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January 20, 2009

KNOWING CHRIST AS HE SHOULD BE KNOWN
by Cornelius R. Stam
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John the Baptist introduced our Lord with the proclamation: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matt.3:2). Throughout His earthly ministry Christ was known as "the Son of David", the king with whom God made a covenant to establish His Kingdom forever.

The Old Testament prophets predicted that Christ would -- and He will -- reign on earth upon the throne of His father David. While His Kingdom was being proclaimed "at hand", He walked and talked and ate with men as "the Son of Man". Wearied with travelling, He sat at Jacob's well and asked for a drink of water. Pressed by the throng, He got into a fishing boat and addressed the multitudes from the sea. Hated by His adversaries, He was tried, scourged, spit upon, and nailed to a tree. This was indeed "Christ manifest in the flesh".

With regard to His humiliation, however, the Apostle Paul says, by divine inspiration: "God also hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name" (Phil.2:9).

Again, the Apostle declares that God's mighty power was "wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL..." (Eph.1:20). He is no longer to be known as "the lowly Jesus", but as the exalted "Lord" in heaven. And this has its bearing on us too:

"Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now, henceforth, know we Him no more" (IICor.5:16). Our blessed Saviour is now to be known as the glorified Son of God, the Great Dispenser of Grace to a lost humanity; the One who in love and mercy "tasted death for every man" (Heb.2:9).

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January 21, 2009

WHY GOD'S CHILDREN SUFFER
by Cornelius R. Stam
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Contrary to common belief, the Bible does not teach that all men are the children of God. Our Lord said to the religious leaders of His day: "Ye are of your father the devil" (John 8:44), but to the Christian believers at Galatia St. Paul wrote: "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26).

As the children of Adam, it is not strange that we should have to bear suffering; for sorrow, sickness and death entered the world through sin (Rom. 5:12). But some people wonder why God's children, whose greatest desire is to please Him, should have to suffer along with others.

There are several reasons for this. In the case of Job, God allowed His servant to suffer to prove to Satan that Job did not live a godly life for personal gain -- and Job was richly rewarded later for all he had borne.

Further, God's people could not be of much spiritual help to others if they were exempt from the sufferings which others have to bear. In such a case the unsaved would say: "Yes, you can talk! You don't know what it is to suffer disappointments, sickness and pain, as we do."

Then too, it must be remembered that even the most godly saint is not perfect and must at times be disciplined, "for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Heb. 12:6). This is done for our good, to keep us from sin and its consequences.

Finally, suffering and adversity tend to make God's children pray more and lean harder on Him, and herein lies their spiritual strength and blessing. St. Paul said: "I take pleasure in infirmities... for when I am weak, then am I strong" (II Cor. 12:10).

But there is a great twofold advantage which the suffering Christian has over others. First, his sufferings are only temporary and, second, they earn eternal glory for him.

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (II Cor. 4:17).

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January 22, 2009

PEACE AND ACCESS
by Cornelius R. Stam
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"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access..." (Rom. 5:1,2).

"Being justified... we have peace with God"!

What a priceless blessing! We believers are prone to take this blessing altogether too much for granted. Since the day we trusted Christ and the burden of sin rolled away, most of us have never had another question about our eternal destiny. Hence the danger of taking our salvation for granted.

We often fail to appreciate sufficiently what it means to be able to arise in the morning, go about our business during the day and give ourselves up to unconsciousness at night, always assured that through our Lord's redemptive work we have "peace with God" and our eternal destiny is secure. Surely this knowledge should overwhelm our hearts with constant gratitude and have a profound effect upon our daily conduct.

The companion blessing to "peace with God" is our full and free access into His presence: another blessing of grace far too little appreciated. Think of the wonder of our free access to God; how He, the Ruler of the Universe, invites us to come confidently before His "throne of grace" at our convenience -- "in time of need."

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

We should never forget that this high privilege was purchased for us by the precious blood of Christ, and that having thus been purchased, it is His will that we believers avail ourselves of "this grace." Could there be greater proof of His love for us?

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
"...a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.
"....Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith..." (Heb. 10:19-22).

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January 23, 2009

THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST
by Russell S. Miller


"For not have we a high priest not able to sympathize with our infirmities, but [who] has been tempted in all things according to [our] likeness, apart from sin" (Heb.4:15 TR).

Sometimes it really helps not being the smart aleck, knowing more than everybody else does in the world, but rather just sticking to the knowledge and understanding that our teachers have taught us. And especially, as in their ministries, they have passed on that message and gospel that was committed to the Apostle Paul by the glorified Lord Jesus Christ. This manner of living is even dispensationally sound, and Pauline, in its approach to the Truth of God's Word, "rightly divided."

Now in the temptation of Christ, Matthew, Mark and Luke each record the temptations of Christ. John's Gospel, however, passes over this and does not record it at all. And we might well ask ourselves, "Why is it recorded in these three accounts of Christ's earthly ministry, but not in the Gospel of John?"

The answer to this question is that John's Gospel is the record that Jesus Christ is GOD (John 1:1-2). Matthew portrayed Christ as King. Mark portrays Him as Servant, and Luke as Man. But John portrays Him as God.

Now, as man, the Lord could, of course, have been tempted.

When I say, as man He could have been tempted, I mean to say that the devil would, of course, tempt Him, but as God He "cannot" be tempted (James 1:13). His temptations were real but sin was not amongst them as our verse in Textus Receptus confirms. Rather He was tested as to His faithfulness. See Matthew 4:1-11. Thus there was no contest in these temptations when our Lord answered the devil with those three quotations from Deuteronomy:

"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt.4:4; Deut.8:3).

"It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God" (Matt.4:7; Deut.6:16).

"Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Matt.4:10; Deut.6:13).

Thus we can trust the Lord Jesus, and go to Him with all our struggles and problems and woes, our temptations, and our sins, because He cares about everything that concerns us (Phil.4:6,7).

"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).

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January 24, 2009

CHRIST THE SON OF GOD
by Cornelius R. Stam


St. Paul opens his Epistle to the Romans by stating that the Lord Jesus Christ was "declared to be the Son of God with power," or "powerfully declared to be the Son of God... by the resurrection from the dead" (1:4).

In Psa. 2:7, we have Christ, in prophecy, saying:

"I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee."

Our Lord was, of course, eternally one with the Father, but the word "begotten" here comes from Israel's laws, referring to the time when the child was officially declared to be the father's full-grown son.

But what day was He referring to? On what day did the Father officially proclaim:

"This day have I begotten Thee"?

The answer is found in Acts 13:33, where the Apostle states that God "raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee."

So our Lord was officially -- and powerfully -- declared to be the Son of God at His resurrection from the dead. But what did Paul mean in II Tim. 2:7,8, where he said:

"Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL."

The answer is that the twelve had proclaimed Christ as the Son of David, to sit on David's throne. Theirs was "the gospel of the kingdom." But when the King and His kingdom were rejected, God raised up another apostle, Paul, to proclaim "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

Christ was, indeed, raised from the dead to sit on David's throne, and this will yet come to pass, but Paul has a message for us, here and now: that Christ was raised from the dead to certify our justification and to become the Head of "the Church which is His Body."

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January 25, 2009

THE "WILFUL SIN" OF HEBREWS 10:26
by Russell S. Miller


It is asserted that the "wilful sin", here, does not apply to this dispensation because, as members of the Body of Christ, God has already given us eternal security in Christ as Paul declares in his epistle to the Romans:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... NAY, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that [nothing] shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom.8:35-39).

Please note that the Hebrews also have "eternal salvation" (5:9), "eternal redemption" (9:12), and "eternal inheritance" (9:15). So today, those who trust in His finished work of redemption, whether Hebrews or Gentiles, have "eternal salvation", "eternal redemption", and "eternal inheritance":

"FOR EVEN CHRIST OUR PASSOVER IS SACRIFICED FOR US" (ICor.5:7).

"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, BUT BY HIS OWN BLOOD HE ENTERED IN ONCE INTO THE HOLY PLACE, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Heb.9:12).

Now, on the other hand, there is "no more sacrifice for sins". Those who reject His all-sufficient sacrifice for sins, whether Hebrews or Gentiles, reject "eternal salvation", "eternal redemption", and "eternal inheritance", and do so, "willfully", as those who rejected Christ on the day of Pentecost. There is no other sacrifice in the sight of God. If you miss Christ, the only thing left is "eternal judgment" (Heb.6:2), because God has made no other provision for sin:

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" (Heb.10:26,27).

Therefore I implore you, do not tread "under foot the Son of God", nor count "the blood of the covenant" an unholy thing, and do not despise "the Spirit of grace" (Ver.29).

"VENGEANCE IS MINE; I WILL REPAY, SAITH THE LORD" (Romans 12:19).

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January 26, 2009

THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY AND THE APOSTLE TO THE NATIONS
by Cornelius R. Stam
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Millions highly honor George Washington as "the father of our country," but how few know about Paul, God's apostle to the nations!

Not Matthew, or Mark or Luke; not Peter or James or John, but Paul alone wrote:

"FOR I SPEAK TO YOU GENTILES (or, YOU OF THE NATIONS] INASMUCH AS I AM THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES [NATIONS]: I MAGNIFY MINE OFFICE" (Rom. 11:13).

And remember, Paul wrote this by divine inspiration. But note well that Paul did not magnify himself, but his office, to which he had been appointed by the glorified Lord. In defending his apostleship before the Galatians, he wrote:

"But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

"For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:11,12).

In many other passages the Apostle claims to speak as a direct representative of Christ (See I Cor. 11:23; 15:3; Eph. 3:2,3; I Thes. 4:15; etc.). To Timothy Paul wrote in I Tim. 6:3-5 concerning his own writings:

"If any man teach OTHERWISE, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing..."

This could not demonstrate more emphatically Paul's claim that his words were "the words of our Lord Jesus Christ," received from Him by direct revelation. To the Corinthians, who questioned this, the Apostle wrote:

"...IF I COME AGAIN I WILL NOT SPARE, SINCE YE SEEK A PROOF OF CHRIST SPEAKING IN ME" (II Cor. 13:2,3).

The proof of this claim? This was overwhelming indeed, for Paul was used more than any other apostle to found churches and lead men into the knowledge and joy of salvation. To the Corinthian believers he wrote what he could have written to many thousands of others: "The seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord" (I Cor. 9:2).

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January 27, 2009

"DOUBTING THOMAS"
by Russell S. Miller
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"Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25).

A lot of people today are like "doubting Thomas", they just won't believe. You hand them a gospel tract, with a pleasant word of testimony, and they turn a deaf ear, rejecting the only blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ:

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

But Thomas gave himself an "out". He wanted to see the evidence of Christ's resurrection. Melancholy, yes, Thomas was melancholy, but death is very permanent, and except for the miracle working Christ some 2000 years ago no one comes back from the dead. Even though Thomas witnessed his Lord raise Lazarus from the dead he was skeptical about Christ's resurrection. That the Invincible One had been overcome and conquered by death was the thought upon the minds of them all. Thomas, and all the apostles, those disciples too, together with the Jews, and the Gentiles, saw that Christ was dead. And Thomas was not with the other disciples when, on the third day, our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead.

Now "after eight days" had passed the Lord appeared again to His disciples, and fortunately Thomas was with them this time or he may never have seen the Lord, and Christ said unto them:

"Peace be unto you" (John 20:26).

The Record of Scripture indicates that Thomas had spoken the words of John 20:25 in unbelief. Our Lord's sudden presence with them was the surprise of his life. It was Thomas' time to see the Lord, and to his utter delight, he heard Him say:

"Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing" (Ver.27).

"And Thomas answered and said unto Him, MY LORD AND MY GOD" (Ver.28 ).

There was no doubt in his mind now that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, nor were any of the others doubtful about the mighty power of God to save.

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:24-29).

Those who find the most for which to criticize "Thomas", when presented with the evidence, and the truth of God's Word "rightly divided", often find it convenient to reject "The Light" (IICor.4:6), and cling to old errors.

My friend, this is where you and I come in, and the Apostle of the Gentiles, for in Paul's Epistle to the Romans, he writes of our resurrected Christ:

"WHO WAS DELIVERED FOR OUR OFFENCES, AND WAS RAISED AGAIN FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION" (Rom.4:25).

"THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST" (Rom.5:1).

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January 28, 2009

BURIED WITH HIM IN BAPTISM
by Russell S. Miller
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The Apostle Paul not only preached the death of Christ but he also declared what was accomplished in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This no other writer Old Testament or New, had ever done before!

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom.6:3,4).

In Romans 6 Paul teaches us that when we got saved God took us back to Calvary, and made us one with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Our old Adamic nature, "that old man" that we are all so ashamed of, was crucified with Christ: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom.6:6). Thus "sin [is] not to reign" in our "mortal body" (6:12). And what's more, we have also "become dead to the law by the body of Christ" (Rom.7:4,6).

"Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (Eph.2:15).

But not only are we made one with Jesus Christ in His death, and set gloriously free, there is another very important reason for Christ's burial, which again is only revealed in Paul's epistles.

That Adamic nature has been buried in Joseph's tomb with Christ. Yes, our sins, and that sin nature, has been put away forever out of God's sight, and we are free (Lev.16:1-34; Heb.13:10-14)! Just as Jesus Christ was actually buried, so we have been buried with Him. "Therefore," says the Apostle, "we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom.6:4). Yes, this is true, it has really taken place. And because you can't reform that old sin nature, nor justify it, Paul here declares that the old Adamic sin nature must be buried, and we must reckon it to be so daily:

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.6:11).

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January 29, 2009

CONTINUE THOU
by Cornelius R. Stam
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"Evil men and seducers shall was worse and worse...but continue thou" (IITim.3:13,14).

These were among the last words of the great Apostle Paul, written in view of his approaching martyrdom, to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith.

Circumstances, outwardly, were anything but encouraging. It seemed that the last days of the dispensation of grace were indeed at hand. The apostle had borne many "persecutions" and "afflictions" and now "suffered trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds". There were those who, like Jannes and Jambres, had "resisted the truth" (Verse 8 ). "Alexander the coppersmith" had done him "much evil" and had "greatly withstood his words" (4:14,15). "Evil men and seducers" had risen on every hand and were to "wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (IITim.3:13).

There was even defection among his own brethren in the faith, so that now, from his Roman prison, he had to report: "All they which are in Asia have turned away from me...Demas hath forsaken me...only Luke is with me" (IITim.1:15; 4:10,11).

And what, now, is his parting advice to young Timothy? Does he say: "Perhaps I have been too intense. My methods have made many enemies. I advise you to be more diplomatic and tolerant than I have been". Hardly, for the records show Paul to have been of all men most tactful and considerate. His sufferings were not the result of a contentious spirit, but of his faithfulness in proclaiming that message which so embarrasses and enrages "our adversary, the devil", that message which is God's gracious response to man's need and His answer to Satan's slander -- "the gospel of the grace of God".

Thus it is that the Apostle urges Timothy: "Continue thou...be not ashamed...be strong". He well knew that in this sin-cursed world the only hope for the individual is to be found in God's offer of salvation through faith in the redemption wrought by Christ at Calvary.

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January 30, 2009

THE NOBLE BEREANS
by Cornelius R. Stam
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Many Christian groups and organizations call themselves Bereans, but it is surprising how few people know what a true Berean is.

The 17th chapter of Acts relates how Paul called upon his kinsmen at Thessalonica and for three sabbath days "reasoned with them out of the Scriptures," trying to show them that Jesus was the Christ.

Steeped in their own religion, however, the majority were unwilling even to consider the truths Paul proclaimed. Indeed, they resented the fact that some did believe and, in their bigotry, "set all the city on an uproar." Finally Paul's life was in such peril that the Christians there sent him away by night to Berea, a town about forty miles away.

At Berea Paul again sought out his "kinsmen according to the flesh" -- and what a different reception! Here is what the record says:

"THESE WERE MORE NOBLE THAN THOSE IN THESSALONICA, IN THAT THEY RECEIVED THE WORD WITH ALL READINESS OF MIND, AND SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY, WHETHER THOSE THINGS WERE SO" (Acts 17:11).

These people did not immediately close their eyes to further light. On the contrary, they gave Paul an interested hearing, listening with open minds to what he had to say. But they were not gullible either for, having listened to Paul, they subjected his word to God's Word, searching the Scriptures daily to see whether those things were so. For this God called them "noble." They were the true spiritual aristocracy of their day.

We should all be Bereans, spiritually big enough to listen with open minds to the teachings of men, and then big enough too to subject their teachings to the Word of God, the Bible, to see for ourselves whether these things are so. Our Lord said: "Search the Scriptures... for... they... testify of Me" (John 5:39). As we do this we will find eternal life -- and more -- in Christ.

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January 31, 2009

ASLEEP IN A STORM
by Cornelius R. Stam
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What a disappointing scene! A terrifying storm, souls in danger of death, but Jonah, the man of God, fast asleep.

Sailors are not soon frightened in a storm, but this time the fury of the gale was so great that "the ship was like to be broken" and even the sailors were driven to their knees "and cried every man unto his god" (Jonah 1:4,5).

Can it be that Jonah, the only man aboard who knew the true God, was sleeping? Sleeping while souls were perishing? This was the shameful truth, and not one of us would blame the terrified captain for rudely awakening him and crying: "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God!" (Verse 6).

But let us not be too ready to condemn Jonah, for we may be more guilty than he. Surely the world today is passing through a fearful storm and souls all about us are in peril of their lives. If they do not accept God's way of salvation; if they do not trust in Christ, they will perish. And what are we doing about it? Are we pleading for them in prayer? Are we doing what we can to reach them for Christ? Or are we fast asleep?

"What meanest thou O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God!" And when you have cried to God in behalf of your unsaved relatives, friends, and business associates, He will send you to witness to them of Christ and His love. Not until you have talked to God about them will you be ready to talk to them about God.

Politically, morally, spiritually, the night is dark, the storm is raging and souls are perishing, but "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts" (IICor.4:6). "...We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others" (IThess.5:5,6).

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February 2, 2009

"SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE"
by Russell S. Miller

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ:

"From whom the whole Body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph.4:15,16).

Surely by now you have noticed that people get upset and offended whenever anyone wants to share the Love of God. They do not want to hear that they are sinners in desperate need of the Saviour. Even Christian people naturally get offended when the truth is not spoken in love. But the unsaved will justify themselves with all kinds of excuses to evade this important truth that, if believed, would save their soul from an eternal loss.

"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (ICor.1:21).

The devil is very clever and knows how to "get an advantage of us" and keep precious souls from seeing "the light of the glorious gospel of Christ" (IICor.2:11; 4:4). Satan would "blind" those who do not believe from seeing their need of salvation and damn their souls to an eternal hell.

So we must walk "in love" toward the unsaved, for God places a very high value upon mankind, and He is not willing that any should perish. And because we are of "eternal worth" to Him, He sent His "only begotten Son" into this world to pay the full penalty of our sins, Himself, at the extreme cost of His own life's blood (Rom.8:31-34). Because of Calvary, therefore, and by faith in Jesus Christ, we may also now walk in the light of His Word. Why else would God have sent "His own Son" into this sin cursed world to die on a cruel cross for our sins?

"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?" (Romans 8:32).

The Love of God had no bounds at Calvary, as His wrath upon sin was poured out upon Christ. Shouldn't we, then, in love, be showing people from the Bible the Love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord? It is what Christ did on the cross that God accepts (Rom.3:25), and as we accept Christ's redemptive work on our behalf (Eph.2:8,9), God "accepts" us (Eph.1:6). It is not our "good works," then, but "faith" alone in the Lord Jesus Christ that saves from sin and hell and the Lake of fire. It is a matter of whether or not we believe what God has said in His Word about Jesus Christ. Do you believe the truth of the Word of God or do you still believe the devil's lies? God loves us, each and every one of us, with an everlasting love, 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 ).

"BE YE THEREFORE FOLLOWERS OF GOD, AS DEAR CHILDREN; AND WALK IN LOVE, AS CHRIST ALSO HATH LOVED US, AND HATH GIVEN HIMSELF FOR US AN OFFERING AND A SACRIFICE TO GOD FOR A SWEETSMELLING SAVOUR" (Eph.5:1,2).

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February 3, 2009

LIGHT FOR THE SOUL
by Cornelius R. Stam

A Christian believer talking to an atheistic evolutionist one time, took his watch out of his pocket, noted the time and put it back in again, saying to his friend: "This is a wonderful watch; never misses a second. I never have to do anything to it, yet it keeps perfect time."

"What make is it?" asked the evolutionist. "Oh, no make," was the reply. "Well who manufactured it?" "Oh, no one. It just put itself together somehow."

"Nonsense!" said the atheist. "A watch can't just come into existence. Somebody had to manufacture it."

"That's true," replied the Christian, "yet you expect me to believe that this vast universe with its billions of planets and stars, all revolving in perfect order, just came about by itself; that it has no Designer, no Creator, and no one to keep it running. Isn't that nonsense!"

According to the Bible God holds the pagan world responsible for its idolatry and declares: "They are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20) because all that the heathen witness about God every day calls for their worship and praise and thanksgiving (Rom. 1:20,21). But they have not had this attitude. They have denied and rejected God and, as St. Paul says, they "became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Ver. 21). It was thus that pagan idolatry, the worship of the creation, rather than the Creator (Ver. 25) had its beginning.

All this is very much like what we read in Ephesians 4:17,18 where God exhorts His people not to live like "the Gentiles," in "the vanity [shallowness] of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."

Not very complimentary, is it? But it does reflect the condition of the human heart without God and apart from faith in Christ our Savior. It explains why the world, with all its increased technical knowledge is worse off than ever.

How wonderful to know that "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness," can give light and joy and blessing to the simplest soul who places his faith in Christ, who died for our sins! (See IICor. 4:3-6; Acts 16:31; ICor. 15:3,4).

[nChrist]

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February 4, 2009

ARE YOU SURE?
by Cornelius R. Stam

Would you like to have the knowledge, the assurance and the joy of sins forgiven? Would you like to be sure of heaven?

Well, the first step to heaven is to realize that you cannot get there by trying. You can't walk there. You can't climb there. You can't fly there. Only God can take you there. Many try to earn heaven. They try to climb there on a ladder of good works. They talk about "adding another rung." But look out for that good works ladder! It's not anchored at the top and the higher you climb the farther you will fall.

God's Word says that salvation is "the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9). He is not going to have boasters in heaven -- there are enough of them on earth and nobody likes them.

All of us should realize that even the best of us are not good enough for heaven, for "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23), but in this same statement the Apostle Paul declares that believers in Christ, who died for our sins, are "justified freely by His [God's] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1).

So, friend, it is not by trying, or crying, or praying, or paying, or doing anything that you will reach heaven: it is only by believing. God says He loves sinners, and that Christ died for our sins. Will you believe this and trust Christ as your Savior? The terms are stated very plainly in John 3:35,36:

"The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."