Page:Chelčický, Molnar - The Net of Faith.djvu/70



CHAPTER 8

THE PERFECT APOSTOLIC CHURCH (CONTINUED)

Christians cannot be followers of Christ’s faith if they are obeying another authority, pagan and civil, standing in courthouses with lawsuits; they cannot have the fellowship of Christ and be saved if they die in this (acceptance of authority). The enemy which is the pagan and worldly spirit may contradict this by saying, “Well, if these Christian congregations are not governed by temporal authority in matters of faith and morals, but only by mutual love, what then if they lack love and if some injustice were done to them? And did not many of them resort to courts? Did not Saint Paul say to them, ‘If you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who are least esteemed by the church?’[282] And so they availed themselves of pagan offices and supplied their officials, love not being adequate.”

To this can be proffered the following answer: it is true that the apostles brought the first Christians to these perfect things, instituting that everything be done through divine love. The correctness and truth of this commandment has not been lessened simply because there were some among them who were as imperfect as small children not yet ready to digest substantial food[283] and clamoring only for milk. Indeed, many a person, converted to the faith of Christ from the Gentiles or Jews, accustomed as he had been to evil and inclined rather strongly toward temporal arrangements, even though believing in the Son of God and His truth, did not become immediately perfect in his faith. Among such converts there were some who had many imperfections and whom the apostles rebuked, but they were tolerated in part for the hope that they would improve in time. Saint Paul saw the disorders of some weak believers; yes, he even saw a Christian bringing action against another Christian and both sitting under judgment before pagan court officials. And he said to them,

Do you not know that the saints will judge this world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?[284]

And, rebuking them with these words, he still patiently tolerated their weakness in the hope that they would reform, and allowed them to settle their differences at home rather than to go to law before pagans.[285] He could not bring them to perfection because of their weakness, and so he very patiently conceded to them the choice of the lesser evil, as long as they had to put up with evil at all. It is a greater evil for Christians to bring their grievances concerning temporal matters before pagans, but it is a lesser evil for them to reveal their shame at home before their own people. It is always an evil, though. And (the apostle) said to them that any grievance is evil, even when he conceded to them the possibility of a court (administered through the inner) domestic circle.[286] Says he,