C.—If ransomed, why do they remain in death, and others die, since Christ has paid the price? A.—But the price is not yet fully paid. To have a clear understanding of God’s plan, we must recognize the distinction which he makes between the world in general and the Church, or called-out ones of the present time. God loves the world, and has made great and rich provisions, as we have seen, for their coming in his due time, to a…
In our last post the question was asked by Brother C. as to, How the life of one could purchase the life of many? A.—By the rule of SUBSTITUTION Rather than try each individual separately (the Lord knowing that they would all fail eventually for the very same reasons that Adam failed) chose rather to have all mankind represented in just one man, and in his trial. Thus Adam was substituted for the race as a whole, and through his…
B.–I begin to see a harmony and beauty connected with the introduction of evil which I had not suspected. May we not reasonably say that God could not have displayed those qualities of his nature so attractive to us–mercy and pity–nor could his great love have been made so apparent had not the occasion for their exercise been presented by man’s necessities? A.—I am glad that you have suggested this thought. It is true, that though “the Lord is very…
A third brother now joins the discussion, Brother C. C.—Brother A., may I interrupt you here to ask, Why, if it was proper and wise that Adam should have a trial under the most favorable of circumstances, as a perfect man, should not all his posterity have a similarly favorable trial? We all know that we are born with both mental and physical ailments and imperfections. Why did not God give us all as good a chance as Adam? A.—If…
The following is taken from R250 (with some editing) “To make all see, what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God.” “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:–that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one, all things…
God’s Service is Its Own Reward Is not the service of God its own reward that we should be unduly concerned about how we are to be paid for it? or that we should spend any time comparing our wage with our brother’s, or grudge that he should have as much as or more than we? If we recall the greatest happiness we have ever known, the purest and deepest, do we not find that it came in connection with…
The Last-called Gentiles became First Compare with the Jews the case of the Gentiles. They were not even permitted to enter into the vineyard until the seventy weeks of special covenant favor which God had made with the Jews had expired. They stood idle in the market-place. If any should ask them why they remained unemployed so long they might truthfully reply: “Because no man hath hired us”, we were there in the market-place, at least a good many of…
“Out of many possible applications which the parable may have there are three which especially appeal to us as having merit. In the first place, there is one possible, and even likely, application of this warning and parable which cannot fail to be very welcome to us all. We are thinking now of the young man whom Jesus loved. We love him, too, do we not? A rich man, yet not spoiled by his wealth; a zealot for the law,…
The Rich Young Man Whom Jesus Loved “To properly understand the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard it must be studied, like all Scripture, with reference to its context. And to do this in the present instance it is necessary to go back to the previous chapter. (The division is at an unfortunate point; the passage from Verse 16 of Chapter 19, to Verse 16 of Chapter 20, is all one account and should have constituted a chapter by…
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he…