363
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
June 1927
the tenth an afternoon picture; and from the eleventh to the eighteenth an evening picture. Only in the 23rd Psalm you have a picture of the whole day, from the early dawn to the dark. At the end of the Psalm you have “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days;” that is to say, Just as they have followed me today; and then, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”—(W. Y, Fullerton). Christ drew from Deuteronomy, a book long disputed by the critics, all three texts which He used against Satan in the temp tation (M att 4 :1-11; Luke 4:1-14). “Hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3). A man in Christ is not only a man on earth looking up to heaven, but a man positionally in heaven looking down on earth. —o— It is interesting to note in reference to the miracle of the loaves that two distinct terms are employed for “basket” in the Gospels. In the miracles of the five thou sand it is kophinos, a portable vessel, whereas in that of the four thousand the word is spuris, which was sufficiently large enough to accommodate a grown man. In a basket of this description St. Paul was “let down by the wall” (see Acts 9:25). It is further interesting to see that in all four accounts of the five- thousand miracle, and in the two accounts (in Matthew and Mark) of the four- thousand- miracle, the words are consis tently used. ■b--------------------------------------------<# SENTENCE S ERMON S *--------------------------------------------4. None can use earth so well as he who prefers heaven. —o— It is better to be cautious and right than to be rash and wrong. Works not rooted in Christ are splendid sins,—Augustine. —O— He is a wise man who knows what not to say—provided he doesn’t say it. “Who hunts two hares at once, catches none.” Divided aims ensure double dis appointment. ■ 0“ • As many say it-j|f“Get thee behind me Satan”—is an invitation to push. A man’s character is revealed by the things he does not care for. — o — “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden for some one else.” — o— When trials surround us it is well to remember that while the kettle is up to its neck in hot water it still sings.— F. E. Brooks. “The perfume of flowers cannot travel against the wind, but the savour of good deeds pervades the world.” —o— Where one sin has entered, legions will force their way through the s a me breach.— Rogers. —o— Nothing circulates so rapidly as a secret.
Word has convinced you that He wants you to enter some definite service. If so, you should allow nothing to get in the way of that call. Delivered Unto Satan To Miss E. B. We have your question on 1 Cor. 5 :5 and Job 2:6;. We must remember that correction is often necessary to the reclaiming of the soul and temporal punishment, f r o m whatever source it may come, serves to awaken us and drive us nearer to God. This is what Paul means here by the. delivering of the backslider unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. God per mitted Satan to have him temporarily to bring him to the end of himself and thus Satan unwittingly did him a service. Satan has the power to inflict certain bodily chastisements, but only as God permits for the ends of providence. There are cases where no means seem to avail. The advice and prayers of God’s people seem to have no effect upon a persdn. In such cases God sometimes has to permit some great affliction to do the work. — o — Replying to your question concerning the teaching of the second chapter of James, we can assure you that there is no contradiction with the position taken by Paul in Romans 4. Paul shows that we work because we are saved and not in order to be saved (Phil. 3:8-9; 1 Cor. 1: 30). This is in perfect harmony with James’ teachings. Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justifies will not be alone. If it is a true faith, works will be the evidence of it. In Rom. 4 Paul emphasizes the need of faith, but in James 2, James emphasizes the need of works, and both use Abraham as an illus tration. Paul refers to events in Genesis IS, and James refers to events in Genesis 22, or about 40 years later, in the life of Abraham. Abraham, according to Paul, was justified by faith in the first place. He had been living a life of faith all those 40 years as a justified man, and the fact that he lived a fruitful life proved that he had been saved by faith. Paul emphasizes faith as against legalism, or the idea that one could be saved by per sonal merit. James emphasizes works as against mere formalism, or an orthodoxy of the head only. I Born of God To M rs . D. S. P. You have asked in regard to 1 John 3 :9. There are several passages of this nature in 1 John which our translation does not make clear, seeming to offer a contradic tion with other plain statements of the epistle. Usually you will find it corrected in the margin. This verse literally reads: “Whosoever is born of God, is not com mitting sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot be sinning because he is born of God.” The thought of this is that sin cannot be the practice or habit of the born-again person. John himself clearly shows that to be saved does not mean the total eradication of the sinful nature (1 Jn. 1:8, 10; 2:1-2). Faith and Works To M r . L. M. T.
Th ink This Over rT'HE agent of a great life in- surance company was once asked how many people ever ap proached him about life insur ance. The agent replied: “Not one. I have had to find the prospects, look them up, go to their places of pleasure or busi ness or to their homes, and by personal contact and by present ing facts and by much persua sion induce them to take out in surance.” This method is also the method of the New Testament church. It is the best way to convert a pagan, sinful citizen ship into a Christian citizenship. May the number of Volunteers for this work greatly increase. The fields are white unto har vest, but the laborers are few.
B I B L E B R I E F S * ------- ------------------------------------- ;----- 4. Heb. 11:19 tells us where we will find the first picture of resurrection in the Bible. —o— Von Soden, the German scholar, in 1902 catalogued 2,328 New Testament manu scripts. Of these about 40 contain in whole or in part all the books of the New Testament. 1716 contain portions of the Gospels, 581 of the Acts, 628 of the Paul ine Epistles and 219 of the Apocalypse. We need have no doubt but that we have an authentic New Testament. — o — “Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty (R. V. “difficult”) things which thou knowest not” (Jer. 33:3). The word translated “mighty” means “fenced in things.” “Thy word is true from the beginning” (Psa. 119:160). Arthur T. Pierson says the Psalmist meant to say that “from the very first word, the sacred Scriptures are true.” — o — Heb. 13:8. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yea and forever.” Here is a quotation from an unknown author: “People ask ‘Who was Buddha?’ ‘Who was Napoleon?’ But always ‘Who is Jesus Christ?’ Jesus is not a memory. He lives and works today.” —o— God was uppertaker to Enoch and Eli jah; God was undertaker to Moses ; God is caretaker to every believing child of His.—S. S. Times. —o— “He ordaineth His arrows against the persecutors” (Psa. 7 :13) might be more exactly rendered (according to John Kitto) “He maketh His arrows burning.” The image would seem to be" deduced from the use of fiery arrows. —o— Godet points out that in the Shepherd chapter in John we have a picture of the day—from the first to the seventh verse a morning picture; from the seventh to
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