TIM E AND TH E HOUR Q. Is there any difference between the expressions used by Jesus “my time" and “mine hour"? A. Yes, I think so. In John 7 :6-8 He said: “ My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready . . . I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come,” by which I believe He was referring to the general plan of the Father for His life. Every step had been ordered of the Lord and there was a time for each miracle, for each discourse. But there was one event which He always called “mine hour” and that was the c r o s s (John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 27; 17:1). "REVEREND IS HIS NAME" Q. Do you think it is right for min isters to be called “reverend ” in view of Psalm 111:9 which says that the name of the Lord is holy and rever end? A. I do not like it myself and very few ministers do but it has become a title just like “ Dr.” for an M.D., Ph.D., and the like. It denotes one’s profession. Strictly speaking, a min ister should be called “pastor” or “ elder” and, best of all, “brother.” SHEEP AND GOATS Q. Does not the judgment referred to in Matthew 25:81-33 indicate a general judgment of all men after death? A . No, not at all. Very few passages in the Bible are so thoroughly mis understood as this one. There is not a word in it about t'he dead. It has nothing to do with individuals. •It is the picture of exactly what will occur when all nations shall be gath ered before the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the tribulation just be fore the millennium begins. It is the judgment of these nations on the basis of their treatment of the Jew ish nation, Christ’s “brethren” after the flesh.
those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the h ea r t proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, for nications, thefts, false witness, blas phemies : These are the things which defile a man . . .” SLANG WORDS Q. My family never used slang and such expressions os “ gosh!” “dam!” “ gee!” were forbidden because we were told they all had an ancestry of swear words. Now I hear Christians using them without hesitation and it bothers me. A. They should be omitted from our speech. I am afraid that some such words do have a bad connotation. However, most people mean nothing by using them. It is carelessness. UNEQUALLY YOKED Q, Will you tell me the meaning of II Corinthians 6:11: “ Be not un equally yoked together with unbeliev ers: for what fellowship hath right eousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness” ? Does this apply to mar riage, business relationships, lodges, etc.? What about liberal churches? A. Yes, it can apply to any union of a Christian with an unbeliever and these should be carefully avoided. Our relationship to the unsaved is as a witness, not as a partner in the home or outside of the home. The re mainder of this passage, w . 15-18 emphasizes the seriousness of one who belongs to Christ uniting with one who belongs to Belial or Satan. I Corinthians 6:9-20 should be read in this connection as well. The back ground for this illustration of yoking two diametrically opposed persons to gether is the law of Moses which stated that the children of Israel were not to plow with an ass and an ox together (Deut. 22:10). Certainly it applies to union with and support of those churches which deny the Gospel.
AUTOMOBILES IN PROPHECY? Q. Do you think that Nahum 2:1 is a prediction of the motor car? A . No, it refers to the chariots of the day in which it was written. They had their traffic- hazards too. This was a prophecy of the destruc tion of the city of Ninevah, capital of the Assyrian empire. It was spared through the preaching of Jo nah and its subsequent repentance and turning to God, but later be came a center of idolatry. Nahum calls it the “bloody city” because of its cruelties outstanding even in that day of savagery. It was destroyed about 612 B.C. FLESH AND SPIRIT Q. I have a question about II Cor. 7:1. I can understand well enough what “filthiness of the flesh ” means. But wha t is “filthiness of th e spirit ” ? A. The verse to which you referred reads: “Having t h e r e fo r e these p rom ise s , dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Sin begins in the heart, in the spirit, not in the body. The body only expresses that which is within. Satan is a spirit and a great “ re ligious leader.” God warns against him who first defiles the spirit by causing men to believe a lie. He has been doing this since he caused Adam and Eve to sin in the garden. Their sin did not begin by partak ing of the forbidden fruit, but by listening to Satan’s insinuations. They began to question God’s wis dom and His love and soon they were in open rebellion against Him. It is not very far from wrong be lief about God to wrong doings in the life. They go together. If the heart is wrong, if the person does not believe in the Saviourhood and Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ, any kind of sin is possible in the life. We read in Matthew 15:18-20: “ But
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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