THE KING’S BUSINESS The Holy Spirit speaking through the Apostle John gives us a test whereby we may all know whether we have passed from death unto life. He says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we
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Have You Been Born Again?
love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). This is the supreme test of the reality of our Christian experience, love. “Every one that loveth is begotten of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7, 8). No matter what creed one may hold, or what ceremonies he may have performed, or what professions he makes, if he does not love he is not a child of God, and he has not passed out of death into life. Love is life, ab sence of love is death. The present days are sorely testing our love for the brethren. Christians are pitted against Christians, oftentimes in -actual and awful w ar; oftentimes in sympathy with, or hostility against those who are at war in other lands. Many of us are tempted to love thcfse of the brethren who are on the same side that we are, but the proof that we have passed out of death into life is that we “love the brethren” irrespective of their nationality; we love them because they are children of God.” Whosoever loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him” (1 John 5:1). An Englishman who is truly born of God will leve a German who is born of God as truly as he will an Englishman who is born of God; and a German who is truly born of God will love an Englishman who is born of God as truly as he will a Ger man who is born of God. This is a severe test of our sonship in these days, and many of us need to go to God for grace that He will lift us above the temp tations of the present time into a life that is truly Christian, and a life of love that triumphs over all temptation to hatred and bitterness. Each one of us in the light of these Scriptures needs to ask ourselves, “have I indeed passed out of death into life? Am i really a child of God? Do I love the brethren?” detail, the prophet Ezekiel (cf. Ezekiel 12; 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 52) had foretold the captivity of Zedekiah (cf. Ezekiel 12:13). We are told by the historian Josephus that the prophet Ezekiel, who resided in . Mesopotamia “among the captives of the River of Chebar,” sent a copy of this prediction to Zedekiah, the king, who at onee began to compare the words of Ezekiel with the language of Jeremiah (cf. Jeremiah 32:4; 38:23), On comparing the two accounts Zedekiah came to the conclusion that while Jeremiah had predicted that he should be carried to Babylon, Ezekiel had affirmed that he should not see Babylon. The king at once cáme to the conclusion that the predictions of Ezekiel and Jeremiah were contradictory and were not inspired by God. He determined, therefore, to pursue his own course, ignoring altogether the pre dictions of the prophets who claimed to speak to him the mind of God. Both prophetic utterances were rejected by the king because of their seeming incon sistency. It was not long, however, before Zedekiah knew, as we do today, that both predictions were true. Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the king was as follows: “My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall There are no real contradictions in the Bible, although there may be what seem such. A diligent compari- son of one scripture with another, however, reveals the fact that any seeming discrepancy is but apparent and not real. For example: With the most minute So-Called Contradictions in the Scriptures.
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