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God For Us
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Many people, even religious people, suppose that God is against sinners. “Do what is right,” they think, “and God will love and bless you, but do what is wrong and He will be angry with you and curse you.”

Perhaps this view of God comes from the fact that many Scripture passages, especially in the Old Testament, reveal God as the Enemy of the workers of iniquity. But He is the Enemy of the workers of iniquity as such — as workers of iniquity, not as individual persons.

In Ezek. 18:23 God asks: “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die… ?” And in II Pet. 3:9 we learn that when God might have judged this world for the crucifixion of Christ. He delayed the judgment because He is “longsuffering” and “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

The Apostle Paul, referring to the crucifixion, declares that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:19).

How could He have shown sinners more conclusively that He desires their good than by imputing their sins to Christ and telling them that He is not imputing their trespasses unto them? Their trespasses will be imputed to them, of course, if they reject God’s provision of salvation through Christ, but for the present it is a wonderful fact that we can go to any sinner and say on the authority of God’s written Word: “Your sins have been paid for; God is not holding them against you. Will you accept His love and receive Christ as your Savior?”

No, unsaved friend, God is not against you. He loves you and provided abundantly for your salvation by paying for your sins Himself at Calvary. This is the essence of “the gospel of the grace of God” (See I Tim. 2:4-7). Will you believe it? Will you trust Christ now, acknowledging Him as your Lord and Savior?

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The Holy Spirit At Pentecost
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

The one hundred twenty disciples in the Upper Room had, of course, been much like any other group of believers in history. They had not all been equally spiritual or devoted, or faithful. Some had been more so than others, and where some had excelled in one virtue, others had excelled in another. Yet now they were all FILLED with the Spirit, from the least to the greatest of them.

The thoughtful student of Scripture will, of course, ask why all these believers were now filled with the Holy Spirit. Was it, perhaps, because they, as a group, had been more godly than those before them? The gospel records prove that this is not so. Peter boasted, Thomas doubted, James and John sought personal gain, and when our Lord was taken prisoner, “they all forsook Him and fled.”

Was it then because they had prayed long enough or earnestly enough for the Spirit to come upon them and take control? No; they had been instructed to go to Jerusalem, not to pray for the Holy Spirit to come, as some suppose, but to “wait for the [fulfillment of the] promise” regarding the Spirit (Acts 1: 4,5) — and right here is the answer to our question.

The believers at Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit, not because they had prayed long or earnestly enough for the Spirit to come, but because the time had arrived for the fulfillment of the divine promise. The Old Testament prophets and the Lord Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit should some day come to take control of God’s people (Ezek. 36:26,27), and that day had come. They were filled with the Spirit because God, according to His promise, had baptized them with the Spirit (Acts 1:5).

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Inexcusable
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

The second chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is a dark, sad passage, but it opens the door to the richest blessing the human heart can contain: salvation by grace.

The opening words: “Therefore thou art inexcusable,” are blunt indeed, but God exposes our sinful condition only so as to save us from it.

This is where most philosophies and the Bible clash head-on. Most philosophies close their eyes to the sinful nature of man. They argue, generally, that man is inherently good, while overwhelming evidence bears witness that he is inherently bad. Therefore human philosophy offers no salvation from sin and its just penalty. Only the Bible does this with its “gospel [good news] of the grace of God.”

In Paul’s day the Greek philosophers condemned the uncivilized pagans for their open immorality and wickedness. But while preaching virtue these moralizers themselves practiced vice, and God said:

    “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things” (Rom. 2:1).

It is the same today. Multitudes of self-righteous people are outwardly cultured and moral, but they forget that God looks upon the heart and sees hate as murder, jealousy as theft and the lustful look as adultery. He considers, not what we do, outwardly, but what we desire to do or wish we dared to do. He sees the desires and motives of the heart.

But thank God, “Christ died for sinners” — guilty sinners, and all who come to God by faith in Christ are “justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

“Inexcusable,” or “justified freely by His grace,” through faith in the Christ who died for our sins? Which will it be?

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Religious Mixtures
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

The largest segment of the professing Church offers her devotees neither peace for the present, nor assurance for the future. She does not tell them that believers in Christ are given a position in heaven at God’s right hand (Eph. 2:4-7). She even brings Christ down from His exalted position and offers Him to the world on a crucifix, requiring men to eat His flesh and drink His blood to be saved. And this when Paul, by the Spirit, so emphatically says:

    “…yea, THOUGH WE HAVE KNOWN CHRIST AFTER THE FLESH, YET NOW, HENCEFORTH, KNOW WE HIM NO MORE” (II Cor. 5:16).

Man’s religion, especially in “the Church,” is built upon an appeal to the senses. Her devotees are occupied with beads and bells, statues and crucifixes, candlesticks and sacred objects, robes and incense; so far has she departed from the teachings of Paul and from his declaration that “we walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7).

Lingering still among the types and shadows of primitive ages and mingling these with meaningless pagan rituals, she keeps millions from trusting and rejoicing in an already accomplished redemption.

We beg those who read these lines to look in faith to the risen, exalted Christ and to trust in His finished work:

    “Who… when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat downon the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3).

    “This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:12).

This is clear enough. Our Lord came to earth to accomplish our redemption and, having accomplished it, He returned to heaven and sat down with His Father. The work was finished. And now He invites us to rest in His finished work.

    “THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

    “FOR HE THAT HATH ENTERED INTO HIS REST, HE ALSO HATH CEASED FROM HIS OWN WORKS, AS GOD DID FROM HIS” (Heb. 4:9,10).

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Gladly The Cross I'd Bear
by Pastor Ricky Kurth

The above title is based on an old Christian joke that tells of a hymn by this name that was misunderstood by a child to refer to a cross-eyed bear named Gladly! It is not known if there ever was such a hymn, but the idea for the title surely comes from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ:

    “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:38,39).

It is commonly taught from these words that “everyone has his cross in life to bear,” that we all face different challenges in life, and if we bear them well we will go to heaven. That this cannot be our Lord’s intent can be seen from Mark 10:21, where the Lord told the rich young ruler:

    “…take up THE cross, and follow Me.”

Here we see the Lord was not speaking of each man having his own personal burden in life to bear that was distinct from that of others, but rather that He had one cross in mind that each man had to shoulder, and in so doing make it his own. By examining the context of each time the Lord spoke about bearing a cross, we can learn about the particular cross He had in mind.

Often when the Lord spoke about bearing a cross (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34 ; Luke 9:23), it was in the context of His own death on the Cross (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). Thus the “cross” that the kingdom saint was asked to bear was a willingness to give his life for the Lord, just as the Lord had given His life for them. This willingness to die for the Lord is also mentioned in the context of bearing the cross (Matt. 10:38,39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24).

But while many kingdom saints gave their lives for the cause of Christ, as will many more in the coming Tribulation, certainly not all Hebrew believers were called upon to bear the cross of martyrdom. However, the context of many of these “bear his cross” verses indicates that there was yet another way that kingdom saints could give their life for the Lord. It is significant that several times after speaking of bearing the cross, the Lord said:

    “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul” (Matt. 16:26 cf. Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25).

Since the Kingdom gospel included the command to sell “all” of one’s belongings (Luke 12:33 ; 18:22), it appears that the “cross” the Lord asked all kingdom saints to bear was the selling of all their material possessions.

And so, in summary, the “cross” the Lord asked the Hebrews to bear was the giving of their lives for Him, some as living sacrifices and some as dying sacrifices, just as He had given His life for them.

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Can The Ten Commandments Save?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

St. Paul pointed out a basic Scriptural — and logical — fact, when he said:

    “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13).

Many people suppose that God gave us the Ten Commandments to help us to be good. The fact is, however, that He gave them to show us that we are bad. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:19 and a hundred other Bible passages teach this clearly.

How can the Law be of any advantage to a law-breaker?

How can it justify us unless we keep it — perfectly?

Do you recall the woman caught in adultery, in John 8? She was a Jewess. She was better off than the Gentiles, for she had the law of Moses to show her right from wrong, but this didn’t justify her; it condemned her. So her “advantage” turned out to be a serious disadvantage, for “not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”

James 1:23,24 says that one who knows the Law but doesn’t obey it, is like a man looking into a mirror, seeing his dirty face, and then walking away without doing anything about it. This is why Rom. 2:14,15 declares that the consciences of the heathen confirm what the Law says, “their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another.”

Those in heathen lands know that it is wrong to lie and steal and commit adultery, yet they know nothing about the law of God, or the Ten Commandments. How, then, do they know that these things are wrong? God made them with this knowledge; He gave to them, and to us all, conscience, a sense of blameworthiness in doing wrong.

How good to know the One who has paid the penalty for our sins so that our hearts may be cleansed from “an evil conscience” (Heb. 10:22)!

    “Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3).

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

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Mercy Upon All
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Have you ever wondered how the pagan world got that way: idol-worshipping, wicked, gripped by superstition and fear?

The Bible supplies the answer in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Three times in Chapter 1 we read of the Gentile world: “He gave them up… He gave them up… He gave them over….” Why? Because they had given Him up: “And even as they did not wish to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient [becoming]” (Rom. 1:28 ).

It would have been difficult to believe 30 or 40 years ago, that our young people would be dancing to the wild, exotic music of pagan lands (if this can be called music), or that our studios would be selling the twisted, hideous paintings of pagan art (if this can be called art).

When you wonder why the lovely melodies and harmonies of yesteryear have given place to the noise and din of today’s “music”; when you wonder why the beautiful paintings of those days have been largely replaced by the masterpieces of chaos that surround us now — why in so many ways we seem to be reverting to paganism — read Romans 1.

All this is the natural result of a departure from God and His Word. Yet there is hope and assurance and joy in store for any individual who will yet heed the message of God — particularly in the Book of Romans. Here we read how Jew joined Gentile in rejecting Christ, and God had to give them all up. But listen to this passage from Rom. 11:32: “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief THAT HE MIGHT HAVE MERCY UPON ALL.”

That is, He gave up the Jewish and Gentile nations so that He might show His grace to any individuals who might turn to Him by faith in Christ, thus reconciling both (Jewish and Gentile believers) unto Himself in one body, by the cross (Eph. 2:16).

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The Apostle Of Grace
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Did you know that St. Paul was chosen by God as the apostle of grace? He was God’s great example of grace, the “chief of sinners” saved by grace (1 Tim. 1:12-16). To him was committed “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:2). He was sent forth to proclaim “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

Paul wrote far more about grace than any other Bible writer. All his epistles open or close (or both) with the salutation “Grace be to you.” He declares:

    “We have redemption through [Christ's] blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

He shows how this grace was planned for believers in ages past:

    “Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and [His own] grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Tim. 1:9).

He shows how this grace will be ours in ages to come:

    “That in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

He shows how this grace is greater than all our sins:

    “Where sin abounded grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20).

He shows how grace gives us a righteous standing before God:

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

He shows how God’s grace has given believers a position in heaven:

    “[He] hath… made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus… for by grace are ye saved, through faith….” (Eph. 2:6,8 ).

He shows how God’s grace is sufficient for our difficulties and can help us to live consistent Christian lives:

    “My grace is sufficient for thee” (II Cor. 12:9).

    “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Cor. 9:8 ).

Accept salvation “by grace, through faith” as “the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8,9), and eternal life is yours.

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The Eyes Of The Lord
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

    “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (II Chron. 16:9).

The meaning of this famous passage of Scripture is clear, and its truth has been demonstrated a thousand times over. God is constantly searching, as it were, for men whom He can bless and use in the fulfilling of His purposes, but for whom, and through whom, does He accomplish His ends?

He does not need the world’s influential giants, for He says in Zech. 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” He does not need the world’s great thinkers, for our Lord, while on earth, prayed: “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight” (Matt. 11:25,26). Indeed, St. Paul declares, in I Cor. 3:19: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”

No, it is not upon the world’s great ones that God bestows His blessing and power; it is rather upon the humblest believer whose heart is right with Him. Thus it is that by divine inspiration St. Paul wrote to those in ancient Corinth who had trusted Christ as their Savior:

    “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 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 [boast] in His presence” (I Cor. 1:26-29).

To those of us who believe that God created the Universe from naught all this is perfectly consistent and it gives us confidence that He can bless and use even us.

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Help In Time Of Need
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Our Chicago papers, recently, carried two interesting front page items; one about Timothy Nolan, a Chicago policeman who pleaded in vain for help while he battled two toughs. Sixty people stood about, watching him fight for his life, but not one of them helped him or even bothered to call another policeman. They just stood and watched.

The other item was about a twelve-year-old girl, named Susan Benedict, who had come from Clinton, Wisconsin, to visit Chicago. As Susan sat in the Greyhound Bus Station at Clark and Randolph, a thief grabbed her purse and ran. Perhaps it was because she was a sweet, defenseless twelve-year-old, but in any case, about a dozen people who witnessed the incident, followed the thief until one got a policeman, who caught the thief and returned the purse to the little girl.

It is a very frightening thing not to be able to find help when it is desperately needed — and just as wonderful to have help when it is needed.

Thank God, He is always ready to help us in our deepest need — the salvation of our souls. Are you afraid that your many sins have placed you in a position beyond help — that you have sinned too greatly for God to forgive you? Then listen to Eph. 1:7, where the Apostle Paul says, by divine inspiration:

    “We have redemption through [Christ's] blood, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE.”

Rom. 5:20,21 will give further encouragement along this line:

    “…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.”

Paul knew this by experience, for he was the leader of the world’s rebellion against Christ, but he was saved in one moment by the grace of God. This is why he says:

    “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” (1 Tim. 1:15).

If God saved the “chief of sinners,” He is surely willing to save you, “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

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Alienation And Reconciliation
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

It is impossible, and unnecessary, to reconcile friends. Reconciliation postulates alienation. It is only after men become alienated that we may try to reconcile them. Thus the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles to God “in one body” could not begin until Israel, along with the Gentiles, had been alienated from God. This is why the Apostle Paul declares in Rom. 11:15 that “the casting away of them is,” or opens the way for, “the reconciling of the world.” Thus “God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32). Little wonder the Apostle goes on to exclaim:

    “O, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Ver. 33).

So now the wonderful message from God to a lost world is one of grace and peace, and it is with these words that the Apostle Paul opens all of his epistles signed by his name. In Ephesians 2, where he declares that we were all “the children of disobedience,” and therefore “by nature the children of wrath,” he goes on to tell of the riches of God’s mercy and love and grace, and says:

    “And [He] came and preached peace to you [Gentiles] which were afar off, and to them [Israelites] that were nigh” (Ver. 17).

What a blessing to enjoy peace with God, to be reconciled to Him! But this is possible only as we commit ourselves to Him who was “delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification.” Indeed, Paul follows these words in Romans 4:25 with the declaration:

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

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So Soon
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

How highly the Galatian believers had esteemed Paul; how heartily they had loved him when he had first come to them proclaiming grace! The Apostle recalls it in Galatians 4:13-15:

    “Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

    “And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

    “Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.”

How happy in grace, how thoroughly blessed, had the Galatian Christians been — when Paul was with them! But let the Apostle turn his back, as it were; let the legalizers come courting on the morrow and suddenly these same believers were ready to go back under the Law. “So soon” had they fallen from grace! The Apostle was dumbfounded! “I marvel,” he says, “that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel”(Gal.1:6).

How unspeakably sad! And how natural that, hearing the news, the Apostle should sit down immediately to write them this urgent epistle, in large letters.

The temptations to “fall from grace” are as great today as they ever were. It would be well, therefore, to read this letter to the Galatians often so that we might be among those who “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” (Gal.5:1).

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A Word Of Encouragement
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Grace be to you and peace
Though days be dark about us.
God’s working out His plan
All enemies regardless.

We know that Bethlehem’s Babe
Once crucified, is risen
And seated now above,
At God’s right hand in heaven.

And soon He’ll come again
His loved ones to deliver.
We’ll share His glory then
Forever and Forever.

So while we watch and wait
O, may His love constraining
Help us to live for Him
In all the hours remaining.

– C.R.S.

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The Riches Of God
by Pastor 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 be began to prosper, and after a few years he invested in a lumber milling industry. It was not long after that until he owned more than one mill. This led him to expand into northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Before long he was very rich, 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, so wealthy had he become.

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

    “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on 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 and steal” (Matt. 6:19, 20).

The truest, most lasting riches of all are referred to in II Cor. 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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Redeeming the Time
by Pastor 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.