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Studies in the Life of the Christian

H >> Henry T. Sell >> Studies in the Life of the Christian





THE AUTHORITY

The Source of Authority is in God. "There is no power but of God; the
powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1; Daniel 2:20,21;
4:32; Psalm 2). God 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. God has inherent powers;
institutions have that which is conferred upon them by law. Each one
who exercises authority must derive it directly or indirectly from
God" (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 God.

The Sanction of Authority is in the righteousness and justice of
God. "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 God."

Law has been defined, as the necessary relations which pertain to the
nature of things. When men come to associate 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 God 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; Titus 3:1,2; Ezra 7:25).

God 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 God 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 leadership 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 institutions 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 God. 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 passage 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 passage.

Never was there a time when the highest type of Christian citizenship,
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 assumes 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
destitute 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 God 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; Titus 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 God. While this is a work of God, the responsibility for it rests
with man. God does not desire the death of the sinner. By the sending
of Jesus Christ God 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 God
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 God. 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 restitution. 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 God. 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 worship of God 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 anticipations, 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.

Conscious Personal Existence of the soul after death. This fact is
conspicuously taught in the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles and
Revelation. In the world to come people are not shades or ghosts, but
they have certain bodies (1 Corinthians 15:44), they know themselves
to be and are known as the same persons who once lived on the earth
(Matthew 17:2-4; Luke 24:36-48; John 20:24-28; 11:25,26; Luke
16:19-31; 23:42,43). Christ said, "But as touching the resurrection of
the dead have ye not read, that which was spoken unto you by God
saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but the living" (Matthew 22:
31,32).

Eternal Citizenship in heaven. The aim of Christianity is to make men
righteous. The abode of the blessed hereafter is one wherein dwells
holiness, purity and truth.

There are conditions and hindrances to the entering of the abode of
the blessed.

1. Conditions. The great prerequisite to entering into the joy of
heaven is righteousness, perfect obedience to the law of God. But
every man of himself, when he enters into an honest self-examination,
feels that he comes far short of the perfect keeping of the divine
commands (1 John 1:8,9; Romans 3:23). He needs forgiveness for past
disobedience, he needs help to lead a righteous life. Hence Jesus
Christ, the divine Son of God, came that through His life and death we
might receive pardon for past sin and help to live the righteous life
(John 3:16-23). What man could not do for himself Jesus Christ does
for him (Romans 3:20-26). The disciples of Christ were rightly
enthusiastic in proclaiming Him as the propitiation for man's sin and
belief in Him, with all that it implied, as the entrance gate into the
heavenly life. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and
the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6). "In My
Father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I
am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3).

2. Hindrances. The great hindrance to the entering of heaven is
disobedience of God, not only acts of disobedience but a state of
disobedience, where the soul of man desires to have no fellowship with
God or His righteousness. There is a disobedience of God through
carelessness, through ignorance and through willfulness; there is
little hope for a man when he deliberately turns his back upon God. It
is wonderfully shown in the Bible how God has sought to make Himself
known to man and to save him here and hereafter. Every possible
appeal has been made to man to turn to God. The Scriptures give no
answer of hope for a happy hereafter for those who deliberately reject
all of God's invitations and pleadings in this world (Matthew 25:46;
Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Romans 2:1-6).

The Glory of Heaven.--The New Testament writers vie with each other in
striving to make plain the glory of heaven. John describes it, in a
vision, as a magnificent city of gold and precious stones, wherein can
come no evil thing (Revelation, chapters 21,22). "And the city had no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of
God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings
of the earth do bring their honour and glory into it" (Revelation
21:23,24). The real glory of heaven, however, is not in its outward
adornment or pageantry, but in the triumph of righteousness and the
supreme reward of constancy to the truth of God (Revelation
7:9-17). The holiness of God is vindicated (Revelation 4:8,9). "The
tabernacle of God is with men" (Revelation 21:3,4), and every good
deed stands out glorified in the clear white light of eternity. Every
saint in heaven will feel that he has the hundredfold reward for all
the sacrifices he made when upon the earth for the kingdom of God.

The effort of the New Testament writers is to make the followers of
Christ joyfully do their work here, much of which may be distasteful
and difficult. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of
God" (Hebrews 12:2). It is worth while to work for a limited future
earthly reward; it is much more worth while to work for a heavenly
reward which shall endure throughout eternity.


QUESTIONS

What can be said of the Christian's hope in the present life? What is
the regeneration of the individual through faith in Christ? What is
meant by the enlightenment of the social conscience? How can better
conditions of living be secured through Christ? How can law and order
be maintained through the advancement of Christian principles? What
is the Christian's hope in turning the world to Christ? What is the
Christian's hope in the future life? What is meant by conscious
personal existence after death, eternal citizenship, the glory of
heaven?

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