est of all works a human being can do; greater than healing the sick; greater than feeding the five thousand with loaves and fishes; greater even than raising the dead. James closes his epistle with these significant words: He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Yet we ever need to remember that it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6). Will you tell me something of the meaning of “Predestination” ? I think I have it pretty well settled in my own mind, but others in our Bible class have been disturbed by those who say “some are born to be saved and others are born to be lost.” There is no such teaching between the covers of the Bible! God’s predestination is according to His foreknowledge. First Timothy, 2:3, 4 tells us that “ God . . . will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Mr. William Kelly translates this pas sage in this way: “ God . . . wishes all men to be saved.” Since our Saviour does wish all men to be saved, then how could He, from before the foundation of the world, condemn some to eternal per dition, so that they have no power to accept Christ and be saved? My friend, God has predestined; but Romans 8:29 says that we are predis- tined according to His foreknowledge. The same truth is plainly stated in First Peter 1:2: “ Elect according to the fore knowledge of God the Father,”—so the Apostle addresses the Christian Jews of the dispersion. God knows whether a man will love Christ; He knows whether a man will spurn Christ; and God has chosen from the foundation of the world—but whom has He chosen? All who will believe unto eternal life. The Lord Jesus Christ died for the whole world; and if every man in the world would come to Christ and trust Him, all would be saved. If you come to Him, He will in no wise cast you out. (See John 6:37.) Please explain the difference in the time of the crucifixion, as given by Mark and John. Is there not a discrepancy here? There is no discrepancy. The common and correct explanation is that Mark 15:25 speaks according to the Jewish computation of time, saying, And it was the third hour; whereas John 19:14 speaks according to the Roman compu tation of time of the sixth hour. Of course, we know that Rome ruled the civilized world in the day of Christ, in cluding the land of Palestine. Many Roman customs prevailed, along with many Jewish customs strictly adhered to by the Hebrew people. In a word, Mark is speaking of Jew ish time; John of Roman time.
O
than upon our imperfect, faltering work, even after we are born again.
I have noticed you have a great deal to say about the eternal security of the believer. Does not John 15:2, 6 prove the fallacy of this doctrine? No, it does not. Let us make a careful examination of this text which makes it very clear that we have in this passage: (1) What God does with a fruitless branch; and (2) what men do with a fruitless branch. But the branch is united to the vine all the while! What does God do with a fruitless branch? “He taketh [it] away” (v. 2). Where does He take it? To Heaven. To the Corinthians, because of the misuse of the Lord’s Supper, Paul says, “ litany are weak and sickly . . . and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:30). Then he adds, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit: “ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord.” But, my friend, chastening of the Lord is one thing; eternal condemnation is another. “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Heb. 12:6). The branch which the Lord taketh away represents the Christian who is saved, yet so as by fire (1 Cor. 3:15). He loses his reward, but not his salvation. Fruit-bearing fol lows conversion, and is not a means of conversion. There are two ways of going to Heaven. One was Paul’s way; far he was able to declare with joy: “ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day” (2 Tim. 4 :7,8). The other way of going to Heaven is that of the child of God who dies without having finished the course, without having won souls for Christ, without having consecrated all to His service after conversion. But let us look again at our text. What do men do with the fruitless branch? “ Men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (verse 6). Men have no way of judging the sincerity of our profession, except by the testimony we give before the world. The Lord looketh on the heart. It is very important that we witness to Him by our works before a sinful world. But it is reassuring to know also that the branch is united to the True Vine, which is Christ. It is reassuring to know that our eternal security depends upon His perfect work upon Calvary, rather
I am unable to understand Romans 11:22, which says, “ On them which fell, severity.” Please explain. Let us note the context here. Romans 11:13-24 is addressed to Gentiles, not to individual believers. The matter of per sonal salvation is not in question here. The whole passage deals with Jewish responsibility not assumed. Israel is called the olive tree; Gentiles are the wild olive tree. Some of the natural branches in Israel were broken off through unbelief; and the wild branches, Gentiles, were graffed in among them. And the fact that the natural branches were broken off is given as a warning to the Gentiles, lest they too be not spared. The Jews, as a nation, rejected their Messiah; and in this church age God is visiting the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name (Acts 15:14). Then He will once again deal with His ancient people, Israel; the natural branches shall be graffed into their own olive tree. . . And all Israel shall be saved. (See Rom. 11:24-27.) This, in brief, is the meaning of Romans 11:13-27. How could the disciples do greater works than Christ, as He said in John U:12? The disciples were to do greater works than Christ because the Holy Spirit, whom Christ said He would send, was not to be confined by a body to one place. He could so energize believers everywhere that the Gospel could spread far more rapidly and more widely than when proclaimed individually by the Lord Himself, and supported by His mighty works. This power was not in the disciples, but in the promised Com forter. The first fulfillment of this prom ise is seen in Acts 2, in the mighty power that accompanied Peter’s preach ing. Again, someone has suggested the added thought that soul-winning is the greatest work in all the world, greater even than feeding the multitudes and healing the sick. While our Lord’s mir acles led many to trust in Him, yet they were also the credentials of His deity in a very special sense. To us is given the greatest of all privileges—that of point ing never-dying souls to Him, the only Saviour from sin. And this is the great
Page Six
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker