Two Minutes With The Bible

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September 19, 2008

FAILING CHRISTIAN LEADERS
by Cornelius R. Stam

Have you been disappointed in your pastor or the officers of your church or perhaps in Christian leaders in general? Have you placed great faith in some spiritual leader only to be disillusioned and to find out that your faith has been misplaced? Have you observed the growing popularity of some evangelist or Bible teacher whom you "know" to be insincere, while noting that another, whose fidelity and sincerity are beyond question, seems to get nowhere?

How it helps, in such situations, to be able to "rightly divide the Word of truth," and to enjoy "the full assurance of understanding" that comes with "the full knowledge [Gr., epignosis] of the mystery"! (Col. 2:2).

In "this present evil age" we are living under "the dispensation of the grace of God."

God is not saving good people today, nor even people who will repent and "do works meet for repentance." Rather, He is saving poor sinners who will come to Him with all their sin. This is God's gracious response to man's rejection of the King and the kingdom as offered at Pentecost.

Look at the way believers lived together in love and harmony during the Pentecostal era and you are apt to exclaim: "Why can't we live that way today? Let's get back to Pentecost." But look at the way believers lived together after the raising up of Paul, even among his beloved Philippians, and you will say: "It is no different today." This is because the believers at Pentecost were all filled with the Spirit in fulfillment of a prophetic promise, while today He has in grace committed His message to failing men and women, who indeed possess the Spirit, but often grieve Him.

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September 20, 2008

TRUE BLESSEDNESS
by Cornelius R. Stam

It has been said that the word "blessed," in our English Bible, simply means happy. Thus the "blessed man" of Psalm 1 is a happy man and the "blessed God" of I Tim. 1:11 is a happy God. (We refer to the Hebrew and Greek words most often rendered blessed).

To say the least, this is a superficial understanding -- or misunderstanding -- of one of the most wonderful words of Scripture. A fool can be happy, a drunkard can be happy, a wicked man can be happy, but none of these are truly blessed, for one who is blessed has a deeply valid reason to rejoice.

Thus Psa. 1:1,2 says that the man who shuns "the counsel of the ungodly ," "the way of sinners" and "the seat of the scornful" and meditates and delights in the law of God, is "blessed." He is well off and has great reason to rejoice.

Few, of course, would dare to claim that they have fully lived up to this passage in the Psalms, but God's Word has good news even for such. In Romans 4:6-8, St. Paul declares:

"David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."

This blessedness is not a mere feeling of happiness. It is rather the state of being well off; with a deep and abiding reason to rejoice.

Thus Psalm 40:4 says: "Blessed is that man who maketh the Lord his trust," and when the Galatians stopped trusting completely in the Lord and began leaning on their own works, the Apostle asked them: "Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?" (Gal. 4:15).

Thus to be truly blessed is to be well off; with the greatest possible reason to rejoice. This is why the believer in Christ, saved and eternally safe in Him, is, like God Himself, "blessed for evermore."

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September 21, 2008

POWER PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS
by Cornelius R. Stam

To Paul was committed the greatest revelation of all time. He was divinely commissioned to proclaim the glorious all-sufficiency of Christ's redemptive work, God's offer of salvation by free grace to all who trust in Christ and their heavenly position, blessings and prospect.

Lest he should become puffed up by the glory of these great truths, God gave him what he calls "a thorn in the flesh", an aggravating physical infirmity of some sort. "For this thing," he says, "I besought the Lord thrice [three times], that it might depart from me" (IICor.12:8 ). But the Lord knew better than Paul what was best for him:

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (Ver.9).

How right God was! Every Christian knows that with brimming health and "good fortune" comes the tendency to forget our need of Him, while infirmity causes us to lean harder and to pray more and this is where our spiritual power lies. Every believer should acknowledge this and say with Paul:

"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities...for when I am weak, then am I strong" (IICor.12:9,10).

Infirmities of the flesh are common even to God's choicest saints. What satisfaction there is, then, in just believing God's Word: "My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness".

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September 22, 2008

INSPIRATION, WHAT IS IT?
by Russell S. Miller

When "Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary" as recorded in Luke 1:39-45, and "the babe [John] leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice..." (Vers.41,42), uttering the words of verses 42-45, was she inspired?

She was, in fact, inspired. And what she "spake" was inspired because Elisabeth "was filled with the Holy Ghost". Consequently the very words which she "spake out" are the inspiration of God. And if this is not enough to prove that the "holy men of God" were, themselves, inspired, we have the very words that Elisabeth "spake out" recorded for us in the inspired Word of God. Even as Luke was, himself, inspired to write The Gospel According To St. Luke. So, Scripture confirms that Elisabeth, herself, was inspired.

And not only was Elisabeth inspired of God to speak, but her husband, Zacharias, was also "filled with the Holy Ghost" and what he "prophesied" was the inspiration of God, recorded for our reading in Luke 1:68-79.

Just as God "breathed into [man] the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen.2:7) so the Lord inspires "holy men of God" to speak and write as they are moved by the Holy Spirit. Would you not agree that to be "filled with the Holy Ghost" is to be, as Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words puts it, "inspired by God".

"ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, AND IS PROFITABLE FOR DOCTRINE, FOR REPROOF, FOR CORRECTION, FOR INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS" (II Tim. 3:16).

Thus the Apostle Paul was not only, himself, inspired in the writings of his epistles but he also wrote by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And those who insist that only the words on the page are inspired, do greatly err "not [rightly dividing] the Scriptures"!

Therefore, "the holy men [and women] of God [who] spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (IIPet.1:21) were themselves inspired, and not merely their words on the page. When the prophets uttered, "Thus saith the Lord," some 300 times, they themselves were inspired of Almighty God. Since the days of the Apostles and Prophets, however, there has been no such inspiration for with the Pauline revelation came the completion of the Word of God (Col.1:25,26). Once again we see that Scripture is a commentary upon itself.

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September 23, 2008

CAN THE LAW SAVE?
by Cornelius R. Stam

This writer does not wear clerical garb, but somehow when he visits a church away from home, someone is apt to step up to him and ask: "Are you by any chance a minister?''

Acts 13 tells how this once happened to Paul and Barnabas. They had entered a synagogue as strangers and simply sat down to listen. After "the reading of the law and the prophets," however, the leaders of the service sent someone to ask them: "Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on" (Verses 14 and 15). Somehow Paul and Barnabas had been recognized as men of God.

The custom at that time was to read a passage from the Law and then some passages in which the prophets urged the people to observe the Law. This was followed by an exhortation by one or more of the religious leaders present.

Well, Paul did have a word of exhortation for the people, but it would be somewhat of a surprise. Getting to the point of his message, he preached to them Christ and the resurrection, and closed his talk with the words: "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Verses 38 and 39).

This was the gist of his "exhortation": Don't trust in the Law for salvation --- trust in Christ, who fulfilled the Law and died for your sins. This makes sense, and it agrees with the Bible as a whole. "By the Law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20): "it was added because of transgressions" (Gal.3:19): "for as many as are of the works of the Law are under the curse" (Gal.3:10); but "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us" (Gal.3:13). "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law" (Rom. 3:28 ).

It should be obvious that the Law can only condemn sinners, but it is also a fact that Christ died for sinners, to save them from the condemnation of the Law. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1).

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September 24, 2008

SIMPLE AS CAN BE
by Cornelius R. Stam

Have you ever heard some preacher say: "There are many things in the Bible which are hard to understand but, thank God, the plan of salvation is as simple as can be."

Well the plan of salvation is simple IF we obey II Timothy 2:15, "rightly dividing the Word of truth." Otherwise it is far from simple.

The Apostle Paul wrote: "We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:28 ). Yet James wrote: "By works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24).

Again, at Sinai God said to Israel through Moses: "If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people ..." (Ex. 19:5). But our Lord said, as He sent His apostles to witness for Him that, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved... and these signs shall follow them that believe: in My name shall they cast out demons, they shall speak with new tongues..." etc. (Mark 16:16-18 ). Thus, according to their "great commission" water baptism was required for salvation and miraculous signs were the evidences of salvation.

Confusing? Contradictory? Not if we "rightly divide the Word of truth." It was after "the law was given by Moses," after our Lord's earthly ministry, after the commission to the twelve, that God raised up another apostle, Paul, and sent him forth with "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

It was Paul who was sent to declare: "But NOW, the righteousness of God without the law is manifested..." (Rom. 3:21). "To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5). "Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1).

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September 25, 2008

FROM DEATH TO BIRTH
by Cornelius R. Stam

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (IPet.1: 23).

We are prone to think of death as following birth. People are born to live their lives and then die.

Spiritually, however, it is the other way. St. Peter, by divine inspiration, says that we must be "born again" because: "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (IPet. 1:24,25).

This new birth is a spiritual matter, necessitated by the fact that by nature men are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). Thus believers are not born again in the same way as they were first born, but are born again -- given new life, by believing the Word of God.

God's Word, in this passage, is called "incorruptible seed" -- seed that cannot die. Once the Word takes root in one's heart, once it is believed and received, it never dies, but produces "everlasting life".

"The Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (Verse 25).

The Word of God takes root in one's heart only as one believes the gospel, the good news, about Christ's redemptive work. Peter himself proclaims this wonderful gospel: "...ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold...but with the precious blood of Christ..." (IPet.1:18,19).

"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree..." (IPet.2:24).

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..." (IPet.3:18 ).

BY BELIEVING THIS GOOD NEWS, DEAD SINNERS ARE "BORN AGAIN".

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September 26, 2008

A DOUBLE HEART AND DECEITFUL TONGUES
by Russell S. Miller

A double heart! Interesting title indeed, for some do speak "flattering" words of "vanity" to accomplish their ungodly and unrighteous motives.

"They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak" (Psa.12:2).

The Bible has a great deal to say about the depravity of man. Jeremiah put it this way: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it" (Jer.17:9). In His denunciation of the Pharisees in Matthew 23 the Lord rebuked their hypocrisy with the indictment that they made their converts "twofold more the child of hell" than themselves (Matt. 23:15). In my study of this, it was also interesting to discover that the Greek word, dilogos, is translated "double tongued" in I Timothy 3:8. W.E. Vine defines this word as "saying a thing to one person and giving a different view of it to another". That's double-tongued.

We read in Hebrews 4:12 that "the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..." It was when "Elymas the sorcerer... withstood" the truth of God's Word that the Apostle Paul said, "O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10). Elymas was using deceit "to turn away the deputy from the faith"! Paul wrote the Corinthians about "false apostles, deceitful workers, [who] transformed themselves into the apostles of Christ" (IICor.11:13) that they might keep men in bondage and the darkness of unbelief, "...lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (IICor.4:4). They would be set gloriously free if they but believed the gospel (John 8:32,36; IICor.3:17; Gal.5:1).

It has come down to this, that our world is full of wickedness: "with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness..." (Rom.3:13-18 ). But there is One who can bring peace, "[He] is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb.7:26), and I would like to introduce you to the Lord Jesus Christ:

"WHEREFORE HE IS ABLE ALSO TO SAVE THEM TO THE UTTERMOST THAT COME UNTO GOD BY HIM, SEEING HE EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM" (Heb.7:25).

He will save you from your sins if you will just ask Him.

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September 27, 2008

THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
by Russell S. Miller

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal.6:14).

What does the world have to offer you, my friend? Does its "glamour" charm you? Are the politics of this world really bringing in the peaceful reign of Christ? Will the United Nations actually achieve righteousness? Or our leaders, in seeking to run the world without Christ, will they actually win these wars against terrorism? The blood that has been shed upon this earth, all seemingly in vain, has not yet brought about peace and righteousness. And sadly, we're discovering that the world is just that much closer than it has ever been before to the awful reign of anti-Christ.

If we would truly "win" in this world, and not lose, we shall have to follow the Apostle Paul, and his ministry, as he followed Christ. And then we shall be able to say with Paul, "what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Phil.3:7,8 ).

It is not until we put away our so-called "good works," and trust Jesus Christ alone and His redemptive work on the cross of Calvary that we shall truly be on the "WINNING" team. As Paul goes on to say:

"And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith" (Phil.3:9).

This is the kind of "gain" that the world, the flesh, and the devil cannot destroy. And because "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are found in Jesus Christ (Col.2:3), the Apostle Paul rejoiced in what Christ accomplished in the cross:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; YET NOT I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I LIVE BY THE FAITH of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal.2:20).

The One who rose to power, our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, has done so "through the blood of His cross," and He "ever liveth to make intercession for us" (Col.1:20; Rom.8:34; Heb.7:25).

"IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE" (Eph.1:7).

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September 28, 2008

THE KINDNESS AND LOVE OF GOD
by Russell S. Miller

“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

“Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 3:4-6).

If a man is dying, and you have the means to help him, would you let him die?

Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of “the tree of [the] knowledge of good and evil” (Gen.2:9), and falling into sin themselves, they plunged the whole human race into sin (Rom.5:12). Having been warned of God, “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen.2:17), they were disobedient, and so we are no longer perfect, but sinful, and in need of the Saviour. While it may take 70 or 80 years from the moment we are born, we begin to die, and “dying thou shalt die.” Consequently, mankind, that’s all of us, were blinded by Satan’s lie, and as such, walk in darkness.

“In whom, the god of this world HATH BLINDED THE MINDS OF THEM WHICH BELIEVE NOT, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (IICor.4:4).

God is the God of eternal values, His principles are the standards by which the universe was created, and by which the universe is held together. Whatever the Eternal God does it shall be for ever. Thus our first parents were created with an eternal soul. The soul of man shall either live forever with Christ, or shall be lost in an eternal hell without Him. And since God cannot compromise His eternal principles how was man to be redeemed? There was only one way. In eternity past the God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit counseled together that God the Son would offer the sacrifice that could redeem mankind. Since we are of “eternal worth” to Him, the “Eternal God” sent “His own Son” to pay for our sins, Himself, at the extreme cost of His own life’s blood that we, by faith in Christ, might know the kindness and love of God our Saviour:

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? HE THAT SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP FOR US ALL, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? IT IS CHRIST THAT DIED, yea rather, THAT IS RISEN AGAIN, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom.8:31-34).

It’s not “good works,” then, but rather a matter of whether or not we believe God’s Word. Why else would God have sent His “only begotten Son” into this sin cursed world to die on a cruel cross? It is what Christ did on the cross that God accepts, and as we accept Christ’s redemptive work on our behalf, God “accepts” us in His beloved Son:

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved [One].

“IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE” (Eph.1:6,7).

Therefore God cannot, and will not, accept your good works as substitute for Christ’s “finished work” of redemption on Calvary’s cross. Do we believe the truth of the Word of God or the devil’s lie? God loves us, each and every one of us, with an everlasting, an eternal, love. How MUCH He loves us.

“BUT GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US” (Rom.5:8 ).

“Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: WE PRAY YOU IN CHRIST'S STEAD, Be Ye Reconciled to God.

“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, [Christ]Who knew no sin; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM” (IICor.5:20,21).

“BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED, and thy house” (Acts 16:31)

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September 29, 2008

JUSTIFIED WITHOUT A CAUSE
by Cornelius R. Stam

God tells us in His Word that believers are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). The word "freely," here, does not mean "without cost," but "without cause." The same original word is so translated in John 15:25, where we find the words of Christ: "They hated Me without a cause."

Thus sinners hated Christ "without a cause," yet God justifies sinners "without a cause." How can this be? Let's see:

What had Christ done to earn the enmity of men? Nothing whatever. He had been kind and good, had helped those in distress, had healed their sick, had made the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the lame to leap for joy. Why, then, did they hate Him: The Bible says they hated Him "without a cause, i.e., without any cause in Him. The cause of their hatred lay in their own evil hearts.

But on the other hand, what have sinners done to merit justification before God? Again the answer is: Nothing whatever. They have broken His commandments every day, lying, stealing, and committing hundreds of other sins. Yet in love God gave His Son to die for them on Calvary "that He might be just and [at the same time] the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). He loves and justifies believers "without a cause", i.e., without any cause in them. The cause is to be found in His own compassionate heart, for "GOD IS LOVE."

Thus those who trust in Christ, who died for our sins, are justified without a cause, by God's grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

"God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8 ).

"By this man is preached...the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which He could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:38,39).

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September 30, 2008

GLORIOUS LIBERTY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD
by Cornelius R. Stam

We Americans have, for over two hundred years, celebrated our liberty as an independent nation on the Fourth of July.

It does not follow from this however, that all Americans are now free. Far from it! Think of the millions of alcoholics and drug addicts, bound with chains they only wish they could break. Think of the slaves to immoral passions, to violent tempers, to malicious backbiting, not to mention smoking and other habits they cannot control. No, the vast majority of Americans are slaves to--well, sum it all up in one word: sin.

If God is a righteous Judge -- and He is -- He must of course, punish sin. Romans 6:23 says: "the wages of sin is death", but on the other hand, thank God, I Corinthians 15:3 says: "Christ died for our sins".

The Lord Jesus Christ was no sinner; He had committed no crimes; there was no wrong He had to pay for; He had no death to die. It was our death He died at Calvary, and we are saved from the penalty as we look at Calvary and say: "This is not His death He is dying; it is mine. He is paying for my sin. I will accept this gift of God and trust Him as my Saviour".

This is a wonderful truth: Death, the penalty of the Law, was inflicted on us -- in Christ. Therefore the Law (i.e., the Ten Commandments) has no further claim on us. If it did, we would be condemned all over again. This is why Paul says in Galatians 2:19: "I through the Law am dead to the Law". The Law may put a man to death, but after that what can it do? Nothing. The Law has put him to death (in Christ) and set him free from its own dominion.

Unsaved friend, God wants you to be free, really free. He Himself, paid sin's penalty for you and wants you to rejoice in what Paul calls, "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8:21), freedom from the condemnation of the Law!

Place your trust in the Christ who died your death and you will find how gloriously true it is that "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

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October 1, 2008

GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE
by Cornelius R. Stam

Have you ever considered carefully the opening words of the Bible? "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Why doesn't it simply say that God created the Universe? Why the heaven and the earth?

As we go on reading we find the answer to this question, for the Bible clearly teaches that God has a two-fold purpose; one having to do with the earth and the other with heaven. The former is the subject of prophecy, while the latter is the subject of the "mystery", or secret, revealed to and through St. Paul. (See Acts 3:21; and cf. Romans 16:25). The former concerns Israel and the nations; the latter "the Body of Christ", the Church of the heavenly calling.

Some people are surprised to learn that there is not one promise in the whole Old Testament about going to heaven. There the whole outlook is earthly, with Messiah reigning as King (Jer.23:5; et al). When our Lord appeared in the flesh the angels cried: "Peace on earth" (Luke 2:14). He Himself said that "the meek" should "inherit the earth" (Matt.5:5). He taught His disciples to pray: "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt.6:10).

Even at Pentecost Peter declared that after "the restitution of all things" God would send Jesus back to earth and the times of refreshing would "come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19-21).

Not until the raising up of Paul do we learn that now all believers in Christ are "baptized into one body" (ICor.12:13), and Colossians 1:5 and many other Pauline passages, speak of "the hope which is laid up for you IN HEAVEN". Indeed, before God, believers are already given a position "in heavenly places" and are "blessed with all spiritual blessings IN [THE] HEAVENLIES in Christ" (Eph.1:3; 2:4-7).

The prophecies regarding the Kingdom, however, will still be fulfilled and Christ will reign on earth and bring the promised "times of refreshing". Thank God, this world will not forever be a place of war and bloodshed, sickness and death, misery and woe. Indeed, at that time, heaven and earth will be opened to each other, and thus will be fulfilled God's two-fold purpose: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ..." (Eph.1:10).

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[nChrist]

October 2, 2008

CAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS SAVE?
by Cornelius R. Stam

St. Paul pointed out a basic Scriptural -- and logical -- fact, when he said:

"For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified" (Rom. 2:13).

Many people suppose that God gave us the Ten Commandments to help us to be good. The fact is, however, that He gave them to show us that we are bad. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:19 and a hundred other Bible passages teach this clearly.

How can the Law be of any advantage to a law-breaker?

How can it justify us unless we keep it -- perfectly?

Do you recall the woman caught in adultery, in John 8? She was a Jewess. She was better off than the Gentiles, for she had the law of Moses to show her right from wrong, but this didn't justify her; it condemned her. So her "advantage" turned out to be a serious disadvantage, for "not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified."

James 1:23,24 says that one who knows the Law but doesn't obey it, is like a man looking into a mirror, seeing his dirty face, and then walking away without doing anything about it. This is why Rom. 2:14,15 declares that the consciences of the heathen confirm what the Law says, "their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another."

Those in heathen lands know that it is wrong to lie and steal and commit adultery, yet they know nothing about the law of God, or the Ten Commandments. How, then, do they know that these things are wrong? God made them with this knowledge; He gave to them, and to us all, conscience, a sense of blameworthiness in doing wrong.

How good to know the One who has paid the penalty for our sins so that our hearts may be cleansed from "an evil conscience" (Heb. 10:22)!

"Christ died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3).

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

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October 3, 2008

GOD NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS
by Cornelius R. Stam

In Romans 2:11 we read that "there is no respect of persons with God," and these very words, with slight variations, are found many times in the Bible. How wonderful! No "big wheels" with Him! Rather, all stand on the same footing before His bar of justice.

Do you know why the kings in Israel's history were -- and were meant to be -- so rich? This was so that they might rule with true justice, beholden only to God. The rich could not bribe the king, nor could the powerful intimidate him, for he was far richer and more powerful than they. There was only one person over the king, spiritually: the prophet, who kept reminding him of the Word and the claims of God.

Well, God is infinitely richer than all the wealthy rulers, barons and money magnates of this world put together, thus there is "no respect of persons with Him." Also, justice is one of His divine attributes, hence it is unthinkable that He should show favoritism.

But now a question: If God is no respecter of persons, why did He favor one nation, Israel, above all the rest and, for many centuries, bless them above all others? The answer: God made a difference to show that "there is no difference" (Rom. 3:22,23). He made an artificial difference, a dispensational difference, to show that there was no essential difference, no moral difference. He erected a "middle wall of partition" between us to show that that wall must be broken down (Eph. 2:14-16).

And thus it is that the same God who once said to Israel:
"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant ... Unto you first..." (Acts 3:25,26) -- this same God now says:

"There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentile], for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:12,13).

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