Correspondence: Rom. 9:4; Luke 16:1-12; Rev. 20:13-14

 •  4 min. read  •  grade level: 7
 
Ques. What does the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants mean in Rom. 9:44Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; (Romans 9:4)? H. M. Ans, Romans 9 begins with the deep concern of the Apostle Paul for the nation of Israel, his kinsmen according to the flesh. He loved them so much that the wish had come into his mind, that to save them he was willing to be accursed from Christ. This was love as great as Moses' love for them. (Exodus 32:31, 3231And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. (Exodus 32:31‑32).)
In verses 4, 5, he tells how privileged of God they were. They were Israelites, adopted by Jehovah as a nation. The glory was a symbol of Jehovah's presence dwelling among them. (Exodus 40:34-3834Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 37But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. 38For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:34‑38).) The covenants were theirs conditional (Exo. 19:55Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (Exodus 19:5)), and unconditional (Exodus 6:3-53And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 4And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. (Exodus 6:3‑5)). Tile law was given to them from Mt. Sinai (Exodus, Chapters 19 to 24). The service (or worship) in the tabernacle and temple belonged to them by priests arid Levites. They are the fathers who received the promises (Rom. 15:88Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: (Romans 15:8)). Their conditional covenant was broken, and the blessing is lost to them at present. The unconditional promises are yet to he fulfilled by the sovereign, electing grace of God, and that is how we Gentiles also are saved. Chapters 9, 10 and 11 treat of this line of truth, explaining how God can save the Gentiles, and also reestablish Israel as a nation.
Ques. What does the parable of the unjust steward teach us? (Luke 16:1-121And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? (Luke 16:1‑12).) W. D. W.
Ans. Israel particularly, and man generally, is looked at in this chapter as an unfaithful steward who must give an account of his stewardship. The elder son (Chap. 15) said, "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment," but Rom. 3:9, 19, 239What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; (Romans 3:9)
19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23), prove that all are guilty before God. It is a good thing when the soul takes its true place, and, says, "I have sinned." Real wisdom asks the question: "What am I to do?" The gospel replies, "Believe en the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Wisdom's children justify God and condemn themselves, and this makes them think of the future, and to use the present things in view of the future. This is the true wisdom, and the children of God should practice it. In this we should take a lesson from this unjust, but wise steward, who used the goods of his master which were in his hand to make a home for himself in the future. Our home is prepared by divine love, and our title as in Christ is a perfect one to it. But we are stewards still, and we are to look upon what the Lord has put in our hands as a means of blessing for the future, and now.
For the future, because what we do for the Lord will bring its reward from Him, For the present, if we use what we have as stewards for the Lord, it proves a 'blessing to our souls in the fuller enjoyment of our spiritual blessings. But if the things of this world possess our hearts, they hinder us from enjoying our possessions in Christ. (1 Tim. 6:17-1917Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:17‑19).)
The mammon of unrighteousness can be used in such a way that we shall be richer spiritually. It is laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come-a: profitable investment for the believer's capital (Prov. 1.9:17). We need wisdom from the Lord for this also, and it matters not how little or how much we have, if the child of God lets his mind dwell upon, and get engrossed with this unrighteous mammon, who will commit to his trust the true riches? He is only a steward, and if he is unfaithful to his stewardship, who shall give him that which is his own? The believer's "own" are the blessings he has in Christ.
C. E. W.
Ans. Death is here represented as holding the bodies; and hell (which is hades, i.e., the state of the soul apart from the body) holds the soul. Here they are reunited, and judged every man according to their works. Death and hades are no longer needed; they are personified as the enemies of God and man, and as such, in the vision, are east into the lake of fire. This is the second death; death to man is never the cessation of existence. The second death is eternal torment in separation from God. Gehenna, translated hell in the following verses, represents the lake of fire. (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 3322But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:22)
29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29‑30)
28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
9And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. (Matthew 18:9)
15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. (Matthew 23:15)
33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33); Mark, 9:43, 45, 47; Luke, 12:5; Jas., 3:6). Hades, meaning the unseen, is the state of the soul absent from the body, is translated hell in. Matt. 11:23; 16:1823And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11:23)
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18); Luke 10:15; 16:2315And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. (Luke 10:15)
23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23); Acts 2:27, 3127Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)
31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31); Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 1418I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:18)
8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8)
13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:13‑14).