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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
SATAN AND SCRIPTURE i Have you ever noticed, in the account of the temptation of our Lord in Matt. 4, the reply made to Satan when “ his majesty” attempted to quote Scripture to the Savior? Said Satan: “ It is written— ” and Christ replied, “ It is written AGAIN.” The devil himself can quote Scripture. In-this particular case he is attempting to develop faith in God. He is showing Jesus how He can be more religious. And he quotes Scripture in his attempt to lead Jesus on. But we find that he has taken Scripture out of its context and thus forced meanings into the divine Word which the Spirit never intended to convey. Had Christ accepted the devil’s version, He would- have presumed upon God and would have been confused. Jesus immediately'perceived Satan’s method in the use of Scripture, and replied—“ But it is written AGAIN.” There are many people who are afflicted with one passage of Scripture. They build whole schemes on one verse taken from its context. Scripture must be compared with Scripture. We need the whole Bible by which to test our theories. It is possible to fix the mind on one line of Scripture and miss the message of the whole Book. It is just this thing that has led many off upon tangents. “ Speaking, in tongues” is the sole stock in trade of some well meaning people. “ Holi ness unto the Lord” is the only thing in the Bible to others. “ The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God” —is all that others can see. So we might go through the list of extreme sects. Forget not that “ It is writ ten AGAIN,” Put all statements on the subject side by side. Further more be sure that you are not doing, as was Satan in this instance—adding words and omitting words—and so forcing into a passage a meaning that was not intended. •Yes, the devil is a Bible student—in his way. —K. L. B. as» S&iy ROME AND THE BIBLE Roman Catholics, when confronted with the statement that their church and Pope are afraid of the Scriptures and opposed to their being read or circulated, have, since 1914, pointed to a statemertt issued by Pope Bene dict XV on October 8, 1914. This purports to be a strong recommendation of Bible reading and it is as follows: “It is a truth too well established to need recalling, that all errors flow into liinnH.li society from the burial by men in oblivion of the life, the precepts, the lessons of Jesus Christ, and their neglecting to apply the same to the actions of every day. We strongly desire and exhort the entrance of these most holy books into Christian households that all the faithful shall become habituated to the daily reading and study of the same and thence learn to walk worthily in all tilings pleasing to God.’ ’ Does this mean that Rome has changed its position with regard to the Scriptures and really welcomes the work being done by the great Bible societies in sending forth the Word of God? It means nothing of the sort. The Bible burnings under the direction of the Romish church continue. Just a few weeks ago a consecrated col-
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