Séptember, 1942
THE K I NG ’ S; BUS I NESS
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the prophet, and it is a strange thing that He says. It was God who insti tuted the great feast days of Israel. Why should He now say that He hates them? The answer is to be found in the meaning of those feasts and the character of the people who kept them. For example, the feast of the Passover stood for the separation of the nation from a sinful world to follow the lead ing of a holy God who had redeemed them by blood. Yet these people had now'gone back into the world and become so like the s i n f u l nations round about them that little differ ence remained. Yet this same people went on meticulously observing the feast which stood for a separated life; Every time they kept the feast, they were acting out a lie. 3. "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything where* by thy brother stumbleth, or is offend* - ed, or is made weak" (Rom. 14:21). The American Revision changes to “nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth,” which is doubtless what Paul had in mind when he omitted the verb entirely. This is in deed the Golden Rule of Christian conduct. If followed, it would settle every problem of worldly action. .4. "Wherefore come out-from among them, and be ye separate" (2 Cor. 6:17). This command undoubtedly may properly be applied to the “Al cohol Problem,” but it was written originally to apply to the “False Re ligion Problem.” Read verses 14 to 16 which begin with the stern command, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with' unbelievers." Paul did not say, Come out from among the saloon keepers. He skid, Come out from among the unbelievers! To be a saloon keeper is. terrible. But to be an un believer is worse. If all Christian be lievers obeyed Paul’s command, there would be some more divisions in the c h u r c h e s , and some modernistic preachers would be preaching next Sunday morning to more empty pews than usual. Golden Text Illustration A mos 5:24 During a lecture in Sigourney, la., many years ago, .Sam Jones inquired of the surprised audience, “How much is the liquor license here?” Some one answered, “Three hundred dollars each to the town.” “Three licensed saloons here—nine hundred dollars altogether,” resumed Jones. “What is your population?” i Answer: “Two thousand.” The speaker then did a little light ning calculation, and continued: “The liquor dealer walked up to you and said, ‘If you Idt us damn this town, We will give you forty cents apiece.’ Say, what would a two-hundred-pound hog bring?”
would divide the children of God (v. 19). It will not destroy the work of God for personal gratification, even in things that are not in themselves evil. “Destroy” here means to “make useless f o r t h e intended purpose.” Even though the instructed Christian knows that “all things indeed are pure,” he knows also that they be come impure and evil when used with offense (v. 20). Hence the all-inclu sive principle for the Christian is to refrain from doing anything whereby a brother may be caused to stumble (v. 21). These verses form a commen tary by the Holy S p i r i t upon the words, “If aiiy man will come after me, let him •deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow' me” (Lk. 9:23). What is required is entire self-forgetfulness. The believer’s walk is also one of separation from all that is contrary to God (2 Cor. 6:17). The Corinthians, proud of their knowledge and -gifts, were at the same time involved with things offered to idols. In so doing they revealed t h e i r lack of under standing of the holiness of God, by carrying on these associations which were offensive to Him. As Christians, they were to be wholly different from the world—as different as light and darkness, or as C h r i s t and Belial. The appropriate walk for every Chris tian is one of separation from all that is contrary to the holy God. Furthermore, the believer’s w a l k must be one of separation unto the will of God (1 Pet. 4:1-5). This is the positive side. Here the “will of the Gentiles” (or the will of men) and the "will of God” are contrasted. The flesh, with its lusts) or desires, must no l o n g e r dominate the believer’s manner of life, but the will of God is to control and direct in everything. Points and Problems 1. "Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles" (Eccl. 10:17). The American Revision gives an alternate translation in the foot notes, changing “the son of nobles” to "a free man.” This is supported by the meaning of the Hebrew word for “nobles,” which here is “free men.” To be a "son of free men,” according to the Hebrew idiom, would mean a free man in the fullest sense of the word. This meaning is also supported by the context of the v e r s e . This blessed land, where the king is a free man, is also a place where the “princes eat in due season, for strength* and not for drunkenness.’-’ Could words be plainer? The free man is not the slave of his physical appetites. When he eats and drinks, he does it for a legit imate purpose—to gain strength for his body—not merely to stupefy the senses. Only men who are thus free can be truly called noble. 2. “I hate, I despise your feast days" (Amos 5:21). God is speaking through
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