Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

7 articles on this Page

Serving Caesar and Neglecting…

News
Cite
Share

Serving Caesar and Neglect- ing God. It was with a feeling of amazement and disgust that I read the letter of A Local Minister" uonyrefail) in last week's PIONEER.) I was ana,zed to think that a man calling himself a CfIStian could enter tain such an idea as being y to love a man and kill him at the same time, and I was disgusted to know that a man -Mu?g the position of a Ministe" of the pof shoitld write so flippantly and ?Qsensic.a.liv of the Word of God, which' he is | aUPposed to teach. He says, When we talk ? Df loving our enemies, do let us avoid gush." 150es ?' by any stretch of his imagination, think tt?t Christ made use of gush when He j^ttianded us to love our. enemies," etc.?  he think it gush" when the Christian e nwavours to act upon the teachings of Christ, ? ?n.d turns the other cheek to the smiter instead ? ?tahating by fighting. or when an enemy eaIs his coat allows him to take his cloak 4c If A Local Minister" thinks this is Sush," let him practise it for himself, and ili find it is a far di-fferen? thing, and 'req,lipe,s a greater amount of courage and T??sttan love than the wearing of an armlet "? seems to think that because he is not on Peaking terms with a man, he cannot feel ei- Olf- love or hatred towards that man. But ?. st Himself destroys this theory in Luke 6, i 35, saying" For if ye love them which j Ve ??- what thanks have ye. for sinners also ■ lt\ t hese that love them?" But love ye your ellc'raies and do good and lend, hoping for no- ?.? again, and ye shall be the children of the th^ • for he is kind unto the unthankful and  I'vil Does this mean that we can kiM a gi? because he happens to have been born in ,adI. fft"'ent part of the world to us? Are we not &4 (,hil-di-en of one Father P And does not our their himself retain the right of judgment be- !"e,n 7E[is children? 'Vengeance is mine, I Will I?'p", said the Lord." It may be the st ate of most Britishers to-day. not to feel • love towards their German brothers, but it ^rtainly not the state of the true follower of 1riiie? of Peace. whatever "Local Min- ?t'" may think. He says the ideals of Ger' JJ.o8.lly are poisonous. He further states this is <i t a war between English and Germans, but ??ar of ideals." The pity is that the ideals 4 n°t kill each other, but the English and ,"?a,ns do. "Local Minister" says the com- (Jj ^ans do. Thou shalt not kill," was not I n to the seldier; and then he goes on to Ooj 't'^hY't himself bv 'aying. It applies equally to The Psa l ,ii-tist p,rop b e- or Tonyrefail." The Psalmist prophe- ? ^lat when Christ should come He would ??'fy the law," not the law of Moses, for the (? says he abolished all that. but the law of be 1' ?d He was giving his interpretation of ?'?. when he said that it was not neces- 1 a. man to break that law; but if a ?' ?? hated another, it was the same in i .8 sight as if he had killed him. "Local ? !p?'??" is right in saying these words were  to those who did not kill in the way we "stand killing: but it taught them also, 1 at tb,?,.v were guiltv in God 's sight if they I Rt ?heir fellow-man. How much more then if • I Kev to the life of a man who had done them h a!r7n In his last paragraph A Local ''K; t gives us a, text to study, namely, Plendell unto Caesar the things that are Cae- ??r'? '?Bd to God the things that are God's." 1 (j0 0 gives us his interpretation of it, which ?d]o ??t agree with, for the reasons which I all ?deavour to show. In the first place, \1.r 11s eonsider the two persons brought before (ka r Hotioe in the text. What was Caesar, and ijjl^t did he represent? Caesar was tthe repres- '?tive head of Roman Militarism. He was ? ??issarv of Satan (whom Christ acknowled- 1 to be the "Prince of the World "), and Wu Satan Caesar was the head of all that ? picked and cruel. The terrible atrocities ? Rkii tted by Roman Miitarism under Caesar ?? ? the blackest spots in the history of the ? Caesar was the responsible and repre- tebttilt ^i. ve head for all the atrocities. cruelties, ,rs cor -nitte?d bv his followers upon '??ooent and defenceless Chhristians; and it • Under Caesar, the agent of Satan. that ?), ? Himself was put to a shameful 1 'Kth °n Calvary. Christ had the power ?ft? He might have overthrown Caesar and ?o?? ?y MiHtarism, but He never used this ? ? coercion was not a pait of His plan, .-ffe commanded that the sword should be ?tti its sheath, far all they who take up the )? ?ha.l] e?rish by the sword. To Caesar, ^P^vbo is but a type of many of our ?? rulers—we must render the things that L P: to Caesar. What. then. is due from the i ti n to this man? Not militarv service for painty for when Christ was béorè Pilate it)j5ade tkis quite clear when He said, My e??n ?is not of this world; if my kingdom e.N of this world, then would my servants ?". that I should not be delivered to the "—26. If a man is a. true fol- Kh of Christ he has presented his body as a ¡ ?? sacrifice in His service, and as he cannot ??od and the Devil at the same tim; if he '?% to rema in in the service and kingdom llt he must for ever eschew the idea of i? up arms against his fellows, even as a d of defence. for as Christ said His s?rv-  not fight What then, is due to [ S from the Christian ? The question put to ? ?'ss: Is it right to pay tribute money to < 1'? And a- the money bears the image of ??r it really belongs to him, and it is the  every man who holds money in his ? ?n to pay what is demanded by the ?.Money is the root of all evil, and the ?? has no rigIn to retain it for his own ? ?se; nor, in fact, worldly goods or pro- tti? ? 'If ai?,N kind. The things of the world ?.to the rulers of the world, and the HEijf M must be prepared to relinquish all J things when called upon to do so. Let L take all his possessions, aye, even his ?'? his service belongs to God, and if ? ?sks him for that, so that it may be fekjh* the destruction of his fellows, then he '49 for more than is due to him, and ,?t ?? us to give to Caesar the things that ?k?M to him, and no more. What is due to '?'  person in the text—God. the Creator t Jeamer of all Mankind. I have already ? that theChristian must offer himself a ? ??crificc in God's service, and if he does lls first consideration must be, what is his ?a.rds God 9 And, afterwards., his duty tt the rulers of the world. If the rulers jjjl^oiid ask the Christian to do some- ,thleh is not in accordance with the law of i P \lU he must i^fnse. for God must come  Caesar second. The wise men said, ICV r,. and keep the commandments, for '}¡B whole duty of man" and when Cae- i' its to <?o something which involves the tj?-of God's law, then he is asking for |Uf '^1 is due to him, and it is the ? te Christian to refuse. When the Apos- |w "Was before the Tribunal he was re- ?. Ito stop preaching the truth, and there- 1 1 ?th?r the dictates of his own con- I i? h11tPetelraRked them, "Whether it be the sight of God to hearken unto !on ?a ? unto God? Judge ve!" This is the position of the Christian to-day: he must put into the scale on one side God and His Son Jesus Christ, which means eternal life, truth, and the joy of Christ in souls redeemed; put into the other Caesar, and every attraction the world can offer. Into one scale put the loss of your own soul and the souls of those you might have been instrumental in saving. Into the ot,her for yourself and them a life that measur- ed with the life of God, weigh for time ancr eternity, and while you are thus engaged, listen to the voice of Christ. -%Yhat shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" When we render unto Caesar more than is due to him, we are robbing God; when we wilfully break the commandments of God, so that we may render allegiance to Caesar, we come under condemnation of the word of God, which says. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His -word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Herebv do we know that we are in H:m. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." If we are walking .as He walked, we shall give up ever thing at the command of Caesar, even life itself, rather than break the commandment of God by taking a brother's life. Christ was a martyr to Roman Militarism under Caesar, and His followers to-day should be prepared to suffer likewise rather than yield the principles planted by God in his heart, to the blood- thirsty militarism of any modern Caesar. T. YOUNG.

At Random.1

Advertising

I ? " May the Lord Deliver…

An Exceptional Case. I

Taxation of Land Values.

[No title]