1 have been a church member fo r sev eral years, but have been saved only four months. I was baptized as an infant, and our two children were also, but I cannot find any basis for infant baptism in the Bible? Please make this clear. In the New Testament we find that the first requisite for baptism was that the person be a born-again believer. Nat urally this would not apply to infants. However, often the baptism of infants is merely intended as a service of dedica tion, when the parents publicly covenant with God that they will rear their chil dren in the ways of the Lord, which is right and proper, and those who thus baptize babies do not consider the rite a means o f salvation. When the child reaches the age of discretion the parents should do all in their power to lead the child to a real saving faith in Christ. Then after the child has been saved, he should be baptized. Why did Satan come into the Garden o f Eden in the form of a serpent? Apparently this was done to increase the deception, for the Biblical record leads us to believe that the serpent was then earth’s most beautiful creature. But with the curse of God upon it as an in strument of Satan, it became the crawl ing serpent we know today, eating the dust o f the earth. Is it all right fo r Christians to hold fashion shows to secure funds fo r the church? Decidedly not! In the New Testament Christians are admonished to give regu larly, systematically, and cheerfully on the basis o f what God has given them. If believers would follow this plan and be generous with God, there would be no lack of funds for carrying on the work of the church. Reading the eighth and ninth chapters of Second Corinthians will throw much light on the subject of Christian giving. I am confused over the question o f the “Jews" and the “Israelites.” Are they one and the same? There are three terms used in the Bible to describe God’s ancient people. The term “ Hebrew” has the root mean ing: “ those who cross over.” God called Abraham to leave his home and kindred and to go into a new land. So the chil dren o f Abraham are really Hebrews. The term “ Israel” is the new name that God gave Jacob, meaning “ a prince with God.” Thus the descendants of Jacob are called Israelites. The term “ Jew” orig inates from Judah, one o f the sons of Israel; Judah means “ praise.” The Lord Jesus Christ was born of the fleshly line o f Judah. But in the New Testament, and in common usage today, these three terms are synonymous, all meaning God’s ancient chosen people. Is there any scriptural teaching on the keeping of Lent? No, there is not. The Christian prin ciples of self-sacrifice which are sup posed to apply to Lent ought to be the everyday rule in the life of the Chris tian. We should love the Lord as sin cerely in December as we do in the weeks preceding Easter. J U N E , 1 9 4 9
the Holy Spirit inspired the human writer to make the record. Why did the Lord condone the lie told by Rahab in Joshua 2:5,6? Is it possible to tell a lie to the glory of God? Nowhere in the Bible is it implied that God approved o f Rahab’s telling an un truth, even while assisting the spies to escape from their pursuers. However, God did see the great faith of this wom an in spite of her heathen background, and honored her belief in Him by listing her name among God’s heroes in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, along with Noah and Abraham, Joseph and Moses. ONE LITTLE KEY O NE night I knelt and I gave Him the key ring of my will with all the keys of my life on it (except one lit tle one). Then I heard Him say, “ Are they all here?” “ Yes,” I said, “ all but one, the key of a tiny closet in my heart of which I must keep control.” “ But if you don’t trust Me in all, you don’t trust Me at all.” I tried to make terms: “ Lord, I will be devoted in everything else, but I can’t live without the contents of that closet.” I believe that my whole life was hov ering in the balance, and, if I had kept the key of that closet and had mistrust ed Christ, He never would have trusted me to give out His blessed Word. He seemed to be receding from me, and I called Him back and sobbed, “ I am not willing, but I am willing to be made will ing.” It seemed as though He took that key from me and went straight for that closet (I knew what He would find there, and He knew, too) and opened it. Within a week He had cleared it all out. But He filled it with something so much better. Why, what a fool I had been! He took away the sham jewels and gave me the real ones. He took away the idol that was eating out my life and gave me Himself. — F. B. Meyer. Page Five
How do you reconcile Exodus 2U:10: “And they saw the God of Israel . . .” with John 1 :18: “ No man hath seen God at any time” ? Upon several occasions in Old Testa ment times God was seen of men. These pre-incarnation appearances are called “ theophanies.” For example, God ap peared to Abraham and talked with him. It is clear from study of the Hebrew titles for God that these were all mani festations of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus. It is God the Father whom “ no man hath seen at any time.” Is it wrong for Christian fellows to play baseball on Sunday afternoon? Please suggest some Scripture to read in this connection. There are some things which appar ently are harmless in themselves, but which a Christian cannot do without spoiling his testimony. A Christian must order his life in a different manner from an unbeliever. Of course no Scripture bears directly on this subject, but the principle laid down in First Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:17 will settle such problems for the true follower of the Lord. When the Bible mentions SHEEP, is it always referring to the Jews? I have thought that Psalm 23 and John 10 might include me. Which is correct? It is true that the Jews were God’s people, and David as a son o f Abraham said, “ The Lord is my shepherd.” But it is also true that we may have the same assurance, for there is but one Saviour and one Shepherd of the sheep, as stated in John 10:16: “ Other sheep I have . . . and they shall hear my voice . . . and there shall be one fold and one shep herd.” If Moses was the writer of the Book o f Deuteronomy, how could he tell of his own death? In John 5:46 Christ states: “ Moses . . . wrote of me,” referring to the Penta teuch. However, the Holy Spirit was the true author of the Word, although He used men as instruments. Likely the last chapter of Deuteronomy was written by Joshua, Moses’ successor. In both cases,
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