November, 1944
396
Dr. Talbot's Quest ion Box Questions for answer in this depart ment* should be sent to the Editorial Department, THE KING'S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif. QUE .: Since the Christian is ■‘not under the law, but under grace,” should he tithe his • in come? * „ Mark 13:26, 27—the Lord’s return in glory, and His gathering of the be lievers “ elect” unto Himself. Luke 18:7—God’s avenging of the sufferings and deaths of the tribula tion believers—“elect.”
We note that during fhis time, t ie erring one, like the young prodigal, has never ceased to be a son—he has been, a son separated from the warmth, protection, blessing, provi sion, and companionship which are his for the claiming in the household of his heavenly Father. QUE .: In Revelation 6:9 John records seeing the souls of the saints who were s l a i n fo r the Word of God, as being under the altar. »The following texts seem to indicate that they who die, re main in the grave: .Daniel 12:2; John 5:28, 29; 11:11-14; Matthew 27:52, 53. Do they not? One of the most blessed and promin ent truths of God’s Word is the fact that as soon as the believer dies, his soul and spirit go into the presence of the Lord—it matters not at what time of the earth’s history he may live. We remember that when our Lord was on the cross, He said to the believing malefactor, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43). When the bodies were taken down from the crosses late on that crucifixion day, no doubt, the body of the one to whom Christ had spoken those words was buried; but his spirit had gone to be with the Lord. Other Scriptures pertaining to this truth are: 2 Corinthians 5:6, 8; Philippians 1:23, 24. (The texts cited ¡at the end of the inquirer’s question all have to do with the truth, of resurrection, but not all pertain to the same phase of it.) Upon reading the first Scripture mentioned in the question (Rev. 6:9),. one will recognize this vision of John’s as one pertaining to the days of the earthly tribulation period. The per sons whom the apostle sees under the altar are those .who have been martyred for their faith in Christ and their witness of Him during the tribu lation. -The text does not indicate that their bodies have yet been resur rected. The souls are under the altar of burnt offering, crying unto the Lord to avenge their blood (v. 10), which is a proof of their conscious existence, and their ability to commune with " each other and with the Lord. We further note (v. 11) that to each one of these saints is given a white robe—a mark of God’s approval of them and their testimony. The fact that they are told to “rest . . . until their . . . brethren, that should be killed as they were, would be ful filled,” would seem to indicate that martyrdom for the Lord is not at this time complete, and that these particu lar souls are representative of the first part of the tribulation—greater suffering to be endured in the days to follow. For further interpretation of this truth, see Revelation 20:4.
Romans 8:33—the saint’s (elect’s) position in Christ—safe from accusa tion by any of Satan’s emissaries. 1 Peter 1:2 reveals that election is the result of God’s foreknowledge, not the exercising of any selective power on His part. Our loving Lord is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). To this end, His "only begotten Son” left His home in glory, and came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (cf. John 3:16, 17; Lk. 19:10). Membership in the elect body of saints is available to all who will eater by the one Way—Christ (cf. John 14:6). Numerous parallels to this case áre to be found among Christians today. As the willful son in this parable al lowed Satan’s tempting voice to lure him from the fellowship of his home, so the Lord’s redeemed ones are often enticed away from the life with Christ by the temptings of the old nature. We read in Galatians 5:16, 17, that the Holy Spirit has come into the heart of the believer at the time of his new birth (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16), and he is a new creation in Christ Jesus; nevertheless, the old, sinful, Adamic nature has not been entirely eradi cated. It still exists, and often asserts itself. The Christian may allow his heart to grow cold toward the Lord; when this is the case, he neglects his prayer time aiid Bible reading, be comes careless about church attend ance, and gives himself over to the life without Christ. Later, he may realize how empty and barren is the life which is out of fellowship with the One whom he once loved and Served. His heart’s cry then becomes like David’s: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit with me . . . Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” (Psa. 51:10, 12). The truth of 1 John 1:9 then be comes operative, in his life, he con fesses his sins to the Lord, is forgiven, and restored to a life of fellowship with Christ QUE .: What tempted the prodi gal son to leave home? This parable (Lk. 15:11-24) presents a striking picture of the influence of the “lust of the flesh” in the heart of a man (cf. Gal. 5:17).
Although the Christian is not under the Mosaic Law, .it would seem that the tithe is the least he should want to give to the Lord. The custom was instituted long before Moses was born, and seems to have been the Scriptural basis for all giving. Abraham and Jacob gave a tithe four hundred years before the law was given (cf. Gen. 14:20; 28:22; Mai. 3:10). ; While there is no instruction givep in the New Testament about the tithe in particular, God does say through Paul that we should giye "upon the first day of the week” regularly; "as God hath prospered” us (1 Cor. 16:2; cf. 2 Cor. 8:5). Every chiifl of God should be con sistent, faithful, systematic and cheer ful in his giving. God’s people under the law were servants; God’s people under grace are sons. And though under grace tithing is not obligatory, should the son give less than the servant? (Read 2 Cor. 9:6, 7.) QUE.: What is meant by the term, “God’s elect” ? Please give me some Scripture references in which it is used. The term “elect” appears in a num ber of places in the Word, and is used i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y with the word "chosen.” A close observation reveals that in the use of the phrase, God re fers either to Christ, angels, or be lievers. The following representative references with their connections are a few to be found in the Scriptures: Isaiah 42:1—Christ, God’s "servant,” His “elect,” the One in whom His soul delights. 1 Peter 2:6—Christ, "a chief corner stone elect.” 1 Timothy 5:21—“elect” angels, those who during the creation remained true to God as contrasted to those who “kept not their first estate” (cf. Jude 6 ). Isaiah 45:4; 65:9, 22—the future in heritance and joy of Israel, G o d ’ s “ elect.” Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22—proph ecy pertaining to Satan’s f u t u r e at tempt to deceive even the “ elect”— those who maintain fellowship with the Lord, and who have a knowledge of His Word.
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