J D x * . T a l b o t ’s Q u e s t i o n B o x
forth on every page of the Bible, and innocence can not become righteous ness until it is tested. Adam and Eve were the only hu man beings who were ever innocent. We sometimes say that babies are innocent, but this is not true. Babies are undeveloped. Adam and Eve were innocent. That is, they had a will, but before the temptation, they had no opportunity to exercise it, either one way or the other. God allowed the temptation, in order that they might exercise their will God-ward, and thus become righteous. Had they done this, they would have been per mitted to eat of the tree of life, and thus live forever without the knowl edge of sin. However, they failed in the test by exercising their will in the direction of unrighteousness, thus be coming sinners. But God is the God of grace, as well as righteousness. The sinful, fallen state of man gave Him the opportunity of showing His grace through His matchless plan of redemption. Those who would blame God for allowing sin on the earth need to re member that He was “ the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). For in Christ “ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodi ly” (Col. 2:9). By Him “ all things were made” (John 1:3, Heb. 1:2; 2: 10; Col. 1:15, 16). He was ever eter nal God, our Creator, and He it was who planned to die for sinners! Is that not proof that He is and always was and ever shall be the God of love? Christ bore “ our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Pet. 2:24), suf fering the most shameful of deaths, being separated from His Father, with whom He had ever had un broken fellowship— all this our Lord did because He loved us. Who would dare, in the face of such sacrificial love, harbor even for a moment the thought that He could be capable of anything less than justice and kind ness and right? He is without sin! One other word: When Satan puts such doubts into our minds, let us re buke him, in the words of Paul, “ 0 man, who art thou that repliest against God?” (Read Rom. 9:14-24.)
points tempted like as we are, apart from sin.” Had Christ been tempted to sin, it would have proved that He had a fallen nature, but this was not so. What is said of God in James 1: 13 is true of Christ, for He is God: “ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempt- eth he any man.” It is blasphemy to say that Christ could have sinned. Christ said, “The prince of the world cometh and hath nothing in me.” One may ask, “Then why the temp tation?” The answer is that His temptation was not to see whether He would sin, but to prove that He could not sin. Only such a One could be a Saviour. Christ was sinless in His human nature as well as in His Deity. He did not inherit our fallen human na ture. That “holy thing” mentioned in Luke 1:35 describes His holy hu man nature. WHY SIN? Q. W hy did God let sin enter the world? A. If I could answer that question, I should know as much as the Lord Himself. It is one of the things we have to leave with Him, knowing that “ the Judge of all the earth” will al ways do what is just and right. (See Gen. 18:25.) However, even with our finite minds, we can understand how God “ seeketh such to worship him” only those who do it voluntarily, rather than those who are forced to do so. (See John 4:23, 24.) God permitted us, as free moral agents, to choose His love, rather than make us autom atons who could do only as He commanded. For true love to express itself, there must be freedom to choose. God allowed the temptation, in order that man might become right eous; and righteousness is innocence tested. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they were in a state of perfect innocence, but innocence is not righteousness. Right eousness is what God wants, as set
THE HOLY SPIRIT Q. Is the H oly Spirit an influence? / always believed Him to be a Person, but our pastor speaks of Him as an impersonal “something A. The Holy Spirit is not just an in fluence, as rationalistic theologians and various cults so describe Him. The Word of God makes it plain that He is a Person, co-equal and co-eter nal with the,Father and with the Son. Moreover, the American Stan dard Version of our English Bible translates the pronoun referring to Him as “He” or “Him”—never “ it.” So does the Authorized Version, ex cept in one or two passages. Our Lord repeatedly called the Holy Spirit a Person, especially in His farewell message to the disciples in John 14- 16. The entire New Testament is full of references to the Holy Spirit of God, showing that He is one with the Father and the Son. CHRIST'S TEMPTATION Q. How do you explain the tempta tion of Christ? A. Certainly the temptation did not come from within for He was the sin less One. Our Lord was always “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Heb. 7:26). As the Man, Christ Jesus, He was “ in all points tempted like as we are, apart from sin” (Heb. 4:15). Thus He was prepared for His earthly min istry, as well as for His present min istry as the Great High Priest at the right hand of the Father. In other words, Christ knew what tears were. He experienced loneliness, heartache, weariness, hunger and an guish. Every pang the believer experi ences is familiar to Him. Thus he is a sympathetic Saviour and High Priest in the glory. He is “ touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15). However, we must bear in mind that the Lord Jesus was never tempted to sin. This is espe cially emphasized in Heb. 4:15, where we read that He was “ in all
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