And God gave Satan permission to test Job. The devil could not have acted apart from this divine per mission. Therefore, it could be said that the Lord sent Satan against Job because His permission is equiva lent to His sending. God's Love Letter Q. I have heard people make slur ring remarks about the Song of Solomon in the Bible. W hat is the right approach to the teaching of this book? A. Robert Murray McCheyne, the great Scottish preacher who died 100 years ago at the age o f 29 but whose influence is still felt in the world today, stated that he always judged the depth of a person’s spir itual insight into the Bible by his attitude toward the Song of Solo mon. I think he was right. In this little book, Solomon and his bride are a picture of Christ and His Church, the bride of Christ. In reading it, one must bear in mind that the expressions are Oriental and the love which is expressed is the purest, deepest and most tender love in all the Scripture. It is not human love but divine. The human love is on ly a weak illustration of the love of Christ for His blood- bought, b l o o d - w a s h e d Chu r c h . There is no doubt o f the book’s inspiration and it can be the richest blessing to the Christian heart if its true meaning is understood. Conversion and Regeneration Q. Is there any difference between conversion and regeneration? A. Conversion is man’s turning to God from sin, and regeneration is the act o f the H o ly Spirit in the impartation of spiritual life when one accepts Christ as his Saviour.
God b y surprise. The Saviour was provided in the Son of God who was to come. The blood of animals was shed and they were clothed with skins. A ll of this was typical o f the blood of Christ which would be shed. The covering was a type of the righteousness of Christ which alone makes the sinner fit for the presence of God and eternal life. Saul's Evil Spirit Q. In what way are we to under stand the statement that an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul when we k n ow . that God is altogether good? H ow could any thing evil come from H im? A. There is a principle running all through Scripture which I believe makes this very clear. God gives people an opportunity to obey His voice. If they deliberately refuse obedience, in His righteous govern ment, He sometimes gives them up to delusion. You see this set forth in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 where we read: “ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who be lieved not the truth, but had plea sure in unrighteousness.” In the case of Saul, as in that o f Ahab, God gave direct permission for evil spirits to take possession of the one and to deceive the other through false prophets. Just as He hardened Pharaoh’s heart when Pharaoh de liberately rejected His W ord and as He permitted blindness in part to come upon Israel for their rejection o f Christ, so He permitted the evil spirit to torment Saul because he had rejected the W ord of God. In the Book of Job we read of the sons of God, who are angelic beings, pre senting themselves before the Lord and Satan com ing among them.
Exclusive Christians Q. A friend o f m ine and I have many Bible discussions. Her church believes that they are the Bride of Christ and other Christians are just to be “ guests” at the wedding feast. Is there any truth in this? A. No, there is not. A number of Christian groups make these claims for themselves. In fact, in the early church this happened too; in the Corinthian church a small group said of themselves, “ W e are of Christ” thus excluding all other be lievers. They were just as carnal as the group that was saying, “ W e are o f Paul.” A ll born-again believers are members of the body of Christ, and to believe other than this is evidence of a lack of understand ing of what the Church is and what God’s purpose is for this age. W e read in 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13: “ For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the mem bers of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For b y one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” What Was Adam's Sin? Q. I know that it was really fruit that Adam and Eve had in the garden, but somehow I have always thought that it meant that they had a confidential understanding of one another which was the sin that they committed. Is there any truth in this? A. No, there is not. Th ey did not believe the W ord of God and they disobeyed Him. Through Adam, the federal head of the race, death passed upon all men. However, man’s disobedience did not take
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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