Children Brought to Christ, and Not to the Font
July 24th, 1864
by
C. H. SPURGEON
"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them:
and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw
it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the
kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive
the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he
took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed
them"--Mark 10:13-16.
My attention has been specially directed to this passage by the fact that
it has been quoted against me by most of the authors of those sermons
and letters which are, by a stretch of imagination, called "replies" to
my sermon upon "Baptismal Regeneration." Replies they certainly are
not, except to one another. I marvel that a Church so learned as the
Anglican, cannot produce something a little more worthy of the point
in hand. The various authors may possibly have read my discourse, but
by reason of mental absorption in other meditations, or perhaps
through the natural disturbance of mind caused by guilty consciences,
they have talked with confusion of words, and have only been
successful in refuting themselves, and answering one another. They
must have been aiming at something far removed from my sermon, or
else I must give them credit for being the worst shots that ever
practiced with polemical artillery. They do not so much as touch the
target in its extreme corners, much less in its centre. The whole
question is, Do you believe that baptism regenerates? If so--prove that
your belief is Scriptural! Do you believe that baptism does not
regenerate? Then justify your swearing that it does? Who will reply to
this? He shall merit and bear the palm.
The Scripture before us is by several of the champions on the other
side exhibited to the people as a rebuke to me. Their reasoning is
rather ingenious than forcible: forsooth, because the disciples incurred
the displeasure of Jesus Christ by keeping back the little children from
coming to Him, therefore Jesus Christ is greatly displeased with me,
and with all others like me, for keeping children from the font, and the
performance there enacted; and specially displeased with me for
exposing the Anglican doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration! Observe
the reasoning--because Jesus was much displeased with disciples for
hindering parents from seeking a blessing upon their children,
therefore he is much displeased with us who do not believe in
godfathers and godmothers, or the signing of the cross on the infant
brow. I must say at the outset that this is rather a leap of argument,
and would not ordinarily be thought conclusive, but this we may
readily overlook, since we have long ceased to hope for reasonable
arguments from those who support a cause based upon absurdity. My
brethren, I concluded that there must be something forcible in such a
text as this, or my opponents would not be so eager to secure it; I have
therefore care fully looked at it, and as I have viewed it, it has opened
up to me with a sacred splendour of grace. In this incident the very
heart of Christ is published to poor sinners, and we may clearly
perceive the freeness and the fulness of the mighty grace of the
Redeemer of men, who is willing to receive the youngest child as well
as the oldest man; and is greatly displeased with any who would keep
back seeking souls from coming to him, or loving hearts from bringing
others to receive his blessing.
I. In handling this text in what I believe to be its true light, I shall
commence, first of all, by observing that THIS TEXT HAS NOT THE
SHADOW OF THE SHADE OF THE GHOST OF A CONNECTION WITH BAPTISM. There is no
line of connection so substantial as a spider's web between this incident
and baptism, or at least my imagination is not vivid enough to conceive
one. This I will prove to you, if you will follow me for a moment.
It is very clear, Dear Friends, that these young children were not
brought to Jesus Christ by their friends to be baptized. "They brought
young children to him, that he should touch them," says Mark.
Matthew describes the children as being brought "that he would put
his hands on them and pray," but there is not a hint about their being
baptized; no godfathers or godmothers had been provided, and no sign
of the cross was requested. Surely the parents themselves knew
tolerably well what it was they desired, and they would not have
expressed themselves so dubiously as to ask him to touch them, when
they meant that he should baptize them. The parents evidently had no
thought of regeneration by baptism, and brought the children for quite
another end.
In the next place, if they brought the children to Jesus Christ to be
baptized, they brought them to the wrong person; for the Evangelist,
John, in the fourth chapter, and the second verse, expressly assures us
that Jesus Christ baptized not, but his disciples: this settles the
question once for all, and proves beyond all dispute that there is no
connection between this incident and baptism.
But you will say, "Perhaps they brought the children to be baptized by
the disciples?" Brethren, the disciples were not in the habit of
baptizing infants, and this is clear from the case in hand. If they had
been in the habit of baptizing infants, would they have rebuked the
parents for bringing them? If it had been a customary thing for parents
to bring children with such an object, would the disciples who had
been in the constant habit of performing the ceremony, have rebuked
them for attending to it? Would any Church clergyman rebuke parents
for bringing their children to be baptized? If he did so, he would act
absurdly contrary to his own views and practice; and we cannot
therefore imagine that if infant baptism had been the accepted
practice, the disciples could have acted so absurdly as to rebuke the
parents for bringing their little ones. It is obvious that such could not
have been the practice of the disciples who were rebuked.
Moreover, and here is an argument which seems to me to have great
force in it, when Jesus Christ rebuked his disciples, then was the time
if ever in his life, to have openly spoken concerning infant baptism,
godfathers and godmothers, and the whole affair. If he wished to
rebuke his disciples most effectually, how could he have done it better
than by saying, "Wherefore keep ye these children back? I have
ordained that they shall be baptized; I have expressly commanded that
they shall be regenerated and made members of my body in baptism;
how dare you then, in opposition to my will, keep them back?" But no,
dear friends, our Saviour never said a word about "the laver of
regeneration," or, "the quickening dew," when he rebuked them--not a
single sentence. Had he done so, the season would have been most
appropriate if it had been his intention to teach the practice; in the
whole of his life, there is no period in which a discourse upon infant
regeneration in baptism could have been more appropriate than on this
occasion, and yet not a single sentence about it comes from the
Saviour's lips.
To close all, Jesus Christ did not baptize the children. Our Evangelist
does not inform us that he exclaimed, "Where are the godfathers and
godmothers?" It is not recorded that he called for a font, or a Prayer
Book? No; but "He took them up in his arms, put his hands upon
them, and blessed them," and dismissed them without a drop of the
purifying element. Now, if this event had any connection with baptism
whatever, it was the most appropriate occasion for infant baptism to
have been practiced. Why, it would have ended for ever the
controversy. There may be some men in the world who would have
raised the question of engrafting infants into the body of Christ's
Church by baptism after all this, but I am certain no honest man would
have done so who reverently accepted Christ as his spiritual leader. I,
my brethren, would sooner be dumb than speak a single word against
an ordinance which Christ himself instituted and practiced; and if on
this occasion he had but sprinkled one of these infant s, given him a
Christian name, signed him with a cross, accepted the vows of his
godparents, and thanked God for his regeneration, then the question
would have been settled for ever, and some of us would have been
saved a world of abuse, besides escaping no end of mistakes, for which
we are condemned, in the judgment of many good people, for whom
we have some affection, though for their judgment we have no respect.
So you see the parents did not ask baptismal regeneration; Christ did
not personally baptize; the disciples were not in the habit of baptizing
infants, or else they would not have rebuked the parents; Christ did not
speak about baptism on the occasion, and he did not baptize the little
ones.
I will put a case to you which may exhibit the weakness of my
opponents' position. Suppose a denomination should rise up which
should teach that babes should be allowed to partake at the Lord's
Table. Such teaching could plead precedents of great antiquity, for you
are aware that at one period, infant communion was allowed, and
logically too; for if an infant has a right to baptism, it has a right to
come to the Lord's Table. For years children were brought to the
Lord's Table, but rather inconvenient accidents occurred, and there
fore the thing was dropped as being unseemly. But if some one should
revive the error, and try to prove that infants are to come to the Lord's
Supper, he might prove it from this passage quite as clearly as our
friends can prove infant baptism from it. Moreover do not forget that
even if infant baptism could be proved from this text, the ceremony
prescribed in the Prayer Book is quite as far from being established.
Whether the baptism of infants may or may not be proved from other
Scriptures I cannot now stay to enquire, but even if it can be, what are
we to say for godfathers or godmothers, or the assertion that in
baptism children are made "members of Christ, children of God, and
inheritors of the kingdom of heaven?" Truly I might as well prove
vaccination from the text before me, as the performance which the
Prayer Book calls "infant baptism." I do not hesitate to say that I could
prove any earthly thing, if I might but have such reasoning granted to
me as that which proved infant baptism from this passage. There is no
possible connection between the two. The teaching of the passage is
very plain and very clear, and baptism has been imported into it, and
not found in it. As a quaint writer has well said, "These doctrines are
raised from the text as our collectors raise a tax upon indigent,
nonsolvent people, by coming armed with the law and a constable to
distrain for that which is not to be had. Certainly never was text so
strained and distrained to pay what it never owed; never man so
racked to confess what he never thought; never was a pumice stone so
squeezed for water which it never held." Still hundreds will catch at
this straw, and cry, "Did not Jesus say, 'Suffer the little children to
come unto me?'" To these we give this one word, see that ye read the
Word as it is written, and you will find no water in it but Jesus only.
Are the water and Christ the same thing? Is bringing a child to a font
bringing the child to Christ? Nay, here is a wide difference, as wide as
between Rome and Jerusalem, as wide as between Anti-christ and
Christ, between false doctrine and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
II. Now, for our second and much more pleasing task, WHY THEN WAS JESUS
CHRIST DISPLEASED?
Read the passage and at once the answer comes to you. He was
displeased with his disciples for two reasons: first, because they
discouraged those who would bring others to him; and secondly,
because they discouraged those who themselves were anxious to come
to him. They did not discourage those who were coming to a font, they
discouraged those who were coming to Jesus. There is a mighty
distinction ever to be held between the font and Christ, between the
sprinkling of the priest and living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, his disciples discouraged those who would bring others to him. This
is a great sin, and wherever it is committed Jesus Christ is greatly
displeased, for a true desire to see others saved is wrought in the believer
by God the Holy Spirit, who thus renders the called ones the means of
bringing wandering sheep into the fold. In this case they discouraged those
who would bring children to him to be blessed. How can we bring children
to Jesus Christ to be blessed? We cannot do it in a corporeal sense, for
Jesus is not here, "he is risen;" but we can bring our children in a true,
real, and spiritual sense. We take them up in the arms of our prayer. I hope
many of us, so soon as our children saw the light, if not before, presented
them to God with this anxious prayer, that they might sooner die than live
to disgrace their father's God. We only desired children that we might i n
them live over again another life of service to God; and when we looked
into their young faces, we never asked wealth for them, nor fame, nor
anything else, but that they might be dear unto God, and that their names
might be written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We did then bring our
children to Christ as far as we could do it, by presenting them before God,
by earnest prayer on their behalf. And have we ceased to bring them to
Christ? Nay, I hope we seldom bow the knee without praying for our
children. Our daily cry is, "O, that they might live before thee!" God knows
that nothing would give us more joy than to see evidence of their
conversion; our souls would almost leap out of our bodies with joy, if we
should but know that they were the children of the living God. Nor has this
privilege been denied to us, for there are some here who can rejoice in a
converted household. Truly we can say with the apostle Paul, "I have no
greater joy than this, that my children walk in the truth." We continue,
therefore, to bring them to Christ by daily, constant, earnest prayer on
their behalf. So soon as they become of years capable of understanding the
things of God, we endeavour to bring them to Christ by teaching them the
truth. Hence our Sabbath-schools, hence the use of the Bible and family
prayer, and catechizing at home. Any person who shall forbid us to pray
for our children, will incur Christ's high displeasure; and any who shall
say, "Do no t teach your children; they will be converted in God's own time
if it be his purpose, therefore leave them to run wild in the streets," will
certainly both "sin against the child" and the Lord Jesus. We might as well
say, "If that piece of ground is to grow a harvest, it will do so if it be
God's good pleasure; therefore leave it, and let the weeds spring up and
cover it; do not endeavour for a moment to kill the weeds, or to sow the
good seed." Why, such reasoning as this would be not only cruel to our
children, but grievously displeasing to Christ. Parents! I do hope you are
all endeavouring to bring your children to Christ by teaching them the
things of God. Let them not be strangers to the plan of salvation. N ever
let it be said that a child of yours reached years in which his conscience
could act, and he could judge between good and evil, without knowing the
doctrine of the atonement, without understanding the great substitutionary
work of Christ. Set before your child life and death, hell and heaven,
judgment and mercy, his own sin, and Christ's most precious blood; and as
you set these before him, labour with him, persuade him, as the apostle did
his congregation, with tears and weeping, to turn unto the Lord; and your
prayers and supplications shall be heard so that the Spirit of God shall
bring them to Jesus. How much more like the Scripture will such labours
be than if you were to sing the following very pretty verse which disfigures
Roundell Palmer's "Book of Praise!"--
"Though thy conception was in sin,
A sacred bathing thou hast had;
And though thy birth unclean has been,
A blameless babe thou now art made.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear, sweet baby, sleep."
I cannot tell you how much I owe to the solemn words of my good
mother. It was the custom on Sunday evenings, while we were yet little
children, for her to stay at home with us, and then we sat round the
table and read verse by verse, an d she explained the Scripture to us.
After that was done, then came the time of pleading; there was a little
piece of "Alleyn's Alarm," or of Baxter's "Call to the Unconverted,"
and this was read with pointed observations made to each of us as we
sat round the table; and the question was asked how long it would be
before we would think about our state, how long before we would seek
the Lord. Then came a mother's prayer, and some of the words of a
mother's prayer we shall never forget, even when our hair is grey. I
remember on one occasion her praying thus: "Now, Lord, if my
children go on in their sins, it will not be from ignorance that they
perish, and my soul must bear a swift witness against them at the day
of judgment if they lay not hold of Christ." That thought of a mother's
bearing swift witness against me, pierced my conscience and stirred
my heart. This pleading with them for God and with God for them is
the true way to bring children to Christ. Sunday-school teachers! you
have a high and noble work, press forward in it. In our schools you do
not try to bring children to the baptistry for regeneration, you point
them away from ceremonies; if I know the teachers of this school
aright, I know you are trying to bring your classes to Christ. Let Christ
be the sum and substance of your teaching in the school. Young men
and young women, in your classes lift up Christ, lift him up on high;
and if anybody shall say to you, "Why do you thus talk to the
children?" you can say, "Because my soul yearns towards them, and I
pant for their conversion;" and if any should afterwards object, you can
remember that Jesus is greatly displeased with them, and not with you,
for you only obey the injunction, "Feed my lambs."
The case in our text is that of children, but objectors rise up who
disapprove of endeavours to bring any sort of people to Christ by faith
and prayer. There are some who spend their nights in the streets
seeking after the poor harlot, and I have heard many harsh
observations made about their work; some will say it is ridiculous to
expect that any of those who have spent their days in debauchery
should be converted. We are told that the most of those who are taken
into the refuges go back and become as depraved as ever; I believe that
to be a very sad and solemn truth; but I believe, if I or anyone else
shall urge that or anything else as a reason why my brethren should
not seek the harlot, that Jesus would be greatly displeased; for any man
who stands between a soul-seeker and the divine object of getting a
blessing for the sinner's soul, excites the wrath of Christ. Some have
hopes of our convicts and criminals; but every now and then there is
an outcry against those who even believe it possible for a transport or a
ticket-of-leave man to be converted. But Jesus is greatly displeased
with any who shall say about the work, "It is too hard; it is
impossible." My brethren in Christ, labour for souls of all sorts: for
your children and for those who are past the threescore years and ten.
Seek out the drunkard; go after the thief; despise not the poor down-
trodden slave; let every race, let every colour, let every age, let every
profession, let every nation, be the object of your soul's prayers. You
live in this world, I hope, to bring souls to Jesus; you are Christ's
magnets with which through his Holy Spirit he will attract hearts of
steel; you are his heralds, you are to invite wanderers to come to the
banquet; you are his messengers, you are to compel them to come in
that his house may be filled; and if the devil tells you will not succeed,
and if the world tells you that you are too feeble and have not talent
enough, never mind, Jesus would be greatly displeased with you if you
should take any heed to them; and meanwhile he is greatly displeased
with your adversaries for endeavouring to stop you. Beloved, this is
why Jesus Christ was greatly displeased.
A second ground of displeasure must be noticed. These children, it
strikes me, and I think there is good reason for the belief, themselves
desired to come to Christ to obtain a blessing. They are called "little
children," which term does not necessarily involve their being infants
of six months or a year; indeed, it is clear, as I will show in a moment,
that they were not such little children as to be unconscious babes. They
were "infants," according to our version of Luke, but then you know
the English word "infant" includes a considerable range of age, for
every person in his minority is legally considered to be an infant,
though he may be able to talk to any amount. We do not, however,
desire to translate the text with so great a license. There is no necessity
in the language used that these should have been anything but what
they are said to be--"little children." It is evident they could walk,
because in Luke it is said, "Jesus called them;" the gender of the Greek
pronoun used there refers it to the children, not to the persons, nor to
the disciples. Jesus called them, he called the children, which he
would hardly have done if they could not comprehend his call: and he
said, "Suffer the little children to come," which implies that they could
come, and doubtless they did come, with cheerful faces, expecting to
get the blessing. These perhaps may have been some of those very
children, who, a short time after, pulled down branches from the trees
and strewed them in the way, and cried, "Hosanna," when the Saviour
said, "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained
strength." Now Christ was greatly displeased with his disciples for
pushing back these boys and girls. They did, as some old folks do now-
a-days, who cry out--"Stand back, you boys and girls! we do not want
you here; we do not want children to fill up the place; we only want
grown-up people." They pushed them back; they thought that Christ
would have too much to do, if he attended to the juveniles. Here comes
out this principle, that we must expect Christ's displeasure, if we
attempt to keep anybody back from coming to Christ, even though it be
the youngest child. You ask how persons can come to Christ now?
They cannot come corporeally, but they can come by simple prayer and
humble faith. Faith is the way to Jesus, baptism is not. When Jesus
says, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden," he did
not mean, "be baptized," did he? No; and so when he said, "Suffer the
little children to come unto me," he did not mean, "Baptize them," did
he? Coming to Jesus Christ is quite a different thing from coming to a
font. Coming to Christ means laying hold upon Christ with the hand
of faith; looking to him for my life, my pardon, my salvation, my
everything. If there be a poor little child here who is saying in her
little heart, or his little heart, "I would like to come to Christ, O that
I might be pardoned while I am yet a little one"--come, little lamb; come,
and welcome. Did I hear your cry? Was it this?
"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to thee."
Dear little one, Jesus will not despise your lispings, nor will his
servant keep you back. Jesus calls you, come and receive his blessing.
If any of you say a word to keep the young heart back, Jesus will be
displeased with you. Now I am afraid some do that; those, for instance,
who think that the gospel is not for little children. Many of my
brethren, I am sorry to say, preach in such a way that there is no hope
of children ever getting any good by their preaching. I cannot glory in
learning or eloquence, but in this one thing I may rejoice, that there is
always a number of happy children here, who are quite as attentive as
any of my audience. I do love to think that the gospel is suitable to
little children. There are boys and girls in many of our Sabbath-school
classes down below stairs who are as truly converted to God as any of
us. Nay, and if you were to speak with them about the things of God,
though you should get to the knotty points of election and
predestination, you would find those boys and girls well taught in the
things of the kingdom: they know free will from free grace, and you
cannot puzzle them when you come to talk about the work of Jesus and
the work of the Spirit, for they can discern between things which
differ. But a minister who preaches as though he never wanted to
bring children to Christ, and shoots right over the little one's heads, I
do think Jesus is displeased with him.
Then there are others who doubt whether children ever will be
converted. They do not look upon it as a thing likely to happen, and
whenever they hear of a believing child, they hold up their hands at
the prodigy, and say, "What a wonder of grace!" It ought to be, and in
those Churches where the gospel is simply preached, it is as common a
thing for children to be converted as for grown-up people to be brought
to Christ. Others begin to doubt the truth of juvenile conversions. They
say, "They are very young, can they understand the gospel. Is it not
merely an infantile emotion, a mere profession?" My brethren, you
have no more right to suspect the sincerity of the young, than to
mistrust the grey-headed; you ought to receive them with the same
open-breasted confidence with which you receive others when they
profess to have found the Saviour. Do, I pray you, whenever you see
the faintest desire in your children, go down on your knees, as your
servant does, when the fire is almost out, and blow the spark with your
own breath--seek by prayer to fan that spark to a flame. Do not despise
any godly remark the child may make. Do not puff the child up on
account of the goodness of the remark, lest you make him vain and so
injure him, but do encourage him; let his first little prayers be noticed
by you; though you may not like to teach him a form of prayer--I shall
not care if you do not--yet teach him what prayer is; tell him to express
his desires in his own words, and when he does so, join ye in it and
plead with God on his behalf, that your little one may speedily find
true peace in a Saviour's blood. You must not, unless you would
displease my Master, keep back the smallest child that longs to come
to Christ.
Here let us observe that the principle is of general application, you
must not hinder any awakened soul from seeking the Saviour. O my
brethren and sisters, I hope we have such a love for souls, such an
instinct within us to desire to see the travail of Christ's soul, that
instead of putting stumbling-blocks in the way, we would do the best
we could to gather out the stones. On Sabbath days I have laboured to
clear up the doubts and fears which afflict coming sinners; I have
entreated God the Holy Spirit to enable me so to speak, that those
things which hindered you from coming to the Saviour might be
removed; but how sad must be the case of those who delight
themselves in putting stumbling-blocks in men's way. The doctrine of
election for instance, a great and glorious truth, full of comfort to
God's people; how often is that made to frighten sinners from Jesus!
There is a way of preaching that with a drawn sword, and say, "You
must not come unless you know you are one of God's elect." That is
not the way to preach the doctrine. The true way of preaching it is,
"God has a chosen people, and I hope you are one of them; come, lay
hold on Jesus, put your trust in him." Then there be others who preach
up frames and feelings as a preparation for Christ. They do in effect
say, "Unless you have felt so much depression of spirit, or experienced
a certain quantity of brokenness of heart, you must not come to
Christ," instead of declaring, that whosoever will is permitted to come,
and that the true way of coming to Christ is not with a qualification of
frames and feeling and mental depressions, but just as you are. Oh! it
is my soul's delight to preach a gospel which has an open door to it, to
preach a mercy-seat which has no veil before it; the veil is rent in
twain, and now the biggest sinner out of hell who desires to come, is
welcome. You who are eighty years of age, and have hated Christ all
the time, if now the Spirit of God makes you willing to come, Christ
seems to say, "Suffer the grey- headed to come unto me, and forbid
them not:" while to you little children, he stretches out his arms in the
same manner, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." O my
beloved, see to it that your heart longs to come to Christ, and not to
ceremonies! I stand here this day to cry, "Come ye to the cross, not to
the font." When I forget to lift up the Lord Jesus, and to cast down the
forms of man's devising, "let my right hand forget her cunning," and
"let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth"--
None but Jesus, none but Jesus,
Can do helpless sinners good;"
The font is a mockery and an imposition if it be put before Christ. If
you have baptism after you have come to Christ, well and good, but to
point you to it either as being Christ, or as being inevitably connected
with Christ, or as being the place to find Christ, is nothing better than
t o go back to the beggarly elements of the old Romish harlot, instead
of standing in the "liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free," and
bidding the sinner to come as a sinner to Christ Jesus, and to Christ
Jesus alone.
III. In the third and last place, let us also gather from our text, that
WHEN WE DISCOURAGE ANY, WE ALWAYS GO UPON WRONG GROUNDS. Here was the case
of children. I suppose that the grounds upon which the apostles kept back
the children would be one of these--either t hat the children could not
receive a blessing, or else that they could not receive it worthily.
Did they imagine that these little children could not receive the
blessing? Perhaps so, for they thought them too young. Now, brethren,
that was a wrong ground to go upon, for these children could receive
the blessing and they did receive it, for Jesus took them in his arms
and blessed them. If I keep back a child from coming to Christ on the
ground that he is too young, I do it in the face of facts ; because there
have been children brought to Christ at an extremely early period. You
who are acquainted with Janeway's "Tokens for Children," have
noticed very many beautiful instance of early conversion. Our dear
friend, Mrs. Rogers, in that book of hers, "The Folded Lamb," gave a
very sweet picture of a little son of hers, soon folded in the Saviour's
bosom above, who, as early as two or three years of age, rejoiced and
knew the Saviour. I do not doubt at all, I cannot doubt it, because one
has seen such cases, that children of two or three years of age may
have precocity of knowledge, and of grace; a forwardness which in
almost every case has betokened early death, but which has been
perfectly marvellous to those who have talked with them. The fact is
that we do not all at the same age arrive at that degree of mental
stature which is necessary for understanding the things of God.
Children have been reported as reading Latin, Greek, and other
languages, at five or six years of age. I do not know that such early
scholarship is any great blessing, it is better not to reach that point so
soon; but some children are all that their minds ever will be at three or
four, and then they go home to heaven; and so long as the mind has
been brought up to such a condition that it is capable of understanding,
it is also capable of faith, if the Holy Spirit shall implant it. To suppose
that he ever did give faith to an unconscious babe is ridiculous; that
there can be any faith in a child that knows nothing whatever I must
always take ground to doubt, for "How shall they believe without a
preacher?" And yet they are brought up to make a profession in their
long-clothes, when they have never heard a sermon in their lives. But
those dear children to whom I have before referred, have understood
the preacher, have understood the truth, have rejoiced in the truth, and
their first young lispings have been as full of grace as those glorious
expressions of aged saints in their triumphant departures. Children are
capable, then, of receiving the grace of God. Do mark by the way, that
all those champions who have come out against me so valiantly, have
made a mistake; they have said that we deny that little infants may be
regenerated; we do not deny that God can regenerate them if he
pleases; we do not know anything about what may or may not happen
to unconscious babes; but we did say that little children were not
regenerated by their godparents telling lies at a font--we did say that,
and we say it again, that little children are not regenerated, nor made
members of Christ, nor children of God, nor inheritors of the kingdom
of heaven, by solemn mockery, in which godfathers and godmother s
promise to do for them what they cannot do for themselves, much less
for their children. That is the point; and if they will please to meet it,
we will answer them again, but till such time as that, we shall
probably let them talk on till God give s them grace to know better.
The other ground upon which the apostles put back the children would
be, that although the children might receive the blessing, they might
not be able to receive it worthily. The Lord Jesus in effect assures
them t hat so far from the way in which a little child enters into the
kingdom of heaven being exceptional, it is the rule; and the very way
in which a child enters the kingdom, is the way in which everybody
must enter it. How does a child enter the kingdom of heaven? Why, its
faith is very simple; it does not understand mysteries and
controversies, but it believes what it is told upon the authority of God's
Word, and it comes to God's Word without previous prejudice. It has
its natural sinfulness, but grace overcomes it, and the child receives
the Word as it finds it. You will notice in boyish and girlish
conversions, a peculiar simplicity of belief: they believe just what
Christ says, exactly what he says. If they pray, they believe Christ will
hear them: if they talk about Jesus, it is as of a person near at hand.
They do not, as we do, get into the making of these things into
mysteries and shadows, but little children have a realizing power.
Then they have great rejoicing. The most cheerful Christians we have
are young believers; and the most cheerful old Christians are those
who were converted when they were young. Why, see the joy of a child
that finds a Saviour! "Mother," he says, "I have sought Jesus Christ,
and I have trusted him, and I am saved." He does not say, "I hope,"
and "I trust," but "I am;" and then he is ready to leap for joy because
he is saved. Of the many boys and girls whom we have received into
Church-fellowship, I can say of them all, they have all gladdened my
heart, and I have never received any with greater confidence than I
have these: this I have noticed about them, they have greater joy and
rejoicing than any others; and I take it, it is because they do not ask so
many questions as others do, but take Jesus Christ's word as they find
it, and believe in it. Well now, just the very way in which a child
receives Christ, is the way in which you must receive Christ if you
would be saved. You who know so much that you know too much; you
who have big brains; you who are always thinking, and have tendency
to criticism, and perhaps to scepticism, you must come and receive the
gospel as a little child. You will never get a hold of my Lord and
Master while you are wearing that quizzing cap; no, you must take it
off, and by the power of the Holy Spirit you must come trusting Jesus,
simply trusting him, for this is the right way to receive the kingdom.
But here, let me say, the principle which holds good in little children
holds good in all other cases as well. Take for instance the case of very
great sinners, men who have been gross offenders against the laws of
their country. Some would say they cannot be saved; they can be for
some of them have been. Others would say they never receive the truth
as it is in Jesus in the right manner; ay, but they do. How do great
sinners receive Christ? There are some here who have been reclaimed
from drunkenness, and I know not what. My brethren, how did you
receive Christ? Why in this way. You said, "All unholy, all unclean, I
am nothing else but sin; but if I am saved, it will be grace, grace,
grace." Why, when you and I stood up, black, and foul, and filthy, and
yet dared to believe in Christ, we said, "If we are saved, we shall be
prodigies of divine mercy, and we will sing of his love for ever." Well
but, my dear friends, you must all receive Jesus Christ in that very
way. That which would raise an objection to the salvation of the big
sinner is thrown back upon you, for Christ might well say, "Except ye
receive these things as the chief of sinners, ye cannot enter the
kingdom." I will prove my point by the instance of the apostle Paul. He
has been held by some to be an exception to the rule, but Paul did not
think so, for he says that God in him showed forth all longsuffering for
a pattern to them that believe, and made him as it were a type of all
conversions; so that instead of being an exception his was to be the
rule. You see what I am driving at. The case of the children looks
exceptional, but it is not; it has, on the contrary, all the features about
it which must be found in every true conversion. It is of such that the
kingdom of heaven is composed, and if we are not such we cannot
enter it. Let this induce all of us who love the Lord, to pray for the
conversion both of children and of all sorts of men. Let our
compassion expand, let us shut out none from the plea of our heart; in
prayer and in faith let us bring all who come under our range, hoping
and believing that some of them will be found in the election of grace,
that some of them will be washed in the Saviour's blood, and that some
of them will shine as stars in the firmament of God for ever. Let us, on
no consideration, believe that the salvation of any man or child is
beyond the range of possibility, for the Lord saveth whom he wills. Let
no difficulties which seem to surround the case hinder our efforts; let
us, on the contrary, push with greater eagerness forward, believing
that where there seems to be some special difficulty, there will be
manifested, as in the children's case, some special privilege. O labour
for souls , my dear friends! I beseech you live to win souls. This is the
best rampart against error, a rampart built of living stones--converted
men and women. This is the way to push back the advances of Popery,
by imploring the Lord to work conversions. I do not think that mere
controversial preaching will do much, though it must be used; it is
grace-work we want; it is bringing you to Christ, it is getting you to
lay hold of him--it is this which shall put the devil to a nonplus and
expand t he kingdom of Christ. O that my God would bring some of
you to Jesus! If he is displeased with those who would keep you back,
then see how willing he is to receive you. Is there in your soul any
desire towards him? Come and welcome, sinner, come. Do you feel
now that you must have Christ or die? Come and have him, he is to be
had for the asking. Has the Lord taught you your need of Jesus? Ye
thirsty ones, come and drink; ye hungry ones, come and eat. Yea, this
is the proclamation of the gospel to-day, "The Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." I do
trust there may be encouragement in this to some of you. I pray my
Master make you feel it. If he be angry with those who keep you back,
then he must be willing to receive you, glad to receive you; and if you
come to him he will in nowise cast you out. May the Lord add his
blessing on these words for Jesus' sake. Amen.
This File Provided by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board (BBB)
internet: www.biblebb.com
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