Life and Death: February 2025
Table of Contents
Life and Death
Every believer, at some point in their life’s history, faces a most important choice: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Josh. 24:15). “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow Me.” Matthew’s response: “He arose and followed Him.”
“I would give the world to have your experience,” said a wealthy man to a devoted Christian lady. “That’s just what it cost me,” she replied. “I gave the world for it” (Matt. 6:24). Choose Christ who said to those who followed Him, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
A Christian employer offered his four employees the choice of a Bible or $20 as a New Year’s gift. The first three took the money, but the fourth, a teenager, said, “As you say the Book is good, I will take it and read it to my mother.” When he opened the Book, it was his great surprise to find inside it a $50 bill! “All shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). “Νο good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psa. 84:11).
On the tombstone of a French prince is inscribed: “Here lies a man of the best intentions.” And these words would make a truthful epitaph for many another headstone, for many have intended to follow the Lord after accepting Him as their Savior, but failed to put their intentions into actions. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Josh. 24:15). “Choose life” (Deut. 30:19).
One Thousand Tales Worth Telling (adapted)
Death
In Ephesians 2:1-13 we learn that we are brought into a wonderful position as believers, but outward position does not change what we are by nature. Further down in the chapter we read of some that were far off and some that were nigh; then we read of one thing that was needful for them both—that is, to be reconciled to God. So we “were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” We find that God is still at work today, and He is working to accomplish the same results.
Death, in Scripture, does not always mean the same thing. We have, “You hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (vs. 1). Then we have, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25). This is spiritual death and spiritual life.
Physical Death
Then a few verses farther on, we have, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth” (John 5:28-29). This is what we call physical death. Thus we find different kinds of death are referred to in Scripture. Another kind of death is, “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Tim. 5:6).
What is death, and how came death into this world? “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Rom. 5:12). God connects these two things: sin and death. They go together, in the ways of God. And when the man opened the gate and let sin in, he could not keep back death. The simplest definition of death that I know of is separation. What takes place in what we just referred to as physical death? The body is in one world, and the spirit is in another. The individual has gone into another world, into eternity, and the body is here. Death has caused the separation. We have that thought frequently in the Word of God.
The Second Death
What is the second death? There is a death that will never be done away with, and there is a death that will be done away with. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” — the physical death. But what is that death that will never be done away with? The second death, which will take place in “the lake of fire.” Why is it called the second death? Because it is the eternal, unchangeable condition of all the lost. They are separated forever from God and confined under His judgment. There is no end to it. I refer to that because people talk about hell as having literal fire. That is not the point. Eternal confinement is the point. It does not say a “sea of fire,” but a “lake of fire.” Fire is the judgment of God.
One part of the gracious work of God in this day is saving souls — those who, if left to go on in their own course, would find themselves, forever, not only excluded from the presence of God, but confined under His judgment.
Dead in Trespasses and Sins
As we have already mentioned, there is another kind of death: “You hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” What kind of death is that, to be “dead in trespasses and sins”? It is separation from God by sins. That is not eternal death, however. Thank God, there is a remedy for it and He is delivering people from it, and this is part of His work in this portion of Scripture. “You hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world” (vss. 1-2). What is the course of this world? It is a system, under Satan as its prince, led on by him, and will end under judgment. When did the Lord Jesus own Satan as the prince of this world? When the Lord was in Gethsemane and the crowd came to take Him, He said, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). People little think of who it is that is leading them on in their separation from God!
Now into such a scene God comes, and He works in it. What leads Him to work in it? Verse 4 tells us: “God, who is rich in mercy.” That is what leads God to work in this poor world, so estranged from Himself, and all pursuing a course that separates them from Him, and which must eventually, as was said, if not interrupted, end in His judgment upon them.
How rich is God in mercy? We learn that as we realize what it is to be dead in trespasses and sins. By that I mean, we learn it in communion with God — what it was to be separated from Him, and what it is to be brought to Him. We find a little further on—and our soul meditates on it with adoration — “for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins” (vss. 4-5). There we bring in the well-known verse, John 3:16, which brings eternal life to us when in our dead condition.
W. Potter, St. Louis General Meetings, 1925
A Life of Purpose and Commitment
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deut. 30:19). “Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways” (Prov. 3:31). “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good” (Isa. 7:15).
Moses presented to the Lord’s people a clear choice: a life committed to obeying Him or not. Deciding for God meant that they must nourish themselves with the rich and sweet as Isaiah recognized, to gain strength for resisting the enemy.
Although Israel said they would follow the Lord (Ex. 19:8), history shows that often they did not eat the butter and honey or walk according to their profession (“all that the Lord hath said will we do”; Ex. 24:7). But such failure was not only Israel’s; in the New Testament, even dear Peter denied the Lord after promising to follow Him, even to death.
While our Christian life may often demonstrate such tendencies to stumble off track, purpose of heart (commitment) to follow our Savior in obedience is so important. “Thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Tim. 6:11).
The Perfect Example
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is our best and perfect example of a fully committed life. Only He could say in absolute perfection, “My meat [purpose] is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
We also read of His perfect commitment: “It came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).
“Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour” (John 12:27).
Purposing, Refusing, Following
Scripture supplies a host of human examples for our encouragement. Let’s consider once again a few of those well-known ones.
Daniel: “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank” (Dan. 1:8).
Moses: “Refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Heb. 11:24-25).
Caleb and Joshua: “Wholly followed the Lord” (Num. 32:12).
Requirements for True Commitment
There are certain requirements necessary for walking a truly committed path of faith. Here are some to meditate upon.
One must have eternal life: “Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Sadly, many in the “great house” of Christian profession (2 Tim. 2:20) walk a “religious” path, yet without a new life which only comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a walk cannot be successful; a soul “must believe” (see John 20:31).
One cannot have divided affections: “No man can serve two masters. ... Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24). “Choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). The paths of the new man in Christ (indwelt by the Spirit of God) and the old (the flesh) are at cross purposes (Gal. 5:17), always going in totally opposite directions. Following both is impossible.
One who desires to have a committed life must recognize all power comes from above. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa. 119:11). “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).
The Blessings of a Committed Life
A committed life of faith is a tremendous blessing to individuals, to companions in the path of faith and to the watching world. “What shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson and of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, [worked] righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, [became] valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again” (Heb. 11:32-35).
Commitment in Difficult Times
In God’s sovereign ways, some of His beloved saints were not (and are not) afforded such victories and blessings. Yet still they followed a committed life of faith, and their purpose of heart has been recorded for all ages as an encouragement to us in these last, dark days. “Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Heb. 11:36-39).
The day is soon to come when all such who have sought to walk by faith with purpose and commitment of heart for the Lord Jesus (whether in balmy times or times of deep trial and persecution) will hear those blessed words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Let us not “be weary in well doing.”
D. Lamb (adapted)
Moral Death
Romans 6:19-20 demonstrates the progressive nature of walking in holiness (practical sanctification). Paul says, “Even as ye have yielded your members in bondage to uncleanness and to lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now yield your members in bondage to righteousness unto holiness [sanctification].” The Roman believers had once practiced lawlessness (before they were saved), and by doing so, only became more lawless; they were now to practice righteousness, and it would result in their becoming progressively more holy. This shows that it is a progressive thing in both directions. Just as a man who practices wickedness becomes increasingly more wicked (“lawlessness unto lawlessness”), so also the more a Christian practices righteousness, the more holy he becomes (“righteousness unto holiness”).
On the negative side, a man does not become a monster all at once; it may take years of practicing sin. He may do an evil deed today that five years ago he would have shrunk from doing. It has been reported that Nero wept over killing a fly in his early days, but ended his career laughing while Rome burnt! Paul’s point here is that just as surely as sin works progressively in a person, so also righteousness works progressively in the life of a believer. Every time we do a right deed, it becomes easier for us to do it again. Another has aptly said, “Every new victory will give you new power.” Thus, we “grow up unto salvation” practically (1 Peter 2:2). The children’s hymn emphasizes this point: “Each victory will help you, some other to win.” Thus, Christians are now in a new and happy servitude as “servants [bondmen] to righteousness.”
Righteousness and Holiness
One difference that we should note is that “righteousness” and “holiness” are not the same. Righteousness has to do with doing right things because they are right. Holiness has to do with doing right things because you love what is right and hate evil.
In Romans 6:21-23, Paul concludes by pointing to the incredible difference in the results of these two opposing servitudes. He asks the Roman believers to consider the end of the course they were once treading before they were saved: “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed, for the end of those things is death?” What profit was there in it? It only brought forth death in every sense. But being set free, he tells them to look at the great and good results that were now being produced in their lives; there was “fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting [eternal] life.” They were now free to do the will of God in fellowship with God, and the path they were now treading would end in glory in a coming day. (As in chapter 5:21, Paul views “eternal life” here as being something we reach at the end of the path of faith, when we get to heaven in a glorified state. Of course, we have it now as well, which the Apostle John calls “life eternal” — see, for example, John 3:16,36, J. N. Darby Trans.)
Verse 22 is sort of a summary of the truth presented in chapter 6. It says:
• We are made “free from sin.”
• We have become “servants to God.”
• We have our “fruit unto holiness.”
• The “end is eternal life.”
The Wages of Sin
The conclusion of the whole matter is this: “The wages of sin is death; but the act of favor of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). As mentioned, one course leads to “death,” and the other course leads to “life.” “The wages of sin” mentioned here is often taken to be sins (evil deeds) that men commit. Evangelists will use this verse to tell sinners that as a consequence of their sins, they will die and go to hell. But we must keep in mind that this section of the epistle is not dealing with sins, but rather with sin, the evil sin-nature in the believer. Paul has already shown in chapter 5 that death in the human race is not the result of personal sins, but the result of being descended from a fallen head. Death may claim a child that is only one day old. It is clear that death has not claimed the child because the child is guilty of sinning, but because he has a sin-nature and the effects of its working in his body has caused the death. Moreover, believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, whose sins are forgiven, still die. If their sins caused their death, we might mistakenly conclude that God had not forgiven them after all! Concerning this verse, another has said that it is “not an appeal to sinners as sometimes used, but to those already set free.”
B. Anstey
Life and Death, Morally and Spiritually
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the phrase “Get a Life” began to surface in everyday speech in North America. It is not totally clear where it originated, although it was popularized by the actor William Shatner in 1986. While it sometimes carries the meaning of “mind your own business,” it is generally used as a term of contempt toward those who seem to have a life without any goals, achievements or interests. It implies that the individual in question needs to do something to make his/her life more satisfying and enjoyable.
When the natural man takes up the subject of life, he is, of course, usually thinking only of life in this world and how to make that life the most satisfying he can for himself. God is often left out. Those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus can be thankful for the grace that brought us to Him. But while our hopes are all centered in Him and on where we will go after we leave this world, yet God is very interested in our lives in this world. What we do with the time given to us in this world is not inconsequential. This is one question we would like to consider, but connected with our life in this world is also the question of moral death.
In previous issues of “The Christian,” we have taken up the subject “After Death” and also the subject of “Purpose and Direction for Life.” We have also had issues devoted to the subjects of “Eternal Life” and “Everyday Life.” All of these have some overlap with each other and with the subject at hand, but none of them really covers what is before us in this issue.
Moral Death
When we come to the question of death, we know that its normal meaning involves separation — the body separated from the soul and spirit. However, Scripture uses the term “death” in another way, to imply a state of moral death, even though the individual may be alive in this world. As an illustration of this, Paul could say to Timothy, “She that lives in habits of self-indulgence is dead while living” (1 Tim. 5:6 JND). In referring to life, our Lord Jesus Himself could say, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). But concerning our life down here, our Lord also said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). At first glance these last two verses from our Lord’s lips might seem to be contradictory, but we will see how they can easily be explained. It all depends on the context and how we define the words “life” and “death” in the aspect of the subject being taken up.
When we consider moral death, we must remember that God created man in His image and likeness. Through his disobedience to the one command God gave him, man lost his likeness to God. However, he retains the image of God, in that he is still God’s representative on this earth. But man cannot live without his Creator, and in this sense all men who reject God’s claims are morally dead. The expression “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) gives something of the same thought. However, through continuous sin and estrangement from God, a man may constitute himself extremely dead in a moral sense, and we see an example of this in Nabal — see 1 Samuel 25. He was evidently never a man of God, but when he refused to listen to David’s request for help, it is recorded that “his heart died within him, and he became as a stone” (vs. 37). Ten days later physical death overtook him.
A true believer can suffer from moral death, as with Rebekah, who, when contemplating a possible mixed marriage by her son Jacob, could say, “If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth ... what good shall my life do me?” (Gen. 27:46). We have already mentioned Paul’s comment on a widow who lives “in habits of self-indulgence,” as being “dead while she liveth.” In this case her life is of no value before God; she is morally dead. Although the term may not be used, we see the entity of moral death in Israelites in the Old Testament who turned away from worshiping the true God and embraced idolatry. In the New Testament we see another example in those that “will be rich” (1 Tim. 6:9) and who fall into “many foolish and hurtful lusts.” Later, Paul had to say that “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10). This is another case of moral death in a believer, for Demas substituted present advantage for spiritual gain.
Life
On the other hand, if we consider the subject of life, we also find encouraging references in the Word of God. Even under the dispensation of law in the Old Testament, the Lord could say to Israel, “That your days may be multiplied ... as the days of the heavens which are above the earth” (Deut. 11:21 JnD). Israel was promised earthly blessings based on their obedience, but the Lord reminds them that their joy could transcend their material blessings, being connected with that which was above the earth.
In the New Testament, where God is fully revealed, eternal life is given to those who believe, and the Holy Spirit has come down to indwell believers. We find that our Lord could promise that fullness of joy: “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). An old brother, now with the Lord, used to remind us, “Not half full, brethren; full!”
Wealth and Life
When he speaks of the proper use of wealth (should a believer have it), Paul could tell those with riches “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal in distributing ... laying by for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of what is really life” (1 Tim. 6:18-19 JND). True enjoyment in life is to display God’s heart, which is characterized by Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
The expression in 1 Timothy 6:19 — “Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come”—brings us to one final comment. As we have already remarked, the man of the world thinks only in terms of this life, but the believer is reminded that in his short time in this world, he is building for eternity. The Lord wants us to have a happy life down here in fellowship with Him, but it does not end there. In the larger sense, unbelievers who live in moral death will eventually experience the “second death” — being cast out of God’s presence forever. The believer who has lived for self and for this world will “suffer loss” at the judgment seat of Christ for believers (1 Cor. 3:15), while the believer who has suffered loss in this world in order to live for God’s glory will receive a reward (1 Cor. 3:14). Some rewards will be temporary, for the duration of the millennial kingdom, while others will be eternal.
The Cost of Living for Eternity
However, there may be a temporal cost to the full experience of our Lord’s joy down here and our living for eternity. We must be prepared to “hate our life” in this world, in the natural sense, if we are to “keep it unto life eternal.” If we are willing to do this, our joy in the Lord will truly be full, but we may experience loss as far as the longings of our natural hearts. Since sin entered this world, those who wished to live for the Lord have suffered, for they find themselves going against the current of the world system that was set up by Cain and his family. Some may question whether it is worth it, but surely it is all worthwhile in the light of eternity. Satan may persuade man to live only in view of time; God lives and moves in eternity.
In summary, then, life and death in the moral sense are most important in God’s sight, and they ought to be important to us. Moral death in this world will have present consequences, although we may have “the pleasures of sin for a season.” However, we will also suffer loss for eternity, in one way or another. True life in this world is life lived in communion with the Lord and with a view to eternity. How we have lived in this world will have eternal consequences.
Oh love supreme and bright!
Good to the feeblest heart,
That gives us now, as heavenly light,
What soon shall be our part. Little Flock Hymnbook, #64
W. J. Prost
Purpose of Heart: The Great Moral Regulator
“These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart” (Deut. 6:6)—at the very source of all the issues of life. This is peculiarly precious. Whatever is in the heart comes out through the lips and in the life. How important, then, to have the heart full of the Word of God, so full that we shall have no room for the vanities and follies of this present evil world. Thus shall our conversation be always with grace, seasoned with salt. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). Hence we can judge of what is in the heart by what comes out of the mouth. The tongue is the organ of the heart—the organ of the man. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matt. 12:35). When the heart is really governed by the Word of God, the whole character reveals the blessed result. It must be so, inasmuch as the heart is the mainspring of our entire moral condition; it lies at the center of all those moral influences which govern our personal history and shape our practical career.
In every part of the divine volume, we see how much importance God attaches to the attitude and state of the heart, with respect to Him or to His Word, which is one and the same thing. When the heart is true to Him, all is sure to come out right, but, on the other hand, we shall find that where the heart grows cold and careless as to God and His truth, there will, sooner or later, be open departure from the path of truth and righteousness. There is, therefore, much force and value in the exhortation addressed by Barnabas to the converts at Antioch: “He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
How needful, then—now and always! This “purpose of heart” is most precious to God. It is what we may venture to call the grand moral regulator. It imparts a lovely earnestness to the Christian character, which is greatly to be coveted by all of us. It is a divine antidote against coldness, deadness and formality, all of which are so hateful to God. The outward life may be very correct, and the creed may be very orthodox, but if the earnest purpose of heart be lacking—the affectionate cleaving of the whole moral being to God and His Christ—all is utterly worthless.
It is through the heart that the Holy Spirit instructs us. Hence, the Apostle prayed for the saints at Ephesus that the eyes of their hearts might be enlightened. And again, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:17).
Christian Truth, Vol. 6
Loving Life and Losing It
Betty Walton sold fashionable hats in a large department store. Daily contact with the world of style kept her mind occupied with things of earth, and the things of God had no place in her thoughts.
But God, who gave His dear Son for such as she, had His eye on Betty. Through a Christian friend Betty was invited to attend a Bible class specially arranged for young business girls.
Festive and thoughtless, fond of dress and worldly amusements as she was, Betty came only occasionally to the class. More frequently she was absent. After a longer absence than usual, the teacher of the class heard that she was ill and went to see her.
Poor Betty was not pleased. Was she worse than any other young people that it was thought necessary to visit and speak of religion to her? However, her visitor assured her gently that the visit was not from any idea that she was worse than others. Thus soothed, she listened quietly while a few verses were read from the Word.
Betty was soon able to return to work for a while, but she did not come to the class, as she was not well enough to be out at night. Her teacher visited her from time to time, and though the ailing girl no longer objected, she received her caller more from civility than enjoyment.
Her Health Gave Way
Finally her health completely gave way, and soon it became evident that a deadly disease was rapidly doing its fatal work. Still there was no evidence that her conscience had been reached by the Word, and those who watched for her soul became doubly anxious.
The first evidence of interest she showed was one day when Romans 4 was being read to her. The reader paused at verse 3 and repeated slowly: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” With startled earnestness Betty suddenly asked, “Where is that?”
She said nothing more, but her visitor felt assured that a ray of light from God’s Word had reached her. This assurance was confirmed at the next visit. The same subject was before them, and the caller remarked that Abraham had nothing but God’s Word to rest on; he was shut up to faith. Apart from that, all was a hopeless impossibility.
The speaker glanced up at the girl’s face. She lay with closed eyes and two great tears had forced themselves from beneath the tightly compressed lids and rolled down the wasted cheeks. A deep though silent thanksgiving went up to God from the visitor’s heart.
Happy to Hear the Word
After this visit, the reserve which Betty had hitherto maintained gradually gave way, and now she gladly welcomed any who came to speak to her of the Lord. Now she was happy to hear God’s Word and was soon rejoicing in Jesus as her Savior.
Only once afterward did her joy seem to be interrupted. On that occasion her countenance and manner could never be effaced from the heart of the young Christian who witnessed the exercise through which her soul was passing. The contrast to the usually happy, peaceful face and bright greeting was too apparent not to be noticed.
Her visitor asked, “What is the matter, Betty? Has Satan been tempting you to doubt the Lord?”
“No,” she replied. “I have neither doubt nor fear. It is not that.”
“And what is it, then? Something is wrong.”
She had not yet raised her eyes, but now lifting them, she said, with a never-to-be-forgotten look and a tone of deepest sadness: “Oh, Miss Gray, I have lost my life.”
At once her friend understood what she meant. It was not that she was dying; it was not that she was being cut down in her youth. No; it was that the brief life with which she had been entrusted had been spent for her own pleasure, and now it was nearly over. It was A LOST LIFE.
A Lost Life
There was silence. No word was spoken between those two — one about to be called away just as she had entered the wilderness path; the other with the path stretched out before her still to be lived out.
It was a solemn moment. God was exercising each heart, and she who seemed likely to have many years still before her thought, “If one only lately converted, when dying, feels like this, how must it be with those who have long known the Lord as their Savior, but have lived for themselves, and not for Him who laid down His life to save them!”
“Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
“He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).
The cloud passed and the sunny smile returned. It may be that the God of all grace permitted that cloud for the accomplishment of His own will and that dear Betty’s has not been altogether a lost life.
“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
Young Christian, Vol. 12
Living for Present Advantage or Future Gain
The rejection of Christ leads to an important change, both in our Lord’s position and in what men would find in and from Him. This is brought out remarkably in Luke 12:13-30. A Jew would naturally have looked to the Messiah as the judge of every vexed question. Even he who valued the Lord Jesus for His unblemished ways and holy conversation might well seek His aid. But it is here shown that His rejection by man changes everything. One cannot reason abstractedly therefore from what the Messiah was as such; we must take into account the fact of the state of man towards Him and God’s action thereon. The cross of Christ, which was to be the fruit and measure of the rejection of the Lord, would have in its train immense consequences, and very different from what had gone before; and this not only on man’s part, but on God’s.
Hence, when one of the company said to Him, “Master speak, to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me,” the Lord answers, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” He had not come to judge. The rejection of Christ leads into that infinite salvation He has wrought, in view of which He declines the settlement of human disputes. He had not come for earthly purposes, but for heavenly. Had He been received by men, He would undoubtedly have divided inheritances here below; but, as they were, He was no judge or divider over men or their affairs here in this world. But Luke, as is his manner and habit, presents the Lord immediately looking at the moral side of the matter, as indeed the rejection of Christ does lead into the deepest manifestation and understanding of the heart.
Covetousness
The Lord therefore addresses the company on broader ground. “He said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” This anxiety for Christ’s help to settle questions flows from the heart’s desire of something that one does not have in this world. Maintenance of position is here judged, eagerness after earthly righteousness is exposed — “beware of covetousness.” The rejection of Christ and the revelation of heavenly things led into the true path of faith, of confiding in God for whatever He gives, of trusting, not man but Him, for all difficulties, of contentedness with such things as we have. God arranges all to faith. Nor is this the whole matter. The heart must be watched. “Beware of covetousness, for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” And this too He illustrates, as well as its awful end. There is exceeding selfishness, folly, and danger in what might seem to be earthly prudence. Hear the next words of the Lord. “He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?” Clearly this man counted that the prime good lay in the abundance of the things that he possessed. His desire was to employ what he had so as to get and keep more of present things.
Systematic Selfishness
The rich man (Luke 12:13-30) had no eye upon the future outside this world. All was in present life. It is not that the rich fool made a bad use of what he had according to human judgment, not that he was immoral, but his action did not go beyond gratifying his desire of ever-growing abundance. “He said, This will I do, I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.”
This conduct stands in marked contrast with what the Lord afterward brings into prominence in chapter 16, where we see the sacrifice of the present for the future, and that such only are received into everlasting habitations. It is not the means of deliverance from hell, but the character of all who go to heaven. So far they resemble the steward in the parable, whom the lord commended, not for his injustice, but for his wisdom. He sacrificed present interests, his master’s goods, in order to secure the future. The rich proprietor here, on the contrary, is ever casting down his barns and building greater, in order to secure all his fruits and increase his goods. His sole and entire thought was for this present life which, he assumed, would go on unchangeably. The steward looked out for the reverse that was at hand and acted accordingly. May we feel ourselves stewards in what men would call our own and act with no less prudence. It was not so with him who says to himself, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” There was both self-satisfaction in what he possessed and withal the desire for a long enjoyment of present ease. It was practical unbelief of any future beyond this life; it was acting like the Sadducees. “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?”
He never considered this. God was not in all his thoughts. He had reduced his soul to the merest slavery of the body, instead of keeping under the body, that it might be the servant of the soul, and God the master of both. But no: God was in none of his thoughts, yet God said to him, “Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” He had looked onward for uninterrupted prosperity in the world. “This night!” Little did he think it. “This night thy soul shall be required of thee. ... So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Riches before God cannot be without what men shortsightedly count impoverishment of self, using what we have, not for ourselves but for others. These only are rich toward God, be their means great or small. If their means are small, they are nevertheless large enough to let them think of others in love and provide for wants greater than their own; if their means are great, their responsibilities are so much the greater. But in every case the gathering up is not for self, but for the service of grace, and this can only be by bringing God into the matter. Such only are rich toward God. Laying up treasure for oneself is the hard labor of self and the unbelief that reserves for a long dream of enjoyment which the Lord suddenly interrupts.
“Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after.” They were without God. “Your Father [not only God, but your Father] knoweth that ye have need of these things.” He advances now until He puts the disciples into the enjoyment of their own relationship with a Father who cared perfectly for them and could fail in nothing towards them. The God who watched over the ravens and the lilies — their Father — would surely care for them. He knows that we have need of these things and would be trusted by us.
W. Kelly
Grace, the Restorer of Naomi
“Where sin abounded.” That is the key to the first chapter of Ruth. The glory of God’s grace shines out against the dark background of the ruin sin has brought in. The last verse of Judges tells us that “every man did that which was right in his own eyes”; the first verse of Ruth gives us in the shortest, simplest way the double effect of man’s will at work.
“There Was a Famine in the Land”
The first time man ever did his own will, it was in trying to do better for himself than God had done for him. Instead of being a gainer, he lost everything and had to be turned out of the Garden. In his pride, man thinks he can get on without God, but famine comes quickly, and, although man is very wise and has sought out many inventions, he has never invented anything to take the place of bread. When our wills are working and God breaks the staff of bread, we may eat but cannot be satisfied (Lev. 26:26). If I had the whole world at my will to do as I liked with, my heart would still be empty. Nothing in the world can satisfy the hunger of the famine that man’s will has caused.
But the famine at first only drives man’s heart further away from God, and that is the next thing we have in the first verse of Ruth.
The Fields of Moab
The effect of the famine is to send Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, away from the house of bread, away from the land where God still dwelt (although forgotten by foolish man), right over the Jordan into the land of Moab. Moab was the land of lust (see the story of Moab’s sad parentage; Genesis 19:36-37).
When we first feel the misery and emptiness caused by sin, our hearts turn eagerly for relief to the lusts of sin, the pleasures of sin for a season, but the story of that sojourn is soon told. “When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15).
First Elimelech, whose name means “God is King,” dies. God’s authority is gone; the link between Him and poor, willful man is broken. Then the two sons, whose names tell something of the bitter fruit of sin (Mahlon means “sickness” and Chilion “pining”), both die. Naomi, whose name means “my pleasantness,” is left alone and turned into emptiness and bitterness. And so, in five verses, the Spirit of God gives us a picture of a scene where sin has abounded, such a scene as the earth must have presented when the waters of the flood first ebbed from it — a scene of barrenness, desolation and death.
Such is the fruit of man’s will, and how often have poor hearts in misery been brought to such a place, from Naomi to Marah, pleasure to bitterness, and bitterness that knows no relief, nothing left — “the woman was left.” Nothing could be more eloquent than that little word, of the state of soul that first brings us to a sense of our need of God.
God Has Visited His People
She was left of everything but God, and He, always the same, causes the good news to reach the fields of Moab and the ears of the desolate widow that He had visited His people with bread. How blessed! God has visited His people — come Himself to meet the need that man’s proud will had caused. That is the gospel. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. God’s delight is to give, but we are too proud to receive until so broken, “left” of everything, that the news of His grace touches our deep sense of need. Then we come, to find that He has given Christ to meet the need of a poor empty heart that all the world could never satisfy.
But from this point the Spirit of God occupies us with the one who is to be the vessel of this grace. First showing us God’s way of emptying in Naomi, He shows us God’s way of filling in Ruth. In order that He may be fully glorified, all that is of man must be set aside. Naomi had some claim; Ruth had none. So He passes over Naomi, and in order that all may be of Himself, He draws the heart of a poor Moabite maiden, who was by His own decree shut out forever from the place where His presence dwelt in blessing among His people (Deut. 23:3). We find then, as is always God’s way, that His grace superabounds. He acts in a way wholly unexpected. Instead of merely bringing Naomi back and blessing her, as He fully intended to do, and setting that before us as the picture of His grace, He picks out an alien without claim or title of any sort, brings her out of her fields of Moab, the only place she had ever known, and actually makes her the vessel of His grace, to reach out worldwide in Christ, to be the channel of blessing to Naomi and to me.
That is the kind of grace we have set out in this wonderful little book. She comes to the point where by death she had nothing left. Then God draws in spite of Naomi’s wretched testimony; He draws Ruth out of the fields of Moab. And then what? “Ruth ... bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee. ... He shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life” (Ruth 4:13-15).
A. H. Burton (adapted)
Human Morality
A lady told us that, while cultivating morality in herself, and seeking as much of the quiet, respectable pleasures of life as she wished, her conscience was aroused and her heart bowed down before God by those words of Scripture — “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Tim. 5:6). “Is it possible,” said she within herself, “that I, who am so moral, so virtuous, so careful in my ways, can be dead — dead before God?”
The thought gave her no rest until, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, she obtained life, resurrection life, everlasting life, in Him, the Son of God.
D. T. G.
Life and Death
In Scripture, the terms “life” and “death” are used in various connections, and so in senses which differ. They are used as to the natural body; they are used, also, as to the moral inward state of man; and they are used as to man in his eternal state. Man, as at first created, was, as a creature, morally alive when placed in Eden. He had natural life in his body; he had not eternal, divine life in body, soul or spirit.
Disobedience brought in moral death — death in trespasses and sins; it entailed mortality on the trespasser, laid him under the power of (physical) death, and pointed onward to the second death – eternal separation from God.
Faith gives a new, a divine nature, a seed that is incorruptible. To that seed belong affections, thoughts, intentions, desires, which all flow from Christ, and lead back, by the Spirit, to God. This is shown in us while in the body, while on our way to God — while waiting for Christ, and for the glorious bodies which He will give to us. God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
G. V. Wigram
My Life — His Will or Mine?
“He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose” (Jim Elliot).
They are not long
My fleeting hours in time;
Precious they are,
Although not really mine!
Such a short span!
Don’t clutch it in your grasp;
Open your hand
For what He wills and asks.
If I am Christ’s,
I’ve died to pleasures here;
His will—not mine;
The choice may cost me dear.
Can I preserve
My life upon a shelf?
We live it for
Eternity or self.
But—you can add
To treasure laid above,
Dying to things
You otherwise might love.
Keep your sights clear;
Eternal matters shine;
Perspective straight—
His pleasure first, not mine.
cph