Individuality in Religion
As related to Union of Church and State
By most
remarkable facts and unquestionable experiences, in the case of King Nebuchadnezzar
and the three Hebrew young men, there was made plain forever the divine
truth and principle that with the religion of the people no monarch can
of right have anything to do; that in the presence of the right of individuality
in religion, the king's word must change.
By corresponding
facts and experiences in the case of the Medo-Persian government against
Daniel there was made plain forever the divine will and truth and principle
that with the religion of the people no law, nor any government by means
of law, can of right have anything to do— that in the presence of the free
exercise of individuality in religion, any law touching religion is nothing;
and every individual in absolutely ignoring and disregarding such law is
"innocent" before God, and also does "no hurt" to government, to law, or
to society.
These two
examples and the principles which they illustrate cover every phase of
earthly government as such: and so make plain the great and vital truth
that religion, with its rites, institutions, and observances, is totally
excluded, and is to be totally exempt, from the cognizance of earthly government
of whatever phase or form: that religion, with all that is incident to
it, pertains to the individual alone in his personal relations to God.
But there
is another means by which man has sought to dominate man in the realm of
religion, that is by means of the Church through the State.
People called
out from the world and separated from the world unto God, are His church
in the world. When God had called His people out of Egypt they were
first "the church in the wilderness;" and afterward in the land of Canaan
they were the church there.
Through
their stiffness of neck, hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, they
sadly missed God's great purpose for them as His church. Yet in His
goodness and mercy God "suffered their manners in the wilderness," and
in the land from age to age. Thus through many vicissitudes that
people had continued as the church till the time when Christ the Lord came
to dwell on the earth: and through all that time this church was heir to
most glorious promises of a widespread kingdom and dominion.
At the time
when Christ came to the earth as man, the dominion and power of Rome held
the people of that church in stern and cruel temporal subjection, and they
longed for the promised Deliverer to appear. This Deliverer had been
abundantly promised, and at last He came. But the high ones of the
church had allowed their worldly ambition to hide their eyes from the spirituality
of the kingdom and dominion that had been promised; and they looked for,
and had taught the people to expect, a political and temporal deliverer
who should strike off the yoke of Rome, break her power, and exalt the
church of the chosen people to a position of power and dominion over the
nations, corresponding to that which for so long had been held by the nations
over them.
When Jesus
first appeared in His public ministry, these high ones of the church went
with the crowds that flocked to hear Him, listened with interest, and hoped
that He would fulfil their expectations. But when they saw the interest
and enthusiasm of the multitude reach the point where "they would come
and take Him by force to make Him a king"; and when they saw that Jesus,
instead of accepting the honor or encouraging the project, "withdrew Himself
from them"; in this they also saw that all their ambitious hopes of deliverance
from the dominion of Rome, and of exaltation over the nations, were utterly
vain so far as Jesus was concerned.
But by this
time the influence of Jesus with the people had become so widespread and
so strong that the church-leaders saw that their power over the people
was very rapidly vanishing. Instead of seeing fulfilled or sanctioned
their ambitious plans and hopes for worldly power and dominion, they saw
with dismay that what power and influence they did have with the people
was most certainly undermined: and this by a man risen from the greatest
obscurity, who came from a town of the meanest reputation, and who was
at most only a private member of the church! Something must be done,
and that very soon, to preserve their own place and dignity. It was
manifestly too late to think of commanding Him not to preach or teach:
by this time they knew full well that not only He but the multitudes themselves
would pay no attention to any such prohibition. But there was a way
out—a means by which to maintain their place and dignity, and to assert
their power over Him and the people. In their opinion of themselves
and their position it was a very easy thing to make their place and dignity
identical not only with the position but with the very existence of the
church and even the nation itself. Accordingly they concluded, "If
we let Him. thus alone all men will believe on Him and the Romans shall
come and take away both our place and nation." And "from that day forth
they took counsel together for to put Him to death." (John 11:47, 53).
But subject
as they were to the Roman authority, it was not lawful for them to put
any man to death. Therefore, to effect their purpose they must get
control of the governmental or civic authority. It mattered not that
this authority was Roman; and it mattered not that this Roman authority
they hated above all other earthly things, and could not by any possibility
willingly recognize: all this must be forgotten in the presence of the
awful alternative of seeing vanish their place and dignity and power in
the church.
In the church
the Pharisees and the Herodians stood at opposite poles. The Herodians
were so called because they were the party and partisans of Herod.
They were the apologists of Herod in his position of king of Judea.
But as Herod was king only by the direct appointment of Rome, and was seated
and maintained as king by the power of Rome, for any one to be a partisan
and an apologist of Herod was to be even more a partisan and an apologist
of Rome.
The Pharisees
were the exclusively righteous ones of the church. They were the
extreme church party. As such they were the conservators of the purity
of the church, the representatives of the truest loyalty to God and the
ancient dignity of the chosen people. As such they were the extreme
and most uncompromising dissidents from Rome, and from all that was of
Rome or that was in any way connected with Rome.
But the
Pharisees, as the exclusively righteous ones and the chiefest in
dignity, were the most fixedly set against Christ, and took the lead in
the counsels and plans to destroy Him. And to accomplish their purpose
to put Him to death, they must have the co- operation of the secular power,
which was Roman only. Therefore to accomplish their purpose against
Jesus, they would gloze their hatred of Rome, and would use for their purpose
against Jesus that very power of Rome of which they were by profession
the extreme disputers and opposers.
The means
by which at one stride they would both cross this gulf to Rome and make
sure of the secular power, was to pool issues with the Herodians.
The Herodians, as being only less opposed to Jesus than were the Pharisees,
were ready for the alliance. By this alliance the political party
would be at one with the Pharisees, and the political influence and power
of that party would be at the command of the church leaders. This
would make sure to them the use of the soldiery, which they must have if
they would be really secure in their open movements against Jesus.
The alliance
was entered into, and the conspiracy was formed: "And the Pharisees went
forth and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how
they might destroy Him." (Mark 3:6).
"Then went the Pharisees and took counsel
how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent out unto him
their disciples with the Herodians," "spies, which should feign themselves
just men, that they might take hold of His words, that so they might deliver
Him unto the power and authority of the governor." (Matt. 22:15,16; Luke 20:20).
And that governor was Pilate the Roman.
And when
finally the time came, at that awful midnight hour when Judas, "having
received" a band of men and a captain and officers, "with swords," came
upon Him in Gethsemane, it was "the band and the captain, and the officers,"
who, at the direction of "the chief priests and Pharisees," took Him and
bound Him.
And having
so taken Him they led Him to Annas first. Annas sent Him to Caiaphas,
and Caiaphas sent Him to Pilate, the governor, the Roman. Pilate
sent Him to Herod, who "with his men of war" set Him at naught and mocked
Him and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him again to Pilate.
And when Pilate would have let Him go, they rung their final political
note and plea of loyalty to Caesar and Rome, even above the loyalty of Pilate
the Roman himself, "If thou let this man go thou art not Caesar's friend.
Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar."
Pilate made
his last appeal, "Shall I crucify your King?" only to be answered with
the words expressive of their final abandonment of God, and of their completest
unity with Rome, "We have no king but Caesar. Crucify Him.
Crucify Him. And they were instant with loud voices. And the
voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed."
Thus the
mightiest crime and the loudest crying sin in all the history of the universe
was committed, and was made possible as it was committed, only by the union
of church and State only by the church in control of the civil power, using
that power to make effective her wicked will and purpose.
And that
awful fact alone is all-sufficient to blast with perpetual and infinite
condemnation, and to consign to eternal infamy, all such connection anywhere
forever. And with such a record in the very first instance of the
thing, it is not at all strange that this same thing of union of church
and State—the church in control of the secular power should have
proved and must ever prove, the chiefest curse to men and nations wherever
found in all after times.
So true
it is, and so completely demonstrated, that "secular power has proved a
Satanic gift to the church."