p. 7 | EVERY MAN A POPE by T.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 20, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 42.

EVERY MAN A POPE.

By T.

THERE is an element in every living man that, unless suppressed by divine grace, would make him a pope if opportunity favored. Indeed, the great majority of men are popes on a small scale, usually, of course, without realizing it.

All that there is to the Papacy, so far as its foundation principle is concerned, is the disposition and desire to manage things. The actual Papacy wishes to make laws to govern the church and then compel every one to subscribe to them. And it should be perfectly evident to any one that in doing this the work and position of God Himself are usurped. For since Christ is the head of the church, no one but Christ should assume in any way to regulate that church.

Now when one man sets up a standard and says that another must bow to it or suffer, he is simply acting out the principle of self. He wants to rule, not for the good of those who are ruled, but for the personal, selfish, ambitious glory of himself. His position may be such that he could have no hope or prospect of being pope at Rome, and rule a large church by his decrees, so he exercises the papal attributes just where he is. He domineers in his home. He seeks to make everything and everybody bow to the whims and fancies of his selfish will. He wants to have his own way. He wants every one in the circle of his influence to think as he does. And in talking with another, if he does not fully agree with him, he becomes enraged, and often furious.

Now such a disposition as this is no peculiar characteristic of any particular church or of any particular officers or members in that church. It is the depraved and fallen sinful heart in mankind generally. It is the selfish, carnal mind that would thus seek to lord it over others. And that carnal mind is in all alike, until we permit the grace and purity of Christ to enter and drive it out.

Protestants are apt to think that all this arbitrary ruling and forcing the decrees and dogmas of ecclesiastical councils upon the minds of men is confined to the Catholic Church. But that is too narrow and restricted a view. It is the depraved human heart in all fallen mankind that would thus rise up to domineer over others. Protestants and Catholics alike need to learn that it is only the gentle, pure, deep, and powerful righteousness of Heaven, distilled into the heart by the divine Word and Spirit, that can overthrow this deep-rooted evil.

Christ Himself is the only rightful ruler in His church. He should be allowed full sway in the hearts of His people. For He does not come as an arbitrary, dictatorial task-master, but as the Lamb of God. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah in His strength and might to perform His powerful deeds, but when He comes into the hearts of His own as their true and rightful ruler, He is the gentle Lamb of God.

Whoever you are, and whatever your religion or irreligion, please think of this. That human, carnally natural disposition to “boss” would, if allowed to take its course, make you the worst pope that was ever pictured, if only the opportunity was offered. And if you find yourself seeking to rule things simply for the sake of ruling, or that you may have your own way, it should alarm you.

There is no selfishness with Christ or God. And as they rule, it is only over perfectly willing subjects. And then their ruling is purely in the interest of the subject ruled. And their joy is founded in the thought of the supreme happiness of the creatures over whom they rule. In that fair dominion the relations are not that of a slave to a task-master, but loyal hearts bring their devotion to the One who acts as their guide in the ways of right.

And it should not be overlooked that there are always two sides to this papal idea. There is the one who arbitrarily and often tyrannically rules. And then there is the obsequious, cringing, subservient person, who prostitutes his God-given manhood to be thus ruled over. And the one who thus submits is just as bad as the one who so despotically rules. And this is true whether it is in the home, the nation, or the church. The crouching flatterer who bows at the feet of a mortal man, would, if only the opportunity and power were given him, bring others to his feet in the same way. And it would be hard to decide which would be the more to blame, the one who so haughtily rules or the one who so slavishly yields.

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God; which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is; which keepeth truth forever; which executeth judgment for the oppressed; which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners; the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind; the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down; the Lord loveth the righteous; the Lord preserveth the strangers; He relieveth the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turneth upside down. The Lord shall reign forever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.” Ps. 146: 3-10.

We may not put our trust in man. But how good it is that we may come to the Almighty God Himself and place our full trust in Him! O, let us break away from the narrow ideas that bind us to men and human standards, and reach out to the fulness of the living God!