(Hock the Horses!, continued from page 5)

successful in its fight against sin and in evangelizing the world, must resort to the tactics of the enemy?

Why must we have people write articles and make speeches wherein the reader or the hearer is carried to the Baptist church or to some other denominational group so that he can finally learn how to be a very successful child of God? I suppose that by reading of the numerical growth of various denominational groups, members of the church are supposed to be impressed with the fact that if they will do certain things that the denominationalists are doing, then the church too will have a certain amount of successful growth. How stupid we can sometimes be!

Brethren, if we had false doctrine like they do, don’t you think that with zeal and determination we could come to be quite “successful” even as they? We have intelligent people, functional facilities, competent staffs, programs of work, and loads of money—even as they. And if we had the doctrine or doctrines of those outside the church, with a certain amount of concerned, persistent effort, we, too, could come in time to look like the other groups, and just one of many equally valuable groups of religious people. But, such must not be! May God help us to wake up to the fact that our doctrine is in a category all by itself! The church of which we are a part is in a category all by itself! And we are taking a giant step backward when we begin to ape and mimic those in the world whose doctrine is false to the core—under the guise or pretense of our wanting to be successful.

Old Testament Israel’s army was not made strong for war on a diet of “enemy viewpoint” and “enemy procedures.” Imagine the very idea of God’s telling Joshua to save alive some of the enemy soldiers so that Israel’s men could be taught the finer points of horsemanship and charioteering!

Brethren, it is past time for the Israel of God, the church (Gal. 6:16) to cease being enamored with the methods of the enemy. It is time to “hock the horses,” and to “burn the chariots.”

Mac Deaver
(—from Biblical Notes, March, 1978.)

(Marriage, continued from page 9)

made before God” (Proverbs 2:16,17). God calls the marriage vows a contract made by the wife. The same holds true for the husband: “The LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant” (Malachi 2:14).

The marriage covenant is like the parity covenant because both parties voluntarily accept the terms of the agreement. The marriage covenant relates to the universal covenant because God’s laws are universal. They are for all people whether or not the people are familiar with the laws. The marriage covenant is like the self-assumed or unilateral covenant because one is to fulfill his/her obligation in marriage regardless of the circumstances and regardless of how his/her mate reacts. Perhaps the suzerainty covenant is of most importance in comparison. The marriage covenant is like this one because it is important for us to understand that we cannot negotiate with God. We must accept or reject His commands, but we cannot change them.

God not only expects us to keep the covenant of marriage, He demands it! “But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:20-24). “Jesus replied, ‘Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery” (Matthew 19:8,9). God’s words in Malachi 2:15 are, “I hate divorce.”

Bill Stewart
(Bear Valley Bible Institute, Denver, CO)