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March 7, 2012

OUR GREAT COMMISSION
by Cornelius R. Stam

Much is said of the "great commission" which our Lord gave to His apostles just before His ascension. We wonder whether our readers have ever examined the various records of this commission carefully.

This "great commission" does not say one word about "the preaching of the cross" or "the gospel of the grace of God". The "gospel" which they were sent to preach was very evidently the same "gospel" they had been preaching -- the Gospel of the Kingdom -- only they could now declare, as Peter did at Pentecost, that the King had risen from the dead and would still some day occupy the throne of David.

The "great commission" demanded faith and baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15,16); it included the power to heal the sick and work miracles (16:17,18 ), but it did not include the glad message that "Christ died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:1-3). At Pentecost, when Peter began to carry out this commission, he rather blamed his hearers for the death of Christ and when, convicted of their sins, they asked: "What shall we do?" he did not say: "Believe on Christ who died for your sins." He rather commanded them to "repent and be baptized every one...for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38 ).

But after Christ and His Kingdom were again rejected, God interrupted the prophetic program and sent Paul forth to proclaim "the preaching of the cross" and "the gospel of the grace of God". In II Corinthians 5: 14-21 this apostle proclaims "the love of Christ" who "died for all" and instructs us as to our "great commission":

"And all things are of [provided by] God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, AND HATH GIVEN TO US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION;

"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself... AND HATH COMMITTED UNTO US THE WORD OF RECONCILIATION" (II Cor. 5:18,19).

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March 8, 2012

GODLINESS IN AN UNGODLY DAY
by Cornelius R. Stam

It is an interesting fact that the words "godly" and "godliness" are not found in Paul's writings until we come to the Pastoral Epistles, the very epistles that have so much to say about evil days and evil surroundings.

In the epistles to Timothy we read about the "perilous times" with which this present dispensation of grace will be brought to a close, while in the letter to Titus we read of "unruly and vain talkers and deceivers," of "liars... evil beasts... lazy gluttons," whom Satan would use to neutralize the work and witness of God's servants.

To Timothy and Titus, these young men of God, the Apostle had much to say about godliness, and we must not forget that Paul's words to them are also God's Word to us, believers in Christ, who indeed appear to be living in the closing days of the dispensation of grace, surrounded by a steadily-rising tide of evil and an ever-growing number of wicked, godless men.

We do not mean to imply that the Apostle does not deal with the various phases of the Christian life in his other epistles, but rather that here in the Pastoral Epistles he wages a sort of campaign for individual godly living in the midst of increasing apostasy and godlessness.

May God help us, in our character and conduct, to exhibit "the power of godliness," the spiritual power that comes from putting Christ first in all things.

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March 9, 2012

FOR JUST BEING HERE
by Cornelius R. Stam

When you sigh for heaven, remember:

"...Christ...loved the Church, and gave Himself for it...That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25,26).

Too readily we forget that Christ loves us infinitely more than we love Him; that He paid the penalty for our sins on cruel Calvary and shed His life's blood that one day He might have us for Himself to share His glory with Him forever.

Surely, then, He would rather have us at His side in heaven than here in this scene of sin and sorrow, and sickness and death. We should bear this in mind when we long that we might leave this world and go to be with Him.

But there is more: The Saviour, who was exiled from this earth, and is, even now, rejected by men, has not yet rejected them. Rather, He has left us here as His ambassadors on hostile territory, to plead with his enemies, praying them "in His stead" to be reconciled to God, assuring them that He has done all that is necessary to effect a reconciliation (II Cor. 5: 20,21).

And this is His attitude toward mankind now, though the prophetic Scriptures declare so emphatically that man's rejection of Christ was to be -- and will be -- visited with the severest judgment (Psa. 2:4-9; Acts 2:16-20).

But not yet! Though man had declared war on Christ (Acts 4:26,27), He did not yet make a counter-declaration, but interrupted the prophetic program to save Saul of Tarsus, the leader of the rebellion and sent him forth to usher in the present "dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:1-3).

This is why, in His love and compassion, He leaves us here still to plead with His enemies: "Be ye reconciled to God". And what about His special love for us? Entirely apart from rewards earned by service or suffering for Him, God will richly reward us (II Cor. 4:17) just for being here as "ambassadors for Christ".

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March 10, 2012

GOD'S ANSWER TO UNBELIEF
by Cornelius R. Stam

The resurrection of Christ is God's answer to unbelief. The changed attitudes of His followers who saw Him alive after His crucifixion and the revolution in the life of Paul, who saw Him "last of all," rank high among the "many infallible proofs" of His resurrection. Cowards were made bold, doubters believed, the sorrowing were made glad, the pitiless persecutor became His devoted follower. The broken Roman seal, the empty tomb, the failure of the enemies of Christ to produce the dead body and a hundred other facts add their testimony in confirmation of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ has been "declared to be the Son of God with power... by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4).

The resurrection of Christ assures us that His payment for sin is all-sufficient and complete, for "when He had by Himself purged our sins [He] sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3). "For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14).

Next, the resurrection of Christ gives us a living Savior. Comparing the Old Testament priests with Christ, Heb. 7:23-25 says:

"And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 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."

The resurrection of Christ is also the pledge of the believer's resurrection in glory. In I Pet. 1:3 the Apostle Peter breaks out in a doxology:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

And our Lord Himself said what no other could possibly say:

"I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).

Finally, the resurrection of Christ is a warning to the world of judgment to come:

"Because [God] hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained: whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).

"Now is the accepted time" (ll Cor. 6:2).

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

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March 11, 2012

REBELLION AGAINST PAULINE AUTHORITY
by Cornelius R. Stam

One of the chief reasons why so many sincere religious people are left in doubt and uncertainty as to salvation is because the organized Church has rebelled against a distinct and important revelation from God to us who live in this present age. This revelation is found in the inspired words of Paul, in Rom. 11:13:

"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles. I magnify mine office."

Many minimize that which the Word of God magnifies here. They insist upon following Peter rather than Paul, failing to see that Peter's authority concerned the now-rejected kingdom of Christ on earth over Israel and the nations. Our Lord had said to His twelve apostles:

"Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, YE ALSO SHALL SIT UPON TWELVE THRONES, JUDGING THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL" (Matt. 19:28 ).

Surely there are no twelve tribes in the Church today, nor was any provision, specific or implied, made by our Lord for "apostolic succession." This dogma is built upon the unscriptural assumption that the Church today is the kingdom which Christ established when on earth, and that our ministry today is but a perpetuation of that which the twelve began.

The fact is that the ministry of the twelve was halted by the rejection of the King and His kingdom and that the apostles themselves finally agreed to turn their proposed Gentile ministry over to Paul, that other apostle, to whom had been committed "the gospel of the grace of God" (Read carefully, Gal. 2:2-9 and Acts 20:24).

If only the confused religious masses could see that when Israel joined the Gentiles in rebellion against God, when the world's sin had risen to its height and all was ready for judgment, God revealed "the exceeding riches of His grace" by saving Saul, the chief of sinners, and sending him forth as both the herald and the living example of His grace! Thus he writes:

"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound, BUT WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND: "THAT AS SIN HATH REIGNED UNTO DEATH, EVEN SO MIGHT GRACE REIGN, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 5:20,21).

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March 12, 2012

GOOD NEWS FROM CALVARY
by Cornelius R. Stam

All through the Old Testament the cross is but dimly seen. Though a hundred historical characters and a hundred more Levitical sacrifices and rituals were typical of Christ and His finished work, not once does the Old Testament state this. The silence is profound. The clearest Old Testament prophecy of Christ's death, Isaiah 53, does not even specify who the Sufferer would be.

It was the same during our Lord's stay on earth, for only toward the close of His ministry do we read: "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem and suffer... and be killed..." (Matt. 16:21). And what was their response? "Then Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him" (Ver. 22). Luke 18:34 states three times that they did not have the slightest idea that He would even die, much less did they understand all that His death would accomplish. Even at Pentecost Peter blamed his hearers for the death of Christ and said to them: "repent and be baptized every one of you... for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38 ). The twelve were preaching "the gospel of the kingdom" and knew little about the cross and its purpose.

Not until the Apostle Paul, that other apostle, do we have what is properly called "the preaching of the cross," i.e., as good news. And in Paul's great message our Lord is no longer seen as the Victim, but as the Victor, not merely after death, or over death, but in death. His death itself is seen as His greatest triumph. In Heb. 10:12,14 we read:

"...after He had offered one sacrifice for sins [He] sat down... for by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."

And in Col. 2:14,15 Paul describes Christ at Calvary nailing the Law to the cross and utterly defeating Satan and his hosts, "triumphing over them in it (i.e., in the cross)." Little wonder the Apostle exclaimed:

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

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March 13, 2012

SIN KILLS -- CHRIST SAVES
by Cornelius R. Stam

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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March 14, 2012

TRUE LIBERTY
by Cornelius R. Stam

As true Americans celebrate their liberty, true Christians should rejoice in the even greater liberty which they have in Christ.

Our Lord said: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" and "If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:32,36). Likewise St. Paul declares that believers in Christ have been made "free from sin" and have become "servants to God," who deals with us in grace (Rom. 6:22).

It is strange that so many sincere religious people actually wish to be in bondage to the Mosaic Law, which can only judge and condemn them for their sins. Peter called the law: "a yoke... which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear" (Acts 15:10). Paul called it "the handwriting of decrees, that was against us, which was contrary to us" (Col. 2:14). He called it "the ministration of death" and "the ministration of condemnation" (II Cor. 3:7,9).

He challenged those who "desired" to be under the law:

"Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?" (Gal. 4:21).

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them" (Gal. 3:10).

Thank God, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13). Man always responds better to grace than to law. The law was "added because of transgressions" (Gal. 3:19). "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20). But Christ died for our sins and now true believers serve God from gratitude and love. Hence Rom. 6:14 says: "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace." Since Christ has redeemed us from the law (Gal. 4:5) God says to every true believer:

"Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1).

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March 15, 2012

THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER
by Cornelius R. Stam

"He shall pray for thee" (Gen. 20:7).

Abimelech, king of Gerar, had taken Abraham's wife as his own, but had done so innocently. Sarah was a beautiful woman and Abraham, fearful for his life, had said: "She is my sister," and Sarah had vouched for Abraham's subterfuge, telling Abimelech: "He is my brother."

But to save the errant couple from the consequences of their own sin God appeared to Abimelech, warning him that if he valued his life he would immediately return Sarah to her husband -- "and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live."

What is this? Will God hear the prayers of guilty Abraham for innocent Abimelech? Yes, for Abimelech was a pagan who served other gods, while Abraham, with all his failure and sin, was God's own child.

Abraham's prayer would, of course, be a confession of his sin and a plea that it might not be laid to the charge of innocent Abimelech -- innocent of this particular sin -- but nevertheless it was Abraham, not Abimelech, who had access to God.

Many unsaved people point to the failures of God's children and say: "I would not be guilty of that." Nevertheless, such "good" people are lost, while poor sinners who have trusted Christ for salvation are "accepted in the Beloved."

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

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March 16, 2012

HOW THEY SHINE!
by Cornelius R. Stam

Years ago, while preaching the Word at a Bible conference, I noticed a young lady in one of the front pews who wasn't listening to a word I was saying.

I could understand, however, for evidently she had just become engaged to be married. Her eyes were focused on the ring on the third finger of her left hand, and her heart and mind, evidently, on the young man who had placed it there.

With a pleased look on her face, and cocking her head from one side to the other, she gazed at that diamond from every angle. No matter how she looked at it, it shone -- entirely apart from the quality of the stone. It shone because it spoke to her of him and of his love for her, and was the symbol of her betrothal to him.

For some time after I had concluded my message, my mind went back to that scene. The ring that had so occupied this young lady's attention, made me think of the Bible, the very Book we had been studying that night. Examine that blessed Book ever so carefully; look at it from any angle and it shines! It made me think too of the grand Subject of that Book, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we believers have been "espoused... as a chaste virgin" (II Cor. 11:2). Unlike any earthly friend, He shines no matter how one looks at Him. Examine His words, His deeds, His personal attributes, from any angle and ever so carefully, and no matter how you look at Him He shines!

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March 17, 2012

THE WORD OF TRUTH
by Cornelius R. Stam

In Eph. 1:13 the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and believing "the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." This declaration is substantiated by many other passages of Scripture. Our Lord said: "He that heareth... and believeth... hath everlasting life" (John 5:24). This at a time when sacrifices and baptism were still required for the remission of sins. Even then men had to hear and believe to be saved, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

Now, however, salvation is received by hearing and believing alone. Works for salvation are not merely unnecessary; they are forbidden. Today salvation is "to him that worketh not, but believeth" (Rom. 4:5). "For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9).

God has changed His dealings with men from time to time down through the ages, teaching one lesson at a time. This is why it is so important to note the dispensational distinctions in Scripture, "rightly dividing the Word of truth."

Once the works of the Law were required for salvation: "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested" (Rom. 3:21) and men are saved solely by faith in Christ, "being justified freely by [God's] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). We are saved, then, as we hear and believe what Paul calls, "the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation" (Eph. 1:13), and we are established in the faith as we obey II Tim. 2:15: "rightly dividing the Word of truth."

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March 18, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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March 19, 2012

THE ONE TRUE CHURCH
by Cornelius R. Stam

Religious people -- even sincere Christian people -- may divide themselves into various denominations or churches, but there is no indication in the Bible that God recognizes these divisions. Indeed, God makes it abundantly clear that in His sight there is but one Church, composed of all who truly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. In I Cor. 12:12,13 the Apostle Paul declares by divine inspiration:

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ:

"FOR BY ONE SPIRIT ARE WE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY...."

Again, in Rom. 12:5, he says:

"SO WE, BEING MANY, ARE ONE BODY IN CHRIST, AND EVERY ONE MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER."

Indeed, it is on the basis of the fact that there is but "one body" in God's sight that He exhorts us to seek to "keep the unity of the Spirit":

"ENDEAVORING TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE.

"THERE IS ONE BODY...." (Eph. 4:3,4).

How can we become members of that "one Body ," the true Church? Ephesians 2 explains how Christ died for all, Jew and Gentile alike, "that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross..." (Ver. 16). Indeed the Epistles of St. Paul show how God "hath concluded... all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all" (Rom. 11:32), and offer to them reconciliation and salvation by grace through faith in Christ who died for our sins.

The question, then, is not: What church do you belong to? but, Do you belong to the Church, the Body of Christ, com- posed of all who have acknowledged themselves to be sin- ners in the sight of God and have trusted in Christ and His finished work for salvation?

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March 20, 2012

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

    Scripture Reading:

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

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

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

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

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March 21, 2012

PAUL'S THREE "I AM'S"
by Cornelius R. Stam

Three times in Romans 1:14-16, the Apostle Paul uses the phrase "I am", and each one carries an important message for every true believer in Christ.

First, he says in verse 14: "I am debtor" -- debtor to all men, to tell them about the saving work of Christ. But why was he indebted to people he had never even seen? For several reasons:

First, he had in his hand what they needed to be saved from the penalty and power of sin. If I see a drunkard lying across the railroad track and I do nothing about it, am I not a murderer if he is killed by the train? If I see a man drowning and I have a life buoy in my hand but do not throw it to him, am I not a murderer if he goes down for the last time? If I see millions of lost souls about me and, knowing the message of salvation, do not tell them, am I not guilty if they die without Christ?

Further, Paul felt himself a debtor to others, because the Christ who had died for his sins had also died for the sins of others. As he says in II Corinthians 5:14,15: "Christ died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again."

Finally, the Christ who had died for Paul's sins, had commissioned him to tell others of His saving grace. Thus he says in I Corinthians 9:16,17:

"Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For...a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me" (ICor.9:16,17).

Paul could say further what every true believer should be able to say: Not "I am debtor, but", but rather, "I am debtor...SO, as much as in me is, I AM READY..." (Rom. 1:15). He was ready to discharge his debt because he had that with which to discharge it -- the wonderful "gospel of the grace of God". And he did indeed make this the message known to others with all that was in him.

And now the third "I am": "I am debtor...So I am ready... For I AM NOT ASHAMED of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth..." (Ver. 16). Paul was always proud to own Christ as the mighty Saviour from sin. Do you know Christ as your Saviour? Do you tell others of His saving grace?