THE KING’S BUSINESS
537
Fifth. -He must persevere in prayer. His sense of dependence upon God must char acterize his whole life—its beginning, its middle, and its ending. (6) The relation of the believer to mat ters civil and political ( 13 : 1 - 14 ). In this chapter is discussed the relation of the justified and sanctified man to the civil government under whose control he may find himself. We should not forget the intense suffering to which the early Christian Church was subjected at the insti gation of pagan governments and the pos sibility of an antagonistic feeling arising in consequence thereof. In addition to this the Jews, who regarded theocracy as the only legitimate form of government, would naturally have the spirit of resistance to any other constituted form of government. Then there was the sect of Ebionites who ascribed all civil government to the devil’s control. Thoroughly conscious of all these facts and knowing that such a man as Nero sat on the throne, the apostle exhorts believers not to forget that they have duties as subjects; that a man does not cease to be a citizen when he becomes a Christian; but that, on the contrary, he should be a faithful subject, an orderly inhabitant, a punctual taxpayer, and should acknowledge the authority of the law. A Christian should be obedient to the statutes and laws of the country to which he belongs except where such laws and statutes contradict the plain teaching of the Word of God. It is the Christian’s plain duty to submit to the powers that be where conscience is not involved. Anarchy is disloyalty to God (vv. 1-7). The great motive-moving cause of the Christian life and the subjection of that life to the constituted authorities under which and by which the believer is gov erned is set forth in verses 8-14, that motive being our Lord’s return and the consciousness that every believer is living in the power of the Master’s presence. No man is likely to sin looking Jesus Christ straight in the face. We must at least turn our backs on Him ere we are untrue to
Him. The more conscious we are of His presence the more victorious will be our lives in the world. We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and thus make no pro vision for the flesh. (c) The Christian’s relaition to the weaker brother ( 14 : 1 - 13 : 13 ). This chapter assumes that there were numerous' controversies between the breth ren in the early Church. Undoubtedly much questioning arose with regard to certain conscientious scruples. We are here told how to settle a Christian contro versy and how we should behaye towards the weak and scrupulous brethren. Three laws are laid down for our guidance in this matter: that of Christian charity (14:1- 12); self-denial (13-20) ; helpfulness (21-23). Believers have a very intimate relation ship one with another by reason of a com mon tie, which is faith in Christ. So far as possible believers ought to be agreed. They ought to be “of the same mind one toward another” (12:16). There are degrees of knowledge and experience, how ever, among believers. Some have entered more fully into the privileges of the gospel than others. This difference obtained, not so much in the fundamentals of Christian faith, as in matters of Christian tolerance touching conduct. Just who the “weak” brethren were we may not be able fully to determine. We do know, however, that they were charac terized as having conscientious scruples regarding the eating of meat offered to idols, of participating in wine, and of keep ing certain feast days. - The composite character of the church of Rome would doubtless give rise to much discussion regarding these matters. The contact of Judaistic and Christian tendencies with heathenism could not help but arouse such questions. Two classes of persons are dealt with in this chapter: the stronger brother who looks with contempt upon the weaker brother who is bothered about these con scientious scruples; and the weaker
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker