14. “Η. Ν. W.,” Islington. The best way, when you have any difficulty as to the statements of a public lecturer, is to apply to himself.
15. “ G. B.,” Jersey. The question of the disciples, in John 9:2,2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:2) exhibits simple ignorance of the ways of God. They imagined that the poor man’s blindness must be on account of some special sin of his—-foreknown of God—or of his parents. The idea of his being born blind on account of any sin of his own would be an absurdity, unless it be supposed that God would deal with a person on the ground of some sin foreknown of Him; and this is worse than an absurdity. Our Lord corrects the error in the minds of His disciples by showing them that the man’s blindness was not the result of any special sin; it was not a case of governmental dealing, but simply an occasion for the display of the grace of God.
As to the “ many mansions,” of John 14, they set forth the blessed fact that there is room in the Father’s house for the “many families” which shall share in the fruits of His everlasting love. But our Lord assures His disciples that His going to heaven was, at once to prepare and define the place which they were to occupy. There was no place there for them till He went thither; but His place teas to be theirs. Wondrous truth! The notion that the many mansions set forth the various rewards to be given to Christ’s servants is, in our judgment, simply absurd. “ I go to prepare a place for you.” What has this to do with rewards? It is His entrance there, not our working here that prepares our place in the Father’s house. We believe, of course, in rewards; but John 14:22In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2) has nothing to do with them. You ask, “ Why, in Acts 7:55,55But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, (Acts 7:55) is Jesus represented standing at the right hand of God’?” and another scripture says, “ He forever sat down on the right hand of God.” (Heb. 10) We have referred to this subject in a former volume; but we may here remark that in Acts 7 Jesus is seen standing, as it were, lingering, over the nation of Israel, and waiting to see if haply they would receive the testimony of the august Witness who had just gone down, namely, the Holy Ghost. But all was vain. They resisted the Holy Ghost; and hence, the epistle to the Hebrews sets forth, doctrinally, the final breach with Israel, and Jesus is presented as having definitively taken His seat. No doubt other grand truths flow out of His session at the right hand of God; but this we judge to be the meaning of the contrasted attitudes of Acts 7 and Heb. 10
16. “ M. S.,” Jersey. We do not know of any work on the subject to which you refer.
17. “ R. M. L.,” Sligo. We trust the pamphlet which we sent you by post has helped you. The two goats in Lev. 16 typify Christ as the propitiation and the substitute. See “Notes on Leviticus.” Christ bore all our sins in His own body on the tree. Scripture never speaks of “ future sins.” All our sins, and the sins of all, for the last eighteen hundred years, were future when Christ bore them. The distinction is baseless. It arises from looking at the subject from a human instead of a divine standpoint You must distinguish between atonement and forgiveness. All our sins were atoned for on the cross. They were not forgiven until we believed. As to the advocacy, it rests on the atonement, and is designed for the restoration of our communion with the Father whenever that communion has been interrupted. “ If any man sin we have”—not the atonement, but—” an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only but for the whole world”—not “ the sins of the whole world.” Scripture never says this.
18. “ Irvine.” Your question is wholly out of our line.