T H E   L A D I E S '   R E P O S I T O R Y .

CINCINNATI, FEBRUARY, 1845.

      THE title Christian is the noblest of all; and he who wears it, and acts in accordance with the relations in which it places him, is one of the noblest and happiest of his race. He can look to God as his Father, to Jesus Christ as his Redeemer, and to heaven as his home. With respect to God, then, he must be an humble and obedient child, trusting implicitly in his care, and seeking, in all things, not only to do, but to suffer his will. With respect to Jesus Christ, he must be a docile scholar, a faithful imitator; and regarding himself as purchased and cleansed by Jesus' blood, he must study to keep himself pure, and to attain to the perfection of the Divine model.

      Such being the relations in which he is placed, we should naturally think that he would be actuated by the purest feelings, and ever striving to live in accordance with his glorious destiny. But how different is the reality! The Christian too often lives as if this earth were for ever to be his abiding place--the ultimate boundary of all his hopes--as if his bosom were animated by no loftier feelings, no higher anticipations, than those which actuate the lover of the world. But why is this? It is because the pleasures of time are near at hand, and by their very proximity concealing from his inward vision those pleasures that shall never fail. This being the case, it is necessary that the Christian should acquire such traits of character as will lead him to despise all the vain allurements of sense to duly estimate the worth of eternal joys; and when he has once begun his heavenward way, to continue onward until he obtains the full fruition of all his hopes. Among the traits of character indispensable to the Christian is decision of mind. Indeed this has ever been one of the peculiar characteristics of the people of God, and has received the Divine approval. It was this principle which caused the prophet Elijah to continue steadfast in his obedience when nearly the whole nation of Israel had been corrupted by surrounding idolaters. King, priest, and people, had all caught the foul infection; the temple was deserted, and on every hill, and in every grove, sacrifices were offered to gods who could neither hear, see, nor save. At this period Elijah thought that he alone was left of the true worshipers; yet his confidence wavered not, the purpose of his heart was fixed; and though he felt that he must pursue his way through life unfriended and alone, he never looked back with any feeling of desire to the condition of those who had forsaken the worship of the true God for a popular delusion, but ever kept in his onward way, endeavoring earnestly and steadfastly to bring back the wanderers to the law, and the pure worship they had so madly forsaken. Long years rolled on, the multitude still continued to delight in their disobedience--persecution raged against the prophets of the Most High, and Elijah became the especial object of royal hatred; so much so, indeed, that his life was only safe among the rocks and fastnesses of Judea. And yet, while he was thus persecuted, he maintained such a course of conduct that God was honored; and when the time of his departure came he was not subjected to the power of death; but his living body, surrounded by angel bands, was placed in a chariot of fire, and thus he was triumphantly taken to his reward.

      Again: We see this principle exemplified in the noble conduct of the prophet Daniel, when a captive in the land of the stranger. He was a devout man, and his enemies determined to make him desist from his accustomed worship, or to make his devotion the means of his overthrow. To accomplish their purpose, they obtain the passage of a royal edict, declaring that whosoever should offer a petition to God or man, save to the king only, for the space of thirty days, should be cast into a den of hungry lions. But what course did he pursue? Did he for the time being lay aside his customary devotions, or did he even so far deviate from his usual practice as to perform them in secret? No! he trusted in the God he worshiped; and firmly fixed, he knelt three times a day with his face toward Jerusalem, and prayed aloud to the God of his fathers. The sequel proved that Daniel had not trusted in a God unwilling or unable to save.

      We turn away from those ancient worthies to consider some of the illustrious exemplifications of this principle on the pages of the New Testament. And where, on human records, shall we find a brighter example than that which is furnished in the life and actions of the apostle Paul. View him as first presented before us, opposed, it is true, to the claims of Christianity, but in high esteem among his brethren, the Jews--a young man of distinguished family, one of the most eminent doctors of the law, possessed of a mind of the finest order, of a character unsullied by the slightest stain--religious even to scrupulosity, every thing beckoned him on in the course he was pursuing--honor, wealth, and fame, all seemed inviting him on. If, however, he should unite his fortunes with the followers of the despised Nazarene, all that he could expect was disgrace, persecution, and death. But whether a Jew or a Christian, Paul always possessed well marked traits of character. No sooner was he convinced that the course which he had adopted was wrong than he determined to pursue the other, although ignominy and disgrace [55] seemed to be inevitable. When he discovered that he had been engaged in hostilities against his best friend, lie laid down his weapons, and devoted all the energies of his soul in promoting the cause against which he had formerly been so much embittered. Yet when we look over his history, and see in our own times the effects of his labors and example, we cannot but admit that his course has been crowned with the most glorious and happy results; for though he apparently relinquished all worldly honor and fame, by that very act he made himself illustrious, and by his subsequent acts gained for himself one of the brightest names in our world's history. His name is now to be heard in every language, and the force of his teachings have been felt in every land; and even proud Rome, in a great measure, owes to him her immortality; for though she should be forgotten as the home of the Cæsars, she will ever be remembered as having afforded a prison and a grave to the apostle of the Gentiles.

      In the history of the early Christians are many striking examples of decision of character--some in which it led them to break all the tender ties which conspire to make life agreeable, to suffer the loss of all things, and to become a reproach and a by-word for the love they bore to Christ and his cause. Nay, it even led the tender female to lay aside the shrinking timidity of her nature, and at the block or the stake, to shed her blood with joy as a testimony of her faith in her Lord.

      Such are a few of the examples to show the workings of this powerful principle. We should learn that it is not the wavering, fearful, and unstable that God will own at last, but those who have never cast aside their confidence. And here, Christian reader, permit me to say, that the want of this principle is the fruitful source of many of the declensions and apostasies which are so great a reproach to the cause of the Redeemer. Many persons hear the word, and charmed with its promises, they receive it; but, alas! they are vacillating, and, like the seed sown in stony ground, the word springs up in their hearts, but there is not sufficient depth of earth, and when the sun rises, it withers away. Such persons are like the young eaglets when assaying their first flight. They rise from the parental nest, and urge their course upward to the sun. The task seems pleasant and delightful while the skies are clear. Their plumage, glittering in the sunlight, reflects back a thousand varied hues; but the winds arise, a storm rages, and soon their untried pinions fail them--they are unequal to the task they have assumed; and falling from the height they have reached, they are dashed to pieces on the rocks beneath.

      If, then, this principle is so necessary to those who have entered upon the Christian race, is it not equally so to all who would enter the same lists? It is not only necessary but indispensable. It is the basis of all self-denial, without which the Savior has said we cannot be his followers.

      The New Testament affords many striking monuments of the fearful effects of indecision. A young man meets the Savior, kneels before him, accosts him in the most respectful manner, and earnestly desires to be taught the way of eternal life. The Savior puts him to the proof--desires him to divest himself of all his earthly treasure--to follow him and receive an eternal inheritance. But the sacrifice was too great--he had not sufficient decision to spurn worldly wealth and worldly honor, even if it were in exchange for an eternal crown. By declining to obey he rendered himself unworthy of eternal life, and proved that his was not a soul that would have stood firm in the hour of trial and fiery persecution.

      Again: The apostle Paul stands in the presence of a Roman governor, a wily, time-serving politician, the victim of passion, and the tool of faction; but the searching preaching of Paul laid open his heart to him in such a degree that he almost yielded to the influence of the truth. He saw his true condition. His utter wretchedness was forced home upon him--the way of escape was pointed out. He wavered for a moment between duty and interest. His eternal destiny was fixed on the decision of that moment; but he shrunk from the true path, and Felix, wayward and unstable, cried out, "Go thy way for this time: at a more convenient season I will call for thee." Had he possessed decision of character, he would have yielded to the truth as soon as its light flashed upon his conscience, regardless of the favor of Cæasar, prætorian rank, or threatened persecution. He sought a more convenient season; but that more convenient season never came.

      Take another example. The same apostle is brought into the presence of royalty to answer to the charges alledged against him. Agrippa, his queen, and the courtiers are all gathered to hear the wonderful words of the apostle. He confronts this august assembly with eye that quails not; for though the chain be on his hand, his mind is free. This opportunity of presenting the truth of the Gospel before the great of the earth fires his soul. In the most masterly manner he presents before the assembly the particulars of his own wonderful conversion, dwells on the publicity of the Gospel facts, appeals to the King's own knowledge of the prophets, presses home the subject with such force and energy that the King humbles himself in the presence of the chained apostle, and exclaims, from the fullness of his soul, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!" But, alas! he was not wholly persuaded. The pomp of regal splendor, [56] the love of the world triumphed over his good resolution. The fear of public scorn and the Emperor's displeasure he could not overcome. He turned away from the bright hopes of the Gospel, and preferred a crown on earth to a seat at God's right hand. Had he only possessed decision of character, instead of being held up as an example of weakness, he might have been to future ages one of the brightest examples of all that is exalted in human nature. His subsequent history teaches that those impressions never again returned to his mind with the same vividness; and if they did, in any degree whatever, they were slighted.

      From all these examples the weak and wavering should take warning, and determine to begin immediately that course of life which alone can result in happiness here, and eternal happiness hereafter. The Christian should also be admonished to diligence and perseverance. The great prize should never for a moment be hid from his sight; but daily, with the most intense interest, he should pursue his upward way, cheered by the assurance that when time and its transitory things shall have passed away, he shall enter upon his great and eternal reward.

[The Ladies' Repository 5 (February 1845): 55-57.]

      William Baxter's "Decision of Character" was first published in The Ladies' Repository, and Gatherings of the West: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to Literature and Religion, Vol. 5, No. 2, February 1845, pp. 55-57. This volume, edited by E. Thomson, was published in Cincinnati by L. Swormstedt and J. T. Mitchell for the Methodist Episcopal Church.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 8 April 2000.
Updated 28 June 2003.