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Slavery And Liberty
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


We thank God for Abraham Lincoln and for his part in emancipating the negro slaves in the United Sates. Yet, in a deeper sense, there is a slavery from which we all need to be emancipated.

The children of Adam are slaves by birth. Partaking of his fallen nature they find it an uphill fight to do right and easy to do wrong. No mother has ever had to teach her child to tell lies, or to steal or to disobey. Every child does these things naturally. All, by nature, are slaves to sin.

Some, on the other hand, have sought to make themselves slaves to the Ten Commandments in order to overcome their natural tendencies toward evil, but this does not produce the desired results. God did not give the Law to help us to be good, but to show us that we are bad and need a Savior. In Rom. 3:19 He says that He gave the Law “that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become [be exposed as] guilty before God” and in Verse 20 He says that “by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Only believers in the finished work of Christ are liberated from sin and its results. This does not mean that it is not possible for them to sin, but that it is now possible for them not to sin — to have victory in any given case. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).

In grace Christ died to pay for our sins and in response to that grace believers seek to live for Him, just out of sheer love and gratitude for what He has done for them. This is the secret of victorious living, and God would have us keep it that way. Gal. 5:1 says:

    “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Yet, he also cautions believers, who enjoy this wonderful liberty:

    “Take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak” (I Cor. 8:9).

    “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).

    “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth” (Rom. 14:22).

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Be Ye Reconciled
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Reconciliation postulates alienation. Only enemies can be reconciled. Thus God’s message of reconciliation takes us back to Adam, the father of the human race, who first rebelled against God, and explains why God must deal with us all on the same level, as sinners who need salvation.

In Romans 5:12, we read: “…By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”.

Thank God, though, the message of reconciliation is not concerned exclusively with the “one man” by whom sin entered into the world. Indeed, it is chiefly concerned with the “one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5).

    “Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men unto condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift [of salvation] came upon all men to justification of life.

    “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom. 5:18,19).

It is by this other “one Man” and His death on Calvary, then, that sinners may be reconciled to a holy God. In Colossians 1:21,22, Paul, the Apostle of reconciliation, writes to believers:

    “And you, that were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled,

    “In the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.”

Thus “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10). And thus, too, the Apostle pleads: “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, [Christ] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:20,21).

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Rebellion Against Pauline Authority
by Pastor 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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The Love Of Christ
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Scripture Reading:

    “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” — Ephesians 3:19

The passage before us is a treasure chest of truth. Paul contrasts the spiritual knowledge of the believer (“to know”), with human knowledge (“passeth knowledge”). We are living in a time when a high premium has been placed on intellectualism. Technology is advancing so rapidly that a product is barely to the marketplace before it is obsolete. Human knowledge has progressed to the point where man has now created small micro chips, the size of a pencil eraser, that can store volumes of information. While man glories in his accomplishments in the area of high tech, God is still the infinite One in knowledge overall. I read recently that if man were to build a computer capable of performing the functions of the human brain (memory, reasoning, thinking, functional control, etc.) it would have to be the size of the Empire State Building. How would you like to carry that around on your shoulders? While human knowledge has benefited us all in areas of medicine, science, and travel, man through human wisdom can never know God nor understand the things of God (I Cor. 1:20,21).

Those who are saved, however, have at their disposal a spiritual knowledge that far surpasses human knowledge. Having the eyes of our spiritual understanding opened, we are now able to comprehend the Word of God. It is from God’s Word that we first learned of the love of Christ. It was Christ’s love for us that sent Him to Calvary to die for our sins, to redeem us back to God (Rom. 5:8.). His love also keeps us secure, for as the Apostle says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 8:35). The love of Christ constrains us or motivates us to serve Him. We can never repay what he has done for us, but out of gratitude for what He has accomplished for us we should desire to live for Him (II Cor. 5:14,15). With this knowledge of the love of Christ we can enjoy the fullness of God.

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Avoiding Strong Drink
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Scripture Reading:

    “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken.”
    – Habakkuk 2:15

There are many passages in the Word of God, such as the above, that are timeless and transcend all the dispensations of God. While the liquor industry goes to great lengths to get people to believe that drinking is a harmless way to have a good time, the facts are otherwise. They are very careful never to advertise the drunk driver who kills innocent people or the homes that have been destroyed by strong drink. But a voice in the crowd says that a few social drinks will never hurt anyone. Most recovering alcoholics, however, tell a much different story of how their slide into a life of drunkenness all started with a social drink. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov. 20:1).

A couple of years ago, I was driving through Apollo, Pennsylvania where I saw a piece of twisted wreckage along side of the road. Upon slowing down, I discovered that it was an automobile, or at least what was left of it. Apparently someone survived the crash because there were beer cans strategically placed beside the car along with a sign at the rear bumper which read, “And they told us we were going to have fun.” Someone lied!

While the world refers to alcoholism as a disease, the Word of God calls drunkenness a sin. It is not a disease, it is a matter of choice. Oh, the sorrow and heartache that has been caused by careless men and women who have given themselves over to the treachery of this sin. The answer is not found in the bottom of a bottle — the answer is Christ. Only He can deliver the drunkard from his drunkenness.

Therefore, a life yielded to God is the solution to the bondage of this terrible sin. Throughout the year social gatherings often bring with them a strong temptation to join the crowd. For those who struggle with this temptation, it is important to remember that the victory is already yours though Christ Jesus our Lord. Simply claim it! Then live one day at a time, by God’s grace, for His grace is more than sufficient (II Cor. 12:9). Amen!

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The Peace of God
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


“Peace with God” is one thing; “the peace of God” is another. To enjoy the latter, we must first experience the former, for the peace of God, ruling in our hearts, is the result of “peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

St. Paul declared by divine inspiration that “[Christ] was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification” and that “therefore, being justified by faith,” we, who once were at enmity with God, may enjoy “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 4:25; 5:1). The result of “peace with God” is “the peace of God,” the peace that He gives to His own amid all the troubles of life. This is why the Apostle wrote to the Roman Christians:

    “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:13).

While only those who are at peace with God can — and should know “the peace of God,” it does not follow, however, that all those who are at peace with God necessarily enjoy “the peace of God.” Believers can enjoy “the peace of God” only as they practice Phil. 4:6:

    “BE CAREFUL [ANXIOUS] FOR NOTHING; BUT IN EVERYTHING, BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION, WITH THANKSGIVING, LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD.”

As we follow these instructions the promise which follows will certainly be fulfilled.

    “THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, SHALL KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS” (Ver. 7).

As believers in Christ “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28.). Therefore we
should not be constantly overwhelmed and defeated by the adversities of life, but should heed the exhortation; “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15).

    “NOW THE LORD OF PEACE HIMSELF GIVE YOU PEACE ALWAYS BY ALL MEANS” (II Thes. 3:16).

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In His Service
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Scripture Reading:

    “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” — Romans 12:1,2

At all times we should stand ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He has called us. Time is precious! Isaac Watts once said: “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away.” Unlike eternity, everything in this life has a beginning and an end, as Solomon reminds us:

    “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die” (Eccl. 3:1,2).

In the natural course of things, life and death are in God’s control. But what takes place between these two monumental events will have a bearing upon us throughout eternity. Life is the dash that appears between the dates on every tombstone. And that little dash speaks volumes. For some it marks a conversion to Christ and all the spiritual benefits that come with it. But for others it is a chronicle of rejection and rebellion against God, with no hope of reprieve. Which is true of you? If the latter, there’s still time to trust Christ and flee the wrath to come.

The question is, what will we do with the remaining time that’s left before our dash is etched in stone? Paul says, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13,14).

This passage has always amazed me. After 30 plus years of serving the Lord, Paul was still pressing toward the goal. He refused to allow the past to influence his life — whether it was past failures or accomplishments. God has done a wonderful work here at BBS through the years, but we must not dwell upon past accomplishments or failures.

Like Paul, we must press forward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.

May it be our desire that we might “know Christ,” that is, more fully, and experience the power of His resurrection. There is still much to be done, but with your help, we can leave a legacy of grace that will be long remembered after we lie in the dust of the earth.

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True Liberty
by Pastor 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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Our Weakness and God's Power
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


When our Lord was on earth He healed great numbers of sick and diseased people. The believers at Pentecost also healed many in the name of Jesus, offering to Israel His return from heaven upon condition of their repentance (Acts 3:19-21).

All those who were healed, however, finally succumbed to physical infirmity or disease again and died after all. This was because the Lord Jesus was rejected as King, not only in His incarnation but also in His resurrection. Rom. 8:22,23 declares the result as we see it in our own day:

    “…we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit [that is], the redemption of our body.”

But Christians in “this present evil age” often need physical infirmity to draw them closer to God in prayer and faith. Paul himself said:

    “…there was given to me a thorn in the flesh… lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me: My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor. 12:7-9).

The Apostle’s response to this shows how well he understood that suffering and weakness are an important part of Christian discipline.

    “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me… I take pleasure in infirmities… for when I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:9,10).

    “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a for more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:16,17).

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Seven Times a Failure
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Despite man’s natural tendency to boast, history has proved again and again that he is a failure, in deep need of God and His grace.

The Age of Innocence closed with man rebelling against his Creator and becoming a fallen, sinful creature (Rom. 5:12).

The Age of Conscience opened with one murder (Gen. 4:8.) and before another age was ushered in “the earth was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11).

Then came Human Government, but the world’s first ruler made a spectacle of himself through drunkenness (Gen. 9:20,21). Little wonder we soon find the race intoxicated with its own importance so that God had to confuse their language at Babel (Gen. 11:4,7,8.).

The Age of Promise came next, with Abraham failing to enter the promised land through unbelief (Gen. 11:31-12:3). It closed with Israel, his seed, failing to enter the promised land through unbelief (Heb. 3:19).

The Age of Law began with Israel worshipping a golden calf before Moses had even gotten down from Sinai. Little wonder it ended with the rejection of Christ.

The Age of Grace commenced with the Apostle Paul, God’s ambassador of love and grace, persecuted and imprisoned (Eph. 6:20). This showed man’s attitude toward God and His grace. It will be brought to a close as man continues persistently to go on in his sin rather than accept redeeming grace through Christ (II Cor. 4:4; II Tim. 3:1-5).

The Kingdom of Christ, which is to follow the present age, will begin with our Lord rebuking strong nations (Micah 4:3) and will close with multitudes, who for a time had rendered enforced obedience, following Satan (Rev. 20:7-9).

How all this demonstrates man’s need of God and salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ! “All have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) but, thank God: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). Though surrounded by sin and rebellion, multitudes down through history have called and have been saved.

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The Logic of the Plan of Salvation
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In I Cor. 1:22 we are told that “the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.”  This is doubtless why God chose Paul, with his profound intellectual background and acumen, to proclaim “Christ crucified,” the “wisdom of God” as well as the “power of God” (I Cor. 1:23,24).

Paul was a gifted logician as well as a theologian, and nowhere is this more evident than in his epistle to the Romans, where, by divine inspiration, he presents the logic of God’s plan of salvation. Again and again, throughout the epistle, he uses that word so prominent in mathematics and in logic: “therefore.”

    “Therefore thou art inexcusable…” (Rom. 2:1).

    “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (3:20).

    “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested….  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law” (3:21,28.).

    “Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access…” (5:1,2).

    “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (8:1).

    “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors…” (8:12).

    “I beseech you therefore… that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Rom. 12:1).

It is an inexorable, unchangeable law that sin results in death. But the Lord Jesus Christ, “who did no sin,” took our place and “died for our sins.” Thus it is also an unchangeable law that “He that hath the Son hath life.” “The law of the Spirit” is “life in Christ.” The moment one trusts Christ as Savior the Spirit gives him life, the life of Christ, which is everlasting — indeed, eternal life (Rom. 8:2; I John 5:12).

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The Gospel Of Salvation
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


With the souls of men hanging in the eternal balance, it is extremely important to give a clear presentation of the gospel. We have always marveled at how the Holy Spirit sorts through the maze of confusion regarding the various plans of salvation that have been developed over the years. Although all these plans contain an element of truth, they leave the door open to mislead the sinner.

Plan One:

    Admit you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23).
    Be willing to turn from your sins (repent) (Matt. 3:2).
    Believe Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross (I Cor. 15:3).
    Through prayer invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life.

Plan Two:

    Confess your sins (Mark 1:5).
    Open the door of your heart so Christ can come in (Rev. 3:20).
    Believe on Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
    Come forward publicly to receive Jesus as your personal Savior.

Plan Three:

    Acknowledge you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23).
    You must make Jesus Christ Lord of your life (Rom. 12:1).
    Believe Christ died for you (I Cor. 15:3).
    Accept Christ as your personal Savior by praying to God.

There are two serious flaws with the above plans. First, they confuse the terms of salvation under the kingdom gospel with the gospel of the grace of God. Second, the sinner could easily place his trust in what he has done, instead of the Savior. Therefore we suggest the following:

The Scriptural Terms of Salvation:

    Acknowledge you are sinner, “for all have sinned and come
    short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
    Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He died for your sins,
    was buried and rose again (Rom. 4:5; I Cor. 15:3,4).

If you have trusted Christ as your personal Savior, why not pray and thank God for your salvation.

Beloved, the unsaved are dangling over the lake of fire by one thin thread of human existence. The only thing that is standing between them and eternal judgment is the good news of Christ and Him crucified. May the Lord give us a burden for lost souls, for “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

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One Is Enough
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


As a young man appeared in court, the judge thundered at him, “What’s the reason your father is not here? He should have been here two weeks ago.”

The young man responded: “Your Honor, there are seventeen reasons why my father is not here.”

“What are they?” roared the judge.

The lad replied: “The first is that my father died a little more than two weeks ago.”

“Well,” conceded the judge, “I don’t think we’ll need to hear the other sixteen reasons!”

This brief interchange may well illustrate a principle involving the twelve apostles and Paul.

There has been much debate over whether or not Paul was God’s choice for Judas’ place as one of the twelve. Many hold that the eleven acted in the flesh and were out of the will of God in appointing Matthias as one of their number to replace Judas. Paul, they say, was obviously God’s choice for this position. But many unanswerable arguments have been advanced from Scripture to prove that this is not so and that, indeed Paul could not have qualified as one of the twelve.

Some of these argument are: The twelfth apostle had to be chosen before the kingdom could be offered at Pentecost; the eleven acted only after many days of united prayer; the candidate had to be one who had followed with Christ all through His earthly ministry (Matt. 19:28.); Paul did not even see Christ until after His ascension; he was not even saved at the time; he persecuted the Pentecostal Church and laid it waste considerably after the choice of Judas’ successor had become necessary. Finally, Acts 1:26 says that Matthias “was numbered with the eleven,” and Acts 2:4 adds: “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”

Any one of the above arguments would suffice to vindicate the action of the eleven and silence their critics. But this is particularly so of the last one. What further discussion need there be when God’s Word says that Matthias “was numbered with the eleven…and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost?”

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The Nature Of Grace
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


To a young Christian who kept bemoaning his failures and lack of spiritual growth, and wondering how God could love him, a more mature believer responded substantially as follows:

“When I leave here and return to my home I will pick up my little baby girl and put her on my knee. Tired as I am, I will dandle her on my knee and, somehow, looking into that darling face and those pretty blue eyes, I will soon feel rested and refreshed.

“This is strange, in a way, for she does not love me. She doesn’t even know what love is.

“She doesn’t appreciate my problems and has no sympathy for me. My heart can be burdened with grief or filled with anxiety, and my mind vexed with difficult problems, but she doesn’t even know or care. She just keeps gurgling and giggling at the attention I lavish upon her.

“She doesn’t contribute one cent toward the needs of our family; indeed, she costs me a great deal of money and will for years to come. Yet I love that child more than I can say. There is no sacrifice I would not make for her; no good thing I would not gladly give her.”

Such is the grace of God toward us, His children. It does not depend upon our faithfulness to Him or our appreciation of His love to us. He loves us with an unspeakable love and keeps lavishing upon us “the riches of His grace” simply because we are His children in Christ, the Beloved One. And strangely, is it not precisely this fact that proves to be our greatest incentive to give ourselves to Him in loving service and sacrifice as we grow in grace?

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My Job Is God's Will?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters… doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:5,6).

Surely what was true of servants and their masters applies equally to employees and their employers. Thus our text suggests that Christians involved in secular labor are “doing the will of God.” Of course, Paul says that we are to labor and work with our hands “the thing which is good” (Eph. 4:28.). So unless you are an abortion doctor or some such thing, when you go to work, you are doing the will of God, and your work clothes are just as holy in the eyes of God as the vestments that Aaron wore when he entered the presence of the Lord, whether you wear a white collar or a blue collar.

Is it possible then that secular employment will earn rewards for Christians at the Judgment seat of Christ? The Apostle Paul says yes! If such labor is done “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart,” and if it is done “as to the Lord, and not unto men,” then Paul unequivocally asserts “that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:22-24).

There is even evidence to suggest that those involved in secular labor who then faithfully support the ministry can look forward to rewards equal to those given to Christians directly engaged in the Lord’s work. God instructed Moses:

    “And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to the battle, and between all the congregation” (Num. 31:27).

When “wicked men” tried to ignore this plain command of God (I Sam. 30:22), David insisted:

    “…as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike” (v. 23-25).

Secular labor constitutes half of the fourth commandment (Ex. 20:9,10), and is also a commandment of grace. When the Thessalonians got so excited about the Rapture that they quit their jobs in eager anticipation, Paul twice reminded them that he had “commanded” them not to do this (I Thes. 4:11; II Thes. 3:10). He then re-issued the command (II Thes. 3:12) and further commanded them to “withdraw” from any who wouldn’t obey these commands (II Thes. 3:6-10). Thus we see that working for a living is a commandment of God given to members of the Body of Christ through the Apostle Paul.

Finally, if you are considering entering the Lord’s work, you should know that throughout Scripture, God called to His service men who were already demonstrating their faithfulness and dependability in secular employment. God called Moses when he was tending his father-in-law’s sheep, Gideon as he was threshing wheat, David as he was shepherding his father’s flock and several of the apostles as they were fishing or mending their nets.