Part 7 (2/2)
Says an apostle, ”Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” ”For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of G.o.d.”
It has been said that this only forbids a revengeful temper, but this evasion will not do; for Christians are here forbidden to do the very thing which G.o.d declares he will do himself, and he does nothing but what is holy.
”Render to no man evil for evil,” is a positive precept without any limitation, and which admits of no evasion; and it must plainly rescind the law of shedding man's blood because he had shed the blood of man.
But the exclamation is often made, What, not punish a murderer with death! Little do those who make this exclamation think that they themselves also are sinners and that every sin deserves not only temporal death but G.o.d's wrath and curse forever, and that they are in like condemnation unless redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. For such, it might be well to inquire if they know ”what manner of spirit they are of.”
The most prominent characteristic of Messiah's reign over men in this world is mercy, since he has secured the rights and honor of the divine government by the sacrifice of himself so that the guilty may live. He has given his life as a ransom and taken the world into his hands as the ruler, judge, and rewarder, and offers the chief of sinners mercy; and the merits of his blood are sufficient to cleanse from all sin as well against man as against G.o.d. And who can help being astonished at the amazing difference between his laws and his dealings with men, and those sanguinary laws of men according to which under the light of the gospel they punish with death.
The professed principle and design of these laws is strict justice; but were men dealt with according to strict justice by him who rules above, who would be able to stand? These laws of men accept no atonement for capital offenses; no mercy is offered, for none is provided for those who incur their penalty; but the gospel offers mercy to the chief of sinners while it condemns those who reject the offers. Capital offenders will never be condemned by civil governments for the rejection of offered mercy, for no mercy is provided for them. How unlike the divine government! But Christians are commanded to be merciful, as their Father in heaven is merciful, who showers down blessings on the evil and unthankful. Our Master has told us that with what judgment we judge we shall be judged; and with what measure we mete it shall be measured to us again; that if we forgive we shall be forgiven; and if we forgive not we shall not be forgiven; and that if we show no mercy we shall have judgment without mercy.
Christians ought to ponder the subject well before they advocate the consistency and safety of dispensing justice without mercy. Let them learn what that meaneth, ”I will have mercy and not sacrifice.”
_Objection seventh._ ”Every purpose is established by counsel, and with good advice make war”; ”For by wise counsel thou shalt make war,” etc.
Here war is recognized as a duty under certain circ.u.mstances, and the manner in which it is to be undertaken is pointed out, viz., by wise counsel.
_Answer._ The inspired Proverbs are maxims of wisdom ill.u.s.trated, for the most part, by some familiar subject that existed at the time they were delivered. The object here is not to inculcate the lawfulness of war but the necessity of sound wisdom in relation to the actions of men; and the subject of war appears to be introduced merely to ill.u.s.trate this idea. The counsel and wisdom of men in relation to their temporal and worldly concerns are often worthy of imitation in reference to spiritual things; for the children of this world are, in some sense, wiser in their generation than the children of light, and the conduct of worldly men is often very appropriately introduced to ill.u.s.trate Christian duty. Our Lord says, ”What king, going to war with another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?”
Doubtless our Lord's design was to warn people to count the cost before they professed to be followers of him, that they might not be deceived and discouraged, and that they might act from principle and not from hypocrisy. But he inculcated these things by referring to the example of kings in their consultations about war. And it is believed that the pa.s.sages before cited are of similar import. These references to war, being introduced merely for the ill.u.s.tration of other subjects, will no more prove the lawfulness of war than the reference of the apostle to the Olympic games, for ill.u.s.tration, will prove the lawfulness of those heathen feats. But if this explanation should not be satisfactory, it may be observed that the Proverbs were written under the Old Testament economy which tolerated offensive as well as defensive war; whence it does not appear that any war can be undertaken under the present dispensation, ”by wise counsel,” except that which is spiritual; so that if the ancient was typical of the new dispensation, then the pa.s.sages quoted will now apply only to spiritual warfare.
_Objection eighth._ When the soldiers demanded of John the Baptist what they should do, one of the directions which he gave them was to be content with their wages. If their occupation had been unlawful, then he would not have directed them to be contented with the wages of wickedness.
_Answer._ John the Baptist was under the Mosaic economy, the new dispensation not having commenced. He was but the forerunner of the Lord, a herald to sound his approach. But he gave the soldiers another direction, viz., to ”do violence to no man,” obedience to which is totally incompatible with war, as that is nothing else but violence.
Only hinder soldiers from doing violence to any man and you stop at once the whole progress of war; therefore, if the directions of John are insisted on as gospel authority, they will prove, probably, much more against the lawfulness of war than in favor of it.
_Objection ninth._ The Centurion and Cornelius were Christians and soldiers and highly approved of G.o.d for their faith and piety; nor were they directed by Christ or his apostles to renounce their profession; therefore the profession of arms is not inconsistent with Christian duty.
_Answer._ They were first soldiers and then Christians; and we have no evidence that they continued in the profession of arms; nor are we warranted to say that they were not directed to renounce that profession, as the Scriptures are silent on the subject. Peter, it appears, tarried a number of days with Cornelius, and he doubtless explained to him the spirit and precepts of the gospel; and it is very probable that neither Cornelius nor the Centurion continued soldiers in any other sense than they were soldiers of Christ, as the idolatrous rites enjoined on the Roman soldiers were totally inconsistent with the Christian character, aside from the unlawfulness of war itself. Besides, the Roman soldiers were as often engaged in offensive as in defensive war; therefore, if the argument has any force on the question, it will tolerate not only defensive but offensive war, and also the idolatrous rites of the Roman armies.
_Objection tenth._ Our Lord paid tribute money, which went to support military power, but he would not contribute to the support of a wicked thing, therefore war is not inconsistent with Christianity.
_Answer._ A distinguished trait of the Christian religion is peace. The command is, ”Follow peace with all men.” ”Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of G.o.d.”
Our Lord set the example of giving no just cause of offense to any.
Tribute was demanded of him unjustly according to the existing laws, but lest fault should be found, he wrought a miracle and paid it. Money is a temporal thing, and belongs to the governments of this world, as the various coins bear the ensign of the nation by whom they were made; but the Christian's treasure is not in this world, and when the rulers of this world call for that which bears their own image and superscription, Christians have no right to withhold from them their dues, for they must ”render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.” For this cause they ought to pay tribute and resign up temporal things without a murmur to temporal governments, and leave it with Caesar to manage the things of Caesar. Thus far are Christians warranted to act, from the example of Christ and the precepts of the gospel; but how does the lawfulness of war follow from Christians rendering to Caesar his due? Is it because some of the money goes to support war? Probably, of the money which our Lord paid as much went to the support of idolatry and the games of the day as to the support of war. Now if the argument is sound, we may not only prove by it the lawfulness of war but the lawfulness of idolatry and many other abominable things practiced by the heathen governments.
_Objection eleventh._ Our Lord, just before his crucifixion, commanded his disciples to take swords, and, if any were dest.i.tute, to sell their garments and procure them, as they would no longer have his personal presence to protect them; and as they were to encounter great trials and difficulties, they must, besides relying on providence, take all prudent means for their defense and preservation.
_Answer._ That our Lord did not direct them to take swords for self-defense is evident because he told them that two were enough, and because the disciples never made any use of them after their Master directed Peter to put up his and p.r.o.nounced a penalty on all who should have recourse to swords afterwards. But the design seems to have been to show by example in the most trying situation where self-defense was justifiable, if in any case, that the use of the sword was utterly prohibited under the gospel economy, and to show the criminality and danger of ever using deathly weapons against mankind afterwards. If Christ's kingdom had been of this world, then, he tells us, his servants would have fought; but his kingdom being not of this world, the weapons of their warfare were not carnal but spiritual. He therefore rebuked them for their mistaken zeal, healed the wound they made, and forbade the use of the sword.
_Objection twelfth._ Christians are commanded to be in subjection to civil rulers who are G.o.d's ministers to execute wrath on the wicked and are ministers of good to the church; therefore Christians are bound to take the sword at their command; for civil government is ordained of G.o.d and civil rulers are not to bear the sword in vain, and Christians may lawfully do what G.o.d ordains to be done.
_Answer._ That civil government, so called in distinction from religious government, is ordained by G.o.d is fully admitted, and also that G.o.d ordains whatsoever comes to pa.s.s. But there is a great difference between his decretive and his preceptive will. The former is not a rule of duty for man without the latter; the latter is always a rule of duty.
This fact might be proved by a mult.i.tude of instances from Scripture.
Persons therefore may be very wicked in doing what G.o.d ordains to be done, if they act without his command.
<script>