DR. TALBOT’
UESTIO
With man, the soul and spirit are inseparable, both in life and in death. After death man is sometimes spoken of as a spirit as, for instance, we read in Hebrews 12:23 that the in habitants of heaven are “ . . . spirits of just men made perfect.” But man is also spoken of as a soul, as we read in Revelation 6:9: " . . . I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God.” Eternal Security Q. I understand that you teach the eternal security of all believers. I had a very bitter experience with a min ister who teaches that doctrine. I know him to be a very wicked man and yet because he was once saved he thinks he will always be saved. Do you think this is in accordance with the teaching of Bible holiness? A. No, indeed, I think nothing of the kind. Any wicked man who talks about being once saved and therefore always saved is either an out-and-out hypocrite or else is deceived of the devil. Saved people love holiness and hate sin. Jesus says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). It is to these He says: “ And I give unto them eter nal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Pro fession is not possession. “ Little chil dren, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7). The Ascension Q. How could the Lord say to the thief on the cross, “ Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” and still say to Mary on the morning of the resur rection, “ I have not yet ascended unto my Father” ? Christ remained on earth 40 days. Was the spirit of the repentant thief waiting all that time? A. There is no contradiction between these verses because between His ap pearing to Mary and His appearing later in the day to His disciples, our Lord ascended into heaven, fulfilling the type of the wave sheaf of Leviti
cus 23. As the firstfruits of the resur rection, He had to be presented before Jehovah to be accepted for us. This had to take place before His pres entation to human beings. Another type fulfilled was that of atonement. Our Lord had accomplished His sac rifice, and when He was seen by many He was, as it were, on His way to enter the presence of God to present there His own blood on our behalf. All of this had to take place immediately upon His resurrection. So the spirit of the repentant thief was with Him in paradise as He said. Jesus’ ascension as described in Acts 1:9 took place later, after His numer ous appearances to His disciples and believers. The True Light Q. What is meant by John 1:9: “ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” ? A . The meaning of this statement is that the Lord Jesus Christ is the light, not only of those to whom the gospel had come and by whom it was believed, but in the universal sense He is also the light of the world, as He stated in John 8:12. It is true that only those who receive Him as Sav iour come to realize that the darkness is past and the true light now shin- eth, but that does not alter the fact that in a world-wide sense the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been shed abroad. The judgment under which the human race rests is that the light has come and men love darkness rather than light. The first chapter of Romans gives testimony to the fact that even those who have never heard the gospel have nevertheless had witness borne to them through the works of the ma terial world. This is often called “ the light of nature.” There is no light even in nature apart from Christ. While this verse does not mean that those who are thus enlightened are saved, it does mean that they are responsible because of the light which has come into the world.
Modes of Baptism Q. What do you understand the Scriptures to teach about the mode of baptism? A. Romans 6:4 teaches that baptism is a symbol of our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. As to the mode, John 3:23, as well as other passages, gives us some light. There is no doubt that John baptized by immersion, else there would have been no need of much water. The word baptize means to dip or plunge; and that can be performed only where there is much water. Acts 8:36-38 is another passage that suggests much water: “ And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water . . . And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” I could sprinkle a hundred people with a cupful of water, and it would not be necessary to go down into the water to do that. Immersion certainly sets forth beautifully the great truths baptism illustrates—death, burial and resurrection. However, we must ever bear in mind that water baptism has nothing to do with salvation. The only water baptism known to Scrip ture is the immersion of a person aft er he has already believed unto sal vation. Do Animals Have Souls? Q. Since the soul is the seat of the emotions, will and intellect, do you believe an animal has a soul? A . The answer to this question is found in Genesis 1:20: “ . . . the mov ing creature that hath life.” The origi nal Hebrew, as explained in the mar ginal reading of the King James Ver sion, for the word life is soul. The soul is the seat of the emotions and animal instinct. But in the case of the ani mal, the soul dies with the body. In the case of man, this is not so. Jesus says in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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