29. Christian Conduct
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Is it inconsistent for a Christian to be ambitious?
No. But he should not be selfishly ambitious. In 2 Corinthians 5:9 the Apostle Paul told of his ambition. Literally rendered, the verse reads: “Wherefore we are ambitious, that whether at home (in the body) or absent (from the body and present with the Lord) we may be well-pleasing unto Him.” Do you think that one who is born again will do worldly things?
Yes, if he is walking in the flesh and out of fellowship with God. In such a case he loses his joy and his fruit and his testimony, and the way back for him is indicated in 1 John 1:9 : “If we (the children of God) confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
What is the meaning of1 Corinthians 10:24: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth”? It doesn’t sound good to me. It seems to teach covetousness as a duty, whereas elsewhere in Scripture we are warned against covetousness as idolatry.
It is unfortunate that the verse has been translated as we find it in the Authorized Version. The Revised Version reads: “Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor’s good.” The whole chapter consists of an exhortation against doing anything that would cause a weak brother to stumble. The exhortation begins at the first verse of the eighth chapter and continues to the end of the tenth chapter, including indeed the first verse of chapter 11 which reads, “Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ” (R.V). The question discussed throughout the passage is whether a Christian should eat meat which had been offered in sacrifice to idols. Those who were strong in the faith saw no harm in eating such meat, but those who were weak were further weakened by it, and so Paul says in 10:23-29: “All things are lawful; but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful; but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor’s good. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat, asking no question for conscience sake; for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. If one of them that believe not biddeth you to a feast, and ye are disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake: conscience, I say, not thine own, but the other’s” (R.V.). The matter is summed up in the 32nd and 33rd verses of the chapter and the first verse of chapter 11: “Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews or to Greeks, or to the church of God: even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.” The same question is discussed in Romans 14, 15, and it is summed up in Romans 14:21 : “It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth.” It is a good rule and a rule which every Christian should follow.
What effect does Scriptural faith in the eternal security of the believer have upon the believer’s attitude toward sin? Your question is raised twice by Paul. In Romans 5:20, he says that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,” and in 6:1-3, he says: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that died to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?’ At the moment of his regeneration, the believer becomes a member of the body of Christ and partakes of the life of Christ, and this is because of the death of Christ in his behalf. Being joined to Christ, he is joined to the death of Christ, and receives from that union the life of Christ (Romans 6:11). He is exhorted to reckon himself to have died indeed unto sin, but to be living unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Then in 6:14,15 your question is raised again: “For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” This is the language of every renewed heart. Paul goes on to say: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants we are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” It is a warning against sin and a warning which the true believer will heed. Having died with Christ, he now lives in Him and for Him. The case is beautifully stated in Galatians 2:20, R.V.: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.”
We recently heard of two sisters who became Christians at the same time. They had been prominent members of what is sometimes called “fashionable society,” and within a few days after their salvation they received an invitation to attend a social function, as they had been accustomed to do. To this they replied, saying, “We thank you very much for your kind invitation, but we died last Thursday night.”
What were the compromises proposed by Pharaoh when God demanded that he should let His people go to worship Him in the wilderness? And what is the spiritual significance of these compromises?
Pharaoh first proposed that instead of separating from Egypt the people of Israel should sacrifice to God in the land of Egypt itself. Egypt is a type of the world, and God’s people are called upon to separate from the world and the ways of the world in order to worship Him. Pharaoh is a type of Satan, who is the prince of this world, and who seeks to induce God’s people to remain in a fellowship with the world. He tells them it is all right to be a Christian, but why separate from the world in order to do it?
Moses’ answer is most significant: “It is not meet to do so; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?” (Exodus 8:25-26). It so happened that the very things that the Egyptians worshiped were the things which the Israelites offered upon their altars. The Egyptians worshiped animals. The Israelites killed these animals and burned them upon their altars of burnt-offering. The significance of this is plain. Christians cannot really worship God while in fellowship with the world, for the things the world prizes most highly are the very things that Christians sacrifice in order to have real fellowship with God. The second compromise was, “Ye shall not go very far away” (Exodus 8:27-28). Moses had said: “We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness.” And Pharaoh said: “I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away.” This is just a modification of the first compromise. It said: “Separate from the world if you must, but do not be too unworldly.” The three days’ journey demanded by Moses may point to the three days of our Lord’s entombment. Surely, the sepulcher of our Lord should be a line of demarcation and separation from the world for God’s people. The third compromise is found in Exodus 10:8-11. Here Pharaoh proposed that the grown-up people should go into the wilderness, leaving their children in Egypt. This compromise is the one to which many of God’s dear people submit, having an ambition that their children should be prosperous and popular. They do not take their children with them into the life of separation. Moses’ answer to this third compromise was: “We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto Jehovah.” The fourth compromise lies in Exodus 10:24-26, where Pharaoh proposed that the Israelites go into the wilderness, leaving their flocks and herds behind. This is equivalent to saying to believers: “Separate from the world as far as you like, only leave your property behind.” Moses’ answer was most significant: “Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve Jehovah our God; and we know not with what we must serve Jehovah, until we come thither.” Just so! Christians cannot even know how to fully serve Jehovah until they have taken all their property and put it into His hands to use it as He may please. All we have and all we are came from Him and belongs to Him! Until we come to this position of devotion we have not really begun to worship God at all. Can you help me in connection with2 Corinthians 5:17? I am sure that I have been born again and am therefore a new creature, but I cannot say that in me “old things are passed away,” or that in me “all things are become new.” Please help me if you can.
I do not wonder that you are troubled. I only wonder that more of God’s children are not troubled by the usual interpretation of this verse. When you were born again you received a new nature from God. But you did not get rid of the old nature. In every believer there are two natures: first, that which is natural, and second, that which is supernatural. The first comes through the natural birth, and the second comes through the supernatural birth. The first nature is bad, and incurably so. The second nature is good, and absolutely so. The old nature can do nothing to please God. The new nature can do nothing to displease God. And this state of things must go on until we are transfigured into the image of our adorable Lord. Meanwhile though we are truly saved who have been born again, none of us can really say that within us old things are passed away, and all things are become new.
If you will look at the Revised Version you will see that this verse reads: “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.” But in the margin it reads: “Wherefore if any man is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new.” If we look at the statement of this verse objectively instead of subjectively I think we will understand it. Paul is speaking of the change that has come over everything from the new standpoint of the believer. Everything is different to him from what it once was.
If you look at a valley from the valley itself you may not see much of it, and it may be uninteresting, but if you go to the top of a mountain and look down over the valley it looks like a brand new valley to you. Everything is different.
It is just like that in the case of a born-again sinner. He has been taken up from the valley, so to speak, to the hill top, and from the new point of view everything is new. The creation itself is new, the old things are passed away, and all things have become new. Things look different to him, things sound different to him, things taste different to him, things feel different to him, and things smell different to him. All things are become new, “and all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and given unto us the ministry of reconciliation” (verse 18).
What did our Lord mean by the words, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink” (John 7:37)? How may we drink?
You may find your answer in the context. See verse 38,39: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” Drinking is believing—believing “as the scripture hath said” —believing the testimony of the Word of God concerning His Son. And those who thus drink, who thus believe, receive the Holy Ghost; for since the Son of God has been glorified the Holy Ghost has been given; and from those who thus drink, and drink deeply, out from them there flow rivers of living water. This is a beautiful picture of a normal Christian, living in touch with God and becoming a channel of blessing to others!
Please define the difference between the believer’s standing and state. The believer’s standing has to do with his position in Christ, and his state has to do with his actual spiritual condition. The moment a man believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and is born again he enters into a position in grace as a result of the work of Christ He is accepted in the beloved. However weak he may be, however ignorant, however fallible, his standing in Christ never varies. He has the same relationships in the family of God as the most illustrious saint. He is a child of God. He is accepted in the beloved as a full-grown son of God. He is a priest in a brotherhood of priests, and is assured that in this standing he will be eternally preserved. On the other hand, his walk may be very far below his position, his state very far below his standing. And all the work of the Holy Spirit of God who indwells him is in order to bring his state up to his standing. He is already a saint, and he is called upon to walk as becometh a saint. The matter is put into a single sentence in Ephesians 5:8, where we read: “Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” Does “Come out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17) apply to us in this age? Does it mean to leave churches that are modernistic? The exhortation in 2 Corinthians 6:17 certainly does apply to the present age, but its application is sometimes very difficult. God will guide His child, however, in every case if His child is willing to do His will when it is revealed to him.
Please explain2 Corinthians 6:14—”Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” I have a friend who insists that by this passage of Scripture we are commanded to withdraw from membership in the church. Your friend is entirely wrong in his interpretation of the Scripture cited. How could Paul have advised the Corinthian Christians to come out from the church which he himself had only recently organized? The whole paragraph in which the text is included is an exhortation to separation, not from the professing church, but from fellowship with unbelievers. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” The exhortation is just as timely today as ever. It forbids, for example, the marriage of believers with unbelievers; it forbids membership in lodges and clubs and other human organizations made up in part of Christians and in part of non-Christians; it forbids business partnerships with unbelievers; it forbids any yoking together of believers with unbelievers for a common purpose. Of course, this principle may apply even in the case of a membership in some churches. In the awful apostasy of these last days there are churches, and many of them, alas! which have become hopelessly separated from God and the truth of God in all their testimony. Destructive critics occupy their pulpits, ungodly men who deny the Lord that bought them. They have turned away from the truth and turned unto fables. They bring reproach upon the Lord Jesus by denying His virgin birth, and by denying the need and efficacy of His blood atonement In such a case, I do not think a believer ought to hesitate a single moment. He certainly should come out from among them and be separate.
It is quite another thing to hold, with your friend, that 2 Corinthians 6:17 means that we are to come out from the church and not belong to any church. May the Lord give us all the abundant grace and wisdom that we need in these days to keep our feet in His path while we wait for His Son from Heaven!
In1 Timothy 4:4we read that “every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.” Would that give a man freedom to drink a glass of wine, or smoke a cigar once in a while? Is that an actual sin? Or does it come under the head of things not expedient? Would it keep a man from the Rapture?
Suppose we put along with the verse you quoted this other word from Paul in Romans 14:21 : “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” And again, his word in 1 Corinthians 8:13 : “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” It cannot possibly be a question of lawfulness, for the Christian is “not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Of course it follows that “all tilings are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all tilings are lawful for me, but all things edify not” (1 Corinthians 10:23). No, a Christian will not be kept from the Rapture by these things, but he may be kept from the approval of his Lord. Every Christian—by which I mean every born-again person—will be included in the Rapture, for the Rapture is part of our salvation, and our salvation is all of grace; but many a Christian will “suffer loss” at the Judgment Seat of Christ, though “he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). “Wherefore we are ambitious, that, whether at home or absent, we may be well pleasing unto him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Please explain Jude 22,23, especially the words, “making a difference.” This is a warning against the defilement which may attend one’s efforts to win souls. See to it that you do not, in your zeal for rescuing others, enter into fellowship with them in their evil ways. The “making a difference” is explained by the context: some are to be won by compassion, and others must be snatched out, so to speak, from the fire. The Holy Spirit will give wisdom for all this, but His guidance will never be contrary to the written Word. That is the safe guide.
What is meant by Paul’s words inRomans 14:16, “Let not then your good be evil spoken of?” How far can we apply this to the Christian of today? Am I to cease from doing what I believe to be right because some unsaved person says it is evil? I cannot see it that way. The text referred to is in the midst of Paul’s discussion on the question as to whether meat might be eaten by Christians which had been offered to idols. The same question is discussed in 1 Corinthians 8. The point is that the Christian should do all in his power to avoid giving occasions of stumbling to the weak. This, of course, cannot be done altogether for there are some who stumble very easily. But, so far as it lies in our power, we should avoid even the exercise of our liberty if, by so doing, we can avoid giving offense to God’s weaker children. The whole matter is beautifully summed up by Paul himself in Romans 14:21, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” And again in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standedi, lest I make my brother to offend.” Will you please explain1 Timothy 2:9? Do you believe that it is wrong for Christian women to wear ear bobs and flashy rings and necklaces? No Christian, whether man or woman, should dress flashily. We should dress in such a way as not to attract attention to ourselves. There is danger at bodi ends of the line. There are Christians who make themselves conspicuous by their extreme plainness, and some of them make a form of “no form,” dius placing themselves, and seeking to place others, under bondage. A similar passage is in 1 Peter 3:1-4. Is it wrong for a Christian to play cards, attend theater, etc.? The 8th chapter of 1 Corinthians meets all your problems and will solve them if you approach the chapter in a spirit of submission. That chapter discusses the question as to whether a Christian should eat meat which had been offered in sacrifice to idols. Some said, Yes, and others said, No. Paul declares that while there is liberty to eat the meat, yet if our eating gives offense to a weaker brother we are to desist. For “if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend” (verse 13). The same question is discussed in the 14th chapter of Romans, and the same conclusion is reached: “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak” (verse 21).
1 Corinthians 10:31 reads, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Let this test be applied to questionable things, and it will soon become evident whether or not they are expedient for a child of God. Will Christians who walk in the flesh inherit Heaven?
If you mean by “Christians” those who have been born again, the answer is, Yes. All born-again persons will “inherit Heaven.” But carnal Christians will lose much of blessing for their carnality, both here and hereafter (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32).
Just what is the meaning ofLuke 14:26? It reads: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” The verse should be read in relation to its context. In the Parable of the Great Supper, verses 16 to 24, those who “with one consent began to make excuse” pleaded various reasons for rejecting the invitation. One of them had “bought a piece of ground” which he “must needs go and see.” Another had “bought five yoke of oxen” which he must “go to prove.” And yet another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” This makes our Lord’s language in the 26th verse intelligible. If any man come unto Him he must count the cost of discipleship, and he must hate anything or anyone coming between him and his Lord. Whether it be “a piece of ground,” or “five yoke of oxen,” or even “a wife.” Dr. Scofield’s footnote is informing. He says: “All terms which define the emotions or affections are comparative. Natural affection is to be, as compared with the believer’s devotedness to Christ, as if it were hate. See Matthew 12:47-50 where Christ illustrates this principle in His own person. But in the Lord the natural affections are sanctified and lifted to the level of the divine love (compare John 19:26-27; Ephesians 5:25-28).” (Scofield Reference Bible.) Is there any definite promise in the New Testament that our God will prosper His sons and daughters in this world’s goods, any more than He would the unsaved? What about Christians driving sharp bargains with God? No real Christian will think of “driving sharp bargains with God.” And our appointed portion in this world is not worldly prosperity, but rather world-hatred, world-persecution and affliction. “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). ‘The world knoweth us not because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1). These Scriptures, which might be multiplied indefinitely, are not threats, but promises. It is as true now as when it was written that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). A Bible teacher recently said: “An unconfessed sin is an unforgiven sin.” I know that the Lord Jesus Christ took all my sins upon Him and died on the cross in my place. I know also that any sin in my life interferes with my fellowship with Him, and that not until confession of that sin can fellowship be restored. But can it be possible that, because I do not name a sin such a sin is unforgiven, when at the close of each day I merely ask forgiveness for the defilement of that day, without making mention of each separate sin?
It is going too far to say that “an unconfessed sin is an unforgiven sin” if by confession is meant the specific naming of each particular sin. Many—perhaps most—of our sins are sins of ignorance. We have a distorted view of sin and righteousness, else we should know that we are always coming short of the glory of God, which is sin. On the other hand, there is no promise of forgiveness for the asking; it is rather, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). We are on safe ground when we confess our sins and judge ourselves before God. It is not so much a question of naming the sins, though we ought not to shrink from naming them so far as we know them, it is rather a question of our heart’s attitude before Him with reference to our sins. He desires “truth in the inward parts” (Psalms 51:6). “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).
Some years ago one sinned against the wife of a man. It was never confessed to the wife, but was confessed to God. The one who sinned feels that it would be a reproach to the cause of Christ if public confession were made. If confession were never made, would it bar the one who confessed to God out of the pearly gates? Would you advise a public confession to the wife to be made?
Admission to “the pearly gates” is not determined in the way you suggest; entrance to Heaven depends solely upon whether one is born again. It is difficult to give advice in the case you mention. There are times when such a confession as you suggest would do far more harm than good. God will guide a willing child and show him what to do. Will you please tell us the meaning of “the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean,” inHebrews 9:13?
We need to look at the full statement of verses 13 and 14: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The reference is to the ordinance of the red heifer in Numbers 19, and I can do no better than to refer you to Dr. Scofield’s exposition of this type:
“The red heifer Type of the sacrifice of Christ as the ground of the cleansing of the believer from the defilement contracted in his pilgrim walk through this world, and illustration of the method of his cleansing. The order is: (1) The slaying of the sacrifice; (2) the sevenfold sprinkling of the blood, typical public testimony before the eyes of all of the complete and never-to-be-repeated putting away of all the believer’s sins as before God (Hebrews 9:12-14; Hebrews 10:10-12); (3) the reduction of the sacrifice to ashes which are preserved and become a memorial of the sacrifice; (4) the cleansing from defilement (sin has two aspects—guilt and uncleanness) by sprinkling with the ashes mingled with water. Water is a type of both the Spirit and the Word (John 7:37-39; Ephesians 5:26). The operation typified is this: The Holy Spirit uses the Word to convict the believer of some evil allowed in his life to the hindering of his joy, growth, and service. Thus convicted, he remembers that the guilt of his sin has been met by the sacrifice of Christ (1 John 1:7). Instead, therefore, of despairing, the convicted believer judges and confesses the defiling thing as unworthy a saint, and is forgiven and cleansed (John 13:3-10; 1 John 1:7-10).
How may I find out what the will of God is for me? In general the will of God for all of us is written in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” But this does not give particular guidance to the child of God who is seeking to know what God would have him to do.
It is the part of wisdom to set ourselves to the task of finding out the will of God, “proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. . . . See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:10-17). In Colossians 1:9-12 the sevenfold apostolic prayer for God’s children begins with the petition that they “might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” In Romans 12:1-2, the necessary steps are set forth by which any child of God may ascertain what the will of the Lord is:
1. “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
2. “Be not conformed to this age.”
3. “Be ye transformed.” The transformation is to be “by the renewing of your mind,” and this is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God (Titus 3:5-7; 2 Corinthians 3:18). And the result of this process is that the one who has gone through it step by step proves “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” But let no one start out in this process until he has definitely decided to do the will of God when he knows it Of course this is involved in the first step, for no one can really present his living body to God in absolute surrender and yieldedness whose will is not already submitted to God.
InRomans 8:28we note that all things work together for good to them who are the called according to His purpose. But just what does it mean, “called according to His purpose”? His purpose is explained in the twenty-ninth verse: “For whom He did foreknow, He did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Surely, all things which tend toward such a consummation must work together for good. And when we get to the end of the road, no matter how rugged it may have been, we shall sing: “Right was the pathway leading to this.” Is it right to follow the dictates of our conscience? I contend that the Word of God is the Christian’s guide.
I quite agree with you that “the Word of God is the Christian’s guide,” and that it is by no means safe to “follow the dictates of our conscience,” except when our conscience is enlightened by the Word of God itself. To what extent does God speak to us through our conscience, and to what extent can we rely on it?
Since man is a sinful creature, his conscience is a very unsafe guide. Even after regeneration, it is not possible to rely with confidence upon the guidance of one’s conscience. Sometimes the conscience is “weak,” and therefore, easily “defiled” (1 Corinthians 8:7). Then in 1 Timothy 4:2, people are spoken of whose conscience is “seared with a hot iron.” In Titus 1:15, people are referred to whose “mind and conscience is defiled.” In Hebrews 9:14, believers are exhorted to keep their eyes upon the blood of Christ, so that it may “purge your conscience from dead works to worship the living God.” In Hebrews 10:22, worshipers are exhorted to draw nigh, remembering that their hearts have been “sprinkled from an evil conscience.” In a word, the only safe guide for any of us is the Word of God. We may always depend upon it to lead us in the right path. Do you think it always possible to obey one’s conscience? I know it is our duty, but is it possible always to do it?
Conscience is not always right and is therefore an unsafe guide. The Scriptures speak of an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22); a weak and defiled conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7-12); and a “conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2); as well as of a purged conscience (Hebrews 9:14); a pure conscience (1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3); a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Timothy 1:19; 1 Peter 3:16; 1 Peter 3:21) and a conscience void of offense (Acts 24:16).
Thus it is seen that the conscience is variable and therefore untrustworthy. It is only when it is enlightened and sensitive to the Word of God that conscience may be safely followed.
If by your question you mean to ask whether it is possible during this life to achieve sinlessness, my answer is, No. And yet we must not therefore excuse ourselves when we sin but rather confess our sins and judge ourselves before God (1 John 1:1-9); for only thus may we be kept in His fellowship and joy and be fruitful in His service. Do you think it right to refuse to follow leaders that seem to be trying to control your every thought and all your gifts? It seems to me the budget plan upon which many of our churches are working is very materialistic. Soul saving is left out entirely. The main purpose seems to be to get funds, pay the leaders big salaries, and stint the missionary efforts. It seems likeEphesians 6:12, “spiritual wickedness in high places,” also a political ring. If one refuses to fall in line one is almost considered a heretic.
Followers are responsible, in a measure, as well as leaders, and it certainly is as wrong to follow false leadership as it is to be a false leader. Let every believer remember that he himself is a priest with immediate access to God and immediate responsibility for not leading falsely, but the follower who submits to false leadership must also answer for that. “We must obey God, rather than men.”
Please explainMatthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” This command is generally misunderstood. For example, it is frequently urged as an argument against Church discipline of any kind. But the Church has received from her Lord and His accredited apostles most explicit directions to guide her in the exercise of judgment. In Matthew’s Gospel itself our Lord gave instruction for the guidance of the then future Church in this matter, in chapter 18, verses 15-20. These instructions cannot be obeyed without the exercise of judgment, first on the part of the individual in determining that his brother has sinned against him, and then on the part of the assembly in deciding whether the aggrieved member has judged rightly.
Again, in the specific case of a member of the Corinthian church who was living in open ana flagrant sin, the Spirit wrote by the aposde, in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, expressly commanding the church to judge the man and exclude him from its fellowship. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.” In the next chapter the aposde upbraids the believers for going to law before the unrighteous, and declares that matters in dispute ought to be brought before the church instead of the courts. “Dare any of you,” he asks, “having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more, dungs that pertain to this life? If then ye have to judge things pertaining to this life, do ye set them to judge who are of no account in the church? I say this to move you to shame. Is it so, that there cannot be found among you one wise man who shall be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goeth to law with brother, and that before unbelievers. Nay, already it is altogether a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong, why not rather be defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6:1-8, R.V.). A careful examination of Jesus’ command, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” together with its context, will reveal its meaning. He never intended that His disciples should set aside all use of judgment, but rather that they should not apply to others any judgment which they would be unwilling to have others apply to them. We may and we must judge that which is openly and manifestly evQ, and separate ourselves from it. We may and we ought to exercise the discernment God has given to us, as to outward acts; but there we must stop, for we can know nothing as to the inward motives. To the same Corinthian church, which he commanded to judge and to put away the openly sinful and wicked man, Paul wrote, in 1 Corinthians 4:5, saying “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden tilings of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God.” Here was a matter involving hidden tilings of darkness and counsel of the hearts. In such matters we are forbidden to judge, for we can know nothing of any man’s heart motives. God is able to look upon the heart, but man may look only upon the outward appearance.
We are, however, commanded to judge ourselves, for we know our own hearts well enough to know that many an outward action which looks fair enough to our brethren is after all selfish and sinful. When we are honest enough with ourselves to judge ourselves, it is a healthful exercise. But often we excuse ourselves and refuse to use righteous judgment; and then God is compelled to deal with us. As it is written: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). This judging of ourselves will keep the “beams” from our own eyes and help us the better to remove the “motes” from our brother’s eyes. For the heir of the Kingdom is not commanded, either here or elsewhere, to permit his brethren to go on in sin or error without seeking to deliver them. It is only that in order thus to serve them, he must himself have the single eye. Thus the aposde exhorts the Christian church in Galatians 6:1-2, R.V.: “Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
How can a Christian keep himself in the love of God (Judges 21)?
We are kept in the love of God by obedience. This is emphasized in John 15:10 : “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
Keeping in mind that our Lord said, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and commanded us to love our enemies, to do good to those that hate us, etc., should a Christian go to war to kill his enemies and friends also, when commanded by the government to do so?
It is the duty of the Christian to be obedient to the powers that be, for these powers are ordained of God, and they bear not the sword in vain (Romans 13). Warfare is not a Christian institution, and neither is civil government a Christian institution, for there was civil government and there was warfare carried on by God’s people before Christ came to the earth at all. Civil government, while not a Christian institution, is nevertheless a divine institution and is a gift of God, for which we should be continually thanking Him, for any government is far better than no government which is anarchy. The Christian Church is to be conducted on the principle of grace, but civil government is to be conducted upon the principle of justice. The government is commanded of God to govern and in order to govern He has commissioned it to use force. The foundation of civil government is in the covenant of God to Noah, and is recorded in Genesis 9:1-6. In that covenant God established the principle of capital punishment: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood (that is, in murder), by man shall his blood be shed.”
If we say that no Christian should have any part in civil government, then, of course, we must go on and say that no Christian should hold government office. Not only should he not enlist in the army, even if commanded to do so, not only must he not be a sheriff or a policeman or a constable, but neither may he be a school teacher, because the schools are conducted by government. None of us would be willing to live where there was no government, no policemen, no constables, no courts, no jails. In the Old Testament times God often conducted warfare, using one nation against another, and sometimes even using heathen nations to scourge His own people Israel. In Judges 3:1-2, it is stated that certain nations were left in Canaan “to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof.” Who can deny that Moses was commissioned of God, and Joshua after him, to conduct warfare? And as for David, the man after God’s own heart, he was a man of war, and he declared in Psalms 144:1 that Jehovah taught his hands to war, and his fingers to fight. The Christian is a citizen not only of heaven, but he is also a citizen here, and he is commanded of God to submit himself to earthly governments. It is his duty to obey the government in everything, except where the government commands him to do something that God has expressly forbidden. In such a case he may disobey the government and suffer the consequences, whatever they may be. Compare Acts 4:18-20.
What do you think of professing Christians sitting at home on Sunday and listening to sermons over the radio or television, instead of attending church where the Gospel is preached?
God’s Word commands: “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Every Christian who is fortunate enough to belong to a church where the Gospel is preached in all its fullness ought by all means to attend the services of that church. It is surely contrary to the Word of God to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Of course if you are unable to get to church that is another matter. Will you please tell me how people get the idea that they may eat anything, when God has said that certain foods are unclean unto us, and for us not to eat it? For instance, swine flesh or pork? If you can find any place in the New Testament where He says we may eat pork I wish you would please tell me.
It is true that under the law of Sinai, issued to the Israelites in the wilderness, pork was declared as unclean, for though the swine parts the hoof it does not chew the cud. In order for food to be clean under the law of Moses it must come from an animal with a parted hoof that chews the cud (Leviticus 11:1-8). But all that is done away in the New Testament. In Mark 7 our Lord said: “Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?’ (18,19). The Revised Version here reads: ‘This he said, making all meats clean.” And in 1 Timothy 4 we are warned against those who would command us “to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:1-5). Do ihe instructions given to Israel in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus in regard to the eating of certain meats apply to the Church? Is it wrong for a Christian to eat meat, especially pork?
No, to both questions. See 1 Timothy 4:1-5.
Please explainRomans 14:21. Does it mean that we should abstain altogether from eating flesh? Did Paul have reference to the flesh offered to idols? In Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 the apostle discusses the question of whether Christians should eat flesh which had first been offered in sacrifice to idols. The churches were divided on the subject, one party claiming that the Christian is free from all such regulations, and the other party insisting that it was sinful to eat meat which had been offered to idols.
While agreeing that the Christian is not under bondage in such things, Paul nevertheless exhorted those who were strong in the faith to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please themselves (Romans 15:1). To avoid causing a weaker brother to stumble, Paul would eat no flesh so long as the world stood (1 Corinthians 8:13). In our day there is no such question immediately before us as to whether we should eat flesh which has been offered in sacrifice to idols. But there are many other questions involving the same principle. All things are lawful for us, but not all things are expedient (1 Corinthians 6:12). A splendid rule for every Christian to follow concerning any proposed course of action is to ask whether it will please God. Unless the answer is Yes, the safe way is to turn back from such proposed action and walk with Him in the narrow way. “Wherefore also we are ambitious, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing unto him” (2 Corinthians 6:9, R.V., margin).
What do the words “take no thought” mean inMatthew 6:25?
They mean “don’t worry.” The whole passage (verses 25-34) shows the folly and sin of worry. The same teaching is found in Php 4:6-7. If we trust our Heavenly Father we will cast all our care upon Him, for He careth for us (1 Peter 5:7).
What does the Bible teach about a child of God voting? Please give me some light on the subject.
There is no direct statement in the Bible about whether or not a Christian should vote. The Bible does teach, however, that civil government is one of God’s gifts to the race, and that makes civil government a divine institution. The ultimate form of civil government will be an absolute monarchy when the Man now at God’s right hand will come back to earth to ascend the throne of His father David and to reign as “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).
Meanwhile there are many different forms of civil government in the world. In this country we are living under a representative republic, and it is our privilege to choose our representatives.
Some Christians feel that since we are citizens of Heaven we cannot be at the same time citizens of any nation in this world. But this is a mistake. We are citizens and the responsibility is upon us. In my judgment, every Christian ought to look upon voting as a civic duty, and he ought to do his utmost to see to it that the right kind of representatives are put in office. A neighbor of mine became mentally ill and is now confined in a hospital for the insane. Before this happened he gave strong evidence of having been truly saved, but now he is boisterous in profanity. Will you please explain this?
It is one of the mysteries of mental illness that often a child of God will become profane or even obscene in his conversation. The probable explanation is that in his case the old nature, being no longer under control, manifests itself freely. This old nature is called in the Word of God “the flesh,” or “the natural man.” At regeneration the old nature is by no means changed. It remains the same thing all the time, but a new nature comes in, abiding together with the old nature in the believer. The believer is exhorted not to walk in the flesh, not to yield to the old nature, not to give “the old man” an opportunity to manifest itself, but rather to walk in the Spirit and to mortify the deeds of the flesh. In the case of your neighbor, if he has truly been born again, you may depend upon his heavenly Father to take care of him, even during his mental sickness, and to finally present him faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. This is what the blood of Christ does for us.