THE KING’S BUSINESS
88
is a failure and must be given up, but if they had understood the purpose of the gospel they would not have said it was a failure. These nations are not Christian nations. There § are Christians in these nations, people have been taken out from these nations to form “a people for His name.” This war is not proof that the Bible is not true, for it is just exactly what is predicted in the Word, but we have sub stituted our philosophy for the plain state ments of Gpd’s Word and so no wonder many have been staggered. If we would only consider what the Word of God does say, such overwhelming calamities as the present war would increase rather than diminish our faith. “After these things” (R. V.) i. e., after God’s purpose in this dispensation is fulfilled by the taking out a people for His name, God will visit Israel again and build up the tabernacle of Jacob and then “the residue of men” shall “seek after the Lord” (cf. Rom. 11:25, 26, IS). God works according to a large plan and one that it takes centuries to work out. We in our folly try to judge it by a very small segment of it. The prophecy James quoted is found in Amos 9:11, 12, and should be studied in its context. Monday, January 29 . Acts 15 : 19 - 21 . James’ wise conclusion from all the facts in the case, and from the Scriptures that threw light upon them, was that they best not trouble the Gentiles who turnfed to God, with the legalities of the Mosaic law, even though that law was God-given. It was God-given for a specific purpose, for a specific time, and for a specific people. There are many even at this late day who have not yet learned the lesson James learned and taught nearly nineteen cen turies ago. They are constantly seeking to trouble those whom Christ has made free, with some old or new legalities. There were, however four things that James judged should be imposed upon the Gen tile converts, viz. (1) To “abstain from the polution of idols.” (2) To “abstain from fornication.” (3) To “abstain from
endorsed? The Judaizer’s argument was an argument from theological theories, the argument of Barnabas and Paul was an argument from indisputable facfs. And now James brings foreward a third argu ment. His argument was from Scripture and left nothing further to be said. He showed them that it was according-to the Old Testament Scriptures, the authority of which the Pharisees not only accepted but insisted upon and emphasized, that God would take a people for His name from among the uncircumcised Gentiles as well as from the Mosaic Jews. The Old Test ament Scriptures had plainly declared that God’s purpose of salvation took in not only circumcised Jews but uncircumcised Gen tiles as well. The way in which James puts his argument, and the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures which He quotes, show plainly that it is not God’s purpose in this present dispensation to save all Gen tile nations as nations, but simply “to take out of them a people for His name.” Many Christians, and even ministers misunder stand God’s purpose in this dispensation, they think God’s purpose is to convert whole nations. No, God’s purpose in this present dispensation is to take out from among the Gentile nations “a people for His name.” When Christ comes again nations may - be converted as nations, a nation in a day, but now individuals are to be converted here and there and thus a people formed for His name. We should not, therefore, be disappointed that whole nations are not converted as such,.indeed, we should not be at all surprised. There are those who tell us that God’s purpose in the gospel has failed because the whole world has not been converted in all these 1900 years, but as we see here it was not God’s purpose to convert the whole world during these 1900 years. Just what God did purpose and predict is being accom plished, and people are being taken out from among the nations. Not a few have been staggered by the present war, a war largely between nominal Christian peoples, and have been led to say that the gospel
Made with FlippingBook Online document