The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1890-09-18
Preachers. Prohibition and Politics
By E. c. REEVES.
IIo.ston Methodist. ]

Ho;ston Methodist-l
The hr:siian Chu ch is a Divine Institution.
It is Gods own appointed Inea for the accom-
| plishment ol His moral purposes on the earth.
It is a moral government founded on the Word,
having original ard exclusive jurisdietioh of
ali moral qJiestionss 1t is not pnysicalf gov
| ernment. Tse impctaous Peter erred in tmit.
ing off the es.r of Malehus, was rebuked by Jesus
and commanded to put up his sword. I'D was
instructed bT the Master, that neither Christ nor
his cause was TO be defended by physical force:
For all they that take the sword shall perish
/ by the sword" Again 'sThinkest thou that I
cannot pray 10 my Father, and He shall present
/ II 1--WE me more than twelve leg.ons OF angels" !"
| Yet Christ submitted to the civil government,
wicked as it was, even unto his death upon the
cross. His was not kingdom of physical force.
/ A political, or civil or human government, nee
essarily embodies the idea of physical force,
and without that force to compel obedience to
commands, human government is nothing. The
Christian Church is the opposite-is nothing
with physical force, but is everything without
it. The Great Teacher himself drew sharply the
line between the moral and civil, the divine
AID the human governments, when he said :
Render therefore unto Caesar the things that
| are Cesar's, and unto God the things that are
Gods" This line of demarkation was drawn
when the governing power-the Roman govern
men t-knew not God and when vice and im1
morality permested the civil government in ali
its parts, and thick moral darkness covered the
earth. The Jews REJECTED Christ because he did
not set up temporal kingdom ard by physical
force control civil government. AS a temporal
ruler, ilinite in goodness. in wisdom and in
power, what a happy contrast civil govern
ment, controlled by such ruler, would have
presented to the then existing government,
which was corrupt and vile far beyond any that
has ever existed in Christian lands. To the
human mind, the emergency demanded that
Christ assert himself as a temporal king; but
that vas not the divine plan. The Church was
not organized to work on tkat line. Its opera
tions were to be through the medium of the
mind of each individual, enlightening the same
and awakening the conscience. And thus the
great moral truths. on which the Church was
founded, were to be applied to individual minds
and conseiences, elevating them from darkness
to light, from a depraved condition to a state of
grace, thus bettering morally the in livi iIal
members composing government, the govern
ment itself would be elevated and purified. In
this way. and this way only, has the Church any
seriptural authority for interference with tenn
poral power In this way has the Church made
all civil governments, denominated by Chris |
tian Influences, so vastly superior to those civil
HOI COllTOlltu Dy SUCH Influences !
in all that pertains to good government. Con- |
trast the condition of the Christian and anti
Christi IN countries and learn somewhat of the |
success of the Church. Let him who thinks
that the Church moves too slowly, as to any |
moral question, make it move fast by himself |
working harder.
Whilst the question is almost an offense
against light and knowledge, yet strange in
deed, there be some, who, calledo of God, as they
claim, to dedicate their time and talent to the
work of the Church. are abandoning the pIllpit
for the rostrum in politics. We are told that
this is in the line of Christian duty as it is for
the accomplishment of great moral purpose
the suppression of the liquor trafficl Indeedl
Did not Chri t, the "Light that 1ighteth every
man that comes into the world" organize the
Christian Church for the accomplishment of all
moral ends? And who art though, o finite, pre-
sumptuous man that will assay t. devise su-
periOr plan to that ordained by the Infinite, for
the accomplishment of divine purpose? but
in vain do they Worship me. teaching for .oe- |
trines the commandments of men" - Mat
thew, Xxx: 9.
4 minister of the Church is either called of
God to preach the Gospel TO sinful, dying men,
or he is not. If he is not called, then indeed
should he quit If in truth he be called, then
the scope of HIS calling is made sure and GER
tain by the scriptures which abound with ex-
amples and precepts as touching this matter.
Jesus, himself the embodi Ment of all moral law,
He who organized the Christian Church and
was its first and its greatest preacher, Began to
preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of
heaven isat hand" Matt. tx: 9. Next He called
others and sent them forth to preach. These
were called from various pursuits in
life; one was taken from a civil Office. but none
ever was sent back to run for any civil office;
none was ever commissioned to interfere with
civil government only through the moral medi-
um although the degenerate times needed, sad
ly needed good men in office. None was ex-
cused until he could work out some moral
problem by human agency-ah, had there been
such an one he would ave been excused ''for
cause probably on the ground that he had not
been called. The example teaches, that the
Church, through the spirit of God, may call men
to its ministry from official places in civil gov
ernment but we thave neither example or PIE
eept showing the converse to be true, the latter
day examples of some to the contrary notwith
Standing How ny rational mind
can reach the conclusion, that a preacher called
Of God to preach the Gospel of Christ, can do
more good in the kingdom of God by becoming
a political leader than preacher i'll the
Chu rch of the living God, is a problem not yet
solved to the inquiring mind of this writer
The liquor traffic is gigantic evil, and as to
his all evangelical churches must necessarily
be prohibition churches. The church is a nur-
sery OF all the virtues, prohi ition among the
rest There is where prohibitionists are made.
new political party may be organized with
prohibition as its chief cornerstone, 1t may raid
The Church and from its pulpits some OF its
intellects may be dragged down to the
political rostrum; and many men may be drawn
from the old parties into the political prohibit
ion party but that is not makins prohibition I
sts; they were prohibitions, before, and, are
transferred, simply Sfronl where they did much
good to where, possibly, probably they can not
10 so much good. repeat political parties do
not make prohibitonists: they are made else
where by higher power--by the Church. And
whilst the Church is necessarily prohibition
Church. yet il can not be political Church, be-
,at Sc the civil government is a human contri-
vance for temporal affairs, whilst the Church is
4 divine institution for spiritual matters; and ,
we're it possible for the Church to lose its spirit
laI place and as an organization go into the do
main of political strife, 1t would cease to be the
Church of the living God but would be politi- !
al organizat. .on-depending on human agency ,
-or success in politics. But the Christian Church
he divine appointed means, although it may
suffer on account of desertions, here and there,
IF sentinels from the watch tower, and on nc
,ount sf the Indifference of some of its mem
Ders In whose minds the divine plan has been
;uperseded by tn human method, yet in the
yreat conflict with sin in all its forms she viii
70 conquering on. under the banner of the cross.
she viii still continue in the God given work of
.levating and ennobling men and temporal
AS in the past, so in the future it
viii continue to make prohibitionists. Foreign