p. 4 (468) | Question Corner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 30, 1896

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 30.

Question Corner.

“Enquire, and make search, and ask diligently.”

No. 382. “Ought” and “Ought,” Again.

If “ought” in John 13:14 is binding, is not “ought” in 1 John 3:16 binding? S. S. O.

Most assuredly it is; both are obligatory, just as much so as God’s ought can make them. But the last “ought” does not mean that a man should go out and sacrifice himself. Every true disciple of Christ counts himself, as did Paul, a debtor to Jew and Greek, for Christ’s sake, and he yields himself a “living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1), to be used as God desires. If it is death, well; if it is life, well; he does not know which to choose (Phil. 1:20–22). When he gives himself to Christ, he lays down his life at Christ’s feet, to be used for Christ in winning souls of all nations; and how much more his brethren!

No. 383. The Fate of the Wicked.

IS THERE any scripture stating regarding the wicked that they shall be as tho they had not been? S. S. O.

Yes; Obadiah, verse 16, in speaking of the heathen, says: “For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as tho they had not been.” See also Eze. 28:19; Ps. 37:10.

No. 384. “Absent from the Body.”

PLEASE explain Paul’s words where he says, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord.” Mrs. E. J. W.

“Absent from the body” means apart from this life; it may mean death, or at home with Christ by a translation or a resurrection. It was the latter, not the former, which Paul desired. He did not wish to be “unclothed,” or die, but clothed upon, present with the Lord, mortality swallowed up of life. Read the context. We will be present with the Lord when Christ comes. Matt. 16:27; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. For a fuller exposition see SIGNS of April 30, 1896, No. 18, page 2.

No. 385. Fountains and Traditions.

PLEASE explain the following scriptures:— “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jer. 2:13. “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” 2 Thess. 2:15. INQUIRER FOR PRESENT TRUTH.

1. Read the context. It meant with Israel of old that they had not only forsaken God, the Living Fountain, but had gone after other gods, which could be of no more value than broken cisterns. In time of need the gods could give no help; in time of drought the cisterns would furnish no water. The text is just as true now concerning those who leave God’s word for the errors of men.

2. The second text teaches that the brethren in Thessalonica should hold fast to the teaching of the apostles, whether by word of mouth, or by epistle. The word from which tradition comes is paradosis, and means “delivery, handing over, transmission,” “what is transmitted in the way of teaching, precept, doctrine.” See 1 Cor. 11:2, where the word is translated “ordinances.” The word “traditions,” in 2 Thess. 2:15, refers to what Christ delivered over, or transmitted to, his apostles to teach. That we might know what was taught by spoken word, God has given us the written word. The text does not refer to erroneous tradition which claims to be apostolic. All such should be tested by the written word.

No. 386. The Shiloh of Judah.

DOES Shiloh of Gen. 49:10 refer to Christ? If so, how do we reconcile the text with the fact that Zedekiah was the last earthly king of Judah, and that Rome itself (the third overturning, Eze. 21:25–27) became practically universal in B.C. 168? Mrs. A. H.

The declaration in Gen. 49:10 is to the effect that Judah should remain a distinct tribe, having a sufficiency of tribal government, etc., to preserve the tribe intact till Christ came. Around it the remnant of the nation would gather; but when Christ came, he would be the center. While Zedekiah was the last regular king, yet Judah in a greater or less degree preserved its customs, laws, and government, altho subordinate, till after the crucifixion.

No. 387. Yoke of Bondage.

PLEASE explain Acts 15:10, 28. Does this refer to or imply the abolition of the law? T. L. S.

It is impossible to give a good exposition of these texts without a consideration of the entire chapter. But, briefly, the certain men who went down from Judea taught justification, or salvation, by ceremonies or works. “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye can not be saved.” Verse 1. Now it is evident that just as soon as man trusts to anything apart from Christ for salvation, he makes Christ of no effect; and as only Christ can save from sin, by choosing the something else he turns from Christ to all his sins. Circumcision of itself is nothing either way (1 Cor. 7:19), but if it is trusted in as a means of salvation, it makes the death of Christ in vain, and leaves the sinner under his yoke of sin. This is the yoke which the Jewish fathers vainly sought to remove by ordinances, traditions, and ceremonies without number, but which daily added to the yoke. So these Jewish teachers were blinding by their burdensome ordinances the gentiles in Christ. These works of self-righteousness the council declared should not be imposed upon the gentile converts. All that the true child of God needs is instruction, not prohibition. There were instructions, seemingly ceremonial, yet having a moral bearing, upon which these gentile converts needed instruction; these the council mentions (verses 28, 29), abstention from meats offered to idols, lest they seem to be idolaters; from eating of blood, in which was the animal life; from things strangled, dying without bleeding, and from fornication. This did not imply that they were at liberty to worship idols, or profane God’s name, or break his Sabbath; over these duties there was no question. The only apostolic prohibitions were concerning things which outwardly might seem to be purely ceremonial, but which really had a moral bearing.