Knowing Good and Evil
One of the two special trees God placed in the garden of Eden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of its fruit. When they did, they fell from God’s favour into sin and death (Gen. 2:17, 3:6-7).
Why was it called “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”? That question must be answered because of the devil’s lie and because of what God said about man after the fall. The devil said, “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil” (Gen. 3:22).
The devil’s word was a lie. He always lies. We do not know good and evil by “tasting” evil and disobeying God! Yet the devil still tells that lie and men still listen. He tells men they must “experience” evil and try it, in order truly to know it and they are delighted to listen.
That, apparently, was what Jezebel was teaching in the church of Thyatira (Rev. 2:20-24). She was, we understand, teaching God’s servants to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols (20) so that, as she and her followers said, they might “know the depths of Satan” (24).
Christian parents hear that lie when they are told not to shelter their children from the evil world in which we live. We hope they do not listen! Those children, it is said, must get out into the “real” world to find out what the world is like. But that is not the way we, or our children, learn good and evil.
The truth is that we know good and evil only by NOT tasting evil, but by forsaking it and fleeing from it. Think of fallen man: having eaten of the tree, he is no longer able to discern good and evil as he should. Just as God knows evil by being wholly separated from it, so also do we.
Yet that was not all the devil meant. He meant, too, that Adam and Eve would have the right to determine for themselves what was good and evil. In that sense they would “know good and evil” by eating of the tree. In that respect they would be “like God.” In fact, to say that one must “taste” evil to know it is to say that we know good and evil not by what God says, but by our own experience, that is, that we decide for ourselves what is good and evil.
God was referring to the same thing when He said, “The man is become like one of us.” He meant that man had assumed for himself what belongs only to God: the right to determine good and evil. Having done so, man might no longer eat of the tree of life. He could no longer be allowed to put forth his hand to the tree of life and live forever as one who stood in open rebellion against God. So God banished him from the garden and from the tree of life.
All the evil that has come upon the human race has come because first Eve, then Adam, listened to that lie. Having been told the truth in God’s word, let us listen to that lie no more, but know good and evil in the right way: by listening to what God says, and by forsaking and separating ourselves from evil with all our heart. Rev. Ron Hanko
The Lord’s Daily Provision
“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Ps. 37:25).
“And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores” (Luke 16:20-21).
The reader of our News who submitted this question clearly had in mind the apparent discrepancy between what the Psalmist says in Psalm 37 and what our Lord says in describing Lazarus. The Psalmist speaks of God’s providential care of His people, providing abundantly for their needs so that none ever had to resort to begging for food. The Lord speaks of a man living in Palestine who did resort to begging for his daily bread.
I confess the same problem troubled me, especially as a youth. It is a problem to which Calvin also addressed himself. He writes on Psalm 37:25:
But here there arises a question of some difficulty with respect to the fact stated; for it is certain that many righteous men have been reduced to beggary. And what David here declares as the result of his own experience pertains to all ages. Besides, he refers in this verse to the writings of Moses, for in Deuteronomy 15:4, begging is reckoned among the curses of God; and the law, in that place, expressly exempts from it those who fear and serve God. How then does the consistency of this appear, that none of the righteous ever begged his bread, since Christ placed Lazarus among the most abject of them? (Luke 16:20).
Calvin answers by reminding us that God does not follow, and is not obliged to follow, any specific rule, but deals differently with His people according to their needs. Sometimes He chastises them so that He may better instruct them in righteousness. God’s promise is, says Calvin, “to be understood with this limitation, that God will bestow these blessings only in so far as he shall consider it expedient.”
We can add two or three further ideas.
One point to observe is this: the Psalmist is speaking of the righteous. Within the fellowship of the people of God, poor people can indeed be found, but God Himself has made provision for their care so that they are not reduced to begging. Even in the Old Testament, many laws were given to Israel instructing the people how to care for the poor. In the new dispensation, Christ instituted deacons in the church for the express purpose of caring for the poor (Acts 7).
That beggars were sometimes in the land was evidence of Israel’s terrible departure from the law of God. It was a sign of great magnitude when Israel failed to care for the poor, and it was always found when the nation fell into idolatry. No less today, the church does evil when it permits others, such as the government, to care for the poor in her fellowship.
Another point is the reality of persecution. When the ungodly persecute the righteous, one means at their disposal is to starve, if possible, God’s people. In the description of Antichrist who shall appear in the end of the ages, it is said of the persecution then present that God’s people will be able neither to buy nor sell (Rev. 13:16-17). It is possible that some of God’s people could literally starve to death at that time, although God can send them food by ravens or manna from heaven if He wills it, for He has done this before.
In any case, it is important to remember that God cares for our needs in this life. He cares for the lilies of the field, and the sparrows on the housetop (Matt. 6:25-34), and we ought not to fret about what we shall eat or what we shall drink, for our heavenly Father takes care of us. It is within the stern admonition of Psalm 37 not to be envious of the wicked that this verse also appears.
Finally, we must learn to be content with such things as we have. Calvin writes: “We are, however, certain of this, that God makes such provision for his own people, that, being contented with their lot, they are never in want; because, by living sparingly, they always have enough, as Paul says, ‘I am instructed both to abound and to suffer need’ (Phil. 6:12).”
Calvin himself repeatedly turned down more money offered him by the city of Geneva and lived sparingly. The pope himself is quoted as saying, concerning Calvin’s disregard of earthly possessions in contrast to the gluttonous and covetous monks and prelates who filled the church: “Give me ten men like Calvin and I will rule the world.”
Scripture again and again urges God’s people to be content with such things as they have, and to trust their heavenly Father to supply all their needs. If it is their heavenly Father’s will that they die, even by starvation at the hands of the wicked, it is only because the time has come for them to go to heaven, where they will never be hungry again, world without end. Prof. Herman Hanko
What About Para-Church Organizations?
The question addressed in this issue of News is: “What is, or what should be, the Reformed attitude towards para-church organizations, e.g. missionary societies, Bible societies, Christian relief organizations, etc.?”
First, what are “para-church” organizations? Para-church organizations are Christian societies that do the work of the church. Such organizations are not under the oversight of any church or denomination, and they have only a loose and informal connection to the church (“para” means stand alongside). Many are inter-denominational or non-denominational.
Very simply, we believe such organizations are wrong. It is not the business of Christian societies to do the work of the church. The work these societies are doing is work Christ gave to the church, and for which He commissioned ordained men in the church. This work is especially the preaching of the gospel, the administration of the sacraments, mission work, and church discipline. I Timothy 3:15 is clear that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, not para-church organizations. Romans 10:15 rightly asks, “How shall they preach, except they be sent?” Acts 13:1-4 makes it plain that this sending is done through the church and its ordained officers.
It is an undeniable fact that many of these organizations have arisen because the church is not doing its job, or is not doing it properly. That is deplorable, but it is no excuse for these organizations to usurp the work that God in Christ has given to the church, and only to her.
Many organizations, however, are not truly para-church organizations. They do work connected with the preaching of the gospel, but work that does not belong exclusively to the church and her ordained officers. Bible societies that print and distribute the Scriptures, organizations that support the work of missionaries with agricultural and medical work, publishers of Christian books and pamphlets, Christian libraries, Christian school societies, and suchlike are not really para-church organizations. They are organizations of Christian believers who have banded together to do work that belongs to them as believers, and which is better done in cooperation with others of like mind.
In fact, the work they are doing does not really belong to the church. The church has one calling: to preach the gospel to all nations (Matt. 28:19). Other things, such as we have mentioned, are not her business. Such things ought to be done by believers who understand their calling and responsibilities as Christians. Churches, for example, have no business establishing and running Christian schools. That is the work of believers as parents.
So, on the one hand, no organization but the church has the calling from God to preach the gospel, and to do the other work God has ordained ministers, elders and deacons in the church to do. On the other hand, the church must not be drawn aside from her great calling to do work that belongs not to her, but to believers simply as Christians. Then everything is done decently and in good order, and God is glorified. Rev. Ron Hanko
