teacher meant. Her motive was right but she was overzealous. W e should emphasize the grace of God and we should teach that the great est commandment is— to love the Lord with all our being and our neighbor as ourselves. The ten commandments have a restraining power and they should not be set aside, but it is difficult to explain all of these things to chil dren. As they grow older and un derstand the difference between law and grace, they can distinguish for themselves. But ours is not a “ do-it- yourself” religion; it is a salvation accomplished by Christ Himself and we are saved by grace through faith “ not of yourselves, lest any man should boast.” Prayer for Healing Q. When we pray for the restora tion of a dear one’s health, should we add, “ Thy will be done” or “ If it be Thy will” ? I have been told that to do this shows a lack of faith. A. There is nothing for which we should ask to which We cannot sin cerely add the words “ If it be Thy will.” W e should glory in the will of God and be submissive to it whatever it brings. Healing some times is contrary to the will of God as in the case of the Apostle Paul recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. He asked God three times to heal him but God allowed his “ thorn in the flesh” — quite likely very bad e y e s i g h t — to remain that he should not be “ exalted above meas ure,” or in other words, to keep him humble. W e should not demand anything of God but the proper attitude of faith is to wholly submit oneself to Him, knowing that what He does is best. Even the Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane said
The Ten Commandments Q. I heard a Sunday school teacher say that because we are not under law but under grace, we should not teach children the ten command ments or tell them to try to keep them. Please explain. A. It is a serious mistake to make such a statement as that teacher did for “ A ll scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc tion, for instruction in righteous ness” (2 Tim. 3:16). I think, how ever, I know what that Sunday school teacher meant. Let me ex plain from her point of view. Very often children, and older people too, are taught that they must keep the ten commandments in order to be saved. That is legalism and no man was ever saved by keeping the law. It is God’s holy standard, “ a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ,” for “ by the law is the knowledge of sin.” It reveals to us the holiness of God and the utter inability of man to keep it in his own strength or to keep it at all, for that matter. To teach thus is but to discourage any soul who would be saved yet thinks he must observe the law. The law is exacting. The penalty for breaking it is death. Now we know that Christ was “ bom under the law,” that He kept it absolutely, perfectly, because in Him was no sin. We know also that He kept it for us and that only by faith in His finished work on the cross may we be saved. God sees us as identified with Christ. W e are justified when we receive Christ as our perfect Saviour. God’s holy law is vindicated and magnified. W e are no longer under law but under grace. That is what the Sunday school
to the Father, “ nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Judgment of Angels Q. W e read in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that Christians shall “ judge an gels.” Who are these angels and when will this j u d g m e n t take place? A. The angels referred to are de scribed in Jude 6, “ And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” In all likelihood the judgment of these angels will take place at the great white throne where wicked m en a re to be judged, though there is no definite statement to that effect in the Word of God. The part Christians will have in judging angels is not revealed. Was Cain Saved? Q. Is there anything in the Bible to indicate that Cain was ever saved? A. No. Quite the contrary. There is everything to imply that he died a lost soul. In the first place, he tried to offer a bloodless sacrifice to God, the works of his own hands — and this was in open rebellion against God. In the second place, we read in Genesis 4:16: “ Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.” Having turned his back upon God, he and his descendants built a godless civilization which became so corrupt that it had to be wiped out in the flood.
Readers are invited to submit questions to both Dr. Narramore and Dr. Talbot. Address questions to them c/o The King's Business, 558 So. Hope Street, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
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