Decision Day in the Sunday-School
A mistake which many Sunday School teachers make IS that of trying to develop the fruit of the Spirit from an unregenerate life. They teach their scholars to love one another, to be joyful, patient, and unselfish, before they have been converted. They might as well hang oranges on a Christmas tree and expect it to bear that kind of fruit. The fact is, one cannot evolve the fruit of the Spirit from a life in which there is no Holy Spirit.
I have a friend who has fifty green -houses and about five acres under glass. A large part of his business is the culture of roses. He imports the wild rose stock from Ireland and France, and buds or grafts it with scions from the choice roses which he wishes to produce. It requires two men several months to do the budding. Now this florist is not foolish enough to put the wild stock into the green-houses and spend thousands of dollars in cultivating it. If he did, the result would be only wild Irish roses which would not sell for ten cents a thousand. On the contrary, the first thing he does is to insert a new life in the wild stock. Then he puts it in the green-house and applies all the methods known to modern science; and the result is those elegant Marechal Niel and General Jacque roses which sell for several dollars a hundred.
Many a teacher is trying to evolve the fruit of the Spirit from a life in which there is no Holy Spirit, because the scholar has never either consciously or unconsciously accepted Christ as his Savior. The first thing to aim at is conversion and, after that, what might be called Christian culture may properly follow.
The attention of the writer was called to the value of Decision Day in the foUowingVay: He was spending a Sunday in a Presbyterian church, and was asked to address the Sunday School. He suggested to the pastor that as it was the last Sunday in the year it might be well to explain to the boys and girls just how to become a Christian, with the idea of leading them to begin the new year with a new life. The result was that twenty-five or thirty accepted Christ as their Savior. Apparently they were just waiting for an opportunity.
The next Sunday he was in another city, in a Baptist church. When asked to speak to the school he told the superintendent what occurred the Sunday before, and was urged to use the same method. He did so, and quite a number of conversions followed. So much interest was awakened that they wished to continue the services through the week. The next Sunday he was in a Congregational church, and had a similar experience. In this place the officers of the school were so surprised at the results that they tried the plan themselves the following Sunday, and had several more conversions. They then planned for a series of meetings in which some of the worst men in town were converted, and out of which grew a Men’s Band and a Gospel Mission.
The experience of these three Sundays in churches of different denominations, in both city and country schools, led me to realize the importance of giving young people a definite opportunity to accept Christ. I said to myself, doubtless there are thousands of schools in the land which are in precisely the same condition that these were. They have had faithful preaching and teaching, but for some reason there has been no effort to gather in the harvest which years of seed-sowing should have produced. Since then I have seen the same method employed in scores of schools, and I can hardly recall an instance in which conversions have not occurred.
Mr. Moody often said that what led him to give up business and devote all his time to Christian work was an experience which he had with one of his Sunday-school teachers. This teacher was taken seriously ill and was obliged to leave the city. He came to see Mr. Moody and expressed great sorrow at leaving his class of young women, since none of them were Christians. Mr. Moody proposed to him to take a carriage and go and visit each of them and tell them just how he felt. He did so, and the result was that every one of those young ladies gave her heart to God. Mr. Moody, who went with him, was so impressed with the possibilities of definite hand-to-hand work in winning souls that he resolved to devote his whole time to it.
In the State of Iowa, the fourth day of February, X900, was observed as Decision Day. The reports were very incomplete, but the 172 schools which sent in returns reported 3,476 conversions, including three Sunday School teachers. This was an average of over twenty for each school. In their report they said nothing has ever so stirred the teachers and revealed to them the possibility of winning souls. In Philadelphia not long- ago about three hundred schools observed the day, with the result that about five thousand young people decided for Christ. Over two hundred entered the new life in one school alone. In another city I know of a class in which fifty-five young ladies accepted Christ on a single day as the result of an earnest plea by one who taught the class for that day only.
METHOD
1. Announce to the school some weeks in advance that a Decision Sunday will soon be observed, not stating, however, which Sunday it will be. This will set the scholars thinking and, very likely, will lead to decisions before the day arrives. It will also increase the prayerfulness of parents and teachers and those scholars who are Christians already.
2. On the evening before, let all the teachers be called together for special prayer and conference. Let the pastor explain precisely what is involved in becoming a Christian and just what steps to pursue in leading a soul to Christ. Many a teacher has no idea how to go about it. Let each teacher have a list of all the unconverted members of his class, and let each one be prayed for by name, taking one class after another. Then let all unite in earnest prayer for a special anointing of the Spirit to fit them- for the work of the coming day, and let no one leave the place until assured of it. (i John 5: 14, 15.)
3. When the day arrives let the pastor preach a sermon which will prepare the way for the service which is to follow. When the school is in session let the attendance be marked, and the offering taken at the very outset, so as to have nothing to distract attention from the main object. It would be better to dispense with library books altogether for that Sunday. Let the superintendent announce that the lesson study will be omitted for to-day, as there is more important business, and then state what the object of the meeting is, and in a tender, loving way show how anxious he is that every unsaved member of the school should decide for Christ that very hour.
Select hymns which are personal and persuasive, such as, “There is a Green Hill Far Away,” “Almost Persuaded,” “Just as I Am,” etc. Arrange for several prayers by the most spiritual teachers. Then let an address be given by the pastor or whoever seems best qualified to do it. In this address I would especially emphasize three things. First, the fact that all have sinned against God; second, the suffering which Christ endured for our sins, and our debt of gratitude to Him; third, explain very clearly just what one needs to do in order to become a Christian.
For the sake of those who have had no experience in such a service we give an outline sketch of one which has been found useful.
Suppose you ask the scholars how many of them have ever seen a flock of sheep. Then remind them that although sheep are very tame and docile, they are also quite stubborn and willful; they like their own way. Furthermore, they are great imitators. If one of the flock jumps over the wall, all the rest will go tumbling after it, and you cannot stop them. You may catch them by the head or the heels, but they will go, and you will go too, unless you let go.
Now, God says that we are very much like sheep — we are determined to have our own way. In Isaiah 53:6 He says: “A11 we like sheep have gone astray”; and in the next sentence He explains what He means by going astray: “We have turned everyone to his own way.” That is the real essence of sin, that the sinner is determined to have his own way. It may not be a dishonest way, or an immoral way, or an untruthful way. It may not be nearly so bad as someone’s else way, but it is his way, and not God’s way.
What do we say of a sheep that has gone astray? Why, we say it is lost. Yes, and that is what God says about those who have had their own way and refused to walk in His way. They are lost, and that applies to all of us, doesn’t it — for we have all had our own way. Adam was a kind of black sheep who jumped over the wall, and the whole race has gone tumbling after him.
However, there has been just one person who did not have His own way, but always walked in God’s way. Who can tell who that person was? Jesus. Yes, Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Suppose you had a flock of sheep and wished to drive them in a certain direction, but they all ran off another way, except one good lamb who stayed by your side. You would not take a whip and punish that innocent lamb instead of those which ran away. And yet, do you know something almost like that has occurred in your case and mine? God has allowed His Son Jesus, the only innocent Lamb in the whole flock, to suffer for the sins of all the rest of us who went astray, “A11 we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.
Then I would turn to the twenty-seventh chapter of Matthew and show what Jesus suffered for our sins. I would paint that picture, if possible, so that they would remember it to their dying- day. Show how the soldiers stripped Him and put on a scarlet robe as if He were a king. One of them said, ‘*A king ought to have a golden scepter,” and another ran out and brought in a piece of reed and placed it in His hand. “What else does He need?” “A crown, of course. Who ever heard of a king without a crown?” “Surely, I will get one,” said another, and he ran out and broke off a piece of thorn bush and twisted it up in the form of a crown, and brought it in and placed it on the head of Jesus. Now, the king has a royal robe and a crown and a golden scepter, and they began to mock Him and say: ‘*Hail, King of the Jews!” Then some of them took the reed out of His hand and struck Him on the head with it, and others went up and actually spit in His face. Think of it! It is enough to make one’s blood boil with indignation — the way they treated our dear Lord; and it was all for our sins, too.
Then show how they stripped off the royal robe and made Him carry His cross up Calvary’s hill; how He fainted and broke down, and how Simon took His place. Then describe the crucifixion briefly, avoiding all that is ghastly and gruesome, but making it as vivid and realistic as possible, in order that each one may see the picture, and realize clearly the relation of Christ’s death to his own sins.
Many people, both old and young, have never stood at the foot of the cross and looked up into the face of the dear Lord, and said to themselves: “That Man died in my stead.” Make them stand there — for once in their life, at least — and feel the full force of that thought.
A friend of mine, who had a Working Girl’s Club in New York, was showing them some photographs of famous paintings. Among them was a Crucifixion scene by Tintoretti. At the right of the picture is to be seen one of the thieves who has been nailed to the cross, and the cross has been erected. On the left is the other thief. The soldiers have laid him on the cross and have driven the nails through his feet. The thief is resisting with all his might, and is trying to raise himself from the cross, while one soldier is brutally crowding down his arm, and another is trying to drive the spike through his hand. In the center of the picture you see the Lord Himself. They have laid Him down upon the cross — no, I think He laid Himself down and suffered them to drive the nails through His hands and feet. The thieves doubtless made the air hideous with groans and curses, but Jesus did not groan, did not complain, did not even open His mouth. “He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.” Then the soldiers took the cross, with its precious burden, and dropped it into the deep hole prepared for it. As the cross went down it brought a strain upon the hands and feet which produced an agony which no mortal words can describe, but the artist has brought it all out in the expression of the countenance and, as you look into the face of the dear Lord: you see what unearthly suffering He is enduring for the sms of the world.
As this picture came into the hands of one of the girls she drew back with an expression of horror, saying: **Oh, Mrs. P, you don’t mean to say that
Jesus was crucified alive, do you?” “Yes, my dear,” said the teacher. “Why,” said the girl, “I never realized that before. Oh, it is awful!” “Yes, my dear,” said her teacher, “Jesus suffered all that and much more, for your sins and mine.” “Well,” said the girl, “if Jesus suffered all that for me, then I want to live for Him,” and then and there she gave her heart to the Lord.
Many of you doubtless feel as that girl did; you are grateful for what Christ has done for you, and you want to give your heart to Him, but you do not know just how to do it. Listen, then, and I will try to make it plain.
Salvation is a two-sided thing. On God’s part it consists in giving something, and on our part it consists in receiving something, but the thing given by God and received by us is not a thing at all, but a person. “And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and that life is in His Son: He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (i John 5: 11, 12).
Then show how simple a thing it is to receive a gift. Here is a leaflet. I will give it to anyone who will accept it. Someone takes it and I ask him whose it is now. “It is mine.” “How do you know it is yours?” “Because I accepted your offer.” “That is right, but why does it not belong to that other boy? I offered it to him as much as I did to you.” “Yes, but he did not accept your offer and I did.” “Very true. Now God has given His Son to be the Savior of all sinners who will accept Him. Some of us have accepted God’s gift and we have a Savior. Some of us have not accepted God’s gift and we haven’t a Savior, and we see the reason why, do we not? It is simply and solely because we have not been willing to accept God’s gift.”
“How long did it take that boy to become the owner of that leaflet?”
‘*Not a quarter of a minute.”
“It would not take you any longer to accept God’s gift and obtain a Savior.”
Nor is it a question of feeling, as many suppose. Turning to the boy who accepted the leaflet I would say: “Did you have any special feeling of joy when ]^ou took that leaflet?” “No, I can’t say that I did.” “Have you had any particular joy since you became the owner of it?” “No, I do not even know what it is, for I have not read it.” “But suppose you should open it and find a hundred-dollar bill in it, would you have any feeling then?” “I think I should.” “Quite likely, but would that tract be any more yours with all the feeling that came from finding a hundred-dollar bill in it than it is now without any feeling?” “Not at all.”
“You see, then, that the question of feeling has nothing to do with the ownership. It was the acceptance of my offer which made it yours. So, one may accept Christ with feeling or without it, as the case may be. God does not say, “As many as felt happy, or as many as felt sinful were saved”; but, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”
Perhaps you are saying: “Suppose I should receive
Christ as my Savior right here and now, what would happen to me?” In the first place, He would forgive your sins, for He says, in i John 1:9, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” But that is not all He would do. He would also come into your heart and take possession of your life, for He says, in Rev. 3: 20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him.”
You see, then, that if any of you should invite Christ to come into your heart and be your Savior, He would do it, because He says He will. You would not go home alone to-day, you would not sleep alone to-night, because you would have the constant company of the Lord Jesus. “Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world.”
“But how can we know that Christ is in our hearts, if we accept Him? “Well, in the first place, you have His word for it, which ought to be sufficient, but in addition to that He promises to reveal His presence to those that obey Him. In John 14: 21 He says: *He that hath my commandments and keepeth them... I will manifest myself to him. ‘In other words, when you pray to Him He will seem to answer back; when you read His Word, He will speak to you out of it; and every time you make any real sacrifice for Him, there will come a thrill of joy into your heart, and His blessed, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ will ring in your ears.”
“Here, then, is a definite promise that if you confess your sins He will forgive them; if you invite Him into your heart He will come, and if you obey His commandments He will manifest Himself to you.”
“In view of these promises, how many of you are willing to accept Christ as your Savior now? You all expect to do it sometime, of course, but there is no time so good as the present. Will all the school please bow their heads?”
“Now we will have a few moments of prayer, in which I wish that every unsaved person in the house would confess their sins and receive Christ as their Savior. I will pray for you, and I will put it in such a way that if you will make my words your prayer it will bring Jesus Christ into your heart.”
After the prayer, made just as simple and direct as possible, I would assume that some of them had accepted Christ. Then I would say:
“The first step in beginning the Christian life is to accept Christ as one’s Savior, and that I am sure some of you have done. The second step is to confess Christ as your Savior. In Romans 10: o we read, *If thou Shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and Shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ You have accepted Christ, and the next thing to do is to tell someone of it. If I were you I would tell my teacher that I had settled the question, and had decided to live a Christian life.”
At this point give the school five minutes for this purpose, saying: ‘’Now, teachers and scholars, just have a free talk with each other about this important matter.”
After a suitable interval let the leader say, “I would advise those of you who have accepted Christ to-day to tell your parents what you have done, and ask them to help you in your Christian life. If you care to come and tell me, I should be glad to give you a Life Card, which I am sure you will find very helpful.” On the first page is a covenant which I would read to them, and suggest that after they arrive home they read it carefully, and then kneel down and ask God to help them keep it, and then sign it with pen and ink, putting down also the date when they signed it, and the place where they live. Say to them:
*’You will find this covenant useful in many ways. For instance, the devil will very likely come around to-morrow morning and try to make you think you are not a Christian. He will say, perhaps, ‘You thought you became a Christian yesterday, but you were mistaken, for this morning when your brother hid your shoes under the bed and made you late for breakfast you lost your temper, now didn’t you?’ and perhaps you may have to confess that you did. ‘Well,’ he will say, ‘that proves that you are not a Christian, for if you were you would not lose your temper.’ This statement is not true, as I can show you by a simple illustration. Suppose you should go to work to-morrow for a man whose name we will call Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson is now your new master, is he not? Suppose that the first day you should spoil a yard of cloth or break a machine. Would that prove that Mr. Johnson is not your new master? By no means. Have you left his employ? No. Do you intend to leave it? No. What does it prove, then — the fact that you have damaged his work or broken his machine? It only proves that you have not been as careful to please your new master as you should have been, or that you did not fully understand his work; that is all. So, if you have taken Christ as your new Master to-day, and to-morrow morning should lose your temper, what does that prove? That Jesus Christ is not your new Master? By no means: Has He discharged you? No. Have you left His service? Certainly not. Do you want to leave it? By no means. Then what does it prove — the fact that you lost your temper the very first day? Why, it only proves that you were not as careful to please your new Master as you should have been; that is all. I hope you will not do it, of course, but if you should, the thing to do is to kneel right down and confess your sin, and He will forgive it instantly; and then be more careful to please Him in the future.
“Now, suppose you had taken one of these Life Cards and signed it, see what a help it would be to you. You could take it out and show it to him and say, *See here, Satan, can you read writing? If you can you will see my name at the bottom of this covenant. I signed it not in the Sunday School, not under any excitement or pressure, but all by myself in my own room. I signed it because I meant it, because that is the kind of a life I propose to live. I meant it then and I mean it now, and if I didn’t mean it then, I do mean it now. So Satan, you can move right along. I haven’t any more use for you, I have a new Master.* Or, perhaps, ten years from now you might open your Bible and fine this covenant, and it would bring back this hour to your mind, and you would say: ‘I haven’t been as faithful to Christ as He has been to me, but, thank God, I haven’t withdrawn from that position which I took in that Sunday School, and that position is the Christian life.* And thus your weak faith may often be strenthened by this outward and visible evidence of the covenant which you made with God a few moments ago.”
Having offered to give a Life Card to any who come for it I would then dismiss the school. The teachers, who have been previously instructed, will encourage their pupils to come and get the Life Card, and if necessary will come with them. Often a teacher will come bringing a whole class of boys or young men with her. As they come, the leader can ask each one personally if they have really accepted Christ as their Savior, and when they did it. In many instances they will say, “I did it while you were praying, or while my teacher was talking with me. “It is a good plan to ask them to shake hands with you as a token of their sincerity, and make them promise to sign the Life Card as they take it. Then say to each one: “There is one thing more I wish you to do, and that is to go and tell your pastor just what you have told me. Will you do it?” In this way you pass them on to him, and commit them to their purpose still more. Occasionally one will come for a card who has not really accepted Christ, but is only thinking of it, but usually he can be persuaded to settle the question in a moment or two, if one is wise and tactful.
After all have come who are likely to, I would suggest that all kneel down and tell the Lord audibly what they have said before in their heart, and to make it easy for them it would be well to lead them in prayer, asking them to follow you in concert, sentence by sentence. It is a great help to them to hear their own voice as they enter into covenant with the Master, and you also make sure that they say the things you wish them to say.
I would then lead them in prayer, making sure that they confess their sins, and invite Jesus to come into their heart and take possession of their life.
When they had risen I would question each one something after this fashion: “Henry, you knelt and confessed your sins and asked God to forgive you for Christ’s sake. Did you really mean it?” “Yes, I did.” “Do you think He has forgiven you?” “I don’t know, I am sure.” “What did He say He would do, if you confessed your sins?” “He said He would forgive me.” “Do you think God has lied to you?” “Of course not.” “Then where are your sins?” “They must be forgiven.” “What makes you think so?” “Because God says so.”
Or I would say: “Jesus says in Rev. 3: 20, *Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him.* I heard you ask Him to come into your heart. Did you really mean it?” “I did.” “Do you think He has come into your heart?” “I do.” “Why do you think so?” “Because I feel better, because I am so happy.” “Very well, but suppose you wake up in the morning with a headache. You wouldn’t feel happy then, would you?” “I suppose not.” “Then where would your hope of salvation be? Do you not see that if your hope of acceptance depends upon your feelings it will vary from day to day?” Then show him that if he has honestly invited Jesus to come into his heart he has His promise that He would come, which is the best evidence that a Christian can have.
If one has time it is well to give the converts some instruction concerning the dual nature of the Christian life. Show them that while the unsaved person has only one nature, and that the selfish, sinful nature, the Christian has in addition a new Divine nature which is Jesus Christ. Let them understand that the old nature is not one whit better now than it was before their conversion, and that all their temptations will come from this source. However, ‘’Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” And, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
In holding such a service it is best to exclude the smaller children from the main room, and have a separate service with them if desired. Some may also prefer to call for an expresson by rising, or by entering an inquiry-room, but do not fail to deal personally with each one and see that they have a scriptural reason for their hope of salvation.
FOLLOWING UP RESULTS
This is very important. Indeed, it is a question whether it is wise to hold such a service unless it is to be carefully followed up. A Decision Day opens the way for conversation with every person in the parish, and a careful canvass should follow to lead to Christ those who did not accept Him during the service. The parents of all who decided should be visited, and their co-operation secured. In some instances where the parents were not Christians, such a visit has led to their conversion.
A class for the converts should be formed for instruction in the duties and doctrines of the Christian life, and in due season they should be received into the Church. The Life Card is a four-page leaflet which contains many useful hints on Christian living, how to grow in grace, how to use the Bible, etc. It may be obtained of the Bible Institute Colportage Association, 250 La Salle Avenue, Chicago, 111. Price, 4 cents per dozen, 30 cents per hundred.
The covenant which the converts are asked to sign and keep in their Bibles, where they may often see it, reads as follows:
In obedience to God’s cojnmand, I do here and now turn from every known sin, and believe the Gospel that Christ died for my sins, was buried and rose again. I receive Jesus as my Redeemer, who bore my sins in His own body on the cross (2 Cor. 5: 21; Gal. 3: 13; I Pet. 2: 24), and who has power to forgive my sins (Mark 2: 10; Acts 5: 31). as my teacher to whom I will submit all my thoughts (John 6: 68), as my guide to whom I will commit the direction of my life (Acts 9: 6), as my risen Savior whom I will trust to keep me from falling (Jude 24) and save me to the uttermost (Heb. 7: 25) and resting upon God’s assurance, I believe all my sins are forgiven and / have eternal life.
(Signed)
19 Place,