Scriptural Thought:

And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. Exo. 2:23

Go to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you]. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. James 5:1-4

The Author of Liberty

This would suggest the idea that in their servitude and oppression in Egypt they had had difficulty regarding the observance of the Sabbath, which is a fact. From the accusation brought against Moses and Aaron by Pharaoh, as recorded in Ex. 5: 5,— "Ye make them rest [Heb., Shabbath] from their burdens,"— it is plain that the Sabbath had been denied them, that they had been required to work on the Sabbath, and that Moses and Aaron were teaching them to keep it. Where in dividual rights and religious liberty are recognized, Sabbath observance is neither denied nor required by civil law.

Isa. 58:6, 7 - All this shows that God loves liberty and hates bondage and oppression.

Luke 4:18 - — The Gospels show that a large part of Christ's time even on the Sabbath was devoted to relieving the oppressed and distressed.

Lust, covetousness, and unlawful desire are only different names for selfishness. Selfishness lies at the root of all sin; and selfishness is simply the love of self to the disregard of the equal rights of others. Selfishness, then, must be uprooted from man's hearts before they will recognize the equal rights of their fellow men.

FREEDOM and reason make brave men; Take these away, what are they then? —

Mere groveling brutes, and just as well. The beasts may think of heaven or hell.

Know, then, that every soul is free. To choose his life, and what he'll be;

For this eternal truth is given: That God will force no man to heaven.

He'll call, persuade, direct him right, bBless him with wisdom, love, and light,

In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind.

The Powers That Be

The Bible says, "let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God." Rom. 13:1

That is, they who rise up against government itself, who seek anarchy and confusion, who oppose the regular execution of the laws. It is implied, however, that those laws shall not be such as violate the rights of conscience or oppose the law of God."— Dr. Albert Barnes, on Rom. 13: 2

Any decree that is in direct conflict with the second commandment of God's law, which forbids making, bowing down to and serving the images. It was religious, idolatrous, and persecuting in character. {Dan. 3:4-6}

By preserving these men in the fire and thus changing the king's word, God was demonstrating before all the world, through this greatest of then-existing earthly kingdoms, that with the question of religion civil governments can of the right have nothing whatsoever to do; that religion is a realm outside the legitimate sphere of civil authority; and that every individual should be left free to worship, or not to worship, according to the dictates of his own conscience. The lesson to be learned from this is that, although ordained of God, civil governments are not ordained to direct or oppress men in religious matters.

— Unlike the decree of Nebuchadnezzar, this decree forbade the worship of the true God, and was therefore in direct conflict with the first commandment, which forbids the worship of any other than the true god. Like it, however, it was religious and persecuting in character.

Here again was demonstrated by a most remarkable miracle, wrought in the face of the greatest nation then in existence, that with the directing, prescribing, prescribing, or interfering with religion or its free exercise, civil governments can of the right have nothing whatever to do; that religion is an individual matter, and should be left to the dictates of each one's own conscience.

— "Obedience is to be rendered to all human governments, in subordination to the will of God. These governments are a recognized necessity, in the nature of the case, and their existence is manifestly in accordance with the divine will. Hence the presumption is always in favor of the authority of civil law, and any refusal to obey must be based on the moral proof that obedience will be sin. . . . It is still true that obedience to human law often involves sin against God and man. There are cases so clear that no one can question the duty to refuse obedience. In all times and in all lands such cases have arisen.' "It is too obvious to need discussion, that the law of God, the great principle of benevolence, is supreme, and that `we ought to obey God rather than men' in any case of conflict between human law and the divine."—"Moral Philosophy," by James H. Fairchild, pages 178-181.

— In attempting to defend the right of civil government to enforce religious observances by law, some still ask, "Shall we not obey the powers that be?" We answer, "Yes, when they are in harmony with the higher powers that be. God made His law for all the universe. He created man; He gives the bounteous provisions of nature, and holds our breath and life in His hand. He is to be recognized, His law honored, before all the great men and the highest earthly powers."

By an overruling of Providence the carrying out of this terrible decree was averted, and Haman was hanged on the very gallows which he had erected for the execution of Mordecai. See Esther 7: 9, 10. God has placed the sword (civil authority) in the hands of Cmsar

(civil government) for the punishment of evil-doers; but when the sword is raised to slay the innocent, as in the case of the children of Bethlehem (Matt. 2: 16); or to enforce idolatrous worship, as in the case of the three Hebrews (Daniel 3); or to prohibit the worship of the true God, as in the case of Daniel (Daniel 6); or to slay all of God's people, as in the time of Esther; or to enforce the observance of a false sabbath, as in the case of all Sunday laws, it is an abuse of civil authority, and not a proper or justifiable use of it; and God honors those who, under such circumstances, in the face of persecution, oppression, and death, remain loyal and true to Him. "Government is never the gainer in the execution of a law that is manifestly unjust. . . . Conscientious men are not the enemies, but the friends, of any government but a tyranny. They are its strength, and not its weakness. Daniel, in Babylon, praying contrary to the law, was the true friend and supporter of the government; while those who, in their pretended zeal for the law and the constitution, would strike down the good man, were its real enemies. It is only when government transcends its sphere that it comes in conflict with the consciences of men.

"But it is objected that the example is corrupting,— that a bad man will violate a good law, because the good man refuses to obey a wicked law. The cases are just as unlike as right and wrong, and any attempt to justify the one by the other is gross dishonesty. Unquestionably, the principle can be abused by the wicked, and so can any truth whatever; but the principle of unquestioning obedience to human law is false, and needs no perversion to make it mischievous. . . ."It should always be remembered that the great end of government is human well-being, that law and authority are nothing in themselves, and that all their sacredness arises from the uses which they serve. The machinery of government is valuable only for the work it does; in itself, it has no value. . . . The most grievous of all imperfections in government is the failure to secure the just and good result. . . . Injustice and oppression are not made tolerable by being in strict accordance with the law. Nothing is surer, in the end than the reaction of such wrong to break down the most perfectly constituted government."—"Moral Philosophy," by James H. Fairchild, pages 184-186.

God is above all earthly rulers, and His law is above all human laws. He made us, and we, therefore, owe allegiance to Him before any earthly power, potentate, or tribunal. And this is saying nothing in disparagement of civil authority exercised in its rightful domain — civil things.

Individual Accountability

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Rom. 14: 12.

Every man who conducts himself as a good citizen, is accountable alone to God for his religious faith, and should be protected in worshiping God according to the dictates of his own conscience."— Reply to Virginia Baptists, in 1789. Satan's methods ever tend to one end,— to make men the slaves of men," and thus separate them from God, destroy faith in God, and so expose men to temptation and sin. Christ's work is to set men free, to renew faith, and to lead to willing and loyal obedience to God. Says Luther: "It is contrary to the will of God that man should be subject to man in that which pertains to eternal life. Subjection in spirituals is a real worship, and should be rendered only to the Creator."— D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation," edited by M. Laird Simons, book 7, chap. 11.

Inasmuch, then, as religion is an individual matter, and each individual must give account of himself to God, it follows that there should be no human constraint nor compulsion in religious affairs.

DARE to be a Daniel,

Dare to stand alone;

Dare to have a purpose firm,

Dare to make it known.

P. P. Buss.

Union of Church and State

The adoption of heathen rites and customs in the church.

"The bishops augmented the number of religious rites in the Christian worship, by way of accommodation to the infirmities and prejudices, both of Jews and heathen, in order to facilitate their conversion to Christianity. . . . For this purpose, they gave the name of mysteries to the institutions of the gospel, and decorated particularly the holy sacrament with that solemn title. They used in that sacred institution, as also in that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the heathen mysteries, and proceeded so far, at length, as even to adopt some of the rites and of the ceremonies of which those renowned mysteries consisted."— Mosheim's "Ecclesiastical History" (Maclaine's translation), cent. 2, part 2, chap. 4, pars. 2-5.

Worldly-minded bishops, instead of caring for the salvation of their flocks, were often but too much inclined to travel about, and entangle themselves in worldly concerns."— Neander' s "History of the Christian Religion and Church" (Torrey' s translation),Vol. II, page 16.

"This theocratical theory was already the prevailing one in the time of Constantine; and . . . the bishops voluntarily made themselves dependent on him by their disputes, and by their determination to make use of the power of the state for the furtherance of their aims."— Id., page 132.

The "theocratical theory" was that of a government-administered by God through the church, particularly through the church bishops.It was thus that the union of church and state was formed, out of which was developed "the beast," or Papacy, of the Apocalypse, which made "war with the saints" and overcame them. A like course can not fail to produce like results today. Dr. Philip Schaff, in his work on "Church and State," page 11, well says: "Secular power has proved a satanic gift to the church, and ecclesiastical power has proved an engine of tyranny in the hands of the state."

Sabbath Legislation

When men make Sabbath laws, therefore, they require Sabbath observance to be rendered to the government, or, presumably, by indirection, to God through the government, which amounts to the same thing.

But when men make compulsory Sabbath laws, they make men accountable to the government for Sabbath observance.

Constantine's Sunday law of March 7, 321

"Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty, attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by heaven."— Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3, tit. .12, 3.

By a law of the year 386, those older changes effected by the emperor Constantine were more rigorously enforced, and, in general, civil transactions of every kind on Sunday were strictly forbidden."— Neander's "Church History," Vol. • II, page 300, edition 1852.

In the year 425, the exhibition of spectacles on Sunday and on the principal feast-days of the Christians was forbidden. in order that the devotion of the faithful might be free from all disturbance."— Id., pages 300, 301.

We decree . . . that servile works should not be done on the Lord's day, . . . that is, that neither should men do field work, either in cultivating the vineyards or by plowing in the fields, by cutting or drying hay, or by placing a fence, or by making clearings in the woods or felling trees or working on stones or constructing houses or working in the garden; neither should they come together to decide public matters nor be engaged in the hunt. . . . Women may not do any textile work nor cut out clothes nor sew nor make garments.. . But let them come together from all sides to' church to the solemnities of the mass, and let them praise God for all things which he does for us on that day."— Historical Chronicles of Germany," Sec. 2, Vol. I, 22 General admonition, 789, M. Martio 23, page 61, par. 81.

Sunday law of Charles II, of 1676, read

"For the better observation and keeping holy the Lord's, commonly called Sunday: be it enacted . . . that all the laws enacted and in force concerning the observation of the day, and repairing to the church thereon, be carefully put in execution; and that all and every person and persons whatsoever shall on every Lord's day apply themselves to the observation of the same, by exercising themselves thereon in the duties of piety and true religion, publicly and privately." —"Revised Statutes of England From 1235-1685 A. D." (London,1870), pages 779, 780; cited in "A Critical History of Sunday Legislation," by A. H. Lewis, D. D., pages 108, 109.

The first Sunday law enacted in America, that of Virginia, in 1610, require

"Every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached upon the Sabbath day, and in the afternoon to divine service, and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provision and the allowance for the whole week following; for the second, to lose the said allowance and also be whipped; and for the third to suffer death."— Articles, Laws, and Orders, Divine, Politique, and Martial, for the Colony in Virginia: first established by. Sir Thomas Gates, Knight, Lieutenant General, the 24th of May, 1610.

These are the original Sunday laws, after which all the Sunday laws of Europe and America have been modeled. Church attendance is not generally required by the Sunday laws of the present day, nor was it required, in terms, by the earliest Sunday laws; but that is and ever has been the chief object of all Sunday legislation from Constantine's time on, and it is as much out of place today as it ever was.

Who Persecute and Why

Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day." John 5: 16.

"Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" Isa. 58: 6.

This is what Jesus did. He, the Author and Lord of the sabbath, in addition to attending and taking part in religious services (Luke 4: 16), went about doing good, healing the sick, relieving the oppressed, and restoring the impotent, lame, and blind, on the Sabbath day. But this, while in perfect accord with the law of God, the great law of love, was contrary to the traditions and perverted ideas of the Jews respecting the Sabbath. Hence they persecuted Him, and sought to slay Him.

The following comment upon this passage by M. de Chesnais, a Catholic priest of New Zealand, is well put: "If you would read the Word of God, you would find that from the beginning all good people were persecuted because they were good. Abel was slain by his brother because he was good, and Cain could not endure the sight of him."— Kaikoura (New Zealand) Star, April 10, 1884.

The Persecutors and Persecuted

a. Esau, who sold his birthright, persecuted Jacob, who vowed his loyalty to God. Gen. 25: 29-34; 27:41; 32: 6.

b. The wayward and envious sons of Jacob persecuted Joseph, who feared God. Genesis 37; Acts 7: 9.

c. The idolatrous Egyptians persecuted the Hebrews, who worshiped the true God. Exodus 1 and 5.,

d. The Hebrew who did his neighbor wrong thrust Moses. as mediator, aside. Ex. 2: 13, 14; Acts 7: 26, 27.

e. Saul, who disobeyed God, persecuted David, who feared God. 1 Samuel 15, 19, 24.

f. Israel, in their apostasy, persecuted Elijah and Jeremiah, who were prophets of God. 1 Kings 19: 9, 10; Jeri 36:20-23; 38: 1-6.

g. Nebuchadnezzar, while an idolater, persecuted the three Hebrew captives for refusing to worship idols. Daniel 3.

h. The envious and idolatrous princes under Darius, persecuted Daniel for daring to pray to the God of heaven. Daniel 6.

i. The murderers of Christ persecuted the apostles for preaching Christ. Acts 4 and 5.

j. Paul, before his conversion, persecuted the church of God. Acts 8: 1; 9: 1, 2; 22:4, 5, 20; 26:9-11; Gal. 1: 13; 1 Tim. 1:12, 13.

The history of all the religious persecutions since Bible times is but a repetition of this same story,— the wicked persecute the righteous. And thus it will continue to be until the conflict between good and evil is ended.

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Christian Liberty {BRH 471-498}

1. How is the bondage of Israel in Egypt described? Ex. 2: 23. Compare with James 5: 1-4. Who heard' their groaning? Verse 24. What did God say to Moses? Ex. 3: 9, 10

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2. In giving Israel His law, how did God describe Himself? Ex. 20: 2. What provision did God make against slavery and op

3. pression in Israel? Ex. 22: 21. See 2 Cor. 1: 3, 4.

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4. By what scripture is the equality of rights clearly shown? Lev. 19: 18. What rule of conduct has Christ laid down in harmony with this command? Matt. 7: 12.

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5. Who alone can cleanse men's hearts from selfishness? Acts 4: 12. See also 1 John 1: 9.

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6. What is present where the Spirit of the Lord is? 2 Cor. 3: 17.

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7. What kind of worship only is acceptable to God? John 4:23, 24.

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8. WHO should be subject to civil government? Rom. 13: 1. By whom are the powers that be ordained? What does one resist, who resists civil authority? Verse 2. Rom. 13: 2. What do the Scriptures indicate as the proper sphere and legitimate work of civil authority? Verses 3, 4.

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9. What decree did King Nebuchadnezzar once make respecting worship? Dan. 3: 4-6.

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10. Before leaving His disciples, what command did Christ give them? Mark 16: 15.

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11. What counter-command did the Jewish Sanhedrin soon afterward give them? Acts 4: 18. What reply did Peter and John make? Verses 19, 20.

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12. For continuing to preach Jesus, what did the Jewish rulers do to the apostles? Acts 5: 17, 18.

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13. What did an angel of God then do? Verses 19, 20.

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14. Upon the apostles being called before the council again, what question did the high priest ask them? Verse 28. What reply did the apostles make? Verse 29.

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15. Who is higher than the "higher powers"? Eccl. 5: 8.

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16. In religious things, whom alone did Christ say we should recognize as Father? Matt. 23: 9.

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17. When tempted to fall down and worship Satan, what Scripture command did Christ cite in justification of His refusal to do this? Matt. 4: 10. See Deut. 6: 13; 10: 20.

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18. To whom alone, then, is each one accountable in religious things? Rom. 14: 12.

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19. What do those do, therefore, who make men accountable to them in religious affairs? 2 Thess. 2:3, 4. Why, in religious matters, did Christ say men should not be called masters? Matt. 23: 10.

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20. To whom, then, as servants, are we responsible in matters of faith and worship? Rom. 14: 4. Whose servants are we not to be? 1 Cor. 7:23.

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21. Where must all finally appear to render up their account? 2 Cor. 5: 10.

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22. WHAT was already at work in the church in Paul's day? 2 Thess. 2: 7. What class of men did he say would arise in the church? Acts 20: 29, 30.

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23. Through what experience was the church to pass, and what was to develop in the church, before Christ's second coming? 2 Thess. 2: 3.

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24. Who made the Sabbath? Ex. 20: 11. To whom does the Sabbath belong? Verse 10.

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25. In religious things, to whom alone are we accountable? Rom. 14: 12.

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26. How does God command us to keep the Sabbath day? Ex. 20: 8. What does He indicate as one of its purposes? Lev. 23: 3.

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Zone 6, Sitio Lonoy, Kananga, Leyte