A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. Stanford Reid is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Guelph, and the author of numerous historical books.
The search for the spiritual renewal of the church is something which is constantly taking place, and that is good.
For the Church of Jesus Christ is in a very real sense a human body which needs continual renewal and has needed it ever since the days of the Lord Jesus upon earth. Apostles such as Paul and John were constantly speaking and writing about this requirement. The revival of the Church so that it will carry out its mission fully and effectively in the world is a constant theme of the New Testament. Therefore, those who seek such renewal today are quite in accord with New Testament teaching. But so often that is all that they seek to accomplish. To revive and renew the Church is all that is required.
Yet we must remember that Jesus Christ is not only the Redeemer and Head of the Church. He is also Lord of the nations, (Col. 1:18; Rev. 1 1:15; 19:16), although they may not recognize his sovereignty. The Church, therefore, as the representative of Christ upon earth has the responsibility of bringing the nations of the earth to fulfill his commands, even though they may not recognize that he does hold the position of the Lord of the Nations. It is true, of course that it would be best if the nations did recognize Christ’s preeminence, and eventually they shall, but until the final day arrives, the Church has the fundamental duty and responsibility to make his sovereign rule effective in the world. The Church, therefore, does not have the responsibility of merely calling upon all to accept him as Saviour, but also to recognize him as Lord.
In light of this, it is important to note that the history of the Church bears out this thesis. Whenever a renewal and revival of the Church has taken place it has always had an impact on the society in which it has been situated. It has brought about social reform in many different ways, but always in the direction of greater social justice. This has not taken place by the Church asserting lordship over the state, but through the influence of those who have been renewed in their spiritual lives and have made Christ’s lordship effective in the way they have lived and in their influence over others, even though they might not be Christian.
As one looks at the early church this appears quite clearly. We are told in Acts (2:42ff) that the Christians of those days counted nothing their own and shared their worldly possessions with those who had need. And this involved a real sense of stewardship of property, which continued to be characteristic of the church for many years. Even the pagans recognized that the Christians loved one another and were prepared to sacrifice ownership of goods to help each other. But perhaps of equal importance was the Christian attitude towards slavery, which was so common that everyone took it as obviously right. When Paul wrote to Philemon he told him to welcome back Onesimus his runaway slave as a brother in Christ, indeed as he would welcome Paul, himself. Here was a radical change in the common view of the slave: no longer a slave, but now a brother. And this was bound to have a radical influence not only in the Church, but on society as a whole. Christians were rejecting the old idea of the slave as a mere chattel or good, and accepting him or her as brother or sister in Christ. Later in the church’s history a slave girl and her mistress stood hand in hand while they were executed for their Christian faith. What a witness to contemporary society!
Although the Middle Ages saw the development of monasticism which taught that separation from the world physically was the highest form of Christian service there were others in the Roman Church who sought to have society conform to what they considered Christian standards. The church’s ban on the taking of interest is one example. Another was the so-called “Truce of God” in which the Church sought to have peace established in the frequent wars and conflicts by stopping all fighting over every weekend. Various institutions and orders, such as the friars, were also established not only to extend the knowledge of Christianity, but also to help the poor and educate the ordinary citizen. However, when groups such as the Waldenses, the Hussites and the Lollards arose, stressing the biblical teachings concerning salvation through faith in Christ as the only mediator, persecution took place, with the result that not only did many suffer martyrdom, but outside the established church, communities of Christians were organized by the so-called heretics who stressed the need for mutual help and aid to those who were suffering for their faith. Here again, those who sought church renewal found it necessary to give their Christian faith a social dimension.
True church renewal will send us out into the world to live for him, to seek to make his sovereignty effective in all aspects of life.
The Reformation of the 16th century saw perhaps the greatest impact so far which church renewal had had on contemporary society. There were, of course considerable differences in the views which Protestants held concerning the place and impact which Christians should have on society. The Anabaptists did not always agree among themselves, but generally they held that Christians should separate themselves from society, refusing to hold civil office, serve in the armed forces, or allow their children to be educated by non-Anabaptists. Generally they kept very much to themselves. The Lutherans, on the other hand, did not make any real distinction between Christian and non-Christian in society. True, the Christians were to maintain their faith at all costs, but were also to accept society as it was, living and acting in it in accordance with Christian principles. In this way where they had a majority of the population, their Christian principles might prevail, but where they were in the minority they did not necessarily seek for reform.
John Calvin in Geneva had a somewhat different approach. While recognizing that Christ is Lord of the Nations, he did not hold, as the Roman Catholic Church did, that the church was ruler over the political states. He was no “Pope of Geneva” as some have recently suggested. He did hold, however, that Christians were to exercise such an influence in society that nations, and society in general, might be led to conform to Christ’s will as expressed in the Bible. Calvin, himself, lived in Geneva for twenty years before he became a citizen of the city, so his influence as exercised during that period was purely one of moral persuasion.
The outcome of his influence was that Geneva became a true democracy with the people not only sharing in the government through elected representatives, but also having an educational system which involved all children, and a social assistance program which helped the poor, and the sick. John Knox described Geneva in the mid – 1550’s as “the most perfect schole of Christ” and many of the Protestant refugees who settled there would agree. But Calvin’s influence went far beyond the city limits. As refugees from England, Scotland, Holland and other countries were able to return to their homelands they followed Calvin’s example, bringing about radical social changes. The next century saw many of these changes reflected in the political sphere: the freeing of Holland from Spanish dominion, the Puritan Revolution in England, the rise of the Covenanting movement in Scotland and similar developments in other areas. In fact much of our modern democratic political organization finds its roots in the Calvinistic view of political government.
As the Church in various countries, however, was influenced by the rising rationalism of the 18th century changes took place. Christian influence tended to decline until the 1740’s which saw the beginnings of the movement known as the “Evangelical Revival” or “Great Awakening.” In both Great Britain and the American colonies, through the work of John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards and others, the Church was renewed in its spiritual life, and this spread quickly to the continent of Europe influencing the churches in Switzerland, France, Holland and other countries. The impact of this movement on society was very important, leading to the development of new views on education, of poverty and, perhaps most strikingly, to a movement for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
The impact of the Evangelical Revival appeared most clearly in the 19th century. In Britain, for instance, through the work of William Wilberforce, slavery throughout the Empire was abolished in 1833; through the work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, also a strong evangelical, many social reforms were introduced, particularly in the area of industry. In the United States, similar effects were seen, culminating in the abolition of slavery. Christians were also very active in the political sphere. In Britain, William Ewart Gladstone and many of both the Tory and Liberal parties were professing Christians and the Labour Party was founded by Keir Hardie who was a street preacher from one of the smaller Scottish Presbyterian denominations. In Holland, Abraham Kuyper, a leading theologian, and his supporters founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party, while in America, Christians, such as Abraham Lincoln, were also active in politics.
But it was not just in the western world that the Evangelical Revival had an impact on society. As a result of the missionary movement which developed late in the 18th century, Christian views of society were carried far and wide, which brought in many cases considerable changes in aboriginal societies in many parts of the world. Imperialism, which had many evil aspects, also opened up the way for Christian social influences: development of education, abolition of slavery and other changes.
In the light of all this influence of Christianity on society in the past it is necessary for Christians seeking a renewal of the Church of Jesus Christ not to limit their vision of the Church. We must have a broader vision. So often today, those who look for a revival and reformation of the Church limit themselves, tending to separate themselves from the society in which they live. But Christ calls upon us to recognize him as Lord of all life, of every aspect of it. True church renewal will send us out into the world to live for him, to seek to make his sovereignty effective in all aspects of life. This, to some people, means that the Christians must try to take control of government and then force everyone to conform to what is said to be the Christian standards. But as we look at history it would seem that what we must do is show what the Christian position is on various matters and persuade others that this is the proper course to follow.
As examples of what would seem to need a Christian understanding one could turn to the tendency of government to favour the rich at the expense of the poor, to give tax concessions to those who have much while taking away a much larger proportion of the income of those who have little. There is the whole question of the sacredness of life as involved in the issue of abortion. And there is the question of the freedom of education, and the character of the education which is offered: is it atheistic humanism, or do Christians have their position truly set forth? There are many other matters which might be discussed, but these are just a few examples.
In the light of this situation in our society, it would seem that any movement for renewal of the Church must make its position known, not only in official statements, but through the everyday work and testimony of its members. A further step would be to link up with an organization such as Citizens for Public Justice, made up largely of members of the Christian Reformed Church. Renewal of the Church must always work towards renewal of society, that all may be brought to obey the divine law for society. This must be done by all Christians, and it should also lead to Christians becoming involved in the politics and government of our country, which we certainly need today!