from Hodge, AA. Evangelical theology: Lectures on doctrine, (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976, p.271-289
We have seen that the great end in which all the providential activities of God culminate in this world is the establishment of a universal kingdom of righteousness, which is to embrace all men and angels, and to endure for ever in absolute perfection and blessedness. This kingdom, viewed as a reign, must be administered by law; and, viewed as a realm, must be brought into perfect subjection to law in all its elements. This law can be nothing lower than the law of absolute and immutable moral perfection, which, having its seat in the moral nature of God, embraces the whole moral universe it its sway…
On morality
There are here two opposite and equally false conceptions of the nature of the kingdom of God which must be discriminated and rejected – that which makes its righteousness consists of natural morality divorced from religion; and that which makes it consist of religious sentiments and observances, morality being unemphasized...
We maintain that the pleas for the separation of morality and religion are rational only on the supposition that atheism is true. On the other hand, if the existence of God is admitted, then conscience instantly proclaims itself to be his voice in the soul, and speaks in his name. All morality, personal and social, must have a theistic basis to give it depth, authority, and power. The morality of these boasting opponents of religion is superficial in the extreme. The noblest motives they present are those of sympathy and compassion for others. They have no eternal moral Governor, no heavenly Father, no divine elder Brother, no indwelling Holy Ghost; no infinite sanctions of eternal rewards or punishments… How miserably poor do the best showings of the ephemeral flower of non-religious morality appear when laid in the effacing radiance of the life and cross of Christ, and of that immense company of his humble disciples who through all ages and in all spheres of human life have followed his example of self-sacrifice in the interests of humanity and of heroic devotion to the will and service of his heavenly Father! All true morality has its root and ground in, and derives its only adequate motives from, the doctrines of Christianity and from the fellowship of God with man which Christ secures. A rebel against supreme and fundamental obligation cannot possibly be righteous in any relation, however subordinate. And the only motives which render any action completely righteous are supreme love to God, and love to man for God’s sake; for “whether we eat, or drink, or whatsoever we do,” if we would claim the meed of the righteous, we must “do all for the glory of God.”
The danger most easily besetting many apparently zealous Christians lies in the opposite direction, of holding to the validity of a religious experience, the immediate of all righteousness. The gratuitous justification of a sinner on the ground of another’s righteousness, imputed to him freely without respect to his personal past character or record, is legitimately the root and necessary precondition of the most perfect morality. Nevertheless, this doctrine in the hands of ignorant and impure men is capable of the most serious abuse. And even among orthodox Christians, who are theoretically all right in their acknowledgement of all moral obligations, the least lapse of watchfulness will bring us in danger of a comfortable resting in the security of our position in Christ, while we neglect the full performance of all the moral obligations which spring out of our relations as Christians alike to God and man. The very end for which the stupendous enginery of redemption was devised and executed, including the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection of the Son of God, and the mission of the Holy Ghost, is to establish a community of regenerated and sanctified men, absolutely perfect in righteousness. The very conception of an immoral Christian is monstrous. And however imperfect the Christian may be at any stage of his spiritual growth, he can make no compromise with any sin; he must put forth all his powers in ceaseless efforts after absolute moral perfection in all directions. He must include all the duties which spring out of all our relations to our fellow-men of every kind. There can be nothing overlooked, much less willingly neglected. These must include not only the theological graces and the cardinal moral virtues, but the bloom and symmetry of moral excellence which result from the perfect harmony of all the virtues. He must be pure in thought as well as in life, magnanimous and generous in feeling and impulse, as well as just in his transactions. A narrow-minded, conceited, and selfish Christian is an incongruity as real, though not quite so shocking, as an immoral Christian. Whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report, whatsoever things are edifying, whatsoever things are spiritually beautiful, whatsoever things are Christ-like, all these things are involved in the righteousness of all saints. To be a gentleman or a lady in the essential, not the conventional sense, is the very least demanded in the moral character and conduct of any Christian. Anything beneath that is out of the question. But beyond that the Christian hero and heroine must ever aspire to the heights of moral and spiritual excellence and beauty, such as will be realized perfectly only in the spirits of just men made perfect in the holy city…
On rights
There is, in all the ages and in all the provinces of his kingdom, no such thing as human rights to disturb his government or to distract righteousness. No creature, from the very nature of the case, can possess any rights over against Him who causes him to exist and to be what he is. Nor can any creature possess any rights over against any other creature, except such as are given by God. If I possess a right relative to my brother, my brother owes it to God to render it to me, and my possession of it creates a new obligation to God. Thus, all so-called human rights are divine appointments for our benefit, creating special duties on all sides, which all the parties concerned owe directly to God. The universe is an absolute monarchy in which absolute moral perfection, interpreted by infinite wisdom and executed by infinite power, sits upon the throne. In this realm there are no rights but universal honour and blessedness secured by the mutual discharge of all duties, all which spring ultimately from the will of God, and hence are all duties owed to him. The King of the kingdom is the incarnate God, who has redeemed us by his blood as well as created us by his power. The only ultimate right is his right to us, and the only source of law is the moral perfection of the divine nature expressed in his will. All service is worship; all righteousness is service to him rendered out of love and gratitude for his redemption. The obligation which descends upon us from his absolute right and sovereign will is loyally accepted by us, and rendered back in our loving service as the spontaneous tribute of our hearts. “To the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, no and for ever.”
God’s law
This divine law is made known to the subjects of the kingdom through many different channels. All these mutually supplement and corroborate the testimony of one another. The fundamental fact upon which all others of this order depend is that man in his moral nature, as in his intellectual, was created in “the likeness of God.” Our nature is essentially finite and contingent, and our knowledge imperfect and variable; whereas God’s knowledge is infinite, and his nature essentially perfect and absolute. Nevertheless, the immanent, spontaneous moral law of our intrinsic nature corresponds, as an imperfect reflection, to the transcendent moral perfection of God’s nature, and answers obediently to every indication of his will. Sin has perverted and deteriorated this law, but the voice of God can always arouse it to intense action; and the regenerating and sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost restores it to its original purity and vigour; and as our whole nature is developed into perfect manhood, into the measures of the stature of the fullness of Christ, “the moral law within us” will be more and more assimilated to the divine standard...
But such has been the deteriorating influence of sin that “the law written on the heart” and “the light of nature,” although these remain, no longr suffice as the organ of signifying God’s will to man. A supernatural revelation has been necessary to reveal the law of duty, as well as to reveal the method of salvation through redemption…
This is the divinely authoritative and infallible rule of all duty as well as of all faith. All the principles of duty binding us are herein contained. Nothing not in principle commanded in the Bible can be held to be obligatory on any Christian, and all that is thus enjoined is obligatory upon every Christian. The will of God, as indicated in the current leadings of providence and in the dealings of his Holy Spirit with our hearts, never imposes new principles of duty, but only applies the general conditions of our providentially guided lives. The Bible, the Holy Ghost dwelling in us, and providence, the two latter always read in the light of the former, constitute the Christian’s complete organ of knowing the will of his Lord…
Life and society
This law, moreover, demands instant and absolute obedience, not only from all classes of Christians, but also in every sphere of human life equally. A Christian is just as much under obligation to obey God’s will in the most secular of his daily businesses as he is in his closet or at the communion table. He has no right to separate his life into two realms, and acknowledge different moral codes in each respectively -to say the Bible is a good rule for Sunday, but this is as week-day question; or the Scriptures are the right rule in matters of religion, but this is a question of business or of politics. God reigns over all everywhere. His will is the supreme law in all relations and actions. His inspired Word, loyally read, will inform us of his will in every relation and act of life, secular as well as religious; and the man is a traitor who refuse to walk therein with scrupulous care...
Since the kingdom of God on earth is not confined to the mere ecclesiastical sphere, but aims at absolute universality, and extends its supreme reign over ever department of human life, it follows that it is the duty of every loyal subject to endeavour to bring all human society, social and political, as well as ecclesiastical, into obedience to its law of righteousness. It is our duty, as far as lies in our power, immediately to organize human society and all its institutions and organs upon a distinctively Christian basis. Indifference or impartiality here between the law of the kingdom and the law of the world, or of its prince, the devil, is utter treason to the King of Righteousness. The Bible, the great statute book of the kingdom, explicitly lays down principles which, when candidly applied, will regulate the action of every human being in all relations. There can be no compromise. The King said, with regard to all descriptions of moral agents in all spheres of activity, “He that is not with me is against me.” If the national life in general is organized upon non-Christian principles, the churches which are embraced within the universal assimilating power that nation will not long be able to preserve their integrity...
That kingdom rests ultimately upon the Fatherhood of God, the Elder Brotherhood and the redeeming blood of Christ, and the universal brotherhood of men. Its principle is love; its law is duty. It appeals not to the right of the weak, but to the love and duty of the strong. Brothers are never all equal; but true brothers respect, sympathize with, and love one another. The interest of one is the interest of all, and the anguish or the joy of one is experience alike by all. This human brotherhood is essential; it is eternal. The earthly conditions which separate us are accidental and transient. There is no gulf of ignorance, or poverty, or vice which should cut off or modify our expressions of tender love and sympathy. Even the very least of these humble ones Christ calls brethren. We must not keep them at arm’s-length, we must not neglect their interest; we must not, in the competitions of trade, push them to the wall. We must love them, and make them know we love them, and help then in their struggles with poverty and sin.
The law of the kingdom by AA Hodge
