Question Corner by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, Cal. · Jun 21, 1905

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 25.

Question Corner

By Editor

1680.—What Commandment? John 10:17, 18.

Did Christ refer to the Fourth Commandment in the expression, "This commandment have I received of My Father," in John 10:17, 18?

No; we can not see that He did in any way, only as any part of God's truth is connected with every other part. The commandment, the privilege, the permission, pertained to the power or authority to lay down His life and take it again. He laid down His life for man. True, "The Sabbath was made for man." True; it is not against him, neither is any other commandment which God ever gave His children. No; the atonement does not center in the Sabbath commandment; but in Jesus Christ. True, the Sabbath is a memorial of His creative power, a sign of His power to redeem; but Sabbath rest can only be secured by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Fourth Commandment is a part, an important part, of God's law, but it is not all; but all do center in Christ Jesus.

1681.—Restoring Fourfold.

Will you please answer through the SIGNS if the latter half of Luke 19:8 applies with equal force to defrauding corporations; for instance, buying and selling railroad tickets (not transferable), or riding upon such a ticket, etc.

The matter of making restoration of property taken dishonorably is clearly set forth in Ex. 22:1; Eze. 33:14-16, etc. As to its application one's own soul must make it. The heinousness and evil effects of sin lie not in the good or evil of the one wronged, but in the evil of the sin itself and its effects on the one who does the wrong. We believe that some courts have decided that a ticket is good to the place for which it is purchased, by whomever held. In that case no one is defrauded. But defrauding robbery is evil anywhere, and should be made right if possible.

1682.—The Soul of Man.

Please explain what you understand the soul of man to be.

Soul is used in several meanings in the Scriptures. (1) It means the whole person. "Man became a living soul." Gen. 2:7. There were "eight souls saved" in the ark. 1 Peter 3:20. Joshua "destroyed . . . all the souls" who dwelt in various cities. Joshua 10. (2) It refers to the faculties of the mind. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." Ps. 103:1. (3) It means life. "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Matt. 16:26. The original word for soul—psuche—is the same here that is rendered life in verse 25,—the life which makes man a living creature.