p. 5 | Not for Ourselves by George W. Rine, M.A.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 25, 1912

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 25.

Not for Ourselves

By George W. Rine, M.A.

ALL consistent lovers of religious liberty, among whom are thousands of Christian believers, are uncompromising in their devotion to the maintenance and promotion of individual freedom of conscience. They believe with all the heart that “freedom of conscience is the highest of all freedom;” that “it is the life principle of every people that deserve to be called civilized.” Of all aspects of liberty, they maintain, on the ground of both Scripture and reason, that there is none greater, more precious, and more essentially fundamental than the right to worship God as conscience dictates. It is axiomatic, with them, that this priceless right of conscience is an original and inalienable gift of Heaven, and must, therefore, at all hazards, be preserved intact.

God is love, God is a Spirit, and hence they that serve Him must serve Him in love, in spirit, in truth. That God created man free is the irresistible logic of the fact that He invested him with the power of choice. Hence it is not by peremptory mandate that God seeks to lead man to repentance and worship, but by His goodness. It is not by might or by outward coercion that He seeks to bring man to Himself. No, it is by appeals prompted by infinite love that God is ever seeking to woo the sinner out of sin and self into Christ and righteousness.

Not Coercion, but Appeal

To every individual soul God makes this touching appeal: “Come now, and let us REASON TOGETHER: . . . tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Our divine Father reasons with, appeals to, and lovingly draws man, but never coerces him. Note again how He appeals to the reason, the manhood, the liberty, of the individual: “CHOOSE you this day whom ye will serve.” The context here shows unmistakably that He speaks of service to Himself; that is, religious service. Yes, the Lord loves a CHEERFUL giver, not only of money, but of time, of affection, of worship. God’s law is a “law of liberty;” hence His words are not, “You shall come,” “You must come;” but “Whosoever WILL, let him take the water of life freely.” Lastly, let us call to remembrance the following blessedly touching assurance — an assurance to every soul individually: “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with LOVING-KINDNESS have I DRAWN thee.”

We see, then, that all genuine worship of God, all true service rendered to Him, must be free, glad, voluntary on the part of him who renders such worship and service. The element of choice, of glad spontaneity, is therefore fundamental in the religious life. Worship and service in which this element is lacking are necessarily formal, mechanical, and hollow, and therefore abhorrent to God.

Liberty for All

We now see why it is that all lovers of genuine Christian worship, of true Christian living, OUGHT to be unswervingly opposed to every form of outward compulsion in matters distinctively religious. They should be jealous for the conservation of the faith once for all delivered to the saints — jealous for the maintenance of the original and inherent purity of the religion of Christ. Do they not owe it to God and to their fellow men to do their utmost to make certain that whatever religious service is rendered shall be true and genuine, and in consequence, pleasing to God and effectual in promoting the temporal well-being and eternal salvation of the worshiper? Are they not morally bound to do what they can to shield men from all false and futile expressions of the religious life? Whatever in religion is not genuine can not possibly be helpful or efficacious to the worshipers. And since, according to the overwhelming testimony of Inspired Writ, and of reason as well, no religious forms can be genuine unless they are the free, glad expression of the heart, it is imperative that those who call themselves Christians should, by every means at their command, labor to keep the exercise of religion free from the intrusion of civil magistrates. In the very nature of the case, therefore, they are morally bound to maintain an uncompromising antagonism to every movement looking to the enactment of laws which have for their object the enforcement of any religious rite or duty. It is, in fact, a religious duty — aye, and a civil duty as well — to oppose to the last ditch all movements to secure legislation on any question of religion.

Christianity Demands It

Hence those of us who oppose the enactment of Sunday or sabbath laws, or laws upon any other religious question, are by no means prompted by motives of self-interest. We are not trying to shield ourselves from any prospective annoyance or persecution. Opposition springing from such motives would be essentially selfish, and therefore immoral and unchristian. It is solely our devotion to principle, our love to Christ, which constrains us to oppose movements looking to the incorporation of religious dogmas into the law codes of State or nation. For it was the Founder of the Christian church Himself who declared that the things pertaining to Cæsar and the things pertaining to God should forever be kept separate. We respect His pronouncement and honor His dictum. Accordingly, we seek not our own comfort and convenience, but the honor of our Lord and the well-being of the individual and even of the State, in endeavoring to preserve intact the priceless boon of freedom of the individual conscience — of the God-given liberty to worship or not to worship, to practise the precepts of religion or not to practise them.

Why Not the Master’s Way?

As Christians, dear reader, should we not seek to let Jesus have His way? Don’t you think He knows best? Let us remember that it was Jesus Himself who said, “If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not.” If the Master refuses to employ the coercive power of law to compel the indifferent and unbelieving to accept and practise His teachings, shall we, by employing such power, presume to be wiser than He?

Of course Jesus lets it be known that those who reject His words will be judged by those words, not now, but “in the last day.” Jesus sought, and still seeks, to attract men to His service, by the power of love. His method is the best and only true method. The devotees of freedom of choice in the sphere of religion are solicitous that His method shall prevail. This is the reason, and the only reason, why they antagonize all efforts to secure legislation on religious questions.