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“There Has Come New”
 In
2 Corinthians, Paul presents a new revelation of God that is also found in his
epistle to the Romans. This is the message of the conciliation. “God conciliates us
to Himself through Christ” (2 Cor.5:18). God has established a change
between us and Himself. This change from enmity to peace, from estrangement to access,
from alienation to sonship, is what God establishes in Christ, making Himself known in a
new and glorious way.
“The Salvation of the
Unbeliever”
As God is the
Saviour of all mankind, especially of those who believe (1 Tim.4:10), we may
confidently rest on one grand and glorious foundation truth–that all salvation is
of God, and neither believer nor unbeliever has any part in it. Those who believe are
saved by His grace (Rom.4:16); those who do not believe are saved through His judgments,
but in both it is He alone Who is Saviour.
“The Blasphemy of the
Spirit”
The crude reasoning
that concludes that those who are never “forgiven” will never be saved is a good
example of how reasoning from ignorance breeds unbelief and enslaves men in fear and utter
despair. How many have morbidly imagined that they had committed this sin and spoiled
their whole career! To the contrary, since Christ died for all that all might live, and
all who will be saved will be saved by grace, it follows that eventually all will
be saved, that God may be All in all (cf 1 Cor.15:20-28).
“Overwhelming Grace and
‘Unpardonable’ Sin”
The claim against
our teaching on this theme is usually set forth thus: “The Bible says that those
committing this sin ‘shall not be forgiven’ (Luke 12:10, AV); whereas the
Concordant teaching is that, eventually, all such sinners shall be forgiven. Since
such a teaching contradicts the Bible, therefore it is wrong.” It is sad that most
cannot detect the fallacies in such “logic.” It is sadder still that most are
ready to assume the worst, gullibly presuming that such a representation of our teaching
together with the issues in question, constitutes a fair and adequate representation
thereof.
“Consolation in Grace”
Probably most people
under biblical influence have been either perplexed or distressed by the alarming phrase,
“the unpardonable sin.” The fear has been aggravated by the way modern
evangelists use this idea, finding it a very convenient one with which to frighten those
they wish to persuade to seek salvation according to their formula.
“The Rich Man and Lazarus” (in 2
parts)
When interpreted as
a parable, the story of the rich man and Lazarus offers no opposition to the teaching of
the Old Testament concerning the death state. When read as literal history it negates the
entire volume of Hebrew revelation. Still, even when interpreted as a parable, a grave
difficulty immediately presents itself. The problem is, How may we interpret as a parable
that which is not called such?
“Crucial Questions About
Resurrection”
Will all who die in
unbelief, including those who have never heard the gospel, experience the horrors of an
orthodox Hell for all eternity? According to popular tradition, they will indeed. Just
what, however, is achieved in Christ? For whom did He die, and what is the benefit of His
sacrifice for those for whom it was made? In 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, what is the
scope of the “all” in whom God will become All? What is the sense of the
“in,” in the phrases, “in Adam,” and “in Christ”? Similarly,
what is the difference between the scriptural phrase here, “in Christ, all,” and
the usual misinterpretation thereof, “all in Christ”?
“Invoking and Avowing”
“If ever you should be avowing with your mouth the declaration that Jesus is Lord,
and should be believing in your heart that God rouses Him from among the dead, you shall
be saved” (Rom.10:9). This verse is probably employed more than any other in
today’s popular, formularized preaching in which advice is given concerning “how
to get saved.” Such an interpretation and application, however, is a gross misuse of
the Word of God. This important text must not not be taken out of its context, divorced
from its setting, and assigned an altogether new purpose of our own devising.
“God All in All”
God has a goal. He
intends to become All in all His creatures (1 Cor.15:28). He will accomplish this by
way of reconciling all His enemies by the blood of Christ’s cross, by justifying,
vivifying, and saving all mankind at the consummation (Col.1:20; Rom.5:18;
1 Cor.15:22; 1 Tim.2:4; 4:10). But before this there is a long and painful
preparatory process, a weary way which leads His creatures to this consummation, much of
which seems as dark and distressing as the goal is bright and filled with blessing.
“Torturing Doubts; and, Exultant
Faith”
If there is an
eternal hell, did God make it before or after sin entered the world? If before, we
would be forced to believe that He deliberately created mankind for such a fate. Or did He
not foresee sin and yet make hell, in order to dispose of sinners in case there
would be some? Then why create human beings at all if this was such a risky matter? And if
God instituted hell after Satan or Adam had sinned, because He was not able to keep
them from sinning, where are His omniscience as well as His omnipotence? If anything in
God’s creation can happen apart from His plan, where is there any security in this
life or in that to come? How is it that we are to love our enemies, yet He proposes to
torture eternally not only His enemies, but also those who never heard of Him?
“The New Birth contrasted with The New
Creation”
The new birth
is for Israel and the millennial blessings of the day of the Lord. The new creation
is for the present economy and finds its counterpart in the day of God, when conciliation
receives its fuller fruits in heaven and earth. The full fruition is at the consummation,
when the just award to Christ by God reaches out to its fullest limits.
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