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Advent Lessons

Lesson 8 · November 23, 1895

Results of a Union of Church and State—An Adulterous Alliance

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  1. 1.What did Christ say of His kingdom in its relation to this world? .
  2. 2.What are the kingdoms over which men rule called? .
  3. 3.What general principle is stated in ?
  4. 4.Must not the converse be as imperative, that what God has separated no man has a right to join together?
  5. 5.Has the Lord separated Church and State? .
  6. 6.What must any union between the two therefore be? Ans. An adulterous union.
  7. 7.What is one of the relations which the Lord represents Himself as sustaining to His church? ; ; .
  8. 8.How long is a woman bound to her husband? .
  9. 9.What is she called, and what is she, if she marries another while he lives? .
  10. 10.What does God say of the kings of the earth and Babylon the great? .

A Denial of the Power of God

  1. 11.What is the gospel of Christ declared to be? .
  2. 12.How great is the power of God? ; ; .
  3. 13.How much power, therefore, is there in the gospel to save men?
  4. 14.Could greater power be asked for the accomplishment of any work?
  5. 15.Of what, therefore, do men confess their ignorance when they appeal to the power of the State to assist in gospel work?
  6. 16.Of what were the Sadducees ignorant? .
  7. 17.What do men deny when they ask the aid of Cæsar in religious things? Ans. The power of God.
  8. 18.When would such a spirit be especially prevalent among professing Christians? .

Hypocrisy and Religious Persecution

  1. 19.What must be the result of making religious tests a qualification for office, and threatening temporal punishments for noncompliance with certain religious customs? Ans. An increase of hypocrisy. (See note 1.)
  2. 20.What is the character of hypocrisy? Ans. Sin. , last clause.
  3. 21.Is it a sin for a man to perform a religious act in which he has no faith? .
  4. 22.What does law in civil government imply? Ans. Force. See .
  5. 23.What is the inevitable result of using force in religion? Ans. Religious persecution. (See note 2.)

Ruinous to Both Church and State

  1. 24.When the leaders of the Jewish Church turned from the Lord to Cæsar (), what was the result (; )?
  2. 25.Therefore when civil governments take sides in religious controversies, and become the instruments of persecution, what must invariably be the result? (See note 3.)
  3. 26.State in brief the results of a union of Church and State.

Notes

1. "The utmost that severity can do is to make men hypocrites; it can never make them converts."—Dr. John Moore.

2. Faith cannot be forced, neither can the conscience be guided or controlled by an appeal to arms. Any attempt, therefore, to compel men who have the courage of their convictions to do differently from what they believe, must necessarily result in persecution. It cannot result otherwise.

3. Like everything else, when Church or State is turned from its proper course, it is on the road to destruction. The truth is well stated in the following words:—

"When religion and civil government are legally united, neither derives any benefit from the union; both are seriously damaged by it. The most characteristic feature of such a union is that of a bad religion and a bad government at the same time, each being harmed by the other."—Samuel T. Spear, D. D., in Religion and the State.

"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 a wrong to break down the most perfectly constituted government."—Fairchild's Moral Philosophy, p. 186.

"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."—Dr. Phillip Schaff.

Bible texts in this lesson

John 18:36 · Revelation 11:15 · Matthew 19:6 · Matthew 22:21 · Isaiah 54:5 · Jeremiah 31:32 · 2 Corinthians 11:2 · Romans 7:2 · Romans 7:3 · Revelation 17:1 · Revelation 17:2 · Revelation 17:5 · Revelation 18:2 · Revelation 18:3 · Romans 1:16 · Genesis 17:1 · Isaiah 40:26 · Matthew 28:18 · Matthew 22:29 · 2 Timothy 3:1-5 · Luke 12:1 · Romans 14:23 · Daniel 3:15 · John 19:14 · John 19:15 · Matthew 23:38 · Matthew 21:43 · Luke 19:41-44

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