Q u e s t io n
en by the works of the law, then let him keep the whole law, or he has broken it and “ come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “ For who soever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed [Christ, Gal. 4:4, 5] should come. . . . Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” Gal. 3:19, 24, 25). FORGIVENESS OF SINS Q. Do these passages teach “priestly absolution” as held by the Roman Catholic Church: Matt. 16:19; 18:18; John 20:23? What did Christ mean when He said, “ Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained!’? A. There is no such thing in Chris tianity as priestly absolution. There was priestly absolution in Judaism, as in Leviticus, but this does not be long to the Christian Church or to Christianity. In this age of grace, all of God’s children are priests—women as well as men. (See I Pet. 2:§p?levT lTSrr~And -no other priesthood exists in Christianity. To “ remit sin” is to declare sin for given on the basis of faith in the Lord Jesus. We find Peter declaring remission of sins in the household of Cornelius: “To him [Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). Both Peter and Paul forbade any one to worship them, even to fall down before them in reverence. There is not the slightest intimation in any Scripture that either Peter or Paul or any other apostle permitted sinner or saint to confess sins to them as is done according to the so-called doc trine of “ priestly absolution.”
,of the great tribulation. The record is the trumpet judgments, of which this verse is a part, is descriptive of the terrible judgment that will come upon apostate Christendom when the “ great delusion” of II Thess. 2:11 is on. So great will be the mental and spiritual agony that some apostates will attempt to commit suicide to es cape those days, but God will not al low them to do so. Let us be thank ful that, when those days are running their course, the true church will have been translated to heaven. SALVATION BY WORKS? Q. If salvation is all of grace, and works do not have a part in God’s plan of redemption, why did Christ answer the lawyer’ s question in Luke 10:25 as He did? The lawyer asked, “Master , what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ answered by tell ing him the story of the good Sa maritan. Then He said, “Go, and do thou likewise.” Surely this proves that works play a part in the scheme of salvation. A. If you read the chapter carefully, you will have no difficulty in under standing why the Lord so answered the lawyer. The man was seeking to justify himself by keeping the law. He asked, “What must I do to in herit eternal life?” He desired to know how to get to heaven on the ground of “doing.” The Lord an swered by quoting the law, and gave the story of the good Samaritan, that he might know how to interpret the meaning of the word “neighbor.” The Lord’s answer was to convict him, and to show him his inability to be saved on the ground of works. The same lesson was taught by the Lord to the rich young ruler. That young man also sought salvation by “ doing,” but was both unable and un willing to keep the whole law by lov ing his neighbor as himself. Only our sinless Saviour was able to keep the whole law; that is why He could be our perfect Substitute on the cross. If a man is going to try to get to heav
SPIRITUAL ISRAEL Q. My pastor says that God has ful filled His promises to the Jew, and that, when He speaks of Israel in the New Testament, He means “ spiritual Israel,” or all who love Him. What is the correct view in this matter? A. One of the best answers to this question is the Jew himself. If any other people had been persecuted, martyred, hated, as has Israel, that people would have been annihilated or assimilated among other nations of the world ages ago. But what do we see before our very eyes today? Russian Jews, Spanish Jews, German Jews, Austrian Jews, English Jews, American Jews — everywhere, in ev ery nation, the sons of Israel are a separate people. And God alone is re sponsible for keeping His chosen peo ple a separate nation. Why? Because He promised to do it. He promised to give Israel a King, even Jesus, and His Word cannot be broken. The Jew has been rightly called “ the miracle of the ages.” Why people can be so blind as not to see it, is but one of the tokens of Satan’s power over unre generate men, as well as those who do not accept the Scriptures. Romans 11 states clearly that God will again deal with Israel as a nation. Now I realize that many devout Christians, postmillennialists, do spir itualize these promises of God, made to Abraham and his children. But let me say, in all kindness, that I think they are missing some of the most precious and comforting truths in all the Bible when they try to explain away the “promise of His coming” to bring order out of chaos, and to ful fill His covenant with Israel. We must learn rightly to divide the Word of truth. SEEKING DEATH Q. What is the meaning of Rev. 9:6, “And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them"? A. Rev. 9 is a part of the description
24
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker