November 19th, 1942

 
Again we will try to write a few lines on the above subject, according to the promise we made in the last issue of The Primitive Baptist. This time we wish to call attention to (Romans 8:28-33), which reads as follows: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be. against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Before taking up a line of thought in connection with the subject of election and predestination, we wish to say a few words concerning another matter contained in the Scripture above quoted. We wish to say a few things concerning the words all things in the text. Here is a real need of rightly dividing the word of truth, as the Apostle Paul taught Timothy, in (II Timothy 2:15), where he said, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” To rightly divide is to rightly apply-apply each Scripture where it belongs. To quote a text and apply it where the Lord did not put it is to wrongly divide the word of truth. To put it where it belongs, and apply it to what the Lord has applied it, is to rightly divide it. He did not say to divide truth from error. That will take care of itself when the truth is rightly divided, or rightly applied. Everything taught in the Bible is truth. The Bible is the truth. But every truth in the Bible belongs just where God has placed it. Let us illustrate this fact in this way: In (II Timothy 1:9) the apostle said, “Who hath
saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Here the apostle tells us, emphatically, that this is a saving which is not according to our works. Our works, whether good or bad, do not have
a thing in the whole wide world to do with this saving. The things which we do, or the things which we may leave undone, do not have a thing in the world to do with this saving. This is a saving which is not according to what we do. Can we rightly divide the word of truth by saying there is no saving at all that what we do has
nothing to do with? Let us see what the same apostle has said in (I Timothy 4:16) “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shah both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” In this text the apostle tells Timothy he would save himself and them that hear him by doing this.
Here is a saving, then, which this minister was to accomplish by doing what the Lord here commanded him to do, or by doing that which he was instructed to do.

Timothy would not save himself in heaven by doing this. He would not make himself to become a child of God by doing this. It was too late for him to save himself in the sense of being regenerated by doing this, for he was already a child of God and a called minister of Jesus Christ. He had already been born from above;
and hence it was too late for him to do this in order to be born again. But it was not too late for him to save himself from false doctrine, or from the doctrines and commandments of men, by doing this. It was necessary that he do this in order to save himself from false doctrines, or from the doctrines and commandments of
men. By doing this, he would not only save himself from these things, but he would save them that hear him. The word hear, as it is used in this text, means to take heed, or to observe the teaching. It does not simply mean to hear the vocal sound of your preaching, but to take heed to it. This means to understand and then to
observe the teaching. The unregenerate cannot understand gospel preaching, or gospel teaching. “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.” - (John 8:43). Jesus said this to some wicked unregenerated Jews. In ((7) (John 8:47) He said, “He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore
hear them not, because ye are not of God.” One must first be of God in order to be able to hear God's words, or to hear the gospel. “We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.” - (I John 4:6). Those who really hear the gospel preaching are already of God; and the true minister is to
save such persons, as well as himself from false doctrines, from the doctrines and commandments of men. This matter is very important for the benefit, instruction, and comfort of the Lord's humble poor, as they are pilgrims and strangers here; but this does not have a thing in the world to do with them reaching heaven, or
with their happiness in the glory world. One time when we were in discussion with a gentleman he asked, “What in the world do you preach for? Why do you spend so much time in that work, and so much labor in that line? You say that no one is saved as a result of the preaching you do; then what do you preach for, if it is not  to save somebody?” We replied that we do try to, and expect to save some folks, by our preaching, the Lord helping us. He then wanted to know what we expected to save them from. We replied by saying, “We expect to save some from the heresy which you teach.” We are sure that by the Lord's help many of His little children have been saved from heresy here in the world by the preaching which has been done by the Lord's true ministers. Here is a plain distinction which shows clearly the necessity of rightly dividing the word of truth. We need to apply the word saved where it belongs where and when we find it in God's blessed Book. The same thing  is true regarding other things taught therein. Suppose we apply the expression all things, as found in our text, to everything that exists in the world. If we do that, we are sure we would not be rightly dividing the word of truth. Will it do to say that God and Satan are working together? We were told, once, of a preacher who said, “God cannot lie; but He raised up a nasty little devil to do His lying for Him.” God
did not raise Pharaoh up to lie, but to show His power in him, and that His name might be declared throughout all the earth. If that preacher told the truth, then God wanted some lying done, but was ashamed to do it Himself, so He “raised up a nasty little devil” to do that for Him. The only job the devil has, according to that, is what God raised him up to do, and what God wanted him to do-the things the Lord is ashamed to do Himself. So, according to that, they must be working together. Perhaps, according to that, they went into partnership, and are working harmoniously together, and God is as well pleased with the devil and his work as
He was, or is, with the work of His dear Son. This may be true, but we confess that we have not so understood God's Book to teach. Satan has been working, from, the first account we have of him, contrary to God; and he is doing that yet. Again, we are told of two things which do not work together: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:  so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” -Gal. v. 17. Here are two things which are contrary the one to the other. As they are contrary the one to the other, they are not working together. They are working contrary to each other. Here is wherein there is a warfare going on in the child of grace. That one who has been born of God, or from above, still is in possession of that old sinful nature, the flesh, and he is also in possession of the Spirit; and these are contrary the one to the other. From hence arises the warfare within; and this is a warfare that will never cease while they live here in the world. These two things are contrary the one to the other. It has always been that way, and always will be that way, here in this world. They do not work together. One influences and leads in one direction, and the other leads and influences in the opposite direction. We cannot rightly divide the word of truth by applying the expression in our text, all things, to these two things which are contrary the one to the other. The all things in our text, then, does not mean all things numerically, but it applies to the all things under consideration not the all things which the Lord will give us, as expressed in verse 32, which the  apostle says, or teaches, that the Lord will give us. We have now just reached the text, or the part of the text, bearing directly upon the subject, but we have written enough for this time; so we will try to continue the matter in our next issue. Perhaps we have written enough on this subject. Unless our readers desire that we continue the subject further, we may try to conclude with our next article. May the  Lord bless our readers. Please remember us in prayer. C. H. C.