But notwithstanding the immense array of opposition, we still believe that the Lutheran doctrine is nothing else than the pure teaching of G.o.d"s word. Where we have the "_Church in the House_,"
there we have lambs of Christ"s flock. Ah, how many more we could have, how many more we would have, if the fathers and mothers in the Church understood this precious article of our faith, and prayerfully built their home life thereon! Then would there be a more regular and healthful growth of the Church, and the necessity for fitful, spasmodic revival efforts would cease. But we digress.
From our Christian homes the baptized children of the Church come to the Sunday-school. How is the school to treat them?--We speak now of the baptized children from Christian homes; we will speak of the unbaptized and untrained further on.
These children, with all their childish waywardness and restlessness, do generally love Jesus. They do trust in Him, and are unhappy when they know they have committed a sin against Him. They do, when taught, pray to Him, believe that He hears their prayers and loves them. Shall the teacher now begin to impress upon the minds and hearts of these little ones the idea that they are not yet Christ"s, and that Christ has nothing to do with them, except to seek and call them, until they are converted? And shall they go home from Sunday-school with the impression that all their prayers have been empty and useless, because their hearts have not been changed? Dare the Sunday-school thus confuse the child, raise doubts as to Christ"s forgiveness and love, and "_quench the Spirit_?" Oh how sad, that thus thousands of children have their first love, their first trust, quenched by those who have more zeal than knowledge!
No, no, these are Christ"s lambs. They come with His marks upon them. Let the Sunday-school teacher work in harmony with the mother who gave these children to Christ. Let the whole atmosphere of the school impress on that child the precious truth that it is Jesus"
little lamb. _Feed_ that lamb, feed it with _the sincere milk of the Word_. Lead that lamb gently; teach it to understand its relation to the Great Shepherd, to know Him, to rejoice in His love, to love His voice, to follow His leadings more and more closely.
Instead of singing doubtfully and dolefully:
"I am young, but I must die, In my grave I soon shall lie.
Am I ready now to go, If the will of G.o.d be so?"
or,
"Child of sin and sorrow Filled with dismay, Wait not for to-morrow; Yield thee to-day:" etc.
or,
"Depth of mercy, can there be Mercy still reserved for me?" etc.
or,
"Hasten, sinner, to be wise, Stay not for to-morrow"s sun," etc
or,
"I can but perish if I go, I am resolved to try, For, if I stay away, I know I shall forever die."
or,
"When saints gather round Thee, dear Saviour above, And hasten to crown Thee with jewels of love, Amid those bright mansions of glory so fair-- Oh, tell me, dear Saviour, if I shall be there!"
Some of these sentiments are unscriptural. Some may do for penitent prodigals. But all are out of place on the lips of baptized children of the Church. Let such rather joyfully sing:
"I am Jesus" little lamb, Therefore glad and gay I am; Jesus loves me, Jesus knows me, All that"s good and fair He shows me, Tends me every day the same, Even calls me by my name,"
and such other cheerful and healthy hymns as breathe the spirit of the Church of the Reformation.
This we believe to be the object of our Sunday-schools, as far as the baptized children of Christian parents are concerned. They are to be _helps_, to keep the children true to their baptismal covenant, and to enable them to grow strong and stronger against sin and in holiness. Jesus did not tell Peter to _convert_, but _feed_ His lambs.
From these considerations we see how important it is for Lutheran Sunday-schools to have teachers who "_know of the doctrine, whether it be true_;" who are "_rooted and grounded in the faith_;"
who are "_ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them_;" who are "_apt to teach_."
A teacher who does not understand and appreciate the Lutheran doctrine of baptism is out of place in a Lutheran Sunday-school. It is certainly not desirable to have the child instructed at home that it was given to Christ in baptism, received and owned by Him and belongs to Him, and then have the Sunday-school teacher teach it that until it experiences some remarkable change, which the teacher cannot at all explain, it belongs not to Christ, but to the unconverted world. The teaching of the pulpit, the catechetical cla.s.s, the home and the Sunday-school, ought certainly to be in perfect harmony--especially so on the vital point of the personal relation of the child to the Saviour and His salvation. To have clashing and contradictory instruction is a sure way to sow the seeds of doubt and skepticism.
We must have sound instruction and influence in the Sunday-school, and to this end we must have sound and clear helps and equipments for teacher and pupil. The worship of the school, the singing, the opening and closing exercises, must all be in harmony with this great fundamental idea of feeding those who are already Christ"s lambs.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL--ITS RELATION TO THOSE IN COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, AND ALSO TO THE UNBAPTIZED AND WANDERING.
We are still speaking of the dealing of the Sunday-school with the baptized children of Christian parents. We have seen how important it is that the Sunday-school work in harmony with the pastor and the parent. We have seen that, to this end, it is especially important that the instruction of the teacher be in harmony with the doctrine of our Church on baptismal Grace, and the keeping of the baptismal covenant.
Here, however, we meet with a practical difficulty. Too many of our teachers are not clear themselves on this subject. Their own early instruction may have been imperfect. Their whole environment has been unfavorable to rooting and grounding them in this faith, once delivered to the saints. This old-fashioned faith, as we have seen, has become unpopular with the ma.s.ses even of professing Christians.
The whole current of the religionism of the day is against it. In many localities and circles, to profess this faith is to invite ridicule and opposition. The Lutheran Church in this matter, as in others, is behind the age, because the age is away ahead of Christ and the Apostles, the Church Fathers and Reformers.
What wonder then that in many places, our members, on whom we must depend for teachers, have unconsciously drifted away from the old landmarks, and are altogether at sea as to G.o.d"s means and methods of Grace, especially with the children?
It is, therefore, a matter of the gravest importance that our Church place in the hands of her willing but inexperienced teachers such plain, practical and full helps and equipments as will enable them to be safe and successful instructors in our Sunday-schools. Our good teachers are always willing to learn. They need to be and want to be first taught. They need clear, sound exposition, ill.u.s.tration and application of every lesson for themselves, before they can successfully teach others. They need to be shown in every lesson, how the divine Word everywhere sets forth the precious doctrines of our Church. They need to be shown over and over again, how these doctrines are to be impressed and applied to the heart, conscience, and life of the pupil; and how the truth is to be so instilled that it may, by means of every lesson, awaken and deepen a sense of sinfulness, and repentance therefor, and beget and increase faith and love for the dear Saviour. Every lesson that does not make sin more hateful and Christ more precious, is in so far, a failure.
From what we have learned in the last chapter, a Lutheran Sunday-school cannot safely use the literature, whether lesson leaves, lesson helps, or hymns, of others. And this simply because their sentiment is not only at variance with, but openly hostile to our faith. It is therefore even more important for our Church than for any other, to furnish all the necessary equipments for good, sound, live Sunday-schools. Our equipments ought to aim to become more and more superior to all others. The Church should strive to constantly improve them until they become so desirable and attractive that no Lutheran school would think of exchanging them for any others.
We hope to see the day when our Church will lead in all these practical enterprises, even as she has led and still leads in the sphere of sound doctrine. But we digress.
In these two chapters on Sunday-school work, we have thus far spoken only of the relation of the school, to the baptized children of Christian parents. A Sunday-school has, however, by no means fulfilled its mission by looking only after those who are already lambs of the flock. A Sunday-school, like a congregation, to be true to itself and its divine Master, must be a missionary inst.i.tution. In every community there are lambs who have never been in the flock of the Good Shepherd, or have already wandered astray. There are children who have never been either baptized, or instructed in heavenly things at home.
Or, if baptized, they have been permitted to grow up afterwards as wild as heathen children. Yes, even in the homes of members of our Church, there are children, whether baptized or not, who are thus growing up utterly neglected. If baptized, they don"t even know it.
Much less do they know the significance of their baptism.
It is the mission of the Sunday-school to gather in these dest.i.tute ones, from the street, and from their Christless homes. The Sunday-school must become a spiritual home for them. The earnest teacher can and ought to find out who of his pupils belong to this cla.s.s, and apply to such the needed instruction and exhortation. In _their_ case it is truly the object of the Sunday-school to lead them to Jesus, to labor for their conversion, to Christianize them. This, as a matter of course, also applies to those, even from Christian homes, who were baptized, and perhaps also, to some extent, instructed in divine things, but who have gone astray, and thus fallen from their baptismal covenant. All such, who are not at present in covenant relationship with Christ, who are turned away from Christ, must be turned back, _i.e._, converted.
Now this difficult work, this great change, can be accomplished only through the power of G.o.d"s Word. "_The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul._" "_The Gospel of Christ is the power of G.o.d unto salvation._" The words of Christ, "_they are spirit and they are life_." If sinners, whether young or old, are to be reclaimed for Christ, it must be through that Word which "_is quick_"--_i.e._, full of life--"_and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword_."
Let the Sunday-school teacher depend on nothing else than this Word of G.o.d. It is always accompanied by the Spirit of G.o.d. It is the living seed of the new life. Let it be used prayerfully. Let it be taught carefully. Let it be taught clearly. Let it be impressed and applied to heart, and conscience, and life. Drive it home personally and individually to the impenitent pupil. See him by himself, visit him in his home, teach him in his cla.s.s. Cease not your prayers and your efforts till the Word so lodge and fasten itself in the mind and conscience that it makes him realize his own sinfulness and need of a Saviour, and also that Saviour"s readiness to save. This is G.o.d"s way of salvation. This is the Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church. The Sunday-school teacher who follows this way will win souls. The impenitent sinners of his cla.s.s will be brought to repentance toward G.o.d, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ: or in one word, they will be converted; whilst those who are already Christ"s will _grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ_.
CHAPTER IX.
CATECHISATION.
We have spoken of the importance and benefits of home training and instruction. We endeavored to show that Christian parents are under the most solemn obligation to instruct their children in the truth of G.o.d"s Word. We also endeavored to show that, in order to give their children a clear understanding of the saving truths of the Bible, they could do no better than to diligently teach them Luther"s Small Catechism; that this was really Luther"s idea and purpose when he wrote that excellent little religious manual; that the first catechetical cla.s.s ought indeed to be in the family, with father and mother as teachers;--that this home cla.s.s ought to be carried on so long and so persistently, that in it the children would become perfectly familiar with the contents of the book; so familiar indeed, that they would know all the parts that Luther wrote perfectly by heart. Luther"s Small Cathechism, _i.e._, the parts that Luther wrote himself, is really quite a small book. By giving only a little time and attention to it each week, the parents could easily, in a few years, have all their children know it as perfectly as they know their multiplication table. And such ought to be the case.
After these beginnings have thus been made, and while the home instruction is still going on, the work of the Sunday-school teacher comes in as a help to the home cla.s.s. In every Sunday-school cla.s.s there ought to be, with each lesson, some instruction in the Catechism. To this end each teacher, in a Lutheran Sunday-school, ought to be familiarly at home in this most important text-book. The teacher should endeavor so to teach these lessons, that the pupil would learn to love and appreciate the Catechism more and more. Thus, the school ought to be a helper to the home. And thus, home and school together, working in harmony for the same end, would prepare the children for the pastor"s catechetical cla.s.s.
If this good old-fashioned custom were kept up in all our households and schools, then would the pastor"s catechetical cla.s.s be more of a pleasure and a profit to himself and his catechumens. It would then be the pastor"s part, as it should be, to review the contents with his cla.s.s, and thus to find how well the preparatory work had been done. Then could he devote his time and energy to what is really the pastor"s part of the work, viz., to explain and set forth clearly the meaning of the Catechism, and show how it all applies to the heart and life of every one.
It is not at all the pastor"s place, and it should never be expected of him, to act the school-master, to see to and oversee the memorizing of the answers. It is his office to expound and apply the truth, to make the doctrines clear to the minds of the learners, and to show how they are all related to the individual life.
But, alas, how little is this understood or practiced! How many parents, who call themselves Christians, and Lutherans, seem to think that they have nothing to do in this whole matter! They seem to think that if they send their children once a week, for a few months, to the pastor"s cla.s.s, they have done their whole duty. They do not so much as help and encourage the children to learn the lessons that the pastor a.s.signs. And thus does this part of the pastor"s work, which ought to be among the most delightful of all his duties, become wearisome to the flesh and vexatious to the spirit. Scarcely anywhere else in all his duties does a pastor feel so helpless and hopeless and discouraged, as when standing week after week before a cla.s.s of young people who have such poor instructors at home.
Christian parents, if you desire your sons and your daughters to become steadfast and useful members of the Church of Christ, see to it that you do your part in their religious instruction. Insist on it, and even use your parental authority, if necessary, that your children learn the Catechism and regularly attend the pastor"s instructions.