unchangeable Truth which is taught you in God's Word and in
your own soul's experience.

Little children, here is a third precept for you, and I want you to put
it into your bosom and carry it home (v. 28). "And now, little
children, abide in Him." There is a Sabbath portion for you–"Abide in
Him." Let the Truth of God abide in you and you abide in Christ, who is
the Truth of God. Little children are very apt to stray. I have known
them tempted away from home and to play the truant. They have gone into
the fields after pretty flowers, or down by the brook to fish for
minnows, and then they have fallen into all sorts of trouble. The best
place for a child is at home. And for a babe in Grace the best shelter
is the Savior's bosom. "Little children, abide in Him." If you forget
everything else I say this morning, lay this up in your hearts, and let
none tempt you away from simply trusting your Savior, sweetly resting
in His love and humbly following on to know more and more of Him! "And
now, little children, abide in Him."

What next? Read on to chapter 3:7– "Little children, let no man
deceive you." Children are very credulous. They will believe any idle
tale if it is told by a clever and attractive person. Little children,
believe your Savior, but be not ready to believe anybody else! Believe
God's Word and stand fast to that. And if sinners entice you, do not
consent to them. And if antichrist would teach you false doctrine,
close your ears to it. Be as the sheep of whom Jesus said–"A stranger
they will not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers."
Further on, (3:18), we read–"My little children, let us not love in
word, neither in tongue but in deed and in truth." Little children are
apt to let their angry passions rise till they have to be told by Dr.
Watts that their–

"Little hands were never made To tear each other's eyes."

And truly we have some Christian children who have been all too quick
about this tearing of each other's eyes. They have seen a Truth of God
and some friend they meet with does not see it. Therefore they have
tried to knock his eyes out to make him see it! That is a faithful
description of many Christian controversies. It is idle to attempt to
compel another to think as I think by scolding him and heaping wrath
upon him. Let us never do that. Let us love! If you cannot expect

anything else of a child, you do expect love, and love never seems to
be more suitably enshrined than in the heart and mind of a little
child. Come, you that are newly brought to Christ, love with all your
might! If you cannot fight as soldiers, or work as laborers, yet love
the Brotherhood! Love Christ! Love God! Love the souls of men and by
love seek to win them to the Savior who has saved you! Love not in word
only, but in deed and in truth.

You have the next words in chapter 4, verse 4–"You are of God, little
children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you,
than He that is in the world." Little children are frequently timid.
They are sometimes terrified when left alone. They are generally afraid
of strangers. Hear, then, you little children, you are very weak and
feeble, but do not be dismayed because of that, for there is a Power
dwelling in you which is mightier than the power which dwells in the
world! Satan dwells in the world and he is mighty, but God dwells in
you and He is Almighty! Therefore be not afraid–

"A feeble saint shall win the day, Though death and Hell obstruct the
way." Hold on to your faith in the eternal Lord who dwells in you, and
you shall never perish, neither shall any pluck you out of His hand!

The last precept to little children is at the end of the Epistle.
Carefully read the last verse–"Little children, keep yourselves from
idols." Little children are naturally fond of toys and pretty pictures.
Anything like pomp and show is sure to please children. How fond they
are of soldiers, banners, processions, bands of music and all that is
frivolous– these are their idols. That is the also tendency of many
grown-up children that I know of. They admire a fine religion,
tasteful, striking, artistic. "Little children, keep yourselves from
idols." I would like this text printed over the altars of our
Ritualistic neighbors. I need scarcely mention others who have no taste
or care for the beautiful, but their toys are all for noise-making,
glitter and flash–a sort of Fifth of November all the days of the
year! Do not become fascinated with their playthings. Be not led away
from the Church of God by armies or navies.

Alas, the children must now have their play toys in the Church and
their toys in the Chapel–and some must have their toys in the streets,
till one would think, with their trumpets and drums, that they had just
come home from the fair! "Little children, keep yourselves from idols,"
I do not think you are likely to fall in love with the idols of the
heathen and bow down to them–but there are plenty of other gods which
are the idols of one period and the derision of the next. Keep to
Christ! Ask not for pomp and show! Ask not for noise and bluster! Ask
for nothing but that your sins may be forgiven you; that you may know
the Father; that you may abide in Christ and be full of love to all the
family of God!

Little children, may the Lord Jesus Christ be with you and may you grow
in Grace till you come unto the fullness of the stature of men in Him.
May His Grace be upon all them that love Him and wait for His
appearing.