done in the right way. You see, sincerity is never sufficient. The first problem here is that the ark of Cod was being carried on a cart. Numbers 4:1-15 tells explicit ly that it was always to be borne by hand. We seem so prone to for get that it is extremely important to do things in Cod's way. The Lord has not asked us to improve on His commands. Blessing can only come, even with the best in tentions, if our service follows the course prescribed by God. Yes, you must do God's work in God's way. This event should have caused all those who heard of it, as well as us today, to know that to trans gress God's laws may bring dire results! Q. Phoenix, Ariz. "In James 4:3 we read, 'Ye ask, and receive not, be cause ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.' Is it true that we can trust Christ to provide for our needs but not our wants? Our debts are not the re sult of unwise spending and I do so warry about them. We would like to give more to the Lord's work but these bills would go unpaid if we did ." A. Another verse of precious prom ise is Philippians 4:19. It goes right along with the passage you have quoted. The answer is not to be by our desires but according to our needs. First of all, you are to be commended if your debts are not the results of any unwise spending. Unfortunately today that is not al ways the situation. The Lord does provide for our needs. We can trust Him to supply, generally through employment that we might take care of the debts. We are certainly not to worry, as you have indicated.
This is a sin and displeasing to the Saviour. It is true that you have a first responsibility to wise debts. If there are debts you have assumed unwisely you should get out of those obligations as quickly as pos sible. God does not expect you to neglect the payment of your bills to give to Him. You should start first by giving Him at least a tenth. Many are the consistent and prov en testimonies of those who have given their tithe only to discover that the Lord has made the nine- tenths go further than before. Prove God for yourself. This is where faith comes in. Ask Him to provide ways by which your stewardship may not only be consistent but also in creased, in accordance with His will. Q. Pasadena, Calif. "When the In terpreter's Bible came out evangel icals warned against it. Do they ac cept it any more today? How do you feel about the new Bible com mentary that appears in this edi tion?" A. The reason conservative theo logians were against the Interpret er's Bible is because those who did the editorial work were not doc- trinally sound or of an evangelical persuasion. They were writing for the modernists or liberal wing of the church. In no sense could they be considered orthodox or funda mental. While evangelicals cannot endorse it, it is used in some circles as a comparative study. It should all be handled with discretion, in cluding the Bible dictionary. While the latter contains much factual material it can only be considered with a great deal of caution and awareness.
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