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April 22, 2009

A JEALOUS GOD
by Cornelius R. Stam


We heartily thank God for every politician, athlete, actor or even criminal who comes to know Christ as Savior. But conversion alone does not qualify one for a place of prominence in Christian service. This, especially in Paul's epistles, is reserved for mature believers, wholly separated to God and established in the truth (See especially II Tim. 2:21).

When hearts beat faster because of the presence of some glamorous personality on the Christian platform; when such personalities receive adulation which belongs rather to the Christ who died for them, God is dishonored and displeased.

True, the motive in procuring such "crowd-getters" may have been to reach greater numbers for Christ, just as some of our spiritual leaders become yoked together with apostate unbelievers in evangelistic endeavors in order to reach souls for Christ, but the end does not justify the means. It is never right to do wrong to accomplish some good end.

Have we forgotten that God's Word says: "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God" (Ex 20:5) and "I will not give My glory unto another" (Isa 48:11)? True we quote here from the Ten Commandments, but remember, Paul in his epistles quotes all the Ten Commandments except one (re the sabbath). The covenant of the Law has been done away but not the moral law itself, and God is the only Being who has legitimate and urgent reason to be jealous of His glory. Christian leaders are playing a dangerous game when they give glory due to God alone to prominent personalities so as to swell their audiences.

It is time for the Church to realize that salvation is the work of God and that true and lasting results will follow only when we conduct His work in His way.

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April 23, 2009

REPENTANCE AND GRACE
by Cornelius R. Stam


When the sinner is convicted by the Holy Spirit of the seriousness of sin and of judgment to come, and cries to the Lord to save him, he has, of course, repented, or changed his mind, as the Greek word signifies. Many of God's servants, however, considering only the fact that sinners need such a change of mind, conclude that the way to produce the greatest results in their ministry is to stress repentance.

Such should take note of the response to the three great calls to repentance by which the dispensation of the Law was brought to a close: John the Baptist called Israel to repentance but was beheaded as a result (Matt.3:1-12; 14:3-10). The Lord Jesus took up the cry where John had left off (4:17), but was crucified for it. After the resurrection He sent His disciples to preach "repentance and remission of sin...in His name" (Luke 24:47) but Jerusalem refused to repent and it was not long before blood again flowed, as Stephen was stoned to death and a great persecution followed (Acts 8:3).

The guilt of Israel's impenitence increased too, as the call to repentance was intensified, for while John's murder was permitted by the people, Christ's was demanded by them, and Stephen's was actually committed by them. Thus the so-called "Great Commission" was bogged down at the very start, for if Jerusalem and the covenant people refused to repent, what hope was there that the "nations" (Luke 24:47) would do so?

"But where sin abounded, GRACE did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might GRACE reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.5:20,21).

After calls to repentance had failed, the ascended Lord stooped down to save Saul, the chief of sinners, on the road to Damascus, in anything but a repentant mood. Not by threatening or dealing with him in judgment, but by speaking to him in the tenderest tones He showed him the glory of His grace. This "trophy of grace" was then sent forth to proclaim "the gospel of grace", and the merits of his crucified, glorified Lord.

This is why repentance was emphasized, indeed was the theme of God's message, from John until Paul, while grace, proclaimed through the cross and received by faith, gradually displaced it as the theme of God's message for "this present evil age" (Acts 20:24).

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April 24, 2009

FOR JUST BEING HERE
by Cornelius R. Stam


When you sigh for heaven, remember:

"...Christ...loved the Church, and gave Himself for it...That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph.5:25,26).

Too readily we forget that Christ loves us infinitely more than we love Him; that He paid the penalty for our sins on cruel Calvary and shed His life's blood that one day He might have us for Himself to share His glory with Him forever.

Surely, then, He would rather have us at His side in heaven than here in this scene of sin and sorrow, and sickness and death. We should bear this in mind when we long that we might leave this world and go to be with Him.

But there is more: The Saviour, who was exiled from this earth, and is, even now, rejected by men, has not yet rejected them. Rather, He has left us here as His ambassadors on hostile territory, to plead with his enemies, praying them "in His stead" to be reconciled to God, assuring them that He has done all that is necessary to effect a reconciliation (IICor.5: 20,21).

And this is His attitude toward mankind now, though the prophetic Scriptures declare so emphatically that man's rejection of Christ was to be -- and will be -- visited with the severest judgment (Psa.2:4-9; Acts 2:16-20).

But not yet! Though man had declared war on Christ (Acts 4:26,27), He did not yet make a counter-declaration, but interrupted the prophetic program to save Saul of Tarsus, the leader of the rebellion and sent him forth to usher in the present "dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph.3:1-3).

This is why, in His love and compassion, He leaves us here still to plead with His enemies: "Be ye reconciled to God". And what about His special love for us? Entirely apart from rewards earned by service or suffering for Him, God will richly reward us (II Cor.4:17) just for being here as "ambassadors for Christ".

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April 25, 2009

HEROES OF FAITH
by Cornelius R. Stam


In Rom. 4:12 the Apostle Paul declares that Abraham was the father, not of his physical offspring alone, but also of those who "walk in the steps of that faith" which Abraham had.

Have you ever noticed that God does not hold the great men of Scripture up to us because of their personal virtues? Almost invariably their records are marred by failure and sin. But God bids us observe their faith and what their faith gained for them (See Rom. 4:3,9,11,12).

There is a whole chapter on this subject in the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews 11 is properly called "the great faith chapter," and its heroes "heroes of faith," for it tells how Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and scores of others "obtained a good report" before God. They all faltered and failed again and again, but Heb. 11:39 declares that "these all... obtained a good report THROUGH FAITH."

This is why Rom. 4:9-12 states that God's blessing is bestowed upon those who "walk in the steps of that faith" which Abraham exhibited, just as it was bestowed upon Abraham himself.

This truth is driven home in Verses 3 to 5 of the same chapter:

"For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3-5).

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April 26, 2009

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
by Cornelius R. Stam


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22,23).

The "fruit of the Spirit" is that combination of graces evidenced in the lives of believers who "walk in the Spirit." Let us never make the mistake of supposing that "the Spirit," in Gal. 5:22,23, refers to "the spirit of man which is in him" (I Cor. 2:11). It refers rather to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, who indwells believers. The spiritual virtues listed above do not spring from any goodness in us, but from the Spirit of God dwelling within.

Next, we should observe that these graces are not the product of human effort. The passage above declares that they are fruit, and fruit is the natural product of life and growth. Indeed, "the fruit of the Spirit" is here contrasted with "the works of the flesh" (Vers. 19-21), and these are all bad!

Finally, it is a remarkable fact that the graces which the Holy Spirit produces in yielded believers are certainly not those which the world admires. The world admires self-confidence, self-respect, self-made men, intellectual prowess, personal magnetism, authority, etc., while the Spirit produces "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." But consider the difference. A man may have self-confidence, intellectual acumen, political or other power -- and he may still be very difficult to live with, but not so with the virtues which the Spirit produces. Of those who possess these graces the Apostle says: "Against such there is no law."

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April 27, 2009

LOOKING UP
by Cornelius R. Stam


How many people, even Christian people, live in fear these days! They consider how we have gone from atom bombs to hydrogen bombs to nitrogen bombs, with megatons of explosive power. They read about all the deadly weapons being perfected by countries all over the world, and they fear that frightful destruction may at any time overtake them.

It does indeed appear that this world is headed toward the prophesied destruction, but true believers should understand that God has clearly predicted that He will recall His ambassadors before giving the world up in judgment. Paul, the apostle of grace, made it clear that no one can tell how long the dispensation of grace will last, but he did declare that this age would close with the coming of our Lord for His own.

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (I Thes. 4:16-18 ).

In the next chapter, we have the prediction of the pouring out of God's wrath on the world but the believer in Christ will escape this.

Thus Paul reminded the Thessalonians how they had "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven..." (I Thes. 1:9,10). Thus too he reminded the Philippians: "Our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20). And thus, finally, he instructed Titus to be looking for that blessed hope, and the appearing in glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:13).

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April 28, 2009

FEAR OF DEATH IS IT NECESSARY?
by Cornelius R. Stam


Most people live in almost constant fear of death. They do not like to think that man's days are as grass and all his glory as the glory of a fading flower (Psa. 103:15,16). They do not wish to face up to the fact that "it is appointed unto men once to die" (Heb. 9:27).

This is natural, for God's Word declares that death is "the wages of sin" (Rom. 6:23) and "after this the judgment" (Heb. 9:27) and the "second death" (Rev. 20:14). This is why I Cor. 15:56 says that "The sting of death is sin."

Yet the Psalmist David was not afraid of death. He said: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil" -- but note the reason: "for Thou art with me" (Psa. 23:4). David had come to know God and had been graciously delivered from the fear of death. But we, today, have an even greater reason to be free from the fear of death, for 1,000 years after David, Saul of Tarsus, the chief of sinners, was saved by grace and was sent forth to proclaim the "gospel [good news] of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

He went forth to tell men how "Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor. 15:3) and robbed Satan of all his claims against us:

"That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2: 14, 15).

When the Apostle himself neared death, he said: "To die is gain" (Phil. 1:21), "to depart, and to be with Christ... is far better" (Ver. 23), and "the time of my departure is at hand... henceforth there is laid up for me a crown..." (II Tim. 4:6-8 ).

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April 29, 2009

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
by Cornelius R. Stam


"The Sword of the Spirit... is the Word of God" (Eph. 6: 17).

Of all the spiritual armor which believers are told to "put on" in Eph. 6:11-18, there is only one offensive weapon. This is "the Sword of the Spirit... the Word of God." The Bible is called "the Sword of the Spirit," because the Spirit of God is its Author. It is called "the Sword of the Spirit" because, thus written by God who knows all, it can cut deeply. This makes it, for the believer, a formidable weapon against Satan and the forces of evil. We are told in Heb. 4:12,13:

"The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

As David said long ago:

"O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me.
"Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psa. 139:1,2).

It is because God knows and understands us so thoroughly that His Word can sometimes cut us so deeply. How wise, then, to bow before that Blessed Book, acknowledge its condemnation of sin and trust the Savior it presents! And, having done this, how wise to "put on the whole armor of God" in our stand against Satan and sin, not forgetting to "take... the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God"!

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April 30, 2009

"THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES"
by Russell S. Miller


"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office" (Rom.11:13).

Paul is not, however, one of the Twelve Apostles as many teach today, and certainly he was not chosen to take Judas' place. Acts 1:16-26 gives ample proof as to why Saul of Tarsus did not qualify for that position. Scripturally, the "lot" fell to "Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles" (Acts 1:26). When Paul finally does come upon the scene in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts 9:1,2 reveals him as a persecutor on his way to persecute Christ's followers at Damascus.

"And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities" (Acts 26:11).

His persecution of Messiah is a far cry from being eligible for the position that Judas held with the disciples of the Lord. Paul was therefore most ineligible, for he had not even seen Jesus of Nazareth in His earthly ministry--a requirement of Acts 1:21,22!

But in Acts 9:3-6 the risen, glorified, Lord Jesus Christ reached down from His glories in Heaven to save the notorious Saul of Tarsus. And the record goes on to explain the purpose for which Christ saved him, that is, his conversion and apostleship:

"...for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: "For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:15,16).

Later Paul wrote in Galatians 1:15,16:

"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace,

"To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood."

Thus, Paul is specially "chosen" by God through whom God's Son is to be revealed to all nations, since the favored nation had refused Messiah under their so-called Great Commission. This is why Paul is "the Apostle of the Gentiles" and this explains why God chose him, and commissioned him with "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

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May 1, 2009

DELAY IN JUDGMENT
by Cornelius R. Stam


The Scriptures leave no doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ will come to this earth again, "in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God" and who "receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (II Thes. 1:8; 2:10). Nor will He forget His promise to give the twelve apostles thrones in His kingdom (Matt. 19:28 ). There can be no successors to Peter and the eleven, for they themselves are to reign with Christ in glory. What is happening now is a parenthesis in God's prophesied program. Delaying Christ's return to judge and reign. God chose another apostle, separate from the twelve, to bring a message of grace to this Christ-rejecting world. How great is His mercy and love!

And how are men saved today? How are their sins remitted? Must they come to some recognized authority and be "baptized for the remission of sins"? Some, still following Peter rather than Paul, say, "Yes." But let us see what St. Paul, by divine inspiration, has to say about this.

"FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED, THROUGH FAITH, AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST" (Eph. 2:8,9).

"NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH WE HAVE DONE, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, BY THE WASHING OF REGENERATION, AND THE RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST" (Tit. 3:5).

This stands in striking contrast to Peter's "Repent and be baptized... for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38 ). It stands in contrast, also, to the words of the so-called "Great Commission": "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Does not this indicate that a change in dispensation took place with the raising up of Paul, that other apostle?

But what about the kingdom? Does some man on earth hold the keys? No, for both the King and His kingdom are in exile. When a sinner obeys God and receives Christ as His Savior he is "translated into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:13), and "made accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6).

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May 2, 2009

"A TRUE VETERAN"
by Cornelius R. Stam


Before you have placed your trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior, there is nothing whatever you can do to please God or to gain acceptance with Him. John 3:35 declares that "the Father loves the Son" and cares what you think about Him and do with Him. This is why Verse 36 goes on to say:

"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."

But once you have received Christ as your Savior and Lord there is much you can do to please God. You can witness to His saving grace, you can please Him by living a godly life, you can work for Him, you can sacrifice of your means to further His cause, and yes, you can fight for Him. "Fight for Him" you say? Yes indeed, for this world system, our Adamic natures and Satan and his hosts, are all antagonistic toward the Christ who died for our sins. Satan's forces, especially, work behind the scenes to "blind the minds of them that believe not" (II Cor. 4:4). These fallen angels, we read, are "the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph. 6:12).

This is why God urges His children to be "strong in the Lord," putting on "the whole armor of God," so as to meet and defeat these evil forces (Vers. 10,11). This is why He puts a sword ("the Word of God") into our hands and bids us "stand... stand... stand!" (Vers. 11-14).

Ah, but a great veteran, who waged many battles in making Christ known to the lost, gives us an inkling of the thrill that goes with being "a good soldier of Jesus Christ." In his last words, just before his execution, the Apostle Paul declared triumphantly: "I have fought a good fight!" (II Tim. 4:7). It was indeed "a good fight" in which he had been engaged, a fight to bring light and salvation and blessing to benighted souls. And the reward:

"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown" (Ver. 8 ).

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May 3, 2009

THE BIBLE AND THE AMERICAN HOME
by Cornelius R. Stam


More than nineteen hundred years ago St. Paul wrote to a young man named Timothy: "From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 3:15).

Timothy was a fortunate young man. His father was not a believer, but his godly mother made up for the lack, and her mother helped as, day after day, from his earliest childhood, they taught him the Word of God. As a result he came to know Christ as his Savior at an early age, and later became Paul's faithful co-worker and closest associate in making known the wonderful "gospel of the grace of God." In his very last letter the Apostle recalls Timothy's "unfeigned faith... which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice" (II Tim. 1:5).

If only we had more such grandmothers today, and mothers, with husbands to help them! If only our American children were not set adrift on a tossing sea of human speculation, but were taught the eternal truths of that Old Book, the Bible!

Certainly the rebellion of so much of our American youth against law, authority and morality is directly related to the disappearance of the Bible from American life. It is not those young people who have been brought up in Bible- reading homes and in Church and Sunday School, who are making us ashamed today; it is those, from backgrounds both rich and poor, who have been brought up without Bible teaching.

We all need to "know the holy Scriptures," not only because they teach reverence for God and build moral character, but most of all because they "are able to make [us] wise unto salvation through faith... in Christ Jesus." The theme of the Bible, Old Testament as well as New, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the riches of whose saving grace are unfolded to us in the Epistles of Paul, the chief of sinners saved by grace.

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May 4, 2009

PETER AND HIS PENTECOSTAL BAPTISTERY
by Russell S. Miller


"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you... For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES; And that He was buried, and that He ROSE AGAIN the third day ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES" (ICor.15:3,4).

Paul had not only "received" his Gospel, but he also "delivered" his Gospel, which was also "received" by the saints at Corinth. But a most interesting aspect about the gospel that Paul preached is found in the context of I Corinthians 15:3,4. Peter, the Apostle of the Circumcision, "Cephas" (ICor.15:5), had come to understand the Gospel that Paul preached, and he had also come to see that circumcision and the Law was no longer necessary for salvation.

In early Acts, Peter had preached the resurrection of Christ to sit upon the throne of David's prophesied kingdom (Acts 2:25-31). He did not know what the crucifixion of Jesus Christ had accomplished (Luke 18:34). In early Acts he only knew that "by wicked hands [Israel] had crucified and slain" the Son of God (Acts 2:22-24). Even as late as Peter's visit to see Cornelius in Acts 10, the Apostle Peter did not understand the preaching of the cross. It was through Paul's ministry, and the gospel of the grace of God, that Peter came to see what the finished work of Christ accomplished, and through this knowledge he became a stalwart for the truth.

In Acts 15:7-11 Peter declared that Jews are now saved exactly the same way Gentiles are saved today. No longer does the law, nor repentance and water baptism save. Would to God that all our Baptist friends would come to see the truth of the Mystery as Peter had. These are not the words of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:31, but Peter's own inspired words, to his own countrymen at that Jerusalem Council:

"BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WE SHALL BE SAVED, EVEN AS THEY" (Acts 15:11).

It was no longer salvation through the Jews (John 4:22). And this is why he is called Cephas in Paul's epistles, a "PILLAR" for the truth of God's Word "rightly divided." Listen to Peter's words later written in his first epistle:

"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied" (I Peter 1:2).

Thus the Apostle Peter forsakes his Pentecostal baptistery for "the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Peter 1:18,19).

Thus, the Apostle Peter came to understand the importance of the one divine baptism into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. THE LIKE FIGURE WHEREUNTO EVEN BAPTISM DOTH ALSO NOW SAVE US (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh [water baptism], but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into Heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him" (I Peter 3:18-22).

Now hear the Apostle Paul's own inspired words concerning the so-called Great Commission and its water baptism:

"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of [national] faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit" (Heb.6:1-3).

Thus Paul, in Hebrews 6:1,2, instructs all Jews to leave the so-called Great Commission with its repentance and water baptism, and come on to "perfection" through "the revelation of Jesus Christ" as revealed in his epistles. And having seen this, Peter gave to Paul and Barnabas "the right hand of fellowship" in Galatians 2:9.

And this, beloved, is consistent with the Apostle Paul's words in I Corinthians 15:3,4, and "the Gospel which [he] preached unto you" that "CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES."

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May 5, 2009

"ENTERING INTO HIS REST"
by Russell S. Miller


"God rested the seventh day from all His works" (Heb.4:4), a reference to the six days of creation as recorded in Genesis 1:1-2:2, and an exhortation that you cease your works and rest in the power of Almighty God.

But Moses himself, through unbelief, failed to enter, and rest, in the land of promise (Heb.4:6; Nu.20:7-13; Deut.34:1-8 ). Since he had already "smitten" the rock once (Ex.17:1-7), the Lord now instructed him to "speak" (Nu.20:8 ) to the rock, for the "Rock" smitten once typifies Christ's death on Calvary (ICor.10:4; Heb.10:10-14). A "word" humbly "spoken" in the wilderness (Ex.17:1-7) would bring forth the water of life freely, but Moses "smote the rock", not once, but "twice" (Nu.20:11). His anger with Israel, "ye rebels", revealed his unbelief also, for Christ was not to be "smitten twice" (Nu.20:8 ).

Nevertheless in John 4:14 we see the "water" that Christ gives is a "well of water springing up into everlasting life". Under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, it is apparent that though Israel entered Canaan, they failed to enter His rest.

"And they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief" (Heb.4:6).

Even David and his valiant men could not bring Israel into His rest because of unbelief (Heb.4:7).

"For if [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day" (4:8 ).

From David unto Christ, Israel would not enter into His rest, "although the works were finished from the foundation of the world" (Heb.4:3; Rev.13:8 ), a reference to the "forbearance" of God as Paul declares in Romans 3:25,26.

"Jesus", Hebrews 4:8 in our KJV, refers not only to Joshua, but He whom Joshua typified, our Lord Jesus Christ. Under His Divine Leadership Israel rejected the Millennial Rest of His glorious reign (Luke 19:14). See also Romans 10:3,4.

But there remains "a rest" to all those who will place their faith and trust in our "Great High Priest...JESUS the Son of God" (Heb.4:14-16).

"FOR HE THAT IS ENTERED INTO HIS REST, HE ALSO HATH CEASED FROM HIS OWN WORKS, AS GOD DID FROM HIS" (Heb.4:10).

Again in Romans, Abraham is God's great example of faith:

"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
"For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and...his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom.4:2-8 ).

Isn't it about time that you also ceased from your so-called "good works". Trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone as your Saviour for salvation, and His finished work on Calvary's cross, and enter into His rest, by grace through faith?

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

[nChrist]

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May 6, 2009

THE RESURRECTION MOURNING
by Cornelius R. Stam


"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping" (John 20:11).

Why did she weep? Because the tomb was empty! What needless sorrows follow in the wake of unbelief! Those tear-dimmed eyes did not see the evidence of the Lord's resurrection. And when the angels asked: "Why weepest thou?" she said: "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him." Poor woman! She would rather have found His body there!

But here are two on their way to Emmaus, no less sorrowful. They are talking together about all that has happened during the past few days and "[as] they communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were holden that they should not know Him. And He said unto them: What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" (Luke 24:15-17).

The word "walk" here does not mean to walk on but to walk about -- to wander aimlessly. They were on their way to Emmaus, but they were so brokenhearted that they did not care whether or not they got there. What had caused them to give up hope? Listen to their own explanations:

"We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done" (Luke 24:21).

They had given up hope because this was the third day since the Lord's crucifixion, yet this was the very day He was to rise from the dead, according to His own oft-repeated promise.

Mary weeps because the tomb is empty! The two disciples are brokenhearted because this is now the third day since His death! We smile at the irony of unbelief. But what about ourselves? The risen, glorified Christ exercises far greater power and offers far greater blessings to believers now than His followers of old knew anything about.

"Oh, what peace we often forfeit! Oh, what needless pain we bear!" All because we do not take God at His Word.