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The Christian Index. Vol. 57 —No 32. Table of Contents. Fibst Page—Alabama Department: The i Church Equipped for Usefulness- How to : Develop.its Gins; Confidence, The Religious I Press, etc. Second Page—Correspondence. The Bible in ' the Teachers’ Study—How to Prepare the Lesson—Rev HDD Straton; Paul the Wealthy—H R Bernard; Extracts from an Address to the Ladies’ Missionary Society of Quitman; Pen-Droppings—-H L V; J Items from Southern Georgia—Three Preachers and their Churches—B. Thibd Pa«b—Every Reform and Every Evil' has had its leader—D L Duffey; Bethel Church; Sunday-school Lesson. I Fovbth Page—Editorials: Wholesome Food, i with a Spiritual Application; A Real Out- i rage; Two Men at Dinner; Two Listners; , Hasty Words; Let us have p-ace; Europe- I an Missions; Georgia Baptist News. Fifth Page—Secular Editorials: News para graphs; Legislative Summary; Schools and ! Colleges; Foreign Items; All Sorts; Georgia News, etc. Sixth Page—Obituaries, etc. Seventh Page—Farmers’ Index : Theory and Practice in Farming; Curious Calcula tions; Crop Report for July. Eighth Page—Florida Department: Weekly News and Laconics; Central Association. Alabama Department. —l UY SAMUEL HENDERSON. THE CHURCH EQUIPPED FOR USEFULNESS—HOW TO DE VELOP ITS GIFTS. Much depends upon the definition j of terms in our investigations of truth, j Indeed, they involve the real strength of every argument. The old received definition of achurch, that it is a “com pany of believers bound together to maintain the worship of God,” has come to be a mere ideal, a platitude good as far as it goes, lacking both in breadth and in that terse, practical as pect of the subject, which constitutes the true New Testament idea. Per haps it would be arrogance in any man to assume to give an exhaustive definition of so divine an idea as a church of the living God. With a modesty becoming so grave a subject, we submit the following as approxima ting more nearly the conception of the term as detailed in the Living Oracles: 1 A company of believers united in the ; fryth of the gospel, embracing All the elements essential to its own perpetui- j ty, officers and members, in active co operation, carrying out the whole will of God, so that if every other church on earth were blotted out, Christ would have a thoroughly organized kingdom. This seems to us to come nearer to the idea as suggested by such passages as the following: Eph. 4 : 15-16. “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up in him in all things, who is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Perhaps the New Testament does not contain a more lucid, comprehensive definition of a church thoroughly equipped for all the will of God than this. The following article we wrote sev-! eral years ago, and it bears directly upon the topic announced above, we make no apology tor offering it here, as a part of the entertainment for our department this week ; for the subject is one that will always interest the thoughtful Christian: “If we could imagine a person sud denly converted to Christianity who had never witnessed any of the forms of our present religious service, and I who had no directory as to how these | services should be directed but the wri- I tings of the Apostles and the habits of the primitive churches as detailed in the Acts of the Apostles, the question may well be raised, What portion of our present forms of worship would be retained? What modifications would such an enquirer make in our present manner of public worship? The ob jects of divine worship are to glorify God, and edify, or build up, the body of Christ. Hence the exhortation, “let all things be done to edifying.” “Seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the Church.” But how can we glorify God otherwise than as He has himself prescribed in his word? How can we know what will please him except by what he has said? The moment we leave the inspired volume in search of the will of God in respect to our duty to him, wo are at sea without compass or rudder. It is impossible for us to know what is acceptable to God only as he has himself revealed it. And then how can we better edify one an other than in the manner and by the means which the Holy Ghost teacheth? Now let us dive-t ourselves of all prej udices, and predilections, and look at this matter, so far as we can, as an original question—as if we had never investigated it before —“Whatsaith the Scripture? How readest thou?” In the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians the Apostle has given us a full descrip tion of the elements of a prosjierous working church. The reader will SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. of Alabama.- I please pause at this point, and read that chapter. Now, the bestowal of all these spirit | ual gifts was “to profit withal”—that ! as the members of a natural body are ! all proportioned to each other and di versified so as to minister service and succor to one another, so should we exercise ourselves one toward another jsoas to make up the mystical body of Christ. As each member of ■ the natural body has its distinct i function to fulfill, so each member of I the spiritual body has his mission to fulfill. Some have wisdom, as the men | of Issachar, “who had understanding of j the times to know what Israel ought to ■ do.” These are to direct as to objects i and measures. They are the eyes of i the church. Others are endowed with knowledge, that is, with a profound, and intimate acquaintance with the sacred writings. These are to instruct others in the way of the Lord more perfectly, as Aquilla and Priscilla did Apollos. They are, so to speak, the mouth of the church. Others are en dowed with faith, and by these the Apostle appears to mean those who possess extraordinary courage and con fidence in God by which they are ca pacitated to do and to suffer with in vincible firmness and resolution what ever may be laid upon them. The other gifts enumerated are miraculous gifts, and incident to that day. The above appear to be the permanent gifts of the churches'—to wit: Wisdom, know edge and faith. In a parallel passage in Rom. 12 :8- 8, the Apostle enumerates the follow ing gifts: Prophecy, the ministry, teachers, and exhorters. Leaving out prophecy as restricted to that age, we have here three methods of edifying the church by the permanent gifts be stowed upon her. The terms minister and ministry (deacon and deaconship) are used in the New Testament both in general and specific sense. They aie used to indicate all classes of church offices. In a specific sense they are used to indicate the office of deacon, an office to which was committed all the temporalties of the church—especially the care of the poor. But the Apostle seems in this connection to apply the term (diakonianj to thv stated minis try Os the word-1® bfflhop's o/ pas tor’s office—such were to be diligent in preaching, and not discouraged or dis heartened by dangers. The term teach er appears to refer to the office of evan gelist, or missionary, whose business it was to extend his labors over a much larger territory than could be occupied by the settled pastor. Such were to be diligent in imparting instruction to the ignorant, the novitiates, those who had but recently been converted from heathenism, and who needed informa tion on the first principles of the doc trines of the gospel. Timothy was one of these—an evangelist. These trav eling preachers seem to have been in tended to supply destitute churches with ihe gospel, “confirming the souls of the disciples,” as did the Apostles, as well as to extend the gospel to new places. The exhorter differed from the teacher in this, that the teacher ad dressed the understanding of his hear ers, giving instruction in the doctrines of Christianity, especially in its funda mental principles; while the exhorter addressed the heart, the affections, per suading them to abstain from sin and to practice the duties of their profess ion, and encouraged, contorted, and strengthened the feeble-minded and sorrowing. If we are correct in these views (and we are certainly sustained in them by many of our best critics and commen tators) then there are some practical reflections which arise from the sub ject, to which we invite the serious at tention of the churches. 1. That in every church truly plant ed by our Lord Jesus Christ, we may expect to find such gifts as, if properly brought out, will thoroughly equip it for every work to which it is called. The organism of a church of Jesus Christ must, in its very nature, be so complete in itself, as to be able to car ry out all the objects of its structure even if it were the only church on earth. It must be as perfect in its kind as is the human body. And it is the duty, the solemn duty, of every church to develop its gifts— to look out from j among themselves those men who, by their piety and intelligence, possess the qualifications to edify their brethren. We well remember a time when almost every church had its exhorters—men who by their fervid zeal and acknowl edged piety, were well nigh as useful as were the pastors and evangelists of the churches. Why has this gift dis appeared from among us? Let this question be seriously pondered. 2. Official positions or great talents are not essential to great usefulness. He who acts well his part, no matter how humble his sphere, fills the post of real honor. No man ever increased his usefulness by going out of his sphere. Many good exhorters have been injured by ordination, and many good evangelists have little or no ca- Atlanta, Georgia, Thursday, August 21, 1879. pacity for the pastorate. The cultiva tion of the talent which God has given to each is the best way to promote the good of the whole. 3. The extremes to be guarded against by the membership of the churches are, the self-conceit and am bition incident to office and the pos session of the highest gifts, and the discontent and envy peculiar to those of inferior station and gifts. The one is as offensive to God and as destruct ive of the peace and prosperity of churches as the other. For while the pride of position destroys the spiritual ity and usefulness of the one, envy paralyzes the energies of the other. God has bestowed all these gifts upon the church, “That there should be no schism in the body ; but that the mem bers should have the same care one for another. 4. Meetings for mutual edification and instruction, in which each mem ber should feel it his duty and privi lege to participate, would greatly tend to develop the gifts and graces of the membership. This was unquestiona bly a common practice among the primitive churches; and our older mem bers can well remember the time when they were resorted to with great profit by our churches. These spiritual con ferences were common among saints under the Jewish dispensation, for it is said of them, that “they that feared God spake often one to another, and a book of remembrance was written be fore him, even of them that thought upon his name.” No reason can be given why such meetings should not now be held, unless it be the present low standard of piety among us. We would earnestly exhort our brethren to revive this primitive practice, and thereby “strengthen the things that remain that are ready to perish.” The absence of the pastor, or the being des titute of a pastor, is no reason why our churches should suspend the worship of God. Let them meet at their re spective places of worship, and “ad monish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,”—let them exhort one another to love and to good works, —let them “not forsake the as sembling of themselves together as the manner of onnu Is.” The ir? the chapter we have been considering (12th of 1 Cor.) speaks of “helps" or helpers, by which he evidently means those who can speak to the edification of the church, who by their superior endowments, are fitted to assist the pas tors and teachers in their works, and I so help the faith and joy of others. In a word, let every gift of the church be developed so as to answer that sublime description of an efficient, working body, in Ephe. 4 : 15-16 : “But speak ing the truth in love, may grow up in to him in all things, which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compac ted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh in crease of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” The strength of every body is in its joints, and the strength of every church is in its gifts ; and when these are fully brought out and exer- [ cised, then the body grows both in the increase of its graces and in the increase i of its numbers. Thus equipped for usefulness, the church is prepared to hear the command from her Head, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” CONFIDENCE. “Confidence, my Lord, is a plant of very slow growth,” said the elder Chat ham in the House of Lords once, when twitted by the opposite party. With out pausing to bring out the historical facts that gave rise to the expression, we propose accepting it as one of those happy phrases which genius occasion ally coins with which to enrich our language, and as embodying a pro found truth. This thing you call con fidence, is the result of a hundred things, more or less, the absence of either of which materially affects it. It is like a vast, complicated piece of machinery, with its wheels and springs and shafts, etc., the breaking of any one of which stops the whole. Or, like the accretions of an oak in the forest, it is the growth of many long years of observation and intercourse. You can no more demand it as a right, than the invalid cun demand the health and strength of an athlete. It must come unbidden if it comes at all. Its high est form is conciliated by those stern qualities and amiabilities which are co eval with the dawn of intellect and moral consciousness, and which intervening years hove only served to mature. It is a spontaneous tribute which virture always commands, with the same in variable certainty with which water flows down a declivity. There are characters in this world whom we can no more cease to respect, and honor, and love, than we can cease to be charmed by the beautiful in nature. There is a surface expression of con fidence, we sometimes witness, that is gel' rally in the inverse ratio to the terras employed to avow it. The pover ty < f the feeling is made up by the Historic of its utterances. But in this case, nobody is deceived. It is nothing more than the hollow artifice of fash ionable parlance; for, the dupe of such an artifice has only to ask the dealer in ‘his bombast for, say the loan of some money, and he will soon provoke that distrust that lurks beneath all thdfie honied phrases. He will soon find the difference between words and acts. For, however men may dissem ble in speech, they are apt to act out their real convictions. The truth is, the. vernacular of ingenious confidence is as meague as its acts are numerous, wliile that which would dissemble its reality is princely in its averments, but in its acts it simply—o. From all which, we deduce the two fold lesson : Ist. If you desire the con fidence of your fellow-men, deserve it. 2d. If you do not cherish this confi dence in another, do not express it. O, if there could be some vital connection established between the heart and the tongue, so that the language of the one would express only the deeper con victions of the other, what a reforma tion it would effect in our social gather ings! How it would eliminate our speech of the shams and cants of bold hypocricy! The Religious Press. —The most earnest work of the Chris tian may well be done after he has passed the summit of life. His time of life is a call to greater diligence, and to more hearty and consecrated endeavor. His zeal may well be kindled to a brighter flame by the con sciousness that the time is snort. He will press with more vigor along the mark as he neai’s the goal. These last days ought to bo the best for zeal, for power, for unmeasured love, for faithfulness. The sermon, then, is from a dying man to dying men, and each day is one of the golden opportunities of which but few remain. “I must work the Wirkof Him that sent me while it is day.” last hours of the harvest day are the bus fest ones. The belated traveler hurries over last miles. The victory must be achiev v'f? th# battle-field before the sun goes ... birnever sarfier life there has been loitering and trifling the serious age calls us to energy, activity and to vigilance, and to dow..rigiit earnestness in the work of God, — Christian Advocate. ■ —Three items from the New York Observer: The character of Lord Byron, the poet, is not a subject of any great interest to the world that now is, but truth always is. We all remember the great scandal that Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe set on foot by her pretended discovery of a shocking and in credible story, which she served up to the disgust and horror of society in a book that professed to give the cause for the separation of Lord and Lady Byron. Letters have now come to light which show that the story was altogther false, the invention of a lunatic, or somebody won-e. Mrs. Stowe was imposed upon and was made the medium of poisoning the public mind with what is now pronounc ed, without the shadow of doubt, to be “one of the blackest charges ever recorded by one human being against another.” Jesse H. Drake, a prominent citizsn of Nash county, N. C., who died on the Bth inst., requested that his will should be read on the day of his death. In accordance with this death bed request the will was opened, and it was found that he had kft his entire fortune, estimated at from SIO,OOO to $30,000, to three of his former slaves, Calvin Drake, Aaron Drake, Judah Drake, for their lives, with reversal to their children. His will was written on the 29th of March, 1877. He leaves all his estate, real and personal, to them, and says: “They have been my faith ful slaves and remained with me since their freedom, nursing and caring for me in my old age, and I desire them to share my grat itude.” A few weeks since a Roman Catholic priest at Chicago publicly announced that he had left the Romish church to join the Episcopal. Now he comes out with the fol lowing card: “The sympathy expressed on all sides by my old friends is so true and heartfelt that I find myself unable to resist. I retract what I have said against the Church of Rome, and I am resolved to return to the church that opens its arms to receive an erring child. Theophilus Vandemoortel.” It is to be hoped that his new friends will not express such sympathy for him that he will feel compelled to oscillate back again to the Episcopal church. Such conversions do not amount to anything. —Mr. Spurgeon has a kind of wit which is, sometimes, as sharp as an arrow. He says that everyone is willing to find an excuse for staying away from a prayer-meeting. Brother A., for instance, thought it looked like rain and concluded to remain at home. On Thursday evening, however, though it was pouring, he hired a carriage and took his whole family to the Academy to hear M. Agassiz delivers lecture on the “Intelli gence of the Lolmter.” It is always easy to find a eason for not doing what you don’t waul to do. Confess nowyou have found it so yourself, haven’t you? — Ex. The Central Baptist, (St. Louis), says: A ( hristian who can go to his ledge one night a month and remain till mid-night, but whose heal h never allows him to go to the evening prayer-meeting, is indifferent His church ought to apologize to him for retaining him so lor g. The man who never has money for misaii ns, or for religious work outside of hia own church, but who can keep himself in tobacco, pay his society dm a and go to the circus, is indifferent. The member THE CHRISTIAN HERALD, of Tennessee. who can talk in the Grange, or on business, or on politics, but has nothing to say in re ligious worship, is indifferent. The young members who are at all the picnics and par ties but seldom at the prayer-meeting, are indifferent. The indifferent member is al ways serving as little and sinning as much as the church will allow, seemingly without one serious reflection on the fearful results of his course. We need not money, nor intelligence, nor orthodoxy, nor numbers half so much as com pactness, consistency and consecration. We should say that, the persons above described are worse than indifferent; and we have multitudes of them in our churches. We shoutd do far better without them than with them. We have money, inteligence and numbers enough to do ten times what we do. We have orthodoxy enough to make us far better Christians than we are. If our pastors would turn their attention more to “compactness, consistency and consecration” rather than to mere in crease of numbers, we should be in vastly better condition. Our hive seems to be pretty well stocked with drones, and we seem to be all the time trying to get more, instead of turning out those we have. —A correspondent of The Biblical Recorder gives in the following expe rience : There is daily gaining ground among us a sentiment that is most pernicious and that W'll, unless checked, work incalculable mis chief, It is this : Cer ain parts of Scripture are more inspired and therefore more wor thy of reverence and following than other ' parts. Specially is this the case as regards' those portions which were written by the apostle Paul. I hear remarks somewhat like these not unfrequently ; “Paul wrote that, give me Christ’s own words ;” and only a few days ago I was met, as a refutati n of an otherwise unanswerable declaration, with this remark, “that is the teaching of Paul. Ido not care what Paul said; give me what Jesus says.” Our brethren can never be too often re minded that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and that ong part of it is just as authoritative as another. God forbid that we should ever think or speak except with utmost reverence of anything that our Lord Jesus Christ has said, but we must not for get that equal dignity attaches to any thing that the Holy Ghost has said, whether through Paul, or Peter, or James, or John, u- any of the inspired writers. The Bible is the word of God; the whole of it is from him, and we can make no distinction in its parts. Thus saith the Lord is sufficient wheth er it comes to us from the lips of our Saviour or from those of any other di vinely accredited messenger. —From The Religious Herald, a pa per published in Hartford, Conn., we take six nuggets all at once; here they are: It is the glory of our earth that he who formed it dwelt on it—of the air that he breathed it —of the sun that it shone on him —of the elements that they nourished him —of the sea that he walked on it—of the wa ters that they refreshed him—and of us men that he assumed our nature. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, ob jectively and subjectively. He is both s : ght and light. By being revealed unto and into us he becomes the light of life. In nature God is above us. In providence God is beyond us. In law God is against us. But in Christ God is with us, near us and before us. How gloriously full and valuable Is the merit of Christ 1 With this merit imputed to him, the vilest sinner that ever descend ed from Adam becomes as guiltless before the law as the angels. The question at issue between the ene mies and the friends ol Christ is whether the Christ of the four gospels is both divine and human. We accept the issue, and on it rest the divinity and success of our holy re ligion. If he was both God and man, then Christianity cannot be false; and if he was not, then it cannot be true. Oh, it is a great thing in religion to have a divine, imitable model after which to shape our lives ! Do not rely on Christ as a Mediator less, but copy him more closely as a model. That you may be justified before God without works, know nothing among men but Jesus crucified. And that you may illustrate and prove your faith by your works, know nothing eave Christ exempli fied. Knowing Christ in these two respects is religion that honors God and saves the soul. —All good citizens will be glad to know that our g vernment has taksn another de cided step towards the suppression of the iniquitous practice of polygamy among the Mormans of Utah. Secretary Evarts has addressed a circular fetter to our representa tives abroad directing them to discourage in every legal way the emigration of Mormons, especially of women, to the United States The bulk of these Mormon women come from Englaud, Wales, and Germany, and this government will insist upon the enforce ment of the provisions of treaties prohibit ing the inqiortation of criminals, and as this class of persons is brought here for purposes in violation of the statutes of the United States this government considers it has the right to protest. The district attorney of Utah has been instructed to carry into effect the act of congress prohibiting polygamy, which was contest d >y Mormon influence, but was decided constitutional by the su preme court at its last ression. The follow ers of this delusion will now be made to un derstand that there is such a crime as biga my. One party is now in prison for viola tion of the law and others will be dealt with likewise. The ex post facto feature of the law against polygamy among the Mor mons, The Index has always protested Whole No. 2382 against, but all legal measures which are intended to extinguish that great iniquity, The Index greatly favors. Whether the action ofSecretary Evarts will stand the test of strict legal scru tiny, may be a question. It is to be hoped, however, that it is strictly legal, and that it will have the desired effect. However great evils may be, they’ ought not to be combatted, except on the most rigid applications of law. Two wrongs do not make a right. As to the prac tibility of Secretary Evarts’ measures, we have our doubts. We take a few clippings at second hand from The Methodist, (N. Y.,) for whose taste and judgment we waive our own: When we find ourselves in trouble with no apparent way out of it, do we commonly give more time to worry over it or to pray about it? The worry can never make our path plainer, or our troubles the fess. Prayer may do both. There is a great deal of time lost in thinking over our burdens and per plexities, instead of talking them over with God.— Sunday-School Times. For every redeemed sinner is an original specimen of some new peculiarity of divine grace God, the temple builder, is adapting a d iscipline to every human being in his church. He fits ana polishes each one as a living stone for the exact place it is destined to occupy in the spiritual palace. And when all the stones are made ready, he will build them together, each into its destined place, and exhibit to men and angels a perfect unity at last.— Methodist Recorder. _ Our characteristics, the original trails that .distinguish us among our fellows, aie ex ' pected to stand out after conversion. The function of religion is thoroughly to mix itself up with them, and command them for its own ends. To manifest piety most grace fully, as well as most usefully, we must man ifest it naturally-. Home Christians are hardly ever at ease in attending to the ser vices of religion, just because they are not willing to be themselves. It is one of the gravest blunders to assume a religious style that does not suit our temperament. — Balti more Methodist. “Every one of us must give account for himself unto God;” but “none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” The responsibilities of character are utterly personal; yet the man who undertakes to keep his religion all to himself will sfieedily find that he has none to keep. In one sense, no one can share your religious life with you; in another sense, you can have no reli fiom life If you do not share it with others. ’or judgment we stand alone; for work, for prayer, for consolation, for growth, we stand related in a thousand ways to those who aie round about us.— Sunday Afternoon. Mr. Ira D. Sankey and his family have returned from Europe. Last Sabbath two weeks Mr. Sankey sat in the congregation in Mr. Spurgeon’s Tabernacle. He was recognized by the great preacher, who deputed a deacon to invite him to the platform. Then the preacher asked the evange list to sing for his people in the even ing. The tabernacle was crowded, and Mr. Sankey sang “Who is on the Lord’s side ?” Mr. Spurgeon announced the American evangelist’s intended depar ture, and when afterward the latter sang “Hold the Fort” the entire con gregation rose to their feet spontan eously and joined in the chorus so lus tily that Mr. Spurgeon remarked that the roof of his Tabernacle having withstood that volume of sound might be considered safe. The enthusiasm of the audience was so great that Mr. Spurgeon had the chorus sung over three times. That was the evangelist’s last song in Europe. Mr. Sankey has no definite plans for the future. The Queen of Madagascar has issued an important proclamation, a portion of which is as follows: “I thank God very much because the gospel of Jesus Christ has entered my land and my kingdom, to make wise my people, and to make them know God, that they may obtain everlasting life in the end. And on account of this protection which I have got from God, which I see is very good, then I rested my kingdom upon God.” Among other laws is one against making, selling or drinking native rum. Also, laws hav ing reference to churches and their orderly management, forbidding work on Sunday, and one against unjust weights of balances. Christian rulers would do well to imitate the queen in these things. Iceland, the region of intense natural cold, is full of religious warmth. The word of God is the text-book of the people. Every home has it Bible, not just as an ornament, not as a well-kept cherished marriage gift, nor because of some undefined superstitious feeling of reverence, but for daily use. In Ice land the Bible is constantly read. As a consequence, Iceland is without a theater or prison. There is no such office as sheriff. They own no cannon, and military drill is an unknown science. The colored Baptists of Alabama have for the last year sustained a the ological and normal school at Helma with 5 teachers and 250 students, with out incurring any debt, and have paid also SI,OOO on the debt on the ground and buildings.