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85Christian Shepherd•April 1997

Editorial

Whose Image do we Bear?“Shew me a penny. Whose image and super-

scription hath it? “ (Luke 20:24)The Lord’s words should have gone right to the

consciences of the Pharisees and Herodians. Intheir unbelief their eyes were blinded to the gloryof the “Image and Superscription” that stoodbefore them. He, the very “image of God” (2 Cor4:4) and bore the Divine superscription as the“Word” made flesh. But His Godhead glory washidden to their eyes, for only faith could compre-hend Him.

The image and superscription on the “denarius”(JND) should also have been a rebuke to theirhearts, for they well knew that their nation wasnot enjoying the blessing and favor of God. Theimage and superscription on that coin, a publictestimony to the Roman yoke under which theylived and by which they were ruled, ought to havecaused them sorrow as they considered the sadfruit which their sin and disobedience againstJehovah had born.

Now Jehovah-Jesus stands among them. Whatit must have meant to His heart as He looked atthat coin! He, the Messiah, the rightful King ofIsrael, standing in their presence, “despised andrejected of men”. He had come in lowliness andgrace to His own but they “had received Him not”saying “we will not have this man to rule over us.”

86 Christian Shepherd•April 1997

His image and superscription ought to have been‘stamped’ on something of far greater value thanthe Roman Denarius; it ought to have beenimpressed on their hearts. But the cold, stonycondition of those hearts would not receive theimpress of the Divine Person and Word who stoodin their presence. What sorrow that little silvercoin must have been to His blessed heart! “OJerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest theprophets, and stonest them which are sent untothee, how often would I have gathered thy childrentogether, even as a hen gathereth her chickensunder [her] wings, and ye would not!” (Mt 23:37 )

Does not this have an application to our lives?God has reached out in Divine, sovereign grace towe who are Gentiles. “The Father sent the Son tobe the saviour of the world”. The blessed LordJesus bore on the cross, before the mocking world,the superscription of a despised, outcast, criminal,“Jesus of Nazereth, the King of the Jews”; in orderthat we might forever bear His blessed “imageand superscription” before the Father. The ‘lostcoin’ of Luke 15 has been found. There is joy inthe presence of the angels of God over the “sinnerthat [has] repented.”

Now, may we not hear our Lord Jesus, as Helooks at each–found coins passing through thisscene of His rejection asking–“whose image andsuperscription do you bear in the place thatrejected Me?” May God grant that our livesplainly show before this world the “image andsuperscription” of that blessed One who has loved


us and redeemed us with His own precious blood.We shall “be like him” in a coming day when wesee Him . May we then, seek to be like Him now;bearing His image and His word while we passthrough this world.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predes-tinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son,that he might be the firstborn among manybrethren.” (Ro 8:29) E d

The world is selfish. The flesh, the passions, thedesires of the mind, seek their own gratification.But, if I walk if the light, self has no place there; Ican enjoy the light and all I see in it with anotherand there is no jealousy. If another possess acarnal thing, I am deprived of it. In the light, wehave fellow-possession of that which God gives,and we enjoy it the more by enjoying it together.

If our souls go on with God, sweet as is theassurance that we, washed in the blood of Christ,belong to God, yet the uppermost thought will inthe long run be Himself. We shall come back toHis person. We shall in our praises weave with itwhat He has done, suffered, and won for us; butthe first of all thoughts in our souls is, the first ofall thoughts in heaven is, not what we havegained, however true, but what He has been forus and what He is to us, yea what He is inHimself. Bible Treasury, Vol 7-8


The Opened HeavensHebrews 8

“Now we will read the close of chapters 6 and 8.{First} we will look at what we call the {exhorta-tive} parenthesis in chapter 6. At verse 10 ofchapter 5 we left the doctrine, and from that tothe close of chapter 6 is a parenthesis. The thing{the writer of Hebrews} feared in the Hebrewswas giving up Christ as the Object of theirconfidence.

What is the dressing that God is giving yourheart now (ver 7)? Moses was on the principle oflaw—the Lord Jesus was on the principle ofgrace; Do you apprehend Him in judgment of ingrace? Is the communion of your soul with God inthe liberty of grace or in the fear of a coming dayof judgment? If the last, it is not yielding herbsmeet for Him by whom it is dressed. If I walk infilial confidence of one who has trusted in thesalvation of God, that is the earth yielding fruitsmeet for Him by whom it is dressed.

Now what is the ground of the apostle’s persua-sion of “better things” touching them in verse 9?That the fruits of righteousness were seen amongthem—beautiful things that accompany but neverconstitute salvation. Therefore the apostle, seeingthis beautiful fruitfulness, says, “Though I amsounding an alarm I do not attach it to you.” Hepursues {this thought} to the close of the chapterand does not return to what is doctrinal till hereaches chapter 7. He prays them to continue to


minister to the saints. Does your knowledge ofChrist lead you to two things—secret communionof soul with Him and practical energy of Chris-tian walk and faithfulness? “Now”, says he, “doyou go on with the beautiful, practical work youhave begun. Do not be slothful, but followers ofthem who by faith and patience inherit thepromises.”

Then he brings out Abraham as one who did notslack his hand to the end. Abraham not only gotthe promise in Genesis 15, but went on in pa-tience till it was confirmed by an oath in Genesis22. We are called not only to faith, but to thepatience of faith. {It is possible to have a consola-tion} and yet not a strong consolation. {Abraham}had a consolation in Genesis 15 and a strongconsolation in Genesis 22.

The apostle would have us like Abraham inGenesis 22, that “we might have a strong consola-tion, who have fled for refuge to take hold uponthe hope set before us.” This passage is commonlymisquoted. It is not a sinner funning to the bloodfor refuge, but a saint running to the hope of gloryfrom the wreck of every prospect here. Are wepromising ourselves hopes for tomorrow?Abraham was a man who fled from every prospecthere to lay hold on the hope of glory. The apostlesays, “Lay hold upon the hope,” not on the cross.{Is the expectation of your heart} the hope of thereturn of Christ?

“Whiter the forerunner is for us entered.” Wesee the Lord Jesus {here brought out in a new


character} in Heaven, not only for us as HighPriest, but to secure a place for us with Himself.Jesus is in heaven in the glory of a Forerunner—aHigh Priest—the Purger of our sins. He will puton other glories in the millennial heavens: King ofkings and Lord of lords on the millennial earth.

We pass on to chapter 8. “We have such an highpriest who is set on the right hand of the Majestyin the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and ofthe true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, andnot man.” What exquisite words! There wereglories set in the superficial heavens by thefingers of God {and} there are glories set in theinterior heavens by the grace of God. One of theseis a tabernacle which the Lord has pitched there.Christ came down from the eternal bosom toglorify God on the earth. Was there anything toobrilliant in the way of glory in which to arraysuch an One?

What {communion} we get here between Godand His Christ—between the Father and the Son!{Among those glories} was a temple pitched by theLord Himself. God in redemption has built ahabitation of the High Priest; and He is seatedthere in the highest place of honor. Christ couldnot be a priest here, for He came of the tribe ofJudah. He came to fulfill all righteousness {thus}a priest of the tribe of Levi, if he found Him there,would have been entitled to cast Him out. He wasentitled to everything, but He came as a subject,self-emptied Servant. Did He intrude on the twopoor disciples at Emmaus? Much less would He, a


Son of Judah, intrude in God’s house.Here we pause. In this epistle we find one

thing. From the beginning to the end the Spirit istaking up one thing after another and laying itaside to make room for Christ. {When He hasbrought Christ in} He fixes Him before us forever.Has not God laid you aside and brought in Christin your stead? Faith bows to what He has done inevery believing soul.

{In chapter 1} He lays aside angels. “To which ofthe angels said he at any time, Sit on my righthand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”Next we see Moses laid aside. “Moses verily wasfaithful ... as a servant... but Christ as a Son overhis own house.” We can part with Moses becausewe have got Christ—as the poor eunuch couldpart with Philip because he had got Jesus. Thenin chapter 4 comes Joshua. But he is laid asidealso. “If Joshua had given them rest, then wouldhe not afterward have spoken of another day.”Christ is set before me as the true Joshua, whoreally gives me rest. The Aaron is set aside to letin the priesthood of Christ; but when I have itbefore me I have it forever. He is the Administra-tor of a better covenant. The old covenant is doneaway because the Lord has nothing to say to it.And at the close we read the beautiful utterance,which might be the text of the epistle, “JesusChrist the same yesterday, and today, and for-ever.” He being brought in is the same for ever.

What a magnificent thought to think of Godbringing in the blessed Jesus to the displacing of


everything! God rests in Him—{pictured by} thesabbath of old, when God rested in creation. NowGod rests in Christ, and if you and I understandwhere we are, we are breathing the atmosphere ofperfection—an accomplished work—a sabbath.Hebrews is an epistle of untold glories and ofinestimable value to the conscience of the awak-ened sinner.

Now at the close of chapter 8 we see the firstcovenant set aside. The covenant that Christministers never waxes old. “Your sins I willforgive, your iniquities I will pardon.”

The Lord touches everything and fixes it beforeGod for ever and God rest in it. He perfectseverything He touches and everything gives placeto Him. He gives place to nothing. They came to{John the Baptist} and said, “Rabbi, he that waswith thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearestwitness, behold, the same baptiseth, and all mencome to him.” He answered, “ He that hath thebride is the bridegroom: but the friend of thebridegroom which standeth and hearth him,rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’svoice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.” Thisought to be the utterance of your heart: “He hasset me aside to being Jesus in.” There is wonder-ful unity between the discovery we get here andthe experience of our own souls. We shall neverget to an end of these glories till we are lost in anocean of them by-and-by—a sea without a shore!


Peter was bold enough in the flesh to entertemptation. But it is impossible for man tostand where it is a question of good and evil. Heis a sinner, and cannot go through that trial. IfGod judges flesh comes to nothing. There is theweakness of human nature, but, besides, Satan’stitle and power over man, who had brought outhis own condition in God’s presence and comeunder death as the judgement of God. I mayhave learned in grace that the flesh is thusprofitless, but it must be learned by contact withthe enemy if not with God. For Simon, the Lordprayed the his faith should not fail; all his self-confidence must perish. Nor did he distrustChrist like Judas, who had not faith. Whatenabled him afterwards to strengthen hisbrethren? He discovered that there was utterbadness in himself when he meant best, andthat there is perfect grace in Christ even whenhe did worst. J N D

A brother who recently began to carefullystudy the book of Jeremiah said; “When I firstread Jeremiah I wondered, how could the Lordtreat His people like that? But after thinkingmore about it, I wondered; how could His peopletreat the Lord like that?”

Perfect Grace in Christ


Editor’s note: A previous excerpt from thisaddress, on the subject of ‘Fathers’, has beenpresented in the March 1997 issue of the “Chris-tian Shepherd”. Other topics to be covered infuture issues will be “husbands”, “wives”, “moth-ers” and “children”.

The burden on my heart is the preservation ofthe assembly. The preservation of the assemblydepends on the preservation of our houses. InActs 8:3 we read: “As for Saul, he made havoc ofthe church, entering into every house.” I doubtthat Saul had the wisdom or understanding toknow that the best way to raise havoc with theassembly was not by entering into the assembly,but by entering into the home. However I dobelieve that Satan, who had control of Saul atthat time, knew very well what he was doing.The result of Saul’s raising havoc was that “menand women” were “committed... prison”. Whenwe cease functioning as parents in the family,the assembly is done for.

Let us briefly consider the various characterswhich are part of a Christian household. Per-haps those who have already passed throughsome of these various relationships do not feelthat there is much in this subject for them. ButI would like you to consider that if exercisedbefore the Lord by these things, you might seethat the principles we discuss do have an

The Family and the Assembly


application to you regarding the assembly andyour relationship to it. We want to begin withthat which marks the beginning of every house-hold: Courtship.

CourtshipIn Genesis 1:27 we read; “God created man in

His own image, in the image of God created Hehim; male and female created He them.” In eachof the the various family relationships this is adistinction that must be recognized and hon-ored; male and female. Now as to courtships letus read Gen. 2:18 and note that I will changeone word as I read it: “The Lord God said, It isnot good that the man should be alone; I willmake helpmeets for him.” No, it reads“helpmeet” -singular. We see this again inGenesis 7:2 in the account of Noah where I willonce again change the wording to make my point:“Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee bysevens, the males and the females:”. No, again theword is “the male and his female”. As we considerthe thought of courtship we see that in God’smind there is only one mate that He has in viewfor us. We men are responsible to start thecourtship—to take the first step in it. It is not thefemale’s responsibility to begin a courtship) It isnot a question of asking a girl out to see if she isthe one the Lord has for me—the human heartwas not given to be thus trifled with.

I heard a wonderful question asked at a youngpeople’s sing one time: ‘How old should you bebefore you start dating?” “What a wonderful


opportunity to give guidance to young people”; Ithought. However, the answer given was disap-pointing for it was determined that 16 wasabout the right age. But there is something farmore important than a designated age whenyoung people can begin dating. A courtshipshould begin with the idea that it’s going to endin marriage. When you are old enough to con-sider marriage–the responsibility of being ahusband–you can begin a courtship. Courtshipis not just for fun or to be carried on until youfind that your partner no longer appeals to you.God has not given the human heart for yourpleasure.

MarriageLet’s get married. We see in the beginning

how marriage was instituted: “And the LordGod said, It is not good that the man should bealone; I will make him a help meet” (Gen 2:18).This is still true and unless God has given you aspecial gift to rise above the realm of nature inrespect to marriage, you’ll find yourself frus-trated trying to live outside this relationship. IfGod calls you as a eunuch for the kingdom ofheaven’s sake, He’ll make provision for you toserve Him without distraction. But in generalbecoming a Christian doesn’t change it.

So how does God bring a couple together? InGen 2:21 we read: “The Lord God caused a deepsleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept.” There’sno thought in Adam’s heart of taking mattersinto his own hands. He’s in agreement with God


and says in his heart; “I’m going to let God bringthis helpmeet into my life.” He wasn’t active forGod caused a ‘deep sleep’ to come upon him. Youknow that “whoso findeth a wife findeth a goodthing”, but you don’t find her by shoppingaround.

He makes a woman (Gen 2:22) and I believethat in a marriage in the Lord, the female hasbeen created for the male. He has in His wisdombeen preparing her for her husband for a life-time because He knows our weaknesses,strengths and needs. So in Gen 2:22 He“brought her unto the man. And Adam said,This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of myflesh: she shall be called Woman.” God willbeing into your life the one He has for you. Youdon’t have to shop around.

I remember when I was a young man, a sisterwho in all honesty seemed to feel it was herministry to being couples together, invited me toher home for supper. It was a great frustrationto go there for what I thought was to be anevening meal and then, when arriving, find thatshe had also invited a young lady to be there.She had said to me one time, “Do you think thatGod is going to open up heaven and put thisyoung lady at your feet?” That is not a questionwhich comes from faith in God. Let us beware ofmatchmaking remembering that it was God, nota sister or brother, who brought the woman tothe man.

H Short


Bible Challenger


The object of these outlines is to bring before thereader truth that is fast being let slip.

Introduction“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and

is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,for instruction in righteousness: that the man ofGod may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto allgood works.” (2 Tim 3:16)

By it we are born again (1 Peter 1:23)By it our souls are fed and we grown thereby. (2

Peter 2:2)By it we are able to discern good and evil. (1

John 4:6)It is the standard by which all teaching must be

judged. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17)Sin—What Is It?Sin is lawlessness. This is the correct transla-

tion of 1 John 3:4. Man’s proper place is subjectionto the will of God, so sin is the act of an indepen-dent will.

“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Ro. 14:23)That is, faith brings us into the presence of Godand we walk consciously there.

“The thought of foolishness is sin.” (Pro 24:9)That is, our thoughts tell what we are in nature.(Mark 7:21)

“All have sinned and come short of the glory ofGod.” (Ro 3:23) That is a summing up of all thatthe Apostle had been saying previously. Sin is

Christian Truth


measured by the true nature of God, and that iswhy it says, “have come short of the glory of God.”

“To him that knoweth to do good and doeth itnot, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) That is theactive principle of obedience in the new man. Toobey it not, m is to give place to the old man. (Eph4:22)

The Word of God speaks of “sin” the nature wehave as children of Adam. (Psl 51:5) The fruit isthe result. In Romans, chapters 6 and 7, we havedeliverance from its power through the Spirit oflife that is in Christ Jesus through faith.

P e a c e“Therefore being justified by faith, WE HAVE

peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(Ro 5:1)

The last verse of the previous chapter wouldshow us that this is faith in what God has done indelivering Christ for our offenses and raising Himfor our justification. Eph 2:14 tells us, “He is ourpeace.” Col 1:20 tells us that He has made peacethrough the blood of His cross.

It is the fruit of simply believing that God hasprovided in Christ a perfect atonement for sin.The work was done at the cross, and His resurrec-tion is the witness of God’s acceptance of the workHis own Son has completed.”From “Present Truth for Christians”, H.E. Hayhoe

“A family home is God’s home down here, buthow many things have come into the world tobreak it up” JND, Letters, Vol 1


“And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in thetwentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine[was] before him: and I took up the wine, and gave[it] unto the king...” (Neh 2:1

Faith is to the Christian as Nehemiah was toArtaxerxes. It is the believer’s cupbearer. TheChristian receives the cup of “wine” out of faith’shand, realizing that it is in Christ alone we findour joy. Christ’s blood is the wine that gladdensthe heart of God by way of satisfaction to Hisjustice, and, therefore, only that can bring truegladness into the heart of man. No grape of ourown vine may be pressed into this sweet cup.

Now the Christian’s joy is flowing in fromChrist, not from any thing that the poor creaturedoes or has. Hence it comes to pass, that faithbrings in the Christian’s joy and comfort, becausethis is the grace that realizes Christ, and what isChrist’s for the soul’s advantage. Faith is the goodspy that makes the discovery of excellencies inChrist, and then makes report of all to the soul itsees in Him and knows of Him. It is faith thatreveals the promises, turns the spigot, and setsthem a running into the soul. Till faith comes andbrings news of the soul’s welcome, oh how uncom-fortably do poor creatures sit at the table of Hispromises! Like Hannah, they “weep and eat not”.No, alas! they dare not be so bold; but when faithcomes, then the soul falls to, and makes a satisfy-ing meal indeed. No dish on the table but faith

The Christian’s ‘Cupbearer’


As we get nearer the end, we learn more andmore how complete is the ruin of all that is here:no hope for the Church but the coming of theLord. Of course we have long known this, butwhat we have been passing through enables us torealize it more than we otherwise would. Evenamong those who have been preserved fromfollowing after men, what feebleness we find inmany places. The tendency is to discouragement,and to letting things fall into decay. Often myown heart has been encouraged by Paul’s word toTimothy in his second letter. When all is fallinginto decay is not to give up: it is then there ismore need than ever to be strong in the gracethat is in Christ Jesus. Men admire a regiment ofsoldiers that stand till the last man is cut down.

will taste of. Faith knows that God does notprovide them in order that they remain un-touched. Faith is humble, yet bold, because itknows God and knows it is welcome. “I live by thefaith of the Son of God”

There are three things which faith does,namely: It purifies the heart. (Acts 15:9) It worksby love. (Gal 5:6) It overcomes the world. (1 John5:4) It acts on the fountain-head of all my feelingsand affections. It exerts its hallowed influenceupon all my relationships and associations. And,finally, it renders me victorious over the circum-stances and influences which surround me.

TN&O, Vol 4


How blessed, if through grace, we thus stand inthe spiritual warfare we are called to wage!

From a letter, A.H. Rule, 1897

In these three chapters we have three mostimportant points in connection with the subject ofministry in the assembly of God.

Chapter 12–In this chapter we have the onlydivine basis of ministry, namely, membership inthe body, according to the will of God. “But nowhath God set the members, every one of them inthe body, as it hath pleased him.” (V18) This isthe grand principle: “God hath set. . .as it hathpleased him.” It is not a man setting himself orone man setting up another in any way. Such athing finds no place in this divine treatise onministry. “There are diversities of gifts, but thesame Spirit. And there are differences of adminis-trations, but the same Lord. And there are diversi-ties of operations, but it is the same God whichworketh all in all.” (vv 4-6) The Holy Trinity ishere presented in connection with ministry. It isthe gift of the Spirit, administered under theLordship of the Son, and rendered effectual by theFather. These three things are absolutely essen-tial to all effectual ministry.

Chapter 13–In this chapter we have the motivespring of ministry, which is “love” (agape). A manmay possess the most brilliant gift, but if it be notexercised in love—if love be not the spring which

Ministry in the Assembly1 Corinthians 12,13,14


sets it in motion—it will profit nothing. Onerising in the assembly to display his power ofspeaking with tongues, his gift of prophecy, hisunderstanding of mysteries, his knowledge ofdoctrine or power of eloquence, will not do one bitof good to the assembly or its individual membersbecause love was not the motive of his service.This ought to search the hearts of all who engagein any ministry. The minister should ever tryhimself with this question, “Is it love that sets mein motion?”

Chapter 14–Finally we have the object orresult of ministry, namely, “edification”. This isthe end of all ministry. The apostle “would ratherspeak five words” with this end in view, “than tenthousand” for self-display. “That the assemblymay receive edifying” is the special point pressedthroughout this entire chapter. It is this objectwhich love will ever seek to gain, let the gift bewhat it may. Love has no object but the good ofothers. It is obvious that on one could receive anyprofit from an unknown tongue, unless therewere an interpreter present. The same holds goodwith respect to an unheard tongue. If I cannothear what a man says, in prayer or teaching, I amas little edified as though I could not understandhis tongue.

Let us remember these three things—the basis,motive spring, and end of true ministry. May weponder them deeply, and seek to understand themthoroughly, and carry them out practically, to theglory of God and the good of His assembly.

TN&O


The activities of Christ on behalf of His people:He gave Himself for their sins—Gal 1:4

He quickens them by His voice—John 5:25He seals them with His Spirit—Eph 1:13He feeds them with His flesh and blood

John 6:56, 57He cleanses them by His word

John 13:5, Eph 5:26He maintains them by His intercession—Rom 8:34

He takes them individually to HimselfActs 7:59, Phil 1:23

He watches over their ashes—John 6:39, 40He will raise them by His power

John 6:39, 40, 1 Cor 15:52, 1 Thess 4:16He will come to meet them in the air

1 Thess 4:17He will conform them to His image

Phil 3:21, 1 John 3:2He will associate them with Himself in His

everlasting kingdom—John 14:3, 18:24The activities of Christ on behalf of His people,

take in the past, the present and the future. Theystretch like a golden line from everlasting toeverlasting. Well may it be said, “Happy is thepeople that is in such a case; yea, happy is thepeople whose God is the Lord.”

“Happy they who trust in JesusSweet their portion is and sure.”

TN&O, Vol. 1

The Activities of Christ


Salvation and our Christian WalkLast month, we noticed that God often teaches

us His ways by bringing before us two paralleltruths which are unable to be reconciled in thehuman mind. We showed how that this is awonderful provision of God, in that we are con-tinually driven back to God as the Source of thesetruths, in order to be able to live them out practi-cally. We saw that two such truths were God’ssovereignty and man’s responsibility. In thisarticle, we would like to expand on differentapplications that flow from these two truths. It isclear that both God’s sovereignty and man’sresponsibility are involved in the soul’s salvation.

The gospel of God’s grace is addressed to manas a responsible being, and ultimately man will bejudged if he rejects God’s offer of mercy. Suchverses as John 3:36 make this clear, and so manyother verses could be adduced to support this thatit is hardly necessary to list them here. Butscripture also teaches clearly that without asovereign work of God in the soul, no man wouldever seek God. Romans 8:7 says that “the carnalmind is enmity against God”, and the Lord JesusHimself said, “No man can come to me, except theFather which hath sent me draw him: and I willraise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).

When we come to Christ, no doubt it is with asense of our responsibility to obey the gospel, yet

The Ways of God


after we are saved, we realize that it was Godwho began the work in our hearts, and who evengave us the faith to believe.

But scripture would take God’s sovereignty andman’s responsibility even farther than our soul’ssalvation. In Philippians 2:12, we are told to“work out your own salvation with fear andtrembling”. Thus, after we are saved, the exhor-tations of scripture are addressed to us in respon-sibility.

At the judgment seat of Christ, we will sufferloss or be rewarded based on our lives as Chris-tians before God in responsibility. This is clearlytaught by the parable of the pounds in Luke 19,as well as other scriptures such as I Corinthians3:13-15.

Then we read the next verse in Philippians 2,and it tells us that “it is God which worketh inyou both to will and to do of his good pleasure”(Philippians 2:13). Again we find that, left toourselves even as christians, we would not liveour lives to the glory of God. It is only God’ssovereign grace working in our hearts that givesus the willingness and ability to “do of his goodpleasure”.

What practical lesson do we learn from all this?We cannot reconcile the sovereignty of God andthe responsibility of man, either in salvation or inour Christian walk. But when we see the reasonfor all of this in the ways of God, it calls forth ourpraise. May I suggest that on our side, all ourpride is taken away, while on God’s side, He gets


all the glory. God will not have us in heavenboasting that we knew enough to obey the gospel,while others did not. No, we will realize for alleternity that it was all a work of God’s grace, evento giving us the faith to believe. Thus we cannever look at an unbeliever and think ourselvesbetter than he. We should speak to him aboutChrist, we must be faithful and warn him, and wemay have to avoid his company when he isinvolved in sin, but we can never take any creditto ourselves, for we realize that it is only thegrace of God that has saved us.

Another practical lesson is learned in thepreaching of the gospel. If I overemphasize man’sresponsibility, I will be most earnest in preachingthe gospel, but I will tend to think that theultimate salvation of souls depends (at least tosome extent) on my own efforts. I will tend, asone prominent preacher once said, to want to“bring people to the point of decision”, much as asalesman might. If I overemphasize God’ssovereignty, I will tend to neglect that earnest-ness in seeking souls, resting on the truth thatGod will surely save all those whom He haschosen.

In God’s presence, these truths will be kept inbalance. I will have the utmost earnestness forsouls, yet be at peace in leaving the results withthe Lord, knowing that the work must be His andHis alone.

We see this beautifully illustrated in the life ofour blessed Lord. The One who held the power of


God’s sovereignty and could say, “The Sonquickeneth whom he will” (John 5:21) couldlament over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37) for itsunbelief. The One who was about to raiseLazarus could weep in compassion at the sorrowsin had caused. May God give us to walk more inHis presence, and to be more like our blessedMaster!

But again, let us carry the application a stepfarther into the life of the believer. May I suggestthat we can never look down in pride on a fellowbeliever who is careless in his walk, or who hasfallen into sin. No matter how far he may havegone, we must realize that only the grace of Godhas kept us from a similar course. We may haveto be faithful with such a one, and we may have torefuse to keep company with him, even refuse toeat with him, if his sin is such as to necessitateexclusion from the assembly. But all of this, whilemost necessary, will be tempered by the realiza-tion that I am capable of worse things, were it notfor the sovereign grace of God. Again, God willget all the glory for any faithfulness in my ownlife, while I will be kept humble and compassion-ate for those who have erred, realizing how muchI owe to the sovereign grace of God.

“O mind divine, so must it be That gloryall belongs to God: O love divine, that did decreeWe should be part, thro’ Jesu’s blood” L.F. #331

It is only in the Lord’s presence and by thepower of the Spirit of God that we can carry thisout. Left to ourselves, we will tend to emphasize


either God’s sovereignty or man’s responsibility.The emphasis on man’s responsibility will tend toglorify man, and pride will come in. I will tend tobe proud that I am saved, and proud of anything Iam doing for the Lord. The emphasis on God’ssovereignty will tend to make me lazy as topreaching the gospel, and careless as to heedingthe exhortations of scripture. In the Lord’spresence I will keep these truths in their properbalance, but only because the Lord keeps them inbalance for me.

The sovereignty of God and the responsibility ofman also help us to understand the wonderfulprivilege of prayer. However, this subject is soimportant and so broad in its application to thebeliever that we will leave it for considerationnext month.

Answers to MarchBible Challenger

B Prost


Simon Patrick on Proverbs

april 97 pm7 -...

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