Basic HTML Version
on the subject. For a more detai led
study, write for our free booklet ti–
tled
Do You Have an lmmortal Soul?
m
"You're always saying that this
.Kt
is Satan's world. lf something
is mine,
1
am free to do with it what–
ever
1
please. Yet you say Satan can
only do what God allows, or else he
would do what he liked and com–
pletely destroy God's human cre–
ation. Daniel 4:32 says, God " rules
the kingdom of men and gives it to
whom he will. " How can you then say
that this is Satan's world , when he
can't do what he wants with it?"
C.C. ,
Columbus, Ohio
R
When the Bible speaks of this
111
as Satan's world, we.must un–
derstand that the word " world" in
the New Testament is usually de–
rived from the Greek word kosmos,
meaning " world" not in the sense
of the planet Earth, but rather this
world's organized system or civ–
il ization. The Greek word
aion
("age") is also occasionally trans–
lated " world, " again implying the
system or civil ization characteristic
of this "age" in which humanity
populates the planet.
Salan is the " god of this world
[aion
or " age"]" (11 Cor. 4:4), and
as such has guided, influenced and
affected the thinking and culture of
mankind. God as all-powerful Cre–
ator owns this planetas well as the
entire universe. He has
allowed
Satan's control, generally keeping
hands off for the duration of this
age as a means of better accom–
plishing His ultimate purpose-but
He retains the right to step in and
overrule Satan at any particular
time He chooses. This arrangement
suits God's purpose for the present,
but the time is coming when a new
age will dawn " wherein dwells righ–
teousness.' ' Satan and his minions
wi ll be bound and the earth will be
al peace for a thousand years,
ruled by Jesus Christ, who qualified
for that rulership when He over–
came the devil in the cosmic battle
of wills recorded in the Gospel ac–
counts (see Matthew
4:1 -11 ;
Luke
4:1-13;
Mark
1:12-13).
So although
Salan is temporarily in charge, he
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1977
has already been disqualified and
will be deposed at Christ's second
coming. For more on the subject of
Salan, write for your free copy of
the booklet
Did God Create
a
Devil?
m
"Matthew 18:11 reads, 'For the
lK.i
Son of man is come to save
that which was lost.' And Luke 19:1
O
states, 'The Son of man is come to
seek and to save that which was
los
t.'
Most preachers and theolo–
gians interpret these verses as ap–
plying to the general condition of all
humanity brought about by Adam
and Eve's so-called 'fall' in the Gar–
den of Eden. What is your under–
standing of Matthew 18:11 and Luke
19:10?"
J.N. ,
Saluda, South Carolina
~
" Lost" in this context refers
to al l of humanity except for
those individuals who have come
under the blood of Christ. All have
sinned, and the wages of sin is eter–
na! death in a lake of tire (1 John
1
:8,
1O;
Rom .
3:23; 6:23;
Rev.
20: 14-15).
Therefore, everyone
who has not yet accepted Christ as
his Savior is on "Death Row," soto
speak-awaiting the death penalty
for sins. Those who have not ac–
cepted Christ are "perishing." This
principie may be seen in 1 Thessa–
lonians
2:1 O
(New lnternational Ver–
sien): " . . . and in every sort of evil
that deceives
those who are per–
ishing.
They perish because they
refused to love the truth and so be
saved. "
Christ came to save sinners–
those who would
admit
that they
were sinners, such as Zacchaeus,
and who made an effort to live righ–
teous lives (Luke
19:5-1
0). This
stands in sharp contras! to the atti–
tude of the Pharisees, who labeled
the publ icans (tax collectors for the
Roman government) sinners and
believed themselves to be righ–
teous.
So unless a person admits he is a
sinner, repents, and accepts Christ,
he is doomed to ultimate eternal
death-he is " lost." But this does
not mean that God wil l not give
everyone a chance to be saved .
That opportunity may not come in
this lite, however. lt may come at a
tuture resurrection to physical lite.
This is explained in our reprint
article " ls This the Only Day of
Salvation?" (Write for your free
copy.)
W
"Could you explain some–
-
where in The P/ain Truth how if
someone is trying to find the real
God, he won't unless God decides to
'call' him?
1
thought we were 'free
moral agents' so therefore we
choose; but this 'calling' seems like
we have no choice."
Anonymous,
Oshkosh , Wisconsin
~
The key to your question lies
in the term "moral." Yes, we
are free moral agents-we are free
to act morally or immorally . We are
free to obey or disobey the divine
wil l. Even the Gentiles, said Paul,
"do by nature the things contained
in the law" (Rom.
2:14).
God has
not torced us to go one way or the
other. All human beings have the
capacity for good and for evil. We
all sin (Rom.
3:23).
But by the same
token we all do good trom time to
time.
Our calling is irrespective of all of
this . We are called to the Kingdom
(Matt.
25:34).
Jesus said, "No man
can come to me, except the
Father ... draw him ... " (John
6:44).
God attracts or "draws"
those whom He is call ing to the
body of Christ which is the Church
(1 Cor.
12:13).
He
brings
us to re–
pentance (11 Tim.
2:25).
Once we have been called and
placed in the Church by the Holy
Spirit, we are still free moral agents.
We are stil l "at liberty" to disobey
the divine will-but the penalty for
stubborn continuance in so doing is
stern and certain. The wages of sin
is death (Rom.
6:23).
Those who
have been given the Spirit of God
have a greater responsibility to
"mortify the deeds of the flesh"
through the power of the Spirit (Col.
3:5-8).
To further answer this question
you might find our free reprint arti–
cles "How Does God Call?" and
"The True Meaning of Pre–
destination" helpful.
41