Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1878-01-17
&eadiug fur the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED BY !.
REV. ROBER RI LATHAM.
THE CHARACTER OF CORNELIUS.

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THE CHARACTER OF CORNELIUS.
One of the features of the Bible, is that it
teaches important moral truths while narrat-
ing historic facts. Great practical lessons of
piety are incorporated into the dry detail Of
genealogical tables. In every paragraph of
the Bible, there is something related which
suggests mans duty. What God approves
and what he disapproves, is constantly dis
coverable. In the short history of Cornelius,
incidentally related, there are many things
which are not only interesting, but exceed
ingly instructive. A number Of questions
are suggested all of which lead the mind to
make important Investigations Who was
Cornelius and how did he make such attain
ments in true religonf How did it come to
pass that the commander of band of Roman
soldiers, was not involved in the Pagan
darkness which brooded over the world at
that timer These are questions of legitimate
inquiry, but it is not our present purpose to
answer them.
The character of Cornelius is thus des-
cribed. He was "a devout man and one that
feared God with all his house." Acts x:2
In this short sentence, we have a complete
description of Cornelius He was devout
man. We would say he was pious mana
man absorbed in religion, both in theory and
practice. Farther, it is said "he feared God"
God, the true God, was the object of his re-
igious alteration. These words suggest that
he had once been heather, but that he had
rejected idol worship and become worship.
per of the God that made the heavens and
the earth. But that is not all. He had for
saken the Gentle worship and chosen the true
God This was great thing, but he did not
stop at this point He was devout man, and
feared God ,o;th his house. We are not told
what family be had. He may have had
large family, or he may not. All that we
certainly know, is that he had some family.
1t is not matter of great Importance that
we know, with exact certainty, in what that
family consisted In the words, with bis
house." we have the summing up of the char
acteristics of devout man and one that fears
God The practice of no small number of
those who live in Christian lands is fearfully
at variance with that of Cornelius. No in
significant number of husbands are content
tba, their wives are pious. Of this fact they
speak with seeming delight; but at the same
time are themselves neither devout men nor
men that fear God. For the sake of their
wives, apparently, they treat religion and
pious people with great respect; but that is all.
They are not devout men. They do not claim
to be devout. They do not fear God. They
will tell you, with awful indifference, that they
have no religion.
Again, we End that some husbands and
fathers are themselves pious, or, at least, pro.
fess to be pous; and yet are Indifferent as to
whether their families fear God or not. Un-
like Cornelius, they are devout men, and men
that fear God without their families Such
men worship God-if they do in fact worship
him-apart from their families The sons
and daughters of these men are permitted to
grow up in ignorance Of the Bible. No ef'
fort is made by them to bring their children
up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. The father takes his course and the
children are permitted to take theirs. The
father permits, in the fullest sense ofthe word,
his sons and his daughters to do as they please
in everything that pertains to religion. 1t is
evident that this is not the way that Cornelius
did.
In the words "worsbip God with his fami-
ly," we are incidentally taught that every
family must have a chief or ruler. By
law of God, the husband and father is the
head of the family. In all secular matters,
this is a recognized fact. The principle is
universal. Legal enactments may modify it,
but they cannot destroy it. God made this
law, and to some extent it obtains in every
land and among all sorts of people. Every
husband and father is head of his household
in every respect. He is bound to provide for
his family, to protect them, to instruct them,
and to govern them. By law Of his ma
ture, he is led instinctively to make provis-
ions for his children's temporal welfare, and
the law of grace prompts him to point them
to the source of all spiritual and eternal
good. Hence it was only in accordance with
the promptings of regenerated spirit, that
Cornelius worshipped God with his house.
It is wicked in a father to exercise no moral
control over his children. He dare not say
that he will do nothing because he cannot
give his children new hearts. He might as
we'll say he will make no effort to provide for
their food and raiment, because he cannot
preserve them from the ravages Of death. 1t
is perilous in any father to make no effort to
induce his offspring to choose the Lord. Chill
dren-all children by nature, choose the
service of Satan. No master is required to
teach the human family to sin. They can
learn how to sin without teacher; but they
must be taught to serve the Lord. Who is
more competent to teach children to serve the
Lord than their own father, and in what way
can father better teach bis children to be
devout and to fear God, than by worshipping
God with his children? There is no more fit
person to instruct children in religion than
their own parents, and in no other way can
parents better make pious impressions upon
the minds of their children than by fearing
God with them.
Those parents who have no concern about
the religious training of their children, or
those parents who do not "fear God with their
house." have good reason to suspect the gen.
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