Correspondence: Rom. 9:4; Luke 16:1-12; Rev. 20:13-14

From: Young Christian: Volume 13, 1923

• 4 min. read • grade level: 7

Question: What does the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants mean in Romans 9:4⁴Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; (Romans 9:4)? H. M.

Answer: Romans 9 begins with the deep concern of the Apostle Paul for the nation of Israel, his kinsmen according to the flesh. He loved them so much that the wish had come into his mind, that to save them he was willing to be accursed from Christ. This was love as great as Moses’ love for them (Exodus 32:31, 32³¹And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. ³²Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. (Exodus 32:31‑32)).

In verses 4, 5, he tells how privileged of God they were. They were Israelites, adopted by Jehovah as a nation. The glory was a symbol of Jehovah’s presence dwelling among them (Exodus 40:34-38³⁴Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: ³⁷But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:34‑38)). The covenants were theirs conditional (Ex. 19:5⁵Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (Exodus 19:5)), and unconditional (Exodus 6:3-5³And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. ⁴And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. ⁵And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. (Exodus 6:3‑5)). The law was given to them from Mt. Sinai (Exodus, Chapters 19 to 24). The service (or worship) in the tabernacle and temple belonged to them by priests arid Levites. They are the fathers who received the promises (Rom. 15:8⁸Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: (Romans 15:8)). Their conditional covenant was broken, and the blessing is lost to them at present. The unconditional promises are yet to be fulfilled by the sovereign, electing grace of God, and that is how we Gentiles also are saved. Chapters 9, 10 and 11 treat of this line of truth, explaining how God can save the Gentiles, and also reestablish Israel as a nation.

Question: What does the parable of the unjust steward teach us? (Luke 16:1-12¹And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. ²And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. ³Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. ⁴I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. ⁵So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? ⁶And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. ⁷Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. ⁸And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. ⁹And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. ¹⁰He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. ¹¹If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹²And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? (Luke 16:1‑12)). W. D. W.

Answer: Israel particularly, and man generally, is looked at in this chapter as an unfaithful steward who must give an account of his stewardship. The elder son (Chap. 15) said, “Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment,” but Romans 3:9, 19, 23⁹What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; (Romans 3:9)
¹⁹Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)
²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23), prove that all are guilty before God. It is a good thing when the soul takes its true place, and, says, “I have sinned.” Real wisdom asks the question: “What am I to do?” The gospel replies, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Wisdom’s children justify God and condemn themselves, and this makes them think of the future, and to use the present things in view of the future. This is the true wisdom, and the children of God should practice it. In this we should take a lesson from this unjust, but wise steward, who used the goods of his master which were in his hand to make a home for himself in the future. Our home is prepared by divine love, and our title as in Christ is a perfect one to it. But we are stewards still, and we are to look upon what the Lord has put in our hands as a means of blessing for the future, and now.

For the future, because what we do for the Lord will bring its reward from Him. For the present, if we use what we have as stewards for the Lord, it proves a blessing to our souls in the fuller enjoyment of our spiritual blessings. But if the things of this world possess our hearts, they hinder us from enjoying our possessions in Christ (1 Tim. 6:17-19¹⁷Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; ¹⁸That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; ¹⁹Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:17‑19)).

The mammon of unrighteousness can be used in such a way that we shall be richer spiritually. It is laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come—a profitable investment for the believer’s capital (Prov. 1.9:17). We need wisdom from the Lord for this also, and it matters not how little or how much we have, if the child of God lets his mind dwell upon, and get engrossed with this unrighteous mammon, who will commit to his trust the true riches? He is only a steward, and if he is unfaithful to his stewardship, who shall give him that which is his own? The believer’s “own” are the blessings he has in Christ.

Question: Revelation 20:13, 14¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:13‑14) is not clear to me. C. E. W.