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July 28, 2010

WHEN THE LORD WOULDN'T ANSWER
by Cornelius R. Stam

In the various accounts of our Lord's earthly ministry we find three occasions when He declined to answer those who appealed to Him or questioned Him.

First there is the Gentile woman of Matthew 15:21-28. Her daughter was possessed of a demon and in her trouble she appealed to the Lord to help her, "but He answered her not a word." Finally, in His grace He did help her, but not until He had taught her the lesson that as a Gentile she had no claim on Him. As Romans 1:28 tells us, the Gentiles had been "given up" because "they did not wish to retain God in their knowledge." In this connection we Gentiles should read carefully Ephesians 2:11,12 and see how utterly without hope we are apart from the grace of God.

Next there was a Jewess, in trouble of a different kind. She had been caught in adultery and was brought to Him for judgment (John 8:1-11). Unlike the Gentile woman, she belonged to the chosen race and possessed God's holy Law, a distinct advantage -- unless you are a lawbreaker. Our Lord, in grace, also helped her, but not until He had demonstrated that the Law is the great leveler of mankind, bringing all in guilty before God (Romans 3:19).

But finally we find how it was that our Lord could show grace -- and do it justly -- to sinners, both Jewish and Gentile, for in the third instance we find the Lord Himself in trouble. On trial for His life before the representatives of Hebrew and Roman law, He is accused of all sorts of wicked crimes. But on this occasion too, He declines to answer.

First Caiaphas, the High Priest, asked Him: "Answerest Thou nothing? What is it which these witness against Thee? But Jesus held His peace..." (Matthew 26:62,63).

Next Pilate, the Gentile judge, said: "Hearest Thou not how many things they witness against Thee? And He answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly" (Matthew 27:12-14).

Why did our Lord decline to answer and defend Himself? Because He had come into the world especially to die for man's sins. Had the sinners of all ages been there to accuse Him of their sins, He would still have remained speechless, for He stood there as man's representative, so that we sinners might be "justified freely by God's grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).

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July 29, 2010

THE NOBLE BEREANS
by Cornelius R. Stam

Many Christian groups and organizations call themselves Bereans, but it is surprising how few people know what a true Berean is.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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July 30, 2010

CHRIST THE SON OF GOD
by Cornelius R. Stam

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

In Psalms 2:7, we have Christ, in prophecy, saying:

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

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

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

"This day have I begotten Thee"?

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

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

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

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

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

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July 31, 2010

TWO IN THE FIELD AND TWO AT THE MILL
by Cornelius R. Stam

"Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour you Lord doth come" (Matthew 24:40-42).

How often the above passage has been interpreted to apply to our Lord's coming for the members of His Body! At the rapture of the Church, it is said, two will be working in the field, when one will be taken to heaven and the other left to go through the day of God's wrath, and so also with two women who may be grinding side by side at the mill: one will be caught up to be with the Lord and the other left behind.

But actually this passage cannot have anything to do with the rapture of the Body to be with Christ.

First, the truth of our Lord's coming for the members of His Body was a secret first revealed by the glorified Lord through Paul (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ).

But from Matthew 24 itself it is still more evident that the passage cannot refer to the rapture.

True, the passage says: "The one shall be taken, and the other left", but where and how will the one be taken, and what will be the lot of the one who is left behind?

From the verses immediately preceding, it is evident that the coming of Christ to earth to judge and reign is in view. This coming is likened to what happened in the days of Noah. The people ate and drank, married and gave away again in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, "and knew not until the flood came and took them all away". These people were not "taken away" to glory; they were "taken away" in judgment.

Since verses 40 and 41 are a continuation of this illustration, it is evident that the two "taken away" are taken away in judgment at our Lord's return to reign, while the two who are "left" are left to enter into His millennial reign. This interpretation alone is consistent with the whole context in which we find this passage.

How much confusion would be avoided if the truth of the rapture of the Body to be with Christ were recognized to be what it is: a divine secret first revealed to Paul concerning the Church of this present dispensation, the Body of Christ.

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August 1, 2010

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
by Russell S. Miller

Thank you for that "good" question.

God's plan of salvation today is not difficult to understand. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). There is no one exempt from sin. We are ALL guilty of breaking the Laws of God. We are sinners by nature and by choice, because we also choose to sin.

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23). There is a penalty for sin. You go to work every day and at the end of the week you receive your wages. "The wages of sin is death..."

"...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Eternal life is a gift. You cannot buy it, or earn it, or deserve it. It can only be received as a free gift because Christ paid the penalty of sin with His own blood. The love of God, therefore, has provided a way back to God in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord.

"...CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS...was buried, and rose again the third day..." (I Corinthians 15:3,4).

He died for our sins because there is no other way in which man could be redeemed.

He was buried that our old Adamic nature "might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Romans 6:6).

He arose from the dead to prove that our debt of sin, and its penalty, has been FULLY paid (Romans 4:25).

"Therefore being justified BY FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

Does it get any better than this? Yes, indeed it does, for we read in Ephesians 2:7:

"THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHEW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS".

God is very patient, kind, and loving, and longsuffering, but He will not be mocked of men. Consequently there is a "Hell" and "the Lake of Fire" awaiting all who reject this gift of salvation in the person of His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is clearly taught in Revelation 20:11-15.

When the Philippian jailor asked, "What must I do to be saved?", the Apostle Paul answered: "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED..." (Acts 16:30,31).

This is the one really important issue of life, and there is no time like the present, to make that decision to trust Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour and Lord.

If you cannot say, "I know I am saved and I'm going to Heaven", then I exhort you to trust Christ as your Saviour, right now, and God will bless you with all the bounty of Heaven, and more.

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

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August 2, 2010

"GO, AND SIN NO MORE"
by Cornelius R. Stam

The self-righteous Pharisees had brought a fallen woman to Jesus and, "when they had set her in the midst", they began to accuse her, saying: "Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest Thou?" (John 8:5).

They were using this fallen woman to embarrass the Lord into agreeing that this woman should be stoned, or else leaving Himself open to a charge of repudiating Moses' Law.

At first He made "as though He heard them not", but, when they continued asking, they got what they asked for! Simply answering: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her", the Lord turned away again to let that sentence do its work. They had "set her in the midst". Now He had set them in the midst and, "being convicted by their own conscience", they "went out one by one" (Ver.9).

And there stood the woman alone before Him: a great sinner and a great Saviour. Since none of the Pharisees had dared to cast a stone at her, the Lord said: "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (Ver.11).

Thus the Lord graciously forgave the sinner-woman, yet without ignoring the demand of the Law. He had not denied that the woman deserved punishment. He had only pointed out that the Pharisees themselves were sinners; that they, like she, needed a Saviour.

Thank God! Since "Christ died for our sins", God can justly forgive us -- and He will, IF we but acknowledge our sin and our need of a Saviour, and do not join the self-righteous who keep "going about to establish their own righteousness" (Romans 10:3).

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save SINNERS..." (1 Timothy 1:15). God is very gracious to those who will acknowledge their sin and their need: "For the same Lord over all is RICH UNTO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM."

"FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED" (Romans 10:12,13).

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August 3, 2010

LIVING TO THE GLORY OF GOD
by Cornelius R. Stam

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

This is the great guiding principle of the Christian life.

The Apostle Paul points out in the preceding context that what may be perfectly right for one person to do may trouble another's conscience. The sincere and gracious believer, therefore, will not carelessly violate his brother's conscientious scruples, offending him by indulging in that which he considers wrong. In Paul's day, this particularly involved the foods of which men partook, but from both Romans 14 and I Corinthians 10 it is evident that Christian conduct in general is involved.

If, in my daily conduct, I consider not only my own, but also my brother's conscience, it does not follow from this that I am disobeying Galatians 5:1, failing to "stand fast... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." True, I have no right to give up my blood-bought liberty, but I do have liberty to give up my rights. This the world about us is slow to do, but it is one of the signs of true regeneration.

My aim in life should not be to gratify my own desires, much less to show up my brother's weaknesses by vaunting my liberty in Christ. My one aim should rather be to glorify God in all I say and do.

All this, of course, has to do only with the conduct of believers in Christ. The unbeliever can do nothing to the glory of God. His very rejection of Christ is a continual offense to God who, in love, gave His Son to die in our place. The only way in which the unbeliever can honor God is to turn from his unbelief and trust Christ as Savior and Lord.

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August 4, 2010

THE CROSS AND THE CHRISTIAN
by Cornelius R. Stam

Nothing will prove so helpful to a Christian in overcoming sin as an appreciation of Christ's death for sin at Calvary .The Bible teaches that:

1. The cross stands between the believer and his SINS: the wrong things he does, or is prone to do, in thought, word and deed.

"And you, that were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled, in the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight" (Colossians 1:21,22).

2. The cross stands between the believer and his SIN. It is not only men's sins that keep them out of heaven, but their sin; not merely what they have done, but what they are and what they will do; not merely their deeds, but their nature. But Christ's death took care of this too.

"...by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin... But... much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many... That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:12,15,21).

"For [God] hath made Him to be sin for us, [Him] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

3. The cross stands between the believer and his SINNING.

"What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? ... Our old man [nature] has been crucified with Him... that henceforth we should not serve sin... let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof; neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves to God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:1,2, 6,12,13).

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August 5, 2010

TRUE RICHES
by Cornelius R. Stam

Some years ago there came to this country a very poor young man. He found a job in the timber lands of Wisconsin. Being industrious he gradually accumulated some timber acreage of his own. Soon he began to prosper, and after a few years he invested in a lumber milling industry. Before long he owned more than one mill, and this led him to expand into northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. In a few years he was known as a rich man, investing in timber acreage in the far northwest and eventually owning valuable land by the thousands of acres, the very finest timber in the country. At the time of his death neither he nor his relatives nor friends knew what he was worth financially, he had become so wealthy.

When the time came for him to die, however, he could not take one cent of his riches with him, for as I Timothy 6:7 says: "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we carry nothing out".

It seems difficult for most men to learn that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15). They close their ears to the words of wisdom spoken by the Lord: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matt. 6:19,20).

The truest, most lasting riches of all are referred to in II Corinthians 8:9, where the Apostle Paul says: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich".

And these riches may be had by faith -- by accepting them as a gift, for "the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom.6:23).

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August 6, 2010

WHY CHRIST CAME
by Cornelius R. Stam

Have you ever asked yourself why the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world? Have you ever "searched the Scriptures" to find out why? The majority of religious leaders and their followers seem to think that Christ lived on earth to teach us by His words and His example how we should live. But let's think this through.

Our Lord did indeed show men how they should live with each other and before God. But what were the results? Did the people say: "How wonderful! Now we know how to live together and enjoy life! Let's follow His teachings and the world will be a happier place to live in!" Is this what they said? Far from it! As the record indicates, they hated Him, they ridiculed Him, they heckled Him and finally nailed Him to a cross.

As to His example: Have you ever seen how a jeweler will put a diamond on a piece of black felt to show it to a prospective customer? The diamond is seen most clearly in all its brilliance against a dark, black background -- and vice versa. In the same way, man has never really followed Christ's example -- he couldn't. Rather, the pure white light of Christ's holiness only shows up the dark, black character of the human heart, and man by contrast stands rebuked and condemned.

But why, then, did Christ come into the world? The whole volume of Scripture bears witness to St. Paul's answer in 1 Timothy 1:15: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

Consider the Old Testament types and prophecies. Consider its Psalms and poems. Consider the words of Christ Himself and you will see that He came, not to live, primarily, but to die -- to die "for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3), to pay our penalty that we might be justified -- cleared of all the charges which the Law held against us.

These same Scriptures also declare that He, the Prince of Peace, arose from the dead and will come again as King of kings and Lord of lords. But meantime we may trust in the rejected Savior and enjoy "peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

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August 7, 2010

THE WORD OF THE LORD
by Russell S. Miller

There is something terribly sad and wrong about this dogma that the Bible is just a book of fables. Oh no, the Bible is no storybook, not at all. The fact is that God's Word is "divinely inspired." As the Apostle Peter said:

"KNOWING THIS FIRST, THAT NO PROPHECY OF THE SCRIPTURE IS OF ANY PRIVATE INTERPRETATION. FOR THE PROPHECY CAME NOT IN OLD TIME BY THE WILL OF MAN: BUT HOLY MEN OF GOD SPAKE [AND WROTE] AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HOLY GHOST" (2 Peter 1:20,21).

So it is not merely the words on the page that are inspired, for the men who wrote those words were also inspired of God, as He "breathed" His Word into their very beings. Consequently, we can place our complete confidence and trust in the Acts of the Apostles, in the Prophets, in the Law of Moses, and in the Psalms, and particularly in THE EPISTLES OF SAINT PAUL.

"ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is PROFITABLE for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE PERFECT, THROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL GOOD WORKS" (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

The Old Testament foretold of the coming of Christ--of His death, burial, and resurrection--and just as this prophecy was fulfilled to the very letter, so He is coming again. First, to deliver the saved from "this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). And then, according to the Book of Revelation, to reclaim what is rightfully His, by Creation, pouring out His wrath and judgment upon all those who have rejected "the Word of His grace" today (Acts 20:32; Revelation 19:11-16).

In the New Testament, God manifests HIS GRACE toward sinners and awaits upon them to believe "the Gospel of His Son" before the prophesied judgments are poured out upon this world (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12). And thus the gravity, the seriousness, and the extreme importance of believing God's Word, rightly divided!

Few realize that we shall all give account to that Great Eternal Being, not merely of our actions, and words, but "of the thoughts and intents of the heart" with regards to what He has said in His Word about sin (Hebrews 4:12). Let us not forget that this JESUS, whom men nailed to the cross of Calvary, who bled and died for the sins of the whole world, AROSE FROM THE DEAD, and He is coming again.

In the Epistles of Saint Paul, however, the Apostle writes about the Lord's coming for believers before those judgments of God are poured out upon this doomed planet:

"For this WE SAY UNTO YOU BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, that...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" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ).

Be a true Bible student, then, as the noble Bereans of Acts 17:11 were, "and search the Scriptures daily, whether these things are so." Consider what the Apostle says in God's Word, and remember: God is not your enemy; He loves you with an eternal love and sent His Son to pay the awful penalty for our sins.

My friend, "Jesus" will save you from your sins, from Hell and from the Lake of Fire, and from an eternal loss, if you will simply ask Him (Revelation 20:11-15). Do it today.

[nChrist]

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August 8, 2010

THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD
by Cornelius R. Stam

"Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20).

This challenge was hurled at the intellectual world of nineteen hundred years ago, so famous for its philosophy, literature and art. Nor are these the words of one who himself lacked the benefits of higher learning. Rather, they flowed from the pen of one of the most learned men, one of the greatest thinkers of all time: the Apostle Paul. More than this, they are found in that Book of books, the Bible, which has withstood, not barely but magnificently, all the attacks of a thousand critics through centuries of time. This Book says:

"The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God" (1 Corinthians 3:19).

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).

Actually, the "intellectuals" in any age are those who assent to the theories of those who agree with each other that they are intellectual! Dissent from them and you have automatically branded yourself an illiterate!

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

"And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

"That no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

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August 9, 2010

UNTIL WHEN?
by Cornelius R. Stam

One of the greatest prophecies of Scripture is found in Psalm 110:1 where David wrote: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool."

In Matthew 22:41-46 our Lord explained that this was a prophecy about Himself, David's Son and Lord. Men might hate Him and cry "Away with Him!" They might nail Him to a tree and laugh and sneer at Him, but God the Father responds by saying: "Here, come sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."

We should never forget that according to Bible prophecy God's response to man's rejection of Christ was to be judgment and wrath. In Psalm 2 the question is asked why the nations rage and the people of Israel imagine a vain thing: that they can get along without the One whom God has anointed to be King. The Psalm depicts God laughing at their attempts to thwart His purposes and predicts that "the Lord shall have them in derision" and "speak unto them in His wrath."

At Pentecost all was ready for the judgment to fall. Christ had been crucified and "the last days" had begun, as Peter declared in Acts 2:16,17, quoting from the prophet Joel. But strangely, while some of Joel's prophecy was fulfilled, or began to be fulfilled, at that time, the rest of it was not, for God did not -- and has not yet -- sent the prophesied judgment.

Thank God, in infinite grace He interrupted the prophetic program, delayed the remainder of its fulfillment and revealed to the Apostle Paul His secret purpose to offer to His enemies everywhere salvation and reconciliation by free grace, through faith in the crucified, risen Savior. In His Ephesian letter the Apostle asks whether they have 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 3:1-3). Now, thank God, His eternal purpose in Christ is no longer a secret. While the day of grace lasts we may be "justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).

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August 10, 2010

FAITH VERSUS PRESUMPTION
by Cornelius R. Stam


The Word of God declares in Hebrews 11:6 that "without faith it is impossible to please Him".

There is nothing that will haunt a man like the fear that God may be displeased with him, nor any joy comparable to the assurance that He is pleased. It is foolish, however, to suppose that we can please God with the things we think He desires. We must give Him what He says He desires. Thank God, it is not difficult to determine this, for He tells us again and again in His Word that it is faith He desires most of all. He wants us to trust Him, to take Him at His Word.

The Bible tells us at length how God loved us in spite of our sin and gave His blessed Son to die on Calvary's tree to clear our title to heaven, but alas, instead of taking Him at His Word, thousands turn away from His gracious offer, "going about to establish their own righteousness" (Romans 10:3).

They do "good works" and make great sacrifices, thinking that a God of love will surely accept their efforts and overlook their sins. But this is presumption, not faith. How can a just God overlook sin? We should thank Him that in His matchless love He himself paid for our sins so that we might be free, and that salvation is "the gift of God", obtained by faith alone.

Cain presumed that God would accept his attractive sacrifice instead of the prescribed one, but God refused both him and his offering. Pharaoh presumed that he could take his armies through the Red Sea as Moses had done, but he perished in the sea for presuming on God. Naaman, the leper, refused God's way of cleansing, saying, "I thought...", but the great general remained a leper until he took God at His Word. Will you take God at His Word and trust Christ as your Saviour?

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August 11, 2010

The Lord's Prayer Dispensationally Considered
by Paul M. Sadler, President

Scripture Reading:
"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him."
-- Matthew 6:7,8

Religious leaders love to have their people recite the Lord's Prayer. It's been the religious thing to do for centuries. The Lord's Prayer is one of the most beautiful, meaningful, and touching prayers in the Prophetic Scriptures, but those who recite it today are committing two major blunders. First, the Lord warned the disciples that they were not to pray this prayer, or any prayer for that matter, repetitiously (Matt. 6:5-7). Prayer is not a religious exercise, but rather communication with God; therefore, it should always be spoken from the heart. Second, the Disciples Prayer, which is the correct connotation for this prayer, was given as a model for those who would be called upon to endure the Tribulation. Since the Body of Christ is delivered from the wrath to come, this prayer does not apply to us in this dispensation (I Thes. 5:9).

The Disciples' Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. The reference here to "our Father" is to the God and Father of Israel -- the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In prophecy, heaven was His throne and earth His footstool. His name was so holy that the Jews feared they might inadvertently speak it in vain, consequently they changed it from Yahweh to Adonai -- Master, Ruler (Deut. 5:11; Isa. 66:1; Matt. 15:31; Luke 1:68 ).

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. The hope of every Israelite was the establishment of the Davidic Kingdom. God's will for the earth is to overthrow the kingdoms of this world and establish the millennial kingdom of His dear Son (II Sam. 7:8-17; Luke 1:68-72; Rev. 11:15; 20:6).

Give us this day our daily bread. In the future Tribulation, God will set a table in the wilderness for His people, as He did in time past. The saints in that day will find it necessary to pray for their daily provision of food, since they will be unable to buy or sell without the Mark of the Beast. Subsequently, God will supernaturally nourish the chosen nation (Rev. 12:14 cf. Rev. 13:13-18 ).

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Today we are to forgive others, even as God for Christs sake has forgiven us, but under the kingdom gospel, forgiveness was based upon a like-spirit (Matt. 18:21-35 cf. Eph. 4:32).

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil [Gr. noun: evil one]. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. The sense here is, "Lord lead us not into the Great Tribulation, but deliver us from Satan, who brings death and destruction in his wake" (Rev. 6:7-11; 12:12; 13:1-10).