Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 180, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 July 1913 — The Christian Church and Social Government [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Christian Church and Social Government

By REV. JAMES M. GRAY. D. D.

- Dcu ot Moody Bible laatsota

TEXT—"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's;*’ "Thou ehalt love thy neighbor aa thyself.**—Matthew 22:21 and

These words of our Lord Jesus Christ suggest a sermon on the relation of the Christian church to civil government But first what is the Christian church? It is an elect body gathered out of all nations, in whom a supernatural work has been redeemed and sanctified through faith in

the atonement ot Christ, and as members of his spiritual body, are separated in an essential sense from the world. They are waiting for his re-appearing, and expect to be glorified and reign with him over the millennial earth. There is a point of view therefore, in which such a people have nothing to do with civil government because such government is a part of the system of ungodliness represented by Satan whom the Scriptures call the god of this world. His dominion is to be destroyed when Christ comes to set up his kingdom in its place. True Christians, therefore, are not expecting'the millennium to be brought about by moral or political reforms, but are waiting for his confing to introduce and make it a possibility. What Caesar Represents. But'while this is true, such Christians believe that they have obligations to the government under which they live, privileges to be enjoyed and a stewardship for which they must give account of God. Paul claimed protection because of his Roman citizenship, but no man has a moral right to ask protection from a govern ment - to which he Is Indifferent, and for which he will not use his influence to make it the best possible. “Caesar” represented the civil government of Christ’s day, and the things to be rendered unto him were the.taxes imposed by the Roman em plre. But the “Caesar” of the United States to whom we are to pay tribute is not an individual or an empire, but in an important sense it is ourselves If this is a “government of the people, for the people and by the peo pie,” we are our own Caesar, and to ourselves we render tribute. According to Christ’s command therefore, we are to support this government in accordance with the laws it has made. And yet more is implied, for we are not only “Caesar” to whom tribute must be paid, but "Caesar” who pays the tribute. For what do we demand this tribute therefore? How much of the taxes levied by us on our fellowmen goes into the‘pockets of those to whom it does not belong, because we are indulging own convenience and letting things alone? How much of it supports our constabulary and law courts, our alms houses and jails whose existence' is because of iniquitous legislation affording license to sin? Are we satisfied that in these things we can give account of our stewardship with jo?? How much attention, as Christians, have we given to these things? How much do we know, and how much have we prayed about them? Party or Purity, Which? This brings us to our second obligation in relation to civil government, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Of course, this means that we shall|.try to save our neighbor and bring him with us on the way to heaven. But it means also -that we can not be indifferent to the earthly difficulties of the way. In other words, we must not permit Satan to flaunt his temptations in the way without an effort to destroy them. There are dram shops, brothels and gambling dens open for the allurement of our young men and women If our newspapers are to be believed, law is defied by municipal annotate officers to the demoralization of both public and private standards of right and wrong. Who are responsible for these things? Will not God hold those professing Christians to account who, for the sake of party fealty on the one hand, or lack of public duty on the other, to have failed to overthrow them. The New Testament says scarcely anything about the relation of the Christian church to civil government because in the time of Christ and bls apostles there was no civil government in the in which we conceive of it But the duty of the individual Christian is included nevertheless in the second commandment of the law, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” for “love worketh no evil to his neighbor,” either by omission or commission.