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March 30, 2010

THE KINDNESS AND LOVE OF GOD
by Russell S. Miller


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

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

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

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

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

“In whom, the god of this world HATH BLINDED THE MINDS OF THEM WHICH BELIEVE NOT, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, [Christ]Who knew no sin; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM” (2 Corinthians 5:20,21).

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

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March 31, 2010

A MEMORIAL OF CALVARY
by Cornelius R. Stam


It is disappointing to find some well-meaning brethren calling the Lord's Supper the Passover.

Surely Luke 22:14-20 proves conclusively that after the observance of the Passover, our Lord instituted a "remembrance" of His death.

When Paul recounts what our Lord did and said at the Lord's Supper he mentions only bread and wine, while at the Passover there was certainly much more than this.

The Passover, like water baptism, was an Old Testament ordinance, but the Lord's Supper is as distinctly associated with the New Testament, or Covenant.

"For this is My blood of the New Testament..."
(Matthew 26:28 ).

The Passover, like water baptism, spoke of an unfinished work, for if water cannot wash away sin, neither can the blood of bulls and goats take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). Both were shadows of the redeeming work of Christ.

Because so many stumble over the fact that water baptism was practiced even after the cross, we repeat that the full results of Calvary were not manifested until "due time," through the Apostle Paul. Blood sacrifices, circumcision, the sabbaths and feast days likewise spoke of an unfinished work, yet these were all observed after the cross --- by the Spirit-filled disciples. This is simply because the time for the unfolding of God's secret purpose and the gospel of the grace of God was not ripe until God raised up that other apostle, Paul. Indeed, even then its unfolding and the passing away of the old order were gradual matters.

BUT --- whereas the Passover and water baptism were Old Testament ordinances, the Lord's Supper is distinctly a New Testament celebration. The celebration of the Lord's death should never be classed with the ordinances, not even with the ordinance of baptism, for while water baptism spoke of an unfinished work, the Lord's Supper is clearly a celebration of the finished work of Christ.

At least three times the Lord's Supper is stated to be "in remembrance" of Christ and His redemptive work.

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April 1, 2010

FORGIVENESS
by Cornelius R. Stam


"WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH [Christ's] BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE" (Ephesians 1:7).

The climax of Paul's first recorded sermon is reached in Verses 38 and 39 of Acts 13, where he declares:

"BE IT KNOWN UNTO YOU THEREFORE, MEN AND BRETHREN, THAT THROUGH THIS MAN IS PREACHED UNTO YOU THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS:
"AND BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, FROM WHICH YE COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW OF MOSES."

Thus God through Christ, forgives and justifies those who believe. Nor is this all that was accomplished for us by the death of Christ at Calvary. There is also reconciliation, baptism by the Spirit into Christ and His Body, a position at God's right hand in the heavenlies and all spiritual blessings there.

"The forgiveness of sins" must come first, however, and the above passage assures us that in Christ we have this -- not barely, but "ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE". Indeed, the next verse continues: "WHEREIN HE HATH ABOUNDED TOWARD US..."

Thus Ephesians 2:2-7 declares that though we were once "the children of disobedience", and therefore "by nature the children of wrath", "God, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, for His GREAT LOVE wherewith He loved us", has given us life and raised us from the dead, exalting us to "heavenly places in Christ..."

His purpose in all this? "THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS" (Verse 7).

When God forgives us He no longer sees us in our poor selves, BUT IN CHRIST, who took our place, dying for our sins on Calvary's cross. There He hung in our place that we might now stand in His -- "COMPLETE IN HIM" (Colossians 2:10).

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April 2, 2010

THE GLORY OF THAT LIGHT
by Russell S. Miller


The resurrected Christ appeared unto Paul very differently than His appearances had been unto all those other saints. Peter and the Eleven had only seen the risen Christ as He will reign upon this earth in His kingdom glory (Matthew 17:1-9). But Paul saw the risen, glorified, Lord Jesus Christ in "the glory of His grace" (Ephesians 1:6,14). The glorified Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto Paul as He had never appeared to any man before upon this earth. He appeared unto Paul from heaven:

"And when I could NOT see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias..., Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul... The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, AND SEE THAT JUST ONE, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard" (Acts 22:11-14).

Christ could have judged the world, and He will, but instead He revealed Himself to Paul in the glory of His grace. To the Apostle Paul, then, Jesus Christ revealed "the riches of His grace" in salvation (Ephesians 1:7), "the exceeding riches of His grace" in glory (2:7), and "the unsearchable riches of Christ" in heavenly places (3:8 ). And this message Paul calls "the Mystery" in Colossians 1:26. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus commissioned Paul, and us, "to make all men see what is the fellowship of the Mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9). And all this, Paul says, is "according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust" (1 Timothy 1:11).

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:3,4).

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, therefore, marks the beginning of an entirely new administration of God in the affairs of men:

"...Have [you] heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation He made known unto me the Mystery..." (Ephesians 3:2,3)?

God now sees us "accepted in the Beloved One" (Ephesians 1:6), and clothed with the very "righteousness" of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). And we stand before God today "complete in Christ" because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on our behalf at Calvary (Colossians 2:10-15). Through "no works" of our own, then, we are forever "seated" with Christ "in the heavenlies" (Ephesians 2:6,8,9).

"That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).

So in Paul's gospel when he focuses in upon the "crucified" One (1 Corinthians 1:23), he proclaims "Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the Mystery" (Romans 16:25). Not only has "CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES" (1 Corinthians 15:3), but our glorified Saviour is coming again to catch us away to be with Himself for all eternity. In our endeavors, then, to keep our congregations informed of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, may we never forget that God revealed to Paul "the light of the glorious gospel of Christ."

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4,6).

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April 3, 2010

WHAT GOD IS DOING TODAY
by Russell S. Miller


"...For to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (Ephesians 2:15).

It is a shame that so many in the Body of Christ do not see what it is that God is doing today, in this dispensation of His grace committed to Paul. The error of some is a failure to come unto perfection in the Pauline revelation, for they labor under the so-called Great Commission. Others go to extremes with agendas that are used of the devil to cause "divisions" in the Church and "blind [even] the minds" (2 Corinthians 4:4) of believers from knowing the truth. Consequently such teachings are used by Satan to deceive both saint and sinner alike. Thus men walk in darkness. When lies are substituted for truth, the devil gets a foothold in the Church to wreak "havoc".

God, however, will not be mocked of men, for "the Judgment Seat of Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:10) awaits those who make merchandise of "the Word of God" (2 Corinthians 2:14-17; Titus 3:10) and there shall be a great loss of rewards (1 Corinthians 3:15). And when the devil "blinds the minds of them that believe not", souls that could have been saved will be cast into hell and the Lake of Fire at the "great white throne" judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

In this endeavor to discover what it is that God is doing today, several passages of Scripture come to mind. Along with Romans 16:25 and I Corinthians 12:13 are two very similar verses in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians:

"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" (Ephesians 2:15).

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9).

God is in the business of building the Body of Christ today, and He is looking for "faithful" men and women in the ministry of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 4:1,2). He appointed Paul, "the Apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13), giving him the blueprints (1 Corinthians 3:9-15) for the Church today. Paul and Timothy were faithful in proclaiming "this Mystery among the Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 4:15-17). Will you "follow" in their footsteps or be drawn into an extreme teaching?

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April 4, 2010

THE GOSPEL THAT PAUL PREACHED
by Russell S. Miller


“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
“By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
“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” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Do you recall that during our Lord’s earthly ministry, and the announcements of His approaching crucifixion (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33,34), that His disciples didn't comprehend a thing He had said to them about His impending death (Mark 8:32; 9:32; 10:35)?

“And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” (Luke 18:34).

But it is suggested by some that the words of Christ in Luke 24:25-27 show that our Lord there revealed what He actually accomplished at Calvary. If the Lord had revealed to his disciples that “Christ Died For Our Sins” as He later revealed to the Apostle Paul, this would surely have been the good news that Peter and John would have preached on Pentecost. Instead we find Paul using the personal pronoun “I” in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 regarding “the gospel” which he had “received” of the Lord Jesus, and “declared” and “preached” and “delivered,” to the Corinthians, and to us.

In early Acts the Apostle Peter had only known, and preached, the resurrection of Christ to sit upon the throne of David’s prophesied kingdom. He did not know what the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ had accomplished, nor did Peter preach Paul’s gospel at Pentecost. He rather called upon Israel to “repent” of their wickedness in the crucifixion of Christ and submit to water baptism “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:22-31, 38; 3:22,23). Clearly, at Pentecost, the disciples of our Lord did not know what the cross of Calvary meant; else they would have preached it from the housetops!

On the contrary, God raised up the Apostle Paul for the specific purpose of proclaiming Paul’s gospel for the obedience of all peoples today (Romans 16:25,26). And all this, beloved, though first revealed to Paul, is consistent with Paul’s words in Romans and Corinthians and Colossians that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection was “according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

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April 5, 2010

A DOUBLE HEART AND DECEITFUL TONGUES
by Russell S. Miller


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

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

The Bible has a great deal to say about the depravity of man. Jeremiah put it this way: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it" (Jeremiah 17:9). In His denunciation of the Pharisees in Matthew 23 the Lord rebuked their hypocrisy with the indictment that they made their converts "twofold more the child of hell" than themselves (Matthew 23:15). In my study of this, it was also interesting to discover that the Greek word, dilogos, is translated "double tongued" in 1 Timothy 3:8. W.E. Vine defines this word as "saying a thing to one person and giving a different view of it to another". That's double-tongued.

We read in Hebrews 4:12 that "the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..." It was when "Elymas the sorcerer... withstood" the truth of God's Word that the Apostle Paul said, "O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10). Elymas was using deceit "to turn away the deputy from the faith"! Paul wrote the Corinthians about "false apostles, deceitful workers, [who] transformed themselves into the apostles of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:13) that they might keep men in bondage and the darkness of unbelief, "...lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:4). They would be set gloriously free if they but believed the gospel (John 8:32,36; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1).

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

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

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

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April 6, 2010

THE FATHER OF BELIEVERS
by Cornelius R. Stam


"Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3).

Has it ever occurred to you that the most loved, the most honored, the most respected person of all history is -- not Christ, but Abraham. Christ ought to be most loved, honored and respected, but Abraham is. Besides the millions of professing Christians there are untold millions of Jews and Mohammedans who speak with reverence of "our father Abraham."

Clearly this is why God used this man to show how to be saved and justified before a holy God. As Paul is God's great example of grace, so Abraham is God's great example of faith -- saving faith.

"If Abraham were justified by works," says Romans 4:2, he has something to boast about -- but not before God, who sees and knows all. But Abraham was justified. How? "What saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness" (Ver. 3).

God, of course, had planned salvation through the redemptive work of Christ and has always saved anyone who simply trusts Him and takes Him at His Word. Since Abraham, of course, more of God's Word has been revealed and we know the details of Christ's death for sinners. If we now take God at His Word and simply trust Christ as Savior we are completely justified, for salvation is not; cannot be, by works:

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

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

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April 7, 2010

THE DEATH OF THE CROSS
by Cornelius R. Stam


There are four words which every one of us should consider in connection with Christ's death at Calvary if we would fully appreciate what our Savior did for us there.

CRUCIFIXION

It is doubtful whether man has ever conceived a more cruel and humiliating way to execute even the vilest criminals. The physical agony alone must have been horrible beyond comprehension. The criminal was nailed to a tree and left to hang there, writhing in the most intense pain until, fevers wracking his body, he died. And then think of the humiliation as he hung there, stripped and naked, to suffer shame and disgrace before the public gaze. Little wonder Philippians 2:8 says that Christ humbled Himself to become obedient "unto death, even the death of the cross."

SUBSTITUTION

We have not even begun to understand the cross if we do not understand that Christ died there as our Substitute, paying for our sins.

"Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3). "His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24).

REPRESENTATION

But Christ was more than our Substitute; He was our voluntary Representative at Calvary. He had taken on Himself human form that He might represent man before God and die as Man for men.

"As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many..." (Hebrews 9:27, 28 ).

"[He] was made... lower than the angels... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).

IDENTIFICATION

It follows from this that if Christ represented me at Calvary, He became identified with me there, and I am identified with Him as I accept this by faith. Hence Paul exclaims:

"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

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April 8, 2010

THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH
by Cornelius R. Stam


In 2 Thessalonians 2:10 St. Paul declares that the apostates of the coming age will "perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they may be saved." This is something worth considering very seriously.

God calls this present dispensation "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Ephesians 3:2). During this dispensation faithful Christians are proclaiming "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). This is the message of God's grace and love in giving Christ to die for our sins so that we might be saved from its penalty and power.

All, however, do not believe this glorious message or accept God's grace in Christ. These, the Apostle declares, will be left behind when our Lord comes, at the close of this dispensation, to receive His own to Himself. Because they rejected the truth, and the love it proclaimed, God will give them up "that they might believe a lie," and put their faith in Antichrist, "that they all might be damned who believed not the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).

It was infinite love that brought Christ to Calvary to suffer shame and disgrace for our sins, and this love is being proclaimed in this dispensation of grace. But this dispensation may be brought to a close at any time and bring in the day of God's wrath. How important then to accept God's love, and trust His Son without delay!

"Behold, now is the accepted time... Behold now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

If you do not trust Christ as your Lord and Savior now and you are caught unawares and lost for all eternity, you will never be able to say, "It was because God did not choose to save me." Whatever all the reasons involved in His electing grace, He does not accept the responsibility for your rejection of Christ. He says that the unsaved will perish "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Don't gamble with the future. Receive God's gift of salvation now through faith in Christ.

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April 9, 2010

GOD'S JUST JUDGMENTS
by Cornelius R. Stam


"We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth..."

The first 15 verses of Romans 2 always make me think of our Lord's dealings with the rich young ruler of Luke 18: 18,19. "Good Master," the ruler had said, "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

The Lord answered in effect: "Why do you call Me good? There is none good but God, so if I am good I must be God. But do you want to know what to do to inherit eternal life? Simply obey the Law, the Ten Commandments."

Our Lord, of course, was trying to show the young man that it was impossible to earn salvation by doing good. To keep the Law was impossible for any child of fallen Adam, and breaking the Law could only bring condemnation. Now this absolute justice is the basis for the believer's confidence in God.

It is wonderful to know that God does not merely pity sinners and smuggle them into heaven if they are sorry. If He did, someone in heaven could point an accusing finger at this writer and say: "What, you here!" Thank God, He has rather taken us before the bar of justice, pronouncing us guilty, but has stepped down, as it were, to pay the penalty for our sins Himself, then justly declaring us righteous! This is why salvation, in Scripture, is based upon Christ's payment of our just debt. This is why Romans 3:24 declares that believers are "justified freely, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord"
(Romans 5:21).

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April 10, 2010

WISDOM OR FOLLY?
by Cornelius R. Stam


That moon shot, some weeks ago, was really something! We hit the moon, right on target, took 4,319 pictures on the way, as close as 1,000 feet, and all in extraordinary detail, so that we now have pictures of the moon 1,000 times sharper than any previously taken.

How proud many of us feel now! How wise and great we Americans are! Yet, now that our achievement is a few weeks old, let's look at it again in the light of the whole picture of American life.

Let's face it; America is perhaps the most violent of "civilized" nations -- and we can't seem to curb the rapid growth in crime.

Our women dare not walk the streets of many of our larger cities at night -- and none of us dare walk through some localities. From shoplifting to armed robbery, from intoxication to dope addiction, from assault to murder, crime in America has risen to an all-time high -- and is rising faster all the time.

What good will it do us to achieve landings on the crust of the moon in, say six or eight years, if in the meantime we dissipate our moral strength in dishonesty, immorality, vice and crime? It is in this very connection that St. Paul wrote by inspiration of God:

"For the preaching of the cross is to those who perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (1 Corinthians 1:18,19).

The world, with all its wisdom cannot save itself. It is only Christ's death on the cross that can save, for there our sins were paid for, that we might be "justified freely by [God's] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).

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April 11, 2010

THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST
by Russell S. Miller


In I Corinthians 2:6-8 the Apostle Paul declares that his gospel, and the finished work of Christ, was hid from the Roman authorities as well as the scribes and Pharisees in Israel. It was hid from the Twelve Apostles, and most mysterious was it to the angels; and even the devil couldn’t figure it out:

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet NOT the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught: But we speak the wisdom of God in a Mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would NOT have CRUCIFIED the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8 ).

It is “the preaching of the cross” in Paul’s Gospel alone that is good news today (1 Corinthians 1:18 ). This “wisdom of God” was also “HIDDEN” in a “Mystery” and “ordained” before the world began unto “our glory,” as Paul goes on in Ephesians to declare:

“How that by revelation He made known unto me the Mystery (as I wrote afore in few words,

“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the Mystery of Christ)

“Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is NOW revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit...” (Ephesians 3:3-6).

To be sure, the Gentiles are “fellowheirs, and of a joint-body and joint-partakers of His promise in the Christ” (TR), and, Yes, we are “baptized” by “one Spirit” into the “one” Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), but, mark well, that both Jews and Gentiles are “MADE NIGH by the BLOOD of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

But, the Apostle Paul declares that his gospel is a “secret” hitherto “NOT made known” (Ephesians 3:5), “...HID IN GOD” (3:9), “HID FROM AGES AND FROM GENERATIONS, but NOW is made manifest...” (Colossians 1:26). Does the Apostle therefore contradict himself?

It is, of course, blessedly true that where the Body of Christ is concerned, and this dispensation of grace, the “Mystery” is NOT found in the Old Testament. But where the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned it is even more blessedly true that all the types and shadows of the Mosaic sacrificial system (Hebrews 10:1-4) mysteriously pointed forward to Christ and Calvary’s cross:

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

The “fellowship of the Mystery,” in Ephesians 3:9, includes the Church, which is the Body of Christ, while “the Mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19) speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and His finished work of redemption. “And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18 ). It is these two aspects of this great “Mystery” that even the devil did not know.

Paul does not contradict himself. Could anything be clearer than The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans with regards to the finished work of Christ! Paul declares that the GRACE of God in Calvary’s cross is first revealed to him, in all that God “promised” (Romans 1:1-4), and in all that God “kept secret” (Ephesians 3:1-9), concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:15,16). This is why God raised up the Apostle Paul—to reveal the blood stained cross of Christ and His finished work on Calvary:

“By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name” (Romans 1:5).

[nChrist]

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April 12, 2010

BECAUSE HE LOVED US
by Cornelius R. Stam


Why did the Lord of glory
Leave His heav'nly home,
To come to earth and suffer here
For wrongs He had not done?

Why did He go to Calv'ry
To bear the shame and loss,
And give His life for sinners vile
Upon th' accursed cross?

Why?...Because He loved us,
And longed that we might be
His very own -- not only now,
But through eternity.
-- C.R.S.

[nChrist]

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April 13, 2010

JUSTIFIED WITHOUT A CAUSE
by Cornelius R. Stam


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

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

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

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

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

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

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