THE OBJECT OF THE SABBATH-SCHOOL.
By Erwin House
THE object of the Sabbath-school is the salvation of the child; to bring him to Christ, to develop in him the life of Christ, and to insure for him a place with Christ at the right hand of the Father. The object is a unit, but the appliances by which this work is begun and carried on are various. No child can come to Christ except with a knowledge of the way. There is no way except that described in the Scriptures. The child is to be informed, either by parent or teacher, of his need of a Saviour. There is to be developed in his understanding and impressed upon his heart the character and work of that Saviour, the suffering, saving love of Jesus, his complete willingness and ability to redeem, purify, and bless. But the object of the Sabbath-school is not only to bring the child to Christ, but to bring him now. Nothing less—nothing more. Nothing more in time or in eternity than this. "Nothing is done while any thing is left to be done," was the motto of a great man. "Nothing is done unless my scholars are saved," ought to be the motto of every teacher. The atmosphere of the school-room should be such that, on entering it, every child, even the youngest, will feel that the aim of the exercises and arrangements is to glorify God, and to bring souls to Jesus. That such a condition can be reached, the experience of many faithful laborers will testify. "Our school," says a Scottish superintendent, "resolved at one time to lead all other schools in Glasgow in raising missionary money. Teachers, male and female, pledged themselves to constant effort. It was not long till the Bible classes, the junior and the infant classes caught the infection. By the year's end the banner was ours. Considering our numbers and wealth we surpassed every other organization in the city. Another school that I knew, resolved on being the most orderly, I might say the most silent, in its discipline. Its order of exercises was printed on canvas, and the canvas unrolled, without creak or rustle, as the time called for a change of the exercises. The superintendent said nothing, the canvas did the talking, and the teachers and pupils instructed and recited in whisper. At last, it came to my mind that if our school could raise the most money for missions, and a neighboring one could produce, as it believed, the best example of order, possibly ours might be the most successful in winning souls for Jesus. The conviction dwelt upon my heart, and at last I gave it utterance. I talked with my teachers, and they were a unit in regard to it. "Thenceforward the prayers, the singing, the lessons, the direct and side instructions were all with this one aim—Jesus—souls for Jesus. The scholars soon comprehended the new state, and each one felt an obligation to assist. In the efforts made, several of the older boys and girls were led penitents to the Saviour. It was a year of blessed and glorious triumph. We received the name of Immediatists; but we were willing to be called Immediatists, or anything else, so God was honored and Jesus glorified." A school unconsciously takes on the spirit of its officers and teachers, particularly that of the superintendent. If the superintendent's heart has a single aim, and he works steadily and faithfully to that, it will not be long till the individual members of the school will make the discovery and respond to it. But observe, that no converted child can be retained in the school or the church without constant care and instruction. There must be inculcated in the mind of the child profound Christian beliefs and opinions. He must be informed concerning the character, providence, and government of God; must know the duties, relations, and destinies of man; of the excellence and obligations of virtue, of the wickedness and danger of vice, of the right use and responsibilities of talent, of influence, and wealth, and the sinfulness of the heart; the danger and divine salvation of the soul. And further, the child's heart must be inspired with Christian sentiments of reverence for the Divine Being, and his works and word; with profound love and gratitude to the Heavenly Father, and to the Saviour of men; with an active respect and love for mankind, for friends, for country, and the race; and with a profound regard for all that is true, honest, generous, gentle, and of good report. There also must be formed habits of industry, economy, temperance, self-denial, liberality, courtesy, kindness; in a word, all habits of public and private virtue. And yet further, this Christian culture embraces scholarship in Bible learning, Bible language and literature, the meaning of the terms prophet, priest, patriarch, temple, altar, sacrifice, repentance, faith, charity, atonement, redemption, grace, salvation, glory, blessing, and hundreds of others, which occur constantly in our religious utterances. There must be a comprehension likewise of Bible geography, of Bible biography, Bible history, Bible antiquities, Bible ethics, the grand system of moral precepts taught in the sacred pages, and Bible theology, that sublime scheme of doctrines; each and all of these should have their specific place and systematic treatment in the Sabbath-school. If all the children in all the Sabbath-schools in the country, together with all the officers and teachers, were to-day converted and in the church, the necessity for culture would not be less, but as imperative as ever. Emotional Christianity—a Christianity of demonstration and of feeling may be well enough, but no Christianity can last that has not at its base an intelligent faith. The skepticism of the age is to be met by heads clear and well informed, and by hearts sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In this culture the storing of the mind with Scripture passages and the forms of sound doctrine in our Articles of Religion and the Catechism, can scarcely be too highly estimated; for although the child may not at the time comprehend in all their breadth the instructions imparted, yet in the advancing years the time will come when they shall prove a bulwark of defense, and when such garnered truth shall stand forth in more than an angel's radiance, dispelling the darkness of the path, kindling the heart, and preparing the soul for victory in every conflict.—Erwin House, A. M.