Not the Government

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 9, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 23.

Not the Government

Not the Government.—In what we may have to say against war and its spirit we are not criticising the government. That is not our province or mission. Civil government exists in the providence of God to restrain evil and protect life and property in an evil world. Its ultimate judgment rests with God, not with Christians. But this we do declare on the authority of the Word of God: civil governments are not Christian; war is not Christian. This is not so because we say so; it is a truth of the Gospel. Men may ridicule the truth; nevertheless, it abides forever, and will meet us in the judgment day to condemn or acquit. For the maintenance of civil government, force is necessary in civil things; but in the economy of Christ love is the all-potent force. Our mission is to convert men from selfishness to love, from the worship of man to the service of God; and he who truly worships and serves God, altho he never wars with carnal weapons, best serves his fellow-men, his generation, and his country.