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T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S
“ If a c arn a l C h ristian is b o rn a g ain and saved, kindly ex plain 2 P e te r 2 :2 0 , 21 , 22 ; H ebrew s 6 :4 , 5, 6 ; R om ans 8 :6 ; H ebrew s 1 0 :2 5 .” T h e ex p lan atio n of 2 P e te r 2:2 0 , 21, 22, is p lain e n o u g h if o n e w ill read th e w hole passage. O ne w ho is o u tw ard ly co n v erted m ay escape fo r a tim e th e po l lutions of th e w o rld th ro u g h th e know l edge of th e L o rd a n d S aviour Jesus C hrist, b u t th e D ivine n a tu re has n o t b een im p a rte d to h im ; h e is n o t a sheep b u t sim ply a w ashed sow , i. e., th ere h as been m erely o u tw a rd cleansing. A w ashed sow is n o t a sheep. A w ashed sow w ill soon find th e m ud p uddle a g ain a n d lie down in it. A sheep m ay fall in to th e m ud b u t w ill get u p a n d o u t of it ju st as quickly a s it can. A s to H ebrew s 6:4, 5, 6, th e e x p la n a tio n of this passag e also is sim ple— th e re is a w o rk of th e H oly S p irit th a t is sh o rt of th e w o rk described in th is passage----- th e o n e w ith w hom th e S pirit of God does w o rk to this e x te n t m ay drift aw ay an d a t a la te r d ay ag ain a m ore th o ro u g h w ork of th e H oly S p irit b e done in his h e art. T his passage, how ever, is w ritte n to Jew s w ho w ere n o t m erely in d a n g er of fall in g tem p o rarily in to sin b u t in d a n g er of falling aw ay, i. e., ap o statizin g a n d going b a ck in to Judaism a n d ren o u n cin g C h ris tian ity . If a Jew should go as fa r as is described in this passage a n d a fterw ard s n o t m erely fall in to sin b u t ap ostatize an d go b a ck in to Judaism a n d ren o u n ce C hrist, it w ould be im possible to renew su ch an one a g ain u n to re p en tan c e . B ut th e A p o stle plainly declares th re e verses fu r th e r dow n in th e c h a p te r th a t th e w rite r did n o t e x p ect th a t th ey w ould th u s fall aw ay (v erse *9). H e ju st m entions th e re su lt to k eep th em from falling aw ay an d th e w a rn in g w ould k eep th em from actu ally falling avtay. T h e ex p lan atio n of R om ans 8 :6 is found in th e R evised V ersion, viz.: “ F o r th e m ind of th e flesh is d eath b u t th e m ind of th e S p irit is life a n d peace.** T h e b e liever m ay be c arn a l in th e sense of 1 C o r in th ia n s 3 :1, th a t is, th e flesh m ay be p e r m itted to w o rk to a c ertain extent, an d
yet n o t be on th e w hole governed by the m ind of th e flesh. H ebrew s 10:26 is also easily explained. It m eans ex actly w h a t it says. T h e w ord tran sla ted “willfully** m eans “of deliberate choice.’* A re g en e rate m an m ay sin th ro u g h ig n o ran c e o r th ro u g h w eakness b u t he w ill n o t m ake a conscious, delib e ra te choice of sin. If one does this, w ith a full consciousness of w h a t h e is doing, m ake a deliberate, h e a rty choice of sin, it p ro v e s th a t he w as n e v er b o rn again, an d fu rth erm o re, th e re rem ains fo r him no m o re sacrifice fo r sin. “ If everlasting m eans ages ( ‘aio n s’) , does it follow th a t th e ev erlastin g fire m eans to last an ag e o r a c ertain len g th of tim e, a n d th e n all w ho h av e b een cast th e re in fo r everlasting p u n ishm en t are' co n sum ed— in o th e r w ords, a n n ih ila te d ? ” T h e w o rd tra n sla te d “ ev erlastin g ” does n o t m ean “ ages.” It m eans lastin g .th ro u g h th e ages, i. e., n o t lasting th ro u g h a n age, b u t th ro u g h ages. It is used gen erally of things th a t have n o end, b u t th e re a re som e ex ceptions to this usage. W h eth er it m eans ab so lu te endlessness o r n o t m ust be determ in ed by th e co ntext. In M atthew 2 5 :4 6 , th e w ords of th e L o rd Jesus H im self a re, “ T hese shall go aw ay in to ev er lasting (o r e te rn a l) p u n ishm en t b u t th e rig h teo u s in to life ev erlastin g (o r e te r n a l) .” T h e sam e G reek w o rd is used for “ ev erlastin g ” o r “ e te rn a l” in b o th th e first a n d second h alf of th e verse, a n d as o u r L ord w as a n h o n est tea ch e r, a n d did n ot ju g g le w ith w ords, it m ust m ean th e sam e in th e first p a r t of th e verse th a t it does in th e last. No one h a s a n y qu estio n th a t in th e last h alf of th e verse th e life is ab so lu tely endless, th e re fo re th e p u n ishm en t m ust be abso lu tely endless. But th is is n o t all. A n o th e r expression is used to in d icate th e ab so lu te endlessness of th e p u n ishm en t of th e p ersisten tly w icked, nam ely, “ fo rev er a n d e v er.” T h e exact tran sla tio n of this expression is “U nto the ag es of th e ages,” o r “U nto ag es of ag es,’* w hich re p re se n ts n o t m erely y e ars tum b ling u p o n y ears, n o r c en tu ries tum bling u p o n centuries, b u t a eo n s tum bling upon (Continued on page 148)
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