Faith, explained to the understanding of children

Front matter

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CHAPTER I. Object of the Book — Explanation of Faith

My Young Pleader :

This little book is about faith. It is made for young persons, for children and youth who attend Sabbath schools ; and therefore it is written in very plain and simple language, so that you may easily understand it. The writer of it wants you to read it very carefully, and think about what is said as you read along. Do not hurry it over, just so that you can say you have looked it through. A habit of careless reading is a bad habit. Read with close attention, and understand what you read.

You know that there is much said in the Bible about faith. You know that every person must have faith, or he cannot be good and happy. The Bible says— Without faith it is impossible to please God. If then you a 2 hope to please God, and to have his blessing, and to dwell in his presence when you leave this world, you must have faith. So you see it is of the utmost importance that you should know what faith is. It is the object of this little book to show you what it is, and to urge you to have it, that you may please God and be happy.

You know that the Holy Bible is the word of God. You know that in the Bible God speaks to us, and tells us about many things which we should never have known, if they had not been told to us in that holy book. You know that God speaks to us in the Bible about himself — he tells us who he is, where he dwells, what he has done, and what he will do. God tells us, also, what ice are ourselves, what we have done, and what we must do, if we would please him. He tells us, too, about another world, a state of being beyond the grave — a place of happiness for the righteous, and a place of misery for the wicked. God tells us, further, about Jesus Christ, who came into the world and died to save sinners ; and that they who believe in

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Christ will be saved, and that they who believe not will be damned. All this, and very much more, God makes known to us in the Bible.

Now I am ready to tell you what faith is — it is so believing what God has said, as to do what he has commanded. Do you understand this ? I want you should understand it, and will, therefore, express it in a little different language. — Faith is believing what God has said, in such a manner as will lead you to do ivhat he has bidden. It is not enough to say that you believe the Bible, or to think that you believe it, if you do not obey it. It is not faith, to have a kind of general belief that the Bible is the word of God, and that it is all true. Many have this kind of belief, who have no true faith. If a man has true faith, he will not only believe what God has said in the Bible, but he will act as if he believed it.

What I have now said will show my young reader what true faith is, as clearly as I can do it in a few words. But I hope to make the subject very much plainer, before I close b FAITH.

this book. And I shall try to do it by pointing you to the example of many good men who had faith, and who showed what their faith was by what they did.

But before I proceed to notice these examples, I have several things to say. The great object of the Christian's faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Saviour. And the only w T ay in which we can be saved, is by faith in him. The Bible says — Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ , and thou shalt he saved. And it says also— "He that believeth not shall be damned." It is plain, therefore, that our salvation depends on our having true faith in the Saviour.

Now, you know what God has told us in the holy scriptures about his Son. You remember what the Bible says about the birth, life and death of Jesus. Though he dwelt in heaven, and was with God, and was God, yet he came into this world, and became a man. He was born of the virgin Mary. He grew up like other children. " He increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." When he was thirty years old, he began his ministry. He preached that all men must repent and believe in him, or they can never enter the kingdom of heaven. He performed a great many wonderful miracles, which proved that God was with him, and that he worked the works of God. His life was entirely holy, free from all manner of sin. His example was perfectly good, and he urged all men to be like himself. His teaching was wise and good. Even his enemies said — Never man spake like this man. He told all about the duties which mankind owe to each other, and to God. He earnestly besought all people to become his disciples and friends, telling them if they would follow him, they should be happy forever, and if they would not, they must be eternally miserable. Such were the things that Jesus taught, and in this manner he labored to save men. And at last he permitted himself to be taken and crucified by wicked men, that, by his death, he might make an atonement for the sins of the world, and prepare a way that all sinners, who repent and believe in him. might be saved and be happy in heaven forever. After his death, he arose from the grave, appeared alive to his disciples, told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ; and then he ascended into heaven in the sight of many of his friends, and there he ever liveth to make intercession for us.

This is a short account of what the Bible informs us concerning the Saviour. Now God requires that we should believe this, and so believe it that it will rule our conduct, and make us the followers and disciples of Jesus Christ. This is faith in Jesus Christ ; and nothing else is true faith in him. It is not enough for you to say that you do not dispute or deny what God says concerning his Son. It is not enough for you to say that you believe the scripture account of the Saviour. If your belief is not of that kind which will govern your actions — if it does not lead you to do as the Saviour bids you — if it does not make you his friend and disciple ; it is not true faith in him.

Now my young reader, if you have read attentively and understood what you have

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road, you see thai when you have true faith in Christ, you will trust yourself in his hands; you will look to him alone for salvation : you will obey his commands and strive to be like him. Your belief in Jesus — your faith in him, will control your conduct ; it will lead you to do as Jesus bids you : it will make you a friend of the Saviour, and you will be a Christian indeed. This is the faith that God speaks of in the Bible, and it is the only kind of faith that he will accept, or that will prepare the soul for heaven. If you would have this faith, you must study the Bible very attentively, you must earnestly desire to know 7 all that God has said ; and you must pray much that God would help you to understand and do his will, and that he would give you the faith which all true Christians have.

CHAPTER II. Some Examples

I will now attempt to show you what faith is, by some familiar examples. Suppose, then, that your father should tell you, that in a distant field, under a certain stone, there is a large sum of money, and that if you will go and get it, you shall have it for your own. Knowing your father to be a man of truth, and that he means what he says, you will believe what he has told you. You may not understand how he happens to know about it, and he may not explain the matter to you; but if he tells you that he does know, and that if you will go where he directs, you will find the money, you will believe him. But how, in this case, will you show your belief? How will it influence you ? The answer is plain — you will go immediately to the place that your father pointed out, and search

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for the prize, find it, and bring it home, If you should not move — if what your father lold you should have no effect upon you, it would be plain that you did not believe what he said; for if you believed him, you would set out at once to get the prize,

Now, to apply this — God, your heavenly Father, has told you of heaven, where you may enjoy perfect happiness, and have every thing that your heart shall desire, when you arrive there. He has told you, also, about the way that leads to heaven. He says you must repent of sin, believe in Jesus Christ, follow him and obey his commandments, and then you shall not fail of entering into the kingdom of heaven. And God has further told you, that if you do not go in the way he has pointed out, if you do not obey him and follow the Saviour, you shall be cast down to hell, and be miserable forever. All these things, which are as important to you as your soul's happiness, God has plainly revealed in the Bible. Now, if you believe what he has said, will it not deeply affect your mind ? And if you truly believe the sayings of God on this subject, what will you do ? Will you remain careless, and do nothing ? Certainly not. You will seek to enter the strait and narrow way that leadeth unto life. You will be in earnest in trying to secure the salvation of your soul. Not daring to remain in a state of impenitence and danger, you will repent, and come to the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon and help. Depending on the Saviour, you will perform all those duties which God has commanded. You will seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness , trusting in the promise that all things necessary shall be added unto you. — Thus will you do, and do immediately, if you truly believe what God has said in his holy word.

But if you do none of these things — if you remain careless and unconcerned about your present character and future state — if you are not moved by what God tells you in the Bible, can it be that you truly believe what he has said ? No, certainly not. You see plainly that your belief is not of the right kind. It does not move you. It does not govern your actions. It is only a dead faith, such as the Apostle James speaks of when he says — " Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

One thing very important to a true idea of faith, is trust in God. To show you what this means, I will bring another example. The Rev. Richard Cecil, an English clergyman, says he took the following method to give his daughter an idea of faith, when she was very young. He wished to teach her what it is to trust in God, which is the very essence of true faith. He says — " My little daughter was playing one day with a few beads, which seemed to delight her wonderfully. Her whole soul seemed to be absorbed in her beads. I said — "My dear, you have some pretty beads there." — "Yes, Papa." — " And you seem to be vastly pleased with them."— "Yes, Papa."— " Well now, throw them into the fire." The tears started into her eyes. She looked earnestly at me, as though she ought to have a reason for such a cruel sacrifice. " Well, my dear, do as you please : but you know I never told you to do any thing which I did not think would be good for you." She looked at me a few moments longer, and then — summoning up all her fortitude, her breast heaving with the effort — she dashed them into the fire. — " Well,' 1 said I, " there let them lie ; you shall hear more about them at another time, but say no more about them now." Some days after, I bought her a box full of larger beads, and toys of the same kind. When I returned home, I opened the treasure, and set it before her; she burst into tears with joy. " Those, my child," said I, "are yours, because you believed me, when I told you it would be better for you to throw those two or three paltry beads into the fire. Now, that has brought you this treasure. But now, my dear, remember, as long as you live, what faith is. I did all this to teach you the meaning of faith. You threw your beads away when I bid you, because you had faith in me, that I never advised you but for your good. Put the same trust in God. Believe every thin^ that he savs in his word. Whether you understand it or not, have faith in him that he means your good."

This example, my young reader, shows you, in a very striking manner, the nature of true faith. You will, I think, always remember it. By looking at it, you can, at all times, see what it is to frust in God. When God commands you to throw away your vain trifles, which draw away your heart from him, you know that he intends your own good ; and that if you obey him, you will have something better than what you give up. When God commands you, as he does in the Bible, to " love not the world, nor the things of the world," he will, if you obey him, give you the better things of heaven. When He urges you to give up every improper pleasure, and to forsake the vanities of a wicked world, if you cheerfully comply, though it may cost you some present struggles and pain, you shall, in the end, know that what God required was for your own good. In the Bible, God commands you to forsake the ways of sinful pleasure, to avoid the company and example of the wicked, to give up your own b 2 lb FAITH,

will, and to deny yourself, and take up the cross, and follow Christ. Perhaps you may sometimes think that to do so would make you unhappy. But remember, that God never calls upon you to do any thing but what will be for your own good. Trust in him — throw your beads into the fire — give up your worldly desires, and obey the voice of the Lord. You will find, at last, that this is the best way — that it is the only way to true happiness, and that the Lord will ever take care of those who put their trust in him, . Long ago the Psalmist said, and he said it, too, from his own experience — u O Lord; Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."

Mr. Cecil's little daughter thought at first, that if she should obey her father, and throw her play-things into the fire, she should have nothing to amuse herself with, and that she should be very unhappy. And though she knew that her father never told her to do any thing except it was best that she should do it, yet it cost her a painful struggle to give up present pleasure, and trust in him for a future and unknown good, But she did it, and found a rich reward. — So many young persons think, that if they should obey God, and give up their sinful amusements and worldly desires, and should become serious and pious, and attend to all the duties of religion, they should be unhappy. But it is not so. God never commands you to do any thing but what is for your own benefit. Try it, and see. Though it may seem hard for you to forsake the way that leads you to sin, to give up your own will, and become the servant of Jesus Christ, yet, if you will do it — if you will obey God and trust in him, you shall be more happy in this world than ever you have been, and you shall be forever happy in the world to come.

You must remember, however, that you are not to expect to buy the favor of God, by giving up your sinful pleasures. You do not pay him for his blessings, by forsaking the ways of sin. God's favors are gifts ; you cannot purchase them by what you do. When he commands you to give up a vain amusement, a sinful pleasure, or your own will, you must do it because he commands it. His b3 commands are right and good ; and you should obey them cheerfully, whether he should bestow any more blessings on you or not. Do his will — obey his commands, and then leave the consequences to his care. This is trusting in him. This is faith.

CHAPTER III, About Abel, Enoch and Noah

I will now turn to the Bible, and give my young readers a number of examples, out of that holy book, of good men who had faith. By looking at these examples, you will be able to see what faith is, and how it influences the feelings and conduct of those who have it.

In the eleventh chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul mentions a large number of men who lived in ancient times, and who all " obtained a good report through faith" I will tell you something of several of these good men, taking them in the order in which the Apostle mentions them.

The first in the order is Abel. And the Apostle says— " By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts ; and by it, he being dead, yet speaketh." — Now, if you will turn to the 4th chap, of Gen. you will find the account to which the Apostle refers. Cain and Abel were brothers, and the sons of Adam and Eve. But though they were brothers, they were very different from each other. One was a very bad man, and the other a very good man. One had faith, the other had not. Cain was a tiller of the ground, — that is, he was a husbandman, or farmer. Abel was a keeper of sheep. The Bible says — " In process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he brought also of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering ; but unto Cain and to his offering, he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, why art thou wroth ? and why is thy countenance fallen ? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And Cain talked with Abel, his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

This wicked deed of Cain placed him first on the list of murderers, and his name has always been covered with reproach. God was displeased with him, and put a curse upon him; and he was doomed to be a fugitive and vagabond on the earth

And now my young reader will desire to know why God " had respect to," or accepted Abel's offering, and did not accept Cain's. The reason is made known unto us by the apostle, in the words before mentioned — "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Abel had faith, and Cain had not : this made the difference between them. Abel truly believed what God said, trusted in him, and obeyed him. When he brought his offering and presented it, he felt himself to be God's servant, and bound to do his will. He gave up himself to the Lord ; and he brought his offering as a proof that he did so, and that he stood

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ready to do whatever God should command him to do. This was a state of mind pleasing to God, and he, therefore, accepted Abel and his offering.

Cain had nothing of this state of mind. He did not give up his own will, and submit himself to the government of God. He had no child-like trust in God, and did not feel willing to take the place of a servant, and do God's will. He brought, it is true, an offering of the fruits of the earth, to present before the Lord, and this would have been right, and God would have accepted it, if he had done it with a right state of mind. But, as he was proud and stubborn, and had the spirit of a rebel, God would not accept him, nor receive an offering from his hands.

What a difference there was between these two brothers ! Though both of them professed to worship God, yet one did it with a humble, believing and child-like spirit ; while the other came with a proud, worldly, and rebellious temper. The one, when he presented his offering, presented also himself, to be a servant of God, and obey all his coinmandments ; the other brought his offering,, but his heart was not with it, and his hand was not ready to do the will of God. The one had faith ; the other had not. This made the difference between them. And then one became a murderer, and the other the victim of a brother's rage. Abel was accepted — Cain was rejected. The one is happy with God in heaven ; the other, so far as we know, is in the pit of eternal misery.

From this example, my young reader, you see how important it is to have faith. Without it, you cannot serve God aright, and cannot be accepted by him. You may learn, also, in the case of Abel, what true faith is, and what it will do. From the sad case of Cain, also, you may learn how wicked a person may become, and w 7 hat dreadful deeds he may commit, if he lives without faith, and permits his angry passions to rage against any of his fellow-creatures. Let it be a warning to you, and go to God in humble prayer, and ask him to give you that faith which will preserve you from evil ways, and make you holy and happy forever.

The next example mentioned by the Apostle, in the 11th of Heb., is that of Enoch, He says — " By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him ; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Translated means that he was taken up into heaven — not see death means that he did not die. Here then was a good man, who did not die, but God took him at once into heaven. Before he was taken up, he pleased God by his pious and holy life. And why was he so remarkable for his piety and holiness ? Why was God so much pleased with him ? Why did he have so much proof that God loved him ? And why was he taken away from the evils of this life, without feeling the pains of death, and received into the presence of God, and the joys of heaven ? The Apostle gives the answer — "By faith Enoch was translated." It was his faith which made him so good a man. It was his trust in God, his doing the will of God, and his living here with his thoughts and heart fixed on heaven, that God was so pleased with him that he took him to himself.

In Gen. 5 : 24, you may find the history of the event to which the Apostle refers — " And Enoch walked with God; and he ivas not, for God took him." This is a short account, but there is much meaning in it. He walked with God — that is, he felt and acted as if God were present with him. His faith was so strong, that it brought God and eternal things constantly before his mind. He felt that God was around him, and with him. With the eye of faith he constantly beheld his Maker, and walked in the path of obedience all his days. — You know the Bible speaks of wicked men, as living " without God in the world." They have no sense of his presence. They forget that he notices their conduct. They live and act as if there were no God ; for they do not like to retain God in their knowledge. But Enoch walked with God, He felt that the eye of God was upon him, and his constant aim was to do the things that would please God.

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Again, the account says — He was not.fa)* God took him ; that is, he could not be found in the world, for God had taken him to heaven. Perhaps he was alone, when God translated him. Perhaps no one was with him, to see him go up into heaven. When the prophet Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha saw him go, and he could tell what he had seen, so that every body would know that Elijah had gone, without dying, to the heavenly world. But if no one saw Enoch ascend to heaven, it would not be known where he was. His friends might inquire after him, and the people make great search to find him. It might never have been known where he was, if God had not told us. But God has told us. In the Old Testament we read — "He was not, for God took him;" and in the New Testament it is said — " By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death."

In this example, my young reader, you see what faith is. It is that state of mind in which a man feels that God is with him, and notices all his feelings and conduct. It is a full and impressive belief that God sees you at all times, and that he will call you to an account for all that you think, and say, and do. You see, also, in this example, the effects of faith. It will lead you, if you have it, to walk with God, to do the things that please him, to obey his laws, and engage in his service. And though you have no reason to expect that you shall be translated to heaven without dying, as Enoch was ; yet, if you have true faith, your soul will go upward to dwell with God, when you die, and you will be happy in his presence forever.

Let us look a little longer at the case of Enoch. It was a remarkable case. He was a man like other men. He was, by nature, a sinner, and dwelt among sinners. But he repented of sin, and turned to the Lord. If you had lived at that time, you might not have seen any difference, in outward appearance, between him and other men. You might have seen him attending to the business of this world, like his neighbors. But while his hands were engaged in the affairs of this life, his heart was set on things above. While others laid up their treasures on earth, he laid up his treasures in heaven. While others walked in the broad way that leadeth to death, he walked with God. He kept eternal things constantly before his mind. He thought of God, and heaven, and hell, and acted as though he could see them all. He prayed unto God, and watched against sin. He desired to be entirely holy, and by constant prayer and watchfulness, assisted by the Spirit of God, he did become so holy that this world was not a fit place for him to live in ; so God took him to heaven. And all this was because he had faith,