LivePrayerSermon 1866. The Sunday School and the Scriptures
(No. 1866)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, OCTOBER 18, 1885,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faithwhich is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:15.
HOW very remarkably the times repeat themselves! As I said just now, in the reading of the chapter, the warning which Paulgave concerning his own times is quite as necessary for this present age. Again darkness thickens and the mists hang heavilyaround our footsteps. Evil men and seducers wax worse and worse and very many have turned away their ears from the Truth ofGod to listen to fables. Nor do we wonder that it is so. History must repeat itself so long as we have the same human natureto deal with, the same sins to ensnare mankind, the same Truth to be trifled with and the same devil to stir men up to thesame mischief.
But, Brothers and Sisters, when the same evils come, we must apply to them the same remedies. When a disease appears whichhas done deadly mischief in past times, physicians inquire for medicines which, on a former occasion, curbed the enemy. Weare bound to do the same in spiritual matters. We must see what Paul did in his day when the malaria of false doctrine wasin the air. It is remarkable how very simple, as a rule, everything is that is really effective. If a discovery is made inscience or machinery, it is complicated, at first, and that for the very reason that it is imperfect. But all improvementsare in the direction of simplicity. It is just the same with spiritual teachings. When we get at reality, we cut off superfluity.Let us not talk of inventing wise measures for the present distress in the spiritual world, but let us use the great remedywhich was so effectual in Paul's day! Paul, himself, taught young Timothy the Gospel-he made him not only hear his doctrine,but see his practice. We cannot force the Truth of God upon men, but we can make our own teaching clear and decided-and makeour lives consistent therewith. Truth and holiness are the surest antidotes to error and unrighteousness. The Apostle saidto Timothy, "Continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them."
He then dwelt upon another potent remedy which had been of great service to the young preacher, namely, the knowing of theHoly Scriptures from his earliest childhood. This was, to young Timothy, one of his best safeguards. His early training heldhim like an anchor and saved him from the dreadful drift of the age. Happy young man, of whom the Apostle could say, "Fromchildhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in ChristJesus!"
Brothers and Sisters, to be prepared for the coming conflict, we have only to preach the Gospel and to live the Gospel-andalso to take care that we teach the children the Word of the Lord! This last is especially to be attended to, for it is bythe mouth of babes and sucklings that God will still the enemy. It is idle to dream that human learning must be met by humanlearning, or that Satan must cast out Satan. No! Lift up the bronze serpent wherever the fiery serpents are biting the peopleand men shall look to it and live. Bring the children out and hold them up-and turn their little eyes towards the divinelyordained remedy, for still there is life in a look-life as against the varied venoms of the serpent which are now poisoningthe blood of men! There is no cure, after all, for midnight but the rising sun. No hope remains for a dark world but in thatLight of God which lightens every man. Shine forth, O Sun of Righteousness, and mist, cloud and darkness must disappear. Brothers,keep to the Apostolic plans and rest assured of Apostolic success! Preach Christ! Preach the Word in season and out of season-andteach the children. One of God's chief methods for preserving His fields from tares is to sow them early with wheat. Uponthat I am going to speak, this morning, as the Holy Spirit shall help me.
In tracing the gracious work of God upon the heart of Timothy and upon others who are favored as he was, I shall notice thatthis work commenced with early instruction-"From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures." And secondly, it was quickenedand made effectual by saving faith-"The Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith whichis in Christ Jesus." Then we shall notice that the effect of this early teaching upon Timothy was that it created a solidcharacter and, furthermore, that it produced great usefulness.
I. The work of God's Grace in Timothy COMMENCED WITH EARLY INSTRUCTION-"From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures."
Note the time for instruction. The expression, "from childhood," might be better understood if we read it, "from a very child"or, as the Revised Version has it, "from a babe." It does not mean a well-grown child, or youth, but a child just rising outof infancy. From a very child Timothy had known the sacred writings. This expression is, no doubt, used to show that we cannotbegin too early to imbue the minds of our children with Scriptural knowledge. Babes receive impressions long before we areaware of the fact. During the first months of a child's life, it learns more than we imagine. It soon learns the love of itsmother and its own dependence-and if the mother is wise, it learns the meaning of obedience and the necessity of yieldingits will to a higher will. This may be the keynote of its whole future life. If it learns obedience and submission early,it may save a thousand tears from the child's eyes and as many from the mother's heart. A special vantage ground is lost wheneven babyhood is left uncultured.
The Holy Scripture may be learned by children as soon as they are capable of understanding anything. It is a very remarkablefact which I have heard asserted by many teachers, that children will learn to read out of the Bible better than from anyother book. I scarcely know why. It may, perhaps, be on account of the simplicity of the language-and I believe it is so.A Biblical fact will often be grasped when an incident of common history is forgotten. There is an adaptation in the Biblefor human beings of all ages and, therefore, it has a fitness for children. We make a mistake when we think that we must beginwith something else and lead up to the Scriptures. The Bible is the book for the peep of day. Parts of it are above a child'smind, for they are above the comprehension of the most advanced among us. There are depths in it where leviathan may swim-butthere are also brooks in which a lamb may wade. Wise teachers know how to lead their little ones into the green pastures besidethe still waters.
I was noticing, in the life of that man of God whose loss presses very heavily upon many of our hearts, namely, the Earl ofShaftesbury, that his first religious impressions were produced by a humble woman. The impressions which made him Shaftesbury,the man of God and the friend of man, were received in the nursery! Little Lord Ashley had a godly nurse who spoke to himof the things of God. He tells us that she died before he was seven years of age-clear proof that early in life his hearthad been able to receive the seal of the Spirit of God-and to receive it by humble instrumentality. Blessed among women wasshe whose name we know not, but who worked incalculable service for God and man by her holy teaching of the chosen child!Young nurses, note this.
Give us the first seven years of a child, with God's Grace, and we may defy the world, the flesh and the devil to ruin thatimmortal soul! Those first years, while yet the clay is soft and plastic, go far to decide the form of the vessel. Do notsay that your office, you who teach the young, is in the least degree inferior to ours, whose main business is with olderfolks. No, you have the first of them and your impressions, as they come first, will endure last-oh that they may be goodand only good! Among the thoughts that come to an old man before he enters Heaven, the most plentiful are those that beforevisited him when he sat upon his mother's knee. That which made Dr. Guthrie ask for a "bairn's hymn" when he was dying isbut an instinct of our nature which leads us to complete the circle by folding together the ends of life. Childlike thingsare dearest to old age! We shuffle off a portion of the coil that surrounds and hampers us and go back, again, to our morenatural selves and, therefore, the old songs are on our lips and the old thoughts are in our minds! The teachings of our childhoodleave clean cut and sharp impressions upon the mind which remain after 70 years have passed. Let us see that such impressionsare made for the highest ends.
It is well to note the admirable selection of instructors. We are not at a loss to tell who instructed youthful Timothy. Inthe first chapter of this Epistle, Paul says, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dweltfirst in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in you, also." No doubt grandmother Lois andmother Eunice united in teaching the little one. Who should teach the children but the parents? Timothy's father was a Greekand probably a heathen, but his child was happy in having a venerable grandmother, so often the dear-
est of all relatives to a little child. He had also a gracious mother, once a devout Jewess and afterwards, also, a firmlybelieving Christian who made it her daily pleasure to teach her own dear child the Word of the Lord.
O dear mothers, you have a very sacred trust reposed in you by God! He has, in effect, said to you, "Take this child and nurseit for Me and I will give you your wages." You are called to equip the future man of God, that he may be thoroughly furnishedunto every good work. If God spares you, you may live to hear that pretty boy speak to thousands and you will have the sweetreflection in your heart that the quiet teachings of the nursery led the man to love his God and serve Him! Those who thinkthat a woman detained at home by her little family is doing nothing, think the reverse of what is true! Scarcely can the godlymother quit her home for a place of worship, but dream not that she is lost to the work of the Church-far from it-she is doingthe best possible service for her Lord! Mothers, the godly training of your offspring is your first and most pressing duty!Christian women, by teaching children the Holy Scriptures, are as much fulfilling their part for the Lord as Moses in judgingIsrael, or Solomon in building the Temple!
Nowadays, since the world has in it, alas, so few of Christian mothers and grandmothers, the Church has thought it wise tosupplement the instruction of home by teaching held under her fostering wing. Those children who have no such parents, theChurch takes under her maternal care. I regard this as a very blessed institution. I am thankful for the many of our Brothersand Sisters who give their Sabbaths-and many of them a considerable part of their week evenings, also-to the teaching of otherpeople's children who somehow grow to be very much their own. They endeavor to perform the duties of fathers and mothers,for God's sake, to those children who are neglected by their own parents-and therein they do well. Let no Christian parentsfall into the delusion that the Sunday school is intended to ease them of their personal duties. The first and most naturalcondition of things is for Christian parents to train up their own children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Let holy grandmother's and gracious mothers, with their husbands, see to it that their own boys and girls are well taughtin the Book of the Lord. Where there are no such Christian parents, it is well and wisely done for godly people to intervene.It is a Christly work when others undertake the duty which the natural doers of it have left undone. The Lord Jesus lookswith pleasure upon those who feed His lambs and nurse His babes, for it is not His will that any of these little ones shouldperish. Timothy had the great privilege of being taught by those whose natural duty it is, but where that great privilegecannot be enjoyed, let us all, as God shall help us, try to make up to the children the terrible loss which they endure. Comeforward, earnest men and women, and sanctify yourselves for this joyful service!
Note the subject of the instruction. "From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures"-he was led to treat the Book of Godwith great reverence. I lay stress upon those two words, "Holy Scriptures." One of the first objects of the Sunday schoolshould be to teach the children great reverence for these holy writings, these Inspired Scriptures. The Jews esteemed theOld Testament beyond all price and though, unfortunately, many of them fell into a superstitious reverence for the letterand lost the spirit of it, yet were they much to be commended for their profound regard to the Holy Oracles. Especially isthis feeling of reverence needed nowadays. I meet with men who hold strange views, but I do not care one-half so much abouttheir views, nor about the strangeness of them, as I do about a certain something which I spy out at the back of this novelthinking. When I find that, if I prove their views to be unscriptural, I have, nevertheless, proved nothing to them, for theydo not care about Scripture-then I have found out a principle far more dangerous than mere doctrinal blundering!
This indifference to Scripture is the great curse of the Church at this hour! We can be tolerant of divergent opinions, solong as we perceive an honest intent to follow the Statute Book. But if it comes to this, that the Bible, itself, is of smallauthority to you, then we have no need of further parley-we are in different camps and the sooner we recognize this, the betterfor all parties concerned. If we are to have a Church of God at all in the land, Scripture must be regarded as holy and tobe had in reverence. This Scripture was given by Holy Inspiration and is not the result of dim myths and dubious traditions!Neither has it drifted down to us by the survival of the fittest as one of the best of human books. It must be given to mychildren and accepted by ourselves as the Infallible Revelation of the Most Holy God! Lay much stress upon this-tell yourchildren that the Word of the Lord is a pure Word, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Let theiresteem for the Book of God be carried to the highest point!
Observe that Timothy was taught not only to reverence holy things in general, but especially to know the Scriptures. The teachingof his mother and his grandmother was the teaching of Holy Scripture. Suppose we get the children to-
gether on the Sabbath and then amuse them and make the hours to pass away pleasantly? Or instruct them, as we do in the weekdays,in the elements of a moral education-what have we done? We have done nothing worthy of the day, or of the Church of God! Supposethat we are particularly careful to teach the children the rules and regulations of our own Church and do not take them tothe Scriptures? Suppose that we bring before them a book which is set up as the standard of our Church but do not dwell uponthe Bible-what have we done? The aforesaid standard may or may not be correct and we may, therefore, have taught our childrenthe Truth of God or have taught them error! But if we keep to Holy Scripture, we cannot go aside. With such a Standard weknow that we are right. This Book is the Word of God and if we teach it, we teach that which the Lord will accept and bless.
O dear teachers-and I speak here to myself, also-let our teaching be more and more Scriptural! Fret not if our classes forgetwhat we say, but pray them to remember what the Lord says. May Divine Truths about sin, righteousness and judgement to comebe written on their hearts! May revealed Truths of God concerning the love of God, the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ andthe work of the Holy Spirit never be forgotten by them! May they know the virtue and necessity of the atoning blood of ourLord, the power of His Resurrection and the Glory of His Second Coming! May the Doctrines of Grace be engraved as with a penof iron upon their minds and written as with the point of a diamond upon their hearts-never to be erased! Brothers and Sisters,if we can secure this, we have not lived in vain. The generation now ruling seems bent on departing from the eternal Truthsof God, but we shall not despair if the Gospel is impressed upon the memory of the rising race.
Once more upon this point-it appears that young Timothy was so taught as a child that the teaching was effectual. "You haveknown the Holy Scriptures," says Paul. It is a good deal to say of a child that he has "known the Holy Scriptures." You maysay, "I have taught the children the Scriptures," but that they have known them is quite another thing. Do all of you whoare grown up, know the Scriptures? I fear that although knowledge in general increases, knowledge of the Scriptures is fartoo rare! If we were now to hold an examination, I am afraid that some of you would hardly shine in the lists at the end.But here was a little child who knew the Holy Scriptures! That is to say, he had a remarkable acquaintance with them. Childrencan get that-it is by no means an impossible attainment. God blessing your efforts, dear Friends, your children may know allof Scripture that is necessary to their salvation. They may have as true an idea of sin as their mother has. They may haveas clear a view of the Atonement as their grandmother can have. They may have as distinct a faith in Jesus as any of us canhave!
The things that make for our peace require no length of experience to prepare us for receiving them-they are among the simplicitiesof thought. He may run that reads them-and a child may read them as soon as he can run! The opinion that children cannot receivethe whole Truth of the Gospel is a great mistake, for their child-condition is a help rather than a hindrance! Older folkmust become as little children before they can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Do lay a good groundwork with the children. Letnot Sunday school work be slurred, nor done in a slovenly manner. Let the children know the Holy Scripture! Let the Scripturesbe consulted rather than any human book.
II. Our second need was to be that this work was QUICKENED BY SAVING FAITH. The Scriptures do not save, but they are ableto make a man wise unto salvation. Children may know the Scriptures and yet not be children of God. Faith in Jesus Christis that Grace which brings immediate salvation. Many dear children are called of God so early that they cannot precisely tellwhen they were converted-but they were converted-they must, at some time or other, have passed from death to life. You couldnot have told this morning, by observation, the moment when the sun rose, but it did rise-and there was a time when it wasbelow the horizon and another time when it had risen above it. The moment, whether we see it or not, in which a child is reallysaved, is when he or she believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps for years Lois and Eunice had been teaching the Old Testamentto Timothy while they, themselves, did not know the Lord Jesus. And, if so, they were teaching him the type without the antitype-theriddles without the answers-but it was good teaching, for all that, since it was all the Truth of God which they then knew.
How much happier, however, is our task, since we are able to teach concerning the Lord Jesus so plainly, having the New Testamentto explain the Old! May we not hope that even earlier in life than Timothy, our dear children may catch the thought that ChristJesus is the Sum and Substance of Holy Scripture and, so, by faith in Him may receive power to become the sons of God? I mentionthis, simple as it is, because I want all teachers to feel that if their children do not as yet know all the doctrines ofthe Bible and if there are certain higher or deeper Truths of God which their minds have not
yet grasped, still, children are saved as soon as they are wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus! Faithin the Lord Jesus, as He is set forth in Scripture, will surely save. "If you believe with all your heart, you may," saidPhilip to the eunuch-and we say the same to every child-you may confess your faith if you have any true faith in Jesus toconfess. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ and so put your trust in Him, you are as truly saved as though gray hairsadorned your brow.
Notice that by this faith in Christ Jesus, we continue and advance in salvation. The moment we believe in Christ we are saved,but we are not at once as wise as we may be and hope to be. We may be, as it were, saved unintelligently. I mean, of course,comparatively so, but it is desirable that we should be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us and so be wise untosalvation. By faith, children become little disciples and, by faith, they go on to become more proficient. How are we to goon to wisdom? Not by quitting the way of faith, but by keeping to that same faith in Christ Jesus by which we began to learn.In the school of Grace, faith is the great faculty by which we make advances in wisdom. If by faith you have been able tosay A, B and C, it must be by faith that you shall go on to say D, E and F, until you shall come to the end of the alphabetand be an expert in the Book of Wisdom. If by faith you can read in the spelling book of simple faith, by the same faith inChrist Jesus you must go on to read in the classics of full assurance and become a scribe well instructed in the things ofthe Kingdom of God. Keep, therefore, close to the practice of faith from which so many are turning aside.
In these times men look to make progress by what they call thought, by which they mean vain imagination and speculation. Wecannot advance a step by doubt-our only progress is by faith. There are no such things as "steppingstones of our dead selves."Unless, indeed, they are steppingstones down to death and destruction! The only steppingstones to life and Heaven are to befound in the Truths of God revealed to our faith. Believe God and you have made progress! So let us pray for our children,that they may constantly know and believe more and more, for the Scripture is able to make them wise unto salvation, but onlythrough faith which is in Christ Jesus. Faith is the result to aim at. Faith in the appointed, anointed and exalted Savior.This is the anchor to which we would bring these little ships, for here they will abide in perfect safety!
Observe that the text gives us a plain intimation that by faith, knowledge is turned into wisdom. Exceedingly practical isthe difference between knowledge and wisdom. See it in the text, "From a child you have known." But it is faith, faith alone,that turns that knowledge into wisdom-and thus the Holy Scriptures are "able to make wise unto salvation." "Knowledge is power,"but wisdom is the application of that power to practical ends! Knowledge may be bullion, but wisdom is the minted gold, fitfor circulation among men! You can give your children knowledge without their having faith, but they must have faith giventhem of the Holy Spirit before that knowledge can become wisdom! Scriptural knowledge is wisdom when it influences the heart,when it rules the mind, when it affects the daily life, when it sanctifies the spirit, when it renews the will. O Teachers,pray for your dear children that God would give them faith in Christ Jesus so that the knowledge which you have given themmay turn to wisdom! Go as far as you can go with the teaching, but always cry mightily unto the Lord that His Holy Spiritmay work regeneration, create faith, impart wisdom and give salvation.
Learn yet, again, that faith finds her wisdom in the use of knowledge conferred by the Scriptures. "From childhood you haveknown the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith." Faith never finds her wisdom inthe thoughts of men, nor in pretended revelations. She resorts to the Inspired Writings for her guidance. This is the wellfrom which she drinks, the manna on which she feeds. Faith takes the Lord Jesus to be her wisdom. The knowledge of Christis, to her, the most excellent of the sciences. She asks only-What is written? And when that question is answered, her difficultiesare ended! I know it is not so with this unbelieving age and this it is which causes me to go mourning and lamenting. Alasfor a Church which rejects the testimony of the Lord! As for us, we abide by the Word of the Lord and from it we will notstir an inch!
See then, my Hearers, what is needed for all of you who are unconverted. The Holy Scriptures must be made the means of yoursalvation through faith. Know the Bible, read the Bible, search the Bible-and yet the Bible, alone, will not save you! Whatdid our Lord, Himself, say? "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and they are they whichtestify of Me; and you will not come unto Me that you might have life." If you come not to Jesus, you will miss eternal life!Searching the Scriptures is able to make you wise unto salvation "through faith which is in
Christ Jesus"-but not without that faith! Pray, you Sunday school teachers, that you may see this faith worked in the childrenwhom you teach! What a blessed groundwork for faith, your teaching of the Holy Scriptures will be! But never mistake it forthe building, itself, which is of faith alone!
III. Time fails me. I cannot dwell as I would upon other points, but I beg you to notice, in the third place, that sound instructionin Holy Scripture, when quickened by a living faith, CREATES A SOUND CHARACTER. The man who, from childhood has known theHoly Scriptures, when he obtains faith in Christ, will be grounded and settled upon the abiding principles of the unchangingWord of God. I wish it were so with the bulk of those who profess and call themselves, "Christians." In these days we aresurrounded by unsettled minds, "ever learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the Truth of God." These are carried aboutby every wind of doctrine. What numbers of professors I have known who go into one place of worship and hear one form of doctrineand apparently approve it because the preacher is "a clever man!" They hear an opposite teaching and they are equally at home,because, again, it is "a clever man!" They join with a Church and you ask them, "Do you agree with the views of that community?"They neither know nor care what those views may be-one doctrine is as good as another to them. Their spiritual appetite canenjoy soap as well as butter! They can digest bricks as well as bread!
These religious ostriches have a marvelous power of swallowing everything-but they have no spiritual discernment, no appreciationof the Truth of God. They follow any "clever" person and, in this, prove that they are not the sheep of our Lord's pasture,of whom it is written, "A stranger will they not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers." We desire to build upa Church with those who know what they know and can give a reason for what they believe. The true Believer's great reasonfor his faith is, "It is written." Christ our Master met the tempter in the wilderness with, "It is written." Though He was,Himself, Inspired, yet His teaching was full of the Old Testament-He was always quoting the Words of the Inspired Book and,therein, setting us an example.
If you and I would contend with Satan and with an evil world, so as to overcome in the conflict, we must take care to takeour stand squarely and firmly upon the Scriptures! Let us treat our opponents to volleys of Scripture! Let us fire point-blankwith sacred texts! These are arguments which wound and kill! Our own reasonings are mere paper pellets, but Scriptural proofsare bullets of steel! Our opponents will find it useless to try to lead us away from the old faith when they perceive thatwe will not budge an inch from Holy Scripture. We are bomb-proof when we shelter beneath the Word of the Lord. The cunningcraftiness of deceivers is foiled by the clear simplicity of, "Thus says the Lord."
Those who know the Scriptures and so believe in Jesus, are pillared upon a personal acquaintance with the foundations of theirfaith. "From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures"-they were not treated with an ignorant reverence, but with an intelligenthomage. How much I desire that each one of you may be a personal student of the Holy Scriptures! We need to know them forourselves! Personally grasping them as a Revelation of God to himself, the godly man loves them, studies them, feels them,lives upon them and so knows them! By this means he becomes as independent of other men. Paul is to die. Poor Timothy! Yes,it will be, "poor Timothy!" if he carries his faith in Paul's bosom and has none in his own heart! But Timothy's Bible isnot going to die! Timothy's knowledge of Scripture is not going to be taken from him, nor is the Holy Spirit about to departfrom him!
Look at some of our Churches-while a well-instructed Gospel minister leads the way, the Brethren abide in their steadfastness.The good man dies and where is the Church? No doubt, those who are instructed in the Scriptures remain in their places, butthe more ignorant are scattered like chaff! There are numbers, now, in this part of London, wandering about, who were oncezealous for the faith, but are now almost indifferent to it. I will not mention names, but I could do so readily enough-Imean the names of esteemed Brethren who gathered an earnest following about them, but they are gone-and with their going,numbers of their followers have gone, too! I fear there could not have been a sound knowledge of the Word of God, or thesepeople would have survived the great loss of their teacher. Oh, to have a good personal building up upon the solid Word ofGod! Then you will know what you know and you will hold fast to it-and there will be no driving you away from the standardsof the faith. I labor for this among you and I pray that I may not labor in vain.
The man that has been taught the Scripture from his youth is anchored by the Divine influences of that Scripture. It has sooperated upon him that he knows for himself its Divine power. He knows the difference between the Truth of God and error bythe effect produced on his heart and life. Without any boasting, he is able to discern between things that
differ because about Scriptural Truth there is a strange, mysterious unction which does not attend the teachings of the mostlearned of men. I cannot explain to you what this unction is, but every child of God knows it. When I read a text of Scripture,even if I do not now it to be a text of Scripture by memory, I perceive its Divine origin at once by a mystic influence whichit exerts over my heart. The most striking passages of any sermon are well-placed texts. A sentence from the mouth of Godwill have more permanent power over a Christian man than the best composed of human statements! God's Word is living, powerfuland has a power to enter the heart beyond that of any other word! The Words of the Bible strike and stick-they enter and abide.
He that has been taught in Scripture, steeped in Scripture, saturated with Scripture-is conscious of its permeating influenceand it gives him permanence of conviction. Like the crimson dye in cloth, the tint of Scripture is not to be gotten out ofthe soul when once fixed there! It is dyed ingrain-it enters into the very nature of the man! Bible Truths influence his thoughts,words and deeds-it is all-pervading-he begins to eat, drink and sleep Holy Scripture. The man's heart is fixed on God, fixedin the Truths of God and fixed in holy living. He will stand fast, however evil the days. Though all the rest should apostatize,this man cannot, for the Divine Word, through faith, has bound him to the Altar of the Lord and, in the Truth of God he mustand will both live and die, come what may.
Besides, a man that has once been taught in the Scripture and to whose soul the Spirit has blessed that teaching, has cometo yield himself to the supremacy of Scripture and this must operate to the shaping of his character. I confess that sometimesI come across a text which does not, at first blush, agree with other teachings of Scripture which I have already received-andthis startles me for the moment. But one thing is settled in my heart, namely, that I will follow the Scripture wherever itleads me and that I will renounce the most cherished opinion rather than shape a text or alter a syllable of the InspiredBook. It is not mine to make God's Word consistent, but to believe that it is so! When a text stands in the middle of theroad, I drive no further. The Romans had a god they called, "Terminus," who was the god of landmarks. Holy Scripture is mysacred landmark and I hear a voice which threatens me with a curse if I remove it! Sometimes I say to myself, "I did not thinkto find this Truth to be just so, but as it is so, I must bow. It is rather awkward for my theory, but I must alter my system,for the Scripture cannot be broken." "Let God be true, but every man a liar."
We want our children to have this deep reverence for Scripture, even as we have it ourselves. There it stands! The eternalpen has written it and we accept it! If God has said it, we have no desire to question it, lest the Scripture should say tous, "No but, O man, who are you that replies against God?" We must bow before the Infallibility of the Holy Spirit and say,"Lord, teach me what this means. What I know not, teach me." He who goes through the world with an intense reverence for Scripturewill be a man, indeed. The Lord will make good in him that Word-"Them that honor Me I will honor." Angels and men, beforelong, reverence the man who reverences the Word of God. Feed your mind on the pulse of Scripture and, like Daniel and hiscomrades, your countenance shall appear fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children who eat the portion of the king'smeat from the philosophic tables of the world.
While on this point, I would also say that this kind of instruction will hold a man fast against the differing seductionsof the age. Here I go into one place of worship and I see a pretty little dolls' house at the far end and people are bowingdown before some paper flowers and candlesticks! Around the building I see pictures of virgins and saints, but he who hasread his Bible enters not into this modern idolatry! A priest once said to a poor Irishman, "There will be no good come ofyour reading the Bible." "Why," replied the man, "it is written, 'Search the Scriptures.' Please, your Reverence, I was justreading, 'you shall read it to your children' and the priests have no children-how can you account for that?" "Ah!" repliedthe priest, "the likes ofyou cannot understand the book." "Well," said the man, "if I cannot understand it, it will do meno harm, but if I can understand it, it will do me great good."
Just so! The Bible is a very dangerous book to superstition, but to nothing else! Spread it, then, to the winds of Heavenand read it, every one of you! To the Law and to the Testimony! If we speak not according to this Word, it is because thereis no Light of God in us! He that holds to the Bible will be equally free from the dangers of rationalism which are now soabundant and he will keep himself clean from the ravings of anarchy which now sound like the cries of dragons from the darkplaces of the earth! People are beginning to forget the Commandment, "you shall not steal," and they are planning variousmethods of political thievery by which the foundations of society will be shaken. Love of Holy Scripture will be the sheetanchor of the State as well as of the Church! If men are thoroughly grounded in Holy Scrip-
ture, we shall undergo political changes with great advantage-but if not, there is mischief brewing. The Bible is the cornerstoneof our future hope.
IV. Now, lastly. As this early teaching creates a fine solid character, so will it PRODUCE GREAT USEFULNESS. I will say nothingmore than just this. Thus Timothy became above all others a choice companion for Paul, one upon whom Paul looked with loveand remembered with joy. Companions for Apostles are only to be produced in the school of Holy Scripture. Those who have communedwith Moses, David and the Prophets, are fit to associate with an Apostle. It is something to produce out of a child a comradefor a veteran servant of the living God! Let a man of God get side by side with a youth who knows the Scriptures and he feels,"This is fit company for me." Paul, worn with years of persecution, strokes his gray beard and his eyes light up with joyas he looks on that young Timothy! What is there about him more than about any other? Why, only that he knows the Scripturesand they have made him wise unto salvation!
There were, no doubt, fine young fellows to be found who gloried in preferring the advanced thought of philosophers to thestereotyped teachings of Holy Scripture. But had they begun to talk to the Apostle upon their new theories, Paul would havedismissed them with words of warning. He knew nothing of them or of their "other Gospel," except that they troubled him andthe Churches. Without Scriptural training, a convert has no grit, no backbone and no soul in him. But when Paul looked ona gracious youth who knew the Scriptures and held fast to them, he thanked God and took courage.
This young man became a minister and an Evangelist. He was a preacher of such a sort that we should have been glad to haveheard him. God send us many such! Perhaps we might have said, "The young man's opinions were rather crude and his expressionswere somewhat rough, but we can put up with that from so young a man. On the other hand, what a richness of Scripture therewas in him! What depth of thought! Did you not notice he had not got through a dozen sentences before he had quoted Scripture?And when he came to prove his point, he did not give half-a-dozen rationalistic arguments, but he brought out a single Wordfrom the Lord and the point was settled." You must agree with a man who is at home with his Bible. This is the kind of preacherthat we need more of! Instruct your children well, beloved Teachers, that they, also, may become Scriptural teachers in duetime.
Timothy became, also, a great champion for the faith. He came forward and in the midst of all those who were preaching falsedoctrine, he stood firm to the end-he was steadfast, unmovable, courageous-because as a child he had known the Scriptures!O Teachers, see what you may do! In your schools sit our future Evangelists. In that infant class sits an Apostle to somedistant land! There may come under your training hand, my Sister, a future father in Israel! There shall come under your teaching,my Brother, those that are to bear the banners of the Lord in the thick of the fray! The ages look to you each time your classassembles!
Oh, that God may help you to do your part well! We pray with one heart and one soul that the Lord Jesus Christ may be withour Sunday schools from this day and till He comes. Amen and Amen!