There is an evangel of the Circumcision, and an
evangel of the Uncircumcision. The one is for Jews, and the other
is for gentiles. To Paul is committed the evangel of the
Uncircumcision, to Peter is committed the one for the Circumcision, Gal.
2:7, 8. "Evangel" is here used instead of
"gospel," because the latter word has become corrupted by
usage. Evangel is the translation of the Greek word,
"euaggelion" which means "well-message."
According to Peter, Circumcision saints are chosen in
hallowing of spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ, I Pet. 1:1, 2. In other words, their obedience is
connected with the blood of Christ. Every one of them is as
certain to obey, as they are certain to receive the blood. Both
are absolutely certain, for all whom the Father is giving to Christ
shall come to Him, John 6:37. Coming to him is obedience.
They are certain to come, and they are certain to be raised in the last
day. Not one of them will be lost, verse 38-40.
In their salvation, grace is present, but it is not
put on display. Works are put on exhibition. For this
reason, many believe that, while we are saved by grace, they are saved
by works. Even the twelve apostles seemed to believe that they
were saved because they had chosen Christ. He assures them this is
not the case; He chooses them, not they Him, John 15:16.
Not one of them, in the days of the affliction, shall
be saved, except those who endure to the consummation. This shows
that all who have been given to Christ, and have been sprinkled by the
blood of Christ, will obey until the end. Those who begin in His
"service," and fall away, were never given to Christ; they
were never chosen. They are the ones to whom Peter refers, when he
says it has happened to them according to the proverb: "A cur
turning back to his own vomit," and "A bathed swine to its
wallowing in the mire," II Pet. 2:22. They have never had any
internal cleansing. They had baptisman outward
cleansing. But this did not change them, any more than a bath will
cause a hog or a dog to become a sheep.
They are described in Heb. 6:4-6, as having been once
enlightened, besides tasting the celestial gratuity, and becoming
partakers of holy spirit, and tasting the ideal declaration of God, as
well as the powers of the future eon. But it is not said they have
had the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Neither have they
been chosen. Therefore they fall away, in spite of the fact that
they have repented, or had a change of mind. They cannot be
renewed to repentance. May a Jew have all this, and will not be
saved? Yes; he must also have the sprinkling of the blood.
It is in this sense that the just one is hardly being saved, I Pet.
4:18.
None of this has any place in the evangel of the
Uncircumcision. To preach these things to gentiles is
harmful. In the evangel that is committed to Paul, grace is put on
display, and emphasized. Works are relegated to the
rear.
"Much rather, then, being now justified in His
blood, we shall be saved from the indignation through Him,"
Rom. 5:9, is Paul's exultant cry concerning us. Neither is it said
anywhere, in Paul's evangel, that every saint who is a member of the
body of Christ will be obedient. Some are obedient. This is
because God is operating in them to will as well as to work for the sake
of His delight, Phil. 2:13. The evangel exhorts all saints to
obey, or to carry their own salvation into effect with fear and
trembling. Some do it; others do not. Those who obey, do so
because of God's inward operation. Those who do not, have no such
operation.
And why should God leave some of His saints without
this inward operation, at times? Because this is an era in which
God is putting grace on display, not only in the salvation of sinners,
but also in His dealing with the saints. God has a right to create
any situation that will give grace in this era. Let no one be so presumptuous
as to bring God before the bar of his own puny judgment. He will
display His grace, even if, in order to do so, He has to leave some of
His saints to be attacked by sinful influences, at times. It is
His business, and we must not disparage Him because of it.
How could He deal graciously with us, Col. 4:13, if
some of us were not pretty sorry saints? This "sorry-ness"
must not be encouraged by us as teachers. We should strongly urge
all saints to obey. To do less, would be to undertake to assume
the place of God. But we should remember that, even though we
earnestly exhort to obedience, there will be no obedience unless God
works it in them.
Also, we are to deal graciously with each other, Col.
4:13. This we would have no opportunity to do, if all saints were
perfect in obedience. God is showing grace. Let us show
grace also, and welcome the opportunity to do so.
The good works for which we are created in Christ
Jesus, and which God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking
in them, are to be in the heavens, as the context shows, Eph.
2:10. God has not provided that all saints of the present era
shall, without fail, obey Him now. I repeat, this is to give Him
an opportunity to display His grace toward us.
His greatest opportunity to display grace, will be at
the advent of Christ. Many of us will be drowsing, while a few
will be "on the job." Will the drowsing ones be left on
earth? Will they have to go through the "great
tribulation?" This would be the case, if God were the
heartless One many imagine Him to be. We must know that if Christ
were to come for us now, He would find many thousand saints drowsing,
and pretty well satisfied with the world. His coming is
distasteful to them. They hear of it with dread. They put
such thoughts far from them.
But, thank God!, the drowsing ones will not be lift
behind. All should be awake, seeing that "God did not appoint
us to indignation, but to the procuring of salvation through our Lord,
Jesus Christ, the One dying for us, that, whether we may be watching or
dowsing, we should be living at the same time together with Him," I
Thess. 5:9, 10. Not only shall the drowsing ones live with Him,
but they shall do so at the same time the watching ones live with
Him. What a display of grace that will be!
"Where sin increases, grace superexceeds,"
Rom. 5:20, has no place in the evangel that is committed to Peter.
But it is a blessed part of the evangel found in Paul's
teaching.
We who are connected with Paul's ministry, should
have a proper vocabulary. The evangel with which we are connected
does not speak of regeneration or the new birth. These are found
in the other evangel. We speak of a new creation II Cor.
5:17.
If we are to have a pattern of sound words, we should
not speak so freely of people accepting Christ. We find nowhere in
the scriptures, that a person is saved by accepting Christ. But we
do find that saved people accept Christ Jesus the Lord, Col. 2:6.
The saints in Collosse had accepted Him as Lord, or Master, and Paul
told them to walk in Him. It is a matter of service, not
salvation.
Those who are saved, have OBTAINED Christ, John
1:12. They did not ACCEPT Him. Neither do we, now, any more
than we accept life. We obtain life, and afterwards we can accept
things. Life must come first. In the case of Israelites, they must
first be forgotten of God. In our case, we must first be made a
new creation in spirit. All accepting must come after that has
been done.
Saints accept the evangel, I Cor. 15:1, Gal.
1:9. They accept service, Col. 4:17. But salvation is not
dependent on any person accepting Christ as Savior. It depends on
them obtaining Him. And in this they are passive.
God has not given us such a message to deliver as
"Christ is begging you to accept Him." No, the message
is this: "In Christ, God was conciliation the world to Himself, not
reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the word of the
conciliation. We, are, then, ambassadors for Christ, as God
entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ, 'Be
conciliated to God,'" II Cor. 5:19-21.
BROTHER JACKSON'S LETTER
I was surprised when I received Brother Jackson's
letter, which is published in this issue. I did not solicit it. It
is with protest that I publish it. However, I deeply appreciate
the spirit that prompted it. My car is a 1933 model. It is
almost worn out. The saints want to get me another, and those to
whom I minister personally, are not able, but they will do their
part.
Some saints have recently sent donations. I
want them to consider that they are not called on this time.
Brother Jackson sent a donation with his letter.
AN APPEAL
A few years ago you were called upon to contribute
something, that Brother Screws might get a better car. You
responded well, for which he and many others were grateful. Now,
as before, he is in need of a car. And now, as before, we have a
wonderful privilege to come to his rescue. We must not let him
down.
Brother Screws, as most of us know has no way by
which to get money, except by the free will offerings of those whom he
serves. He has spent most of his life in the service of God and
humanity; now let's show our gratitude by coming to his rescue.
We are asking each one of his subscribers to send at
least one dollar, and to send it as soon as you read this letter, lest
you forget it. We are counting on you. Don't fail us in this
hour of need. His work is largely rural, and he can't do it
without a car.
Surely we can spend an extra dollar every few years
for such service as Brother Screws is rendering. Some will send
five dollars; some, ten, or more.
Let's put our shoulder to the wheel and put this
matter over, if it takes a real sacrifice. We are calling on, and
counting on you. Don't fail, please. I know you will
not.
Yours in Christ,
J. B. JACKSON
NAMES
Some dear saints are unduly concerned about the name of
God. They seem to think that Christ was mistaken when He used the
Greek word, Theos, for God. Theos is the Greek translation of the
Hebrew word for God. The inspired scriptures say Iesou, for
Jesus. Just as they used the Greek translation of Hebrew, so we use
the English translation of Greek.
God magnifies His word above His name, the psalmist
says. This name business is just a ruse to get saints
confused.