Studies in the Life of the Christian: His Faith and His Service Part 12

The Source of Authority is in G.o.d. "There is no power but of G.o.d; the powers that be are ordained of G.o.d" (Romans 13:1; Daniel 2:20,21; 4:32; Psalm 2). G.o.d is sovereign. He is the final basis of all authority. "Government has authority delegated to do its duties, but it has no inherent authority to do anything. G.o.d has inherent powers; inst.i.tutions have that which is conferred upon them by law. Each one who exercises authority must derive it directly or indirectly from G.o.d" (Matthew 18:18; Daniel 7:13,14; Isaiah 9:6,7; Luke 10:22; John 3:35). This is one of the fundamental principles of the Christian state. This authority may be delegated to men and may be used rightly or it may be abused.

In the Old and New Testaments it is distinctly taught that all nations--Christian and unchristian--are directly accountable to G.o.d.

The Sanction of Authority is in the righteousness and justice of G.o.d. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right" (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 58:11; 67:7; 97:6; 9:8; 50:6; Proverbs 16:11,12; Romans 3:21,22)? The Old Testament prophets looked forward to the perfect state wherein righteousness and justice should rule. Sovereignty over a state may be initiated by force but it can never be made the permanent basis on which sovereignty rests. "States have been defrauded of their birthright with scarcely the grace of a contract for a mess of pottage, but the possession may be kept only by a return to justice. The strongest is not strong enough to be always master, unless he transform his strength into right and obedience to duty."

THE LAW

Reign of Law.--The philosopher, the natural scientist and the Christian theologian all believe that we live in a universe governed by law. Certain natural scientists may believe that the law is impersonal in its origin, but the Christian theologian believes that the origin of law, and the carrying it out, is "the expression of the will of a personal G.o.d."

Law has been defined, as the necessary relations which pertain to the nature of things. When men come to a.s.sociate themselves in a state they find it necessary to define and formally set forth their relations by certain enactments for the general good, which are called laws. But these laws naturally will be the expression of, and will rise no higher than, the social conscience of the people.

The revealed will of G.o.d in regard to men and their political relations to each other, as given in the Scriptures, presents high ideals, which, if realized, go to make the perfect state (Micah 6:8). The Old Testament prophets were continually presenting these divine ideals of the state to the people of Israel and urging them to accept them. Christ had much to say about the higher political relations of men. Paul in his epistles also had much to say upon this topic. Moses urged not only the keeping of the provisions of the ceremonial, but also the moral and civil laws (Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Exodus 25:40; Joshua 1:7; Exodus 13:9; Nehemiah 9:13; Psalm 1:2; Isaiah 1:10-17; Jeremiah 8:7,8; Daniel 9:10,11; Matthew 5:17; 22:36-40; Hebrews 8:10; t.i.tus 3:1,2; Ezra 7:25).

G.o.d is the Lord of all nations and they are to be judged according to His law (Psalm 2; 47:2,3; Malachi 1:14; Psalm 67:4; Matthew 28:19; 25:32; Romans 16:26).

The End of the Law is to make a holy nation, wherein righteousness shall reign. The effort of the Mosaic law was to make Israel a "holy nation." Even sanitary and dietary laws were not laid down as such but were made the distinctive marks of the consecrated life of a chosen people; details of ritual were prescribed to express the sense of the holiness of G.o.d in whose service they were exercised (Exodus 19:6).

"And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine" (Leviticus 20:26; Deuteronomy 7:6; 26:19; 28:9; Isaiah 62:12; 1 Corinthians 3:17).

The effort of Christianity, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Christ, is not only to perfect the church, but also the state. In so far as the principles of Christianity prevail amongst the people they reflect themselves in the laws of the state. In a community which is thoroughly Christian it is impossible for certain evil inst.i.tutions to maintain themselves.

The Duty of the Christian Citizen is to recognize the state, to give it loyal support and obedience and to seek to make its law conform to the law ordained by G.o.d. No man ought to hold himself aloof from the political interests of his community or country. In many towns and cities where Christian public sentiment has secured the pa.s.sage of excellent laws for the suppression of certain evils, the evils flourish in spite of the good laws because they are not strongly supported by that sentiment which secured their pa.s.sage.

Never was there a time when the highest type of Christian citizens.h.i.+p, setting forth the ideals of Christ, was more needed than at the present day. The outlook for any true national greatness must necessarily be from an ethical and Christian standpoint, bringing to the front the principles of love, loyalty, service and sacrifice.

FUNCTIONS AND PURPOSE

Functions.--The Christian state is continually widening its sphere of care and action over and for the individual. It not only a.s.sumes the protection of life and property, but provides schools, from the primary grade to great universities; it cares for the sick and mentally deficient; it provides food, clothing and shelter for the dest.i.tute poor, it supervises the morals of the people, and enforces sanitary regulations. The more thoroughly Christian the state the more it seeks the betterment of the individual. The less Christian the state the less it cares for the good of the individual and the more it seeks to oppress and to use him as its slave.

Purpose--This is the realization of the kingdom of G.o.d on earth. The Christian is working for a state, where the principles of justice and brotherly love shall prevail.

QUESTIONS

Christ and the state; what was His relation to the state? What did He teach about the state? What did Jesus teach about the individual and his relation to the state? In what way did He lay the foundation of the true state? In what respect was He a civil reformer? What did Jesus teach about obedience to the state? What did He teach about the universal state and the principles upon which it should be founded?

What is the source of authority for the state? Give the sanction of its authority. What can be said of the law of the state, the reign of law, definition, end of the law and the duty of the Christian citizen?

Give the functions and purpose of the Christian state.

STUDY XIV

THE CHRISTIAN'S HOPE

Scripture references: 1 Timothy 1:1; Colossians 1:27; Psalm 130:5; 43:5; Proverbs 10:8; Acts 24:15; Psalm 71:5; Romans 5:1-5; 12:12; 15:4; 1 Corinthians 9:10; Galatians 5:5; Ephesians 1:18; Philippians 1:20; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:19; t.i.tus 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Psalm 31:24; 71:14,15.

HOPE IN THE PRESENT LIFE

That which a man ardently hopes for he strives to realize. If he desires fame, office or wealth he will seek to set forces in motion, here and now, which will bring him that which his soul covets. Back of every man's striving there is always some hope, an ideal, which he endeavours to make a reality.

The man who enthusiastically believes in Jesus Christ cherishes the hope that every man may be brought to believe in his Lord and Master (Acts 26:27-29). He wants to see Christ not only rule and reign in the life to come, but in this present life.

The urgency of the New Testament appeals to men is to, at once, believe in Jesus Christ, and to begin to live the Christian life (Acts 16:31-33; 2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Galatians 2:20). The attempt was made by the early preachers of Christianity to bring about upon the earth a new order of things. They prayed and laboured for the immediate conversion of men's souls and the betterment of the conditions under which men lived. A new kingdom (Matthew 10:32-42; Mark 1:14,15) was inaugurated with new ideals (Matthew 5:1-16), new principles and new aspirations, which was to supersede the old social and political orders. It was the preaching of this kingdom of Christ, and that men owed their first allegiance to it (Acts 5:28,29), which provoked the terrible persecutions of the first centuries.

Christianity has much to do with this present life, it has a panacea for all its ills and evils and it has a certain definite programme to carry out.

The Christian hopes and works for:

The Regeneration of the Individual through faith in Christ (John 3:5,14-21). This is an inward change wrought in the soul by the grace of G.o.d. While this is a work of G.o.d, the responsibility for it rests with man. G.o.d does not desire the death of the sinner. By the sending of Jesus Christ G.o.d has shown His love for man while yet a sinner. Every unregenerate man either does not desire this new life or else feels that he never sought with all his heart to have G.o.d regenerate his soul (John 5:40; 1:4; 5:24; Isaiah 1:18). The regenerate man in Christ thinks and acts from a new basis (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). It is only as the love of a man's heart is really changed and centred upon right things that he can be depended upon to walk in right ways. A man may act right, may be honest and upright from prudential motives, but if his heart is evil the way of the righteous will be irksome to him and he may depart from it at any time. The unmasking of the double life of a man, every now and then, shows how the heart's desire will have its way with a man who does not love G.o.d. Heart faith in Christ leads a man to follow and be like Him.

Hence we have such a large emphasis placed upon work for and with the individual by Christ and His disciples. Christ Himself called His apostles to Him one by one and He was continually holding conversations of the deepest interest with individuals (John 3:1-13; 4:6-26).

The possibilities of the work of the individual Christian for the individual non-Christian man are too largely left untried. If every follower of Christ should try to win one, who did not follow Him, to His cause every year the good effects of such a campaign would be felt not only in the church, but in every department of life.

All true reform work must begin with the regeneration of the individual.

The Enlightenment of the Social Conscience.--There is such a thing as a social conscience. It is possible to say and do things in certain communities which would not be tolerated in others. One town will not only sanction the liquor business within its boundaries but will resist all efforts to abolish it; another town right beside it will have none of this iniquitous traffic. Lawlessness and immorality find a hearty welcome in certain cities and in others they dare not show themselves. All this is due not to the perfection or the imperfection of the laws or to the large number or small number of men upon the police force, but to an evil, an apathetic or an enlightened social conscience.

The progress of the gospel of Christ is often hindered or prevented by a hostile public sentiment (Matthew 13:58; 17:20; 10:14; Luke 10:10-12). When Christ sent forth His twelve disciples He recognized the strong opposition which their message and mission would often meet and said, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). The disciples were taught to expect social ostracism and private and public persecution (Matthew 10:17-26). There were times when they were to flee before the gathering storm of opposition and there were times in which they were to maintain their position to the death, but even if they fled (Matthew 10:23) they were not to cease to preach the gospel.

It is the duty and the right of Christians not only to seek for the regeneration of individuals, but also to protest and work against social and political wrongs and to seek to create and strengthen a strong public Christian sentiment. The Church of Christ should be the conservator and promoter of high moral ideals in every city and town where it has a name and place and seek to extend its good influence into regions where it has no standing.

Better Conditions of Living.--The Bible is always upon the side of the oppressed and down-trodden. No laws ever enacted by any nation ever made it so easy for the working man as the Mosaic ordinances; every seventh day (Exodus 20:9,10) was a day of rest; there were seven feasts in seven months which called for many other days of rest; every seventh year (Leviticus 25:2-7) was a rest year; and every fiftieth year (Leviticus 25:10-17) was one of rest and rest.i.tution. Christ everywhere championed the cause of the poor and the heavy burdened (Matthew 9:36; 11:28-30; 11:4,5).

But the Bible also clearly sets forth the fact that little can be done towards bettering even the material conditions of living when men's hearts are not right towards G.o.d. If a man lets the spirit of avarice reign over him, no matter how much money he may have he will still want more and he will not care whom he oppresses to get it. If the spirit of a purely worldly pleasure rules him his money will go into a bottomless pit and he will not care whom he makes suffer to get more money to gratify his insatiable desires.

Better material conditions of work and living can only come from the adoption of high moral and spiritual standards and in advocating these the Christian Church to-day is the truest friend of the oppressed.

The Maintenance of Law and Order.--It is not an unusual thing for political parties to elect men to offices of trust and then to have these same men refuse to enforce the laws which they have sworn to uphold. In consequence we have all kinds of abuses and evils growing up in the body politic. Too often the political race is for the honour and the spoils of position.

Outside the political arena stands the Christian Church and it can, if it will, demand that clean and upright men, whatever the issues of the parties may be, be placed in nomination. Here Christians may hold the balance of power. If their loyalty is to Christ first of all they will vote for no man for any office who is known to be of an evil character. The maintenance of law and order depends in large measure, in any community, upon the Christian sentiment of that community.

The Turning of the World to Christ.--The Christian's hope is that Christ may be Lord of and dominate the individual and the home life, the social, the business and the political worlds, as well as the ecclesiastical.

The wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d in Christ ought not to be only upon a particular day or in a certain place, but upon all days and in every place men should lift up their hearts to Him (John 4:21-24). If He is Lord of all (John 1:1-14; 14:9-13) He should be Lord of all; there is no matter too small and none too great to bring before Him. When Christ said, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations ... teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19,20) He meant that His teachings should be dominant over all the earth and in every department of life. And for this we pray "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). It is only as this kingdom shall come in power that we can expect to better the conditions under which men live and work.

HOPE IN THE FUTURE LIFE

Christianity is not small in its antic.i.p.ations, its desires, its aspirations and its plans.

It speaks of a large hope for the future, so large that many men fail to comprehend its magnificence (John 11:23-26; Mark 16:11). It declares that while the body may be placed in the grave, the real man never dies. Man in all that he thinks and does lives with two worlds plainly in view, the one that now is and the one which is to come.

The disciples immediately after the ascension of Christ began to preach and teach the resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:30-32; 3:15; 4:10,33; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). They used this fact of the resurrection as a reason for the belief in Christ as the Saviour of men, a forsaking of sin and an incentive to a life of righteousness.

They taught, as Jesus Himself did, that this life, no matter how great its opportunities, was but the vestibule to a new and larger life beyond the grave. It is better to sacrifice everything in this life, if necessary, rather than to miss the glory of the life to come (Matthew 5:29; 10:28; Mark 9:47). No good deed done in this life, in the name of Christ, can fail of large reward in the life to come (Matthew 19:28,29; 25:34-40). By this emphasis, which was laid upon the future life, the horizon of thought and action was marvellously widened. Men were taught no longer that they were to exist for a few years and then go out forever into the darkness of annihilation, good and bad alike, but that they were to live forever.