14 CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION. be envied, nor his downfall excite one feeling of satis faction. The Christian is ever to pray for those who are unfriendly to his interests-to return good for evil. He is to be unceasingly active in the service of his Lord, no matter what sacrifices and duties that service may involve. He is to let his light shine, in an uninterrupted series of virtuous actions, that they who witness the beneficial results, which flow from a practical compliance with the moral precepts of the gospel, may learn to admire the wisdom, and bless the goodness of its divine Author. Now there are emotions of the mind, suddenly excited, which often lead, or rather, drive many into the church, without reflection, and without the knowledge essential to the strict performance of christian duty. It may be an emotion of fear arising from the simple perception of one attribute of Jehovah-his impartial justice; and the consequent certainty that the impenitent will be banished forever from his presence. Or it may be a feeling of admiration, excited by another of the divine perfections; the infinite love displayed for a ruined world. When, at the mere impulse of one of these emotions, an individual unites with the church, he cannot be said to act understandingly; for he knows not the weight of duty that will rest upon him. Let me not be misunderstood. These emotions are of eminent advantage, in as far as they induce the sinner to investigate the claims of the Creator, to human obedience; as well as the nature and extent of his requirements. But no one can be consistently led by these alone to profess an attachment to the cause of the Redeemer, inasmuch as this attachment to be firm and THE PRACTICE DEFENDED. 15 unwavering, must be based on a previous acquaintance with the doctrines and moral precepts of the gospel. It may be well to remark here, that the knowledge we deem requisite, is the knowledge of fundamental principles, or first truths. We only contend for an acquaintance with the essential doctrines and moral precepts of the gospel; and we contend for this, because man, as a voluntary agent, cannot yield to the influence of these precepts and doctrines, before he knows. them. Nothing can be more self-evident. Besides, this knowledge is easily attained. And hence, there is not the shadow of an excuse for those who receive persons into full communion with the church, as long as they are ignorant of the doctrines and moral requirements of Christianity, and have never made the will and character of the Creator, subjects of inquiry and meditation. Such persons in applying for church membership are actuated by an impulse, or emotion, with which the judgment has nothing to do. When, on the other hand, the sinner discovers, after a prayerful investigation of the claims of the Creator on his obedience and love, that these claims are well established and just, his decision to submit to God (if decision follows) is the result of reflection. He has weighed all the circumstances of the case. He not only believes the doctrines of the gospel to be true, but finds himself solemnly obligated to obey its moral precepts; not merely as the means of promoting his own happiness, but chiefly, because they are the commands of an infinitely wise and holy Being. He decides as a voluntary agent ought to decide-not at the impulse of a 16 CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION. sudden emotion of admiration or fear-but after he has acquired a knowledge of the essential doctrines and precepts of that gospel, which is to constitute the standard of his actions through life, while it administers to his soul, in its promises, the hope of everlasting joy in heaven. Sanctified by the spirit of Truth, this knowledge becomes, in his case, "the power of God unto salvation." He engages in the service of a master whose requirements are familiar to his mind. He has counted the cost, and acts understandingly when he announces his allegiance to the cause of heaven. There are two other points of view, in which this subject is of the highest interest. 1. The injury sustained by the church, in the admission of members, who are unenlightened in regard to Christian doctrine and duty. 2. The important benefits secured to the church, by every accession of those, who have a "zeal according to knowledge." I am aware of the objection, often urged against the system of preparatory instruction, as it exists in the Lutheran church. It is said, that, under its operation, persons are admitted into church-fellowship, after having committed to memory the words of the Catechism, before the truths of the gospel have exercised their saving influence over the heart. But this objection cannot be sustained. For every candid inquirer will, at once, perceive, that a course of catechetical lectures will no sooner lead to this result, than the system of bible class instruction, so eminently useful wherever it has been adopted. The one is but a modification of the other. It is the object of both systems to impress upon the minds THE PRACTICE DEFENDED. 17 of the young, the momentous truths of divine revela tion. I do not deny that some ministers have received persons into full communion with the church, after a systematic course of religious instruction, without requiring the evidences of genuine piety. And I know that wherever this plan has been pursued, the result has been lamentable in the extreme. Formality in religion, and the habitual neglect and violation of duty, must inevitably attend this policy. For whoever is not imbued with the spirit of the gospel, must necessarily be as dead as the letter itself. I have seen members of the church who have arrived at the age of thirty or forty years, and have never partaken of the Lord's supper since the day of their confirmation, fifteen or twenty years ago. For fifteen or twenty years, ever since they united with the church, they have lived in the constant neglect of duty. Such individuals are destitute of all evangelical zeal. They perform no act, which, by the disinterestedness of its motive, impels others to exertion in the sacred cause of Christ. Every thing they do, is done in the cold, calculating spirit of selfishness. They are prayerless, and unconcerned about the salvation of others. And were the conversion of the world to depend upon their efforts, it would never take place. But if there are members of this character in the church, it may be in consequence of ministerial negligence, or of self-deception. It cannot be the result of a plain statement of gospel truth, when the mind is prayerfully directed to its contemplation. We shall have occasion to advert hereafter, to the important advantages that flow to the church, from the faithful performance of this part of ministerial duty. *2 18 CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION. It is indeed a matter of deep regret, that, in any instance, a mere theoretical acquaintance with the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, has been considered a sufficient ground of admission into church communion. But there is an evil, of equal, if not greater magnitude, in a church, composed of members, whose attention has perhaps been suddenly arrested by listening to a single discourse, and who, on the very first indication of any thing like zeal for the service of God, or anxiety for their individual happiness, have been hurried into church-fellowship—their minds unenlightened, save by the solitary gleam of knowledge, to which they owed their first impressions. There is a spirit of proselytism abroad, which cannot be too severely censured, when it introduces into the church, the certain means of its corruption. And it is to be feared that there are ministers of the gospel, who are less solicitous to swell the ranks of true believers, than to increase the strength and influence of party. Make the sinner acquainted with the fundamental principles of inspired truth; the humility he must exercise, the sorrow he must feel for past offences, the sacrifice he must make of this world's pleasures, perhaps of friendship; tell him of the important duties he will be required to perform as a "follower of the Lamb;" and if he shrink not from the trial then; if with an intimate knowledge of the prominent features of the gospel system, he is still willing to embrace it; if pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest, try their influence over him, in vain, there will be some reason for the belief, that his wishes are sincere, and his purposes firm. The injury sustained by the church, in the admission |