HAS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES A CHRISTIAN CHARACTER ?

Vol. 1, SEPTEMBER 1874, No. 3

THE REFORMATION ADVOCATE

David Steele, Editor
Republished 2010
Gospel Covenant Publications
www.gcpublications.com

The President of the convention says, “we propose that the Constitution shall be made to conform to the christian character of the nation.” Rev. T. P. Stevenson speaks of “infidel assaults on the christian features of our government.” Again he says, “we propose to amend it to conform to the actual character of the nation.” He proves that the nation has a christian character, because “it has from the beginning maintained public acts of civil worship in accordance with the christian religion.”(?) keeps the Sabbath, appoints and observes days of public fasting and thanksgiving, “public instruction in the christian religion has always been maintained by the nation (?) for all classes under its care.” “Christian morality is inculcated in the schools.” etc. And then he says, “These facts prove that the American government was founded by the people, as the organ through which the nation might enforce christian morality in all its borders, might call on its God(?) in the day of peril and distress, and give Him thanks in the hour of prosperity, and might teach the name and fear of God to its future citizens.” The Nation enforcing christian morality! and calling on the name of its God! having neither a religion nor a God that it confesses or calls its own! But if it does not confess and have the only true God as its God, it is denying Him; and if it is denying Him, it is in no true sense of the word calling on Him; but is saying unto God, “depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” The speaker certainly did not expect his hearers or readers to receive this speech as sound doctrine, or good Theology. Then we contend that neither of the speakers has proved the nation to have a christian character; for, before it can have a christian character, in the true sense of the word, it must, in the true sense of the word, be a christian nation. But what must a nation be to have a true christian character? We will try to answer this question by asking another. What must an individual be and have, to have a true christian character? For if we can learn what will give a true religious character to an individual, we at the same time learn what will give a true religious character to a nation. Both the individual and the nation being moral agents, they are alike bound to believe all that God has revealed, and to do all that He has commanded: are both alike bound to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

1. To have a christian character the individual must be a christian. It is true the individual may, for a while, counterfeit the christian character, without being a christian at all, by a hypocritical profession and practice. But the nation has never tried to counterfeit the christian character, by any kind of profession or practice; and without a profession and practice of christianity, either true or hypocritical, it can never have a christian character. And the character and profession will both be of the same kind, either both true, or both corrupt.

2. An individual cannot have a true christian character without a holy nature: without begun sanctification — without being a partaker of the nature and spirit of Christ. And it must not be forgotten, that a christian character is a holy character, and a holy character can come from no other source than from God, through Christ, and by sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. And there is no such thing as sanctifying the individual through Christ, and the nation without Him. It is true that the heart of the individual is purified by faith; but it is not true that the heart of a nation can be purified without faith. It is true that the heart of the individual is sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of Christ; but it is not true that the heart of a nation can be sprinkled from an evil conscience without the blood of Christ. It is true that the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, shall —through faith in his blood —purge the conscience of individuals from dead works to serve the Living God; but it is not true that He will purge the conscience of nations from dead works in any other way. And it is true, not only that Christ shall sprinkle many individuals, but it is said, “so shall He sprinkle many nations.” And when Christ shall sprinkle many nations, it means He will sanctify them-will sprinkle their hearts from an evil conscience-will purge their conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14; 10:22).

3. Without a saving knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, the individual cannot have a true christian character; neither can the nation without the same saving knowledge. They will both have a christian character, when God “opens their eyes, and turns them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.” But neither can have this character until God, by the gospel, does all these things. God says to nations as well as individuals, “Incline your ear and come unto me, hear and your souls shall live.” A nation cannot have a true christian character until the ruling majority hear the voice of the Son of God and live.

4. Without faith, neither the individual nor nation can have a christian character. Without faith it is impossible to please Him-to please Christ —a God in Christ. Neither can those who have the mind of Christ be pleased with those who have no faith — a spurious, or a dead faith. It is those called evangelical, not those called liberal, that have a good Christian character — except in the national reform association! Those who have the mind of Christ can have fellowship with none both those, who have the name of evangelical or faithful Christians – can have fellowship with none but those who are bound by covenant to endeavor the preservation of the true reformed religion, in doctrine, worship, discipline, and government — with none but those who are bound in the same manner to endeavor the extirpation of popery, prelacy, superstition, heresy, schism, and profaneness — with none but those who are solemnly bound to endeavor to bring the churches of God, throughout the world, to the nearest uniformity and conjunction in religion, confession of faith, forms of Presbyterian church government, directory for worship, and catechizing, etc.

5. An individual, to have a true christian character, must make a Scriptural confession of the faith; he cannot make a corrupt confession of the faith, and have a true christian character: and it is not a corrupt, but a Scriptural confession of the faith that saves the soul. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” So, a nation to have a good christian character, must make a good confession of the faith; if the confession be corrupt, so is the character -- the former cannot be bad, and the latter good. And both the individuals and nations, to be saved, must be saved from a corrupt confession of the faith, and from a bad character.

To have a good christian character, the individual, in reliance upon promised grace, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, must come under a covenant engagement to keep all God’s commandments, and observe all his ordinances: whether these commandments and ordinances be incumbent on the church, or on the state; for to have a good christian character he must be faithful, both as a church member, and as a citizen. And what is incumbent on one civil ruler, or one citizen, is incumbent on all civil rulers, and all citizens, or subjects, consequently on the whole nation; for what is incumbent on each one taken singly, is also incumbent on the whole nation conjointly; for, both the individual and the state, being moral agents, are under all moral obligations, both in church and state. If a church member live in accordance with all his church engagements, but refuses to comply with any of his civil obligations, this will destroy his good character or standing in both church and state, lay him liable to the censure of each, and warrant his exclusion from both. This argument takes it for granted that both church and state are scripturally constituted and administered — that they have both sworn the same covenant, and that this covenant imposes on each person, all the duties of both church and state.

6. To have a christian character, the individual must have a practice corresponding with all the things above mentioned. If he lacks any of these — a holy nature, saving knowledge, saving faith, a scriptural confession, or holy life, it mars, it spoils his christian character. Without faith his knowledge is worth nothing. Without a scriptural confession his knowledge and faith both go for nothing. And his covenant of duty is also a dead letter without a holy life. If the majority of the constituency — the ruling power of the nation —be righteous, and exercise their power in disfranchising the visibly unrighteous, making them ineligible to office; and again, if they exercise their power, in electing only those who are visibly righteous, to administer a righteous constitution; then that is a righteous nation. But on the contrary, if a wicked constituency be a ruling majority in the nation, and the visibly wicked be eligible to office, then the wicked — every time — and all the time, will be elected: and the constituency and the rulers being wicked, so will the nation. And then “the wicked will be like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” “And when the wicked beareth rule the people mourn;” but on the other hand, when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. Prov. 29:2. That a nation may have a christian character God must be their God in covenant. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” Ps. 33:12. and that nation must be God’s inheritance. “Thou shalt inherit all nations,” Ps. 82:8. But it is certain that a nation cannot have God as their God, unless they have the true religion as their religion, and the true christian faith as their faith. But it is not necessary that the members of the National Association have a true christian character: “its advocates are gathered from all branches of the church, not excluding those called Liberal rather than Evangelical, from whose ranks some of its ablest supporters have come.” A liberal confession of the faith is not a true one. The word liberal comes from the Latin word liber which means free — a liberal or free thinker — a liberal or free confession of the faith — a confession not restrained or bound by orthodox and well established tenets: liberal principles bear about the same relation to evangelical principles, that heresy does to orthodoxy; or that a false religion does to the true. And it is the true — not the false religion, that saves the soul. Salvation includes deliverance from all false religions. Without this there can be no salvation. Then, if the individual or nation be saved, it must be from — not by — a false religion, but by a true religion; —not by Liberal, but by Evangelical principles. Now we unhesitatingly say that the nation is entirely destitute of all the true marks of christian character. It is true that many individuals in the nation have a true christian character; but the nation, as such, has not one of these marks — has no holiness or sanctification; has no saving knowledge or saving faith; has never made a scriptural confession of the true religion, or of any religion; the nation has never bound itself by covenant to maintain the true religion or any religion, as though the true religion were a matter of no importance at all to it; neither has the nation a practice harmonizing with the true religion either as to its spirit or letter. But the nation has all the marks of a wicked and ungodly nation, standing out in bold relief, which are just as much opposed to the marks of christian character, as the beast of the bottomless pit is to the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. Instead of having any of the marks of the true religion, it — the majority, the Christless, the ruling part of the nation — has the mark of the beast of the sea — of the bottomless pit. We suppose that the mark of the beast of the sea is correctly described as “signifying open and avowed allegiance to anti-christian or immoral civil power, when in the ‘forehead,’ and active cooperation with the same, when in the ‘hand.’” We might as well say that the ungodly, who are outside of the Church, and are classed with dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, have a christian character; because they sometimes show some little external respect to christian institutions — the Sabbath, fast days, days of thanksgiving, and sometimes give and receive moral instruction, have helped to maintain some public acts of civil worship, attend public prayers, &. Such a religious character is in no respects inferior to that of the nation. Then when the speaker, and the Honorable Brunot, the President of the Convention, are saying that the nation has a christian character, are they not virtually saying to a wicked and ungodly nation, “Thou art righteous?” And have they forgotten that it is said, “He that saith unto the wicked thou art righteous, him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him? But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.” Have they forgotten that it is said, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter?” Prov. 24:24; Is. 5:20.