Answers to Correspondents.: Forgiveness; Mortality of Body/Soul?; "Hell"; Chronological Accuracy; MAT 12:24-28; Sing

 •  7 min. read  •  grade level: 9
Listen from:
C. R.-Luke 23:34; Heb. 10:17; Matt. 6:14,15; Psa. 34:6.—In praying for the forgiveness of His foes, the Lord had in view the great crime they were then committing. It was national forgiveness, in that the nation of Israel were guilty of His blood, and of course in the main limited to them. We might have supposed that in killing the Heir and casting Him out of the vineyard, judgment would have instantly overtaken them. But the intercession of the Lord Jesus prevailed, though when the Holy Spirit came and bore witness to the once crucified but then risen and glorified Savior, they aggravated their sin in resisting and rejecting His testimony according to Stephen's word in Acts 7:51, till at last wrath came upon them to the uttermost (1 Thess. 2:16). We speak of the nation as such, not of individuals.
The difference between the second and third passages is this. Heb. 10:17 treats of that which is eternal and individual. The believer's sins shall be remembered no more. This is based on the one sacrifice for sins offered once for all. There can be no repetition of that sacrifice, and there can be no reopening of any charge of guilt against the one who has fled to Christ for refuge. All is settled; we are "perfected forever." Matt. 6:14, 15 deals not with what is eternal, but with that which is conditional and governmental. Assuredly the eternal forgiveness of a poor sinner is not dependent on any good quality in him. But in the holy government of God our Father, it is measured out to us, His, children, as we mete it out to others. If we cherish an ungracious, unforgiving spirit, our petitions will not be heard, and we shall have to be corrected and chastened until willing to forgive as we have been forgiven. To confound eternal with governmental forgiveness is a serious mistake, against which we should sedulously guard ourselves. Finally, we had looked at Psa. 34:6 as prophetically true of the Lard Jesus in His earthly pathway-an example and gracious encouragement to others. We sincerely regret that your inquiries, received in April, should have remained so long unanswered. It was quite an oversight.
F.—We entirely agree with you in saying that "mortality" has reference to the body only, not to the soul. But if the latter is not mortal, what is it then? A thousand voices would reply, "Immortal to be sure," meaning that the soul never dies. And surely it is so. To this meaning you consent, though objecting to the word "immortal" being applied to the soul. But does it not then become a mere haggle over words? You subscribe to the doctrine while dissenting from the term employed to define it! Well, if a better can be found, let it by all means be used. We shall not quarrel with your terms so long as the substance and reality be maintained.
A. J. P.—It is important to remember that two words in the original tongue are translated in our English Bible "Hell." These are Hades and Gehenna. Concerning the latter we may say in the words of another, "It is a place into which God's judgment casts the unrepentant and rebellious wicked, where their worm does-not die, and the fire is not quenched. That human figures of fire and worms are used may be; but the force is plain enough—it is the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, where God casts in judgment those that are righteously rejected, a judicial punishment for which there is no relief, of which there is no cessation.”
As to little children who have not reached the age of responsibility at the time of the Lord's return, we presume they will have their place among those "caught up... to meet the Lord in the air." For "it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish" (Matt. 18:14). Others of riper age who have never had the gospel presented to them, and therefore never rejected it, may have the opportunity of sharing in the blessing in store for men after the Church is gone. Now 2 Thess. 2:11 enlightens us as to what will befall those who have heard of Christ and rejected Him; but we must not suppose that with the translation of the Church the door of salvation will be closed to all of Adam's race. If so, how should' Israel be restored and blessed, and the Gentile nations, too, the "sheep" of Matt. 25:33?
A LEARNER.—Gen. 15:13; Ex. 12:40; Gal. 3:17.-There are no grounds, so far as we know, for doubting the chronological accuracy of either of these passages. Patient examination and study of the text will show that the difficulties are only on the surface. In reading Gen. 15:13, let the clauses be well noted: [1.] "Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, [2.] and shall serve them; [3.] and they shall afflict them four hundred years"-the four hundred years embracing the whole, beginning with the birth of Isaac and ending with the exodus from Egypt. As to Ex. 12:40, we should not confound the sojourning of the children of Israel with their dwelling in Egypt. They sojourned in Canaan, as Ex. 6:4, Heb. 11:9, tell us, and they dwelt in Egypt the whole period of four hundred and thirty years, covering both and more. For the term "children of Israel" denoted the whole family of which Abraham was the root. They were so styled to distinguish them from the descendants of Esau, who also sprang from the same original stock. Thus the four hundred and thirty years date from the call of Abram and his sojourn in the land in which he was a stranger, on to the birth of the seed and their deliverance from the Egyptian yoke. So we view it.
J. H.—Matt. 12:24-28.—The argument here seems so simple as to require but little comment. If the Lord Jesus, as some scrupled not to say, cast out demons by Satan's power, then Satan's kingdom could not stand. Every house, or city, or kingdom—no matter whose divided against itself, sounds the signal of its own downfall. Was Satan likely to follow such suicidal policy? Moreover, by whom did the nation's own children cast them out? If any claimed this power, from whence did they derive it? Was it from the devil? As to sectarian divisions, they are indeed a source of weakness and our common shame. But that which is eternal and of God's own planting is deeper than what divides, and there is a bond which unites all true believers which no differences can ever break.
J. D. S.—Rom. 15:9; 1 Cor. 14:18; James 5:13.—There is no doubt that the verb "sing" in these passages was originally applied to playing the harp, as it is repeatedly used of David, Deborah, and others. But such is not its exclusive use even in the Old Testament. It sometimes denotes the singing of the words, apart from any mention of the instrument. Thus in Psa. 30:12, "that my glory may sing praise unto Thee, and not be silent." This verb is used in the Septuagint Greek version, and we know from comparing Psa. 16:9 with Acts 2:26, that "glory" means "tongue." Hence in Psa. 30 the word does not refer to instrumental but to vocal music.
Leaving this line of argument, a moment's thought should convince the ordinary English reader that in your passages instrumental music is hardly in the mind of the inspired writers. Singing in the assembly with the spirit and understanding, as in 1 Cor. 14, is in contrast with the unworthy and foolish use of "a tongue" which nobody could understand. In Eph. 5:19 we find the same word translated "making melody" in your heart. This scarcely supposes instrumental music, does it? Nor would any sober-minded person contend that it was needed to fulfill the exhortation of James 5:13. Speaking for ourselves, we should shrink from having recourse to musical instruments even in Sunday-schools and Evangelistic meetings, believing that no instrument can equal the human voice in uttering God's praises, especially when the heart is fervently engaged.