ID r . T a l lD O t ’s G ixxestion . B o x
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Christians are predestined to walk in good works and to be conformed to the image of Christ (Eph. 2:10 and Rom. 8:29). Predestination has noth ing to do with unbelievers. “ And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2 :2); . . “This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the whole world” (John 1:12-13). These with hundreds of oth er Scriptures, make it clear that salva tion is not on the basis of the selec tion of a favored few “ elect,” but is on the basis 'of one’s relationship to Christ. “ But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” There are few words sadder than those in the text you have quoted: “ I would . . . but ye would not.” “ The Lord . . . is longsuf- fering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Pet. 3:9). ALL-INCLUSIVE VERSE Q. I am a young person and I am wondering if there is any verse in the Bible that would sort of cover all our actions? Is there something that says what our motive should be? A. Indeed there is. For instance, Col. 3:17 is just such a Scripture and would be a wonderful verse to guide a young Christian throughout his en tire life. “ And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” If you can not pray about something you con template doing, don’t do it. We are to live for the glory of God.
rejected them. There was nothing left for the nation but judgment, so soon to be realized in the destruction of the city, the temple, and the disper sion of the Jews to the uttermost part of the earth, only to be relieved in their future acceptance of Him as a person (Luke 10:11-16) after the time of “ Jacob’s trouble,” the seven years of tribulation, and Christ’s return. But to such people as the Mos lems and others hard to reach for Christ and from whom there has been so little response this has no application. The Gospel must be preached in accordance with the Great Commission whether there are results or not. What would have hap pened to the missionary enterprise if Carey, Judson, Morrison and others had shaken the dust from their feet a century ago? We are distinctly told to go to the Gentiles and to win from them “ a people for His name.” We should pray constantly for the mis sionaries who have entered Satan’s territory and claimed lost souls for Christ. CHOICE OF SALVATION? Q. I am puzzled about Matt. 23:37. Does this mean that Jerusalem had a choice, and that we do, too, in the matter of salvation? 1 thought we were predestined to be saved or lost. A . The verse reads: “ O Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gath- ereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Certainly it means that Jerusalem had a choice, but they rejected Christ. We too have a choice. We may either receive Him or reject Him, and upon that choice our eternal destiny is determined. “Whosoever will, may come!” Almost the last words in the Bible reiterate this truth: “ And the Spirit and the
MISSIONARY PRACTICE Q. In view of Luke 9:4-5, and other Scriptures in Matthew and Mark, can we not conclude that the disciples were not to stay where they were not received? Would this not mean in this present time that missionaries were not to continue long in difficult places — say like Moslem lands — where there is no apparent result of pleach ing the Gospel? A. The verses this reader refers to read as follows: “And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. “And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.” The answer to this question is this: The words of the Lord to the apostles have to do with a different sort of mission than that of preaching the gospel in mission fields as in our day. The message was limited to the Jews and the Lord distinctly commanded the disciples that they were not to go to the Gentiles but “ go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:6). This message was a simple announcement of the Kingdom of Heaven’s being at hand, accom panied by the credentials of the King, such as healing, raising the dead — all the miracle-signs. The disciples were more than preachers; they were ambassadors of the King. For two thousand years, the Jews had been gradually and constantly preparing for this message of the King and His kingdom. But their leaders were proud and hardened Pharisees and worldly Sadducees whose fath ers had “ killed the prophets.” They had repeatedly backslidden and re fused to hear God’s voice. It was their last opportunity to receive the King and His kingdom. As the representa tives of a King, it was only appropri ate that the apostles “ shake off the dust” from their feet from those who
26
TH E KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs