Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-30
TEACHING OF ST.PAUL
What He Meant by Saying Our Con-
versation is in Heaven.
IT'S A MATTER OF CITIZENSHIP.
Duties and Privileges That Go Along With
That Relation.
KEEPING UP A GOOD GOVERNMENT
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH. ]

ST. Paul was very positive and conf
dent Christian. He knew perfectly well
what he believed, and why he believed it.
To him the unseen universe was as real as
the ground beneath his feet. He was as
sure of the existence of God as he was of the.
existence of Paul.
And he was pretty we'll acquainted with
Paul. He. knew that Paul was good.
faithful Christian. and though he was fully
aware of his infrmities and faults, and not
unmindful that even saints might become
castaways, still he had no hesitation in tell
ing good many people that if they would
follow his example it would be better for
them. Brethren" he says, "be followers
together OF me, and mark them which walk,
so as ye have us for an example, for our
conversation is in heaven"
That is good deal Tor a man to say of
himself. But it was true, and it was just
what those people needed, and he said it.
L wish we could say as much.
We do not know much, it is true, about
the conversation of heaven. We have but
the vaguest idea what it will be about.
Probably it will be wider in its range than
any of US think. We are quite ignorant of
the language of heaven. We do not even
know for certain that people in the next life
will talk at all. 1t is just as likely that
thinking will take the place of speaking,
and that the conversation of heaven will be
| some sort of mind-reading.
THE PHYSICAL CHANGE.
Evidently there will be decided change,
out of earth into heaven. For one thing,
we will leave our earthly bodies behind us.
st. Paul reminds of that just in this con-
nection. 1.-THE Lord Jesus Christ" he
says, "shall change our vile body that it
may be fashioned like unto His glorious
body" The celestial body. he tells US in
another familiar paragraph, will not be this
terrestrial body which we have now. There
| will be no flesh and blood in heaven. That
| will be great change.
But, after all the changes, we know
pretty well what sort of conversation will
not be heard in heaven. We know that the
conversation of heaven will be perfectly
| reverent and perfectly pure, and perfectly
| charitable. Nobody will talk unkindly
| about their neighbors in heaven. And we
ought to know that if we are ever to take
our part in any heavenly conversation. we
must begin now. We must have our con-
versation in heaven, now.
Conversation" is a word which has a
narrower meaning now than it once had. In
the DAYS when the Bible was translated into
| English, the word indicated the whole man.
ner of mans life. His Conversation"
was what we would call his behavior. Thus
| it is used in another place in the New Tes-
lament, where we read, "Be ye holy in all
manner of conversation" 1t means not
speaking only, but living.
WHAT ST. PAUL MEANT.
The word, however, which St. Paul wrote
meant neither living nor speaking, except
| as it included both. st. Paul said nothiDg Q
about conversation" in either its narrower
or its wider Specification. The word which
he used means citizenship" "Our citi-
zenship is in heaven. We may cross out
that old word Conversation" from the SEN
tence, and write this new word ''citizenship''
in the place of it.
And so We get our text: "Our citizenship
is in heaven" What does il mean?
Well, we know what Roman citizenship
meant in the days of st Paul. 1t was a
privilege which men who had it were very
proud of. st. Paul had asserted his citizen
ship upon a memorable occasion among
| these very people of Philippi to whom he
was now writing; and they would all re-
member what fright that declaration had
given to the city authorities who had beaten
and imprisoned him. They came themselv YES
to the town Jail and took out Paul and Silas
with profound apologies, because Paul was
Roman citizen.
Now, st. Paul is telling them that there is
another and a better citizenship which is in
the possession of them all. sour citizen
ship is IN heaven" And that is true of US
| also.
You know that when our Lord went about
preaching, the main subject that He
preached about was the kingdom Of heaven.
And when He sent out the 20 evangelists,
in the midst OF His ministry, He gave them
that same message. They were to show the
| glad tidings OF the kingdom of heaven.
And when His earthly ministry was over,
| and after His resurrection He tarried vet
for 40 days, teaching the apostles who were
to carry on His work, this, you remember,
was what He talked about with them,
Speaking of the things pertaining to the
| kingdom of God"
WHAT THE KINGDOM is.
Exactly what Christ meant by the king
| dom, it is not easy to say. He said great
deal about it, sometimes in sermons, some
times in parallels. From some of these say
ings it has been inferred that the kingdom
means the moral government of God. From
others, it has been maintained that the
kingdom means the ecclesiastical govern
ment of the church. Probably it means
both, and more than both.
God is the King, that we know. And we
are the subjects, that We know also. And
when you know who the king is and who
the subjects are, you know at least enough
to begin with about the kingdom.
Now citizenship in a case like this, when
the citizens are separated from their coun-
try, when the subjects are settled in land
which is not obedient to their king, involves
two duties: The duty of loyalty and the
duty OF light bearing.
Our citizenship is in heaven, and our first
duty is to live here like citizens of heaven.
We must be loyal citizens. We must be
ever mindful where we belong, and who our
king is, and we must be watchful to make
our conversation. in all the meanings of that
word, accord with our citizenship. The
scholars of King James day translated
"ctizenship'' into Conversations" and we
must DO that, too, in cur daily living, in the
"epistle" which men read more plainly and
more often than any epistle which any of
the apostles wrote-the epistle of our daily
conduct.
COLONY IN RUSSIA.
1t is like the case of an American colony
in Russia. They live there, but their citi-
zenship is here. They have duties in both
places. They are to render unto Cesar-or
the Gar as they call the name in Russia
such tribute as belongs to him; and they
have other tribute to pay, also, which must
be paid, whether the Gar gets his or not.
Their allegiance is first and all the time to
the laws of their own country. You know
very we'll what people think Of disloyal citi-
zens. You know the just opinion which we
all have of American citizens who try to be
half English, or half French, or ANYTHING
else but true, sincere, whole-hearted Ameri-
cans That is one of great number of in
structive parallels which the text naturally