THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.—Matt. 25, 40.
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.—Matt. 25, 40.
We Christians are sometimes at a loss whether to regard it as a matter of congratulation or as a matter of disdain when we hear people who otherwise repudiate our blessed Lord, who have no use for His teaching and His Church, quoting Him as an authority and a model. Thus there be those who say with great emphasis that Jesus Christ was a Socialist, yes, the first and real Socialist; He loved the common people and severely arraigned the rulers of His nation. Others, when they find it convenient, contend that Christ was no temperance man. Did He not perform a miracle, turning water into wine? While others contend that Christ was a great philanthropist; His purpose and mission was to make this world a better place to live in; wherefore He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and devoted Himself to the betterment of social conditions generally.
Whether our Lord was a Socialist, or not, that dependsupon the definition, "What is a Socialist?" Unfortunately, there are as many different definitions of Socialism as there are individual Socialists; scarcely two are perfectly agreed. Suffice it to say that, in the popular acceptance of the word, Jesus of Nazareth was not a Socialist; and we do not feel greatly flattered to have Him so rated. The same is true when He is quoted as a non-temperance man, in the mouth of those whose use of wine and other intoxicants consists mostly in the abuse. And as to our Lord being a philanthropist, whose mission was the betterment of social conditions, this, while a favorite idea, is far from the whole truth. What does our Lord Himself say was His mission in this world?
He declares that He came "to seek and to save that which was lost." He says: "I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly." What did He mean by "life"? Surely not the hand-breadth of time which we are living here and now. To Him man was more than a creature whose wants were only those of a stomach and its appurtenances. It is true, He did not minimize the present life. He relieved men of their distresses and healed their sicknesses; but that was quite subordinate to His greater work. The emphasis was always placed on their eternal interests. "The life," He said, "is more than meat and the body than raiment." His great question was, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?" What are health and comfort and wealth, and all earth's emoluments in comparison with the life hereafter? Christ's mission was to make it possible for men to attain to that high destiny; and this He did by sacrificing Himself and dying on the cross for them, in expiation of their sins, so that, whosoever would believe in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. This, be it ever kept before us, was the purpose and mission of Christ. It is not true that the ministry of Christ had to do principally with the temporal welfare of men. To say so is to contradict His words and belittle His work. He did champion the poor; He did vindicate the rights of the working classes; He did insist on happy homes and just government and the betterment of society every way. But He came to be a Savior, He came to save the soul from the ravages and penalty of sin; and when people quote Him in favor of one thing only, and that the inferior part, and reject the other and the superior, it is only a half truth,and not to our Lord's credit. And as people judge in these matters concerning Christ, so concerning His Church. The Scripture-lesson of this Sunday, treating of this subject, tells us of the good Samaritan and his work of love.
Let us, for once, take for our topic of instruction:I. The wrong view and attitude of the Church over against the works of benevolence. II. Which is the correct Bible teaching and practice?The Lord grant us understanding and wisdom!
There is no question that the expectation of the multitude regarding the churches has largely changed. Formerly the one and only thing which it was expected for the churches to do was to preach the Gospel, to minister to people's souls. Public opinion now is to the effect that the business of the Church is along the lines of social science and social service. There are churches to-day which have, accordingly, been practically transformed into hospitals, for the healing of nervous diseases, and there are Social Settlements, supported by Christian people, where baths and gymnasiums, play-rooms, lunch counters, musicales, moving pictures, and scientific lectures have free sway. "Not only with the unseen and eternal has the Church to do, but with the seen and temporal. Give a man a square meal, a good suit of clothes, better social conditions for him and his children, and you will have better success as to his soul. Let the churches preach that and practice that, and they will come up to their proper ideal and purpose." Beloved, as to what is the proper ideal and purpose of the Church, that is for Him to say who founded the Church; and what does He say? Of Himself He said, as we heard: "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost," and to His disciples He said: "As the Father hath sent me," into the world, "so send I you," that is, to seek and to save those who were lost in sin. And this salvation is to be accomplished in what way? By social science and service? His direction is: "Go ye and preach the Gospel." That, be it noted, isthepurpose and mission of the Church. "Teach the Gospel," the tidings how man's soul may be saved from the guilt and power of sin through Jesus Christ, their Savior. That is the heaven-appointed sphere and commission, at home and abroad. The object of our missionaries in foreign lands is not to heal the sick and teach the heathen how to wear clothes, and cultivate the fields. To civilize is not yet to Christianize. Their duty is to preach the Gospel, and invite souls to Christ. Theymay have to do other things, such as translating the Scriptures, helping the poor, and treating their sick bodies, but always with one thing in mind, namely, the winning of souls to Christ as their Savior from sin. And so among us. Let us beware of putting that which is only subordinate, the improvement of material conditions, in the place of the higher purpose of the Church, the winning of souls. God's method, however men may be in love with their own, is always the best. Men's method is this: Give men better social conditions, improve their circumstances, and you will improve their souls. God's method is the reverse: First improve their souls, and you will improve their social condition. The Gospel does not aim directly at improving men's circumstances, it aims at improving men themselves. But no sooner does it bring about a moral improvement in men than they bring about a noticeable improvement in their surroundings.
Search the history of all Christian countries and communities, and see whether it is not so. Which are the richest and most prosperous and flourishing nations in our day? Countries like Germany, England, America, countries that have received most abundantly of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us beware, then, of having our attention and efforts directed from the main thing. Some of those social service features may serve a good purpose as far as they go, but only when they are in line with the great mission of the Church as the Lord gave it: the preaching of the Gospel. A few years ago, when Japan began to emerge from barbarism, the thoughtful people of that country were accustomed to say quite candidly that they wanted our Western civilization, but were not prepared to accept Christ with it, and this is the attitude of China just now. One of her great statesmen has said: "We purpose to keep the philosophy of Confucius, but we are ready to believe the religion of Christ for its fruits." This will not do. Neither Japan, China, nor any individual can borrow the clothes of religion and leave the vital thing out of it. This is precisely the tendency in these days. People would reject the Gospel, yet would take advantage of the blessed results which flow from it.
We learn, then, that the preaching of the Gospel is the first purpose of the Church of Christ; to that it must direct its main effort; therein lies its life and success, and all other undertakings must be subordinate and in harmony with that. Inother words, the greatest charity, the noblest act of Good Samaritanism is that which aims at a person's soul, and that help can only be effected by the Gospel of Christ; that is the oil and the wine which the heavenly Samaritan has designed to be poured into the soul's wounds of sinful and dying man.—But this does not exclude that the Church should practice Good Samaritanism towards men's bodies. On the contrary, this is her Lord's direction. And the Church has ever done so, and is doing so, as a whole and in her individual members. This is our second consideration.
No duty is more constantly enjoined by the Scripture than that of contributing to the necessity of others. We think, for instance, of the Savior's words to the rich young ruler: "Sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." The Christian congregation at Jerusalem had a treasury out of which distribution was made continually as any man had need. St. Paul tells of collections that were taken for brethren who were in distress because of the famine which prevailed throughout Judea. In the days of early Christianity we read of much almsgiving; beautiful instances are on record of believers who, constrained by the love of Christ, gave away large estates and gladly spent the rest of their days in poverty for their brethren's sake. Hospitals, institutions never before known, were erected by wealthy Christians, and the story of Laurentius is well known, who, when ordered by the Roman officials to produce the treasures which it was thought the Christians had in hiding, brought out the aged, the sick, and the crippled, and remarked, "These are our treasures." And the Church is not slack concerning works of benevolence now. Look at the chain of institutions of every kind that are maintained within the bounds of our Synod, by our congregations in this city. Whence comes the revenue for the support of our Orphanage, Altenheim, Hospital, City Mission? From the pockets of the hearts of those who attend the public worship of God. This past week there was laid to rest a man who, whatever may be our verdict concerning his work and the organization of which he was the founder and head, the Salvation Army,—Rev. Wm. Booth,—it cannot be denied that such a religious movement could only have sprung up on Christian soil, fostered by Christian principles of charity and beneficence.
And what pertains to the Church at large pertains to eachof us individually. In the text the Lord Jesus, sitting in judgment upon each child of Adam, says: "What ye have done unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me." What words could be more pointed! How those few words tell us why and to whom we are to show beneficence. "Ye have done it unto Me,"—that infirm and aged one for whom you have provided a permanent and comfortable home, "ye have done it unto Me." Those "least of all my brethren,"—those orphaned children whom ye have sheltered in a Christian home or a suitable institution, "ye have done it unto Me." That coin and dollar which you have given unto worthy charity—to the man or woman, battling against life's odds and reverses,—"ye have done it unto Me."
Beloved, never let the springs of your Christian charity dry up because of ingratitude, sorry experiences; it was, after all, not that destitute one that you were dealing with, but Him.
We have regarded in our reflection to-day, first, what is the chief mission of Christ and of His Church, namely, the saving of the soul, and that this is effected by the preaching of the Gospel; secondly, that where there is concern for men's souls, there will be charity shown toward their bodies also. In other words, where the love of Christ has taken possession of the heart, there it will also show itself in deeds of love to Christ's destitute brethren.
My beloved hearer, what is the measure of your love? What are you doing unto the Lord's brethren and thus unto Him? Remember that on that day an inspection is going to be made, a report openly rendered. What kind of report will yours be? Lord, give us ever a kind heart, a charitable hand, and through Thy grace the reward which Thou hast promised in heaven for those who served Thee on earth. Amen.