Ques. It was said to me that you do not disapprove of women having their hair cut short. We would like to know what you think about it?
Ans. There are many things in all our ways as Christians that are not spiritual, that are carnal (1 Cor. 3:1). If children of God do not seek to walk with God in daily dependence and prayer for guidance, they find excuses to do many unscriptural things. If they earnestly ask the Lord for guidance, He will not fail to give it to them out of his word (John 7:17).
The fashions of this world keep changing. The Christian must seek to conduct himself in a decent, sober manner. It does not commend Christianity to be extreme. Rom. 12:1, 2 is good direction for us.
1 Cor. 11:2-16, is instruction, and shows that men are to uncover their heads, and women are to cover theirs when approaching to God,-the man being the type of Christ, the woman the type of the Church. It is a shame for a man to have long hair, and it is a glory to the woman to have her hair long (verses 14, 15').
When women display themselves in unseemly attire, paint their faces, cut their hair short,-in each and all of these it is a shame to them (Verse 6; also 1 Cor. 7:31; 1 Peter 3:1.7; 1 John 2:17). Let the young Christian women prayerfully read these verses and mark specially 1 Peter 3:1.7 for their deportment, and ask the Lord's help to carry them out.
Young Christian men will do well to avoid such women as are mentioned above. They are not suitable companions for Christian men, and will hinder the spiritual progress of their husbands.
The same applies also to young men-note 1 Peter 3:7. Neglect prayer and the Word of God, and you will assuredly go astray.
Ques. Could you tell us about Rom. 6:1.4?
H.
Ans. The first part of the Roman Epistle up to 5:11, is about our sins,-how redemption has been accomplished, and we are justified by faith. The second part, from 5:12 gives our new headship, once in Adam, but now in Christ by His obedience made righteous.
But the flesh, the old nature being in me, I need to learn what God has done with it, that is: He has condemned, and executed it in the death of Jesus Christ, and we, knowing that, are to remember that we have died with Christ, and now we are to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Verses 1-4 is part of the reasoning to show that we should not continue in sin. It is said in 5:20, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." The flesh might say, then we can go on sinning, but verse 2 answers, "God, forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" Our baptism unto Jesus Christ was unto His death; "that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." We are not looked at here as risen with Christ, but we have this new life to walk in as men still on earth. Our faith sees us planted in the likeness of His death, so we shall be also of His resurrection. And we know now that our old man has been crucified with Him, that the body of sin might have no longer power over us, so that we do not allow its claims. We put ourselves on this new ground on which Christ is, and reckon ourselves "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Ques. Please tell me where to find in the Word where it is explained that only believers who lived after the death of Christ, are members of His body, and part of His bride? Was the thief on the cross part of it? M. J. S.
Ans. The truth of the Church of God, the body and bride of Christ, was committed to Paul the apostle to declare. Acts 9:4 was the first time it was said that we with Christ are one. It is seen in Rom. 12:4, 5. It tells us in Rom. 16:25, 26, it was kept secret till now. 1 Cor. 1:2 tells it is composed of saints or believers. 1 Cor. 12:12 to 27 tells how it was formed at Pentecost, when all the believers were baptized into one body. Eph. 1:22, 23, it is in the future glory. Chapter 4:4, it is here now. Chapter 5:22, 33, we see it as both body and bride. The love that gave Himself, and the union between the Head and the body, is expressed by the wife and husband-we love Him because He first loved us,-a love well proved in what it has done (verse 25), in what it is doing (Verse 26), and what we know it will yet perform (Verse 27).
1 Thess. 1:1, and 2 Thess. 1:1, call it the assembly which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ, telling us that every member of the body is also a child of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master. Blessed be His name!
We have no authority to say that the converted thief on the cross was in the Church of God on earth, for that did not begin till Christ went on high, and sent the Holy Spirit down (Acts 2:33). We know that like all the Old Testament saints, he died in faith, and so is now absent from the body and present with the Lord (Heb. 11:13, 40).
Ques. Please explain "Faith if it hath not works is dead being alone." James 2:17, 20. M. J. S.
Ans. If faith is real, God can see the desire in the believer's heart to do His will. This comes from the new life he has in Christ, and produces good works. Perhaps in some, God only could see their desire, like Lot in 2 Peter 2:8, 9. He is called "just Lot," and a "righteous man," yet in reading his story it seems very bad to us. In Acts 8:15, Simon the sorcerer himself believed when he saw the miracles and he was baptized, yet was only a dead professor. In Eph. 2:8, 9, we see that the sinner who truly comes to the Lord to find a Savior, gets the faith from God, and his works come from God also. Notice that Paul stops the sinner from working for his salvation (Rom. 4:5). James starts the believer to work, because he is saved. Both are right. Good works accompany salvation (Heb. 6:9, 10),-the fruit of it,
"Just As I Am”
Mary M-was a young woman of eighteen, the eldest daughter in a well-to-do family in the town. There was the widowed grandmother, a genuine Christian, on her way to heaven. Then there were the two daughters and a niece, all professors of religion; but none of them really believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The evening gospel-meeting had just finished, and some anxious ones were being spoken to, when Miss M-came up to me, and said she wished very much I would call and see her the following day, as she wished to speak to me further about what she had heard that night.
The following afternoon I called and found her waiting for me. She immediately opened the subject by saying,
“I have been thinking a great deal on these things for some time. A friend of mine presented me with a book, in which the gospel is very simply and clearly put, and it opened my eyes to see things in a new light altogether. I used to think that if I said my prayers night and morning, and went to church on Sunday, it would be all right at last; but I see now that I am a lost and ruined sinner, guilty before God, and that I must be saved by the Lord Jesus. My difficulty is chiefly this, that I do not feel as anxious about my soul as I ought. I do not feel the burden of my sins as heavily as some have told me they did; but I earnestly hope that the Lord will make me more anxious soon, and save me.”
“I am glad to hear you say that you have been awakened, Miss M-, to see that your church-going and prayer-saying will never take you to heaven; for I have no doubt that many religious people sincerely believe that if they do these things, they will get to heaven, and they only awake out of their delusive sleep when it is too late. I am glad that you see that salvation is in Christ alone; but I do not think you are much better off than before, when you think you have to make yourself ready for the reception of salvation by efforts of your own. You are just as helpless as ever, for you can no more make yourself feel the burden of your sins than you can take them away. Salvation is entirely of the Lord.
“Let me illustrate it thus: Suppose a rich man should provide a free supper for all the ragged children of this town. Supper being on the table, the servants are sent out to bring the children in. Of course, they are all glad to hear about the free supper, and their teeth are set on edge to get to it; but they have an idea in their minds that every one who goes to the supper ought to be dressed in black, as the servants are. When they look at their muddy feet and tattered coats, they shake their heads and say to themselves, `We cannot go to supper like this-we must be dressed first;' and that being out of their power, the thing is settled-there is no supper for them. Now, there can be no dispute about black clothes being a suitable outfit for supper, but he who provided the supper knew that in this case they were not able to buy them, and he therefore imposed no such condition. The invitation was to ragged children, and they were expected to come just as it found them.
"The supper was for ragged children.
"The gospel is for lost sinners.
"The beauty of the gospel of God's grace is that it meets the sinner just as he is. ' Christ died for the ungodly' (Rom. 5:8); and 'this Man receiveth sinners' (Luke 15:2).
“You are lost, whether you know it or not; and the burden of sin is there, whether you feel it or not; and God asks no further preparation from you than this, that you own yourself a sinner, and claim Christ as your Savior.”
"Well, that certainly puts it in a new light altogether. I see now that He is willing to save me just as I am.”
"Yes, that's it. He says, 'Whosoever believeth on Him shall receive remission of sins' (Acts 10:41). You are one of the ‘whosoevers.' Are you willing, then, to receive God's salvation on His own terms? Will you accept it as a free gift, just as you are? You cannot make yourself more welcome to it than you already are; you cannot make God more willing to save you than He already is.”
“How beautifully simple! I wonder why I did not see it before. I am a lost sinner; God says it. Jesus died for sinners-therefore for me. I see it all. He will take me as I am.”
Dear reader, God loves you as you are; He has provided salvation for sinners-therefore for you; and He invites you, with all His heart, to accept it in the very condition you are at this moment.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 1 Tim. 1:15.
“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were, yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8.