VOL.
XL February 1957
No. 2 Half Hour Meditations on Romans "Why Speakest Thou unto Them in Parables?" Is Israel Emerging from Hell?"In
hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." - Luke 16:23. TWO
assumptions are implicit in this question, namely, (1) Hell is a condition
from which emergence or escape is a possibility, and (2)
Israel,
for some indefinite period, has been in hell. With both assumptions we are
in agreement. For
a proper understanding of the significance of the term hell, as it is employed
in the Bible, readers are referred to our new edition of the booklet,
"What say the Scriptures about Hell?" (Free copy on request). In
that booklet, every text of Scripture in which the word hell is found, is
examined. As
to whether or not the nation of Israel has ever been in hell, and, if so,
for how long; for light also on the additional question as to whether
that nation may now be seen emerging from hell, we believe Pastor
Russell's exposition of our Lord's Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus,
furnishes a satisfying answer. To our older readers, as well as to our
more recent subscribers, we suggest a review of that exposition, at this
time. To facilitate such review, we reproduce it, unabridged, in the
following paragraphs. Notwithstanding the fact that it was written so
long ago (1881), it
throws a remarkable light on today's (and tomorrow's) headlines. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus - Luke 16:19-31
The
great difficulty with many in reading this Scripture is that, though they
regard it as a parable, they reason on it and draw conclusions from
it as though it were a literal statement. To so regard it involves several
absurdities; for instance, that the rich man went to "hell"
because he had enjoyed many earthly blessings and gave nothing but crumbs
to Lazarus. Not a word is said about his wickedness. Again, Lazarus was
blessed, not because he was a sincere child of God, full of faith and
trust, not because he was good, but simply because he was poor and sick.
If this be interpreted literally, the only logical lesson to be drawn
from, it is, that unless we are poor beggars full of sores, we will never
enter into future bliss; and that if now we wear any fine linen and
purple, and have plenty to eat every day, we are sure of future torment.
Again, the coveted place of favor is "Abraham's bosom;" and if
the whole statement be literal, the bosom must also be literal, and it
surely would not hold many of earth's millions of sick and poor. But
why consider absurdities? As a parable, it is easy of interpretation. In a
parable the thing said is never the thing meant. We know this from our
Lord's own explanations of his parables. He said "wheat" meant
"children of the kingdom"; "tares," "the children
of the devil"; "reapers," his servants, etc. (Matt. 13.)
The same
classes were represented by different symbols in different parables.
Thus the "wheat" of one parable correspond to the "faithful
servants," and the "wise virgins" of others. So, in this
parable, the "rich man" represents a class, and
"Lazarus" represents another class. In
attempting to expound a parable, an explanation of which the Lord does not
furnish us, modesty in expressing our opinion is certainly appropriate. We
therefore offer the following explanation without any attempt to force
our views upon the reader, except so far as his own truth-enlightened
judgment may commend them as in accord with God's Word and Plan. To our
understanding, Abraham represented God, and the "rich man"
represented the Jewish nation. At the time of the utterance of the
parable, and for a long time previous, the Jews had "fared
sumptuously every day" -- being the especial recipients of God's
favors. As St. Paul says: "What advantage, then, hath the Jew? Much
every way: chiefly, because to them were committed the oracles of God [Law
and Prophecy)." The promises to Abraham and David and their
organization as a typical Kingdom of God, invested that people with
royalty, as represented by the rich man's purple." The typical
sacrifices of the Law constituted them, in a typical sense, a holy
(righteous) nation, represented by the rich man's "fine
linen"-symbolic of righteousness. - Rev. 19:8. Lazarus
represented the outcasts from Divine favor under the Law, who, sin sick,
hungered and thirsted after righteousness. "Publicans and
sinners" of Israel, seeking a better life, and truthhungry Gentiles
who were "feeling after God" constituted the Lazarus class.
These, at the time of the utterance of this parable, were entirely
destitute of those special Divine blessings which Israel enjoyed. They lay
at the gate of the rich man. No rich promises of royalty were theirs; not
even typically were they cleansed; but, in moral sickness, pollution,
and sin, they were companions of "dogs." Dogs were regarded as
detestable creatures in those days, and the typically clean Jew called the
outsiders "heathen" and "dogs," and would never eat
with them, nor marry, nor have any dealings with them. - John 4:9. As
to how these ate of the "crumbs" of Divine favor which fell from
Israel's table of bounties, the Lord's words to the Syro-Phoenician woman
give us a key. He said to this Gentile woman -- "It is not meet
[proper] to take the children's [Israelites'] bread and to cast it to
dogs [Gentiles];" and she answered, "Truth, Lord, but the dogs
eat of the crumbs that fall from their master's table." (Matt. 15:26,
27.) Jesus
healed her daughter, thus giving the desired crumb of favor. But
there came a great dispensational change in Israel's history when as a
nation they rejected and crucified the Son of God. Then their typical
righteousness ceased -- then the promise of royalty ceased to be theirs,
and the kingdom was taken from them to be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof-the Gospel Church, "a
holy nation, a peculiar people." (Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:7, 9; Matt.
21:43.) Thus the "rich man" died to all these special advantages,
and soon he (the Jewish nation) found himself in a cast-off condition-in
tribulation and affliction. In such condition that nation has suffered
from that day to this. Lazarus
also died; the condition of the humble Gentiles and the God-seeking
"outcasts" of Israel underwent a great change, being carried by
the angels (messengers-Apostles, etc.) to Abraham's bosom. Abraham is
represented as the father of the faithful and receives all the children of
faith, who are thus recognized as the heirs of all the promises made to
Abraham; for the children of the flesh are not the children of God,
"but the children of the promise are counted for the seed"
(children of Abraham); "which seed is Christ;" and "if ye
be Christ's, then are ye [believers] Abraham's seed [children], and heirs
according to the [Abrahamic] promise." - Gal. 3:29. Yes,
the termination of the condition of things then existing was well illustrated
by the figure, death-the dissolution of the Jewish polity and the withdrawal
of the favors which Israel had so long enjoyed. There they were cast off
and have since been shown "no favor," while the poor Gentiles,
who before had been "aliens from the commonwealth [the polity] of
Israel and strangers from the covenant of promise [up to this time given
to Israel only] having no hope and without God in the world" were
then "made nigh by the blood of Christ" and reconciled to God. -
Eph. 2:12, 13. To
the symbolisms of death and burial used to illustrate the dissolution of
Israel and their burial or hiding among the other nations, our Lord added
a further figure-"In hell [hades, the grave] he lifted up his eyes,
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off," etc. The dead cannot
lift up their eyes, nor see either near or far, nor converse; for it is
distinctly stated, "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdom, in the grave"; and the dead are described as those who
"go down into silence." (Eccl. 9:10; Psa. 115:17.) The Lord
wished to show that great sufferings or "torments" would be
added to the Jewish nation after their national dissolution and burial
amongst the other peoples dead in trespasses and sins; and that they would
plead in vain for release and comfort at the hand of the formerly despised
Lazarus class. And
history has borne out this parabolic prophecy. For eighteen hundred
years the Jews have not only been in distress of mind over their casting
out from the favor of God and the loss of their temple and other
necessaries to the offerings of their sacrifices, but they have been
relentlessly persecuted by all classes, including professed Christians.
From the latter the Jews have expected mercy, as expressed in the parable"
Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my
tongue;" but the great gulf fixed between them hinders that.
Nevertheless, God still recognizes the relationship established in his
covenant with them, and addresses them as children of the covenant. (Luke
16:25.) These "torments" have been the penalties attached to the
violation of their covenant, and were as certain to be visited upon them
as the blessings promised for obedience. - See Lev. 26. The
"great gulf fixed" represents the wide difference between the
Gospel Church and the Jew-the former enjoying free grace, joy, comfort,
and peace, as true sons of God, and the latter holding to the Law, which
condemns and torments. Prejudice, pride, and error, from the Jewish side,
form the bulwarks of this gulf which hinder the Jew from coming into the
condition of true sons of God by accepting Christ and the gospel of his
grace. The bulwark of this gulf which hinders true sons of God going to
the Jew-under the bondage of the Law-is their knowledge that by the deeds
of the Law none can be justified before God, and that if any man keep
the Law (put himself under it to try to commend himself to God by reason
of obedience to it), Christ shall profit him nothing. (Gal. 5:2-4.) So,
then, we who are of the Lazarus class should not attempt to mix the Law
and the Gospel, knowing that they cannot be mixed, and that we can do no
good to those who still cling to the Law and reject the sacrifice for sins
given by our Lord. And they, not seeing the change of dispensation
which took place, argue that to deny the Law as the power to save would be
to deny all the past history of their race, and to deny all of God's
special dealings with the "fathers" (promises and dealings which
through pride and selfishness they failed rightly to apprehend and use);
hence they cannot come over to the bosom of Abraham, into the true rest
and peace-the portion of all the true children of faith. - John 8:39; Rom.
4:16; Gal. 3:29. True,
a few Jews probably came into the Christian faith all the way down the
Gospel Age, but so few as to be ignored in a parable which represented the
Jewish people as a whole. As at the first, Dives represented the
orthodox Jews, and not the "outcasts of Israel," so down to the
close of the parable he continues to represent a similar class, and hence
does not represent such Jews as have renounced the Law Covenant and embraced
Christianity or such as have become infidels. The
plea of the "rich man" that "Lazarus" be sent to his
five brethren we interpret as follows: The
people of Judea, at the time of our Lord's utterance of this parable, were
repeatedly referred to as "Israel," "the lost sheep of the
house of Israel," "cities of Israel," etc., because all of
the tribes were represented there; but actually the majority of the
people were of the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, but few of the ten
tribes having returned from Babylon under Cyrus' general permission. If
the nation of the Jews (chiefly two tribes) were represented in the one
"rich man," it would be a harmony of numbers to understand the
"five brethren to represent the ten tribes chiefly scattered abroad.
The request relative to them was doubtless introduced to show that all
special favor of God ceased to all Israel (the ten tribes, as well as to
the two more directly addressed). It seems to us evident that Israel only
was meant, for no other nation than Israel had "Moses and the
Prophets" as instructors. (Luke 16:29.) The majority of the ten
tribes had so far disregarded Moses and the Prophets that they did not
return to the land of promise, but preferred to dwell among idolaters; and
hence it would be useless to attempt further communication with them, even
by one from the dead-the figuratively dead, but now figuratively risen,
Lazarus class. - Eph. 2:5. Though
the parable mentions no bridging of this "great gulf," other portions
of Scripture indicate it was to be "fixed" only throughout the
Gospel Age, and that at its close
the
"rich man," having received the measurement of punishment
for his sins, will walk out of his fiery troubles over the bridge of God's
promises yet unfulfilled to that nation. Though
for centuries the Jews have been bitterly persecuted by Pagans, Mohammedans and professed Christians, they are now gradually rising to
political freedom and influence; and although much of "Jacob's
trouble" is just at hand, yet as a people they will be very prominent
among the nations in the beginning of the Millennium. The "vail"
(2 Cor. 3:13-16) of prejudice still exists, but it will be gradually taken
away as the light of the Millennial morning dawns; nor should we be
surprised to hear of great awakenings among the Jews, and many coming to
acknowledge Christ. They will thus leave their hadean state (national
death) and torment, and come, the first of the nations, to be blessed by
the true Seed of Abraham -- Christ, Head and Body. Their bulwark of race
prejudice and pride is. falling in some places, and the humble, .the poor
in spirit, are beginning already to look upon him whom they have pierced,
and to inquire, Is not this the Christ?, And as they look, the Lord pours
upon them the spirit of favor and supplication. (Zech. 12:10.) Therefore,
"Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry
unto her that her appointed time is accomplished."
- Isa. 40:1, 2, margin. In
a word, this parable seems to teach precisely what St. Paul explained in
Rom. 11:19-33. Because of unbelief the natural branches were broken off,
and the wild branches grafted into the Abrahamic root -- promise. The
parable leaves the Jews in their trouble, and does not refer to their
final restoration to favor-doubtless because it was not pertinent to the
feature of the subject treated; but St. Paul assures us that when the
fulness of the Gentiles -- the full number from among the Gentiles necessary
to make up the Bride of Christ -is come in, "they [natural Israel)
shall obtain mercy through your [the Church's) mercy." He assures us
that this is God's covenant with fleshly, Israel (who lost the higher,
spiritual promises, but are still the possessors of certain earthly
promises), to become the chief nation of earth, etc. In proof of this
statement, he quotes from the Prophets, saying: "The deliverer shall
come out of Zion [the glorified Church), and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob [the fleshly seed]." "As concerning the Gospel
[High Calling), they are enemies (cast off) for your sake; but as touching
the election they are beloved for the fathers' sake." "For God
hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. O
the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Half Hour Meditations on Romans
No. 19"God is no respecter of persons; but
in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is
accepted with Him" - Acts 10:34,35 IN THIS "half hour" we commence the consideration of chapter two
of our Epistle. It is plain that throughout the whole of this chapter the
Apostle has the Jew in view. However, it will be a most difficult, a most
delicate, task to prove to the elect people that in the sight of God they
are as much in need as the Gentiles whose degradation he has just
described. And so he proceeds cautiously. At first he expresses his
thought abstractly: "Thou who judgest, whoso- ever thou art." The true name of this collective personage, whose portrait St. Paul
proceeds to draw, will be pronounced later in Rom. 2:17: "Now if thou
Jew." Meanwhile he says many things that are as much for the Gentile
sinner as for the Jew. Judge Not That Ye Be Not JudgedAs we proceed with the study of this chapter, we shall see that in the
first sixteen verses the Apostle lays down the principle of Gods true or
impartial judgment. In the remainder of the chapter he applies this
principle directly to the Jew. Moreover, as in the "Gentile"
passage (Rom. 1:18-32), we found the Apostle stating in condensed form in
verse 18 all of the ideas developed in the remaining verses of that
chapter, so now in this "Jewish" chapter he condenses in the
first two verses the theme he will unfold in those which follow. "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that
judgest; for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for
thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment
of God is according to truth against them which commit such things"
(Rom. 2:1, 2). "Therefore," the opening word, would seem to be logically
connected with the closing verse of chapter one. There we saw that
"with all the blindness which the Apostle charges on the . . .
[Gentiles], and with all the dislike of retaining God in their knowledge
which he ascribes to them, there was still one particular of this
knowledge which they did retain. They still knew as much of Gods judgment
as to be conscious that what they were doing, in the sinfulness and
reprobacy of their minds, was worthy of death." Moreover, it was
there said of the people who committed things worthy of death, "that
they not only did the same, but had pleasure in them that did them. This
last marks a higher and a more formed depravity than the direct commission
of that which is evil. To be hurried along by the violence of passion into
some deed of licentiousness may consist with a state of mind that feels
its own degradation and mourns over the infirmity of its purposes. But to
look with connivance and delight on the sin of others -- to have pleasure
in their companionship -- and to spirit them on in the ways of
disobedience, after perhaps the urgency which prompted his own career of
it had abated; this argues not the subjection of one faculty to another
but the subjection of the whole man to sin." If then to sin while
applauding the sin of others is to aggravate the crime, would not men be
still more inexcusable if they joined in the sin which in others they
condemned? Most surely. "In the former case there is at least
agreement between thought and action -- the man does what he
expressly approves -- while in the second there is an internal
contradiction and a flagrant hypocrisy." "Therefore ," argues the Apostle, "thou art
inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest . . . for thou that
judgest doest the same things." Yes, whosoever thou art, "what
ever name thou bearest, were it even the glorious name of Jew. Paul does
not say this, but it is his meaning." Natural ReligionComing now to verse two the question arises: To whom does the Apostle
refer when he says "We are sure." Since the Epistle is written
to the Christians in Rome, some say that they are referred to. "We,
Christians, are sure." But a statement concerning knowledge possessed
by Christians would avail nothing against the Jewish point of view that
St. Paul is here combating. Others say that the reference is to the Jews
themselves. "We, Jews, are sure." But it was precisely the Jewish conscience
the Apostle was seeking to convince on this subject. To our under standing
the Apostle is referring neither to Christians nor Jews as a class nor yet
to the Gentiles but is referring to every child of Adam. The matter in
question, namely that "the judgment of God is according to truth
against them which commit such things" is a truth "inscribed on
the human conscience as such, and which plain common sense, free from
prejudices, compels us to own." It is as though he had said: "Now every one knows, or every one is
sure that," etc. And what is it that every one knows? It is what has
commonly been called "natural religion," that is to say,
practically, "it is the religion that appeals straight off to the
conscience of almost all honest and civilized men. It is natural religion
to believe that God will judge men with absolute power and insight and
impartiality according to their conduct and characters ;
that there can be no making believe, no substitute for a good character,
no escap ing with a bad one. The Prophets are full of this principle. Our
Lord reasserts it." It is emphasized by the Apostles. Now we know, we are sure, every
one is, that the sentence God pronounces on every man is agreeable to
truth. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
"There would be no more truth in the universe if there were none in
the judgment of God; and there would be none in the judgment of God if, to
be absolved ourselves, it were enough to condemn others." The words
"according to truth" have sometimes been explained "in the
sense of really ; that there is really a judgment of God against
those who . . . . But what the Jews disputed was not the fact of
judgment; it was its impartiality -- that is to say its truth. They
could not get rid of the idea that in that day [the day of wrath and
revelation of the righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5)] they would enjoy
certain immunities due to their purer creed and the greatly higher
position they held than that of other nations." Greater Light Brings Increased ResponsibilitiesNow St. Paul "recognizes that primacy which in the history of
Redemption is really . . .[ theirs]. It is the primacy of the race chosen
to be the organ of revelation and the birth place of . . .[ Messiah]. It
was given sovereignly, not according to the works or to the numbers of the
nation but according to the unknown conditions in the mind of God. It
carried with it genuine and splendid advantages. It even gave the
individual righteous Jew (so surely the language of Rom. 2:10 implies) a
certain special welcome to his Masters Well done, good and faithful; not
to the disadvantage in the least degree of the individual righteous Greek,
but just such as may be illustrated in a circle of ardent and impartial
friendship, where in one instance or another, kinship added to friend ship
makes attachment not more intimate but more interesting. Yes, the Jew has indeed his priority, his primacy, limited and qualified
in many directions but real and permanent in its place; this Epistle is
the great charter of it in the Christian scriptures (see Romans 11). But
whatever the place of it is, it has no place whatever in the question of
the sinfulness of sin, unless indeed to make guilt deeper where light has
been greater. The Jew has a great historical position in the Plan of God.
He has been accorded as it were an official nearness to God in the working
out of the worlds redemption. But he is not one whit the less for this a
poor sinner, fallen and guilty. He is not one moment for this to excuse
but all the more to condemn himself. He is the last person in the world to
judge others. Wherever God had placed him in history he is to place himself, in
repentance and faith, least and lowest at the foot of the cross. "What was and is true of the chosen nation is now and for ever true,
by a deep moral parity, of all communities and of all persons who are in
any sense privileged or advantaged by circumstance. It is true, solemnly
and formidably true, of the Christian church and of the Christian family
and of the Chris tian man." It is especially true of those who have
been privileged to enjoy the light of "Present Truth." Let us not fail to take home to our own hearts, and to make personal
application to our own lives, the lessons the Apostle here would teach.
Does there not lie in the moral failure of the Jew a much needed warning
to us of today against censoriousness? Let us ask ourselves: Does not
"judging" and unkind, not to say unfair, criticism of others
still find a place in our ordinary conversation? "It is of the utmost
consequence that before we judge others, we should have judged ourselves.
And to have done so truth fully has a tendency to make us charitable in
our estimate of others, because we are deeply conscious of our own need of
merciful and lenient consider ation." Again, is there a tendency with us to spiritual pride as with the Jew of
old there was to religious pride? Does the impression gain ground with us
at times that because of the great privileges we have received and the
knowledge of Gods great Plan we have enjoyed; because of the scriptural
purity of our theory of salvation and the close association we have had
with the "Truth" movement; because of the patient courage under
contempt and exclusion of the little group with which we may be
associated, which some call our denomination or sect but which is to us
indeed our Church; because we have successfully stood the tests of recent
years; because of our loyalty to order; because we have stood for liberty
and con tinue to be loyal to its principle; because of these things,
therefore, no matter what happens, it will be well with us in "that
day." If so, let us beware. Let us "Think not to say within ourselves, We have Abraham to our
Father; for . . . God is able of these stones to raise up seed unto
Abraham." For us there is only one altogether safe
"glorying." "God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." -- P. L. Read Humility"He
that is least among you, the same shall be great." -- Luke 9:48, A.R.V. TO
the Greeks meekness was a deplorable lack of courage, so they had no
word that Christian writers could use to represent humility as a virtue.
For that purpose, therefore, they appropriated two Greek words, one
meaning "gentleness," and the other meaning "to
depress." The first of these our translators have usually given as
meek, and the second as humble. Perhaps because the ancient Hebrews were
of a different spirit, the writers of the Old Testament had at their
disposal eight words to express these qualities. The most frequently used
of these is translated both meek and humble. However, as in English,
each of these words is given as a synonym of the other, so in our
consideration we will not have to make any fine distinctions between them. One
of the holy angels, seeing the prospect of an empire on a tiny globe in a
vast universe of suns, with only a little garden and its two occupants as
a nucleus on which to start a world, a kingdom, developed the unholy ambition
to be its ruler. Since one with angelic powers could 'develop such a
devastating, traitorous ambition, we poor, weak humans will need divine
protection to save us from a similar course, and to keep us in that
"lowliness of mind" which was in him who "made himself of
no reputation," but "humbled himself," and was
"obedient unto death." Some
manuscripts favor the King James Translation of our text,
"shall be great," and some favor the "is great," of
the American Standard Version, and since both are teachings that
can well come from our Divine Instructor, we need not take time to decide
in favor of either. In our heavenly judge's eyes the one who is humble is
already great, and will be great through the eternal future, if he
has the faith to appropriate the "grace sufficient," thus
maintaining that humility to the end of this period of testing. Pride
was raising its ugly head when the discussion arose among the disciples as
to which would be greatest in the Kingdom. (Matt. 18:1.) Evidently supreme
intuition saw some sentiment deeper than that which the mere words
conveyed, for in Luke 9:47 we read, "When Jesus saw the reasoning of their
hearts, he took a little child" "in his arms"-a child
not yet old enough to have been contaminated much by the pride of the
elders-and taught them the lesson of humility, a lesson necessary for
every Christian of the entire Age. "Whosoever shall humble himself
as this, little child (thus taking an active part himself in cultivating
this virtue, not leaving it entirely to the Lord or circumstances), the
same is the greatest in the Kingdom." The
inspired record tells us that not all of the early Church profited by this
instruction, for there were some who thought to make themselves great by
becoming "lords over God's heritage," supposing that such
lordship would add glory to themselves; though the brethren were then only
a "little flock," as the true Church has always been. Our Lord's
gentle reproof to those who asked to be appointed to a high position in
the heavenly Kingdom, assures us of his strong disapproval of such false
desire for pre-eminence in the earthly, embryo kingdom. The Apostle's
condemnation of unholy ambition in the teachers of his day, stated in much
stronger language, and also under inspiration, indicates the divine
condemnation sure to fall upon any who strive for prominence by any road
other than that of humility. To his "dearly beloved son,"
Timothy, he said, "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count
their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his
doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them
not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service,
because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These
things teach and exhort. If any man teach otherwise, and consent
not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to
the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing
nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh
envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men ...
from such withdraw thyself." (1 Tim. 6:1-5.) Again in his Second
Epistle to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:1-3) the Apostle warns of still greater
dangers in this our day, when "men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, false accusers, despisers of those that
are good, ... from such turn away." The end of all the proud, the
Wise Man tells us (Proverbs 16:18) is "destruction." THE HUMBLE WALK WITH GODJesus'
lesson on humility which we have been considering seems to have been
imparted soon after Peter, James, and John had been with him in the Mount
of Transfiguration. This and other similar favors shown them could easily
have caused the three to fall under the ' temptation to be proud. Heeding
Micah 6:8 would have spared them, and us, that danger: "He hath
showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy God?" One can be sure his walk with God is entirely too limited,
or not at all, if being in his presence, the presence of the Emperor of
the universe, has not had a humbling effect. Even being in the presence of
one of the so-called great of earth, will usually leave on the mind of one
of the thus honored ones an impression of his littleness. The
margin of the King James Version has a reading just as essential
for our instruction: "Humble thyself to walk with thy
God." For the privilege of entering into his presence, it is
necessary to be humble; not, "thankful that I am not as other men
are," but thankful that he is willing to receive me though I am a
sinner just as other men are-making me acceptable in his Beloved. PRESENT ADVANTAGES OF HUMILITYThe
one who is humble is dead to pomp, foolish show, safe from the danger of
pride because of honors the world can impart, which are but fading
laurels. That
humble one is without malice, without rivals and competitors -- so far as
his own mind is concerned; and so he is a Christian that can say,
"None of these things move me." He knows that if there should be
any attacks of the Adversary that might overthrow him, or any permissions
of service granted by the Lord that might lead to pride, as we can imagine
the three previously mentioned might have been tempted, the Lord will
have some antidote to administer, just as the invitation of Saul, the
arch-persecutor of the brethren to become the successor of Judas, may
have protected the "eleven" from the sin of pride. One
of the very greatest of our assistances to humility is the consciousness
that God knows our works and our thoughts (Isa. 66:18), doubtless even
including those thoughts that receive no welcome from us, but flit through
our minds to be banished instantly upon arrival; but even so, always an
occasion to petition mercy, and confess our undone condition, thankful
that he who knows our thoughts, also knows "our frame, that we are
dust." This consciousness humbles us and also helps us to be more
merciful toward our brethren, our companions in affliction. Pride takes
pleasure in beholding the weaknesses of another; humility rejoices in
covering "all sins" with the mantle of love-an absolute
essential method for each of us to use as regards others if profitable
fellowship with them is to be our privilege; even as essential as it is to
have our heavenly Father use it for us if we are to be received into his
fellowship. Closely
related in greatness and in kind is the assurance of Mark 9:37:
"Whosoever shall receive one of such children [disciples are
evidently meant] in
my name [regardless
of his imperfections, or the imperfections of the one who receives him] receiveth
me." How
out of all proportion is this reward for humility on the part of one who
has not one thing in himself to be proud of, but abundant reason for shame
and humility! JESUS' HUMILITYAs
though receiving himself were not honor enough, Jesus, demonstrating his
own humility, adds to the reward for the humility that accepts to
fellowship those whom he receives, the assurance that the one who receives
him receives the Father. To us tae privilege of receiving him would be
reward enough, but not so to his humble mind. He knows that the greatest
of all blessings is to receive the heavenly Father into our lives. But
that, too, like the receiving of Jesus into our hearts, is dependent upon
our being humble enough to receive as fellow-members of the Body those
whom God has invited into sonship. "If we walk in the light [if we
are truth brethren, living the truth] we
have fellowship
one with another." Evidently one is not really "in the
truth," "in the light," in the complete sense, if there is one called one that he is depriving of his
fellowship, except on Scriptural grounds. "If
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship [partnership,
gives the thought more accurately] one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin," Brother John adds.
Evidently if we do not practice such a partnership, the cleansing blood
ceases to be ours. Perhaps this is the key to the reason we cannot have
our heavenly Father and Bridegroom in our lives if we do not take our
brethren into our fellowship, into our partnership. We, without that
blood, are still condemned sinners, and such cannot be partners of the
Father and his Son. The standing that acceptance of the cleansing blood
gives us, must be maintained. There is no entrance into the heavenly
presence for law breakers, but "love is the fulfilling of the
law." Love never fails to: desire the fellowship of the ones loved. Therefore,
"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor
preferring one another." - 1 John 1:7; Romans 12:10. In
this last text we have an excellent means of testing ourselves on two
points -humility, and love for the brethren. Can we honestly say, and can
we prove, that it gives us greater pleasure to see another brother taking
a higher place than ourselves in the Lord's service? If
so, we are near
the end of the way in Christian development. And if all the brethren of
our association have attained that same degree of Christlikeness,
never again will we see difficulties among brethren, never any
separations. Those who fail to learn the lesson Jesus,
"being fashioned as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient unto
death, yea; the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a
name which is above every name. "He that humbleth himself shall be
exalted." - Phil. 2:8; Matt. 23:12. EVEN "JEHOVAH HUMBLETH HIMSELF"Jesus
is the answer to the question of Psalm 113:5, 6: "Who is like unto
Jehovah our God, that hath his seat on high, that humbleth himself to
behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?" So we cannot
go to a better one for advice as to how to attain this most difficult
virtue. He advises, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
'meek and lowly in heart." - Matt. 11:29. Love
means service. If our heads are to wear crowns in heaven, our necks must
become - used to the yoke here. Only the humble will accept the yoke, for
that means servitude.- "By love serve one another" is the
Apostle's advice. (Gal. 5:13.) The cross was Jesus' and the Father's
;greatest service to mankind; so it is into service with them that we are
invited when Jesus' voice reaches us: "If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matt. 16:24.)
The
brethren to whom he first said that, thought they were already following
him; but the lesson of the full
denying
of self, uncomplainingly, yea, rejoicingly bearing their crosses, they
had not yet learned. "Thus
saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy,
I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." (Isa.
57:15.) Since there is "none that is righteous, no not one,"
what else can we be but "contrite and humble"? And blessed is
that attitude, for it will get for us the attention and assistance of
the One who can perfect in us holiness. Peter's advice would never have
been, "As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy," if
he had not known of God's promise of "grace
sufficient,"
forgiving and assisting grace. (1 Peter 1: 15.) "Though Jehovah is
high, yet bath he respect unto the lowly." And so this very quality of humility will draw from him his assistance. Humility
is a quality usually found in the truly great, whether they be of, earth
or of heaven. Pride, the opposite quality, demonstrates an appalling smallness
in the soul that harbors it, colossal ignorance of self. A HUMBLE TEMPLE FOR THE ALMIGHTYThe
sixty-fifth chapter of Isaiah describes the glories of the new earth.
But the next chapter opens with the assurance that even that will not be
glorious enough to be a dwelling place for Jehovah. "Thus saith
Jehovah, heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what manner
of house will ye build for me, and what place shall be my rest?"
Assuredly the most ingenious, the most skilful of men, could not build a
temple here suitable for his dwelling. The truth regarding the temple
actually planned for him is 'so astounding that Jehovah himself must be
quoted as the authority for its description: "Ye are the temple of
the living God; as God bath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people!' The glory of God
fills these living temples when they have humbled themselves to walk with
their God. The
temples built for the Jewish nation made them think they were essential
to God's purpose. Like the Jewish nation, organizations and teachers have
a habit of thinking they are necessary in God's plan. As soon as that
thought is harbored, they become unnecessary. "To this man will I
look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at
my word." (Isa. 66:2.) "He forgetteth not the cry of the
meek." (Margin, Psa. 9:12.) "God heareth not sinners," but
he "has heard the desire
of the
meek." (Psa. 10:17.) The desire of a humble heart is in line with
God's will. Some
very helpful and beautiful examples of meekness have come to us from the
past. Abraham: "I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, I who am
but dust and ashes"-a good description of any human being. Jacob:
"I am not worthy of all thy loving kindnesses, and of all the truth
which thou hast showed unto thy servant." Gideon: "Behold my
family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's
house." Our list cannot be made complete, but Moses and Joshua must
not be passed by without mention. And the herald of the new age, John the
Baptist, ushered it in with proper humility: "He that cometh after
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear." (Matt.
3:11.) This way of expressing humility has lost much of its, force for us
who live in a different day. In his time the vilest of the slaves, the
historians tell us, were given charge of the sandals. Jesus' testimony
regarding the Baptist was different: "Verily I say unto you: Among
them that are born of women there bath not arisen a greater than John the
Baptist." The Baptist had 'the humility that God
rewards.
Paul, classing himself as "the chiefest of sinners," "less
than the least of all saints," with all his talents and faithful
service, set us an example we will need much educating to be able to
follow. "Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a
heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness,
meekness, long-suffering,
forbearing one another, even as the Lord forgave you, so do ye." -
Col. 3:12, 13. HUMILITY,
THEN FORBEARANCE, THEN SERVICE Ephesians
4:2 enjoins, "With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering,
forbearing one another in love." We will have to be "clothed with humility" in order to have
this love that serves. (1 Peter 5:5.) Jesus, girding himself with a towel,
finished his ministry with a visible lesson in humility, a reiteration
of the lesson of cross bearing. SCORN FOR OTHERS NOT AN EVIDENCE OF HUMILITYProverbs
3:4: "Surely he scorneth the scorners and giveth grace unto the lowly,"
should give confusion of face to us who have taken pleasure in scorning
others who proclaim themselves followers of the meek and lowly Nazarene,
but who struggle in a lesser light than we enjoy. Instead of scorning, we
should have had extended pity and a helping hand. One cannot but recognize
how stumblingly they walk, but scorning them for it only brings upon us
the scorn of the One who is our Judge. "Blessed are the poor in
spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." "It
is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone
and keep silence, because He bath
laid it upon, him. Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may
be hope [because then there will be no boastful, scornful words to
disgrace us with our God]. Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him;
let him be filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not cast off
forever. For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according
to the multitude of his loving kindnesses." - Lam. 3:27-32. -
P. E. Thomson Surrender
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