promises of the Old Testament which we can take with real spir itual blessing and profit. This is one of the reasons for the Old Testament being given us. It is for our edification and enlighten ment. As we read of the Lord’s promises to His patriarchs and saints, we can take great comfort in knowing that because He was faithful to them, we know He will be faithful to us. We can learn spiritual lessons from God’s deal ings with others and apply the principles to ourselves. “WiU you please explain I John U:17, espe cially the last phrase which reads, ‘A s He is so are ye in this world?’ ” A. John’s epistle revolves around three focal points: God is light, God is law, and God is life. The emphasis in the fourth chapter, where we find this statement, is love. It does not mean that any of the attributes of deity are ours. As in Ephesians 5:8, God reveals that we are His representatives. As He was the light in the world, we are to reflect His light. As far as Christ’s redemptive work is concerned, we can have no part in that because it was gloriously fin ished at Calvary. Q. Nampa, Ida. — “What is your position at Biola on the new move ments of the day such as the new neutralism and new evangelical ism which are taught at some of the seminaries formerly thought fundamental ? ” A. We are opposed to any move ments which are not definite on the inspiration of the Scripture which is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Any neutralism is dangerous in a theological sense, for our faith must rest upon, 21 Q. Whittier, Calif. —
be missed if we do not believe in eternal security; however, eternal life is based upon one’s putting his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, people who do not believe Christ made the com plete and final atonement are not saved. This is the rationale of the entire book of Galatians. They knew the Lord died for their sins, but they believed they had to do something in o rd e r to make Christ’s work efficacious in their lives. Anyone who depends only upon good works for salvation is spiritually lost. Salvation is by grace through faith, apart from works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Q. Walla Walla, Wash. — “Can you help me on Matthew 27:50-53? What do these verses mean?” A. Matthew 27:50-53 indicates what happened at the death of our Lord Jesus Christ: “the veil of the temple was rent in twain . . . the earth did quake . . . the graves were opened . . . many bodies of the saints arose.” No one knows, except the Lord, of course, where these saints were between the time the graves were opened and when thy came out after Christ’s resur rection. Note that the passage doesn’t say that they were resur rected before our Lord for He is the “first fruit.” They certainly didn’t enter into a full resurrected life until after our Lord Jesus Christ arose. Q. Scottsdale, Ariz. — “ Are the Old Testament promises for Christians of today?” A. Yes, we believe there are many spiritual promises for us. We must distinguish, however, between those specifically for individuals and those for the Jewish nation as a whole. There are the great
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