Christianity and War / 415

thou canst avoid the suit; and not say like the worldly minded: "I will spend all that I have, before I will give up to him." How many times do we see that men will spend at law, a hundred dollars to gain five or ten dollars,-the gainer at law, very often being the loser in money very largely, and this simply in order to have revenge: but Paul says: "Now there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?" 1 Cor. 6:7. A true Christian will rather take wrong, and suffer wrong, than go to law-he will rather give more than is just in order that he may avoid a law-suit.

Our great Prophet goes on in his discourse saying: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Who is it that says these things? It is Christ, the Lord from heaven, "who is Lord of all"-it is that great Prophet, whom we are commanded to hear in all things on pain of being destroyed: -it is Christ, "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God." Rev. 3:14; "by whom God made the worlds, and by whom he spoke unto us in these last days." Heb. 1:2-it is Christ, who "spoke as never man spoke"-it is Christ, before whose judgment seat we must all appear.-Therefore, "see that ye refuse not him that speaketh; for if they escaped not who refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him who speaketh from heaven." Heb. 12:25. This is that Christ, that great Prophet who says: "Love your enemies"-this is a positive command, which a Christian must obey, for there can he no such thing as a disobedient Christian; this would be a contradiction of terms: "for the disobedient shall be punished with an everlasting destruction," 2 Thes. 1:8, 9.-"The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." Col. 3:6. The worldly-minded are perhaps ready to say: "These are hard sayings, who can hear them:" but they are nevertheless true sayings, for they are the very words of that great Prophet whom we are to hear or be destroyed-Christ, from whom we received the Christian name, and of whose nature Christians are partakers-Christ, who loved his enemies and died for them. Rom. 5: 10. How then can a Christian hate his enemy and follow in the steps of Christ? Or how can he hate his enemy and still be a living member of Christ? For, says Christ: "If ye love them which love you, what is your reward? Do not even the Publicans" (who are not Christians) "the same?" But Paul says: "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." Rom. 12:20; and now, I would ask this most solemn question, If a man love his enemy, can he destroy his life and his property? make his wife a widowhis children orphans? Christ also commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and teacheth us that all men whom we ever may come in contact with, are to be considered our neighbors, as is clearly shown in the parable given in Luke 10:29, 37: and again: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Now we, certainly, would not wish our neighbor to come and destroy our life, and our property, but would desire him to leave us undisturbed and unharmed,-go thou then, and do likewise.

To "love our enemies," is a positive command wherein Christ has also