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4 ©he ©hristunt J. C. McMICHAEL,: : Proprietor. SON-HOOD. Much has been said lately about the fatherhood of God. Father suggests, necessarily, the relation of child. By creation all men are the chil dren of God. So are all animate and inanimate objects, because all were created by Him. There is a peculiar sense, however, in which the expression “sons of God” and “children of God,” are used in the Bible that does not in clude all men, much less all created beings. Hero is a text, found in I John, 8:2, in which one of these phrases is used in a peculiar and restricted sense: “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” A careful study of the character of the person addressed in this letter of John will show who are included in the word “we.” Who are the sons of God? It is evident that the sonship here spoken of does not exist because of creation merely. If it did, then a horse ora cow or a goat might be called a son of God with as much propriety as a man, because all owe their being to His creative power. Nor docs it come merely from gen eration or natural birth. Because my natural father was a man, it does not follow from that that I am a son of God in the sense in which the expression is used in the text. To become a son of God one must not only be born, but “must be born again.” He must not only be gen erated, he must also be regenerated. He must not only Me born of a man, he must also be born of God. lie must not only be a natural son, but also a spiritual son. He must not only be a partaker of human nature, but a partaker of the divine nature also. Here are the proofs : John, 1:11-13: He came unto his own and his own received him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave lie power (right or privilege) to become the sons of God, to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, (that is by natural descent) nor of the will of the flesh, (that is, not according to the w ill of a natural father), nor of the will of man, (no man can be his own father, either natural or spirit al), but of God. Ist Peter, 1:23: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which live th and abidet h forever. James, 1:18': Os His own will begat He us, by the word of His truth. Bom., 8:14: For as many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. These Scripture proofs show- that we are begotten of God, the Holy Spirit being the efficient agent, the Word of God, the “incorruptible seed,” being the efficient means. In this way we become the sons, or the children, of God, spiritually, and are thus made “partakers of the divine nature.” 2. Growing out of this change, and the new relationship, are certain privileges, some of which are en joyed in this, others in the future life. u 1. We have God as our Father. Rom. 1;15. We have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba—Father. Born of God, we are His sons, and because we are his sons, “God has sent forth the Spirit of His son into our hearts, crying Abba—Fath er.” Gal. 4:7. He is our Father, not simply because He is our Creator, but because we have been begotten of Him, and are, therefore, His spir itual children and have been adopted into His family, and it is for these two reasons that we have the double right to say “Father.” Regeneration makes us children by spiritual birth. This is a real change, imparting the divine nature. Adoption is a legal or relative change, which confers upon the child adopted the rights and privileges of real children without conferring the na ture of the father. Both ideas seemed to be embraced ho that the favors of gra g and the rights of law may all center in a son of God. To be a son of God, then, in this true and spiritual sense, one must not only owe his existence to the creative power of God, but Jie must be begotten of God, by the agency of the Holy spirit and the Word of God, the incorruptible seed, before he can truly cry, “Abba, Father.” In that case only is he “an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. 2. We are members of God’s fam- ily. We pride ourselves upon our family connections. The honor of an honorable ancestry is reflected upon us. How careful we are to preserve our pedigree, to trace back our origin, and to show our re lationship to some great warrior, some renowned statesman, to some rich lord, or it may be to some kingly ruler. No matter- how direct the descent, or how honorable the an cestry, all human blood is tainted. All along the line, if all the facts of history were known, there w'ould crop out the marks of dishonor. But he w-ho is born of God, who is a true spiritual child of God, may well glory in his ancestry. There is none greater, none richer, none purer, none more honorable. There is no taint of blood or cause for shame, in such an origin. How sweet is family intercourse and communion of kindred 1 In proportion as hearts are pure and ruled by love the intercourse is sweeter and the communion more desirable. Who constitute God’s family ? God, the Father, Jesus, the Elder Brother, the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, angels who have kept their first estate, the little ones, who have not known right from wrong, who, dying without actual transgressions, are saved through the merits of Christ’s atonement, just men made perfect, and the saints yet to be gathered from earth. Love is the riding principle, holi ness, the characteristic of every heart, happiness, the inmate of every breast. Think of membership in such a family—of enternal communion with such a company! THE COLOR LINE. The New York Independent loses no opportunity of berating the unfortu nate Southbccause of its persistence in mantaining what it calls the“color line in religion.”We to dare protest against the commingling of the races in the same church congregation and in other public assemblies. The New York editor affects to believe this is very unchristian. One would sup pose that everything was lovely in this regard up in his latitude. But, alas ! The truth is that we are all made of a common humanity, and the “color line” is as distinctly drawn in the North as in the South, when ever there is in the North any con siderable colored population. There are not a hundred among its thou sands of churches where a mixed membership is tolerated. Here and there a few colored members may be found in white churches, but it is only where there is not enough of the colored element to form separate churches. A few facts will illustrate our point. In Camden, New Jersey, a correspondent writes of the unsatis factory condition of the “three colored churches struggling against each other where one would find it diffi cult to exist;” and yet in the very next sentence he boasts, “we have no color line here.” Why do not the white churches of that city kindly take these warring brethren in black into their membership, and afford the world the example of a “Christian brotherhood who knows no difference in the color of the skin?’’ Pshaw, the correspondent knows that the doors of his own church would be shut against them. Writing of the Northern Methodist General Conference recently in session in Omaha, a correspondent laments that “no w hite homes in the city were open to welcome the colored dele gates to hospitality.” They wore ac tually compelled to find lodging in fourth-class hotels or in the houses of their own color! Shameful, wasn’t it? Compelled to lodge among their own color! Even in New York city, under the very eye, (and nose, too,) of the In dependent, the colored people must find church privileges in organiza tions of their own color. The white churches would not tolerate their presence. We really question whether the phylactried pharisee, who writes the Independant homi lies concerning “southern barbarism” would long sit by side in the same pew- with one of the odorous brethren from the black contingent iof his city! But our eye falls on a most striking exhibition of “race pre judice” up north. The B. Y. P. U. A. the latest alphabetical organiza j tion among our northern brethren, is ’ about to hold its annual convention i in Detroit, and the Young People’s Union has been confronted with the unkind interrogatory from some sa ble brethren as to their rights in the coming conclave of Baptist youth. See how- dexterously the editor straddles the fence: We shall hope to hear soon that THE CHRISTIAN INDEX: THURSDAY, JULY 14. 1892. the colored Baptist associations and state conventions of the country have associational and state unions of their young people after the man ner of the white churches. We have been asked if delegates representing the work in the colored churches would be entitled to seats in the De troit Convention. The answer is simple. Our fundamental doctrine is to urge Baptist young people to work “through existing denomina tional organizations.” Hence, we must urge the colored young people to stand by their own churches and form their official relations in such a way as to honor the existing order among the Baptist organizations of the co untry, which favors the prose cution of the work of the denomina tion under the two general divisions of white and colored churches, white and colored associations, conventions, etc. All of which being interpreted means that doors will be closed when the Baptists of African descent march into Detroit. Seriously, is it not about time that these hypocritical tirades against the South’s heaping up the color line, should cease? The Pharisaic editors who write them probably laugh in their sleeves at the supposed gullibility of their rea ders. AN INCIDENTAL BENEFIT. We hope and we blieve that the observance of “the Centennial Mis sion Year” will be crowned with the monetary results which we have pro posed to ourselves. But if it does this, it ought to and it will do more. By the methods of concerted action which it renders necessary, it may help us to see and inspire us to rec tify the defect in denominational working, which a distinguished Eng lish Baptist pointed out ■when he said that, as a people, we “have not yet learned battalion drill.” It may open our eyes, and open our hearts, too, to many varieties of plans which would enable us to combine our efforts, and mass our forces, and de vise and execute general campaigns more effectually than we have ever done; and to do this without detri ment to the independency of the churches and the proper individual ism of every believer. It may make us better workers together through the years to come. In other words, it is an important exercise in the needful “battalion drill.” It may give us clearer conceptions of what our strength really is, and of what greater strength must ripen from it. It may thus prepare us to accept more fully the great principle that Baptists ought to do their own work, by their own men, and in their own way, being careful that the way and the men and the work are in every deed the Lord’s—His first, and theirs because they are His. Its voice in our cars may bo the Caleb voice: “Let us go up at once and possess the land, for we are well able to overcome it.” At any rate, wo may reasonably seek this inci dental benefit from the present move ment, and wrestle in prayer with God for it. “Many Shall Come From the Sun-rising and From the Sun setting” to recline at food with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.. Jesus said it, and so it shall be. They will fly in flocks, as doves to their cotes. It will be a great mul titude that no man can number. Benton’s statue in St. Louis repre sent* him standing and pointing to the west, saying, “there’s the east.” From Sinim and India, in the east, and from Europe and America in the west, millions redeemed from death shall feast with the blest. “Ask and It Shall Be Given to You.”—lt is our nature to give when we are asked. The constant appeal of our child wo cannot re fuse to hear. Even a great judge must heed the importunate cry of a poor widow. And God, who made us susceptible to the entreaties of others, will Himself hearken to our cries. Every one that asks receives. The poorest beggar with an untrue cry, will grow rich from asking; and the child of God need not be poor, if he will only ask. “Then was Fulfilled.”—lt may have had its lesser fulfillment else where, but here it was “filled to the full.” The prophecies have in Jesus their entire and complete fulfilling. The whole line of prophecy was a testimony or witness for Him. And beyond Him they cannot go. We do not now “look for another.” “Lord, I Will Follow Thee.”— If it will bring me an honored home, provide me a good seat in high places and allow me to walk in gol den slippers. But if you are to be homeless, houseless and despised of men, let me go the other way. Thus speaks many a life. ROMISH POLICY. Last July, Pope Leo XIII rejected the proposition that Roman Catholic emigrants to the United States from different European nationalities should have bishops of their former nationality to preside over them. This year he has decided that “parochial schools” may be given up for “public schools,” in cases M’here children of Romish parentage may be gathered into a school with teach ers of whom the ecclesiastical au thorities approve, and who are em powered to impart religious instruc tion to these children only, and only after the hours of study prescribed by law. Both these decisions look in the same direction. They are meant to enforce the principle, avowed in a recent letter by one of the Cardinals speaking for the Vat ican, that emigrants to this country holding that faith must coalesce with our citizens as one people and form with us one nation. A sound prin ciple surely. On the one hand, as the Pope cannot fail to see, the isola tion of the emigrants would circum scribe their influence, and make them less potent factors in social life, in business affairs, and in relig ious propagandism. But on the other, as the Pope may see less clearly, the breaking down of the barriers of the old language and the old customs lays them more open to the leaven of other views than those they were born and bred to, and measurably puts at hazard their loyalty to the “1 loly See.” Whether the educational compromise on the question of parochial or public schools is one which tax-payers gen erally, and Protestants in especial, can properly accept is a different matter, and, to say the least, admits of debate ; but we will not enter on it here. Perhaps the Pope, without honoring it, is doing more to Ameri canize Romanism than to Romanize America. It is not impossible for an “infallible” mortal to be infallibly wrong in policy. ALL OF GRACE. ft was God who, of His own pleas ure, appointed the cities of refuge; Moses had not asked for them, (Ex. 21:12; Numb. 35:6). And when Canaan had been subdued, it was not Joshua who bethought himself to set these cities apart; it was God Himself renewing His own order and enforcing it, (Josh, ph : 2). So, without assuring or believing that there was any typical relation be tween the tw’O, we may say that from first to last, God only made provision for the one great Refuge from the avenger of blood—Christ, the Lamb. As we learn from the margin of the Revised Version— Eph. 1: 4-s—may be rendered: “He chose us in Him”—in Christ—before the foundation of the world, that we should bo holy and without blemish before Him, having in love”—love going before and drawing all else after it—“foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto Him, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace.” FARMERS. Bishop Berkeley said that “the characters of philosopher and of farmer are not so inconsistent in na ture as by custom they seem to be.” He said also that “it is doubtful w hether one can carry on his studies with more advantage in the closet than in the field, where his mind is seldom idle, while he prunes the trees, or follows the plough, or looks after the flock.” Georgia Baptists, at least, will confess that there is no slight measure of truth in this view, when they recall the fact that the denomination reached its foremost rank in the State, largely through the labors of farmer preachers. These fathers were Christian philos ophers, if no more; they knew that Christ, as the author of grace and the administrator of providence, stands to all human things (if we may borrow a homely figure) in the relation of “an engine stationed on a mountain top to draw up trains from below ;” and they knew how to “set his glories forth” in such way as to «‘draw reluctant hearts” to him and to save souls. Thank God, our race of farmer preachers is not extinct yet! Will it ever be ? Wo think not. “Tell Everything I Say.”—We sometimes say that, but we would not have all that we say repeated. Who alone of men except the Lord Jesus could say such words. Never uttered he a word he would be un willing to have reuttered. “What I say to you in the darkness speak in the light. What you have heard in the ear proclaim on the house-top. AS TO OUR THEOLOGY. In the case of any living thing, as of a tree, there is no true “conserva tism” in attempting to prevent its normal growth, and no true “pro gress” in cutting away its roots with the dream that it will live the more securely and grow the more rapidly. This is an allegory; its interpreta tion respects the treatment of cer tain “burning questions” in theology. It has a lesson, on the one hand, for certain divines who hold that the citadel of sacred truth is under mined if an elaborate human creed is subjected to revision; and, on the other, for certain divines who prac tically ask us to modify and reject Christ’s judgment as to the Old Tes tament, and to accept in lieu of it what are called “the results of mod ern scholarship,” by what calls itself “the higher criticism.” The Northern Presbyterian church did not have a remarkable growth the past year. The statistics pre sented at the Portland meeting show the number of ministers to be 6,266, an increase of 43. They report 7,075 churches, an increase of 6; the number of persons admitted on ex amination is 56,301, a falling off of 3,249; the whole number of commu nicants is 816,457, an increase of 9,631. Their missionary contribu tions show up well. For homo mis sions they gave $996,934, an increase of $309; foreign missions show an increase of $28,217, the total being $812,622. These financial figures show that the Northern Presbyte rians, who are about equal numeri cally to the Northern Baptists, gave neany twice as much for missions. The 161,000 Southern Presbyterians gave more for foreign missions last year than the 1,250,000 white Bap tists of the South! The country .was made sad last week at the war between combined capitol and organized labor at Home stead, Pa. The management of the Carnegie Steel works, had scaled the wages of the workmen and notified them if they did not accept the scal ed price, by July Ist, their places would be supplied with other men. The Company tried to get Pinker ton detectives on the premises, and the workmen resolved to resist them and the result was a war be tween them, which resulted in four workmen being killed and three of the detectives and several wounded. 'Hie fighting continued much of one day, and resulted in the detectives being driven back. This conflict is only an introduction, we fear, of oth ers more dreadful to follow’. . Brethren sending us reports of meetings and news items, will please not wait till such matters get stale before they write. If you do, no no tice of them will appear in the In dex. We have just received the report of an Associational General Meeting held August 14, 1891. This is news, nearly a year old. The brother who wrote it, covered nearly five pages of foolscap paper. New s a year old will not find a place in our col umns. Brethren, the Index must be fresh and entertaining and in structive. Please note these feat, ures. The Texas Baptist Standard well remarks that there “are too many men in the world looking for soft places. There are no soft places where a man can accomplish much. All the fields where there is large usefulness are hard fields. A man that has a position that is easy to fill doesn’t do much at anything. The man who would serve God and serve him right must be content to fill the hard places. Leave the soft places for the soft men.” “Sheet’s Clothing.” —lt is largely true with many that even in religion, “the tailor makes the man.” Many Christians judge their teach ers, not by what they are within, but by the clothes they wear. If the clothes look like sheep's clothes, for them that is enough. If the teach er's voice be like that of a lamb, that will suffice for them, though at heart he lie a dragon. There are very many now’ who are clothed aright, but within are ravening wolves. “As Serpents.”—The child of God should not be as a serpent, ex cept in his wisdom. Wisdom is that which chooses the best thing to be done and the best way and means of doing it. It is no difficult thing for some Christians to begin the doing of the worst thing to be done, or to choose the very worst ways of doing even a good thing. Great is the need of wisdom and few ask enough of Him who gives to all men liberal- Iv and unbraideth not. “As Sheep.”—You are not sent out as wolves to rend and tear, nor as jackals to unearth and devour the dead, nor as foxes to take by stealth the treasures of the farm. You are sent “as sheep,” without rending teeth and tearing claws. The sheep endures, complains not and does no injury. So you should be. You are not Goliaths, nor Joabs, nor Herod*, but should be as Peter, James and John. “Do Not Judge,” for the judge ship is Christ’s. He is the master to whom we are to stand or falL If you are censorious, men will be so toward you. The kind of judgment you visit upon others will be the kind that shall be visited upon you. “As I have done, so has God. requited me.” Haman was hung on Mor decai’s gallows. “As Doves.”—The dove must live and, therefore, feeds as man does upon the product of the field. But it is a harmless bird. No talons or rending beaks are its. Made for beauty, for cooing softness, gentle ness and love, it does no hurt. Be ye harmless as doves. Work injury to none, by tongue or pen, by hand or heel. Don’t Disfigure Your Face to let men see how holy you are. Be yourself and let the hypocrisy go. Religion, if it be Christianity, is not a religion of masks. Don’t put on piety, but put it in the heart and life, and it will speak out for itself in the face. Mrs. Browning wrote, “whoever fears God fears to sit at ease.” God says, “woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” Here we have a good text and good poetry. There is no room in this busy age of work for Christ for idlers in the vineyard. The commission as given in Math ew’ says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”—Texas Baptist Standard. Not in our Bible. GENERAL. Rev. J. F. Purser, D. D., Troy, Ala., is the way to address him now. Texas has a new paper called the Baptist Index, by Anderson and Price. Dr. W. R. L. Smith, of Nashville, has proffered to give ten days ser vice to state mission work at needed points. Rev. S. M. Richardson, at the campaign meeting in Florence, S. C., publicly rebuked Governor Tillman for his profanity. Rev. W. J. Millard graduated re cently at Wake Forest College, has been called to the pastorate of Rocky Mount Church, N. C. Rev. S. C. Clopton, of Richmond, has accepted the call to Parker Me morial church, Anniston, Ala., and will get to work August, Ist. President Harper, having obtained the additional million of dollars he sought to raise a short time since, now wants a half million more. Rev. Geo. E. Truett has resigned the pastorate of his church at Ports mouth and accepted the pastorate of College Hill Church, Lynchburg, Va. Rev. Gilbert Frederick, D. D., writes to friends in Chicago that the railroad from Joppa is completed to within 20 miles from Jerusalem, and that within two months the iron horse w ill have entered the city. The management of the A. & M. College at Auburn, Ala., have de cided to admit women for instruction and thus adds another institution to the list practicing co-education of the sexes. Dr. F. R. Boston, has resigned the pastorate of the Central Baptist church, at Memphis. The pastors of the city in conference passed com plimentary resolutions of him and regrets at parting with him. Rev. E. Pendleton Jones, who has been pastor of Duffy Street Church, Savannah, has been appointed a mis sionary to Brazil, by the board. He is a son of Dr. J. William Jones, as sistant secretary of the Home Board. Rev. W. C. Luther, of Corsicana, Texas, has been elected correspond ing secretary of the Sunday School and Colportage Convention of Tex as. He' may or may not accept the place. He and his family are now visiting relatives in Dalton Geor gia. The Central Baptist says: Dr. J B. Hawthorne will supply the pulpit of the First Baptist church, Rich mond, during the absence of the pas tor. During the seven years that Dr. Cooper has been pastor of this •church the contributions have been $145,000. Rev. S. E. Jones has accepted the call to the pastorate of the Third Church at Knoxville, Tenn. He was popular and did a good w’ork at Murfreesboro. He is one of the con tributors to the Index, and will give us something soon from Knoxville, Rev. J. B. Cranfill, editor of the Texas Baptist Standard, wrns nomi nated for the Vice-Presidency on the National Prohibition ticket. But recently he became the editor of a re ligious paper and now he is looking wistfully at the presiding officers seat in the United States Senate. The Western Recorder quotes Rev. H. C. Woods, D. D. as saying that the seminaries at Newton, Up land, Rochester, Hamilton and Chi cago teach that alien immersion is valid. That list includes all the Baptist Seminaries in the North. The Southern Baptist Thelogical Seminary stands alone in its opposi tion to alien immersion. Colgate University has conferred the D. D. on Rev. James A. Spur geon, brother of the great Charles. By-the-way we see one of the nu merous “Lives of Spurgeon” con stantly calls him “Dr.” Spurgeon, a title never conferred on him, because all colleges felt that he was too great to be known otherwise than Charles 11. Spurgeon. Dr. Dargan’s removal to the semi nary is a great loss to S. C. as well as his church. Rev B. W. Key who for zeal, ability and consecration has taken a prominent place among the ministers of S. C. becomes pastor at Society Hill. His place at Willis ton will be filled by Galphin of Piedmont. Stringincy in financial matters has thrown the State Mis sion Board behind somewhat. It did the most work and reaped the best results of its history, last year. Rev. W. D. Herring, one of our missionaries in China has resigned. The Foreign Mission Journal, gives as the cause of his resignation that he came from China and asked to appear before the Board. The Board heard him and he submitted a plan of work, which the Board could not endorse, and in consequence he re signed. His plan was that a number of missionaries were to be enlisted who should go into the interior of China, live in Chinese style, as to houses, clothing, etc., and by con stant itineration, preach the gospel far and wide. No chapels or schools were to be erected and established and no native helpers of any kind employed. These missionaries were to be directly supported by individ ual churches or groups of churches entirely dependent of the Board, which should have nothing to do with the money—unless to forward it to the missionary “without cost”—• and have no control over or direc tion of the missionaries. To support the plan suggested, the Board felt it must assist in the inauguration of a work, which in its ultimate results would be to disintegrate the work of the Southern Baptist Convention, and open the way for the destruction of all organized work by our denom ination, by doing away •with all boards and remanding all missionary work to individual churches, dealing directly with the individual mission ary. Dr. A. T. Pierson recently preach ed his farewell sermon to several housand people in Spurgeon’s Met ropolitan Tabernacle. Rev. D. L, Moody, writes us from London, June 21st: Our countryman, Dr. Arthur D. Pierson, has made a remarkable im pression on this side of the more than fulfilling Mr. Spurgeon’s anticipations. Dr. Pentecost has al so been more than well received on ■ his return from India by the congre gation of the late Dr. Donald Fraser and by the large audiences to whom he has spoken of his experiences in India. On the other hand, we in the United States have been greatly helped by brethren from Great Brit ain, the visits of Rev. John McNeill, Rev. F. B. Meyer, and the Rev. John Smith of. Edinburgh last year will be long remembered. I have pleasure in letting my friends know that I have prevailed on Mr. Meyer to pay another visit to Northfield, lie expects to sail on the last of Ju ly arriving about August 6th, in time to take part in the closing days of the Convention and will continue until the 24th August to give Daily Bible readings, after the greater meetings have closed. I hope this may induce many to prolong their stay. Mr. Meyer is becoming well known to large numbers of readers in America, through Jiis Expository and Devotional works which are ob taining a large circulation there, m / well as here.