An “ecclesiastic” once said to an ardent evangelist: “Say what you like, your doctrine of free grace tends to careless living.” Such words should not be lightly brushed aside. Is there any truth in them? Are all those who boast of their eternal security conspicuous for holy living? Or is it not true that in some cases persons speak with the utmost confidence concerning their salvation while their ways merit stern reprobation? But is the remedy for laxity a general return to legality, with its banks of cloudy doubts and fears?
It is important that truth should be well balanced in our minds. One-sided teaching cannot be expected to yield good results. There are two lines of truth which should be held with equal firmness amongst us—the grace of God, and the government of God. These two lines of truth are found in both Old and New Testaments, in connection with God's earthly people, and also in connection with His heavenly saints. The grace of God towards Israel shines out brightly in all Balsam's parables, and especially in the words, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel” (Num. 23:2121He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:21)). Nothing could be allowed to affect this—Jehovah's marvelous grace to Israel was founded upon the blood of the Paschal lamb, and also upon the blood of atonement which was always present on the Mercy-seat. All this spoke to God of Christ. But how great the contrast between Numbers 23:2121He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:21) and chapter 25:4: “Jehovah said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before Jehovah against the sun, that the fierce anger of Jehovah may be turned away from Israel!” In this terrible passage we have not the grace of God, but the government of God—always righteous, always holy. The people were behaving very wickedly. Israel, which was to stand above, and not be reckoned among the nations, had abandoned their position of separation to God, and had quite forgotten their special relationship to Him. They had come down to the level of the heathen Moabites. They were committing fornication with the women of Moab and Midian, and were worshipping their gods. True, they were not behaving worse than the people around them, and their doings were not scandalous in the eyes of Balak and his princes; but God's people must “not walk as other Gentiles walk” (Eph. 4:1717This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, (Ephesians 4:17)). This is true in all dispensations. Israel being in direct and special relationship with Jehovah, came under His heavy hand in discipline. We hear Him saying at a much later date in the history of the nation: “Hear this word that Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos 3:1-21Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (Amos 3:1‑2)).
But when Israel emerges humbled and broken from the final tribulation, the people will acknowledge the righteousness of Jehovah's governmental dealings; no more will they make their boast in the law; they will appreciate His grace, fully expressed in the long-rejected Christ. Thus they will become fitted to take their true place at the head of the nations, leading them in paths of righteousness and peace.
Israel's transgressions at Baal-Peor, and the judgment of God which came upon the people in consequence, are specially mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10 as a warning to all who call upon the name of the Lord in this day. The words of the Apostle are deeply solemn as to this. “All these things happened unto them for examples (or types); and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” The spiritual value of the histories of the Old Testament is thus emphasized; and it is repeated in Romans 15:44For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4).
The same two lines of truth—the grace of God, and the government of God—which we have found in the book of Numbers are found also in the first Epistle to the Corinthians. The condition of the Assembly in Corinth was deplorable when Paul wrote his letter. Almost every form of evil was active there: party strife (ch. 1); gross immorality (ch. 5); litigation in the world's courts (ch. 6); eating and drinking in the temples of idols (ch. 10); gluttony at the Lord's Supper (ch. 11); disorder in speaking (ch. 14); and dangerous doctrines concerning the resurrection (ch. 15). To all this must be added most improper feelings towards the devoted man who had led them to Christ. Yet with all these terrible evils present to his mind, the Apostle addressed them as “the Church of God which is in Corinth, them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling” (1 Cor. 1:22Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2)). Here we have the grace of God strongly expressed. In chapter 3:9 the apostle adds, “Ye are God's husbandry (cultivated plot); ye are God's building” (His temple). These wonderful figures described the Corinthian brethren collectively. God had made them all this in His grace. The writer would not lessen the sense of it in their souls. What God had made true of them in virtue of Christ and His work formed the basis of his subsequent rebukes and appeals.
In chapter 6 the grace of God to the Corinthians individually is strikingly set forth. We must remember that the majority of the saints in the Assembly in Corinth were formerly heathen; Jews were not numerous amongst them. The Greeks of that day were undoubtedly polished and educated. Their works of art are the admiration of men still. But along with all this there was the deepest moral degradation, fruit of the idolatry which had covered the earth for ages. Paul was divinely encouraged to persevere in his work in Corinth, spite of opposition. The Lord said to him, “I have much people in this city” (Acts 18:1010For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. (Acts 18:10)). Out of the terrible filth at Corinth he picked up pearls which will be the delight of his Lord forever. But meantime things were not going well there. Paul had not felt led to build himself a house in Corinth, and settle down amongst the believers. He formed them into an Assembly, instructed them as to their new privileges and duties, and left them to their own responsibility, assured that the Holy Spirit would take care of them, if they would look to Him in faith. This they failed to do; hence the sorrow with which the Apostle addressed his first letter to them. Nevertheless, spite of their failure, he set forth the grace of God very strongly. In chapter 6:11, after mentioning some of the most abominable evils into which the Corinthian people in general had sunk, he said: “And such were some of you-but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. “Had the Corinthians been in the enjoyment of all this, they might well have burst forth into praise in some such words as these (happily familiar to many who will read these pages):
O God of matchless grace,
We sing unto Thy name
We stand accepted in the place
That none but Christ could claim.
Our willing hearts have heard Thy voice,
And in Thy mercy we rejoice.
’Tis meet that Thy delight
Should center in Thy Son!
That Thou should'st place us in
Thy sight In Him, Thy Holy One!
Thy perfect love has cast out fear,
Thy favor shines upon us here!
(Hannah K. Burlingham)
A further precious setting forth of grace is found in 1 Corinthians 6:1919What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19): “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price.” The words “Know ye not?” repeated six times in this chapter, were intended as reminders of the great things the Corinthians had been taught, but which they were letting slip. Terrible danger for us also!
As surely as Jehovah in His holiness resented the transgressions of the people of Israel in Balaam's day—“a people near unto Him” (Psa. 148:1414He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 148:14)), so did the Holy God resent the transgressions of the Corinthian saints, a people nearer still to Him, and more richly blessed than Israel ever imagined—chastisement followed in both cases.
Paul reminded the Corinthians that the saints will judge the world, and even angels, in the coming day (1 Cor. 6:2-32Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:2‑3)). With such a destiny before us, dare we in our ways come down to the world's level? In warning the Colossians against fleshly corruption, the Apostle said, “for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the sons of disobedience, in which ye also walked once when ye lived in them” (Col. 3:77In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. (Colossians 3:7)). He wrote similarly to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:66Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:6)). The wrath of God will not come down upon God's saints, however faulty they may be (the blood of Christ secures us from that); but the judgment of God in the form of chastening is certain if we do not judge ourselves. Some in the Corinthian Assembly were proving the truth of it. “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:3030For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:30)). Their conduct was not necessarily worse than that of others around them. In that licentious seaport multitudes were doubtless guilty of all the evils which are condemned in Paul's Epistle, yet perhaps the hand of God did not come down upon them in the marked way that is described in the verse just quoted. The sins of the ungodly are all noted in God's books, and will be dealt with at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:1212And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:12)). God's redeemed will not be there, having been glorified long before; our judgment is here and now, “that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:3232But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:32)).
The government of God is one of the principal themes in the writings of Peter. In his first epistle the children of God are in view, and in his second epistle the world is before him. In exhorting the children of God to be holy, the Apostle says, “If ye call Him Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Peter 1:1717And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: (1 Peter 1:17)). Fathers, young men, and babes; preachers and teachers and their hearers, all alike live under the eye of the Father, who takes account of all our ways. A careful walk becomes us. The whole “time of our sojourning here” has its dangers; and the Father's holy hand corrects us as we need it. In Peter's fourth chapter (vs. 17) he says: “The time is come that judgment must begin at the House of God (“whose house are we,” Heb. 3:66But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6)); and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” In Ezekiel's day, when Jehovah could no longer forbear, and felt constrained to smite, He said: “Begin at My sanctuary” (Ezek. 9:66Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. (Ezekiel 9:6)). When Nadab and Abihu were destroyed for offering strange fire before Jehovah, Moses said unto Aaron, “This is that Jehovah spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Lev. 10:33Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:3)). It is true in every dispensation that “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him” (Psa. 89:77God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. (Psalm 89:7)). The Corinthian brethren forgot this; hence the calamities which overtook them in the holy government of God. If we become indifferent to His honor, He will take up matters with us, and thus vindicate His great name.
Peter raises a serious question in this connection: “What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely (that is, with difficulty) be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:17-1817For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:17‑18)). The question is answered in the writer's second epistle. “The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word (the word of God) are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men... The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:7-107But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:7‑10)). Thus no evil will be indefinitely spared. Whatever the long-suffering of God, judgment is certain upon sinners and saint alike. For the one it is irretrievable ruin, for the other it is present chastening in order that we may become partakers of the holiness of the One Who uses the rod (Heb. 12:1010For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)). The path of the believer through an evil world, with a principle of evil within himself ever ready to respond to the evil around, is not easy. Yea, it is difficult, and indeed impossible apart from sustaining grace (Matt. 19:2626But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)). But the humble confiding soul need not fear. Greater is the power (of the Holy Spirit) within him than all the power that can be arrayed against him (1 John 4:44Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)). Glory is as certain for the believer in Jesus as eternal judgment is sure for all who “obey not the gospel of God.”
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What important principles of truth are laid open to us in the ancient history of Balaam the son of Beor!
The sovereign grace of God, which neither the malice of the enemy nor the unfaithfulness of God's people can ever affect! This, as regards Israel, was proclaimed by hostile lips, on enemy ground, and in the hearing of the would-be destroyer!
The righteous judgment of God against those whom He brings near to Himself.
The inveterate (but futile) hatred of the powers of darkness against the objects of God's favor.
The watchful interest of God in His own, even when astray from the path of holiness. Unasked, He places Himself between them, and all who would do them harm. “Blessed be God our God.”
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