law of God. But you cannot keep it. If you will trust Christ who did it for you, you are loosed from the ob ligation. We can do the same today as we seek to make Christ known. Then, too, many of us recognize that in former times we were bound to Satan, obligated to do his will. Yet, through the infinite love of God, we found the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour. Now He has set us free. Gt. Coffeeville, Ore. — “Does God have a b oo k with all o f our actions and d eed s recorded in it? Is it like a public record? God knows my in nermost thoughts and I certainly would not want to b e m arked for all that I have thought.” A. God’s mind is infinite. He remem bers every instance of each of us. Revelation 20:12 does indicate a re cording system. This has to do with the JBook of Life and the scene is at the great White Throne Judgment, before which no believer will stand. The Book of Life will be opened, not to see whether the unredeemed have their names recorded in it, but to show them that their names were not therein. They, therefore, stand ab solutely defenseless before almighty God. If you are a Christian, Christ promises you, “I will remember sins against you no more—forever. As far as the east is from the west, so far are your transgressions removed from you. Your sins have been blotted out as a thick cloud.” God wills to for get the sins of Christians. He rather sees us as being righteous in Jesus Christ. We have now become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Q. Lincoln, R. I. —“In Genesis 44:5 and 15, what is meant by ‘divining from a cup,’ where a godly man such as Joseph, is concerned? In Numbers 14:12 w e see God so angry here. He threatens the Israelites with disinher itance. Since the R edeem er was to com e from the tribe o f Judah, I can not understand the passage.”
had to be saved just like we do. The same would be true with the sons and daughters born to Joseph and Mary after our Saviour’s virgin birth. Scripture does not indicate that any of them will receive special recogni tion in heaven. Mary was favored of God in that she was privileged to bring forth the Messiah. But it is the Saviour who is the important One. The faith “once for all delivered to the saints” is simply that which we find in the Word of God (I Cor. 15:1-5). There is only one way of salvation (John 5:24,14:6; Rom. 10:9, 10; Eph. 2 :8 ,9 ). Q. Hillsborough, Kan. — “Could you comment specifically on Matthew 16:19 as to what is meant hy ‘keys to the kingdom o f heavenF Also, what about ‘binding and loosing in heaven?” A. This is a very important verse. It does not indicate in any sense that Peter had all the authority over be lievers to the end of time. Our en trance into heaven does not depend on him, but upon Christ. Read the Bible carefully. The text says, “the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” not ‘Tieaven” itself. Matthew 13 shows us the coming rejection of the Mes siah. There will be a sphere of pro fession while the King is gone. A key is a sign of authority. This is the way it is used in the Old Testament, as well as in the book of Revelation. In Acts two we see Peter opening the door of profession when he preached at Pentecost to the Jews. Then, in the tenth chapter of Acts, he opened the door to the Gentiles in the home of Cornelius. The Bible does not teach, or even intimate, that he had authority in any other realm. To them they were normal terms. We talk about a person “bound” to do something. It is an obligation or requirement. Loosing simply meant just the opposite, freedom from the responsibility. The apostles told the people, “You are bound to keep the Page 28
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