147
April, 1945
DR. TALBOT'S QUESTION BOX
out the entire procedure, the Son of God remained sinless, triumphant over Satan’s every device. Christ was God in the flesh (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19; 1 Tim. 3:16), and God cannot sin. We read in Hebrews 4:15, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of o u r infirmities; but was in all p o i n t s tempted 'like as we are, yet without sin.” Since Christ had no fallen nature to which sin could have an appeal, He had no temptation from indwell ing sin. Furthermore, in connection with our Lord, the word “temptation” means testing. The fact that He could not be tempted in the ordinary mean ing of the term, does not preclude the fact that He could be tested. The lat ter is what took place during those forty days in the wilderness. The test was a magnificent demonstration to Satan and to mankind of the perfec tion of our sinless Saviour. Thank God for Him who was made “to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21)! For the Christian of today, the Lord has laid down no hard and fast rule for tithing. We live in the age of grace, and we are free to give when, where, and how we please. However, we have the blessed third Person of the Trinity in our hearts as our Guide. What we do for the Lord should be the result of our having been willing to be directed by this divine Guide, the Holy Spirit. This truth is applic able to the placing of tithe money as well as to other Christian service. As to your particular problem, ac cording to the New Testament direc tions for the tithe (cf. 2 Cor. 8, 9), it is a sum of money devoted specifically to the Lord’s work, and it would seem that to spend it on yourself would be out of keeping with your relationship to your Saviour, and with the motive for tithing. While it is true that the church derives some financial benefit from the meals served under its auspices, and that if you paid for your portion out of your tithe money, some of it would go into the Lord’s work, it is also true that at least half of the amount paid would be used for the satisfying of your physical hunger. [Continued on Page 158] QUE. : Please tell me whether tithe money should be used for church suppers.
emanate as the expression of saving faith in Christ. The Lord knew the condition of their hearts and minds for He “needed not that any should .testify of man . . . he knew what was in man” (John 2:25). Again, from His words "I . . . know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14), we learn that He knows all who belong to Him. Christ has promised; “Him that cometh to me I will no wise cast out” (John 6:37). The person who establishes the right relationship between himself and the Lord may be confident that it will be recognized by Him, and that it will be an ever lasting bond. QUE. : “ In Deuteronomy 3 3 :2 we read, ‘And he came with ten thousands of saints.’ Who were those saints, and when were they resurrected ?” The setting for this Scripture is the blessing of the children of Israel by Moses as God’s spokesman (Deut. 33:1). The Israelites were in the des ert, God had just told Moses that he would not be allowed to enter Canaan (Deut. 32: 48-52), and then the Lord appeared unto them in His great glory and majesty. One commentator states: "Even the two mountains, Seir and Paran were illuminated by the divine glory. It was a glory like t h a t described in Habâkkuk 3:3, 4.” While one usually t h i n k s of the word “saints” as pertaining to b e lievers, or saved ones, the true Biblical meaning of the term includes that which is holy, dedicated or conse crated. In the particular instance cited in this question, the word refers to angels-—those dedicated ones who are ever ready to perform the service and will of the Lord. We read in Acts 7:53 that the law was received "by the dis position of angels.” See Hebrews 2:2. Therefore, when the Lord wished to give a law to Israel and to reveal His glory He appeared with a majestic retinue of angels—ministers of His bidding. QUE.: Was Christ’ s sinlessness due to His inability to sin, or to His determination hot to sin? This question is related to the temp tation of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:12, 13; Lk. 4:1-13). We know that after His baptism, our Lord was “led up of the Spirit into the wil derness to be tempted of the devil,” and that during that time the devil tested Him bri three points. Through
QUE .: Is there any significance in the fact that the preposition “ in” instead of “ on” is used in Matthew 6 :1 0 , John 11 :25 , and in similar Scripture references? A search of the Scripture and a study of Bible concordances reveal the fact t h a t t h e s e terms are used throughout God's Word with approxi mately equal frequency. Not only is this true of the wording in general, but particularly noticeable in the in stances pertaining to belief regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall cite a few examples. For the use of “in” see: John 3:15, 16; 7:5'; 14:1; Acts 10:43; Rom. 3:26. The word "on” ap pears in the following references: John 3:36; 5:24; 12:44, 45; Rom. 4:5; 9:35. The expressions are synonymous, and they are used inter-changeably. There is no particular significance involved in the matter. QUE. s Please explain Jesus’ words, “ I never knew you” (Matt. 7 : 2 3 ) . Is it possible that some of those addressed were formerly sin cere Christians who were at this time in a backslidden condition? These words of our Lord's were the outcome of the conditions referred to in the two preceding verses (vs. 21, 22) , and show the futility of profes sion of Christ without faith in Him. We cannot believe that those for whom these words were meant could ever have been sincere Christians. One pf the tests of belonging to Christ is one’s endeavor to do the will of the Father, and according to Christ’s words, “ye that work iniquity” (v. 23) , those to whom He was speaking were not performing the Father's will. Their service was no doubt glamorous -—prophecy, miracles, “many wonder ful works” all done in Christ’s name (v. 22); but it was not motivated by the Spirit of God, neither did it
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