LESSON X. CONFIRMATION AS A MEANS OF GRACE. LE ET me remind you of the ground we have gone over. First we considered the three duties or obligations that lie upon all Christians 1. To resist temptation to sin. 2. To believe heartily the Christian Faith. These three duties we unfolded in our first five lessons. Then in our sixth lesson we reminded ourselves of our weakness and infirmity. So weak and infirm are we, that we cannot possibly hope to do these things unless God help us; so we proceeded to consider how we might obtain God's help or grace. And we spoke first of prayer, examining the Lord's Prayer in that and the following lesson. Then in the eighth lesson we considered the Sacraments, as another important "means of grace," and tried to make clear to ourselves what was meant by a Sacrament. One Sacrament—Baptism—you had when you were an infant. It gave you a new birth, the birth of a new nature, better than the nature you inherited from Adam. But the old nature is still in you, so the new nature requires to be strengthened from time to time as you grow up. And this is precisely what the other Sacrament -Holy Communion—is intended to do for you, strengthening and nourishing your better nature by spiritual food, which you draw from the sacrifice of Christ. This second Sacrament of Holy Communion you have never yet received. You are now old enough to be admitted to it. You are now ripe to become a full member of Christ's Church. The Church admits you by the rite or service of Confirmation. Of this service we must now speak. The first time we met I promised that I would explain in a future lesson the meaning of the word. I will now do so. To "confirm" is to sirengthen; Confirmation is a strengthening. We are all infirm by nature, and need to be confirmed. But now, when we are children no longer, and beginning to stand alone, and choose for ourselves, and judge for ourselves, and act for ourselves, we specially need a Confirmation, and we may be most thankful that our Church has provided it. First let me remind you how it came to be instituted. You may find mention of it in the Acts of the Apostles. We there learn that it was the habit of the Apostles to give a very solemn blessing or benediction to those who had been baptized. This blessing or benediction was accompanied by prayer and the "laying on of hands;" that is, after prayer the Apostles laid their hands on the head of each, and blessed him. And this was called Confirmation. Let us examine these passages in the Acts. We read in Acts xiv. 22, that Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities where they had preached the Gospel, "confirming the souls of the disciples" (those whom they had on their first visit baptized). And again, that Paul and Silas went through Syria and Cilicia "confirming the Churches" (xv. 41). We cannot be sure, but it is probable that the word confirm in these passages implies a definite ministerial act, similar to that which is described in the eighth chapter. We there read how the evangelist St. Philip converted and baptized many of the Samaritans, and how the Apostles, when they heard it, sent two of their own number, Peter and John, to Samaria, "who when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost; for as yet He was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." This so closely resembles the rite of Confirmation as practised by the Church all through these eighteen centuries, that we may very confidently assume that the rite of Confirmation as handed down to us by the Church is a continuation of the apostolic practice here described in the case of the Samaritan converts. Three things we learn, then, about it from this passage : 1. It would seem that the evangelist St. Philip could baptize, but he could not confirm: Confirmation needed the presence of an Apostle. 2. There was an outward and visible sign, namely, a laying on of hands-the most solemn form of benediction. 3. This laying on of hands was accompanied by a gift of the Holy Ghost. In those early days the gift of the Holy Ghost was usually accompanied by some extraordinary power, such as the gift of tongues, or of working miracles. This kind of evidence was needed then; but when the Church was once fairly esta blished, these outward signs of the presence of the Holy Ghost were no longer needed, and they ceased. The presence of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of Christians was abundantly manifested by their changed lives and greater holiness, and by the rapid growth of the Church. Though the miracles ceased, the blessed influence of the Spirit was daily seen; and it was evident that those who were confirmed received a larger measure of the Holy Spirit's strength and power than they had before; and this was precisely what our blessed Lord had promised: "The Father shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you;" "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John xiv. 16, xvi. 13). So the Bishops continued to give the solemn blessing or benediction to those who had been already baptized; and they gave it precisely as the Apostles had given it, by laying on of hands with prayer, in full faith that the Lord remembered His promise, and bestowed the gift of the Holy Spirit. According to Holy Scripture's teaching, then, the really important part of Confirmation, and the explanation of its name, is this, that Christians are therein confirmed or strengthened by |