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May 7, 2009

"ACCEPTED"
by Cornelius R. Stam


In Ephesians 1:6 the Apostle Paul sings a doxology, as it were, "to the praise of the glory of God's grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved".

In the story of the Prodigal Son it is touching to see the father accept his wayward son back to his bosom --- and so generously! He does not merely admit him back into his home; he clothes him with his best robe, puts a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet and kills for him the fatted calf so that they call all to "eat and be merry" in celebration of his return.

But the prodigal was after all the father's son, whereas Paul bids us "Gentiles in the flesh" to remember that originally we were "without Christ...aliens from the commonwealth of Israel...strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph.2:12).

Hence it is even more touching to contemplate God's gracious acceptance of us who were not sons but "aliens" and "enemies" (Col.1:21).

The word "accepted" in the above passage actually comes from the word "grace" (Gr. karis) with which the verse begins: "...His grace, wherein He hath engraced us in the Beloved One".

Thus God looks upon us now with delight; He delights to favor and bless the believer because He sees him in Christ, His beloved Son.

This passage reminds us how God once broke through the heavens to declare: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt.3:17). And now He is delighted with us and blesses us with "all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies" because we are in Christ, the "Beloved Son". Not that we have attained to this position, far from it, for "HE hath MADE us accepted" --- HE hath engraced us in the Beloved.

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May 8, 2009

DOES MISERY LOVE COMPANY?
by Cornelius R. Stam


We have all heard the statement: "Misery loves company." It is true that when one is sick or in trouble he does not feel quite so sorry for himself when he realizes that others are as unfortunate, and perhaps more so, than he.

However, some have used this phrase: "Misery loves company," in speaking lightly of hell. Perhaps you have heard someone say: "Well, if I go to hell, at least I'll have lots of company." This is true, but the company the lost will have when cast out of God's presence will hardly afford them comfort.

The Bible story of the rich man and Lazarus brings this fact out with great force. The rich man, you will remember, "fared sumptuously every day," while Lazarus "was laid at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table."

In the process of time both died, and the rich man, having felt no need of salvation, suddenly was made to experience God's wrath upon sin, for the sacred record says: "In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments" (Luke 16:23). From his place of torment the rich man saw Lazarus with Abraham "afar off," but this surely afforded little comfort, while we do read that "Lazarus was comforted." The rich man, then, still with haughty superiority, asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth to warn his five brothers, "lest they come into this place of torment." He did not wish his brothers to join him in hell. "Misery" among those cast out of God's presence, then, does not "love company."

The story is brought to a close as Abraham refuses the rich man's request, explaining that if his brothers would not hear the Word of God "neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

The way to avoid the lot of the rich man, then, is to believe the Word of God, particularly that part of the Word which tells how Christ died for our sins that we might be justified by grace through faith. Don't be deceived by the old adage: "Misery loves company." Receive Christ as your Savior today.

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

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May 9, 2009

COMFORT ONE ANOTHER
by Cornelius R. Stam


Increasing world tension and the present trend of events in the Middle East have always filled many with fear, and there are even sincere believers in Christ who fear that perhaps the "Great Tribulation" of prophecy, with all its horrors, is at hand.

It is true indeed that even Paul's epistles warn this world of the judgment to come. "...The Day of the Lord", he says, "so cometh as a thief in the night".

"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape" (IThess.5:2,3).

But before this time comes, the Lord will recall His ambassadors, as the apostle tells us in the following passage:

"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" (IThess.4:16-18 ).

This is the event with which "the dispensation of the grace of God" will be brought to a close. Then will follow "the day of His wrath", but even as Paul goes on to tell about this in the passage which follows, he reassures the members of Christ's Body that they will not be included amongst those to whom the Lord will come as "a thief in the night".

"But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light...God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us...Wherefore comfort yourselves together..." (IThess.5:4-11).

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May 10, 2009

WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM CHRIST
by Cornelius R. Stam


"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rom.8:35).

There have been individuals who thought the doctrine of the believer's eternal security in Christ to be a dangerous heresy. They countered every Scripture on the subject with another to refute it. But in each of these cases it was this great truth, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ", that finally persuaded them.

It is significant that the Apostle Paul never tells us about his love for Christ, but he is always telling us about Christ's love for him and for others! The Law commands: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God", but grace puts it the other way, telling us how deeply God loves us -- and this begets love in return. The Apostle experienced discouragements that would have caused him to give up the work of the Lord a thousand times, but he could not. Why? He says, "the love of Christ constraineth us?" (II Cor. 5:14); it bore him along like a strong tide. No doubt he had this very thing in mind when he continued writing in Romans 8.

"For Thy sake we are killed all the day long...accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (Ver.36).

And therefore defeated? Far from it!

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Ver.37).

Not only do we win the battle; we are "more than conquerors", for these adversities serve to draw us into still closer fellowship with Him, thus enriching our Christian experience.

When people or nations engage in battle, generally no one wins; both lose. But Paul's personal experience serves as the foremost example that in the Christian life, "tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril [and] sword" bring us more than victory when borne for Him who loved us.

Thus this great chapter opens with "no condemnation" and closes with "no separation", and the Apostle, gathering all the forces of creation together, whether they be time, space, or matter, declares that none of them can separate us from "the love of God, which is [manifested] in Christ Jesus" (Vers.38,39). Whether it be death or life, heavenly principalities, things present or things to come, height or depth or any other created thing -- none of them, nor all together -- can threaten our security or separate us from the love of God, which He has manifested to us in Christ Jesus.

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May 11, 2009

THE SON OF MAN
by Cornelius R. Stam


In the four "Gospel" records, the Lord Jesus Christ refers to Himself about eighty times as "the son of Man". This title is based upon a passage in Daniel's prophecy in which "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom" are given unto one who appeared as "the Son of Man" (Dan.7:13, 14). This kingdom, says the passage, "shall not pass away, and ... shall not be destroyed."

As the term "Son of God" speaks of our Lord's deity and the term "Son of David" emphasizes His title as King of Israel, so the term "Son of Man" identifies Him as the representative of mankind in general.

It is as "Son of Man" that He will reign as King of the world, as "King of kings" as we have seen above. It is also as "Son of Man" that He will judge the nations just before His kingdom reign:

"When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him will be gathered all nations" (Matt.25: 31,32).

As Son of man He will also be the Judge at the final judgment at the Great White Throne (Rev.20:11-15).

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son... because He is the Son of man" (John 5:22,27).

Surely God could not be more just in His dealings with mankind. But best of all it is as Son of man that our Lord represented us at Calvary, paying the penalty for our sins that He might deliver us from the judgment to come. "For the Son of man came...to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). In "due time" the Apostle Paul was raised up to proclaim the glad news that the great Mediator had given Himself "a ransom for ALL" (I Tim.2:6).

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May 12, 2009

EVOLUTION AND SIN
by Cornelius R. Stam


"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Rom. 8:22).

Modern evolution, of course, denies the Bible account of the fall and has much to say about "the ascent of man," but evolution fails to account for, indeed, assiduously evades, that which lies at the very root of all man's troubles: sin. It fails to explain adequately why man finds himself weak, poor, miserable, distressed, corrupt, perishing, and it fails to explain why he is so utterly helpless to lift himself from this state. It fails to explain his inherent sense of blameworthiness; indeed insists he has no cause for a "guilt complex."

Every man feels within himself a disorder, a positive dislocation of things, which science -- and certainly the theory of evolution -- is unable to explain. Only the Bible account of the fall explains it and shows how all man's trouble and distress arise from his own nature, which is fallen and corrupt.

"...BY ONE MAN SIN ENTERED INTO THE WORLD, AND DEATH BY SIN; AND SO DEATH PASSED UPON ALL MEN, FOR THAT ALL HAVE SINNED" (Rom. 5:12).

It is most important for the unsaved to learn this lesson; to learn that it is not merely our sins, but our sin that makes us unfit for the presence of God; not merely our deeds but our nature; not merely what we have done, but what we would do because we are essentially sinful as the children of Adam.

How profoundly grateful we should be, then, that God loves us despite our sins and our sinful natures, and that... "...God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8 ).

"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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May 13, 2009

CALVARY IN RETROSPECT
by Cornelius R. Stam


If the Bible makes anything clear, it is the fact that the secret of all God's good news to man is centered at Calvary. It was because Christ was to die for sin that God could proclaim good news to sinners down through the ages.

It was not until some time after the crucifixion, however, that "the preaching of the cross" was widely proclaimed as a message by Paul in "the gospel [good news] of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24; I Cor. 1:18 ).

The proclamation of "the gospel of the grace of God" was the natural accompaniment to the revelation of the cross as the secret of God's good news to man. In this proclamation of His over-abounding grace to sinners, everything centers in the cross.

According to Paul's epistles "we have redemption through His [Christ's] blood" (Eph. 1:7), we are "justified by His blood" (Rom. 5:9), "reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:10), "made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13) and "made the righteousness of God in Him" because God "hath made Him to be sin for us" (11 Cor. 5:21).

The "covenant" of the law was abolished by the cross (Col. 2:14), the curse of the law was removed by the cross (Gal. 3:13), the "middle wall of partition" was broken down by the cross (Eph. 2:14) and believers in Christ are reconciled to God in one body by the cross (Eph. 2:16). Little wonder Paul calls his message "the preaching of the cross"!

To the believer it is thrilling to see the cross as God's reply to Satan when, at first glance, it had appeared that Calvary had been Satan's greatest triumph! Thus we can exclaim with Paul:

"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!" (Gal. 6:14).

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May 14, 2009

THE MAKER OF ALL MADE SIN FOR US
by Cornelius R. Stam


It is thrilling to trace through the New Testament and find the word "made," and to observe how our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Creator of all, humbled Himself, died on Calvary's cross and arose again from the dead to save, justify and glorify sinners.

St. Paul says of Christ: "All things were created by Him and for Him" (Col. 1:16), and St. John adds by inspiration: "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made... The world was made by Him" (John 1:3,10).

How wonderful it is, then, that He, the Creator of all, came to be one with us -- yes, one of us! John tells us again that the Maker of all was "made flesh" (John 1:14) and Paul declares that "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law..." (Gal. 4:4), that He "made Himself of no reputation ...and was made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:6,7). In his letter to the Hebrews he adds that Christ was "made [for] a little [while] lower than the angels for the suffering of death" (Heb. 2:9). More than that, he declares that our Lord was "made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13) to redeem us from the curse of the law, and that God "made Him to be sin for us..." (II Cor. 5:21).

Thus in one stroke, at Calvary , our Lord, the great Creator, bore the penalty for sin that would have sunk a world to hell, and for this "God also hath highly exalted Him" (Phil. 2:9), having "raised him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all..." (Eph. 1:20,21). "God hath made that same Jesus... both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36) so that now He has been "made higher than the heavens" (Heb. 7:26).

As a result the simplest believer in this mighty Savior is "made... accepted in the Beloved One" (Eph. 1:6) and "made [to] sit... in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). He is "made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:21), "that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Tit. 3:7).

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May 15, 2009

SIN KILLS -- CHRIST SAVES
by Cornelius R. Stam


The Bible clearly states that "as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law" (Rom. 2:12).

Some people overlook or forget the fact that entirely apart from the Law, sin kills. This is evident on every hand. Envy, hate, vice and profligate living dissipate the human frame and destroy it.

This is why so many in pagan lands barely live out half their lives. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" entirely apart from law and judgment.

But Rom. 2:12 goes on to say that "as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law." Let's think this through too.

Here, let's say, is a man who begins to take narcotics. He gets deeper and deeper into drug addiction, and has to cheat and steal to get the money to buy more. Soon his life is ruined; he's a human wreck -- entirely apart from the law.

But now the law catches up with him and there is a new situation. He is taken to court and found guilty and sent to jail. This is the legal penalty for his crime, a crime which was destroying him anyway. So the Law is of no help to sinners; it only adds the just condemnation of sin to the natural -- and deplorable -- results of sin.

How wonderful, then, to know that the death of Christ is so complete a solution to man's twofold problem! Romans 5 explains how Christ, at Calvary, came to our rescue, both in our helplessness and in the condemnation that spelled our doom.

Ver. 6: "When we were yet without strength... Christ died for the ungodly."

Ver. 8: "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

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May 16, 2009

A Challenge for Our Parents
by Paul M. Sadler, President


Scripture Reading:

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
-- I Corinthians 15:58

Probably the most commonly asked question of a seven year old is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Usually the little one is so frozen with fear that the one inquiring must resort to a form of interrogation: "a doctor, lawyer, policeman; I know, a fireman!" These are noble professions indeed, but why are children almost never encouraged to pursue the ministry? Is the Lord's work any less meaningful? Are the callings of pastor, evangelist, missionary and Christian counselor unworthy of our children's' consideration? Parents do well to remember that there is no higher calling in life than the Lord's service.

Sadly, our young people are so preconditioned to aspire to worldly professions that the ministry is not even a viable option. Timothy's mother had no way of knowing whether or not God would call her son into full-time service. But to her credit, she trained Timothy from a small child in the Scriptures to prepare him for the things of the Lord. Shortly after his conversion to Christ, he was called into the ministry where he delivered many from a Christless eternity (II Tim. 1:6).

During those formative years we need to encourage our young to seek the face of the Lord as to what area of Christian service the Lord might use them. Perhaps you have a quiver full of teenagers who don't know what vocation to pursue. What better place to search for an answer than to have them attend the Berean Bible Institute here in Milwaukee.

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May 17, 2009

THE TRIUNITY OF GOD
by Russell S. Miller


"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

Have you ever considered that God's image is stamped upon all creation? The whole universe bears the image of God. Just ask yourself what the universe is made of. It bears the image of its Creator.

The Universe is made of three elements: Time, Space, and Matter. And each one of these is a triunity in itself:

Time is Past, Present, and Future.

Space is Length, Width, and Height.

Matter is Energy, Motion, and Phenomena.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them" (Gen.1:26,27).

When God created man, He said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." (Gen.1:26). Paul the Apostle tells us that man is "...spirit, soul, and body..." yet one man (IThes.5:23)! In John 1:1 the Lord Jesus Christ is called, The Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1,2). In I John 5:7 we read most clearly these words concerning the Trinity: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."

It's a shame the New World translation leaves these verses out because, not only does nature itself confirm the Triunity of God, but the Bible also clearly declares that God--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three Persons, yet one God--stamped His "image" and "likeness" upon all creation. In Colossians 2:9 the Deity of "the Man Christ Jesus" is confirmed: "For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Much, much more could be said on a subject so involved as the Triunity of God.

"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him" (ICor.8:6).

"...and no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (ICor.12:3).

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May 18, 2009

WHAT IS A CHURCH?
by Cornelius R. Stam


It is strange but true that most people -- even the great majority of religious people -- do not know what a church is. Ask the average man what a church is, and he's apt to reply: "Well, anybody knows that! A church is a building where people go to worship God." But this is not correct. The word translated church, in our Bibles, simply means assembly. A church is not a building, but the assembly that meets in the building. Technically, a church is not even a religious gathering, for the same word is used in Acts 19:32 of a riotous mob which had assembled at Ephesus, and this verse says that this assembly was confused and that "the greater part knew not wherefore they were come together." Perhaps this could apply to many a church today, but the point is that a church is not a building but an assembly of people.

The church of which the Bible has most to say is "the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28 ), and St. Paul calls the church of this present dispensation, "the Body of Christ," or "the Church which is His Body" (I Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:22,23).

Men cannot join this Church by water baptism or any other religious rite, but only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. With regard to believers in Christ St. Paul declares: "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one Body" (I Cor. 12:13). And in Rom. 12:5 the Apostle says that "ye, being many, are one body in Christ."

Many sincere people have had their names on local church rolls for many years before learning this great truth -- that the true Church of God is not a building, but the assembly of those who trust in Christ as their Savior. Doubtless, people in and out of many of the religious organizations we call churches belong to this one great Bible Church, while others, with all their religious profession, do not. The question is: Have we sincerely trusted in Christ as the Savior who died for our sins?

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May 19, 2009

GOD HATH SPOKEN
by Cornelius R. Stam


In his farewell address to the nation Israel, Moses said:

"Ask now of the days that are past... since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?" (Deut. 4:32,33).

Moses referred, of course, to the giving of the Law, when God spoke to Israel by word of mouth amid the lightnings and thunders of Sinai. In Israel's case alone "God spake all these words" audibly. Never before had He undertaken to address a nation personally.

This was indeed a great honor for Israel, but God has since spoken to all mankind in an even more striking manner, for in Heb. 1:1,2 we read:

"God... hath in these last days spoken unto us by [in] His Son... who... when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

At Sinai God spoke the words of the Law, but now, in Christ, He speaks of mercy and grace. There He spoke of the righteousness which He demands, but here He tells of the righteousness which He provides in Christ.

Some suppose that the absence of miraculous demonstrations, the want of divine intervention in the affairs of men, etc., indicate indifference on God's part, but actually this apparent indifference speaks to us of His love and grace.

Remember, the Psalms and all prophecy had predicted God's judgment upon men for their rejection of Christ, yet today the Son still remains a voluntary Exile from His own world, while neither He nor the Father do anything to avenge His cruel crucifixion. Meanwhile, still lingering in mercy, He sends His ambassadors to offer reconciliation to His enemies by grace through faith. Thus His silence actually cries: "The door of grace is still open. Be reconciled while you may. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."

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May 20, 2009

SATAN AND THE TRUTH
by Cornelius R. Stam


"If any man be in Christ he is a new creation..." (II Cor. 5:17).

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus..." (Eph. 2:10).

"And ye are complete in Him..." (Col. 2:10).

"In Christ!" What a glorious truth! What a high and holy position! No religious ceremony, neither circumcision nor baptism, needed to make us spiritually complete. God only asks now: "Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called" (Eph. 4:1).

Many Christians are satisfied with salvation through the blood of Christ, but God wants us to have much more than this. He wants us to have "the full assurance of understanding" (Col. 2:2), to know the security, the blessedness, the glory of a position in Christ. He wants us to know "the exceeding riches of His grace" (Eph. 2:7), and to enjoy "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3).

But Satan does not!

For proclaiming these glorious truths the Apostle Paul was bitterly opposed on every hand, even by some saved religious leaders of his day.

And Satan has not changed!

Proclaim this message today and "your adversary the devil" will soon be roused to action. He hates this message of grace which the glorified Lord revealed through Paul (Eph. 3:1-3) and let us not be asleep to the fact that, as in Paul's day, he will again seek to use even saved religious leaders, evangelical "big guns," if he can, to oppose it, thus robbing Christ of His glory and believers of their blessings.

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May 21, 2009

THE NEW NATURE IN THE BELIEVER
by Cornelius R. Stam


It has been well said that if there is anything good in any man it is because it was put there by God. And something good -- a new, sinless nature -- has been imparted by God to every believer.

While there is still within us "that which is begotten of the flesh," there is also "that which is begotten of the Spirit," and just as the one is totally depraved and "cannot please God," so the other is absolutely perfect and always pleases Him.

Adam was originally created in the image and likeness of God, but he fell into sin and later "begat a son in his own likeness, after his image" (Gen. 5:3). It could not be otherwise. Fallen Adam could generate and beget only fallen, sinful offspring, whom even the Law could not change. But "what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin," accomplished, "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:3,4),

As Adam was made in the likeness of God, but fell, so Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, to redeem us from the fall, that by grace, through the operation of the Spirit, a new creation might be brought into being, a "new man... renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him" (Col. 3:10) a "new man, which, after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:24). Referring to this "new man," John says:

"Whosoever is born [begotten] of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born [begotten] of God" (I John 3:9).

"We know that whosoever is born [begotten] of God sinneth not..." (I John 5:18 ).