The early Christians met in each
others' houses. They partook of meals in common after which they
observed the Lord's supper. The basis of organization was the
fraternal equality of believers. The barriers between the rich and
the poor, the learned and the unlearned, seemed to drop of
themselves. No pressure was brought to bear to force men together in
this fraternal organization, but they were united by a common love for
Jesus Christ, their Lord, and like Him they were at home in all social
circles. No law, no urgency of appeal, no pressure, can to-day
abolish class distinctions or the conflict between capital and
labour. It is only when men's hearts are filled with love for Christ
that they cease to antagonize and begin to care for each other and a
true social bond is formed.
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
"There is no problem of importance to humanity which has not some
relation to the Gospel of Christ."
There is a social question and it is a live question. It is closely
related to the wrongs and inequalties of life, in wealth, in position,
in privileges and in opportunities. There is a social impulse which
causes men to get together in smaller and larger groups and through
these groups to found institutions which will aid in abolishing the
wrongs and in lessening the inequalities. It is in and through social
institutions that the larger life of the individual is expressed and
he is able to bring about certain results, working in connection with
other individuals, which he alone could not bring to pass.
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