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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
DR. TALBOT'S
QUESTION BOX The beloved President of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles a n s we r s your Bible Questions.
will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.” Paul was “caught up” to Heaven—now identical with paradise. QUE .: Is worry a sin ? Yes; fretting and worrying indicate a lack of faith in an all-wise and lov ing Father in Heaven, and that is a sin. 1 Peter 5:7, is reassuring, if only we would heed it, “casting all” our “care upon him,” remembering that "he careth” for us. Many other pas sages also tell us not to worry, among which some of the most definite are: Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6, 7, 19. ^ QUE.: Jude 21 says, “ Keep yourselves in the love of God.” How is this done? We keep ourselves in the love of God by obedience. This is clearly shown in John 15:10: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” The commandment the Lord Jesus refers to here is that we “love one an other.” Many believers, because they harbor malice, resentment, and ill-will toward other believers, miss fellowship with Christ, and lose a consciousness of His presence. How this command needs to be pressed upon the con science of Christians today! To keep ourselves in the love of God, also includes Bible study, prayer, the stewardship of life and possessions —our whole Christian testimony. ^ QUE. : When we pray for the restoration of a dear one’s health, should we add, “ Thy will be done” ? I have been told that, to do this, shows a lack of faith, and that we are to claim healing. In matters like bodily healing, we should be submissive to the will of God; in fact, we should always glory in the will of God, whatever that will should bring. Sometimes ■ it is contrary to the will of God that we should be healed, as in the case of Paul. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 he tells us that,
lest he should “ be exalted above mea sure,” (become proud because of the revelation given unto him from God), he was given a “thorn in the flesh,” to keep him humble. Bible students generally agree that this “thorn in the flesh” was very poor eyesight. Paul prayed thrice that it might be removed; but God said, rather, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” We should not demand things pf God, regardless of His will. The proper attitude of faith is to submit one’s self unto Him, knowing that His will is best. Bodily healing is not on the same basis as salvation. QUE.: Please explain John 8 :3 4 , 3 5 : “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.” What did the Lord mean when He said, “ The servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever” ? If you will read this passage in the Revised Version, you will note that the word “son” in the last clause is written with a small letter, and does not refer to Christ the Son. It refers to a child of God, who is a “son of God.” The Lord Jesus means that a ser vant of sin is not to abide forever; “but the son abideth ever.” The con trast here is in the fact that servitude is temporal, but sonship is eternal; that servitude is not forever; that even though a man is a servant of sin, that position of servitude can be changed, and that is a blessed thing. Jesus said, "Whosoever committeth sin is the ser vant of sin.” But that position of servi tude can be changed; “ the servant abideth not in the house for ever.” That is a man can change masters, but he cannot change fathers. If you are born a child of God, you are born once and forever. God is your Father; and you never can be anything else but a child of God. If you are a servant of sin, you can change that position. You can be taken out of that servitude to sin, and be made a child of God. If accomplished, then it is “forever.”
^ QUE .: Please explain why God said to Moses, concerning Pharaoh, “ I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.” In the first place, before God hard ened Pharaoh’s heart, Pharaoh hard ened his own heart against God. Then, in order to show to the world what comes from rebellion against Him, God made an example of that wicked king, as a warning to others against similar rebellion. Read the whole story carefully, and you will see that repeatedly Pharaoh made such blas phemous statements as this: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go” (Ex. 5:2). Again, it is a matter pf the sov ereignty of our all-wise and all-loving God. Read once more Romans 9:14-24, and trust Him who “doeth all things well” to take care of such things as our finite minds cannot comprehend. Remember also—always—that He is the God of infinite love, and as such, He cannot be unjust or unrighteous. He is the God of all holiness and truth. ^ QUE.s What did Paul mean by “ the third heaven” and “ para dise” in 2 Corinthians 1 2 :2 , 4 ? Paradise.and Heaven are now one and the same place. Paul said, in the passage you quote, that he was "caught up to the third heaven.” Then he added that he was “caught up into paradise,” evidently referring to the same event. There are three Heavens mentioned in the Bible: First, where the birds and clouds are; hence “the birds of the heaven.” Second, there is the realm of the sun, moon and stars; hence "the stars of the heaven.” And third, Heaven is God’s dwelling place. This is the meaning of 1 Kings 8:27: “But
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