Thru the Bible - Questions & Answers

Guest (Male): Does God show favoritism? Why does he seem to punish some and not others, as in Genesis chapter 32, when Israel rebelled and worshipped the golden calf? Well, stay with us and find out.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say than to you he hath said.

This is the question and answer program, a ministry of the Through the Bible Radio Network with our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee. Now, let’s get to our questions. We’ll begin with this one from a listener in Houston, Texas, who writes, "What is the relationship of the resurrection of the saints in Matthew 27 verses 52 and 53 and the resurrection of the believers in Christ at the second coming?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And I think that I should turn to Matthew 27 and read verses 52 and 53. And I probably should just back up and read verse 51. "And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

Now, let me say, first of all, there are those that like to question the historical truth of this statement. There are many that actually say they believe the Bible, but they feel like somehow another that this is so different that it shouldn't be in the canon of scripture. And may I say that by all of the universal scholarship today, all agree that this is part of the gospel of Matthew and that it belongs here, that it's part of the record, and that it is absolutely historical.

Now, that's the first thing I want to say about it. And the second is that there are those that feel like, well, maybe the apostle saw the open graves that were opened by the earthquake and he thought that some of them came out of the graves. And therefore, we cannot account for this because it's difficult to account for such a transaction and the words are very obscure. You hear that sometimes.

And may I say that the interesting thing is that the words are not obscure. It's a simple, brief statement, right to the point. No way in the world of missing it. And to try to evade answering the question for that reason is, I think, begging the question altogether.

But actually, this is so interwoven in the text that we have to accept it as part of the inspired word of God. It harmonizes with the open graves, as you would expect that the graves being opened. And then we're told here that only some came out of the grave. This is a credible statement of fact and it should be taken at face value.

Now, having said that, let me say something else concerning it. Who were they? How many of them did come out? Were they those that had recently died because people knew them, apparently? Or were they ones that had been dead for years? Did they go into the houses of the people, or did they walk the streets? Were they on earth for the forty days of the Lord's ministry after His resurrection? What about them? May I say to you, we're not told. We are just given this simple statement of fact.

And let me say this to you, that this is one of the many instances in the Bible where statements are made. And if a human had written a story in a human book, having said so much, he never could have said so little. Can you imagine today someone writing just this simple statement if they had this much information? Why, they'd write two or three books on it because there are a lot of books coming out today that don't have this much information to base the book on.

But they're coming from the press. And Solomon is right, of the making of many books there is no end, and they keep coming forth. So that there are many questions that arise here, but we can't answer them. We have to face that.

Now, why was this given to us then? Why record it then? Why tell us this much? I think that it means that these people appeared, they were known. And it doesn't mean that they were recently dead. I think we could answer that because when Moses, you remember, appeared with Elijah yonder at the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus didn't have to introduce the apostles to them. They knew who they were. So that that would be no problem at all.

The big question here, and this seems to be a rather long way around to answer your question, but I'm coming to it now. The main question is: what kind of a resurrection was it? Now, there are six resurrections that are recorded in the gospels, which actually were restorations of life. And when I say not in the gospels, in the entire record of scripture. And all of these were revived in the natural body because they died again. Lazarus died again. Jairus' daughter died again. The son of the widow of Nain died again.

And in the resurrection of the saints, we're told that they are given a glorified body and they'll never have to die again. Therefore, this was, I believe, just a restoration to their former life. And I can't see that it is anything other than that. I do not believe that they could have had a glorified body and that they are not part of the company of those that are raised at the rapture at the coming of Christ. We're told that the order of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, we're told Christ the first fruits and afterward those that are Christ's. Somebody says, "But these are Christ's, right?" But when? At His coming.

So that we cannot put this group with the ones that are raised at the rapture of the church. Therefore, my feeling is that they were raised in a natural body and probably like Enoch and Elijah, they did not die again. They went away, I think, with the Lord Jesus when He ascended. He led captivity captive.

But they were given to us as a token, because the resurrection of Christ is such a tremendous truth and fact of the Christian faith that His resurrection meant that there would be these that would be a token, a symbol, a model, an illustration of the resurrection that would be coming along later. And that's the reason I said at the beginning that that's the only relationship that there is to this resurrection and that of the saints at the rapture of the church.

Now, I have really hit the high points in this. I would like very much to recommend to you a book that is titled *The Six Miracles of Calvary* written by William R. Nicholson. And he was a very great Bible teacher. And I would suggest that you get that because those six miracles of Calvary are to me just as important as the seven last words of Christ at the time of His death. And so I would recommend that.

Guest (Male): We now have a question from a listener in Solvang, California, who has a specific question from Exodus chapter 32, and he writes, "Why were Aaron and the Levites spared from punishment?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, I think that I should turn to the thirty-second chapter of the book of Exodus and read what Moses has written here and see what we can make out of it. You give me now verses 26, 27, 28. I'll read all three of them.

"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."

So that actually, it was a small group comparatively speaking that perished there that day. And I think you need to take that into consideration. And this was a judgment of God upon a people who have now seen His marvelous redemption of bringing them out of Egypt. And they began immediately to make a golden calf and they began to turn from God to idols. They are breaking here the very commandments that Moses was getting on top of the mountain and they were turning from the living God.

Now, your question is: why were Aaron and evidently the sons of Levi spared? They too and especially Aaron had taken part in making of the golden calf. Now, you apparently didn't pay attention to the fact that Moses gave them a question. And he gave them an opportunity to make a decision, to turn from idolatry back to the living God. He says, "Who's on the Lord's side? And whoever he is, let him come over to me." Well, we're told that Aaron and the Levites came to him. And that's the reason they were spared.

Anybody else could have come over. Now, we're not told, but I have a notion that most of the camp came over because there were only 3,000 slain out of that great company of over a million. And there must have been, a little later on, they were able to man an army that went up past 100,000. So evidently, many came over. And the only reason that Aaron and the Levites are mentioned is because they are God's representative. They are His minister to execute judgment upon the people.

And that is something that we're forgetting today. We have become so easy on the criminal because we must be nice, you know. And it's so un-Christian. And they try to drag Jesus into this and act as if He did not believe in judgment. You ought to read the woes that He pronounced and then go look at Jerusalem in 70 AD when Titus came, which He had predicted would take place.

So that we are forgetting that sin is going to be punished. And the Bible teaches that. And some people today just can't get that into their thinking, many Christians. And I truly wonder whether they have trusted Christ. Because why do you trust Him? He died because I'm a sinner. He paid the penalty for my sin. He's paid the price for my redemption and it required His death.

And because He died, I will not have to die. But if He hadn't have died, I would have to be judged. And so would you. So that today, not much judgment is being preached. Sometime ago, I listened to Dr. Bruce Dunn, the great pastor of the Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, and he was speaking on the substitutionary death of Christ. And I want to say that at the time I said to myself, "I haven't heard a sermon like that in years."

They don't hear much like that today. And thank God for a man like that who's preaching that type of messages today. We need that of all this business today of running seminars on marriage and on how to handle your finances. Let's have some preaching on the substitutionary redemptive death of Christ on the cross because I was a hell-doomed sinner.

That's needed today, needed desperately today. So that what we have here is strong medicine, but that is the reason that God spared Aaron. And the reason they're mentioned because they were the ones that were going to execute the judgment in the name of God. And the rest of the crowd were not. And I suppose most of them came over. They came back to God. And God is gracious, God saved them. And the 3,000 could have come if they'd wanted to, just like the lost can come to God today if they want to. The door is open. He says, "Whosoever will, may come." And, "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."

Guest (Male): All right, now's a question from a listener in Yamhill, Oregon who writes, "In Genesis 4:23, Lamech says, 'I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.' What does Lamech mean?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: All right, now let's turn back to that verse and read the next verse. And if you read the next verse, I think that you'll have the explanation. It reads, "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold."

Now, you remember Cain killed his brother Abel. And the only excuse that could be given was jealousy or envy of his brother and probably a deep bitterness in his heart that had probably begun when they were boys, when they were little fellows. I do not know this, but this is just a suggestion.

It could have been possible that Adam and Eve, they maybe favored this boy Abel. I think he was a nicer kid than the other one. And that, of course, made Cain even a worse kid than he was, as they began to see in him the fruits of their sin that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Now, out from the presence of the Lord, out from that area, into another land, Cain went. The Land of Nod, it's called, and it's on the east of Eden. That meant that he went probably toward India, China. Now, I mention all that to show that there is a generation coming up now that are away from God and a civilization that is a godless civilization. Now, in that civilization, there must have been literally thousands, and I do not know whether I'd dare say millions of people that now are the offspring of Cain.

And we have here the fact that one is lifted out and we are called attention to something else. He has two wives. And somebody is going to say, "Well, now God must have approved of it, it's in His word." He didn't approve of it. It's quite obvious here this is a godless civilization and God is just giving you the facts that this is the product of a godless civilization.

And today, this freedom in sex and the lightness with which the marriage vow is treated, all of that is marks of a godless civilization. Now, you can call it improved and a highly civilized and that we today have gotten rid of bigotry and we are a very civilized people. You can say that all you want to, but the Bible makes it clear that that's godlessness. That's what it is.

Now, this man here, he killed a young man. And he killed a young man to my wounding. The young man had hurt him. It was in a probably a brawl, in a fight over something. We haven't the foggiest notion what it was. Was it over one of his wives? A daughter of his? Over money? Over property?

I don't know what it could be, but he fell out with this young man and they engaged in an encounter. And this young man had hurt him. And so he had killed him. Now, he felt he'd be justified. Instead of being premeditated murder, as it was in Cain's case, it is here now manslaughter.

We make that distinction today, you know. This would be manslaughter. And he says if Cain got by with it, I certainly am going to get by with it. And in that day, they were easy on the criminals, you see, and blame the police. So that we talk about that we've come to a new day and everything is bright and lovely.

Mankind hasn't come very far from the Garden of Eden, if you really want to know the truth. From the fall of man down to the present, it's been the same old story. And history has repeated itself. And one of the things that we learn from history is that we do not learn anything from history.

And so that's what we have here and that is the explanation of it. And the explanation, therefore, is found in the next verse. Always read the verses before and after any verse that bothers you. You generally will find the explanation there because it all goes together, you see.

Guest (Male): Our final question today comes to us from a listener in Vicksburg, Mississippi who writes, "Am I right in understanding that if we live by faith, we are considered righteous? But then how can we live by faith and still be considered sinners?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, may I say to you that you need to put together some scriptures. And I think when you do that, that you will find out that you are in Christ, that you're accepted in the Beloved. And all of this is something that we need to see.

We are saved sinners. And our standing and our state is generally different. It ought not to be. We ought to be living up to the position that we have. In other words, practice is one thing and our position in Christ is something else. But they ought to somehow or another resemble each other.

And we find that there are several scriptures that relate to this. We're told that, for instance, that we're in Christ and that Christ has been made unto us wisdom and righteousness. And we're told that in 1 Corinthians, that He's been made unto us wisdom and righteousness.

And that is 1 Corinthians 1:30, "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." So Christ is our righteousness. You see, Vernon McGee doesn't have any right in heaven at all. But I'm in Christ and I have His right. And I have just as much right in heaven as He has because I'm in Him. And that's what Paul is saying here.

And also, several scriptures that deal with this. We're told that He was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification. That is that you and I might stand before God as Christ stands because He paid the penalty of our sins and He made over to us His righteousness.

And that's something that is quite wonderful and it's something that we need to rest in. It's something that we need to trust in. It's something that is quite wonderful and I think that we need to recognize that.

I have several other scriptures I'd like to give you in this connection, at least one other scripture. And that is 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

So you see that any righteousness that you and I have that stands before God, it's the righteousness that we have in Christ because He was delivered for our offenses and He has been raised for our justification. And we're putting together with that He hath made Him, that is Christ, to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God. How? In Him. I trust that I've made that clear because that is a very important truth today that is missed by a great many of the saints.

Guest (Male): And so the time has come again to bring to a close another question and answer program. We hope that you've been inspired to search the word of God for yourself and discover the answers to your questions. We'd like to remind you that you can join us each Monday through Friday on the Through the Bible radio program heard on this station.

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Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.

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