turn to Ephesians 2:1: “ You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Let us meditate on this that even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, he loved us and gave His own life to redeem us. All through the eter nal ages there will be an unfolding of the marvels of His Person and of His love and grace. “ That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:7-9). What do you think of worldly amuse-, ments carried on in church buildings, and what of the square dance in or out of the church? In the Scriptures we are repeatedly exhorted to “ Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:14-18). “ Love not the world,' neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15- 17). By the love of the world here is meant the God-dishonoring, Christ-re- jecting, Spirit-resisting world. We are to be “in the world, but not of it.” We are to mingle with our fellow-men, seek ing to point them to Christ, loving their souls, but hating their sins. Again we are repeatedly exhorted not to do any thing that would cause the “weaker brother to stumble.” Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians saying that meat offered to idols was just the same to him as other meat; that is, it made no dif ference to him at all, but if another, looking on such meat, and saw Paul eat ing it, and stumbled thereby, then, said he, “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth” (1 Cor. 8:13). Sometimes we invite unnecessary criticism from those who cannot under stand our position by taking what the world calls a sanctimonious, “holier- than-thou” attitude, or by being unduly harsh in our criticism of others; or by being eccentric in our dress. Personally, I feel that we accomplish more by the silent testimony of our lives, and by presenting Christ in the beauty of His holiness and power, than we do by so- called “ harping” on so-called social evils. However, this is not to say we must not take our stand for right against wrong. In the matter of the square dance we
should speak plainly against it in or out of the church. I read in Luke 21:19, “ In your pa tience possess ye your souls.” I would like your interpretation of this passage. The Lord is here speaking of the tribulation that is to precede His return to the earth, and is giving instruction to the Jewish remnant in regard to life and conduct in that day. Among other things He exhorts them to faithful, pa tient continuance in His Word which will give rest to their souls even in such an hour as that. It is a lesson many of God’s people need to learn in this dis pensation of the grace of God. What is the difference between “Hades" and “ Gehenna” ? Hades is the abode of the Christless dead; here they await the great white throne judgment. (See Luke 16:23.) It is not purgatory, nor is it a place of a second chance. It is a waiting place. Gehenna (mentioned in Revelation 20:11-15) is the lake of fire, the “ second death,” the final doom of the lost. Should we pray for the unsaved? I notice that, in public prayer, some al ways do so, while others do not. Yes, by all means we should pray for others. We find in the Bible a number of such prayers. The Lord set us an example in Luke 23:34 where He prayed for His own murderers. Stephen also prayed for those who stoned him. We are exhorted to make “ supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks . . . for all men” (1 Tim. 2:1). Paul includes this exhortation with the definite, all-inclusive truth of verse 4 in this same chapter, saying that “ God our Saviour . . . will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” All men surely includes the unsaved, unconverted man. Indeed, the Christian who does not spend much time in prayer for lost souls is selfish, unconcerned about eternal issues, and lacking in love to God and to his fellow- men. There is no greater joy than that of soul-winning. “ He that winneth souls is wise . . . And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma ment; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Prov. 11:30; Dan. 12:3). And how can a mere mortal point a human soul to the living God, except through prayer and utter dependence upon Him? T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Dr. Louis T. Talbot
Do you think that Satan tried to kill the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemahe? I have heard this view expressed. There are some who hold this view, declaring that Satan attempted to kill our Lord by causing a hemorrhage, thus defeating His plan to die on the cross, as foretold in the Old Testament, and by His own spoken words here on the earth. Some of those who hold this viewpoint claim that when He cried out, saying, “ Let this cup pass from me,” He prayed to be delivered from death there, in order that He might go on to the cross. These people base their interpre tation on Hebrews 5:7,8 where we read: “ In the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared [in the Old Testament sense of the term, mean ing, ‘reverential trust’] ; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” This view is untenable because it was im possible for man or Satan to kill the Lord before His hour had come. This is made clear all through the Gospel of John. The real agony of Gethsemane and the cross, as we outlined above, is found in the fact that our Lord’s holy soul shrank from “ being made sin for us . . . who knew no sin” in Himself. Into this suffering we can never fully enter. Why is it so hard for us to compre hend the love of God? We seldom stop and consider this stupendous fact. Are we so absorbed in the problems of our day that we cannot even stop to think on these things? We shall never fully understand, or fathom the wonders of the love of God. There are statements in the Word of God that actually stagger us. Let us stop for a moment as we turn to Jere miah 31:3. Here we read “ I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Now Page Eighteen
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