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He Gave Thanks
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, as He took the bread and the wine, we read that he “gave thanks” (Matt. 26: 26,27; Luke 22:19,20).

Surely on this occasion He did not give thanks for food supplied! He was handling the symbols of His broken body and His shed blood. How we would like to know just what He said at this solemn moment; just what He gave thanks for!

This we shall never know in this life, but there are some basic facts we do know.

It was for love for sinful men that He was to die. He was to pay their debt of sin, and He looked forward to the time when, not only redeemed Israel, but the redeemed of every nation and dispensation will rejoice in sins forgiven and all that this entails for them. As He “gave thanks” in view of Calvary, He will then rejoice at the results of Calvary. The overflowing joy that will be the portion of the redeemed will be a greater joy to Him.

Thus Paul’s words in Hebrews 12:2 give us cause to rejoice in true thanksgiving of our Lord’s finished work of redemption on Calvary cross:

    “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

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Teach No Other Doctrine
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In strong language the Apostle bids Timothy to “charge some that they teach no other doctrine”; no other doctrine, obviously, than that which he had taught them. In 1 Tim. 6:3-5 he closes his epistle by saying:

    “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ… from such withdraw thyself.”

In these passages the Apostle emphasizes the importance of fidelity to that heaven-sent message committed to him by revelation; that message which he says in Titus 1:2,3 was “promised before the ages began” but made known “in due time… through preaching which is committed unto me…”

Ever since Paul’s day religious leaders have substituted other messages for that committed by the glorified Lord to Paul. The law of Moses, the Sermon on the Mount, the “great commission,” and Pentecost have all been confused with God’s message and program for the dispensation of grace. This is what has bewildered and divided the Church and ripened it for the apostasy.

With all the confused thinking about the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount fifty years ago it was little wonder that modernism swept so many off their feet with its teachings about Jesus of Nazareth, the Man of Galilee, following his footsteps, social betterment, political reform, etc. Multitudes were so taken up with the social gospel, so eager to help make the world a better place to live in, that they did not even notice or believe that the modernists denied the very fundamentals of the Christian faith.

But the new evangelicalism of our day is still more dangerous. It is big. It is well financed. It is popular. It is subtle. Perhaps its greatest danger lies in the fact that while claiming to be “conservative,” it minimizes the importance of the fundamentals and the danger of apostatizing from them.

Thus the inspired words of the Apostle Paul: “Charge some that they teach no other doctrine,” are more urgently needed in our day than they were in his.

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The Value of Afflictions
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


When I was a boy, a popular way to insult a classmate was to say, “When God was handing out brains, that kid thought He said ‘pains,’ and hid behind the door.” Let’s face it, none of us likes to suffer pain, afflictions, or tribulations! Because of this, God’s people can often be found on their knees behind the door, asking God to shield them from these unpleasant things, or remove them once they become part of their lives.

And yet the overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that afflictions are good for us! Consider just this small smattering of verses that describe the spiritual value of afflictions:

    “And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers” (II Chron. 33:12).

    “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word….It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes” (Psa. 119:67,71).

When God’s people are not afflicted, they tend to forget Him. Speaking of the people of Israel, God said,

    “…when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery” (Jer. 5:7).

    “According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten Me” (Hos. 13:6).

Speaking of God and Jeshurun (Israel), Moses said,

    “He made him…eat the increase of the fields…suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs….But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked…then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation” (Deut. 32:13-15).

When God speaks to us in the absence of afflictions, we tend not to listen:

    “I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear” (Jer. 22:21).

There’s just something about afflictions that draw us closer to God! No wonder Paul said, “we glory in tribulations” (Rom. 5:3), “knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (v. 4). Once we learn God’s grace is sufficient for all our needs, we can say with Paul:

    “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities…for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:9,10).

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The One Essential Thing
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The place of the Word in the life of the believer is settled once and for all in the inspired record of one of our Lord’s visits to the home of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42).

Commentaries on this passage generally point out that both Mary and Martha had their good points! This, of course, is true, but if we limit ourselves to this observation we rob the account of its intended lesson, for our Lord did not commend both sisters for their “good points.” He reproved Martha and commended and defended Mary with regard to one particular matter.

What, exactly, was Mary commended for? How often she has been portrayed as an example to us to spend more time with the Lord in prayer! But this is missing the point of the passage. Mary was not praying; she “sat at Jesus’ feet, and HEARD HIS WORD.” She just sat there, drinking in all He had to say. This was “the one essential thing” which Mary had “chosen” and which our Lord said was not to be “taken away from her.” Thus, while prayer and testimony and good works all have their importance in the life of the believer, hearing God’s Word is “the one essential thing” above all others. Indeed, let this “one thing” be given its rightful place and all the rest will follow naturally.

It is granted, of course, that we must study the Word prayerfully and with open heart, or it will have disastrous, rather than beneficial results, but this only goes to place still further emphasis upon the supreme importance of the Word of God, which we seek, by sincere and prayerful study, to understand and obey.

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Fulness Of Joy
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


About 3,000 years ago David wrote in Psalm 16:11: “…In Thy presence is fulness of joy….” He was right, for there is no greater joy than personal fellowship with God. Yet David could not know the fulness of joy now spoken of in Paul’s epistles, for he did not know Christ, who later came into the world as God, manifested in the flesh, to die for our sins. He did not know that Christ would make full satisfaction for sin and be raised from the dead to confirm our justification. Nor did David know that believers would be given Christ’s resurrection life, and a position, and “all spiritual blessings IN THE HEAVENLIES in Christ” (Eph. 2:4-6; 1:3).

When Paul wrote that God has called believers “unto the fellowship of His Son”, he referred to a spiritual, heavenly fellowship, far more intimate and precious than any previously enjoyed by mortal man. This fellowship is to be enjoyed by faith, but it is faith based on fact, the fact that Christ indeed died our death and rose again from the dead that we might partake of His life and enjoy a position at God’s right hand in Christ. This is why the Apostle Paul urges believers of this dispensation of grace to “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God”(Col. 3:1).

Peter and John both came to know much of this fellowship through Paul, who was sent to Jerusalem “by revelation” to make known to the leaders there “THAT GOSPEL WHICH I PREACH AMONG THE GENTILES” (See Galatians 2:2-9; II Peter 3:15-18.). This is why John writes in I John 1:3,4: “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL”.

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Are All Believers Ambassadors?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “Someone suggested that only Paul and the other apostles were ambassadors, not all believers (II Cor. 5:20). True?”

In Verse 18, Paul says, “God… hath reconciled us to Himself… and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” Here we see that the people who have been given the ministry of reconciliation are the same people who have been reconciled to God. This cannot be limited to Paul and other leaders; it must include all believers, for we have all been reconciled.

Paul then defines the ministry of reconciliation as that which takes place when “ambassadors” say to the lost, “be ye reconciled to God” (v. 20). This means that the ambassadors proclaiming reconciliation in Verse 20 must consist of all the reconciled people who were given the ministry of reconciliation in Verse 18.

This also points out that, while “the world” has been reconciled to God (v. 19), the unsaved have not been reconciled in the same sense as believers, or else they would also be Christ’s ambassadors. The reconciling of the world is that which God gave Jews and Gentiles corporately, once the Jews had been cast away (Rom. 11:15), just as the Gentiles had been at the Tower of Babel.

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The Kaiser's Surprise
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


In his comments on Isaiah 57, Dr. Harry Ironside shares this story:

Years ago, before the First World War, Professor Stroeter, a well-known prophetic teacher in Germany, used to go through the country giving lectures, and using charts to unfold the dispensations. His lectures attracted the attention of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm, who in spite of his many idiosyncrasies, was quite a Bible student, and used to preach in the palace chapel on many occasions.

The Kaiser invited Professor Stroeter to his palace to give him an idea of what he was lecturing upon. The professor was taken into the library and spread a roll of his charts out on the table. The Kaiser followed him as he pointed out various things in the dispensations until the Second Coming of the Lord. After a lengthy conversation the Kaiser said, “Do I understand you aright? Do you mean to say that Jesus Christ is coming back literally, and that when He returns all the kingdoms of the world are going to be destroyed and He will set up His kingdom on the ruins of them all?”

And Professor Stroeter said, “Exactly, your Majesty….”

“Oh, no,” said the Kaiser, “I can’t have that! Why that would interfere with all my plans!”

We don’t know if Professor Stroeter understood the dispensations well enough to have expressed to the Kaiser that the coming of our Lord to rapture His church must come before the wrath of the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ (I Thes. 1:10; 5:9). Regardless, what a frank admission from a man who professed to be a student and teacher of the Word of God!

How about you, dear reader? If you are not saved, you will be left behind when the Body of Christ is “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air (I Thes. 4:17). While we believers will “ever be with the Lord” in heaven, the seven years of Great Tribulation that will follow on earth will surely interfere with all that you have planned. Why not trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior by believing that His death, burial and resurrection paid for all of your sins. Then you too can look forward to being a part of all that the Lord has planned for His saints.

But we close by asking Christians if the Rapture will interfere with your plans, or be the triumph of His grace in your life? When John Wesley was asked what he would do the following day if he knew the Lord were coming, he replied that he would rise at his usual hour, spend time in his regularly scheduled morning devotions, and arrive promptly at his first speaking engagement of the day. In other words, he wouldn’t have to change a thing in his life to prepare for the coming of the Lord. May this be true of us too!

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Who Can Be Against Us?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


We have shown in a previous article that God is for sinners and desires their good. We have shown how He proved this by paying for their sins Himself as God the Son at Calvary. But if this is true, how much more must it be so with regard to His own children who have trusted Christ as their Savior?

How often — and how significantly — the Apostle Paul uses the words “for us” in this connection!

In Eph. 5:2 we read that “Christ… loved us, and hath given Himself for us.” In Rom. 5:8 we are told that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In II Cor. 5:21: “[God] hath made Him to be sin for us.” And in Gal. 3:13 we read: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”

And the love that brought Him down from heaven to die in shame and disgrace for our sins is not affected by our many failures as Christians now. In Heb. 9:24 we read that our Lord has ascended to heaven “now to appear in the presence of God for us.” In Rom. 8:34 we learn that He is “at the right hand of God” to “make intercession for us.” And in Heb. 7:25 we read that He is able to save us “to the uttermost” because “He ever lives to make intercession for us.”

Our failures now, after having trusted Christ as Savior, may — and should — trouble our consciences and thus hinder our fellowship with God, but this does not change the fact that we are God’s dear children through faith in Christ, who died for all our sins. Unworthy though we still may be, therefore, God would have us come into His presence to be spiritually renewed.

    “What shall we then say to these things? IF GOD BE FOR US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?” (Rom. 8:31).

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The Power Of The Gospel Of Grace
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “…the gospel… is come unto you, as it is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth” (Col. 1:5,6).

How wonderful to see the gospel of the grace of God do its work! Paul had never even seen the Colossians. He had only sent missionaries to them from Ephesus with the good news of the grace of God, but this had produced amazing results.

Wherever the gospel of the grace of God is preached in its purity it produces results. No one hearing that message can go away the same. Either he will consider it utter foolishness and be hardened by it, or he will see its vital importance and be softened by it. Ultimately he will either be eternally condemned, or eternally saved and justified by his response to that message.

    “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (I Cor. 1:18.).

    “Christ crucified… unto them which are called… the power of God and the wisdom of God”
    (I Cor. 1:23,24).

    “The power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 1:16).

Mark well: it is “the gospel of the grace of God,” the “preaching of the cross,” that produces such results. The law of Moses never did, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,” God sent His Son to accomplish for us (Rom. 8:3,4). This is why Paul proclaimed, at Antioch of Pisidia:

    “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).

God’s message to us is a message of love, proclaiming to even the vilest sinner that he may be “justified freely by [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

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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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Paul, The Master-builder
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In I Corinthians 3:10, the Apostle Paul declares by divine inspiration:

    “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise [instructed] master-builder, I have laid the foundation,and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”

In what sense was Paul the master-builder of the Church, and what “foundation” did he lay? Did he not himself say that “other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ”? Yes, he did — and in this very passage! He sought to lay no other foundation than Christ, but God had chosen him to proclaim Christ in a new way.

Some years previous our Lord had asked His disciples: “Whom say ye that I am”, and Peter had instantly replied: “Thou art the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). This is how believers in general had recognized Him at that time (John 1:49; 6:69; 11:27; 20:31). Indeed, the Messianic kingdom was to be established upon Christ as God’s anointed Son (Messiah means “anointed”).

But with the raising up of Paul, God began to form “the Church which is Christ’s body” (Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:24,25). This is the Church of today, and it is founded, not on Christ as King, but as the exalted Lord and Head of the “one body” (I Cor. 12:13).

Paul does not present Christ as Messiah, but as Lord. In Romans 10:9 he declares:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as LORD, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Again in I Corinthians 12:3: “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit”. And again in Philippians 2:9-11, he declares that God has highly exalted Christ and given Him a name above every name, “that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.

Have you confessed Him as your Lord and Saviour?

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A Good Job
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


As Loren stood with his father, gazing at a beautiful Minnesota lake, the little four-year-old asked: “Daddy, who made this lake?” “God made it,” replied his dad, “and God made those trees and all this beautiful scenery.”

There was a moment’s silence. Then, placing his hands on his hips, little Loren said: “He sure did a good job!”

Yes, He did, yet this scenery was nothing compared with the glory this earth will know when Christ returns to reign. If earth’s rivers and lakes, its mountains and valleys, its landscapes and seascapes can now be so breath-taking, so awe-inspiring, what will be its beauty when prophecy is fulfilled and the curse removed!

    “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them [God’s people, Israel] and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

    “It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.”

    “…for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

    “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water…”

    “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa. 35:1,2,6,7,10).

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God's Promise vs. Man's Efforts
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath…” (Rom. 4:14,15).

This should be self-evident to us all. If blessing is gained by the works of the Law, it is earned. This is why Gal. 3:18 says: “If the inheritance be of the law it is no more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”

The Apostle Paul, God’s great apostle of grace, declares in Rom. 4:4,5:

    “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

But let’s go back to that phrase: “the law worketh wrath.” Many people somehow do not see this. Even some clergymen tell us that the Law was given to help us to be good. But God Himself says, “the law worketh wrath.” Every criminal knows this, and every sinner should know it. God certainly places strong emphasis upon it:

    “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions” (Gal. 3:19), “that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought in guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19). “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).

If we come to God expecting eternal life because of our good works, are we not offering Him our terms, which He can never accept? He will never sell salvation at any price, and certainly not for a few paltry “good” works, when our lives are filled with failure and sin.

Our only hope? God has promised to give eternal life to those who trust in His Son (John 3:35,36; Acts 16:31; etc.).

    “The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

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Where Do You Stand?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him, and said unto him. Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?” (Josh. 5:13,14).

God had appointed Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the land of Canaan. It was just before the battle of Jericho that the great leader looked up to see a man with a drawn sword facing him. His sudden appearance must have startled Joshua, but he showed no trace of fear — not Joshua!

Advancing toward the man Joshua demanded: “Art thou for us or for our adversaries?” No wonder the answer brought him to his knees! He had been standing face to face with the captain of the Lord’s hosts, no doubt Michael, the angelic prince of Israel (See Dan. 10:21 and 12:1).

The question was not whose side was the angel of God on, but whose side was Joshua on! Was he himself in harmony with God’s will?

What a lesson to learn! In the constant battle over truth and error there is a tendency for Christians to demand of other Christians: “Whose side are you on? Are you for us or for our adversaries?”

If this is as far as we have gotten in our service for the Lord we still have much to learn, for the great question is not: “Are you on my side?” but “Am I on God’s side?”

God’s truth will prevail. His purposes will be carried out, and even though we might be on the side of the most powerful and influential of men, we will surely be driven to defeat if we are not in harmony with God’s Word and will.

Should we not all fall on our faces with Joshua, then, and ask: “What saith my Lord unto His servant?”

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Be Strong in the Lord
by Pastor Kevin Sadler


    “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).

As Paul begins to close the letter to the Ephesians, he addresses the spiritual warfare of the Body of Christ.  Paul’s instruction is for us to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”  In this spiritual battle, we need spiritual strength.  As we are on the Lord’s side, Paul points us to the Lord Almighty, from Whom we are to get our strength.  In this epistle, Paul has been showing believers that we are “in Christ,” in perfect, eternal union with Him.  Being in Christ, we find that His life is our life and His power is our power.  We, the Body, draw the strength and power for living the Christian life from our living Head.

    “What is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead…” (Eph. 1:19,20).

Being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might has to do with living by faith in the resurrection life and power which resides in every believer through Christ.  The same power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power we’re to use to stand in this spiritual battle.  The strength of the Christian life is dependence on God.  So Paul points the Church to be “strong in the Lord,” to depend upon Him.

Before salvation, Paul says we are “without strength” (Rom. 5:6).  We are weak and absolutely unable to please God or save ourselves.  Salvation is only through trusting Christ, and by Him alone we have victory over sin’s penalty and punishment.  After trusting Christ as our Savior, we are still weak in ourselves, and in the Christian life our sufficiency must be of God (II Cor. 3:5).  Victory over sin’s power in our lives occurs the same way we are saved from sin’s penalty, by wholly trusting Christ and Him alone.  His strength is more than sufficient for the battle, and we are guaranteed victory over anything Satan throws at us when we turn to our Lord (Phil. 4:13).

The question was asked in a Sunday School class: “How can we defeat Satan?”  One little girl answered, “Let Jesus answer the door when Satan starts knocking.”  To be instructed to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” tells us that our might is not strong enough for us to be able to stand in this spiritual battle, and it tells us that we face an enemy much stronger than we are apart from Christ.  Therefore we need the infinite power of our Lord in this spiritual battle, and we appropriate that strength by yielding to the indwelling Spirit, through prayer and dependence on God, and by knowledge of, faith in, and obedience to His Word, rightly divided (cf. Eph. 6:17,18.).