Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1912-09-11
CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP.
What Is il? What Il Does and How II Is
Attained,

Attained.
By the Rev. J. S. Martin, D. 0
general Superintendent Nationa
Reform Association.
It is not merely occupying tn
status and enjoying the rights 0
a citizen by one who processes t,
be a Christian Many a Christian
has that status and enjoys thes
rights and privileges who is not ,
Christian citizen. It is not oc
cupying ones self exclusively. OF
even chiefly, with mitters tha'
pertain to the country1s domain
population and wealth, nor with
matters of ihvention.l manufac-
ture aud trade, nor VITA question:
of war and peace and secular ed
ucation, nor even with the me-
chanism of government such af
the study of its framework, the
laws constitutional ana statut Dry,
with which 1t has to do, the titles
and duties of officers and the
methods of their election, nor is
it attending the primaries and
voting at the polls. All this has
It's place and in its place is right,
even duslful. All this may we'll
claim thu attention. in part, of
Chrissian citizens. IT. is doubt
less an essential elemel3 i IN Chris.
sian citizenship. But it is by no
means the most essential element
IN it.
What is there in any or-all of
this to distinguish the, Christian
citizen from his noa Christian
fellow cttizsn? Will not the lat
ter do all this and that. too. with
even greater avidity, especially if
he be politician, than the form
sr? Ths political boss and his
henchmsn may be relied upon TO
take a deep material, economic
and possibly humanitarian inter
est in govsrpment, .tc study the
mechanism Of it more shoroughly
and attend the prian as'es mere
ard vote at the polis
more faithfully than the average
Christian citiz an can ever b ope to
do. The politician Is a perfect
adept at all this. 1t is his life's
work, whereas the average Chris
tian citizen is the merest novice
at it, it being simply incidental to
his great life's work. Moreover,
in 1t all the politician and his sup
porters will constantly stoop to do
listle, mean, uaderhanded, CON-
temp.ible things that the Chris.
5ian citizen will never think #
doiug, much less do.
To be Christian one must in
some way differentiated hlmself
from his non-Christian fellow
citlzsus. Aud this he can do in
Que way and in one only, viz by
accepting and reducing to practice
in his p olitical life the Christian
or Bible principles of civil gov
ernment. These principles, and
these alone. will supply him with
motives to impel himself to right
action, and furnish him with ar.
guments that will enable him to
lead others to right action. 1t is
tbs practicing of the politico-re-
liglous truths or principles of
Gods Word that constitutes
Christian citizenship.
What, do you ask, are these
principles? The fundamentals
are three in number: /. That
the state or nation, consisting as
it does of individual moral beings,
is itself a moral being capable of
right and wrong, and therefore a
subject of moral law and rsspon.
sible to God for its conduct. 2.
That, like all other moral beings,
the ma ion is under tha authorit y
Of Jesus Christ the Ruler of the
universe and therefore bound tc
own and serve Him. 3. That
the law of God in SO far as it re
lates to nations, revealed throagh b
Jesus Christ and contained in the
Scriptures, is the rule cf national
life, the standard of national ao'
tion, and should be accepted by
nations as such. Growing out o1
these fundamental principles are
the Scrlptural truths. 1. That
the state or nation is divine in.
stitutlon, as certainly as is tn,
family OF the church. 2. Tha
civil government is to be obeyst