The Province of the Church
The province of the church was ably defined recently by Judge E. D. Sanders of New Orleans in a discussion with a prominent divine of that city, who was profuse in his statements of the mission of the church. Said the judge: “The danger of Christianity to-day is because its advocates claim too much for it. . . . The church makes a mistake when it leaves its province and deals with things that should be handled by other bodies of society. . . . The church should not meddle with political or social movements. The work of Christianity is with the individual only, and through him it should redeem the world.” Commenting upon this statement, the Baptist Chronicle truly says: “Judge Sanders is not a bad theologian when he talks of the individual and of Christianity’s relation to him. We can not redeem humanity en masse. Social conditions may be bettered, but salvation can only come through individual contact with an individual Saviour.”