“That is quite true; but when Jesus died upon the cross, He did intend all infants to be saved. He there atoned for the sin we inherit from our first parents, which is the only sin with which an infant can be charged, as no one can be said to break commandments until they understand what commandments are. No one has so much cause to love the Saviour as mothers of little children. Ages before our children were born, their safety was provided for by the death of Christ. When you go home, I should like you to take your Bible, and read the account of our Saviour’s crucifixion; and as you are reading, just think—‘Now all this suffering was to save my baby, amongst many others.’ God has told us that He is satisfied with the price Christ has paid for sin; therefore, of course, there can be nothing else wanted. And just think of this for a moment—God has given up His Son to suffer for us, that we may give Him back our children to be happy for ever.”
“O ma’am, I am so happy to hear about it! You have made it clearer to my mind than it ever was before.”
“I want to make it clear to you, also, that this Saviour, of whom we are speaking, must be your Saviour, as well as the Saviour of your child; for there is none other name given among men whereby any of us can be saved.”
“But, ma’am, you don’t mean that Christ’s dying has made it certain that we shall all get to heaven!”
“Christ’s death was intended, and is sufficient in itself, to make all safe for heaven; but there are many who will not accept this salvation. Supposing, now that provisions are so high, I were to send to every man, woman, and child in the Potteries, and say, that every day at one o’clock I would have a good dinner provided for them at my house: I would take care there should be room and abundance for all. It is said, there are a thousand inhabitants in the Potteries. Supposing, out of this number, only two hundred came. Some might be too proud to accept my kindness; others, too busy in seeking food in other ways. But the most extraordinary thing of all would be, that some should have forgotten all about it. They would go on eating the most miserable food, suffering in every way in consequence, and grumbling at their unhappy fate; while, if they would only come to me, I would receive them, and give them abundance of the best. Complaints might still reach my ears, how greatly the people were suffering; but I should say—‘I really cannot help it; I have done all I possibly can to prevent it. It grieves me very much to see so many vacant places at my table—to see bread enough, and to spare, whilst they perish with hunger. I wish they would come to me, instead of suffering as they do.’ Now, this is just how it stands between us and God. He wishes all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. It is not the will of our Father, who is in heaven, that one should perish. He has provided, by the death of Christ, for the salvation of every one; and none that come unto Him will He cast out. But we must come. Just as certainly as those poor people would lose the benefit of my dinner if they did not come, so shall we lose the benefit of the great salvation provided, if we do not come.”
All present seemed much interested in this conversation, and several began to ask me questions. One woman told me that some ladies had called at her house some time ago, and inquired particularly if her children had been baptized; telling her, that if they had not, they had no chance of being saved.
“That can’t be true, can it, ma’am?” she asked.
“If it were, it would, indeed, be a lamentable fact; for how many children there are who are born and die, without the possibility of being baptized. This often happens at sea, for instance; and sometimes, especially in the country, where the distances are great, it is not unusual for an infant to die before there is time to obtain any minister of religion to administer the ordinance. How very imperfect would be the salvation which God has provided for us, if our reception of it was made at all to depend upon circumstances that we could not always control! Think for a moment, again, of the comparison I was using just now. Supposing, when I sent out my invitation for the people to come and dine at my house, I should say, ‘Though you may come, I cannot admit you inside the house, unless you bring a card of admission with you.’ I should mention where these cards could be procured; but when applying for it, you might find that the person, whose business it was to provide them, was ill, or not at home, or something might prevent his attending to you till it was too late; and, consequently, you must lose the benefit of my dinner. You would say, and justly, ‘Why, she is deceiving us in professing to provide for our wants.’ It is of no use the dinner being there, if there are obstacles which we cannot remove in the way of getting at it. And God would have deceived us, too, in saying—‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin,’ if there were still something left for us to do. And Christ hath deceived us in saying on the cross—‘It is finished,’ when all the time He knew, that if we were not baptized by an ordained minister of religion, all that He had done and suffered for us would be worth nothing. There are few errors at which I feel so indignant as this. It is so dishonouring to our heavenly Father, and it is such a reflection both upon the wisdom and justice of Him whose work is perfect.”
“Then, ma’am, isn’t it any consequence whether children are baptized or not?”
“I am glad you asked me that question; for I should have been sorry for you to have gone away with the idea that it was of no consequence. Do any of you know what circumcision means?”