do no murder.” Defending one’s country is not murder. Romans 13 tells us that we should. God com manded the Israelites to do this, too. Don’t put service with our armed forces on the level of “murder.” It is certainly not Scriptural whatso ever. Our soldiers, regardless of their branch of service, are of the highest type of manhood. As far as the subject of capital punishment is concerned, remember that Genesis 9:6 has never been set aside or abrogated by God whatso ever. Under every dispensation there is authorization to take life when the judgment of capital offense is involved. Q . Redding, Calif. — “Is it true that Satan knows only about us what we tell him?” A. While Satan is not infinite, yet he is far wiser than any human be ing. He pretty much knows how we will act and react. It is not necessary to tell him. While he knows a lot about us, however, thank God, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (I John 4 :4). He is not omniscient, not omni present and not omnipotent as is our God and Saviour.
names were permanently inscribed in heaven. There perhaps is a mis understanding of what our Lord Jesus meant by the Holy Spirit’s being given. The infilling at Pente cost was not His first entrance into the world. God never has, nor will He ever, leave this world without a witness for His name. The Spirit has always been the operative agent in the salvation of man. In the age of grace the Spirit not only abides in the world but also now abides in us (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit, re member, is an eternal being as much as the Father and the Son. Q . New Westminister, B.C. — “What is meant by predestination? Why do ministers conduct religious services for those engaged in war when one of the ten commandments says, 'Thou shalt not kill’?” A. Predestination is based upon the foreknowledge of our infinite God. Before the foundation of the world every facet and detail of each per son’s life was known to Him with whom there is no past or future for all is in the eternal present (Rom. 8:29). There is a series of steps from the foreknowledge of God to the glorification of th e belieyer. What a magnificent ascending scale for us to consider. We commend also the ninth chapter of Romans for study and re-study on this subject. It puts God in His proper place as absolute Sovereign and man as total ly depraved, utterly unworthy of the Lord’s grace. Read particularly from verse 15 and following. This is one of the most majestic passages in all the Word of God. The Lord has saved those who believe on Him. It is all of sovereign grace. On the other question, let us first point out that the passage in Exodus 20, as a part of the Ten Command ments, is not the regular word for “kill.” There are a half dozen words in Hebrew for “kill.” This word here is “murder.” Literally, “Thou shalt
Mr. David Hammond, (right) head of the Audio Visual Department of Biola, chats with three new freshmen students at a recent gatheringon Campus. Pictured with him from left to rightare Carol Von Hagel, FirstBap tist Church of Tempe, Ariz., Keith Hagon and Bob Olden, Sherwo d Baptist Church, Phoenix. Keith came to Biola as a result of a special scholarshippresented to him by the Phoenix Republicand Gazette newspaper.
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