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[nChrist]

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March 8, 2011

WHAT SHALL WE DO?
by Cornelius R. Stam

When John the Baptist appeared as Christ's forerunner, God's chosen people had lived under the law of Moses for fifteen hundred years but had not kept it. Hence John's call to repentance and baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4).

John was in earnest, too, for when the thoughtless multitude came to him to be baptized, he sent them back, saying: "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:7,8 ).

Their lives were to be changed and they were to show it. When the people asked: "What shall we do, then?" he told them to live for others rather than for self (Luke 3:10,11). When the tax collectors asked: "What shall we do?" he demanded that they stop cheating the tax payers and live honestly (Vers. 12,13). When the soldiers asked: "What shall we do?" he told them to forbear violence, false accusation and bribery (Ver. 14).

Clearly, righteousness was demanded under John's message. His hearers were to repent, be baptized, and bring forth the fruits of true repentance. When our Lord appeared, He proclaimed the same message as John (Matt. 3:1,2; 4:17). A lawyer asked: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" and He replied: "What is written in the law?" When the lawyer recited the basic commands of the Law, our Lord answered: "This do and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:25-28 ). God was still demanding righteousness. They were all under the Law (Gal. 4:4,5; Matt. 23:1,2; etc.).

Some suppose this was all changed after Calvary by the so-called "great commission." This is not so. When, at Pentecost, Peter's hearers were convicted of their sins and asked "What shall we do?" Peter commanded them to "repent and be baptized... for the remission of sins" just as John had done (Mark 1:4; cf. Acts 2:38 ). He did not tell them that Christ had died for their sins.

Paul was the first to say: "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested... [We] declare His righteousness for the remission of sins" (Rom. 3:21-26). When the Gentile jailor fell on his knees and asked: "What must I do to be saved?" Paul replied: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30,31). This is God's message for sinners today, for "we have redemption through [Christ's] blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

[nChrist]

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March 9, 2011

FACING UP TO FACTS
by Cornelius R. Stam

Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Chapters One and Two, present a dark picture of the human race, but acknowledge the facts they record and you have taken the first step to salvation. By nature we shrink from facing up to our sins, but we are better off if we do.

If a man has early indications of cancer, and his physician keeps the truth from him, the patient will die of cancer. A good and wise physician will say: "You have cancer and we should do something about it without delay."

Thus God, in His Word, tells us very frankly about our sinful condition, but only to save us from it.

This is where most philosophies and the Bible clash head-on. Most philosophies close their eyes to man's sinful nature. They presume that man is good by nature when overwhelming evidence bears witness that he is sinful by nature. Thus human philosophies offer no salvation from sin and its just penalty. Only "the gospel of the grace of God" does that.

The Bible says of the whole human race: "All have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), and to each individual: "Thou art inexcusable" (Rom. 2:1). But the same Bible says: "Christ died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3), and "We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

Trust in Christ for salvation and you have accepted God's great message to the world. Then, as you consider that great Book, and especially the Epistle to the Romans, you will say with Fawcett:

"It shows to man his wand'ring ways
And where his feet have trod;
But brings to view the matchless grace
Of a forgiving God."

[nChrist]

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March 10, 2011

Leave the Landmarks Alone
by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it” (Deut. 19:14).

A “landmark” is a mark that designates where your land ends and your neighbor’s land begins. Modern surveyors drive a metal rod into the ground to separate and distinguish property, but ancient landmarks often consisted of a stone that could be removed by someone wishing to encroach upon his neighbor’s land. God pronounced a “curse” upon any man who would dare to so mistreat his fellow-Hebrew (Deut. 27:17). This was because after God divided up the Promised Land amongst the children of Israel in the Book of Joshua, He commanded them that it not be sold (Lev. 25:23; Num. 36:7). This is why Naboth refused to sell his land to Ahab (I Kings 21:1-3). Naboth wasn’t being stubborn or disrespectful to his king, he was being faithful to the Law of his God (cf. Ezek. 46:18 ).

Landmarks to this day continue to mark where your land ends and your neighbor’s land begins. However, today we also have certain societal landmarks that God has to help us distinguish between right and wrong. For instance, for thousands of years, mankind clearly understood where to draw the line between right and wrong when it came to the subject of abortion. Then in 1973, our Supreme Court removed the landmark when they legalized abortion, and we have been living with the holocaustic consequences of this “landmark decision” ever since. Now societal surveyors are taking aim at yet another God-given landmark, the definition of marriage that limits it to the bond that can only exist between a man and a woman in the eyes of God.

Such landmarks also exist in the spiritual realm of Bible doctrine. The historic fundamentals of the faith that define Christianity have for centuries helped God’s people determine where truth ends and error begins. These spiritual landmarks are always under attack, and the day in which we live is no exception. To counter this trend that was present even in his own day, the Apostle Paul challenged young Timothy:

“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 1:13).

While we should always be open to receiving new understanding from God’s Word “with all readiness of mind” (Acts 17:10,11), we must “prove all things” and “hold fast” only “that which is good” (I Thes. 5:21). We have a rich “inheritance” in Christ (Eph. 1:11,14) that these landmark doctrines serve to protect. Let’s work together to preserve them!

[nChrist]

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March 11, 2011

A TWOFOLD PURPOSE
by Cornelius R. Stam

Have you ever noticed the wording of the majestic statement with which the Bible opens?

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

It does not say that God created "the universe," but "the heaven" and "the earth."

This is because God had a special purpose for the earth quite distinct from His purpose for the rest of the universe. This purpose concerning the earth and the nations to dwell upon it is progressively revealed in the Scriptures. We look forward to its glorious consummation when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" -- when the Christ who was crucified here shall come into His right, reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords.

But God also had a very special purpose concerning heaven which He kept hidden in His own heart of love until man's sin and rebellion had reached their climax. Then He stooped down, saved the "chief of sinners" and used him to make known the wondrous secret of His purpose to offer to sinners everywhere, salvation by grace through faith alone, reconciling them to Himself in one body by the cross and giving them a present position and a future prospect in the highest heavens.

God's purpose concerning the earth and Christ's reign upon it is the subject of prophecy (Luke 1:68-76), His purpose concerning heaven and our exaltation there with Christ is the subject of "the mystery" (Eph. 2:4-10; 3:1-4). Into these two great subjects the Scriptures are basically divided.

[nChrist]

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March 12, 2011

A COFFIN FOR THE LAW
by Cornelius R. Stam

God had barely given the Law to Moses when He ordered that it be put in a coffin. That's right -- a coffin. The reason for this is that the Mosaic covenant clearly stipulated:

"Now therefore, IF YE WILL OBEY MY VOICE INDEED, and keep My covenant, THEN ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine" (Ex. 19:5).

Israel, of course, did not obey God's voice indeed, but broke the Law before Moses even got down from Sinai. It was because of this that God, in grace, commanded: "And they shall make an ark..." (Ex. 25:10). This word "ark" is rendered "coffin" in the last verse of Genesis and that is its simple meaning. But why did God order a coffin as the very first article of furniture for the tabernacle? The answer is: To put the Law in. Read it for yourself:

"And thou shalt put into the COFFIN the testimony [the Law] which I shall give thee... and thou shalt put the MERCY SEAT above upon the coffin..." (Vers. 16,21).

If God had not put the covenant of the Law in a coffin and met His people from a "mercy seat" none of them ever would have been saved.

This Old Testament type has a lesson for us today, for if God dealt with us according to our works none of us would ever be saved, but "Christ died for our sins," meeting for us the just demands of a broken Law, so that we might be saved by grace through faith in His redemptive work.

Col. 2:14 says concerning this "handwriting of decrees, that was against us," that our Lord, in death, "took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross," and Rom. 7:6 explains:

"But now we are DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being DEAD wherein we were held; THAT WE SHOULD SERVE IN NEWNESS OF SPIRIT, and not in the oldness of the letter."

Thus believers in Christ are saved "by grace... through faith... not of works" but "unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-10).

[nChrist]

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March 13, 2011

GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION
by Cornelius R. Stam

In Eph. 1:9,10 Paul makes a statement regarding the mystery which has baffled many students of the Word:

"Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:
"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him."

This will be the glorious consummation of the mystery but we, of the dispensation of grace, are to show men and angels that true oneness is to be found only in Christ (Eph. 3:9-11).

The world knows nothing of this perfect oneness and, indeed, the Church does not experience it -- except in Christ. There is no true oneness anywhere -- in the world or in the Church -- except in Christ. We might illustrate this by two members of the body: our two arms. They hang from opposite sides of the body yet work together as one. But wherein lies their oneness? The answer is: In the head. It is the head which makes my arms and hands operate as one, and so our oneness as members of Christ's Body, is in Christ, the Head. It is the recognition of Christ as our Head, then, and this alone, that can make us one, experientially. Thus the Apostle says:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).

Soon enough the Lord will take us out of this world and all those events will transpire which will finally bring in "the fulness of [the] times," when all in heaven and earth will be "gathered together in one... in Christ"! "What a day of rejoicing that will be"!

[nChrist]

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March 14, 2011

MOTHER MARY'S ADVICE
by Cornelius R. Stam

"Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5).

When, at Cana's wedding feast, the mother of Jesus had seen that the wine had run out, she had at first approached Him for help, but had received a reply which all the theologians of the centuries have not been able to soften: "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come" (John 2:4).

She must learn the painful lesson that as Son of God He must deny the claims of any who would boast a closer relationship to Him on grounds of physical birth.

Mary must not think of Him as "My son". She must, like every one else, learn to know Him as Her Lord and Saviour.

Humble, believing Mary could take the lesson well, however. Before this, when He had spoken in similar fashion she had "kept all these sayings in her heart". Now she goes to the servants and says: "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it".

Mary would do the same today. If she could speak she would direct her worshippers to the Lord Jesus Christ, and say: "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it".

Strangely, the vast majority seem to think of His words only as the words which He spoke while on earth. They have forgotten or have never known that our Lord Jesus spoke again from heaven by revelation to the Apostle Paul and that in his epistles we have the words of the Lord Jesus to us today (See Galatians 1:11,12; 2:7-9).

Paul was, in a special sense, the ambassador of the rejected Lord. To him was committed "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) and the mystery of God's "eternal purpose" (Eph. 3:1-11). In bringing his first Epistle to Timothy to a close, he wrote: "If any man teach otherwise [than he had been teaching] and consent not to wholesome words, EVEN THE WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST...he is proud, knowing nothing...from such withdraw thyself" (I Tim.6:3-5). Likewise, to the unruly Corinthians he wrote: "...If I come again, I will not spare: SINCE YE SEEK A PROOF OF CHRIST SPEAKING IN ME..." (II Cor. 13:2,3).

Mary's advice today would be to believe the gospel that Paul preached, "...how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS according to the Scriptures...was buried, and...rose again the third day..." (I Cor. 15:3,4).

[nChrist]

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March 15, 2011

Are You a Pauline Epistle?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men” (II Cor. 3:2).

Since the Corinthians were saved by Paul’s gospel (I Cor. 15:1-4), the apostle calls them his epistles. Webster said that an epistle is “a writing… communicating intelligence to a distant person.” Surely the “intelligence,” i.e., the information that the Corinthians communicated to the world was that even the most sinful of men could be justified by God’s grace (I Cor. 6:9-11).

But if Paul could say to the Corinthians, “ye are our epistle,” why does he go on to say that they were “manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ” (3:3)? Ah, a letter written by an apostle under the inspiration of the Spirit was a letter from Christ! And since everyone who is saved today is also saved as a result of having believed Paul’s gospel, you too are a Pauline epistle! And so the debate over whether Paul wrote 14 or just 13 epistles is over! The apostle penned millions of letters over the past many centuries.

It has often been said that you are the only Bible that some people will ever read, and this is sadly so. What a responsibility this places on us to live lives worthy of the Lord! Handwriting experts can tell who a letter is from by the way the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed, etc. Can men tell who sent you, Christian friend? Are you dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s when it comes to godliness? Many Christians who wouldn’t dream of corrupting the written word of God found in Paul’s epistles (II Cor. 2:17) carelessly corrupt the living epistles of their lives by inconsistent godliness. Remember, letters don’t get time off! They read the same today as they did yesterday, and we too should be as consistent in our Christian testimony. If you are holy on Sunday and a holy terror the rest of the week, this is unacceptable to God (Rom. 12:1,2).

Since the epistle of our life is “known and read of all men” (II Cor. 3:2), we want to make sure we don’t give men a faulty “reading” of Christ. All men understand by the stars that God exists, as the stars too are known and read of all men (Psa. 19:1-3). But while all men understand by the stars that God exists, all men understand by us what kind of God He is. When we live “soberly, righteously, and godly” (Titus 2:12), we prove to others what is acceptable to the Lord (Eph. 5:8-10).

[nChrist]

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March 16, 2011

GOD'S WORD TO US
by Cornelius R. Stam

In charging Timothy to "preach the Word," the Apostle does not mean, as some have supposed, that the pastor should draw his sermon material equally from all parts of the Bible. True, "all Scripture" is given so that the "man of God" may be fully equipped for his ministry. But in this same letter the Apostle Paul indicates that the Scriptures must be "rightly divided" (II Tim. 2:15) and that his own God-given message is the Word of God in particular for the present dispensation of grace (See II Tim. 1:7-14; 2:7-9). Thus the Apostle declares by inspiration that believers are established by "my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery" (Rom. 16:25).

How often the Apostle insists that his message is the Word of God! To the Thessalonian believers he writes with joy:

"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God..." (I Thes. 2:13).

Thus the Apostle writes to Timothy, in this his last letter:

"Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me..." (II Tim. 1:13).

"And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men..." (2:2).

"Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel" (2:8 ).

The charge to "preach the Word," therefore, refers to "all Scripture" in general, but to Paul's God-given message in particular. This is obvious, for it is in urging Timothy to faithfully carry on in his place that the Apostle charges him to "preach the Word."

[nChrist]

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March 17, 2011

IT'S YOUR ATTITUDE
by Cornelius R. Stam

Many people fear that they will never reach heaven. Some try not to think about it, while others struggle to "be good," hoping that they will finally "make it." Very few, comparatively, are sure of heaven.

The real pity is that so few understand what it is that keeps people out of heaven. If you are confused about this, just remember that according to Scripture, it is not one's sins that keep him out of heaven, but his attitude.

God has made full provision for our sins. "Christ died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3) and "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace"
(Eph. 1:7).

But God has made no provision for a self-righteous attitude. He gave the Law "that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may be brought in guilty before God" (Rom. 3:19). Thus He does not want you to keep saying things in your own defense. In fact, before you can know God as your Savior, you must recognize Him as your Judge, righteously condemning you as a sinner.

Often, when capital crimes are involved, the defendant's attorney will tell him: "It will be to your advantage to plead guilty and to throw yourself on the mercy of the court." This is especially true of us as sinners in the sight of a holy God. If we will only plead guilty and cast ourselves upon His mercy we will find Him more than gracious, for He has already paid the penalty for our sins Himself.

Yes, unsaved friend, it will be to your eternal advantage to plead guilty before God and to cast yourself upon His mercy, "for the wages of sin is death, but THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD" (Rom. 6:23).

[nChrist]

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March 18, 2011

DON'T TELL HIM A THING
by Cornelius R. Stam

Many years ago the writer's father, then a city missionary, received a telephone call from a prominent liberal clergyman.

"Peter," said the clergyman, "I've got a young man here in the outer office who seems to be in great distress. He says he feels he's so great a sinner that he's overstepped the line and God won't forgive him. Now you've had a lot of experience with such people. What shall I tell him?" The clergyman didn't even know how to help a troubled soul.

"Don't tell him a thing; I'll be right over ," said dad, and he left immediately to deal with the young man himself. Dad knew very well what was the matter with this young lad. The Holy Spirit had convicted him of his sin (John 16:8). The lad had come to see himself as he really was -- as God saw him, and sees any unsaved person, no matter how religious.

No person ever comes to see his need of a Savior until he has first come to see himself as a condemned sinner before God. And it is only when we come to see ourselves as we are in the sight of a holy God that there is hope of salvation.

The self-righteous do not see their need of a Savior. What would He save them from? What have they done that is so wrong? This is the way their reasoning goes. It is only when we begin to appreciate the holiness and righteousness of God that it dawns upon us that our condition is hopeless without a Savior.

Strange, is it not, that so many people have pictures hanging on their walls of our Lord crowned with thorns or hanging on a cross, yet do not really know Him as a Savior, their own Savior.

But when we have been convicted of our sin and our hopeless condition before God, we are ready to take in the words spoken by Paul to the trembling jailor at Philippi:

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

[nChrist]

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March 19, 2011

TRUE RICHES IN CHRIST
by Cornelius R. Stam

To know God through Christ and His redeeming work is to be rich indeed.

The Scriptures have much to say about the infinite riches of God. They tell us of "the riches of His glory" (Rom. 9:23; Eph. 3:16), "the riches of His wisdom and knowledge" (Rom. 11:33), "the riches of His goodness and forbear-ance and longsuffering" (Rom. 2:4) and "the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7; 2:7). God would have us enjoy these riches through faith in Christ, who died for our sins.

"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" (II Cor. 8:9).

We should rejoice continually that God, in addition to being rich in wisdom and knowledge and in glory and power, is also "rich in mercy" (Eph. 2:4) and that "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" (Rom. 10:12,13).

To St. Paul, the chief of sinners, saved by grace, God revealed the greatest riches of all. Paul said: "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8 ). These riches include, among other things, "all the riches of the full assurance of understanding" (Col. 2:2). How wonderful to have an intelligent understanding of God's plan of salvation and of all He has purposed in His heart of love for those who accept the salvation He has provided through His beloved Son!

True riches are not comprised of material things. The Scripture calls these "uncertain riches" and warns us not to trust in them (I Tim. 6:17). True riches is "to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" and so to be "filled with all the fulness of God" (Eph. 3:19).

[nChrist]

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March 20, 2011

CHRISTIAN LIBERTY
by Cornelius R. Stam

Christian liberty is a priceless possession. It can be abused, of course, but legitimately used it is an overflowing source of spiritual joy and power.

God's purpose with regard to the liberty of the believer in Christ is aptly summed up for us in one short verse in the Galatian letter:

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13).

As the cause of spiritual decline in Israel was always their departure from God's Word to them through Moses, so the cause of spiritual decline among believers today is always their departure from God's Word to us through Paul, and if anything is made unmistakably clear in the Epistles of Paul, it is the fact that believers in this present dispensation of grace have been delivered from the Law and, as God's full-grown sons in Christ, have been "called unto liberty." The failure of God's people to appropriate and enjoy this liberty today results in spiritual decline as surely as did the failure of the people of Israel to observe the law of Moses in their day.

Could anything be plainer than those passages in this same Galatian epistle, where the Apostle says by the Spirit:

"CHRIST HATH REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).

"But when the fulness of the time was come, GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON, made of a woman, made under the law,
"TO REDEEM THEM THAT WERE UNDER THE LAW, THAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION OF SONS" (Gal. 4:4,5).

Thus, to reject our blood-bought liberty and go back to the servitude of the Law is to repudiate not only the Word of God, but the Word of God to us, and this must necessarily result in spiritual decline.

[david749]

Thanks Tom



Praise God that when we are born of the Spirit........we are no longer under the law but instead under grace. 


"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."  (Gal. 5:18)


Paul to Christians:  "Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?  Certainly not!"  (Rm 6:15)


Sadly, some Christians return to the law in certain specific areas.......often probably without even realizing it.  This can generate sin.   We all must be careful to avoid this.   See also the book of Galatians. 

"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.  For apart from the law sin was dead.  I was alive once without the law (as a young child), but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me."

"O wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God---through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Rm 7: 8-11    Rm 7:24----8:1

[nChrist]

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March 21, 2011

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE BIBLE
by Cornelius R. Stam

There are four passages in the New Testament where adjectives are used to describe "the Word of God" and where we are informed of our responsibility toward it as such.

For example, in James 1:21 it is called the "engrafted" or "implanted" Word, and as such we are advised to "receive" it "with meekness" since it is "able to save [our] souls." The Word of God, indeed, does have a way of getting down underneath, of getting "under our skins," so to speak. It is not merely sown, it is planted into men's hearts and often makes them miserable as it convicts them of sin and of their need of salvation through Christ. When it does this, says the Apostle: "receive" it "with meekness" for it is "able to save your souls."

Then, in Titus 1:9, it is called "the faithful Word," and as such we are urged to "hold it fast." "God is not a man, that He should lie, neither the son of man, that He should repent." We can safely count on His Word and act upon it.

Next, in Philippians 2:16 the Bible is called "the Word of life," and as such we are to "hold it forth." The Word of God alone has power to regenerate and give spiritual life. St. Peter says that believers are "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (I Pet. 1:23). Thus we should "hold it forth" to lost men as their only hope of eternal life.

Finally, in II Tim. 2:15 it is called "the Word of truth," and as such we are told to "rightly divide it." If we fail to rightly divide it, we can change the truth into error, for God has not always dealt the same with mankind. Abel had to bring an animal sacrifice for salvation (Heb. 11:4). The children of Israel were told to "keep" the law "indeed" to find acceptance with God (Ex. 19:5,6). But later Paul declared by divine inspiration: "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 Spirit" (Titus 3:5).