are to be earnestly contending for the faith, once delivered unto the saints. Q . Idaho — “When there is unceasing strife and cliques, along with trouble, in one’s own church, is a person justi fied in going to another church where there is peace?” A. This person is expressing in words what is doubtless in the minds of countless thousands of Christian people across the nation. Because of the ex treme unrest in the world, some of the trouble in churches is caused by defec tion of pastors or by contrariness of church members, and there are most unfortunate situations wh i c h exist. Biola is not a divisive organization and without much information we could not give a categorical answer. It could be that this particular individual is the willing or unwitting contributing factor. A person must be persuaded in his own mind and heart, after a great deal of prayer, as to whether he should leave his home church and go to an other where there is “peace.” Frankly, if there is peace in’ the new church at the moment, who knows how long it will last? The devil can get in there and cause strife overnight. Unfortun ately, it is .impossible to look for a church which is always at peace, for churches, after all, are made up of fallible people. In love, stand for the faith. Try to insist that the Gospel be proclaimed. Put up with the weak nesses, foibles and idiosyncrasies of others. We are all in the process of learning and spiritual maturity. Q . Seattle, Washington — “After the death of an unbeliever does one have another chance to be saved when Christ returns?” A. Based entirely upon Scripture, un equivocally, there is no second chance. (continued on next page) 31
Q , Central California — “W ill you please explain Matthew 26:52, ‘Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.’ Does this mean that a Chris tian must never use a weapon to de fend himself?” A. There are portions of the Bible giving us sufficient basis for defense on a national scale. One such passage would be Romans 13:1-7. Of course no one is to incur warfare or bloodshed needlessly. In this portion from Mat thew’s Gospel, however, it has refer ence to an individual for a specific time. The Lord is teaching that we are not to be seeking revenge. The righting of wrongs, no matter how great they may be, is not ours to take in hand. The matter of life and death, capital punishment, is not ours to take. It is a governmental matter. Q , Sherman Oaks, California —- “You have an inspiring program, but why don’t you also take a stand against present day apostasy?” A. People have sometimes accused Biola of being contentious or divisive, but this is one of the first times we have ever heard from anyone who doesn’t know of our forthright stand against all forms of apostasy. Questions on our broadcasts are answered as they are sent to us. We do not create them. We take a positive stand on the radio, in THE RING’S BUSINESS magazine, in our schools and every other area of ministry. The time is coming when, if it were possible, the very elect would be led astray. Apos tasy is unbelief in any form. Since its inception in 1908, Biola has taken a stand against this increasing sin, which, we believe, is another strong indication of the return of the Lord. As God’s children, all true believers
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