of God” (Rom. 3:23). Let no man trust in his own self-righteousness to make him fit for the presence of a holy God. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” in His sight. (Isa. 64:6.) Carnal Christians W ill you please explain the pas sages of the Scripture in First Corin thians which seem to indicate that many Christians are carnal. Romans 8 : 6 , says that “ to be carnally minded is death.” Does this mean that a Chris tian continuing to live in that condi tion until death is lost eternally? Such Christians as we call back sliders are carnal Christians. They will be losers at the judgment seat of Christ, in so far as their rewards for service are concerned. The Corin thian message indicates that a car nal state of mind prevents spiritual growth. Many so-called backsliders have never experienced the new birth; they have never been regen erated. We call them mere professors, not possessors of salvation. A real Christian may become a backslider. He will be chastised, will confess his sin, and live for Christ, however fal- teringly it may be. Only those who persistently reject Christ as Saviour will be eternally lost. The carnal Christian will lose his rewards for service, and lose the joy of fellowship with the Lord. Two Resurrections I have always understood there would be one great resurrection day which would be what we call the day of judgment. Lately I am hearing about two resurrections, and I am at a loss to harmonize these two state ments. There will be two resurrections ac cording to the teaching of the Scrip tures. Between the first and second resurrections there will be a period of a thousand years. During this time our Lord will be reigning upon the earth. But before we consider these separately let us remember the fol lowing fundamental truths: 1) The sins of the believer on Christ Je.sus have been judged at Cal vary’s cross, therefore, according to John 5:24, he “ shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life.”
2) The believer’s works will be judged at “ the judgment seat of Christ” when the church is trans lated. (Read Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:11-15.) This judgment will be to determine the rewards to be given to the redeemed in that day, and has nothing to do with salvation from sin. The Lord Jesus accom plished a finished work on the cross for all who will accept the free gift of His redemption. 3) The wicked dead—all who have rejected Christ—will stand before “ the great white throne,” where the books will be opened, and it will be shown to them that their names are not written in “ the Lamb’s book of life.” (See Rev. 20:11-15.) There they will be judged, and punishment will be meted out to them, also “accord ing to their works.” In other words there will be degrees of reward in heaven and degrees of punishment in hell according to the light and op portunity we have had. 4) The nations will be judged at the return of Christ in glory: Some to enter into His millennial kingdom; others to go into everlasting punish ment. These are the “ sheep” and the “ goats” referred to in Matthew 25:31- 46. But you will notice in the care ful reading of this selection that in the presence of the returning King, the Lord Jesus, will be gathered all nations (v. 32); that the reward- to the blessed will be that they will inherit the kingdom (v. 34); and that the reward will be given to those who have been kind to Christ’s brethren (v. 40). It seems very clear that this judgment, immediately following the great tribulation which is “ the time of Jacob’s trouble,” will be to deter mine how the nations shall have treated God’s chosen people, Israel. The first resurrection is also called “ the resurrection of life,” and also “ the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14; John 5:29). In this last refer ence the second resurrection is called “ the resurrection of condemnation” (R.V.). Let us now turn to Revela tion 20:4-15 where the two resurrec tions are contrasted in no uncertain terms, and where we read that be tween the two there will be a period of one thousand years, when Christ shall reign on the earth. THE KING'S BUSINESS
Belief in Miracles I am a member of a Protestant church, but my intellect will not per mit me to accept the miracles re corded in the Bible. Why do you in sist upon a belief in such miracles as the virgin birth of Christ and His bod ily resurrection as essential to salva tion? I think / am about as good as most Christians who profess to believe these things. I shall seek to answer your ques tion by two passages of Scripture; there are many other passages which might be quoted, but in the first place, “ the natural man [the unsaved man] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, be cause they are spiritually discerned [that is, by the power of the Holy Spirit].” (See 1 Cor. 2:14; cp. 1 Cor. 1:17; 2:16.) In this entire passage we find a contrast between “man’s wis dom” and the “wisdom which cometh from above.” The Christian faith is based upon the supernatural from beginning to end, and makes no attempt to satisfy man’s intellect; rather, it satisfies the heart. There is no place for rationalism. “ The preach ing of the cross is to them that per ish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” In the second place, let me exhort you, in the words of the Lord Jesus, “Ye must be bom again. . . Except a man be bom again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 7). Read all of the third chapter of John, in which Christ told Nicodemus that the sinner must let the Holy Spirit of God regenerate the heart, giving him new life in Christ, before he can be saved—much less grasp spirit ual truth. Do not make a God of your intellect! Go to Calvary’s Cross, and “behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). One other word; we are not saved by our own goodness. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). Good works should fol low salvation; but they can never be the means of salvation. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory 32
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