The Relation of Church and State
By W. A. GOSMER
Both Are Divinely Ordained — Each Has a Distinct Sphere — To Attempt to Unite Them Means Disaster to Both
BOTH church and state exist in the order of God; for "the powers that be are ordained of God." Rom. 13:1. For the promotion of man's highest spiritual good, the church was ordained; for his temporal welfare, the state. Because of the entrance of sin, and the existing order of things, both institutions are indispensable as relates to society and the eternal interests of mankind. Wherever the civil state is found, whether among Christians or among pagans, it is invariably the ordinance of God. The civil magistrate among all nations is denominated in Scripture a "minister of God." The inspired apostle spoke of the pagan, persecutive world-power of Rome as the "ordinance of God." That the church is a divine institution is beyond argument. Therefore both church and state are institutions divinely appointed. But notwithstanding the fact that both exist by God's appointment, each has a different mission. The church occupies a peculiar sphere of its own. It deals with things spiritual, with things divine, and has to do only with man's eternal welfare. Consequently it does not concern itself with those matters which come within the purview of civil government, only in so far as relates to obedience thereto. The church is directly concerned with the souls of men. It has to do with God's kingdom, which is not of this world. It has to do with His righteousness, which is the righteousness of faith, which no civil government can bestow. In fact, the only reason the church can give for its existence is that it has in view, as its ultimate object, the redemption of mankind, and the bringing in of an entirely different order of things in a world to come that shall be free from sin. As, on the one hand, the church has to do with things entirely divine, so, on the other, the state occupies itself with things wholly civil. The mission of the latter is specifically the protection of society. No earthly government can be man's sponsor in spiritual matters, because every man, individually, must "give account of himself to God." In the great Judgment-day, not governments, but individuals, are called to account. Hence no man is amenable to civil powers so far as relates to his religious belief or practise. Two institutions, therefore, so widely different in their spheres of action, each having a mission peculiarly and distinctively its own, can not be profitably or even safely united. One is spiritual, the other carnal. One deals solely with this world; the other, with the world to come. One occupies itself with the guardianship of men's souls; the other, with the protection of their bodies and goods. Imagine, if possible, the state administering the ordinance of baptism, celebrating the Lord's Supper, or instructing men in regard to matters pertaining to another world. Think also of the church invading the realm of the state by putting to death criminals, levying taxes, or going to war. It would be difficult to conceive of greater incongruity. Such a wrong policy on the part of either, must inevitably prove disastrous to both. The nature, the genius, and the office of each, being so widely different from the nature, the genius, and the office of the other, would not possibly admit of interchange or union. In fact, the state could not administer the affairs of the church, and the latter would lose its spiritual nature in administering the affairs of the state. DISTINCTION DIVINELY RECOGNIZED
In recognition of the foregoing principles, the Scriptures forbid such a union. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." To Peter, who resorted for defense to carnal weapons, He said, "Put up thy sword into the sheath." To the crafty Jews He said, "Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and to God the things that are God's." Thus He distinguished clearly between affairs of state, and things pertaining to His kingdom. Plain, however, as these principles appear, there have in all ages been those who have endeavored to unite the civil and the religious. The utter folly and disaster of such a course may be most clearly seen in the history of the Dark Ages. During the world's midnight, the church and the state clasped hands, the church being in the ascendancy. The civil power became the agent in the hands of the church to punish men for non-compliance with certain forms of religion. In this unholy union, the church lost sight of the only true source of her power, and sought in its stead the mere power of men. Of the terrible results of this union, not even the casual student of history is ignorant. Resort was had to the rack, the dungeon, and the stake, to bring the minds and the consciences of men into subjection, with the outcome that millions of honest, God-fearing men and women were cruelly put to death for the crime of "heresy," which meant only to differ from the established order as prescribed by the church. Thus it has been amply demonstrated that a union of the civil and the ecclesiastical is one of the greatest evils that can come upon the world. Viewed in the light of God's word, and from the view-point of human experience, it must be evident that for the good of the church, for the welfare of society, and for the best interests of the state, the civil and the spiritual powers should be forever kept separate.