Christianity and Ethics Part 11

While His contemporaries were expecting some mighty intervention that would suddenly bring the kingdom ready-made from heaven, He saw it growing up silently and secretly among men. He took his ill.u.s.trations from organic life. Its progress was to be like the seed hidden in the earth, and growing day and night by its own inherent germinating force.

The object of the parables of the sower, the tares, the mustard seed, the leaven, was to show that the crude catastrophic conception of the coming of the kingdom must give place to the deeper and worthier idea of growth--an idea in harmony with the entire economy of G.o.d's working in the world of nature. In the parable of the fruit-bearing earth Jesus shows His faith in the growth of the good, and hence in the adaptation of the truth to the human soul. In the parables of the leaven, the light, and salt Jesus ill.u.s.trates the gradual power of truth to pervade, illumine, and purify the life of humanity. His method of bringing about this {138} good is the contagion of the good life. His motive is the sense of the need of men. And His goal is the establishment of the kingdom of love--a kingdom in which all the problems of ambition, wealth, and the relationships of the family, of the industrial sphere, and of the state, are to be transfigured and spiritualised.[32]

It is surely no illegitimate application of the mind of Christ if we see in His teaching concerning the kingdom a great social ideal to be realised by the personal activities and mutual services of its citizens.

It finds its field and opportunity in the realm of human society, and is a good to be secured in the larger life of humanity. This ideal, though only dimly perceived by the early Church, has become gradually operative in the world, and has been creative of all the great liberating movements in history. It lay behind Dante's vision of a spiritual monarchy, and has been the inspiring motive of those who, in obedience to Christ, have wrought for the uplifting of the hapless and the down-trodden. It has been the soul of all mighty reformations, and is the source of that conception of a new social order which has begun to mean so much for our generation.

Loyalty to the highest and love for the lowest--love to G.o.d and man--these are the marks of the men of all ages who have sought to interpret the mind of Christ. Mutual service is the law of the kingdom.

Every man has a worth for Christ, therefore reverence for the personality of man, and the endeavour to procure for each full opportunity of making the most of his life, are at once the aim and goal of the new spiritual society of which Christ laid the foundations in His own life and ministry. Everything that a man is and has, talents and possessions of every kind, are to be used as instruments for the promotion of the kingdom of G.o.d.

'For life, with all it yields of joy and woe, And hope and fear . . .

Is just our chance o' the prize of learning love.'

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(3) But though the reign of G.o.d has begun, it has _yet to be consummated_.--There is not wanting in the New Testament an element of futurity and expectancy not inconsistent with, but rather complementary to, the notion of gradual development. The eschatological teaching of Jesus has its place along with the ethical, and may be regarded not as annulling, but rather reinforcing the moral ideals which He proclaimed.[33] There is nothing pessimistic in Christ's outlook. His teaching concerning the last things, while inculcating solemnity and earnestness of life as become those to whom has been entrusted a high destiny, and who know not at what hour they may be called to give an account of their stewardship,[34] bids men look forward with certainty and hope to a glorious consummation of the kingdom. Though many of our Lord's sayings with regard to His second coming are couched in figurative language, we cannot believe that He intended to teach that the kingdom itself was to be brought about in a spectacular or material way. He bids His disciples take heed lest they be deceived by a visible Christ, or led away by merely outward signs.[35] His coming is to be as 'the lightning which cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west'[36]--an emblem not so much of suddenness as of illuminating and convincing, and especially, of progressive force. Not in a visible reign or personal return of the Son of Man does the consummation of the kingdom consist, but in the complete spiritual sovereignty of Christ over the hearts and minds of men. When the same love which He Himself manifested in His life becomes the feature of His disciples; when His spirit of service and sacrifice pervades the world, and the brotherhood of man and the federation of nations everywhere prevail; then, indeed, shall the sign of the Son of Man appear in the heavens, and then shall the tribes of {140} the earth see Him coming in the clouds with power and glory.[37]

Jesus does not hesitate to say that there will be a final judgment and an ingathering of the elect from all quarters of the earth.[38] There will be, as the parable of the Ten Virgins suggests, a division and a shut door.[39] But punishment will be automatic. Sin will bring its own consequences. Those only will be excluded at the last who even now are excluding themselves. For Christ is already here, and is judging the world every day. By the common actions of their present life men are being tried; and that which will determine their final relation to Christ will not be their mere perception of His bodily presence, but their moral and spiritual likeness to Him.

Amidst the imperfections of the present men have ever looked forward to some glorious consummation, and have lived and worked in the faith of it.

'To the prophets of Israel it was the new age of righteousness; to the Greek thinkers the world of pure intelligible forms; to Augustine and Dante the holy theocratic state; to the practical thought of our own time the renovated social order. Each successive age will frame its own vision of the great fulfilment; but all the different ideals can find their place in the message of the kingdom which was proclaimed by Jesus.'[40]

There is thus opened to our vision a splendid conception of the future of humanity. It stands for all that is highest in our expectations because it is already expressive of all that is best in our present achievements and endeavours. The final hope of mankind requires for its fulfilment a progressive moral discipline. Only as Christ's twofold command--love to G.o.d and love to man--is made the all-pervasive rule of men's lives will the goal of a universally perfected humanity be attained.

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III

The chief good may be regarded finally in its _divine_ aspect--as the endeavour after G.o.d-likeness. In this third form of the ideal the two others--the personal and the social--are harmonised and completed. To realise the perfect life as it is revealed in the character and will of G.o.d is the supreme aim of man, and it embraces all that is conceivably highest for the individual and for humanity as a whole. This aspiration finds its most explicit expression in the sublime word of Christ--'Be ye perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.'[41] This commandment, unlike so many generalisations of duty, is no cold abstraction. It is pervaded with the warmth of personality and the inspiration of love. In the idea of Fatherhood both a standard and motive are implied. Because G.o.d is our Father it is at once natural and possible for us to be like Him. He who would imitate another must have already within him something of that other. As there is a community of nature which makes it possible for the child to grow into the likeness of its parent, so there is a kinship in man with G.o.d to which our Lord here appeals.

1. Among the ethical qualities of divine perfection set forth in scripture for man's imitation _Holiness_ stands preeminent. G.o.d, the perfect being, is the type of holiness, and men are holy in proportion as their lives are G.o.dlike. This conception of holiness is fundamental in the Old Testament. It is summed up in a command almost identical with that of our Lord: 'Be ye holy, for I am holy.'[42] Holiness, as Christianity understands it, is the name for the undimmed l.u.s.tre of G.o.d's ethical perfection. G.o.d is 'the Holy one'--the alone 'good' in the absolute sense.[43]

If G.o.d's character consists in 'Holiness,' then that quality determines the moral end of man. But holiness, as the most comprehensive name for the divine moral perfection--the pure white light of G.o.d's Being--breaks up into the {142} separate rays which we designate the special moral attributes. These have been grouped under 'Righteousness' (truth, faithfulness, justice, zeal, etc.), and 'Love' (goodness, pity, mercy, etc.), though they are really but expressions of one individual life.[44]

2. In the New Testament _Righteousness_ is almost equivalent to holiness. It is the attribute of G.o.d which determines the nature of His kingdom and the condition of man's entrance into it. As comprising obedience to the will of G.o.d and the fulfilment of the moral law, it is the basal and central conception of the Christian ideal.[45] It is the keynote of the Pauline Epistles. Life has a supreme sacredness for Paul because the righteousness of G.o.d is its end. While righteousness is the distinctive note of the Pauline conception, it is also fundamental in the Ethics of Jesus. It is the ruling thought in the Sermon on the Mount.

To be righteous for Jesus simply means to be right and true--to be as one ought to be. But human standards are insufficient. A man must order his life by the divine standard. Jesus is as emphatic as any Old Testament prophet in insisting upon the need of absolute righteousness. That, for all who would share in the kingdom of the good, is to be their ideal--the object of their hunger and thirst. It is a 'good' which is essential to the very satisfaction and blessedness of the soul.[46] It is the supreme desire of the man who would be at peace with G.o.d. It involves poverty of spirit, for only those who are emptied of self are conscious of their need. They who, in humility and meekness, acknowledge their sins, are in the way of holiness and are already partakers of the divine nature.

Christ's teaching in regard to righteousness has both a negative and a positive aspect. It was inevitable that He should begin with a criticism of the morality inculcated by the leaders of His day. The characteristic feature of Pharisaism was, as Christ shows, its _externalism_. If a man fulfilled the outward requirements of the law he was {143} regarded as holy, by himself and others, whatever might be the state of his heart towards G.o.d. This outwardness tended to create certain vices of character. Foremost amongst these were (1) _Vanity_ or Ostentation. To appear well in the opinion of others was the aim of pharisaic conduct.

Along with ostentation appears (2) _Self-complacency_. Flattery leads to self-esteem. He who loves the praise of man naturally begins to praise himself. As a result of self-esteem arises (3) _Censoriousness_, since he who thinks well of himself is apt to think ill of others. As a system Pharisaism was wanton hypocrisy--a character of seeming righteousness, but too often of real viciousness.

But Christ came not to destroy but to fulfil the law.[47] His aim was to proclaim the true principles of righteousness in contrast to the current notions of it. This He proceeds to do by issuing the law in its ideal and perfected form.[48] Hence Jesus unfolds its _positive_ content by bringing into prominence the virtues of the G.o.dly character as opposed to the pharisaic vices. _Modesty_ and _humility_ are set over against ostentation and self-righteousness.[49] _Single-minded sincerity_ is commended in opposition to hypocrisy.[50] The vice of censoriousness is met by the duty of _self-judgment_ rather than the judgment of others.[51]

The two positive features of the new law of righteousness as expounded by Jesus are--_inwardness_ and _spontaneity_. The righteousness of the Gospel, so far from being laxer or easier of fulfilment, was actually to exceed that of the Pharisees:[52] (_a_) in _depth and inwardness_. It is not enough not to kill or steal or commit adultery. These commandments may be outwardly kept yet inwardly broken. Something more radical is expected of the man who has set before him the doing of G.o.d's will, a righteousness not of appearance but of reality. (_b_) In _freedom and spontaneity_. It is to have its spring in the heart. It is to be a righteousness not of servile obedience, but of willing devotion. The aim of life is no longer the painful effort of the bondsman who {144} strives to perform a distasteful task, but the gladsome endeavour of the son who knows and does, because he loves, his father's will. In the Ethics of the Christian life there is no such thing as mere duty; for a man never fulfils his duty till he has done more than is legally required of him.

'Whosoever shall compel you to go with him one mile, go with him twain.'[53] The 'nicely calculated less or more' is alien to the spirit of him who would do G.o.d's will. Love is the fulfilling of the law, and love knows nothing of limits.

3. Thus the holiness of G.o.d is manifested not in righteousness only, but in the attribute of Love. The human mind can attain to no higher conception of the divine character than that which the word 'love'

suggests. The thought is the creation of Christianity. It was the special contribution of one of the innermost circle of Jesus' disciples to give utterance to the new vision of the divine nature which Christ had disclosed--'G.o.d is love.'[54] In our Lord's teaching the centre of gravity is entirely changed. The Jewish idea of G.o.d is enriched with a fuller content. He is still the Holy One, but the sublimity of His righteousness, though fully recognised, is softened by the gentler radiance of love.[55] Jehovah the Sovereign is revealed as G.o.d the Father. Divine righteousness is not simply justice, but goodness manifested in far-reaching activities of mercy and pity and benevolence.

A new note is struck in the Ethics of Jesus. A new relationship is established between G.o.d and man--a personal filial relationship which entirely alters man's conception of life. To be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, to be, and embody in life all that love means, that is the sublime aim which Jesus in His own person and teaching sets before the world. As G.o.d's love is universal, and His care and compa.s.sion world-wide, so, says Christ, not by retaliation or even by the performance of strict justice, but in loving your enemies, in returning good for evil and extending your acts of helpfulness and charity to those 'who know not, care not, think {145} not, what they do,' shall ye become the children of your Father, and realise something of that divine pattern of every man which has been shown him on the holy mount.

If the view presented in this chapter of the ethical ideal of Christianity be correct, then the doctrine of an _Interims-ethik_ advocated by modern eschatologists must be p.r.o.nounced unsatisfactory as a complete account of the teaching of Jesus.[56] The three features which stand out most clearly in the Ethics of Christ are, Absoluteness, Inwardness, and Universality. It is an ideal for man as man, for all time, and for all men. The personality of G.o.d represents the highest form of existence we know; and the love of G.o.d is the sublimest attribute we can conceive. But because G.o.d is our Father there is a kinship between the divine and the human; and no higher or grander vision of life is thinkable than to be like G.o.d--to share that which is most distinctive of the divine Fatherhood--His love of all mankind. Hence G.o.dlikeness involves Brotherhood.[57] In the ideal of love--high as G.o.d, broad as the world--the other aspects of the chief good, the individual and the social, are harmonised. In Christian Ethics, the problem of philosophy how to unite the one and the many, egoism and altruism, has been practically solved. The individual realises his life only as he finds himself in others; and this he can only do as he finds himself in G.o.d.

The first and last word of all morality and religion is summed up in Christ's twofold law of love: 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy G.o.d with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.'[58]

[1] Cf. Troeltsch, _Die Sociallehren d. Christl. Kirchen_, vol. i. p.

37, where the idea of self-worth and self-consecration is worked out.

[2] Wernle, _Beginnings of Christianity_, vol. i. p. 76.

[3] Wernle, _Beginnings of Christianity_, pp. 76 f.

[4] John x. 10.

[5] Luke xii. 15, 16.

[6] Matt. v.

[7] Matt. vi. 24.

[8] 1 John ii. 15.

[9] Luke x. 21; Matt. xi. 28-30; Mark viii. 35; John iii. 15, x. 28, xvii. 2.

[10] John xvii. 3.

[11] Rom. xii. 1.

[12] Matt. xix. 17.

[13] Luke xvii. 33; John xii. 25.

[14] Bailey, _Festus_.

[15] Browning.

[16] Jones, _Browning as a Philosophical and Religious Teacher_, p. 354.

[17] Abt Vogler.

[18] Cf. Balch, _Introd. to the Study of Christian Ethics_, p. 150.

[19] Newman Smyth, _Christian Ethics_, p. 97.

[20] Balch, _Introd. to the Study of Christian Ethics_, p. 150.

[21] See Apocalypses of Baruch, Esdras, Enoch, and Pss. of Solomon, and also Daniel and Ezekiel. Cf. E. F. Scott, _The Kingdom and the Messiah_, for Apoc. literature.

[22] J. Weiss, _Die Predigt Jesu vom Reiche Gottes_. Cf. also Wernle, _Die Anfange unsurer Religion_, who is not so p.r.o.nounced. Bousset rejects this view, and t.i.tius, in his _N. T. Doctrine of Blessedness_, regards the kingdom of G.o.d as a present good. See also Moffatt, _The Theology of the Gospels_.

[23] Cf. Dobschutz, _The Eschatology of the Gospels_, also Schweitzer, _op. cit._, and Sanday, _The Life of Christ in Recent Research_, E.

Scott, _The Kingdom of G.o.d and the Messiah_, and Moffatt, _op. cit._