To Sunday School Teachers And Other Soul-winners

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 19, 1873,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one converts him,
lethim know, thathe which converts the sinner from the error ofhis way
shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
James 5:19,20.

JAMES is pre-eminently practical. If he were, indeed, the James who was
called, "The Just," I can understand how he earned the title, for that
distinguishing trait in his character shows itself in his Epistle, and
if he were "the Lord's brother," he did well to show so close a
resemblance to his great Relative and Master who commenced His ministry
with the practical Sermon on the Mount.

We ought to be very grateful that in the Holy Scriptures we have food
for all classes of Believers and employment for all the faculties of
the saints. It was right that the contemplative should be furnished
with abundant subjects for thought–Paul has supplied them–he has
given to us sound doctrine, arranged in the symmetry of exact order. He
has given us deep thoughts and profound teachings. He has opened up the
deep things of God. No man who is inclined to reflection and
thoughtfulness will be without food so long as the Epistles of Paul are
extant, for he feeds the soul with sacred manna.

For those whose predominating affections and imagination incline them
to more mystic themes, John has written sentences aglow with devotion
and blazing with love. We have his simple but sublime Epistles,
Epistles which, when you glance at them, seem in their wording to be
fit for children, but when examined, their sense is seen to be too
sublime to be fully grasped by the most advanced of men. You have from
that same eagled-eyed and eagle-winged Apostle the wondrous visions of
the Revelation where awe, devotion and imagination may enlarge their
flight and find scope for the fullest exercise.

There will always be, however, a class of persons who are more
practical than contemplative, more active than imaginative. And it was
wise that there should be a James, whose main point should be to stir
up their pure minds by way of remembrance and help them to persevere in
the practical Graces of the Holy Spirit. The text before me is perhaps
the most practical utterance of the whole Epistle. The whole Epistle
burns, but this ascends in flames to Heaven! It is the culmination as
it is the conclusion of the letter. There is not a word to spare in it.
It is like a naked sword, stripped of its jeweled scabbard and
presented to us with nothing to note but its keen edge.

I wish I could preach after the fashion of the text, but if I cannot, I
will at least pray that you may act after the fashion of it. Downright
living for the Lord Jesus is sadly needed in many quarters. Christian
garnishing we have enough of, but solid, everyday, actual work for God
is what we need. If our lives, however unornamented they may be by
leaves of literary or polite attainments, shall, nevertheless, bring
forth fruit unto God in the form of souls converted by our efforts, it
will be well. They will then stand forth before the Lord with the
beauty of the olive trees, which consist in its fruitfulness.

I call your attention very earnestly to three matters. First, here is a
special case dealt with–"If any of you do err from the truth, and one
converts him." While speaking of that special case the Apostle declares
a general fact, "He who converts the sinner from the error of his ways
shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins." When
I have spoken of these two points, I mean, thirdly, to make a
particular application of the text–not at all intended by the Apostle,
but I believe abundantly justified–an application of the text to
increased effort for the conversion of children.

I. First, then, here is A SPECIAL CASE DEALT WITH. Read the verse and
you will see that it was that of a backslider from the visible Church
of God. The words, "If any of you," must refer to a professed
Christian. The erring one had been named by the name of Jesus and for
awhile had followed the Truth of God. But in an evil hour he had been

betrayed into doctrinal error and had erred from the Truth. It was not
merely that he fell into a mistake upon some lesser matter which might
be compared to the fringe of the Gospel, but he erred in some vital
doctrine–he departed from the faith in its fundamentals. There are
some Truths of God which must be believed–they are essential to
salvation–and if not heartily accepted the soul will be ruined. This
man had professed orthodoxy, but he turned aside from the Truth on an
essential point.

Now, in those days the saints did not say, as the sham saints do now,
"We must be largely charitable and leave this Brother to his own
opinion. He sees the Truth of God from a different standpoint and has a
rather different way of putting it–but his opinions are as good as our
own–and we must not say that he is in error." That is at present the
fashionable way of trifling with Divine Truth and making things
pleasant all round. Thus the Gospel is debased and another gospel
propagated. I should like to ask modern Broad Churchmen whether there
is any doctrine of any sort for which it would be worth a man's while
to burn or to lie in prison. I do not believe they could give me an
answer, for if their latitudinarianism is correct, the martyrs were
fools of the first magnitude!

From their writings and their teachings, it appears to me that the
modern thinkers treat the whole compass of revealed Truth with entire
indifference and, though perhaps they may feel sorry that wilder
spirits should go too far in free thinking, and though they had rather
they would be more moderate, yet, upon the whole, so large is their
liberality that they are not sure enough of anything to be able to
condemn the reverse of it as a deadly error. To them black and white
are terms which may be applied to the same color, as you view it from
different standpoints. Yes, and so are equally true in their esteem.
Their theology shifts like the Goodwin Sands and they regard all
firmness as so much bigotry. Errors and truths are equally
comprehensible within the circle of their charity.

It was not in this way that the Apostles regarded error. They did not
prescribe large-hearted charity towards falsehood, or hold up the
errorist as a man of deep thought whose views were "refreshingly
original." Far less did they utter some wicked nonsense about the
probability of there living more faith in honest doubt than in half the
creeds. They did not believe in justification by doubting, as our
neologians do. They set about the conversion of the erring
professor–they treated him as a person who needed conversion–and
viewed him as a man who, if he were not converted, would suffer the
death of his soul and be covered with a multitude of sins.

They were not such easy-going people as our cultured friends of the
school of "modern thought," who have learned, at last, that the Deity
of Christ may be denied, the work of the Holy Spirit ignored, the
Inspiration of Scripture rejected, the Atonement disbelieved and
regeneration dispensed with! They say the man who does all this may be
as good a Christian as the most devout Believer! O God, deliver us from
this deceitful infidelity which, while it does damage to the erring
man, and often prevents his being reclaimed, does yet more mischief to
our own hearts by teaching us that Your Truth is unimportant, falsehood
a trifle and so destroys our allegiance to the God of Truth and makes
us traitors, instead of loyal subjects, to the King of kings!

It appears from our text that this man, having erred from the Truth,
followed the natural logical consequence of doctrinal error and erred
in his life as well, for the 20th verse, which must, of course, be read
in connection with the 19th , speaks of him as a "sinner converted from
the error of his way." His way went wrong after his thought had gone
wrong. You cannot deviate from Truth without being wrong, in some
measure–at any rate, deviating from practical righteousness. This man
had erred from right acting because he had erred from right believing.
Suppose a man shall imbibe a doctrine which leads him to think little
of Christ? He will soon have little faith in Him and become little
obedient to Him and so will wander into self-righteousness or
licentiousness.

Let him think lightly of the punishment of sin and it is natural that
he will commit sin with less compunction and burst through all
restraints. Let him deny the need of the Atonement and the same result
will follow if he acts out his belief. Every error has its own
outgrowth, as all decay has its appropriate fungus. It is in vain for
us to imagine that holiness will be as readily produced from erroneous
as from truthful doctrine! Do men gather grapes off thorns, or figs off
thistles? The facts of history prove the contrary.

When the Truth of God is dominant, morality and holiness are abundant.
But when error comes to the front, godly living retreats in shame. The
point aimed at with regard to this sinner in thought and deed was his
conversion–the turning of him around, the bringing him to right
thinking and to right acting. Alas, many professed Christians do not
look upon backsliders in this light–neither do they regard them as
hopeful subjects for conversion. I have known a

person who has erred hunted down like a wolf. He was wrong to some
degree, but that wrong has been aggravated and dwelt upon till the man
has been worried into defiance! The fault has been exaggerated into a
double wrong by ferocious attacks upon it. The manhood of the man has
taken sides with his error because he has been so severely handled. The
man has been compelled, sinfully, I admit, to take up an extreme
position and to go further into mischief, because he could not stand to
be denounced instead of being reasoned with.

And when a man has been blameworthy in his life, it will often happen
that his fault will be blazed abroad, retailed from mouth to mouth, and
magnified until the poor erring one has felt degraded–and having lost
all self-respect–has given way to far more dreadful sins. The object
of some professors seems to be to amputate the limb rather than to heal
it. Justice has reigned instead of Mercy. Away with him! He is too foul
to be washed, too diseased to be restored! This is not according to the
mind of Christ, nor after the model of Apostolic Churches. In the days
of James, if any erred from the Truth and from holiness, there were
Brethren found who sought their recovery and whose joy it was, thus, to
save a soul from death and to hide a multitude of sins.

There is something very significant in that expression, "Brethren, if
any of you do err from the truth." It is akin to that other word,
"Considering yourself, also, lest you also be tempted," and that other
exhortation, "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." He
who has erred was one ofyourselves, one who sat with you at the
Communion Table, one with whom you took street counsel. He has been
deceived and by the subtlety of Satan he has been decoyed. But do not
judge him harshly. Above all do not leave him to perish unpitied. If he
never was a saved man, he is still your Brother and it should be your
business to bring back the prodigal, and so to make glad your Father's
heart. "Still, for all his slips," he is one of God's children.

Follow him up and do not rest till you lead him home again. And if he
is not a child of God. If his professed conversion was a mistake, or a
pretence–if he only made a profession, but had not the possession of
vital godliness–yet still follow him with sacred importunity of
love–remembering how terrible will be his doom for daring to play the
hypocrite and profane holy things with his unhallowed hands. Weep over
him if you feel compelled to suspect that he has been a willful
deceiver, for there is sevenfold cause for weeping. If you cannot
resist the feeling that he never was sincere, but crept into the Church
under cover of a false profession, I say, sorrow over him the more, for
his doom must be the more terrible and, therefore, the greater should
be your commiseration for him. Seek his conversion, still.

The text gives us clear indications as to the persons who are to aim at
the conversion of erring Brethren. It says, "If any of you do err from
the truth, and one converts him." One what? One minister? No, anyone
among the Brethren. If the minister shall be the means of the
restoration of a backslider, he is a happy man and a good deed has been
done. But there is nothing said here concerning preachers or pastors,
not even a hint is given–it is left open to any member of the Church.
And the plain inference, I think, is this–that every Church member
seeing his Brother err from the truth, or else in practice, should set
himself, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to this business of
converting this special sinner from the error of his way.

Look after strangers by all means, but neglect not your Brothers and
Sisters. It is the business, not of certain officers appointed by the
vote of the Church hereunto, but of every member of the body of Jesus
Christ, to seek the good of all the other members. Still there are
certain members upon whom in any one case this may be more imperative.
For instance, in the case of a young Believer, his father and his
mother, if they are Believers, are called upon by a sevenfold
obligation to seek the conversion of their backsliding child. In the
case of a husband, none should be so earnest for his restoration as his
wife–and the same rule holds good with regard to the wife. So, also if
the connection is that of friendship, he with whom you have had the
best acquaintance should lie nearest to your heart–and when you
perceive that he has gone aside, you should, above all others, act the
shepherd towards him with kindly zeal.

You are bound to do this to all your fellow Christians, but doubly
bound to do it to those over whom you possess an influence which has
been gained by former intimacy, by relationship, or by any other means.
I beseech you, therefore, watch over one another in the Lord and when
you see a Brother overtaken in a fault, "you which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness." You see your duty–do
not neglect it! Brethren, it ought to cheer us to know that the attempt
to convert a man who has erred from the Truth of God is a hopeful one.
It is one in which success may be looked for and when the success comes
it will be of the most joyful character.

Verily it is a great joy to capture the wild, wandering sinner, but the
joy of joys is to find the lost sheep which was once really in the fold
and has sadly gone astray. It is a great thing to transmute a piece of
brass into silver, but to the poor woman it was joy enough to find the
piece of silver which was silver, already, and had the king's stamp on
it, though for awhile it was lost. To bring in a stranger and an alien
and to adopt him as a son suggests a festival–but the most joyous
feasting and the loudest music are for the son who was always a son,
but had played the prodigal–and yet after being lost was found, and
after being dead was made alive again!

I say, ring the bells twice for the reclaimed backslider! Ring them
till the steeple rocks and reels! Rejoice doubly over that which had
gone astray and was ready to perish, but has now been restored. John
was glad when he found poor backsliding, but weeping Peter, who had
denied his Master. He cheered and comforted him, and consorted with him
till the Lord, Himself, had said, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love
Me?" It may not appear so brilliant a thing to bring back a backslider
as to reclaim a harlot or a drunk–but in the sight of God it is no
small miracle of Grace–and to the instrument who has performed it, it
shall yield no small comfort.

Seek, then, my Brothers and Sisters, those who were of us but have gone
from us! Seek those who still linger in the congregation but have
disgraced the Church and are put away from us, and rightly so, because
we cannot countenance their uncleanness. Seek them with prayers, tears
and entreaties, if perhaps God may grant them repentance that they may
be saved. Here I would say to any backsliders who are present, let this
text cheer you if you have a desire to return to God. Return, you
backsliding children, for the Lord has bid His people seek you! If He
had not cared for you He would not have spoken of our search after you.
But having put it so and made it the duty of all His people to seek
those who err from the faith–there is an open door before you–and
there are hundreds who sit waiting like porters at the gate to welcome
you!

Come back to the God whom you have forsaken, or if you never did know
Him, O that this day His Spirit may break your hearts and lead you to
true repentance, that you may in real truth be saved! God bless you,
poor Backsliders! If He does not save you, a multitude of sins will be
upon you and you must eternally die. God have mercy upon you, for
Christ's sake.

II. We have opened up the special case and we have now to dwell upon a
GENERAL FACT. This general fact is important and we are bound to give
it special attention, since it is prefaced with the words, "Let him
know." If any one of you has been the means of bringing back a
backslider, it is said, "Let him know." That is, let him think of it,
be sure of it, be comforted by it, be inspirited by it. "Let him know"
it, and never doubt it. Do not merely hear it this morning, beloved
fellow Laborer, but let it sink deep into your heart.

When an Apostle Inspired of the Holy Spirit, says, "Let him know," I
evoke you, do not let any indolence of spirit forbid your ascertaining
the full weight of the Truth. What is it that you are to know? To know
that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way shall save a
soul from death! This is something worth knowing, is it not? To save a
soul from death is no small matter. Why, we have men among us whom we
honor every time we cast our eyes upon them, for they have saved many
precious lives! They have manned the lifeboat or they have plunged into
the river to rescue the drowning. They have been ready to risk their
own lives amid burning timbers that they might snatch the perishing
from the devouring flames. True heroes, these, far worthier of renown
than your bloodstained men of war. God bless the brave hearts! May
England never lack a body of worthy men to make her shores illustrious
for humanity.

When we see a fellow creature exposed to danger our pulse beats quickly
and we are agitated with desire to save him. Is it not so? But the
saving of a soul from death is a far greater matter! Let us think what
that death is! It is not non-existence. I do not know that I would lift
a finger to save my fellow creature from mere non-existence! I see no
great hurt in annihilation–certainly nothing that would alarm me as a
punishment for sin. Just as I see no great joy in mere eternal
existence if that is all that is meant by eternal life, so I discern no
terror in ceasing to be. I would as soon not be as be, so far as mere
colorless being or not being is concerned.

But eternal life in Scripture means a very different thing to eternal
existence. It means existing with all the faculties developed in
fullness of joy–existing not as the dried herb in the hay, but as the
flower in all its beauty. To die, in Scripture, and, indeed, in common
language, is not to cease to exist! Very wide is the difference between
the two words to die and to be annihilated. To die as to the first
death is the separation of the body from the soul–it is the resolution
of our nature into its component elements. To die the second death is
to separate the man, soul and body, from his God,

who is the life and joy of our manhood. This is eternal destruction
from the Presence of the Lord and from the Glory of His power. This is
to have the palace of manhood destroyed and turned into a desolate ruin
for the howling dragon of remorse and the hooting owl of
despair–forever.

The descriptions which Holy Scripture gives of the second death are
terrible to the last degree. It speaks of a "worm that never dies." A
"fire that never can be quenched." Of "the terror of the Lord" and
"tearing in pieces." Of the "smoke of their torment which goes up
forever and ever." And of "the pit which has no bottom." I am not about
to bring all these terrible things together, but there are words in
Scripture which, if pondered, might make the flesh creep and the hair
stand on end at the very thought of the Judgment to come. Our joy is
that if any of us are made, in God's hands, the means of converting a
man from the error of his ways, we shall have saved a soul from this
eternal death! That dreadful Hell the saved one will not know. That
wrath he will not feel. That being banished from the Presence of God
will never happen to him! Is there not a joy worth worlds in all this?

Remember the addition to the picture. If you have saved a soul from
death you have introduced it into eternal life. By God's good Grace
there will be another chorister among the white-robed host to sing
Jehovah's praise! Another hand to smite eternally the harpstrings of
adoring gratitude. Another sinner saved to reward the Redeemer for His
passion. Oh, the happiness of having saved a soul from death! And it is
added, that in such case you will have "covered a multitude of sins."
We understand this to mean that the result of the conversion of any
sinner will be the covering up of all his sins by the atoning blood of
Jesus. How many those sins are, in any case, none of us can tell, but
if any man is converted from the error of his ways, the whole mass of
his sins will be drowned in the red sea of Jesus' blood and washed away
forever.

Now remember, your Savior came to this world with two objects–He came
to destroy death and to put away sin. If you convert a sinner from the
error of his ways you are made like He in both these works. After your
manner, in the power of the Spirit of God, you overcome death by
snatching a soul from the second death, and you also put away sin from
the sight of God by hiding a multitude of sins beneath the Propitiation
of the Lord Jesus. Observe here that the Apostle offers no other
inducement for soul-winners. He does not say if you convert a sinner
from the error of his ways you will have honor. True philanthropy
scorns such a motive!

He does not say if you convert a sinner from the error of his ways you
will have the respect of the Church and the love of the individual.
Such will be the case, but we are moved by far nobler motives! The joy
of doing good is found in the good itself–the reward of a deed of love
is found in its own result. If we have saved a soul from death and
hidden a multitude of sins, that is payment enough, though no ear
should ever hear of the deed and no pen should ever record it. Let it
be forgotten that we were the instrument, if good is but effected. It
shall give us joy even if we are not appreciated and are left in the
cold shade of forgetfulness. Yes, if others wear the honors of the good
deed which the Lord has worked by us, we will not murmur–it shall be
joy, enough, to know that a soul has been saved from death–and a
multitude of sins have been covered.

And, dear Brothers and Sisters, let us remember that the saving of
souls from death honors Jesus, for there is no saving souls except
through His blood. As for you and for me, what can we do in saving a
soul from death? Of ourselves nothing, any more than that pen which
lies upon the table could write "Pilgrim's Progress!" Yet let a Bunyan
grasp the pen and the matchless work is written. So you and I can do
nothing to convert souls till God's eternal Spirit takes us in
hand–but then He can do wonders by us and get Himself glory by us–and
it shall be joy enough for us to know that Jesus is honored and the
Spirit magnified! Nobody talks of Homer's pen. No one has encased it in
gold, or published its illustrious achievements. Nor do we wish for
honor among men–it will be enough for us to have been the pen in the
Savior's hand with which He has written the Covenant of His Grace upon
the fleshy tablets of human hearts. These are golden wages for a man
who really loves his Master–Jesus is glorified–sinners are saved.

Now I want you to notice, particularly, that all that is said by the
Apostle, here, is about the conversion of one person. "If any of you do
err from the truth, and one converts him, let him know that he who
converts the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from
death." Have you ever wished you were a Whitfield? Have you ever felt,
young man, in your inmost soul, great aspirations to be another
McCheyne, or Brainerd, or Moffat? Cultivate the aspiration, but at the
same time be happy to bring one sinner to Jesus Christ, for he who
converts one is bid to know that no mean thing is done! He has saved a
soul from death and covered a multitude of sins. And it does not say
anything about the

person who is the means of this work. It is not said, "If a minister
shall convert a man, or if some noted eloquent Divine shall have worked
it."

If this deed shall be performed by the least babe in our Israel. If a
little child shall tell the tale of Jesus to its father. If a servant
girl shall drop a tract where some one poor soul shall find it and
receive salvation. If the most humble preacher at the street corner
shall have spoken to the thief or to the harlot, and such shall be
saved, let him know that he that turns any sinner from the error of his
ways, whoever he may be, has saved a soul from death and covered a
multitude of sins! Now, Beloved, what comes out of this but these
suggestions? Let us long to be used in the conversion of sinners! James
does not speak concerning the Holy Spirit in this passage, nor of Jesus
Christ, for he was writing to those who would not fail to remember the
important Truths of God which concern both the Spirit and the Son of
God. But yet it may be right, here, to remind you that we cannot do
spiritual good to our fellow creatures apart from the Spirit of God.
Neither can we be blessed to them if we do not preach to them "Jesus
Christ and Him crucified." God must use us, but oh, let us long to be
used! Pray to be used and cry to be used!

Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us purge ourselves of everything that
would prevent our being employed by the Lord! If there is anything we
are doing, or undoing, any evil we are harboring, or any Grace we are
neglecting which may make us unfit to be used of God, let us pray the
Lord to cleanse, mend and scour us till we are vessels fit for the
Master's use. Then let us be on the watch for opportunities of
usefulness. Let us go about the world with our ears and our eyes open,
ready to take advantage of every occasion for doing good. Let us not be
content till we are useful and make this the main design and ambition
of our lives. Somehow or other we must, and will, bring souls to Jesus
Christ!

As Rachel cried, "Give me children, or I die," so may none of you be
content to be barren in the household of God! Cry and sigh until you
have snatched some brand from the burning and have brought at least one
to Jesus Christ, that so you, also, may have saved a soul from death
and covered a multitude of sins.

III. And, now, a few minutes, only, to the point which is not in the
text. I want to make A PARTICULAR APPLICATION of this whole subject to
the conversion of children. Beloved Friends, I hope you do not
altogether forget the Sunday school. And yet I am afraid a great many
Christians are scarcely aware that there are such things as Sunday
schools at all. They know it by hearsay but not by observation.
Probably in the course of 20 years they have never visited the school,
or concerned themselves about it. They would be gratified to hear of
any success accomplished, but though they may not have heard anything
about the matter, one way or the other, they are well content.

In most Churches you will find a band of young and ardent spirits
giving themselves to Sunday school work. But there are numbers of
others who might greatly strengthen the school who never attempt
anything of the sort. In this they might be excused if they had other
work to do. But, unfortunately, they have no godly occupation but are
mere killers of time–while this work which lies ready to hand, and is
accessible and demands their assistance–is entirely neglected. I will
not say there are any such sluggards here, but I am not able to believe
that we are quite free from them, and therefore I will ask Conscience
to do its work with the guilty parties.

Children need to be saved! Children may be saved! Children are to be
saved by instrumentality! Children may be saved while they are
children. He who said, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and
forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven," never intended
that His Church should say, "We will look after the children by-and-by
when they have grown up to be young men and women." He intended that it
should be a subject of prayer and earnest endeavor that children, as
children, should be converted to God! The conversion of a child
involves the same work of Divine Grace and results in the same blessed
consequences as the conversion of an adult.

There is the saving of the soul from death, in the child's case, and
the hiding of a multitude of sins. But there is this additional matter
for joy–that a great preventive work is done when the young are
converted. Conversion saves a child from a multitude of sins. If God's
eternal mercy shall bless your teaching to a little prattler, how happy
that boy's life will be compared with what it might have been if it had
grown up in folly, sin, shame and had only been converted after many
years! It is the highest wisdom and the truest prudence to pray for our
children that while they are yet young their hearts may be given to the
Savior–

"It will save them from a thousand snares, To mind religion young.
Grace will preserve their following years, And make their virtues
strong."

To reclaim the prodigal is well, but to save him from ever being a
prodigal is better! To bring back the thief and the drunk is a
praiseworthy action, but so to act that the boy or girl shall never
become a thief or a drunk is far better!

Therefore Sunday school instruction stands very high in the list of
philanthropic enterprises and Christians ought to be most earnest in
it. He who converts a child from the error of his way prevents, as well
as covers, a multitude of sins. And, moreover, it gives the Church the
hope of being furnished with the best of men and women. The Church's
Samuels and Solomons are made wise in their youth. Davids and Josiahs
were tender of heart when they were tender in years. Read the lives of
the most eminent ministers and you shall usually find that their
Christian history began early. Though it is not absolutely necessary,
yet it is highly propitious to the growth of a well-developed Christian
character, that its foundation should be laid on the bottom of youthful
piety.

I do not expect to see the churches of Jesus Christ ordinarily built up
by those who have, through life, lived in sin, but by the bringing up
in their midst, in the fear and admonition of the Lord, young men and
women who become pillars in the House of our God. If we want strong
Christians we must look to those who were Christians in their youth.
Trees must be planted in the courts of the Lord while yet young if they
are to flourish well and long. And, Brothers and Sisters, I feel that
the work of teaching the young has, at this time, an importance
superior to any which it ever had before, for at this time there are
abroad those who are creeping into our houses and deluding men and
women with their false doctrine. Let the Sunday schools of England
teach the children well!

Let them not merely occupy their time with pious phrases, but let them
teach them the whole Gospel and the Doctrines of Grace intelligently.
And let them pray over the children and never be satisfied unless the
children are turned to the Lord Jesus Christ and added to the
Church–and then I shall not be afraid of Popery. Popish priests said
of old that they could have won England back, again, to Rome, if it had
not been for the catechizing of the children. We have laid aside
catechisms, I think with too little reason, but at any rate, if we do
not use godly catechisms we must bring back decided, plain, simple
teaching–and there must be pleading and praying for the conversion of
the children–the immediate conversion of children unto the Lord Jesus
Christ.

The Spirit of God waits to help us in this effort. He is with us if we
are with Him. He is ready to bless the most humble teacher and even the
infant classes shall not be without a benediction. He can give us words
and thoughts suitable to our little auditory. He can so bless us that
we shall know how to speak a word in season to the youthful ear. And
oh, if it is not so, if teachers are not found, or, being found, are
unfaithful, we shall see the children that have been in our schools go
back into the world like their parents–hating religion because of the
tedium of the hours spent in Sunday school–and we shall produce a race
of infidels, or a generation of superstitious persons! The golden
opportunity will be lost and most solemn responsibility will rest upon
us. I pray the Church of God to think much of the Sunday school. I
beseech all lovers of the nation to pray for Sunday schools. I entreat
all who love Jesus Christ and would see His kingdom come, to be very
tender towards all youthful people and to pray that their hearts may be
won to Jesus.

I have not spoken, this morning, as I should like to speak, but the
theme lies very near my heart. It is one which ought to press heavily
upon all our consciences, but I must leave it. God must lead your
thoughts into it. I leave it, but not till I have asked these
questions–What have you been doing for the conversion of children,
each one of you? What have you done for the conversion of your own
children? Are you quite clear upon that matter? Do you ever put your
arms around your boy's neck and pray for him and with him? Father, you
will find that such an act will exercise great influence over your lad.
Mother, do you ever talk to your little daughter about Christ and Him
Crucified? Under God's hands you may be a spiritual as well as a
natural mother to that well-beloved child of yours.

What are you doing, you who are guardians and teachers of youth? Are
you clear about their souls? You weekday schoolmasters, as well as you
who labor on Sunday–are you doing all you should that your boys and
girls may be brought, early, to confess the Lord? I leave it with
yourselves. You shall receive a great reward if, when you enter Heaven,
as I trust you will, you shall find many dear children there to welcome
you into eternal happiness! It will add another Heaven to your own
Heaven, to meet with heavenly beings who shall salute you as their
teacher who brought them to Jesus. I would not wish to go to Heaven
alone–would you?

I would not wish to have a crown in Heaven without a star in it because
no soul was ever saved by my means–would you? There they go, the
sacred flock of blood-bought sheep! The great Shepherd leads them. Many
of them are followed by twins, and others have, each one, their lamb.
Would you like to be a barren sheep of the great Shepherd's flock? The

scene changes. Hearken to the tramping of a great host! I hear their
war music. My ears are filled with their songs of victory! The warriors
are coming home and each one is bringing his trophy on his shoulder, to
the honor of the great Captain. They stream through the gate of pearl!
They march in triumph to the celestial Capitol, along the golden
streets, and each soldier bears with him his own portion of the spoil.
Will you be there? And being there will you march without a trophy and
add nothing to the pomp of the triumph? Will you bear nothing that you
have won in battle, nothing which you have ever taken for Jesus with
your sword and with your bow?

Again, another scene is before me: I hear them shout the "harvest home"
and see the reapers bearing, everyone, his sheaf. Some of them are
bowed down with the heaps of sheaves which load the happy
shoulders–these went forth weeping, but they have come again
rejoicing–bringing the sheaves with them. Yonder comes one who bears
but a little handful, but it is rich grain–he had but a tiny plot and
a little seed corn entrusted to him–and it has multiplied well
according to the rule of proportion. Will you be there without so much
as a solitary ear? Never having plowed nor sown, and therefore never
having reaped? If so, every shout of every reaper might well strike a
fresh pang into your heart as you remember that you did not sow–and
therefore could not reap.

If you do not love my Master, do not profess to do so! If He never
bought you with His blood, do not lie to Him and come to His Table and
say that you are His servant! But if His dear wounds bought you, give
yourself to Him and if you love Him feed His sheep and feed His lambs!
He stands here unseen by my sight, but recognized by my faith! He
exhibits to you the marks of the wounds upon His hands and His feet,
and He says to you, "Peace be unto you! As My Father has sent Me, even
so I send you. Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
creature, and know this, that he that converts a sinner from the error
of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of
sins."

Good Master, help us to serve you! Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–James 5.
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Morning And Evening Songs