muddle in your attempt to understand God’s Word in an hour such as this. You must “ rightly divide the Word of truth,” if you are to find God’s answer to this vital issue. T he M ission and C onduct of the C hurch What is the mission of the church ? And what is her conduct to be? Our risen Lord Himself gave us our mission when He said, “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Again, just before He ascended into heaven, He said to His disciples, “ Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1 :8 ). That is the business of the church—not to convert the world, not to “bring in the kingdom” ; the Lord Himself will do that when He returns in glory. But it is the mission of the church to win souls to Christ by preaching and teaching the Gospel of the cross. It is the business of the church to tell the lost that Christ died for sinners, and that He alone can save and keep from sin. Now, while the church is proclaiming this mes sage, her conduct is to be that of grace. As indi vidual members of the body of Christ, we are not to “ avenge” ourselves; but rather, we are to “ give place unto wrath.” We are to “ turn the other cheek,” love our enemies, and pray for those who despitefully use us. This should be our conduct as Christians, if we are to bear witness to the love and grace of God before a Christless world. Here are a few of the many admonitions to Christian love: “ Recompense to no man evil for evil. . . . If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.. . . Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17-21). In I Cor. 6:1-8 the Apostle Paul admonished Christians not to go to law with fellow-Christians, thus manifesting an un-Christian attitude before unbelievers. Then he asked, “Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be de frauded?” What Paul meant, of course, is that fellow-Chris tians cannot bear a faithful testimony before a godless world if they quarrel and disagree among themselves. How true this is, the history of the church proves all too well, for human frailties and strife among believers have ever been some of Satan’s mightiest weapons, wielded before an un believing world. The Holy Spirit, through the inspired apostles, has made very plain what our conduct as Chris- 21
by S hould a C hristian go to war ? Some of the Lord’s people would answer: “No; God’s Word is against i t ; for He has said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ ” On the other hand, many who are equally devout and sincere, not only would answer, “Yes,” but would also add that it is the Christian’s duty to go to war for a righteous cause. These, also, would show Scripture for their position. It is in order to try to answer such questions as these that I want to put before you what I under stand the Word of God to teach on the subject. C ivil G overnment and the C hristian C hurch God has bestowed two great gifts upon the human race, both of which have to do with the question before us: One is civil government; the other is the Christian church. These two institu tions — government and the church — are divinely ordained; that is, both came from God. Their pur pose and mission are different, but they are alike in that they came from God. In the Bible, both in the Old and in the New Testaments, God has given commands to rulers whose business it is to exercise law. Moreover, He has stated the penalty o f viola tion of law. In the same Book we find God instruct ing the church in regard to her mission and con duct in the world, especially toward her enemies. If you take the statements o f Holy Writ that refer to governments and apply them to the church, or vice versa, you will get into a hopeless MAY, 1968
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