Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

eap."man."ahead;"creature"us."SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONOctober 10, 1954by Rev. Joseph A. Hill(Lessons based on International Sunday SchoolLessons ; the International Bible Lessons forChristian Teaching, copyrighted by InternationalCouncil of Religious Education.)GOD'S ANSWER TO MAN'SPERPLEXITYLesson Material: Job 38-42Printed Text: Job 38:1-7; 42:1-6, 10aMemory Verse: Psalm 46:10 "Be still,and know that I am God."An ultimate ethical principle undergirdingthe moral foundation of the universe is that sin brings suffering intohuman experience, while righteousnessresults in man's well being. In the Biblethis truth is expressed by the well knownproverb, "Whatsoever a man soweth, thatshall he also Unless this principlehold good, God is not God. The sin ofour first parents and themisery demonstrate the realityprinciple of moral government.subsequentof thisBut human experience is not alwaysseen to be in harmonywith this principle. Men suffer misfortune in spite oftheir personal integrity, while othersprosper through their iniquity. How, then,can the facts of actual experience beseen to accord with the justice of God?That was Job's problem. If the boilsthat covered Job's body and the wars thattook away his domestic animals andservants and the storm that slew his sonsand daughters are the result of sin, thenJob has feared God "fornaught."It hasbeen no profit to him that he is "a perfect and an uprightWhat is the answer to this perplexingproblem of human suffering? The answerthat Job's three friends gave only madeJob's grief more painful. The basic assumption of their arguments is that notGod but a moral principle is sovereignover the universe. Their explanation ofJob's experience was based on humanreason apart from divine revelation (seelast week's lesson). What Job neededwas God's explanation.Job made a real step in advance whenhe turned away from human wisdomand sought the answer from God. Baffledby the best thinking of his day, Job wasdriven to seek a revelation from God asto the meaning of his suffering. "SurelyI would speak to the Almighty, and Idesire to reason with God" (13:3). Jobmade real progress when he said that.Only when God spoke concerning Job'ssuffering was he satisfied. God's answer isrecorded in chapters 38-42.God gave Job His answer, but He didnot give him a "solution" to the problemof human suffering. Nevertheless, God'sanswer is satisfying. Having God's answer, there is no further need or desire toquestion. To question further is to question God's justice and goodness.September 22, 1954Thereader who expects to find a reasonableexplanation of the problem in these chapters is likely to be disappointed. Forthe problem of human suffering is aproblem, not for reason, but for faith.Faith assures us that God is sovereignover our lives. Whatever happens to ushappensbecause God has decreed it.Faith also assures us that, whateverGod may decree for our lives, God iswise and good. "Only good is God toIsrael, and to those who are of a cleanheart"(Psalm 73:1). In all our strugglesto understand the providence of God inlife's experiences, there is the place wemust begin. God is wise and good. Nomatter what He does, He is wise andgood. What further explanation do weneed?That was the answer that God gave toJob. God pointed out the magnificenceand wonder of His created works. CouldJob understand the wisdom that createdthe earth and the heavens and all that isin them? Was Job's wisdom capable ofcomprehending even the things that hecould see the earth and the sea and thestars of the firmament and the beasts ofthe field? How much less, then, couldJob comprehend of the sovereign andwise God who made them! It was notfor Job to understand,but to trust.Would Job doubt God's wisdom in creation? Then why should he doubt God'sgoodness in His works of providence?That was all God gave to Job : "We walksight."by faith, not by When you can'tsee, you must trust.Job saw, through this divine revelation, "the absolute distance between theCreator and the (E. J. Young,An Introduction to the Old Testamet,Eerdmans, 1950, p. 320). He saw howfutile it is for man to try to comprehendthe infinite wisdom of God or the mystery of His acts. As God spoke to him,Job's pride was abased and his spirithumbled. He realized that there was noneed of asking for an explanation of hismisfortunes. God is wise and good. Godis sovereign over life and not a moralprinciple. Job's sufferings somehow havetheir place in God's most wise, holy andincomprehensible disposition of things.Therefore, all is well (Young, ibid.).God is upon the throne. That is all Jobneeds to know. It was a sin even to question the matter. Hence, Job abhors himself and repents. He is, after all, a sinner, and God was working out His purposes concerning Job, for His own glory.Man's comfort in tribulation comes,not from reason, but by revelation. God'sanswer to man's need in the hour of trialis not: "Cheer upbetter days arerather it is: "Only believe. .Faith is faith only if it trusts God whenthere is no prospect of better days ahead.Nor does the hope of relief at some futureday relieve the reality of the presenthour's pain. Job was certain that one dayhis righteousness would be vindicated."I know that my Redeemer liveth, andthat he shall stand at the latter day upontheearth"(19:25; the Hebrew wordtranslated "Redeemer" literally means"one whorepays,"that is an avenger orvindicator). Yet Job's hope of futurecompensation did not satisfy him. Onlythe assurance that God is good NOW canmake misfortune bearable. By revelationGod has assured us that He IS good.The Bible was written as God's answer toman in his present misery.Behind all that God has said concerning man's trouble and his suffering,stands the cross of Jesus Christ (seeHebrews 12:1-11; Romans 5:8; Romans8:31-39; 2 Corinthians 4:8-18; 1 Peter1:3-9). Only faith can embrace the sufferings of Calvary. Reason cannot helpus to see sin borne vicariously, evil vanquished, and death on the scaffold atCalvary. Faith finds its only mediumin revelation, in which God interpretsand gives significance to the baffling experiences of human life. And faith, instead of attempting to justify God, justifies sinners!PRAYER MEETING TOPICfor October 13, 1954PERSEVERANCE ESSENTIAL TOSALVATIONI John 2:19By M. S. McMillan, D.D.Psalms34:8-11,37:30-33, page 94119 :Pt. 1, page 287page 82138:1-4, page 338On perserverance read Confession ofFaith chapter 17. References: John 10:28, 29; 2 Pet. 1:10, 11.I. Heretics in the New TestamentChurchJesus warned that such would be thecase; Matt. 24:4, 5, 11, 23, 24. The textfor our study calls them antichrists,(See I Jno. 2:18,19). All who are againstChrist are antichrists, Matt. 12:30. TheEpistles to the Corinthians, to the Colossians and to the seven churches showthat even during the lifetime of theapostles antichristian heresies threatened to make havoc of the Church. Theapostle Paul warned against false teachers: Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim.4:1, 2 and the apostle John in his Epistles is wrestling with the antichrists.Just to the degree that any sect or doctrine is in opposition to Christ and Hisessential claims it is antichrist. In IJohn 21:18 the apostle says, "There aremany antichrists. Ver. 19 shows that heis talking about antichrists in theChurch.""They went out from187