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SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS

FEAR THE ADVERSARY’S TACTICS

Question.—”Your Adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist, steadfast in the faith.” (I Pet. 5:8.) In what sense does the Adversary go about as a roaring lion?

Answer.—The Scriptures give us various illustrations of Satan, the “angel of light.” He is compared to a serpent, a roaring lion, etc. Of course, he does not fill all of these pictures at one moment, nor does he go about as a roaring lion all the time. It is the custom of the lion to roar when in pursuit of food. The roar of the lion makes his prey—including human beings—semi-paralyzed. From personal observation, we see that fear is one of the most disastrous things for the Lord’s people to have—except “fear of the Lord,” which is proper fear. As God incites by love, so Satan incites through fear, through false doctrines, the root of error, which so terrorizes mankind as to the future. This kind of influence from the Adversary is what is meant by the Apostle. But we are to resist Satan.

Once the Apostles were under threat from the Jewish Sanhedrin; and they prayed, “Now, Lord, behold their threatenings.” This statement, however, does not prove that the men of the Sanhedrin were devils, nor that they were viciously inclined of themselves. So today there are some people more or less beclouded by the threatenings of those who are seeking to intimidate the Lord’s people. We are to be of good courage. When we hear the roaring of the lion we are to remember that the Lord is on our part and that He does not cause us to fear. The thought that Satan opposes us and that we are contending, not merely with the fallen flesh, but also with wicked spirits in high positions of power, would appal us if we did not, by positiveness of decision, acquire great help from other unseen powers. From the instant that we resist temptation and stand up for the Lord and His cause we become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

LIGHT INCREASES RESPONSIBILITY

Question.—”If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.”—John 15:22. Please explain.

Answer.—Our Lord explained to the Scribes and Pharisees that the light of His teaching gave a greater responsibility to those who heard it than to those who had not heard it. If they had never come in contact with the light, they would never have sinned against the light;

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and therefore, their sin was greater in proportion to the greater blessing.

So it is today. If you had never had your eyes opened, if you had never heard more than the heathen, then you would not have any more sin than other heathen people whose eyes have never been opened. But when you sin with a measure of wilfulness against the light and knowledge, your sin will be the greater. Your responsibility is in proportion to the light. This seems to be the reasonable view of the matter.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRUITS AND GRACES OF SPIRIT

Question.—What is the difference between “the fruits of the Spirit” and “the graces of the Spirit?”

Answer.—The expression “fruits of the Spirit” has very much the same significance as “graces of the Spirit.” One term might be proper to use at one time and the other at another time, according to the figure of speech which would be appropriate. If we were speaking of a quality which was being developed, it would be proper to think of the fruitage of the Spirit—those beautiful qualities worked out in our lives through the indwelling of the Spirit of God. If we were speaking more particularly of the individual and his conduct, we might more appropriately say that the graces which he manifested and which he had developed were brought out through his possession of the Holy Spirit, through his possession of the spirit of love.

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— March 1, 1912 —