Two Minutes With The Bible

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Legitimate Prayer
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Prayer, in Old Testament times, was based upon a covenant relationship with God, or it was an appeal to His revealed nature as merciful, gracious, etc. Today it is based upon the redemptive work of Christ, whose death opened the way for us into the Father’s presence. This is why acceptable prayer today is offered “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”. With our Lord’s departure from this world in view, He said to His disciples:

    “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

    “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name…At that day ye shall ask in My name: and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me…” (John 16:24-27).

Thus today we pray directly to the Father in the name of the Son.

Our prayers, however, are often faltering and sometimes the way is so dark before us that we do not even know what to ask for. Thus Paul declared: “We know not what we should pray for as we ought”(Rom. 8:26). But he was quick to follow this with the declaration:

    “And 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.).

This is why the Apostle Paul encourages God’s people:

    “Be careful [anxious] for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God:

    “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6,7).

    “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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One Thing
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Referring to the great Temple of God, which King David so earnestly hoped to build, he said:

    “ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED of the Lord; that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple” (Psa. 27:4).

Similarly, when Martha of Bethany complained to Jesus that Mary “sat at [His] feet and heard His Word” while she was left to serve alone, the Lord answered:

“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but ONE THING IS NEEDFUL, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10: 41,42).

Today, with regard to the message of grace from the ascended, glorified Lord, the Apostle Paul exhorts us: “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly”(Col. 3:16). Wonderful results follow such a determination to know Christ through the Word.

When the Lord Jesus opened the eyes of the blind beggar, the poor man was immediately persecuted by the religious leaders of the day. He could not answer all of their questions but he could answer the one most important to himself:

    “ONE THING I KNOW, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

The rest of the narrative relates how the blind beggar also received spiritual sight as, face to face with the Son of God, he exclaimed: “Lord, I believe! …and…worshipped Him” (Ver. 38.).

But what about our conduct after spiritual sight has been bestowed? The most consecrated believer will acknowledge that he often fails to live up to the light he has received. St. Paul, by inspiration, gives us the solution to this problem also, saying:

    “THIS ONE THING I DO: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press [strain] toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3: 13,14).

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God's Faithfulness And Ours
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Many people suppose that salvation is God’s reward to those who do their best to live good lives. This is not so, for God’s Word says of those who are saved:

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

Referring to this “salvation which is in Christ Jesus,” St. Paul says:

    “It is a faithful saying, for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him” (II Tim. 2:10,11).

In other words: The believer, viewing Calvary aright, has “died with Christ.” Viewing the Cross, he has said: “This is not Christ’s death. He was no sinner. He had no death to die. He is dying my death!” And so by faith he is “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). The penalty for all his sins has been fully paid, for he died — in Christ, and thus has also risen with Christ “to walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3,4).

This is all God’s doing, and only now is the believer in a position to do good works that will please God. Thus the Apostle writes of believers, in II Tim. 2: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us” (Ver. 12). When the believer’s service for Christ is reviewed some, indeed, will “receive a reward,” but others will “suffer loss,” though they themselves will “be saved, yet so as by fire” (I Cor. 3:14,15).

It will be deeply embarrassing, in that day, for unfaithful Christians to face empty-handed the One who gave His all, Himself, to save them. Yet salvation is by grace, thus the Apostle hastens to conclude his statement in II Timothy 2, with the words:

    “If we are unfaithful, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (Ver. 13)

Thus our rewards as believers depend upon our faithfulness, but our salvation, thank God, on His!

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It's All In the Bible
by Pastor 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 destiny.

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).

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Resurrection Power
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


How comes this flower to bloom so fair,
With loveliest fragrance to fill the air?
A short time ago the seed lay dead,
The cold, wintry ground its desolate bed.

But now, behold, from the dampened earth,
Without a sound to betray its birth,
This thing of beauty has blossomed and grown
To possess a loveliness all its own.

And as we view it, standing there
With a majesty quite beyond compare,
A mighty conviction grips the heart:
This beautiful flow’r has a counterpart.

Our Savior once suffered and died for sin.
Though no one so righteous as He had been.
It seemed that the devil had sealed His doom
As they buried His body in Joseph’s tomb.

But what is this wonder that greets our eyes
As the rays of the third morning’s sun arise?
Behold, He is risen! The grave could not hold
The Author of Life; the Anointed of God!

And now the dead who have trusted in His name,
Though sleeping in Jesus, will rise again
With bodies more glorious than this flower
–Sown in weakness, but raised in power!

C.R.S.

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Don't Pay Attention To Stories
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “Neither give heed to fables…” (1 Tim. 1:4)

As the present-day English reader comes upon the word “fables” in the Authorized Version, he is apt to think of Aesop’s Fables, but these were illustrations, while the original word muthois means simply stories, including stories of imagined incidents or events.

There are two types of stories that have exerted an amazing influence upon twentieth century Christendom. One is the novel, the other the promotional story. In considering the above passage, this writer examined the contents of the popular Christian periodicals coming to his desk and was astonished to find how many of them were largely filled with fiction and with stories written to promote projects or viewpoints. The Apostle says about such stories that they raise questions but do not answer them, for stories really prove nothing. This is also true of many Christian films.

Many Christian novels have indeed exerted a savory influence upon their readers — when they have been founded upon Scriptural truths and principles. Obviously, however, an author can make his novel “prove” exactly what he wishes to prove, for the novel involves us in a world of make-believe. Thus a novel can be dangerous to Christian faith and practice.

The promotional story holds, perhaps, an even more prominent place in our popular Christian magazines. No one can object to factual reports of what God has wrought, but too many of these stories are nothing more than promotional efforts. Many of these “success stories” are so successful that thoughtful readers question their validity and are apt to lay them aside without even finishing them. Less discerning readers, however, are often deeply moved by them.

We are well aware that our objections are not popular, but we are not trying to be popular; we are trying to help sincere Christians find their way back, step by step, to renewed spiritual power. This power has been too long frittered away by substituting the will of man for the Word of God.

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Good Works
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Millions of people are striving to make themselves acceptable to God by good works. Such people can never be sure of salvation, for the simple reason that they can never be sure whether they have done enough good works or whether they have done them in the right way. Some suppose that heaven can be won if our good works outweigh our evil works, but this does not make sense either, for good works are what all of us ought to do and even one evil deed would prevent a just and holy God from justifying us or admitting us into His presence.

Let’s not put the cart before the horse. God does expect good works from His children but not as payment for salvation, for eternal life and glory could not possibly be bought at any price. “Christ Jesus came into the world,” says the Apostle Paul, “to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Then, having saved them by grace, He expects them to do good works out of gratitude.

It is interesting to compare Titus 3:5 with Titus 3:8:

    Titus 3:5:”NOT BY WORKS of righteousness which we have done, but ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US.”

    Titus 3:8:” …these things I will that thou affirm constantly, THAT THEY WHICH HAVE BELIEVED IN GOD MIGHT BE CAREFUL TO MAINTAIN GOOD WORKS. …”

Faith is the root; good works the fruit. Thus we read in Eph. 2:8-10:

    “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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

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Your Labor Is Not In Vain in the Lord -- Or Is It?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58.).

Many years ago, my good friend Pastor John Fredericksen gave me a plaque engraved with this text, a plaque that sits on my desk here at Berean Bible Society to this day. As I labor for the Lord, it is such an encouragement to me to know that, no matter what, my labor is not in vain in the Lord.

But if that be so, why did Paul tell the Galatians,

    “Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (Gal. 4:10,11).

And what about what the apostle told the Philippians:

    “Do all things without murmurings and disputings…that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” (Phil. 2:14-16).

And don’t we find the same thought in I Thessalonians 3:5?

    “…I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.”

If it was possible that Paul’s labor for the Lord might have been in vain, how could he tell the Corinthians that their labor could not be? How could the labor of a godly apostle be in vain, but not the labor of the carnal Corinthians?

We believe the answer is found in the context of the verse, where right before telling the Corinthians that their labor was not in vain, Paul spoke to them about the Rapture (I Cor. 15:51-57). In that day, when we stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ, no believer’s labor will be in vain, for all of our labor for Him will be richly rewarded.

And so it is that, if the Galatians persisted in their legalism, if the Philippians continued to do things with murmurings and disputings, if the Thessalonians abandoned the faith, Paul’s labor among them would have been in vain in this life, but not in the next life! And if you are feeling discouraged about your labor for the Lord because people whom you have led to Him have departed from the faith, or believers to whom you’ve introduced the grace message have turned their back on that blessed truth, you too can rejoice that your labor is not in vain in the Lord!

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Enemies Reconciled To God
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “When we were enemies” (Rom.5:10).

Think of it! God has good news for us even in our willfulness, our enmity against Him! “When we were enemies”, says Paul, “We were reconciled to God by the death of His Son”.

Here we can almost hear some reader object: “Of all things, don’t charge me with being an enemy of God. I’m a religious person, I go to church regularly, I even give to the church”. Ah, but God does not say that the unsaved are not religious. Perhaps 999 out of 1,000 are religious. The point is that by your ungodly, sinful life, and certainly by rejecting God’s gift of salvation, you have made yourself an enemy of God. You may not be an enemy against the “God” you have conjured up in your won mind, but you are certainly an enemy against God, the God of the Bible.

But despite all this God still sends His ambassadors out to offer reconciliation to all His enemies everywhere — “by the death of His Son”. Think of it! We who believe are reconciled to God, not by some effort or payment offered by us to placate God, but “by the death of HIS Son”. He bore the enmity as His own creatures mocked Him, spat in His face and nailed Him to a tree. This is grace indeed! And this is not all, for the whole passage reads:

    “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

    “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement [Lit., reconciliation]” (Rom. 5: 10,11).

The argument of this passage is that if, as His enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more “being reconciled”, we may be assured that our living Savior will keep us safe. And not only are believers safe in Christ, but all the while we “joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received”, not only help in our helplessness, or the forgiveness of our sins, but “the reconciliation”, by which we are brought nigh to God and experience His love toward us.

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God No Respecter Of Persons
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In Romans 2:11 we read that “there is no respect of persons with God,” and these very words, with slight variations, are found many times in the Bible. How wonderful! No “big wheels” with Him! Rather, all stand on the same footing before His bar of justice.

Do you know why the kings in Israel’s history were — and were meant to be — so rich? This was so that they might rule with true justice, beholden only to God. The rich could not bribe the king, nor could the powerful intimidate him, for he was far richer and more powerful than they. There was only one person over the king, spiritually: the prophet, who kept reminding him of the Word and the claims of God.

Well, God is infinitely richer than all the wealthy rulers, barons and money magnates of this world put together, thus there is “no respect of persons with Him.” Also, justice is one of His divine attributes, hence it is unthinkable that He should show favoritism.

But now a question: If God is no respecter of persons, why did He favor one nation, Israel, above all the rest and, for many centuries, bless them above all others? The answer: God made a difference to show that “there is no difference” (Rom. 3:22,23). He made an artificial difference, a dispensational difference, to show that there was no essential difference, no moral difference. He erected a “middle wall of partition” between us to show that that wall must be broken down (Eph. 2:14-16).

And thus it is that the same God who once said to Israel:

    “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant … Unto you first…” (Acts 3:25,26)

– this same God now says:

    “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentile], 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).

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The Death Of The Cross
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


There are four words which every one of us should consider in connection with Christ’s death at Calvary if we would fully appreciate what our Savior did for us there.

CRUCIFIXION

It is doubtful whether man has ever conceived a more cruel and humiliating way to execute even the vilest criminals. The physical agony alone must have been horrible beyond comprehension. The criminal was nailed to a tree and left to hang there, writhing in the most intense pain until, fevers wracking his body, he died. And then think of the humiliation as he hung there, stripped and naked, to suffer shame and disgrace before the public gaze. Little wonder Phil. 2:8 says that Christ humbled Himself to become obedient “unto death, even the death of the cross.”
SUBSTITUTION

We have not even begun to understand the cross if we do not understand that Christ died there as our Substitute, paying for our sins.

    “Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3). “His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).

REPRESENTATION

But Christ was more than our Substitute; He was our voluntary Representative at Calvary. He had taken on Himself human form that He might represent man before God and die as Man for men.

    “As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…” (Heb. 9:27, 28.).

    “[He] was made… lower than the angels… that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9).

IDENTIFICATION

It follows from this that if Christ represented me at Calvary, He became identified with me there, and I am identified with Him as I accept this by faith. Hence Paul exclaims:

    “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

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Two Sides Of One Coin
by Pastor 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.

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Spiritual Understanding
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Honest, prayerful study of the Word brings us to spiritual maturity and understanding. But does it not require superior intellectual powers to understand these “deep things of God”? No indeed. Superior intellects among unsaved men are unable to appreciate even the “simple” truths of the Word, for “they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14). And as to the “mystery” made known to Paul by the glorified Lord, the Apostle declares that it is now “revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Eph. 3:5).

The mystery is not merely something more difficult to grasp intellectually, for the Apostle specifically states that it is “not the wisdom of this world” but “the wisdom of God” (I Cor. 2:6,7), and that only by the Spirit of God can it be understood and appreciated. This explains why many of the humblest believers rejoice in the mystery and understand it so clearly, while so many great theologians and religious leaders fail to grasp it and keep confusing it with God’s prophesied program regarding the kingdom of Christ.

The mystery is not “hard to be understood” because men are slow of mind to understand, but because they are “slow of heart to believe,” because the devil, who “hath blinded the minds of them that believe not” also seeks to keep God’s people from seeing and rejoicing in the truth of the mystery with its riches of grace, its “one body” and its “one baptism.” This is why the Apostle prayed so fervently that the believers to whom he ministered might be given “spiritual understanding” to take in the glorious message he was commissioned to proclaim (See Eph. 1:16-19; Col. 1:9,10).

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Why Celebrate The Lord's Supper?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The Lord’s Supper was first instituted by our Lord after His last observance of the Passover (Luke 22:14-20). The main elements of the Passover feast were roast lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Ex. 12:8.) while at the Lord’s Supper they were bread and wine (Luke 22:19,20).

Furthermore, the Lord’s Supper was given by Paul to the Gentiles as a celebration of what Christ had done for them. Here let us be Bereans and ask a question or two from Scripture. Was not the Old Covenant made with Israel (Ex. 19:3-6)? And does not this covenant affect the Gentiles?

    “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that EVERY MOUTH may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19).

It is significant that Paul calls himself and his coworkers, not Peter and the eleven, “able ministers of the New Covenant” (II Cor. 3:6). And remember he was “the apostle of the Gentiles”(Rom. 11:13) and wrote this to Gentiles. As with the Old Covenant, so with the New, full light was not given until the revelation of the mystery to Paul by the exalted Lord.

The simple fact is, that what was promised to Israel and Judah under the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) we, Gentile believers, receive by grace. As we came under the condemnation of the Old Covenant so we also come under the blessing of the New — by grace, for remember, the blood of the New Covenant, shed at Calvary, was also shed for us. It is that blood whereby we are saved. He shed no other.

But, beloved reader, has it ever occurred to you that to accomplish this, our blessed Lord had to be baptized into the human race — become bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh–one with us, yea, one of us? Before we could be baptized into Deity, He had to be baptized into humanity. Before we could be baptized into His death, He had to be baptized into our death (Luke 12:50). To lift us from earth to heaven, to bless us with all spiritual blessings, He had to take on Himself a physical body to be beaten and scourged and spit upon and crucified.

God would have us remember this. And not only would He remind us of this stupendous fact and have us live in the light of it (Col. 1:21,22): He would have us show it forth to others as well.

    “THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.”

    “FOR AS OFTEN AS YE EAT THIS BREAD, AND DRINK THIS CUP, YE DO SHEW THE LORD’S DEATH TILL HE COME” (I Cor. 11: 24,26).

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The True Bible Church
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Many people have truly come to know Christ as Savior after having been sincere, religious “church members” for years. Though faithful supporters of some earthly church organization they had never experienced the truth of II Cor. 5:17: “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.”  It is possible to be a member in good standing of some church organization, yet be outside of the one true Church of which the Bible speaks.

This is because the true Bible Church is not an organization but a living organism, a spiritual body, with a living Head and living members. Again and again St. Paul, by divine inspiration, calls the Church, the Body of Christ. He says: “We being many, are one Body in Christ…” (Rom. 12:5). “Ye are the Body of Christ, and members in particular” (I Cor. 12:27). “We are members of His Body” (Eph. 5:30).

How do we become members of this true Bible Church, the Body of Christ? First, we must acknowledge ourselves to be sinners in God’s sight, for Ephesians 2 relates how Christ died for sinful men that He might “reconcile” them to God “in one Body” by the cross (Ver. 16). Thus, when believing sinners are reconciled to God by faith in Christ, they are regenerated, given a new life, by the Spirit, and by the Spirit are baptized into the Church, the Body of Christ.

    “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

    “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (I Cor. 12:13).

Every one of us should ask himself: “Have I been baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ?” If not, trust Christ as your Savior and become a member of the one true Bible Church. Then associate yourself with some local assembly where Christ is honored and the Bible taught, “rightly divided.”