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[nChrist]

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March 22, 2011

GRACE AND PEACE
by Cornelius R. Stam

For many years this writer, along with the mass of religious people, supposed that the Bible phrase "grace and peace be unto you" was simply a beautiful, spiritual salutation. Thank God we have come to learn that it is much more than a salutation. It is an official proclamation.

Every single one of the epistles signed by St. Paul opens with the declaration: "Grace be unto you and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." This was the theme of the message which he, as a duly appointed ambassador, had been sent to proclaim.

To appreciate this fully we must remember that God had declared in prophecy that He would reply to the world's rejection of Christ with judgment. Psa. 110:1 pictures the Father saying to the Son: "Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." Psa. 2:5 declares: "Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure."

After the crucifixion and ascension of Christ it seemed that all was ready for the judgment to fall. As the signs of Pentecost appeared Peter declared: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16) and it did indeed look as if the rejected Lord was about to return to "judge and make war," as Rev. 19:11 puts it. But now, instead of judgment and war, St. Paul proclaims grace and peace. Does this not indicate that in grace God interrupted the prophetic program to bring in the present dispensation under which God's ambassadors proclaim with Paul:

"But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin hath reigned... so might grace reign" (Rom. 5:20,21).

Indeed, Paul the former persecutor was himself the living demonstration of God's grace to a Christ-rejecting world. In I Tim. 1:15,16 he declares:

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

"Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."

[nChrist]

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March 23, 2011

RETARDED GROWTH
by Cornelius R. Stam

What joy and fellowship there is in gatherings where the newly-saved are present! In the spiritual realm, as well as in the physical, everyone loves a baby! But the joy that fills the hearts of loving parents is turned to bitter sorrow and disappointment if their babe fails to grow. The latter condition is as unspeakably sad and embarrassing as the former is joyous. Just so it is in the realm of the spirit. The "carnal" Christian has failed to grow. He continues in a state of protracted infancy. He must be kept exclusively on a milk diet because, though saved for years, he is still unable to "bear," or digest, solid food, still "unskillful in the Word" and needing to be taught the elementary things.

Retarded spiritual growth is evidenced in many ways, all of which come under the heading of carnality or fleshliness. The Corinthians, so sternly rebuked for their carnality by the Apostle Paul, are said to have been careless about morals (I Cor. 5:1), puffed up (I Cor. 4:18; 5:2), inconsiderate of each other (I Cor. 6:1-7; 8:1,9,12), stingy (II Cor. 8:6-11; 11:7-9). While possessing the Spirit, they walked after the flesh.

One of the most marked indications of retarded spiritual growth is self-interest and party strife, as seen in the case of the Corinthian believers. They were spiritually small and petty, so that the Apostle had to write to them:

"For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
"For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" (I Cor. 3:3,4)

Thus Peter's exhortation to "newborn babes" to "desire the pure milk of the Word" that they may "grow thereby," is prefaced by the words: "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings" (I Pet 2:1). The carnal nature is not appropriate soil for spiritual growth.

[nChrist]

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March 24, 2011

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
by Cornelius R. Stam

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

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

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

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

As David said long ago:

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

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

[nChrist]

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March 25, 2011

TWO SIDES OF ONE COIN
by Cornelius R. Stam

"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" (II Cor. 12:15).

The true man of God will faithfully serve the congregation which the Lord has entrusted to him without thought of reward. Like Paul, he will "gladly spend and be spent" for them even if his toil and sacrifice go unappreciated. Where the congregation is too small to support him fully he will cheerfully engage in enough secular work to supply the deficiency. This is as it should be for, in ministering to his people, he is serving God.

But there is another side to this coin, for Christian assemblies should appreciate the ministries of their pastors in their behalf. This is especially so where the minister gives himself unstintingly for his flock.

It is a sad fact that too many pastors are grossly underpaid. Most of the members of the congregation would not be willing to live on the low economic level on which they keep their pastor and his family living for years on end. He must be willing to sacrifice, but they must not be deprived of any of the luxuries to which they are accustomed. They do not realize how discouraging it can be for the pastor and his family to constantly have to do without, while the better- off members of the congregation hardly notice.

This is why the Apostle Paul reproved the niggardly Corinthians and declares: "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (I Cor. 9:14). And this, too, is why he wrote to the large-hearted Philippians:

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction ....Not that I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account" (Phil. 4:13-17).

Where true, Bible-believing pastors are concerned, let's not be Corinthians; let's be Philippians.

[nChrist]

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March 26, 2011

PAUL AND HIS GOOD NEWS
by Cornelius R. Stam

St. Paul opens his Epistle to the Romans by declaring that he has been "separated unto the gospel [good news] of God" (1:1). This agrees with Galatians 1:15,16, where he says:

"It pleased God, who separated me, from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me..."

The last book of the Bible tells of the coming "revelation of Jesus Christ" in glory, to judge the world and reign on earth, but here in Galatians we have "the revelation of Jesus Christ" in Paul, the chief of sinners, saved by grace. The salvation of Paul, the one-time leader of the world's rebellion against Christ, indicated God's willingness, yes His desire, to save sinners. Thus it was appropriate that God should choose him as the apostle of His grace, making the good news known "to all nations for the obedience of faith."

Let us not suppose, however, that Paul's gospel concerned only himself or God's grace to him. Apart from Christ's payment for sin at Calvary God could not justly have saved Paul -- or any of us. Thus the Apostle goes on, in Romans 1, to explain that this good news which God has sent him to proclaim is "concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1:3).

All through Paul's epistles he proclaims salvation by grace, on the basis of Christ's finished work of redemption:

"Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24).

"Who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (4:25; 5:1).

"Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that... grace might reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord" (5:20,21).

So the message of salvation by grace is essentially good news about Christ and what He has wrought to purchase our redemption.

[nChrist]

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March 27, 2011

PUZZLE OR PICTURE
by Cornelius R. Stam

Where "rightly dividing the Word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15) is concerned, our spiritual leaders are like a group of people, each one of whom holds a part or several parts of a jig-saw puzzle, but who fail to put them together and so never get to see the picture.

One sees clearly that the so-called "Great Commission" was a Kingdom commission and not ours. Another sees that the "one baptism" of Ephesians 4:5 MUST be the DIVINE baptism which makes believers one in Christ. Another sees that Paul's apostleship was wholly distinct from that of the Twelve. Another sees that Romans 6:3,4 does not contain one drop of water. Another sees that the Christian's position is spiritual and heavenly in character. Another sees that the Body of Christ, the Church of today, was never prophesied -- even, that it did not begin at Pentecost with Peter and the eleven, but later, with Paul.

But while each sees some component part of "the Mystery", Satan has used tradition to blind him to the rest. The result is that confusion continues to prevail and they still have a puzzle instead of a picture.

If only they would put the pieces together! What a clear picture they would see of "the Dispensation of the Grace of God", and how eagerly they would join us in "THE PREACHING OF JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY" (Rom. 16:25)!

[nChrist]

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March 28, 2011

IT'S ALL IN THE BIBLE
by Cornelius R. Stam

We couldn't help hearing it! This woman had a voice that could be heard at considerable distance and we distinctly heard her say: "I doped it all out from the Bible."

"Well, at least somebody's interested in the Bible," we said to each other.

But as she prattled on it turned out that she had used the records in an old family Bible to establish her claim to part of an estate. These records, introduced in court, had won the case for her.

There was, after all, no indication that she was interested in the Bible -- only in those pages between the Old and New Testaments which, in some editions of the Bible, are kept for family records.

Actually she was no different from the masses about us who go about from day to day interested only in the things of this life and ignoring almost completely the things that really matter: God, heaven, hell and their own eternal des- tiny.

If these people only knew what treasures are to be found in the Bible! Among these are "riches of mercy" (Eph. 2:4), "riches of grace" (Eph. 1:7), "riches of glory" (Phil. 4:19), "riches of wisdom and knowledge" (Rom. 11:33), "the riches of the full assurance of understanding" (Col. 2:2), "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8 ). And the best part of it is that anyone may have these riches simply for the asking:

"For there is no difference... 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" (Rom. 10:12,13).

[nChrist]

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March 29, 2011

Redeeming the Time
by Cornelius R. Stam

As a new day dawns we do well to reflect upon two important passages of Scripture. The first is found in II Corinthians 6:2 where Paul, by the Spirit says:

“Behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.”

We have no guarantee that the Lord Jesus will tarry another year, or even a month or a day. It is possible that within ten minutes after you have read this the dispensation of Grace will have been brought to a close, and the Lord will have come to catch away His own. Most of our readers, surely, will then be part of a blessed, happy throng. What about you? Will you be with us or will you be left behind? If you are not sure of your salvation, be wise and place your trust in Christ now.

“Yesterday’s past You have only today.

Tomorrow may be too late.”

But the fact of the imminence of Christ’s return places a great responsibility upon believers too. How wrong of us to fritter away the time, when He may come so soon! How wrong to live for self! Let us rather heed the words of Paul to us who are saved:

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

“Redeeming [buying up] the time, because the days are evil.

“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

As one year dies and another is born,
A searching question’s due:
Have we lived up to the light we had?
Have we to Christ been true?

Or have we failed to do our part
To send His blessed Word
To those who stumble in the dark;
To those who have not heard?

Well, let us now forget the past,
Both failure and success,
And yield ourselves anew to God
To own and use and bless.

[nChrist]

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March 30, 2011

POOR ZIGGY!
by Cornelius R. Stam

Ziggy is said to have been the world's largest male Indian elephant in captivity and had a reputation for being mean. But Ziggy got careless one day here at Chicagoland's Brookfield Zoo and fell into the deep moat in front of his cage.

It was no fun to be trapped there for 31 hours in an uncomfortable position with both tusks broken and head bleeding, unable even to move.

Cranes, tow trucks and other pieces of equipment were employed in vain. They could not even move Ziggy's 7-ton (That's 14,000 lbs.!) hulk to a more comfortable position. Finally, though, someone thought of building a ramp by pouring gravel -- 42 tons of it -- into the moat, and Ziggy was freed.

When we learned about Ziggy's sad plight it reminded us of the fall of man. Through sin man has fallen into trouble and misery and cannot extricate himself. When he deceives himself into thinking that he can surmount the situation by his own efforts he soon learns that he is vainly trying to pull himself up by "his own bootstraps" and his outlook only continues to darken.

Like Ziggy, fallen man needs help from the outside. Trying, hoping, deciding, determining, vowing, looking on the bright side -- none of these prove successful; he needs a Savior.

How blessed, then, to know that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" and that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"!

Once we acknowledge our condition as fallen sinners and call upon Him to save us, He is quick to respond.

[nChrist]

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March 31, 2011

"THE APOSTLE OF THE NATIONS"
by Cornelius R. Stam

Not Matthew, Mark, or Luke; nor Peter, James, or John, but Paul alone wrote Romans 11:13 by divine inspiration:

"FOR I SPEAK TO YOU GENTILES [or OF THE NATIONS] INASMUCH AS I AM THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES [NATIONS]: I MAGNIFY MINE OFFICE" (Rom. 11:13).

Note well that Paul did not magnify himself, but his office, to which he had been appointed by the glorified Lord Himself. In defending his apostleship before the Galatians he wrote:

"But I certify you, brethren, THAT THE GOSPEL WHICH WAS PREACHED OF ME is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, BUT BY THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST" (Gal. 1:11,12).

In many other passages the apostle claims to speak as a direct representative of Christ (See I Corinthians 11:23; 15:3; Ephesians 3:2,3; I Thessalonians 4:15; etc.).

To Timothy, Paul wrote concerning his own writings: "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing..." (I Tim. 6:3,4). This could not indicate more emphatically Paul's claim that his words were "the words of the Lord Jesus Christ", received from Him by direct revelation.

To the Corinthians, who questioned this, the Apostle wrote:

"...IF I COME AGAIN I WILL NOT SPARE, SINCE YE SEEK A PROOF OF CHRIST SPEAKING IN ME" (II Cor. 13:2,3).

The proof of this claim? This was overwhelming indeed, for Paul was used more than any other apostle to found churches and lead men into the knowledge and joy of salvation. To the believers at Corinth he wrote what he could have written to many thousands of others: "The seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord" (I Cor. 9:2).

[nChrist]

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April 1, 2011

Are You Sure?
by C.R. Stam

Would you like to have the knowledge, the assurance and the joy of sins forgiven? Would you like to be sure of heaven?

Well, the first step to heaven is to realize that you cannot get there by trying. You can’t walk there. You can’t climb there. You can’t fly there. Only God can take you there. Many try to earn heaven. They try to climb there on a ladder of good works. They talk about “adding another rung.” But look out for that good works ladder! It’s not anchored at the top and the higher you climb the farther you will fall.

God’s Word says that salvation is “the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9). He is not going to have boasters in heaven— there are enough of them on earth and nobody likes them.

All of us should realize that even the best of us are not good enough for heaven, for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), but in this same statement the Apostle Paul declares that believers in Christ, who died for our sins, are “justified freely by His [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

So, friend, it is not by trying, or crying, or praying, or paying, or doing anything that you will reach heaven: it is only by believing. God says He loves sinners, and that Christ died for our sins. Will you believe this and trust Christ as your Savior? The terms are stated very plainly in John 3:35,36:

“The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

[nChrist]

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April 2, 2011

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
by Cornelius R. Stam

This was the question Philip asked of the Ethiopian prince as he sat reading from Isaiah's prophecy (Acts 8:30), and it is a question which we should continually keep asking ourselves as we read the holy Scriptures.

There are always those among God's people who do not much care whether or not they understand what they read if only it warms their hearts! To them the Bible is little more than a fetish. Taking only those Scriptures which appeal to them, and leaving the rest, they actually feel themselves quite spiritual and often talk about believing the Bible whether or not they understand it!

But such "spirituality" is far from genuine, and such "faith" is blind and superstitious at best. While it is true that the Bible teaches many truths which we believe, although they are beyond our comprehension (such as its opening verse!), yet how can we believe what the Bible says unless we understand what it says? God would have us understand what we read and believe it intelligently.

Indeed, true faith will want to know and understand more and more of God's Word. One who does not care whether or not he understands what God has said is not truly interested in knowing what God has said. His faith is based on his own will rather than on God's Word, for regardless of the meaning of Scripture, he will take any passage that suits his fancy and use it as he wishes. How great an emphasis God Himself places upon the importance of understanding His Word!

On one occasion, when our Lord saw the multitudes, He "was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things" (Mark 6:34). And now that the secret of God's "eternal purpose" has been made known, how much more reason there is to study the Scriptures, with a view to understanding them! How Paul, by the Spirit, emphasizes this, as he writes of his prayers for the saints:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling..." (Eph. 1:17,18 ).

[nChrist]

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April 3, 2011

THE MOST IMPORTANT HOUR OF HISTORY
by Cornelius R. Stam

The most important hour of all history was the hour when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross for the sins of mankind. Often, in Scripture, the hour of our Lord's death is called simply "the hour ," "My hour ," or "His hour."

To fulfill prophecy He could not have died one hour ear- lier, or one later: Until that hour arrived His enemies were somehow restrained from doing Him bodily harm, so that we read in John 7:30:

"Then they sought to take Him: but no man laid hands on Him, because HIS HOUR WAS NOT YET COME" (See also John 8:20).

This hour was to be for Him a time of unspeakable agony and shame. Referring to this, He said to Andrew and Philip:

"Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save Me from this hour? But FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I UNTO THIS HOUR" (John 12:27).

He had come to die for the sins of the world and would not now turn away from the sufferings involved. But this hour of suffering and shame was also an hour of glory, for there the Son of God paid a debt which would have sunk a world to hell. This is why, at this same time, in the very shadow of the cross, He said:

"THE HOUR IS COME THAT THE SON OF MAN SHOULD BE GLORIFIED. Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:23,24. See also John 17:1,2).

Little wonder we read in John 3:35,36:

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. HE THAT BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH EVERLASTING LIFE: AND HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT THE SON SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM."

[nChrist]

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April 4, 2011

THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH
by Cornelius R. Stam

"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (I John 5:4).

There are many who look upon faith as an abstract sort of thing. Some suppose faith is merely looking on the bright side of things; to others it is will-power; still others confuse it with a person's view-point.

In the Bible, faith is simply believing God. "Faith" is the noun and "believe" the verb. This is seen in Rom. 4:5, where the Apostle Paul declares:

"To him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

The above passage from I John 5 also makes this plain, when seen in its context:

"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

"Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God" (Vers. 4,5).

It is, then, the believer in Christ, and only the believer in Christ, who can overcome the world. Unbelievers are swept away by the attractions and the pretentions of this world-system, but the believer in Christ need not be.

St. Paul declared by divine inspiration that unbelievers follow "the course of this world," directed by Satan, "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2).

We do not mean to imply that believers are not often tempted to follow "the course of this world." Indeed the world would sometimes entice or intimidate us, but "this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

[nChrist]

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April 5, 2011

A Compelling Reason
by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing” (II Cor. 12:11).

The Apostle Paul did not like to “glory” or boast about his apostleship. He would much rather spend his time teaching the great truths of the Mystery, and the Word of God, rightly divided. However, the immaturity of the Corinthians “compelled” him to such boasting. They were so impressed with the boasting of the “false apostles” (11:13) that Paul was forced to speak to them in the only language they seemed to understand—that of boasting.

Grace believers are often accused of boasting too much about the apostleship of Paul, and to this we plead guilty. We too would much rather spend our time teaching the great truths of the Word of God, rightly divided. However, the sorry state of modern Christianity is such that we too are “compelled” to boast about Paul’s apostleship. The immaturity of contemporary Christianity has caused them to overlook Paul as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13), and presents us with a compelling reason to emphasize his apostleship.

Paul found the Corinthian situation especially disappointing, since as he told them, “I ought to have been commended of you.” As the one who had begotten them in the gospel (I Cor. 4:15), they should have been singing the praises of his apostleship, instead of forcing him to defend it. And so it is today. All who are saved in the dispensation of Grace are saved by grace through faith apart from works (Eph. 2:8,9), a gospel that is exclusive to the Apostle Paul. And so in a very real sense, all who are saved today are begotten of the Apostle Paul, and should be singing the praises of his apostleship, instead of forcing us to defend it.

The false apostles in Corinth were probably protesting, “Why, Paul isn’t even one of the twelve apostles! We have as much authority as he has!” This forced Paul to declare that he was “not a whit behind” the very chiefest apostles, i.e., James, Peter and John. But if Paul only claimed he wasn’t “behind” the twelve apostles, why do we insist on emphasizing his epistles ahead of the epistles of James, Peter and John?

Ah, Paul’s apostleship was equal to theirs, but he was the apostle of a different group of people. As he told the Galatians, “He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles” (2:8 ). All state governors are equal in authority; no governor is a whit behind any other. However, if I am wise, I must recognize the authority of the governor of my state. And if we are wise as Christians, we must likewise recognize the authority of “the apostle of the Gentiles.”