"You are not under the law,
but under grace" (Rom. 6:14).

In Part I of this miniseries, we
considered the meanings of law and grace. We listed the negative consequences
of taking the law to be our rule of life and the positive consequences of
having Christ as our rule of life instead. We then began to give examples of
dangers of overemphasizing "you are not under the law" and
underemphasizing "but under grace." This is sometimes called
antinomianism, meaning "opposition to the law." We considered the
dangers of using freedom from the law as an excuse for sin and of teaching that
the Old Testament is not applicable to Christians.

                
More Dangers of Antinomianism

Negating the Sermon on the
Mount. A certain teaching has come to my attention on three different
occasions:(1) I heard it taught at a Bible Conference; (2) a sister in Christ
told me it was taught in her Sunday school class; and (3) I recently found it
taught in a book. It has to do with Matt. 5:40-42:"If any man will sue
you at the law and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And
whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks
you, and from him who would borrow of you turn not away." The teaching is
that this passage does not apply to Christians today because it is
"kingdom truth." Lewis Sperry Chafer, a leading proponent of
dispensationalism, writes that there "are some aspects of the kingdom law
never attempted by Christians (see Matt. 5:40-42), but its whole character,
being legal, is opposed to grace" (Systematic Theology, Vol. 4,
page 245). My first answer to this is that if such acts as described by the
Lord are done only as obedience to law, then they will have no merit before
God. But how can we say that such practices would be "never
attempted" by those under grace. Surely grace would lead us to go even
further than what is here prescribed by the Lord to His disciples.

Let us try briefly to analyze this
teaching. First, what do these people mean when they say that the Sermon on the
Mount is "kingdom truth"? I suppose they are saying that this
behavior will characterize those who are saved during and survive the Great
Tribulation, and live on earth during the 1,000 year (or millennial) reign of
the Messiah. Now what people are going to reign with Christ during the
Millennium? Is it not the Church that is raptured to be with Christ just prior
to the beginning of the Great Tribulation (1 Cor. 6:2; Col. 3:4; 2 Tim. 2:12;
Rev. 20:6)? Are we, the Church, held to a lower, lesser standard of behavior
than those over whom we will be ruling? Are we who presumably are going to
enjoy the closest relationship to Christ (as bride with the Bridegroom)
throughout eternity given a lower standard of morality in this present life
than others who will have eternal life? If the Church’s position in Christ
signifies a greater measure of God’s grace, then "shall we continue to
sin, that grace may abound?" (Rom. 6:1).

It is true that there are a few
expressions in the Sermon on the Mount that suggest an earthly heritage, such
as might apply to the millennial kingdom, for example, "Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). But surely the moral
teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount concerning anger (5:22), lusting
after a woman (5:28), our response to panhandlers (5:40-42), loving our enemies
(5:44), and how to give, pray, forgive, and fast (6:1-18) must be a part of the
"instruction in righteousness" for which "all Scripture … is
profitable" (2 Tim. 3:16).

Here is a final question to
ponder:How do you think Jesus Himself would have responded to one who took His
coat? I believe the Bible gives us the answer (see John 19:23). Christ is not
only our Saviour and Redeemer, He is also our Example (John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21;
Phil. 2:5-8; 1 John 2:6).

Negating Old Testament
Illustrations of New Testament Teaching. At a Bible Conference we were
studying a passage in one of the apostle Paul’s Epistles that exhorted the
believers not to commit fornication. I made a comment about the tendency today
for people to redefine fornication and adultery to suit their own sinful
practices (Mr. Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky are prime contemporary examples of
this); these people are really trying to find loopholes in God’s law as the
Pharisees did (Matt. 23:16-19; Mark 7:9-13). I went on to refer to the Old
Testament verses that say over and over again, "You shall not uncover the
nakedness…" (Lev. 18:6-19). These verses reveal the scope of what God
intended in His prohibition of fornication and adultery. In God’s eyes, sexual
activity that is forbidden outside of marriage includes uncovering the
nakedness of another with our eyes (for example, pornography or voyeurism) or
with our hands (for example, necking, petting, or fondling).

After saying my piece, I was
reprimanded by a brother for "teaching the law." I was taken aback by
this, to say the least. I know that this brother would not find it acceptable
for a Christian to engage in these immoral activities. But I gathered from his
comments to me that he thought we should be preaching and teaching only the
grace of God and the love of Christ; if we do this everything else will fall
into place in the Christian’s life and he/she will not need exhortations from
the law.

I agree, as stated in Part I, that
the power for living in the way that God wants us to live comes only from
focusing on Christ—His love, His sufferings, His death, His resurrection, His
place now in the glory, and His coming again for us. However, I observe from
reading Paul’s Epistles that we Christians need regularly to be reminded from
God’s Word as to the basic principles of what God is like and what He expects
from us, along with the ministry of Christ.

The Epistle to the Ephesians is a
prime example of this. This Epistle is often considered to contain the most
lofty truth of any book in the Bible, and to contain the least amount of
corrective ministry of any New Testament Epistle. In the first three chapters
we revel in declaration upon declaration of God’s purposes for His people, our
spiritual blessings (1:3), our inheritance in Christ (1:11), our position in
Christ as seated in Him in the heavenlies (2:6), our salvation flowing from
God’s grace (2:8), Christ dwelling in our hearts (3:17), and the revelation of
"the love of Christ which passes knowledge" and of "Him who is
able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think"
(3:19,20). As we read these wonderful passages, do not our hearts expand in our
desire to live more faithfully for Him who gave His all for our sakes?

But what do we find in the last
three chapters of this Epistle?

"Be ye therefore followers
[or imitators] of God" (5:1).

"No … idolater has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (5:5).

"Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth … neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
jesting" (4:29; 5:4).

"Redeeming the time, because
the days are evil" (5:16).

"Honor your father and
mother" (6:2).

"Let not the sun go down upon
your wrath…. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger … be put away from
you, with all malice" (4:31; compare with Matt. 5:21,22).

"But fornication and all
uncleanness … let it not be once named among you as becomes saints…. No
whoremonger nor unclean person … has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (5:3,5).

"Let him who stole steal no
more" (4:28).

"Wherefore putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor" (4:25).

"Covetousness, let it not be
once named among you…. No … covetous man who is an idolater has any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ" (5:3,5).

We see that the apostle Paul, even
when writing to the recipients of the most exalted truths concerning their
position in Christ, did not leave it up to their own thoughts and imaginations
as to how to follow Christ. If we look carefully at the preceding ten
paragraphs, do we not find allusions (some clearer than others) to the Ten
Commandments? The order found in this Epistle is most instructive:First the
groundwork is laid of our position in Christ as recipients of His love, grace,
and spiritual blessings. Then we are reminded of a few of the ways we can and
should respond to such grace. "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and
just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). "This is the love of God that we keep
His commandments" (1 John 5:2,3). As being "not under the law but
under grace" (Rom. 6:14), our focus is on Christ, not the law; this is
what gives us the power to keep God’s Word. But at the same time, as we read
the Scriptures, we are continually being given "instruction in
righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16) and are being challenged as to whether we are
coming up to even the minimum standards of holiness that God has set
forth for His people.

Yes, we all need "instruction
in righteousness" along with the ministry that empowers us for living
righteously.   A few months ago I was reading a book to one of my
grandchildren. The book contained occasional exclamations such as "gee"
and "gosh" which are euphemisms for "Jesus" and
"God." When I came upon such words I substituted more neutral
exclamations such as "wow" and "hey." My daughter-in-law,
looking over my shoulder, asked me later why I changed some of the words. When
I explained it to her she said she had never been taught the connection between
those words and the third commandment. She appreciated what she had just
learned because she wanted to do everything possible to please her Lord and
Saviour. While the instruction related to the Ten Commandments, this clearly is
not a case of being "under the law," but is "instruction in
righteousness."

Believing that one can be a
Christian and still do whatever he pleases. We have to tread carefully here
for the ground is treacherous. We dare not say anything that would suggest that
our salvation is based on anything other than God’s free gift of grace through
faith (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8). At the same time, the Bible shows us over and over
again that we are to look for "fruit" and "works" as
evidence to support one’s statement of faith in Christ. Here are some examples:

"Faith, if it has not works,
is dead, being alone…. Faith without works is dead" (Jas. 2:17,20,26).

"I am the true Vine, and My
Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes
away" (John 15:2; compare Rom. 11:17-21).

"Not every one who says unto
Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).

In the Parable of the Sower there
are three groups that initially give the appearance of being saved, even
showing "joy"; but only those in the last group are really saved, in
that they "hear the Word, and understand it, and also bear fruit, and
bring forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (Matt.
13:18-23).

On several occasions I have heard
of professed Christians who reportedly have made the following kinds of
statements:

"I am content to know that I
have put my trust for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and have the assurance
of going to heaven. I do not care for rewards or anything else. Therefore, I
intend to live out my life the way I want to live."

"I have the assurance of
going to heaven; it does not matter if I commit such and such a sin because I
know I will not lose my salvation."

"The Bible says that we are
not under the law but under grace. That means that God by His grace gives us
freedom to do whatever we want to do without judging us."

I fear greatly for the eternal
welfare of the people who make such statements. We are not
in a position to make judgments as to who is truly saved and who is not.
Thankfully, this is totally in God’s hands and "the Lord knows those who
are His" (2 Tim. 2:19). But I believe that if we encounter any such
people, we should not take for granted that they are saved. Rather we should
give them the gospel on the assumption that they never really were saved, and
never truly have come face to face with that Man of Calvary who was forsaken of
God because of our sins, that we might never be forsaken.

(To be continued.)

Fairest of all the earth
beside,

Chiefest of all unto Thy
bride,

Fullness Divine in Thee I
see,

Beautiful Man of Calvary.

Drinking a dire and
dreadful cup,

Crucified Jesus lifted up,

Bearing our guilt and
misery,

Sorrowful Man of Calvary.

Granting the sinner life
and peace,

Granting the captive sweet
release,

Shedding His blood to make
us free,

Merciful Man of Calvary!

That Man of Calvary

Has won my heart from me,

And died to set me free,

Blest Man of Calvary!

               
M.P Ferguson

"Meditate upon these things
… that your profiting may appear to all" (1 Tim. 4:15).

It has pleased the Lord to teach me
a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than 14 years. The point
is this:the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every
day is to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about
is not how much I might serve or glorify the Lord. Rather it is how I might get
my soul into a happy state and how my inner man might be nourished. I might
seek to set the truth before the unconverted, to benefit believers, to relieve
the distressed, or to behave myself in other ways as it becomes a child of God.
But if I am not happy in the Lord and not being nourished and strengthened in
my inner man day by day, these things might not be done in a right spirit.
Before this time my habitual practice had been to give myself to prayer after
having dressed myself in the morning. Now I have seen that the most important
thing I have to do is to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to
meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned,
reproved, and instructed. Thus, while meditating upon the Word of God my heart
is brought into experiential communion with the Lord.

I have begun therefore to meditate
on the Scriptures early each morning. The first thing I do, after having asked
in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, is to begin to
meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse, to get
blessing out of it. This is not for the sake of public ministry of the Word but
for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. Almost invariably I have found
that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession or
thanksgiving or intercession or supplication. Thus, though I do not give myself
to prayer but to meditation, yet it turns almost immediately more or less into
prayer.

Having been for a while making
confession or intercession or supplication, or giving thanks, I go to the next
words or verse, turning all into prayer for myself or others as the Word may
lead to it. All the while I keep before me that the object of my meditation is
food for my own soul. The result of this is that there is always a good deal of
confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or intercession mingled with my
meditation, and then my inner man almost invariably is nourished and
strengthened.

I often find that the Lord is
pleased to use that which He has communicated unto me to minister to other
believers at some later time. This occurs even though it is not for the sake of
public ministry of the Word that I give myself to meditation, but for the
profit of my own inner man.

The difference, then, between my
former practice and my present one is this:formerly, when I awakened, I began
to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent almost all my time till
breakfast in prayer. I almost invariably began with prayer except when I felt
my soul to be more than usually barren, in which case I read the Word of God
for food or for refreshment, or for revival and renewal of my inner man, before
I gave myself to prayer. But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an
hour, or half an hour, or even an hour, on my knees, before being conscious of
having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc., and often after
having suffered much from wandering of mind. I scarcely ever suffer now in this
way. My heart is brought into experiential fellowship with God; I then speak to
my Father and to my Friend (vile though I am and unworthy of it) about the
things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.

It often now astonishes me that I
did not sooner see this point. In no book did I ever read about it. No public
ministry ever brought the matter before me. No private discussion with a
fellow-believer stirred me up to this matter. And yet, now, since God has
taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything that the first thing the
child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man.

As the outward man is not fit for
work for any length of time except we take food, and as this is one of the
first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man. What is
the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God. Again, it is not
the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our
minds, just as water runs through a pipe; rather, it is considering what we
read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.

When we pray, we speak to God. Now
prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a
formal manner, requires a measure of godly desire. The season when this
exercise of soul can be most effectually performed is after the inner man has
been nourished by meditation on the Word of God where we find our Father
speaking to us to encourage, comfort, instruct, humble, or reprove us. We may
therefore profitably meditate, with God’s blessing, though we are ever so weak
spiritually. In fact, the weaker we are, the more we need meditation for the
strengthening of our inner man.

Thus there is far less to be
feared from wandering of mind than if we give ourselves to prayer without
having had time previously for meditation. I dwell so particularly on this
point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of
having derived from it myself. I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my
fellow believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God, I ascribe to
this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace
through deeper trials, in various ways, than I had ever had before; and after
having now more than 14 years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of
God, commend it.

In addition to this, I generally
read, after family prayer, larger portions of the Word of God when I still
pursue my practice of reading regularly onward in the Holy Scriptures,
sometimes in the New Testament, and sometimes in the Old. For more than 26
years I have proved the blessedness of it. I take, also, either then or at
other parts of the day, time more especially for prayer.

What a difference it makes for the
soul to be refreshed and made happy early in the morning, compared to meeting
the service, the decisions, and the trials of the day without spiritual preparation!

The Song of Solomon has been
called the book of communion. We have that beautifully set forth in the first
seven verses of the second chapter. The bride and the bridegroom are conversing
together. We delight to speak with those whom we love. One of the wonderful
things about love is that when someone has really filled the vision of your
soul, you do not feel that any time that is taken up communing with him is
wasted. Here then you have the lovers in the country together and she exclaims,
for it is evidently she who speaks in verse one:"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." Generally we apply those words to the blessed
Lord; we speak of Him as the Rose of Sharon. We sing sometimes, "He’s the
Lily of the Valley, He’s the Bright and Morning Star." It is perfectly
right and proper to apply all these delightful figures to Him, for we cannot
find any figure that speaks of that which is beautiful and of good report that
cannot properly be applied to the Lord. But the wonderful thing is that He has
put His own beauty upon His people. And so here the bride is looking up into
the face of the bridegroom saying, "I am the rose [really the narcissus, a
blood-red flower] of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys"—the lily that
thrives in the hidden place, not in the town, not in the heart and bustle of
the city, but out on the cool countryside, in the quiet field. Does it not
speak of the soul’s separation to Christ Himself?

It is when we draw apart from the
things of the world, apart to Himself, that we really thrive and grow in grace
and become beautiful in His sight. I am afraid that many of us do not develop
spiritually as we should because of the fact that we know so little of this
heart-separation to Himself. One of the great griefs that comes to the heart of
many a one who is seeking to lead others on in the ways of Christ is to know
the influence that the world has upon them after they are converted to God. How
often the question comes from young Christians, "Must I give up this and
must I give up that if I am going to live a consistent Christian life?"
And the things that they speak of with such apparent yearning are mere trifles
after all as compared with communion with Him. Must I give up eating sawdust in
order to enjoy a good dinner? Who would talk like that? Must I give up the
pleasures of the world in order that I may have communion with Christ? It is
easy to let them all go if the soul is enraptured with Him; and when you get to
know Him better, when you learn to enjoy communion with Him, you will find
yourself turning the question around. So when the world says, "Won’t you
participate with us in this doubtful pleasure or in this unholy thing?"
your answer will be, "Must I give up so much to come down to that level?
Must I give up communion with Him? Must I give up the enjoyment of His Word?
Must I give up fellowship with His people in order to go in the ways of the
world?" Dear Christian, do not think of it as giving up anything to
go apart with Him and enjoy His blessed fellowship.

"Therefore all things
whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them:for
this is the law and the prophets" (Matt. 7:12).

This is in no way dealing with men
according to their ways, but the contrary. It is saying, as it were, "You
who know the heavenly Father, who know what His grace to the evil is, you know
what is comely in His sight; always act upon that. Never act merely according
to what another does toward you, but according to what you would that another
should do to you. If you have the slightest love in your heart, you would
desire that they should act as "the children of your Father who is in
heaven" (Matt. 5:45). Whatever other persons may do, my business is to do
to them what I would that they should do to me, namely, to act in a way
becoming the child of a heavenly Father. "This is the law and the
prophets." He is giving them exceeding breadth, extracting the essence of
all that was blessed there. This was clearly the gracious wish of a soul that
knew God, even under the law; and nothing less than this could be the ground of
action before God.

(From Lectures on the Gospel of
Matthew.)

Does the teaching of Christ in the
Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) apply to the children of God today? I suggest
an affirmative answer to this question for reasons that I will now present.

In the passage referred to, the
Lord unfolds the moral character and principles that are to govern the action
and relation of His disciples in a time preceding the thousand-year reign of
Christ over the earth. It is plain that much of the Lord’s teaching has in view
a time of suffering, rejection, and persecution—conditions such as we know in
the present age, not those of the time when the glory of the kingdom fills the
earth. The kingdom in glory could not come without a people being prepared for
the Lord. The Lord’s teaching makes plain the moral character and holy
principles that govern those to whom the kingdom in reality belongs, whether
viewed in its aspect of present spiritual blessing, or of future manifestation
in glory in either the earthly or heavenly spheres.

The Lord’s rejection was a matter
of prophecy, with His ascension to God’s right hand and later coming in glory;
therefore an interval must be contemplated between His first coming as
"born King of the Jews" (Matt. 2:2) and the actual setting up of that
heavenly kingdom of which Daniel prophesied (7:13,14). What, then, did the
message mean that both John the Baptist and the Lord delivered, "The
kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7)?

First, it is evident that the King
Himself had come. His works of power witnessed to Him. He was Master over all
creation, and of Satan too. Yet He was rejected—"His own received Him
not" (John 1:11). Did this necessitate the postponement of the announced
kingdom, or put in abeyance what would have then been set up if He, the King,
had been treated otherwise? No, for there was the predetermined purpose of God
to be fulfilled in any case.

It was not His purpose to set up at
that time the kingdom in glory, for it could only come when the Son of Man
should come from heaven. The nation of Israel, because of their fleshly desires
and carnal interpretations, were entirely mistaken in their expectations. They
had missed God’s mind in at least one important feature as made known in the
Old Testament. This was one reason they saw no beauty in Jesus that they should
desire Him (Isa. 53:2), and in due time their cry was, "Away with
Him" (John 19:15). He was not the man to rule over them.

It seems clear then that no matter
what the Jews expected, it was not the kingdom in glory that was being
proclaimed as near. God’s purposes were in process of accomplishment, and the
test for Israel in particular, yet also for the world, at this juncture, was
not whether they would have the kingdom in glory but whether they would have
God’s King of that kingdom. He was rejected. Did that mean that the
kingdom He announced as at hand was pushed off into the distant future? No; it
came, now exists, and in the form that was according to the purpose of God for
that foreshadowed interval which continues until the coming of the Son of Man
in the clouds of heaven to take His own throne. In its present form, as fully
revealed in the Lord’s parables, it fills the interval of which we have spoken,
and then continues in its form of manifested glory and power in what is called
the kingdom of the Son of Man.

What is the present form of
the kingdom that fills this interval? Its moral character, governing principles,
and condition in various ways is what very largely made up the Lord’s teaching.
To this belong the mysteries of the kingdom, those similitudes found in the
parables, and "things new and old" (Matt. 13:52). The kingdom in this
form embraces all who profess allegiance to Christ. Such are responsible to
show conformity to the moral character that the King Himself made known in His
teaching concerning the kingdom. This is surely to find manifestation in and
among those who gather together unto His name—His disciples. To them in
particular the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) is addressed.

The kingdom of heaven was at hand
during the Lord’s ministry on earth. It actually came when in resurrection He
could proclaim that all power in heaven and on earth was His (Matt. 28:19,20),
though that still did not mean the immediate restoration of the kingdom to
Israel (Acts 1:6,7). For during the course of the kingdom that had now come in
there were other purposes to be fulfilled that were not made known until the
apostle Paul was raised up to reveal the mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph.
3:9,10). The kingdom of heaven is not the Church, which is the body of Christ,
but this Church is in the kingdom. The kingdom embraces Christendom, the sphere
of profession which may be real or not; but all true disciples of the
kingdom since Pentecost and until the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18) are in the
body of Christ which is the Church.

Now whatever may be the high and
heavenly calling and position of the Church as revealed by Paul, it remains
true that the assembly of those who are gathered together unto Christ’s name,
whether before or after the conversion and apostolic ministry of Saul/Paul, is
that company in which the kingdom should find manifestation in its moral and spiritual
features and holy principles as made known by the King. This remains true, no
matter what higher and more intimate relation Church truth makes known. In
fact, all the practical teaching of the Epistles is in agreement with and only
emphasizes that of the Lord Himself in relation to the character and conduct of
disciples of His kingdom. These teachings of the Lord may be too little
observed and heeded as applying to practical Christian walk by those who firmly
hold to the truth of the Church and Christ its Head in heaven. Surely we,
of all people, should show ourselves good citizens of the kingdom of the
heavens, "for our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens
(Phil. 3:20, JND). The following Scriptures make mention of the kingdom as
having a present application:Rom. 14:16-18; Eph. 5:5-10; Col. 1:13; 2 Pet.
1:10,11; Rev. 1:5,6,9.

With these considerations before
us, we may see that while parts of our Lord’s teaching may primarily relate to
Israel (Matt. 13:44), or to the nations (Matt. 13:47-50), or to the time after
the removal of the Church when another Jewish remnant will be raised up (Matt.
10:22,23; 24:3-32), or to the Church itself (Matt. 13:45,46; 16:18; 18:20; John
10:13-17), yet there is that which applies in moral and spiritual ways to the
believer today. This is true even where the reference is evidently to the
millennial form of the kingdom as in Matt. 5:5 ("the meek … shall
inherit the earth"), for is not the earth part of Christ’s
inheritance, and are not those who now believe co-heirs with Christ (Rom.
8:17)? Hence may not even such a word apply to those who as meek do not put
forth present claim as to inheritance here, but await the hour when He takes
possession as the Son of Man, the appointed Heir of all things (Psa. 8:6-8; Heb.
2:7,8)? Surely it is so, even though they are distinctly heavenly in destiny as
the body and the bride.

A further question is asked,
"Is a man not saved if there is no mercy in him?" the reference being
to the fifth beatitude—"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive
mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Now God is rich in mercy, and those who are His
children are to be imitators of Him (Eph. 2:4; 5:1). To find a man implacable,
merciless, unforgiving, unmercifully pursuing the erring, refusing to show mercy
and forgiveness to those who have injured him, raises serious question as to
whether that man’s sin-hardened soul has ever been softened by the blessed
inflow of God’s mercy meeting his own great need as ungodly and without
strength, no matter how loud the profession of the lips. It is by his fruits
that we know the real, the true believer. In this both Paul and James agree.
That believers should be merciful is to be expected. That alone is consistent
with the knowledge of how God has been rich in mercy for them. Thus they will
glorify their Father who is in heaven, and receive mercy according to His
perfect love and interest in His children, while also to show mercy to another
is the sure way to reap it in our own time of need. Not to show mercy is to
lack in righteousness, which is to act in consistency with the place we are in
and the way we have been put into it (see Matt. 18:21-35).

"Be ye therefore merciful as
your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). "Put on therefore …
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind" (Col. 3:12).

(From Help and Food, Vol.
46.)

The so-called "Lord’s
Prayer" (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4; perhaps more appropriately called the
"Disicples’ Prayer"), and the way it is often used, have been
severely criticized in some quarters. Some of the criticism is deserved because
of the way people have misused it by thinking that the number of times they
recite it has as much value as the words themselves.

Some of the criticism, however, is
undeserved, in my judgment. There are some who have gone to the opposite
extreme of teaching that this prayer has absolutely no relevance to the
Christian today. Thus we hear objections such as the following:

1. Praying to "our Father who
is in heaven" suggests that He is a great distance away from us.

2. Praying "Thy kingdom
come" is cruel because vast numbers of people will perish when Christ
comes to set up His earthly kingdom.

3. Praying "give us this day
our daily bread" is totally unnecessary when our refrigerators and
freezers are well stocked.

4. Praying "forgive us our
debts as we forgive our debtors" makes God’s forgiveness of us dependent
upon our works.

5. There is no mention of praying
"in Jesus’ name" (John 14:13,14; 16:24,26).

I do not propose that we adopt
this exact prayer for our use today. There are many more themes and topics of
prayer for the Christian than are covered by this one. Also, if we understand
what it means to pray "in Jesus’ name" (that is, we are confident
that Jesus is praying the very same thing for us), it brings great value to our
prayers. But I do propose that every theme of this prayer and every
principle lying behind it can indeed be a valid topic of prayer for the
Christian today.

Let me begin by quoting two highly
esteemed authorities on this point:"Such prayer intelligently used
[my italics] is in [no] wise inconsistent with Christian position" (F.W.
Grant, The Numerical Bible, Matthew, p. 92). "There is not a clause
of that prayer, I believe, but what one might proffer now, even to ‘Forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors’" (W. Kelly, Lectures on the Gospel
of Matthew, p. 153).

"Our Father who art in
heaven." Does this really denote distance when it will take only "a
moment, a twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52) for us to be raised from earth
to heaven at the Rapture? It is blessedly true that our position in Christ is
"in the heavenlies" (Eph. 2:6 JND), so as we address our Father in
heaven we are reminded of the fact that we are there too, in Christ.

"Hallowed be Thy name."
In an age when the names of God and of His Son are being trampled on and used
so carelessly, well might we desire that His name be treated with the greatest
respect and holiness—beginning with ourselves.

"Thy kingdom come."
"For this kingdom of the Father we must look beyond all dispensations to
the sabbath of God’s own rest. To confound it with the millennium whould be an
entire mistake and necessarily lower its character terribly" (F.W. Grant, The
Numerical Bible). Should we not desire the eternal state in which Christ
has "delivered up the kingdom to God" after having "put all
enemies under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:24-28)? Consistent with our desire for
the coming of our Father’s kingdom would be our desire that Christ should be
the absolute Ruler of our personal lives.

"Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven." It seems that with each new generation man has more
of an attitude of doing "that which [is] right in his own eyes"
(Judg. 21:25). How much better off this world would be if its inhabitants
desired God’s will, rather than their own to be done. Again, it is well
to make it personal:"Not my will but Thine be done in all
that I say and do today."

"Give us this day our daily
bread." Let us acknowledge daily our dependence upon the grace and mercy
of our Father for our every physical, material, and spiritual need. Even if our
refrigerators, freezers, and pantries are well-stocked today, things can change
quickly with a prolonged power outage or an unexpected layoff from one’s
employment.

"Forgive us our debts, as we
forgive our debtors" (see also verses 14,15). It must be remembered that
the disciples are being taught to pray to their "Father." The prayer
is for a Father’s forgiveness of His child’s sin and waywardness, rather than
God’s judicial forgiveness of our sins when we first trust in Christ. Just as
King David could not enjoy his salvation until he had repented of his
sin concerning Bathsheba and her husband (Psa. 51:12), so we will not be able
to enjoy a sense of God’s forgiveness of our sins if we show an
unforgiving spirit toward others. Furthermore, if one who says he/she is a
believer in Christ but is steadfastly determined not to forgive one who
has deeply offended or sinned against him/her, we might well wonder if that
person has truly entered into a relationship with Christ as Lord and
Saviour.

"Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil." Let us not be like Peter who boasted,
"Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death"
(Luke 22:33). This prayer expresses a proper lack of self-confidence
with regard to handling trials and temptations, as well as a proper dependence
upon God in case He should lead us into a trial or testing.

In conclusion, I am not advocating
the adoption of this prayer as something we do by rote or routine. But from
time to time it would be well to ask ourselves whether we are including the
different elements of this "Disciples’ Prayer" into our own prayers
to "our Father."

"Remember those who have the
rule over you [or your leaders or your guides], who have spoken unto you the
Word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation [or
the outcome of their well-spent lives]" (Heb. 13:7).

In the Epistle to the Hebrews we
find a whole chapter devoted to human examples of faith. A great cloud of
witnesses looks down upon us in the eleventh chapter, and in the closing
chapter of the book, the writer speaks of their "guides" or
"leaders." They were to remember those who had passed away and
imitate their faith; they were to obey those who remained, realizing that they
were charged with weighty responsibilities, and were to salute them in all
honor and affection.

Scripture not only warrants but
commands the remembrance of those whom God has given as leaders of His people.
To forget them means, too often, to forget the truth they brought, and paves
the way for that "building the sepulchres of the prophets" by a
godless posterity who are indifferent to every warning spoken by those prophets
(Luke 11:47). There is a sober, discriminating way of dwelling upon the
ministry of faithful servants which encourages our own faith, quickens
conscience, and stirs afresh to follow them as they followed Christ.

Most biographies are written from
a human standpoint; the man is before us rather than his message. Such
biographies are not helpful; but who has not been stimulated by the narratives
of devotion, self-denial, unresting toil of faithful men at home or abroad? We
realize on either hand that they were men "of like passions with
ourselves" (Jas. 5:17), and that a Power wrought in and with them which is
for us too.

The passage we have quoted at the
beginning shows us how we can properly "remember our guides." First
of all, what makes their remembrance profitable is that they spoke to us the
Word of God. It was not for special personal excellence of character, either
natural or gracious; nor for great activities and results in the Lord’s work,
considered in themselves. What gives value to the remembrance of the leader is
the Word of God with which he was identified, the message he brought. 

We read of one of David’s mighty
men, Eleazar the son of Dodo, that he stood alone against a great host of
Philistines when "the men of Israel had gone away." He smote them
"till his hand was weary and his hand clave unto the sword; the LORD
wrought a great victory" (2 Sam. 23:9,10). His very name, "God is
help," turns from the man to God. What could he do single-handed against
the host of the enemy? His arm grew weary, but the weary hand cleaved to the
good sword, and we see no longer the feeble arm of man, but the power of God
behind that weary arm, hewing out victory with that sword. The man has become
identified with the sword, and God can use such a one.

So are all God’s mighty men;
feeble, and with weary arms, they cling to that "sword of the Spirit which
is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17). Their very weariness and feebleness makes
them cling like Jacob who, his thigh out of joint, could no more wrestle but
cling (Gen. 32:24-26). Such men God can use, for they are identified with their
sword, with the Word of God. To remember such is to remember the sword, the
Word which they brought. There can be no higher honor to a servant of Christ
than to identify him with the truth he ministered and to think of the sword he
held in his feebleness. The world may honor its soldiers, its men of wealth,
its benefactors, its entertainers, its athletes, and build them monuments. They
are its departed great men. Believers recall the memory of those who have left
their greatness in our hands, the Word of God. To do this is simply to have
mind refreshed and heart stirred by that which abides forever.

We are also to consider the issue,
or outcome of their walk. What has their life ended in? It has now ceased. A
rich man’s life ends, so far as what he leaves behind is concerned, in wealth;
a statesman’s in power and influence. In what shall we say the life of Christ’s
servant has ended? What has he left as the sum of that life? It is significant
that the very next clause gives what is really the answer:"Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). The issue of their
life is the abiding Christ. They have passed off the scene, but Christ, the
object of their ministry, abides. With Paul they could say, "To me to live
is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Christ is the end, the goal of their life. To
depart and be with Him is far better. Happy indeed are those who are called to
lay down their burden and enter into His rest. They loved and served Him here;
they enjoy unclouded peace and rest as they wait with Him there. The outcome,
the end of all their life’s work, toil, testimony is Christ. They enjoy
Him to the full now; they have, as it were, left Him as a priceless legacy to
us here.

Their life was a life of faith—the
refusal at once both of creature righteousness and creature strength. They had
learned to "rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the
flesh" (Phil. 3:3). We are not called to do, in detail, their work. God
calls and fits each of His servants for some special work, peculiarly suited to
the special gift with which he is endowed. We are not to be imitators of one
another, but ever to be imitators of the faith that casts the feeble
upon the Mighty.

Lastly, we note the warning not to
be "carried about with divers and strange doctrines" (Heb. 13:9). The
servant of Christ ever stands for His truth against all opposition of error.
His ministry, in so far as it was under the guidance and in the power of the
Holy Spirit, brought home to heart and conscience the truth of God and the
Person of the Lord.

Do we not need to be especially on
our guard in these days against the subtle inroads of error? The Person of the
Son of God, His atoning work, His Church, the destiny of man—are all objects of
the enemy’s attacks. Let us hold fast the truth, and Him who is the truth, and
His Word of truth.

We have, then four characteristics
of a proper memorial of departed leaders:(1) The Word of God ministered by
them; (2) the outcome or issue of their life, Christ for them and for us ever
the same; (3) the faith which occupied them with this blessed Person; and (4)
the warning against error. If we ever have these features before us, there will
be only profit in remembering those who have gone on before us.