meet the sin question. The Apostle is not here discussing the failures that are all too often found in the life of a Christian (1 John 1:9; 2:1). In Hebrews 10:26 the Holy Spirit is speaking of the definite rejection of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. In other words He is saying that if, after examining what the Old Testament Scriptures teach concerning Christ and His work; if, after comparing these prophecies with the New Testa ment presentation of Christ, thus ob taining a knowledge of the truth; if, in the light of all this knowledge, one deliberately and permanently re jects Christ, then God has nothing more to say to him, except to mete out judgment. Why is this? Because in the Lord Jesus Christ the Triune God has offered the only way of salvation. Christ crucified is “ the wis dom of God.” That is the only way of salvation the wisdom of God has devised. Sermon on the Mount W hy do some preachers specialize on the Sermon on the Mount? Permit me to say that the Sermon on the Mount is frequently used by modernistic preachers who quote from these “ laws of the kingdom” of our Lord, thus seeking in their whole theology to devise a plan of salvation by works alone, in self- righteousness thus deliberately dis carding the many other passages that tell us of the cross of Christ. They will not go to Calvary, there to bow as sinners before the feet of the only Saviour. I am referring to those who deny His vicarious atonement for sin. Yet these same “ wolves in sheep’s clothing” will quote these matchless words from our Saviour’s lips, trying to build up a code of ethics, which alone they seek to fol low in order to get to heaven. Thus they lead the erring into a false hope. They call themselves Christian, yet deny the deity of the Lord whose name they claim to bear. There are many fundamental, spiritual lessons for every child of God in every age to be found on the pages of Holy Writ. Therefore let us be careful not to rob ourselves and others of this portion of the Word of God. Only God Knows the Heart / know a man who professes to be a Christian and yet who does things
that I would never think of doing. How can this be? Does not the Spirit of God speak to all hearts the same way of living? For this man who professes to be a Christian let me say that only he and God know the true state of his heart. He may be a hypocrite, and again he may be a true Christian, but weak in the faith. “ Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The weak or carnal Chris tian cannot grow strong in the faith unless he feeds upon the Word of God. There is no excuse for any man to be a weak Christian, for the Holy Spirit will give power over sin to all who claim the promises of God. And how can a man know the prom ises of God if he abstain from the food for growth that God has given in His Word? The babe that is not fed proper and nourishing food will gradually fade, and even die, for want of nourishment. Lost Rewards What w ill be the punishment meted out to Christians for resisting the work of the Spirit as revealed in the Word of God? You will find one answer to your question in First Corinthians 11:30- 32. Some of the Corinthians were carnal Christians. Among other things they were making the Lord’s Supper a time of eating and drink ing. Therefore Paul wrote to them saying: “ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” In other words this means if Chris tians fail to give a testimony to the world of the power of Christ; if they are a hindrance to the spread of the gospel, sometimes God has to take them out of the way. Their souls are saved, but their works fol lowing salvation are not worthy of reward. This leads us to say also that one way a Christian is “ pun ished,” to quote your question, is by the very fact that in heaven he will not receive certain rewards for serv ice rendered. He will “ suffer loss” at the judgment seat of Christ, even though he himself shall be saved.
How Can I Be Sealed? How can I be sealed unto the day of redemption? I am a new Christian and do not understand this phrase in Ephesians. The verse to which you refer is found in Ephesians 4:30: “ And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Every believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit, even as Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephe sians in chapter 1:13, 14: “ After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased posses sion.” In other words, Paul said here that the Holy Spirit is the pledge given to every believer by the Father, guaranteeing the redemption of the body when it is raised from the dead, because the soul has al ready been redeemed by faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus. The Seal is the mark of ownership, and we belong to God. Every believer, however, is not filled with the H oly Spirit. It is pos sible for us to grieve the Holy Spirit, even though we have been baptized with the Spirit — to our own shame we must admit this; we should not grieve the Holy Spirit by permitting unconfessed sin in our lives. We are commanded in Ephesians 5:18, to “ be filled with the Spirit.” Never are we commanded to be “ bap tized with the Spirit,” for this is an act which God alone can work in our hearts by grace. He does it the moment we put our faith in the atoning work of Christ for salvation. Is there Hope for Backsliders? Does Hebrews 10:26, destroy all hope for the backslider? Paul, the Apostle, here says: “ If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” He is here addressing Hebrews, and the warning is based upon the perfection of the one sacrifice of Christ, as the context clearly shows. The “ sinning wilfully” here is the definite turning away from, or the refusal of, the one perfect sacrifice — the finished work of Christ. -To do so means eternal ruin because there is no other sacrifice that can
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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