The Christian index. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1892-current, October 22, 1896, Image 1

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ESTABLISHED WeChristianlndex t*u blithe 1 Kvery Thursday By BELL «fc VAN NEBB ▲ddrett Christian Index, Atlanta, tia Organ of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Subscription Prior: One copy, one year *3.00 One copy, tlx months l.Ot About Our Advertisers.— We propose hereafter to very carefully Investigate our advertisers. We shall exercise every care to allo* only reliable parties to use our col nmns. Obituaries.—One hundred words free of charge. For each extra word, one cent per word, oash with copy. To Correspondents—Do not use abbrevi ations; be extra careful in writing proper names; write with ink, on one side of paper. Do not write copy intended for the editor and business items on same sheet. Leave Oil personalities, condense. Business.—Write all names, and post offices distinctly. In ordering a change give the old as well as the new address. The date of label Indicates the time your subscription expires. If you do not wish it continued, or der It stopped a week before. We consider each subscriber permanent until be orders his paper discontinued. When you order It stopped pay up to date. Remittances by registered letter, money order, postal note. Repentance Must Go With Forgive ness. It is clear from the text which we have lately quoted that repent ance is bound up with the forgive ness of sins. In Acts v:3l we read that Jesus is “exalted to give repentance and forgiveness of sins.’’ These two blessings come from that sacred hand which once was nailed to the tree, but is now raised to glory. Re pentance and forgiveness are riv eted together by the eternal pur pose of God. What God hath joined together let no man put asunder. Repentance must go with re mission, and you will see that it is so if you think a little upon the matter. It cannot be that pardon of sin should be given to an impenitent sinner; this were to confirm him in his evil ways, and to teach him to think little of evil. If the Lord were to say, “You love sin, and live in it, and you are going on from bad to worse, but. all the same, I forgive you,” this were to proclaim a hor rible license for iniquity. The foundations of social order would be removed, and moral anarchy would follow. I cannot tell what innumerable mischiefs would cer tainly occur if you could divide repentance and forgiveness, and pass by the sin while the sinner remained as fond of it as over. In the very nature of things, if we believe in the holiness of God, it must be so, that if we continue in our sin, and will not repent of it, we cannot be forgiven, but must reap the consequences of our obstinacy. According to the infinite goodness of God, we are promised that if we will forsake our sins, confessing them, and will, by faith, accept the grace which is provided in Christ Je sus, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Rut. so long as God lives, there can be no promise of mercy to those who continue in their evil ways, and refuse to acknowledge their wrong-doing. Surely no rebel can expect the King to pardon his treason while he remains in open revolt. No one can be so foolish as to imagine that the Judge of all the earth will put away our sins if we refuse to put them away ourselves. Moreover, it must be so for the completeness of divine mercy. That mercy which could forgive the sin and yet let the sinner live in it would be scant and super ficial mercy. It would be un equal and deformed mercy, lame upon one of its feet, and withered as to one of its hands. Which, think you, is the greater privi lege, cleansing from the guilt of sin, or deliverance from the power of sin? I will not attempt to weigh in ,ae scales two mercies so surpassing. Neither of them could have come to us apart from the precious blood of Jesus. But it seems to me that to be deliv ered from the dominion of sin. to be made holy, to be made like to God, must be reckoned the greater of the two, if a compari son has to be drawn. To be for given is an immeasurable favor. We make this one of the first notes of our psalm of praise: “Who forgiveth all thine iniqui ties?”; but if we could be for given, and then could be permit ted to love sin, to riot in‘iniquity, and to wallow in lust, what would be the use of such a forgiveness? Might it not turn out to be a poisonous sweet, which would most effectually destroy us? To be washed, and yet to lie in the mire; to be pronounced clean, and yet to have the leprosy white on one’s brow, would be the veriest mockery of mercy. What is it to THE CHRISTIAN INDEX. SUBSCRIPTION, PieYeae. - .*2 00. I TO MINISTERS, 1.00.1 bring the man out of his sepul cher if yon leave him dead? Why lead him into the light if he is still blind? We thank God that he who forgives our iniquities also heals our diseases. He who washes us from the stains of the past also uplifts us from the foul ways of the present, and keeps us from falling in the future. We must joyfully accept both repent ance and remission; they cannot be separated. The covenant her itage is one and indivisible, and must not be parceled out. To di vide the work of grace would be to cut the living child in halves, and those who would permit this have no interest in it. I will ask yon who are seeking the Lord, whether you would be satisfied with one of these mer cies alone? Would it content you, my reader, if God would for give you your sin and then allow you to be as worldly and wicked as before? Oh, no: the quickened spirit is more afraid of sin itself than of the penal results of it. The cry of your heart is not, “Wlio shall deliver me from pun ishment?” but, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Who shall enable me to live above temptation, and to become holy, even as God is holy?” Since the unity of repentance with remis sion agrees with gracious desire, and since it is necessary for the completeness of salvation, and for holiness sake, rest you sure that it abides. Repentance and forgiveness are joined together in the experience of all believers. There never was a person yet who did unfeignedly repent of sin with believing re pentance who was not forgiven; and on the other hand, there never was a person forgiven who had not repented of his sin. Ido not hesitate to say that beneath the copes of heaven there never was, there is not, and there never will be, any case of sin being washed away, unless at the same time the heart was led to repent ance and faith in Christ. Hatred of sin and a sense of pardon come together into the soul, and abide together while we live. These two things act and react upon each other: the man who is forgiven, therefore repents; and the man ?vho repents is also most assuredly forgiven. Remember first, that f orgivene»:s leads to re pentance. As we sing in Hart’s words: " Law and terrors do but harden, All the while they work alone; But a sense of blood-bought pardon Soon dissolves a heart of stone.” When we are sure that we are forgiven, then we abhor iniquity; and I suppose that when faith grows into full assurance, so that we are certain beyond a doubt thatthebloodof Jesushas washed us whiter than snow, it is then that repentance reaches to its greatest height. Repentance grows as faith grows. Do not make any mistake about it; re pentance is not a thing of days and weeks, a temporary penance to be got over as fast as possible! No; it is the grace of a life-time, like faith itself. God’s little chil dren repent, and so do the young men and the fathers. Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith. All the while that we talk by faith and not by sight, the tear of repentance glitters in the eye of faith. That is not true re pentance which does not come of faith in Jesus, and that is not true faith in Jesus which is not tinc tured with repentance. Faith and repentance, like the Siamese twins, are vitally joined together. In proportion as we live in the forgiving love of Christ, in that proportion we repent; and in pro portion as we repent of sin and hate evil, we rejoice in the ful ness of the absolution which Je sus is exalted to bestow. You will never value pardon unless you feel repentance; and you will never taste the deepest draught of repentance until you know that you are pardoned. It may seem a strange thing, but so it is—the bitterness of repentance and ihe sweetness of pardon blend in the flavor of every gracious life, and make up an incomparable happi ness. These two covenant gifts are the mutual assurance of each other. If I know that I repent, I know that lam forgiven. How am I to know that I am forgiven except I know also that I am turned from my former sinful course? To be a believer is to be a penitent. Faith and repent ance are but two spokes in the same wheel, two handles of the same plough. Repentance has been well described as a heart broken for sin, and from sin; and it may equally well be spoken of as turning and returning. It is a change of mind of the most thor ough and radical sort, and it is attended with sorrow for the past, and a resolve of amendment in the future.—All of Grace —Spur- geon. For the Index. Echoes From the University ot Chi cago During the Summer Quarter. The convocation, which was held from the Ist to the 4th of July past, was of usual interest, as it marked the anniversary of the fifth year since President Harper was elected and the fourth year since the University opened its doors to students. One had to take a calm look again at the splendid buildings about him to bring one’s self to believe that so wonderful progress had been achieved in the space of five years. There were many distinguished mmi present on this occasion, both from Europe and remote sections of America. Most in terest naturally centered in Mr. Rockefeller, the honored founder of the University. In a pleasing address he stated that he consid ered the University of Chicago to be the best investment he had ever made. He expressed him self as surprised at the marvelous growth of the institution, and as gratified at the eminent judgment and wisdom of those who have so successfully directed matters. President Harper stated to the great assembly something of the needs of the school. The leading items were three million for a medical faculty, one million for a Imv department, and one-half mil lion for a suitable building in which to hold their convocations, etc. When one remembers that the University has already about fourteen million dollars, that President Harper on the same day during the convocation laid the corner stones of four large bi ological laboratories and dedicat ed the Haskel Oriental Museum, which cost SIOO,OOO, it is quite evident that the above figures are not fanciful and that these needs are soon to be met. The expan sion which the University had un dergone during the past year was a constant surprise to me. It is unquestionably rapidly becoming the strongest force in education on the American continent. If it were only a Methodist or Cath olic institution, in how glowing terms we Baptists would speak of it! Space will not permit me to mention all of the eminent teach ers and thinkers who gave in struction in the summer quarter, in addition to the large corps of regular professors of the Univer sity. George Adum Smith, of Scotland, gave eight superb lec tures on “Hebrew Poetry.” You feel, in listening to the rich dis course of Professor Smith, that fruitful centuries of culture lay back of it. Dr. J. Agar Beet* of England; Professor Bernard Moses, of the University of Cali fornia; Professor Rush Rhees, of Newton Center Theological Semi nary; Dr. W. 11. P. Faunce, of New* York; Professor Flugel, of Leland Stanford, and many others, proved exceedingly sug gestive and helpful in their vari ous fields of research. I must not fail to mention the gifted lectures of Professor E. E. Barnard, who is the discoverer of the fifth moon of Jupiter. He is now’ the director of the great Yerkes Observatory, belonging to the University of Chicago. Pro fessor Barnard is a Southern man, having been reared near Nash ville, Tenn. In describing the planets he gave an account of the fifth moon of Jupiter, but never once betrayed by word or hint that he had anything to do with its discovery. Is not that an in stance of humility? for that dis covery immortalizes his name. Professor Salsbury, who was a member of the Peary relief expe dition to the Polar regions, gave us an interesting account of that thrilling voyage. Dr. Breasted, who has been placed in charge of the department of Egyptology — the first to be established in this country—threw much light on the history of that ancient people by his intimate knowledge both of the land and language as a re sult of his long stay in Egypt in pushing his extensive researches. He explained quite fully by means of stereopticon views the new slab, which was found in the spring by his fellow-worker, Mr. Petrie, and which has the first definite mention on Egyptian monuments of the name of the Israelites. Dean Judson, in his inimitable style, so quiet in his humor and so helpful in his bal anced judgment and deep insight, delighted large audiences in dis cussing some phases of our his tory. Professor Small was tak ing his vacation, and so I was afraid we were not to hear him this year; but he was prevailed upon to give two addresses of great power. Every moment during your stay at the University can be richly filled in. It is fast becoming the rendezvous during the summer of those who crave intellectual as sociations. The most amazing thing to me when I returned was. how little the expenses were and yet how varied were the benefits. ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22. 1896. To speak of the Baptist churches, wth Myers and Henson; of the Dore gallery, which was on exhi bition; of the regular courses of study which followed, would take too long. Professor Wooten, of Mercer, was there; ask him about them. Though reminded of ihe man who, jn trying to s< 1! his house, carried a brick to show tjie char acter of the building, 1 venture to give a few sentences which I caught from various lectures in the University of Chicago. These are lifted wholly out of their con text, and hence not representa tive to any considerable extent. They are echoes, and nothing more: The infinite deliberativeness of civilization in appropriating a new truth. A Scotch preacher said he allowed just seventeen years for his congregation to take in a new idea.—A. TV. Small. I never consider a man utterly heretical who beliefs in a living God. 1 would rather reason with an atheist than one who holds to tht* deistical, mechanical no tions of the seventeenth century. —George T. Ladd. The idea of the Gospel is not that it saves worthless men, but that it makesmen worth saving.— A. W. Small. ' The real infidel is the man who, however orthodox he may be, accepts a theory of inspiration, or so limits the sympathies of God as to believe that he does not ally himself with man in doubt, and in unrest. —George Adam Smith. Wholeheartedness is the key note of the Psalms.—George Adam Smith. Ecclesiastical politics is about the worst sort of polities. -George T. Ladd. It is a deep-seated conviction with me that a man can be both rational and pious.—George T. Ladd. Divine justice. It may be that facts are not against God. It may be that our idea of justice is too narrow and petty. If we conceive of God as a distributor of happiness to merit, perfect di vine justice cannoi be maintain ed. If a parent simply weighs out happiness to the child, with out regard to the other members of the family, or that child’s de velopment-, etc., just. So of the judge. how limited is our of justice. God’s mind toward man is one of perfect harmony of ethical feeling, guided by reason and prompting the will.—George T. Ladd. The English people, both in England and America, are loyal to impersonal law embodied in the State, while the continent of Europe and Spanish-America are loyal to a person, such as king or emperor. Hence the frequent revolutions in these countries. — Bernard Moses. Dickens could print a pig so that you could hear him grunt, but he could not reveal to you the light in the human face. —H. P. Judson. What rational being could wish to have-all his prayers answered by God?—G. T. Ladd. But for General Clarke’s expe dition with his little band of Vir ginia troops into the Northwest country, it is altogether likely that the Ohio river would be the northern boundary of the United States. —Harry Pratt Judson. I know’ a minister that lived in the matter of provisions by faith; and his wife, by keeping boarders. P. S. Henson. Whether we like it or not, the facts seem to be that God deals with man as a solidarity. We live in the race, we are parts of the race. In this regard the old fashioned theology is confirmed bv modern science.—George T. Ladd. Providence. The great mass of mankind is a stagnant pool cov ered with scum. The Anglo- Saxon race is an exception. It has gone forth to conquer. Yet not an individual in that great inert mass of mankind, which seems so dead and cheap, is be yond the active providence of God and is bound up with our life. — George T. Ladd. Some men cannot lose their money without losing their souls. —J. Agar Beet. Science is like a deaf angel which was present at creation— it saw’ all that went on, but it could not hear the divine voice which said, “Let there be light.”— J. Agar Beet. Enough is known to believe that there will be more geniuses in the future.—Charles R. Hen derson. There is no man with blood, and bone and muscle enough to live two lives. If he is to live the spiritual life, the sensual life must die. —Dr. Crane. Death is a strange mystery that contains life. It is the only antidote to excessive conserva tism.—Dr. Crane. Reason is not a sort of mansard roof which you can put on top of a building with four stories al ready completed.—George T. Ladd. Ideals are like stars, we steer by them, not toward them. Don’t make idols of your ideals.—C. R. 1 leuderson. For the Index. Reminiscences of Georgia Baptists. BY S. G. HILLYER. No. 11. BRO. JOHN DEADLY DAGG. It was said, almost at the be ginning of these reminiscences, that they are not written merely to gra t ify the cu riosity ofou r read ers; but that they may hold in grateful remembrance the labors and the virtues of the fathers and the mothers of our denomination in Georgia. The study of their lives should inflame our zeal, ele vate our motives and guide our methods in the work of the Lord. With this high aim in view, I pro pose to devote this paper to the memory of Dr. J. L. Dagg. In a previous paper I made a brief mention of Dr. Dagg; but on account of the rich lesson of his life, he deserves a more ex tended notice. 1 was Dr. Dagg’s son-in-law, and was a professor in Mercer University for nine years while he was its President. Hence, I had a good opportunity to know him, and to learn much, from his own lips, of his early life. His father could not give him a liberal education. Perhaps two years would cover all the time that he attended school; and this was in his early boyhood. About the same time he lost both his parents and was left an orphan, with the care of a younger sister thrown upon his hands. Such was the dark cloud that gathered over his young life. Scant as was his opportunity at school, it was enough to awak en his desire for knowledge, and in some degree to teach him how to study. He, therefore, devoted his spare time to his text-books. In this way, by private study, he made such progress that at the early age of sixteen he was placed in charge of a school in the coun try, and was able to give his pa trons entire satisfaction. While; engaged in that school he availed himself of all his leis ure time to prosecute his own studies along the lines of a lib eral education, and thus he was continually adding to his acquisi tion of knowledge. This method of self-culture he faithfully fol lowed through the greater part of his public life. Dr. Dagg was converted on his fifteenth birthday, was baptized in 1812, and ordained to the work of the ministry a few years later. Then commenced his career as a preacher of the Gospel. It was not my privilege ever to hear him preach; for lie had ceased to preach before I knew him. But I know, from the testimony of others, that he was held in the highest esteem and admiration by those to whom he ministered as a preacher of extraordinary power and influence. It is worthy of notice that af ter he had devoted himself to the work of preaching the Gospel, Dr. Dagg did not cease to be a stu dent. Before his eyes failed him it was his custom, as he told me himself, to rise at 4 o’clock and study till the duties of the morn ing claimed his attention. Under such study, by the light of a lamp or a gas jet, no wonder his eyes failed him! While yet in the prime of his life he became un able to read or write. But fortu nately, his eldest daughter was qualified to be his reader and amanuensis. With her assist ance, he still prosecuted his re searches both in secular and sa cred learning. It was through such difficulties as these that Dr. Dagg reached his high position as a scholar and a theologian. Besides theology, he was well versed in Latin, Greek, and He brew. He was a profound math ematician, in all its branches. He was well informed in the natural sciences, and was a profound metaphysician and logician. But while thus devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, he was never forgetful of the higher claims of the ministry. Indeed, he made his studies subsidiary to his preparations for the pulpit and he devoted certain hours ev ery day, when not providen tially hindered, to pastoral visit ing. His church in Sansom street, Philadelphia, numbered about 1,000 members. It may have required a year to make his rounds; but his aim was to be come personally acquainted with every household. Hence his peo ple loved him. He was to his flock a visible “shepherd;” ami they delighted to hear his voice in their homes, however exalted 503 S. Prvor street. or however humble those homes might be. But it was in Sansom street that another affliction was added to his infirmities. If I remember rightly, it was when he was m the pulpit, preaching to his peo ple, that his voice suddenly sank to a whisper, and he was not able to finish his discourse. This was the result of an affection of the throat that had often troubled him. It became so severe at last that he was compelled to give up preaching. Just here, pause and contem plate the man. So lame that he could not walk without a crutch, so blind that he could neither read nor write, and at last, so broken in voice that he could not preach! And all these calamities came upon him while he was yet in the morning of his life! In this sad condition, did he go into retirement? By no means: his vast stores of knowledge were too valuable to be wasted in ob scurity. He was very soon called to take charge of a theological school at Haddington, near Phila delphia, where it was his privilege to train young men for the minis try. When this school collapsed for the want of funds, he became the President of the Female Atheneum in Tuscaloosa, Ala. There he labored with wonderful success for six years. He was then elected professor of theology in Mercer University, and in a year or two, was promoted to the Presidency, still retaining, how ever, his chair of theology. Here again he found the employment which he loved. This love for this kind of work may be illustrated by the follow ing incident: At one of our com mencements, Hon. Green Foster delivered a public address. In speaking of the University it was natural to allude to the presid ing officer. Dr. Dagg was sitting on the rostrum to the left of the speaker. At a certain point in his speech Colonel Foster pro posed to relate an anecdote. I cannot give it in his words, but in substance it was about this: A certain general had, for many years, served his king most faith fully in the field. He had won many victories over the king’s en emies, and had greatly extended his dominions. But, at last, this noble warrior w’as so disabled by wounds that he coubl no longer serve in the field.’' He presented himself at court to express to his sovereign his deep regret that he could no longer serve him. When the king had heard his story he said to him: “Do not be distressed because you cannot serve me on the field. I have other work of great importance, for which your past experiences have abundantly qualified you. You shall be at the head of my military schools to train my young officers for their duties in the field.” Then, turning to Dr. Dagg, he applied the story to il lustrate his present position. He, too, had done valiant service in the open field against the ene mies of our heavenly King, and won for him many signal victo ries; but now the Master has placed him in a position where he may train his young ministers for service in his cause. All saw at a glance the appropriateness of the application. Dr. Dagg was deeply affected by it. He told me afterwards that Foster’s story had given him great comfort. When Dr. Dagg retired from the University, he did not cease from labor. For several years he had been thinking of preparing a manual of theology for the use of stu dents preparing for the ministry. When, therefore, be found him self free from his public labors, he was ready to enter upon his life as an author. His “Manual of Theology and Church Order,” then his “Moral Science and Evi dences of Christianity,” all ap peared within a reasonable time. These works are too well known to need any comments from me. Moreover, my impressions of Dr. Dagg as a writer have already been given in full in the “History of Georgia Baptists.” These reminiscences of Dr. Dagg, incomplete as they are, for the want of space, present to us a wonderful character. Think of a boy, poor, an orphan, without a rich friend to help him, working his way, by his upright deport ment and his patient toil, up to a respectable and honored man hood! Then think of him as a man afflicted with lameness and with partial blindness, and bereft of his voice, still working his way upward and onward, till, as a benefactor of mankind, he stands the peer of the great and the good in all this broad land of ours. Is not such a character worthy of the emulation and the imitation of all our young men? It is like some lofty monument. The beauty of its proportions excites our admiration, while its altitude points us toward heaven. VOn. 76--NO. 43 or the Index. Baptist Position Stated and Contrast ed—Baptist Church Succession. BY G. A. LOFTON, D.D. AIL I once believed that organic and unbroken Baptist church succes sion, from the days of the apostles till now, was susceptible of some sort of historical proof; but for some years past my mind has changed in view’ of more accurate and historic methods of dealing with the subject of Baptist his tory. The iconoclast of “historic method” and “historic spirit” has come along with his little sledge hammer and knocked down many of my historic and other ideals ami idols. The results of modern research from original sources have produced marvelous changes which have come over some of our dreams. The truth is, that there is not a denomination of Christians on earth that can now claim an un broken, organic and orderly suc cession of churches as constituted and governed in the New Testa ment. Episcopacy is the oldest usurpation of New Testament church organization and author ity in history; but episcopacy, up to the beginning < f the seventh century, was but papacy in em bryo, when Boniface 111 became, by imperial decree (606 A. D.), the universal Bishop of Christendom —that is, Pope. Episcopacy as now constituted is the offspring of Romanism, just as, originally, Romanism was the outcome of episcopacy; and although epis copacy boasts of an apostolic suc cession in the shape of a “historic episcopate,” yet such a claim can only be made through the Roman Catholic church—even in Eng land. The Church of Rome has an undoubted succession of churches, whatever may be said of its apostolic succession, since the time that church lost its apos tolic or New Testament constitu tion and character; but neither episcopacy nor papacy has any succession, as such, from the mother churches such as were Organized and established at Je rusalem, Antioch, Corinth, Ephe sus and other places under apos tolic constitution and administra tion. These churches were all local and independent in their constitution and government; ar.l they were so recognized by the very last messages of Christ to the seven separate and sovereign churches of Asia to whom, through their messengers, he ad dressed the first chapter of John’s revelation. Such was the Church of Rome itself when Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans —when he visited it; and uot one word is spoken, either in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, or in Peter’s epistles —both w ritten about the year 60 A. D. —about Peter or any other man being Pope of Rome. Lutherans, Presbyterians, Meth odists, Campbellites and other de nominations make no claim of church or apostolic succession. Save the Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches, none but Bap tists lay any claim to church suc cession ; and only a few among in telligent Baptists have ever de manded such a claim. In fact, as a distinctly asserted claim, or as a semi-official article of faith upon the part of any, the claim, as made, is scarcely forty years old. Dr. J. R. Graves, that mighty champion of Baptist principles and history, is the first to have successfully asserted and pressed the claim; and he has been fol lowed by several who have writ ten works of considerable circula tion upon the subject of Baptist church succession, or Baptist church continuity, or Baptist church perpetuity, etc. The claim, however, has never been regarded as having any claims by the lead ing schools and scholarship of the Baptist denomination—so far as I know’. It would now seem that Baptist history, since the apostolic period, has been a New Testament evolu tion from the chaos of Romanism. In some instances it is the result of spontaneous generation, here and there, when the Gospel seed have been sown in new soil; for Baptists and Baptist history are as inherent in the Gospel as a chicken is in a hen’s egg. You may for a time, or here and there, obliterate Christianity from the earth; but if God’s word and Spirit abide in the soil of the hu man race, Baptists are sure to spring up. But while this fact is true in particular, it is generally true that Baptist progress and history are the outcome of long planted seed—sometimes much hindered or latent—sown in the soil of the centuries which pre ceded the Reformation, and were more fully developed after that