SUNDAY MORNING No. 26.
Submission to Human Law.
The waiting position to which the Gospel calls us. - An apparently right
but wrong conclusion. - Our present relation to the powers that be. - Passive
strangers preparing for futurity. - No power but of God. - God rules in the
kingdom of men. - The future kingdom. - Heirs thereof nothing to do with State
questions. - Yet they owe their respect to State authorities. - The Quakers
wrong. - The present governments serve a good purpose. - Duty of disciples to
submit. - Pay all dues, even church rates. - Saints not responsible for the
State's use of the money. - Duty of brethren not to get into debt. - Wrong to
borrow thoughtlessly. - The Lord at hand. - A beautiful traffic.
ROMANS 13. - BELOVED BRETHREN AND SISTERS, The chapter read this morning
contains guidance upon a subject having an important bearing upon us in the
truth, and one upon which the very reception of the truth creates a necessity
for guidance. The position to which the Gospel calls us is that of waiting for
the Lord from heaven, of whom the truth teaches that he is King of kings and
Lord of lords; that he is the rightful governor of the nations; that in due
time, there will be no other power upon earth, and no other law recognized but
his own. Now, without guidance, we might argue that these things being true, we
are absolved from allegiance to the powers that now exist; that we are
consequently under no obligation to obey. The chapter comes in and stops any
such apparently right conclusion. I say apparently right; it is only apparently
so; because the truth does not teach us that Christ's kingdom now exists.
Campbellism would teach us that; the logical upshot of which would be rebellion
against kings and governments. If the government of Christ is now in force in
the earth, it would be natural to say: "We recognize no king but Christ, and
decline to obey the laws of other rulers." But the truth teaches us that the
power of the Lord Jesus, as king over the whole earth, is not to come into
practical force until his return at the season appointed for the manifestation
of the sons of God. Then the Lord will be king over all the earth: there will be
but one Lord. All other lords will be broken like a potter's vessel. The present
question is, What is, meanwhile, our relation to the powers that be? In answer
to that question, this chapter tells us something that prevents us from being
rebels against the authorities of the time, or from being political plotters or
political agitators in any shape. It prevents us, indeed, from taking any part
in the political movements of the time, and shuts us up to the position of
"strangers and pilgrims," whose energy is all required for the work of preparing
for the great administration of authority that is to come on earth in God's
appointed time, of which we shall have a share, if God account us worthy.
"Let every soul be subject to the higher powers." This passage practically deals
with the question: "How can we, who are subject to God, submit to those who are
opposed to Him?" The answer is, that although on the surface it appears
otherwise, there is no power but what is of God. The kings of the earth have one
object in what they do, and God, who controls them, has another. The king of
Assyria went against Israel for his own aggrandizement; but, in reality, he was
an instrument invisibly wielded by God against his people. "Howbeit," said the
prophet, "he meaneth not so" (Isa. 10:7). He does it to aggrandize himself, but
he cannot go beyond his appointed line. "Shall the rod shake itself against him
who uses it?" So it is with all the kingdoms of the earth; God is making use of
them; God superintends them by the angels of His power. Daniel tells us, in a
sense that does not conflict with the Gospel of the kingdom, that He ruleth in
the kingdoms of men, setting up some and putting down others. The kingdoms now
existing are provisionally of God's appointment. God's purpose to make the earth
a habitation of order, love, intelligence, and glory, requires a preliminary
prevalence of evil, and yet the evil must be regulated. If evil were allowed to
run riot, it would make the world a desert in which it would be impossible for
the preliminary work of trial in patient obedience to be done; we could never
assemble here this morning if evil were not controlled in its operations. There
is a necessity for a certain machinery to exist, and God has appointed that
machinery, but only for mechanical service. It is, so to speak, but the
scaffolding for the erection of the future building. They are a crude work; the
saints are called to a higher work in all respects. Even now, it is highest work
to preach the gospel of the future kingdom.
Paul's explanations on this point are perfectly necessary. These governments are
of God's appointment; therefore, if you resist them, you will be resisting God.
The truth teaches us to be the most obedient subjects in the realm. It imposes
upon us the attitude of subjects, having nothing to do with State questions,
except to obey, and give honour and respect to the constituted authorities for
the time being, when their commands do not conflict with what God requires.
Submission and respect, in these circumstances, are a duty. We disobey if we
refuse them. The Quaker who refuses to comply with the requirements of the
Court, is no model for a Christadelphian. He won't take off his hat: in this he
thinks he stands on scriptural ground. He does the opposite. The taking off the
hat in the presence of the king is a mere conventional respect, which we are,
apostolically, bound to yield. The Quakers are very disobedient to the apostles
in many things, although they profess so much to be exemplary.
Then Paul urges as a sort of collateral consideration, that governors are not a
terror to those who do right, which is true, apart from the special experiences
of the believers in Paul's day, and Paul does not refer to them. Writing to the
Romans before the authorities at Rome had lent themselves to the work of
persecution, his remarks have probable reference to their lenity, and not to the
rulers of the Jews, at whose hands he had experienced the principal part of his
sufferings. His dealings with the Roman authorities up to the time of writing,
had rather been in the way of invoking their protection; as when he was seized
in Jerusalem and rescued from the mob by the Roman soldiers, and again when his
status as a Roman freeman was recognized as a protection against scourging, and
again when the Roman captain gave him an escort to Caesarea, to get him out of
the way of a Jewish plot to kill him, and again when he claimed the protection
of the Roman law as against Jewish intrigue. "I stand at Caesar's judgment seat,
where I ought to be judged: to the Jews I have done no wrong ... I appeal unto
Caesar." In a general way, the statement is true of all governments, that it is
only the evilly disposed who suffer from them; with those who are submissive the
authorities have nothing to do but protect them. Apart from bad laws, they
inflict hardship on those only who do evil; as Peter says, "Who is he that will
harm you if ye follow that which is good?" "Wherefore," says Paul, summarizing
his argument, "we must be in subjection, not only for wrath, but for conscience
sake." That is, not only as a matter of expediency in the sense of keeping on
the favourable side of the law, but as a matter of principle, the disciples of
Christ have nothing to do with the rulers but to be subject -- not to resist,
nor to take any part in the process of resisting, what they do, or may think
well to do. In this aspect it is apparent it would be much out of place for
brethren or sisters to take part in the movements to overthrow governments,
movements, which even if successful, we know would bring nothing but anarchy;
but whether successful or not successful, we are excluded from taking part in
till the Lord himself begins. "Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute
is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."
Church-rates to whom Church-rates; it is no business of ours what the
governments do with the money they extort from us in the shape of tribute. The
tribute, levied on the Christians in Rome, went to pay for the support of
idolatrous temples; how unscripturally, therefore, many are acting, who have a
great reputation for being wise, and who are in their own way very honest, who
suffer distraint rather than pay Church-rates. It is really simple in them to
let the state take £2o in the shape of goods sold under value, when they could
get off by paying £5. It is not a matter of conscience; we have nothing to do
with the uses to which the State puts the money. All we have to do is to pay
when ordered, and see that we do not countenance the abominations which they
uphold. The "rights of man" are no standard for the action of a Christian:
abstractly, God only has "rights." Our only concern is, to know what He would
have us to do on this point. His will is plain. We are to submit, "looking for
the blessed hope" of the manifestation of His power, in which the saint is to
participate after trial. We need not and must not reach our hands to the
political machinery which at present exists. We know how hopeless it is for
human efforts to make the world better, for the world is 6,000 years old in the
experiment of human good, and as far off as ever from the condition of things
desired. Effective good requires infallible wisdom and infallible power. When
these are on the earth, it will be a satisfaction and a glory to have to do with
government. At present it is vexation of spirit. Stand aloof from human
movements and lay hold on God's movement, which He has given us the honour of
assisting.
Another thing mentioned in this chapter is equally important in its way, though
more of a private character. Do not get into debt. "Owe no man anything but
love"; it is an apostolic precept. You can be under a debt of gratitude as much
as you like, but keep money out of the obligation; this is good advice, even
apart from precept, but here is precept, therefore a binding rule on those who
submit to apostolic law. There are many evils connected with debt. "The borrower
is servant to the lender." The debt is something between you which has power to
cloud friendship; it is always an anxiety; a worm that gnaws the roots of joy.
At last, perhaps, it is a seed of hatred and strife. Keep the air clear of debt,
and the sun will have a better chance. But some say we cannot help it, and
doubtless there are times when people cannot help it, but in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred they can help it, by denying themselves. The advantages that
come of the borrowing are very dearly bought, in a higher than a commercial
sense. Most borrowers find that out by experience, but it is better not to let
experience teach in this matter, since we have a command; it is better to obey
the command and not to get into debt; a recognition of duty in this matter will
greatly help. There is nothing like duty as the motive principle of life;
applied to this matter, it would save worlds of trouble. Acting on this
principle of not getting into debt, people would be saved much trouble. Once get
into debt, the difficulty of getting out is greater than dreamt of, but some
people do not think about it. They see an opportunity; they conceive a desire in
a certain direction; and borrowing is as easy with them as possible. This is
wrong. They have no business to handle money that is not their own; they are not
sure they will live to repay; their health may fail, prospects may desert them
and the lender is robbed, and that the lender may have plenty is no weakening of
the obligation to give him his own. In our circumstances, it is specially
important to be particular on this point. The Lord may be upon us any day, and
how discomfiting for him to find us with hands and feet tied in debt and unable
to do anything for his name, for the burden we have taken on our shoulders.
There is nothing but wisdom in this precept: a noble-hearted lender may forgive
debt; but we must not presume on this; nay, rather refuse to be forgiven and
insist on the advantage of being free and independent. Shut your ears to
flattering projects. Say not, "I will pay up in a year." Ye know not the year is
yours. Even if ye live, things may go wrong, and ye in a fix will have to say
with humiliation, "I would pay but I cannot." Traffic in love without limit, for
love is the fulfilling of the law. We are allowed to contract indefinite
obligations in this direction; the interest is sweet to the payer and receiver,
and leaves a man richer in the article when paid. At the same time, beware of
counterfeits; beware of such as talk of love, and on the strength of it get into
debt and bear false witness. Love is the fulfilling of the law only in the sense
that it is the sentiment that leads to the spontaneous doing of what the law
enjoins, and abstinence from what it forbids. It will not do to put love in the
place of obedience; this is characteristic of the false religions of the day. We
must always guard against the misapplication of good principles, that we may see
the right fulfilment of all in the Kingdom of God.