D r . T a l b o t ’ s G ì \ x e s t i o n
B o x
As long as any religion leaves out Christ as Saviour and Lord, its fol lowers are not saved. All the culture in the world cannot save one soul. Study the religions of nations. You will be appalled to learn how many so-called advanced civilizations still bow down to gods of wood and stone, worship most degraded “gods,” or seek to revive vile heathen practices of centuries ago. The world needs missionaries today as much as it did when Jesus gave the Great Commis sion to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” The methods may have to be changed. The missionaries may suffer persecu tions as they did in the early days of the missionary enterprise. Many na tive Christians may have to pay with their lives for their acceptance of Christ. But as long as there is a lost soul in any land upon the earth (and there are millions), the command is to GO and PRAY and GIVE. Fallen Angels Q. What does the Bible have to say about fallen angels? A. Two New Testament passages shed a great deal of light on this subject. We read in II Peter 2:4: “God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment,” and Jude 6: “The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habita tion, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judg ment of the great day.” It has been conjectured that the fallen angels sinned when Satan exalted himself as equal with God, and attempted to claim worship as Deity. Evidently these fallen angels represent his following. Matthew 25: 41 makes plain their fate: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” This is the lake of fire, described in Revelation 19:20 and 20:10.
God. That was the reason God sent His Son — Paul says “This is a faith ful saying, and worthy of all accepta tion, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am a chief” (I Tim. 1:15). Remember that before his conversion Paul was a murderer too. David did not have the blazing light of the New Testament, either, although of course he knew the dif ference between right and wrong. FEAR OF GOD Q. There are many references in the Bible to the “fear of God” and they bother me. I do not like to be afraid of Him who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. Can you ex plain? A. This is used mainly in the Old Testament and means “reverential trust.” It was sin which made Adam and Eve afraid of God and there is the same reaction in all of their children down to the present day. If we have c o m e to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, received Him as Saviour, and are clothed in His righteousness, we need not fear God. But like truly loving children, we should accord Him the obedience, respect and wor ship due unto His holy name. If we have an understanding of His char acter from the Word of God, we will not take liberties with Him, nor will we wish to grieve His loving heart. FOREIGN M IS S IO N A R IE S Q. In these days when nations are demanding their independence and not calling for missionaries, is it not a mistake to send out young people for that purpose? Have their own re ligions not improved to the point where we can concentrate on our own country and let the other nations take care of their own? A. The Word of God says plainly that “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved [save the name of the Lord Jesus Christ]” (Acts 4:12).
D A V ID 'S G REAT S IN Q. Of all the stories in the Bible the one that bothers me most is that of David’s terrible sin of murder and adultery. W hy was God so lenient with him? I have heard people recite this account to excuse their sins. A. If you think God was lenient with David, you should read this narrative again, as it appears in II Samuel 11 and 12 and the history of David and Israel. In II Sam. 11:27 we read “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” and the mar ginal reading, from the Hebrew is, “was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” This was made very clear to David for the Lord reminded David of all His grace and mercy to him; declared that David had “despised” Him; and that David had given “great occa sion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” For this inexcusable and heinous sin, the Lord pronounced sev eral judgments upon David: one that the sword should never depart from his house; another that his own chil dren would disgrace him publicly as he had disgraced the Lord in secret; and that the child of his and Bath- sheba’s sin would die. “David drank deeply of the cup he had mixed for himself,” says Dr. Torrey. One of his sons became a murderer, another an adulterer, and David could blame himself for the long lists of war cas ualties, for never again was he a man of peace. It is an extremely tragic story and no one could possi bly take any consolation out of any supposed tolerance on God’s part. That David truly repented and was forgiven is very clear and the 51st Psalm is a picture of the heart of a man who saw himself in God’s sight as one who had sinned against His love and mercy. God hates sin, but loves the sinner, and will go to all lengths to restore a repentant one. Do not be despondent over this faith ful account in God’s Word but let the Lord use it in your life to show how “desperately wicked” is the hu man heart apart from the grace of
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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