The King's Business

The King's Business

By E. T. Cassel

I am a stranger here, within a foreign land;

My home is far away, upon a golden strand;

Ambassador to be of realms beyond the sea,

I'm here on business for my King.

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This is the King's command: that all men everywhere,

Repent and turn away from sin's seductive snare;

That all who will obey with Him shall reign for aye,

And that's my business for my King.

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My home is brighter far than Sharon's rosy plain,

Eternal life and joy throughout its vast domain:

My Sovereign bids me tell how mortals there may dwell,

And that's my business for my King.

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Chorus

This is the message that I bring,

A message angels fain would sing:

"Oh, be ye reconciled,"

Thus saith my Lord and King,

"Oh, be ye reconciled to God."

The Anchor of the Soul

The Anchor of the Soul

"Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil" (Heb. 10:19). In all the troubles and changes which are part of this life, let us cast our anchor upward within the veil. Let us set our affection continually on things above, from whence also we look for the Savior.

On this side of the veil is time, and the curse, and sin and death. But, bless God, on that side of the veil is our great High Priest and our heavenly Father and joys that are everlasting. This hope that we have is able to presently pass within the veil where the Savior is. We are not speaking here of a "hope so" type hope, but of one that is sure and steadfast, being anchored within the veil, where Christ, our Forerunner and High Priest, has entered (cf. Heb. 6:20).

For those who are willing to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow the Savior, setting their affection on things above, the consideration of both the new covenant and of our great High Priest will afford them a strong consolation, enabling them to make their calling and election sure (II Pet. 1:10). —Albert G. Stoner, Jr.

The Lord's Table

The Lord's Supper. Emile Cailiet, a converted agnostic doctor of philosophy in Paris, in his book, Journey into Light, which recounts his discovery of Christ, says the journey to salvation must ultimately lead to the Lord's table. "It is there the luminosity of the Presence comes into full glow. Indeed, the Lord's table becomes a unique medium of His Presence to those who partake of the bread and wine, thereby being incorporated into His body, and showing His death and His coming in remembrance of His triumphal sacrifice." The Lord's supper consists of:

1. Upward look to God--"He gave thanks."

2. Backward look to Christ--"in remembrance of Him."

3. Inward look to self--"examine oneself."

4. Outward look to the world--"show His death."

5. Forward look to heaven--"till He come."

--Donald A. Nash, "Cup and Loaf," The Voice, Kentucky Christian College, Grayson, KY, May-June 1982, p.2

Your Work of Faith

Your Work of Faith

"Remembering without ceasing your work of faith . . ." (I Th. 1:3).

"There is the whole of the thorny subject of the relation of faith and works packed into a nutshell. It is exactly what James said, and it is exactly what a better than James said. When the Jews came to Him with their externalism, and thought that God was to be pleased by a whole rabble of separate good actions, and so said, 'What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?' Jesus answered, Neyer mind about works. 'This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent' (Jn. 6:28-29), and out of that will come all the rest. That is the mother-tincture; everything else will flow from that. So Paul says, 'Your work of faith.' Does your faith work? Perhaps I should ask other people rather than you. Do men see that your faith works; that its output is different from the output of men who do not possess 'like precious faith'? Ask yourselves the question, and God help you to answer it." --Alexander Maclaren

The Condition of Fruitfulness

 

The Condition of Fruitfulness

Representations Made by Dean E. Boelt

“As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing" (Jn. 15:4-5).

The inexorable condition of fruit bearing for Christ, as He emphasizes in the above declaration, is unity with Him. If we are "united with Him" in His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:4-5, ASV; cf. Col. 2:10-14), fruitfulness will follow. But without that fellowship, "ye can do nothing" of any recognition by God, as He said.

That was the reality which the religious workers of record in Matthew 7:26-27 learned too late. They were attempting to serve God in dissociation from His beloved Son. As the Savior put it on another occasion, "Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up" (15:13). It is a lesson which religious people today who are not in vital fellowship with the exalted Lord also require to learn.

But--praise His Name!--the opposite situation is equally certain. Those who get into, and abide in Jesus, bring forth "much fruit." "So shall ye be My disciples," He continued; that is, by fruit bearing (v.  8 ).

Christ is "the true vine," and His Father is "the husbandman" that sustains the vine. Existence of the "true vine," obviously, presupposes that of false vines. And so there are, have been, and will continue to be as long as this world continues. Hence, the Lord's grave warning of the "false prophets" with which the brethren would certainly be confronted (Mt. 24:11, 24-25).

Paul, of course, followed with grave warnings of the false teachers who would subvert many (Tit. 1:10-11; cf. Acts 15:24; 20:29-30). He himself had to constantly contend with them, and it is certain that they must be confronted and dealt with today. They are "a strange vine" of the earth, as the Prophet probably would say (Jer. 2:21). That is, they are sharply distinguished from that of God's "planting" (Isa, 61:3).

It is heartening to know that personal union with the exalted Christ is ample protection against false teachers and full surety of fruitfulness to God. As Peter declared with reference to such abiding in Christ, "If these things"-the fruits of union with the Lord-"be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Pet. 1:8).

The indispensable responsibility of the individual believer, thus, is apparent. It is to abide in Christ, growing "up into Him in all things" (Eph. 4:15). The work of the church is designed to serve the need associated with that responsibility. It is, first, to bring people to the Lord by proclamation of the gospel. Then it is to build them up in the faith by continually nurturing them in Him.

As a congregation, or group of them, gives itself to that assignment, it may be certain that it has the Presence and blessing of the reigning Savior. But only so, it must be added. --From the February 1992 issue of The Banner of Truth

Concerning Christ’s Kingdom

Essentially . . . It Is One of Righteousness

Concerning Christ's Kingdom

By Albert G. Stoner, Jr.

"But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows" (Heb. 1:8,9; cf. Ps. 45:6,7).

Introduction. With regard to God's unswerving love of tenacious regard for righteousness, this is not something new taught only by the Apostles. It is a thought that is found throughout the pages of Scripture.

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" queried our father Abraham (Gen. 18:25). And again, "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness," declared the Psalmist (Ps. 11:7). And Again, we have this word from the forty-eighth Psalm, "Thy right hand is full of righteousness" (Ps. 48:10).

God is a "God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He" (Deut. 32:4). And, "There is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts" (II Chron. 19:7). And, finally, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13).

But the point of reference in our text is with particular regard to the Son of God. "But unto the Son He saith . . ." The point of apostolic focus here is the Son's love for righteousness and His hatred for wickedness. We see here also an index to the heart of the Father as this was the grounds of His appointment of the Son to take charge of the salvational enterprise. If "the way into the holiest" was to be opened again to those who had sinned and "come short of the glory of God," it would have to be done by One who had absolutely no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, and whose love for righteousness was undiminished and unflagging.

And such was the case with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is said of Him that "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth" (Isa. 42:4).

The Kingdom of Reference. The kingdom spoken of here is Christ's, i.e., the mediatorial one, the one that was "appointed" to Him by the Father (Lk. 22:29). This is the kingdom that would rule in the midst of enemies' oppositions (Ps. 110:1, 2). It is the kingdom whose dominion would be proclaimed as good news throughout the length and breadth of the earth (Mt. 24:14). And it is the one which Jesus will deliver back to the Father after that all wicked rule and authority and power have been "put down" (I Cor. 15:24).

In a word, this kingdom is set for bringing home of the ransomed ones, the saved of all ages who had fallen prey to the dominion and wiles of the Devil. And it is set for the "removal of all that offend" and them which do iniquity.

The power of this dominion shall gather the wheat into the barn of eternal salvation and it shall bind the tares in bundles and cast them into everlasting fire "prepared for the Devil and his angels."

This Kingdom's Uniqueness. Everything about this kingdom is distinguished by righteousness, and righteousness is the preeminent characteristic. It was essential that this be the case with regard to the matter of eternal redemption. It was a great investment that the Father was going to undertake in bringing home His banished ones, the ones created in His own image. And this redemptive undertaking must be established in righteousness.

The judgments regarding the redeemed ones, as to their acceptance, shall be uncontested and incontestable, because of the righteous nature of this dominion. And so also concerning the judgments regarding the lost and their being eternally rejected by God.

Everyone that is accepted of God by faith shall have come into the kingdom in the appointed way, they shall have continued in the faith, as is required, they shall be ministered an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom in the approved way, and none shall climb up another way. The appointed way is, of course, obedience to the gospel and continuance in the faith.

To put this another way, when it comes to the matter of the execution of God's eternal purpose in Christ, the purpose must be implemented righteously. Whether calling sinners to repentance, sustaining the repentant ones, the believing ones, breaking down the "middle wall of partition," deposing principalities and powers, or binding the "strongman," the work and purpose must have a righteous foundation.

Christ's was not a scepter of mercy, or of love, or of longsuffering, but a scepter of righteousness. Mercy cannot divide between the sheep and the goats, but righteousness can, and shall make the division. Love cannot discern between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not, but righteousness can. Longsuffering cannot divide asunder between the flesh and the spirit, but righteousness can.

I summon you all to a revitalized appreciation for our righteous King. Truly, none of you would want. any goats or tares or unregenerated flesh, or any who are not God's servants, to enter into the world to come. And they shall not be there, because of Christ's righteous scepter.

If it is to be an everlasting salvation, then it must have a thoroughly righteous foundation, and be established by a thoroughly righteous King and kingdom. The righteousness of this scepter shall guarantee that all who are accounted worthy of obtaining that world shall "go no more out." No more expulsions shall be in that realm, because every one there has an entrance which is established in the holy character of God Himself.

The kingdom and the scepter is righteous, not inherently so, but because of the righteous King who sits upon the throne. Without Him there would be no righteous kingdom and scepter. Christ's very love for righteousness and His hatred for iniquity set in motion the kingdom's operation and its dynamic power for reclaiming sinners from their state of lostness and undoneness. At the cross the very issue which was at stake was the fact that God could not and would not compromise His love for righteousness and His hatred for sin. His mercy, love, and grace, which were manifested in His reclaiming of sinners, are built upon this moral foundation. Christ Jesus is "a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God" and His appointment as such has a righteous foundation.

And thus, it is an impregnable and an unimpeachable bulwark for returning sinners and for those with the feeling of inward infirmity Godward. His enablement to be touched is builded upon a righteous foundation.

The righteousness of the law declared that "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." The righteousness of Christ's kingdom declares, by way of contrast, You shall surely live, but you must come by the appointed way. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (Jn. 14:6). "And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mk. 16:15, 16).

Other Dominions Contrasted. There have been kingdoms of this world which were eminent for certain things, some even commendable things. Some were noted for their strength (Babylon), some for restoration (Josiah), some for territorial expansion (David), some for wickedness (Ahab).

Some kingdoms have even been remembered for their benevolence, but the scepter of Christ's kingdom shall forever be preeminently known for a love for righteousness and hatred for iniquity. Love is forever established upon this sure foundation, mercy rejoices greatly and is firmly planted upon this firm, immovable base, and grace reigns through righteousness by Jesus

Christ our Lord!

An Error Exposed. The "once saved, always saved" doctrine

and others, as well, flourish because of a failure to see Jesus as

He is in truth. "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity."

Men are encouraged by this teaching in its various forms to minimize the jeopardy of willful sinning because of their blindness to Christ's unswerving hatred for iniquity. The subtle effect of this doctrine is that this love and hatred are esteemed to be inconsequential.

The point of revelation here pertains to the very heart of the Son of God-His "likes and dislikes," His love and hatred, that which He greatly esteems and that which causes the greatest revulsion in Him. As faith beholds Him, men are changed into the very same image, from faith to faith. This love for righteousness and hatred for wickedness are assimilated into the very character of the ones believing the record which God has given of His Son.

For the one who has obeyed the gospel, the vision of Christ by faith is a very blessed one. There is no cause of drawing back in Him. "He is altogether lovely," and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

This is particularly relevant when considering the exceeding sinful age in which we live. The Lord Jesus Christ is rarely proclaimed or known in this generation, with regard to His moral predispositions.

Let us, by faith, then follow His steps. May it be said of us who have believed on the Savior that they "loved righteousness and hated iniquity," and so glorify His holy Name. --From the February 1992 issue of The Banner of Truth

This Gospel of the Kingdom

“And THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Mt. 24:14). “And THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE PREACHED IN ALL THE WORLD for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Mt. 24:14). “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached IN ALL THE WORLD for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Mt. 24:14). “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world FOR A WITNESS UNTO ALL NATIONS; and then shall the end come.” (Mt. 24:14). “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; AND THEN SHALL THE END COME.” (Mt. 24:14).

What If God . . .?

“What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory.” (Rom. 9:22-23).

Who Must Flee, the Devil or You?

Who Must Flee, the Devil or You?

There are times in life's experience where the Devil must flee,and there are others where we must flee. He that is wise will perceive and know the difference.

“Resist the Devil,and he will flee from you"(Jas.4:7), declares James. Of the Devil, Peter also writes, "whom resiststedfast in the faith"(I Pet. 5:9).

There are nevertheless times when we ourselves are to flee.Flee youthful lusts(II Tim.2:22).Flee fornication (1Cor.6:18). Flee from idolatry (I Cor.10:14). Flee the seductive influence of false teachers (see I Tim. 6:1-11)."Abstain from all appearance of evil"(I Th. 5:22). "Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul (I Pet. 2:11)

Whenever the people of God are faced with temptations of these sorts,they are to flee their alluring influence, in the same way that Joseph fled from the attempted ensnarement by Potiphar's wife (see Gen. 39:12). Sometimes such fleeing will involve further testing for the one that is seeking to escape, as was the case with Joseph, but nevertheless it is always right to flee from perceived intended entrapment by the wicked one.“He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey" (Isa. 59:15). But God is faithful, who will always provide “a way of escape that ye may be able to bear it" (see I Cor. 10:13).