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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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Personal Safety In An Atomic Age
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The neutron bomb, they tell us, will not wreck buildings, but will destroy all life, easily penetrating concrete walls three feet thick. Yet we are also being advised to build fall-out shelters for the safety of ourselves and our families! These can be erected for only a few hundred dollars — obviously not with walls three feet thick!

As General MacArthur once rightly said: “There is no security on this earth.” No man can count on physical safety, for the simple reason that, apart from bombs and death rays, “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb. 9:27). The moment we are born we begin the race with death, and death always finally wins.

But physical safety is not most important anyway. It is not so much death that men fear as the thought that death might usher them into the presence of God (Heb. 9:27; Rom. 14:12).

But even this need not be feared if we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). The Apostle Paul, once a self-righteous Pharisee, came to trust the Christ he had persecuted and now proclaimed:

“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” (I Tim. 1:15).

Having thus been saved from sin by faith in Christ, he had no fear of death. Indeed, he could say: “For, to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” and “to depart and be with Christ… is far better” (Phil. 1:21,23).

Why then, should we Christians shudder with fear at those things which are so frightening to others? Our Lord said to His disciples: “I say unto you, My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do” (Luke 12:4). No, the true believer need not fear, for he is safe in Christ, not only in this life, but forever. “He that believeth on the Son [of God] hath EVERLASTING LIFE” (John 3:36).

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Should Believers Be Called "Christians"?
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


    “‘And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch’ (Acts 11:26). The Apostle Paul addresses believers as saints, brethren, and the faithful in Christ Jesus, but never Christians. Should not believers today be more properly called ‘grace believers’ instead of Christians as so many denominations do?”

The term “Christian” is a title that was originally given to us by the world. Notice, the believers were “called Christians first in Antioch.” These believers spoke so frequently and affectionately of Christ that the world coined the term Christians. Of course, they meant it in a derogatory sense. The citizens of Antioch were famous for their witty quips; they were the punsters of their day. Since this expression has a Latin origin, it was probably the Romans among them who first assigned this name to believers.

Be that as it may, we have no major objection to believers being called Christians, based on Acts 11:26; 26:28, and I Peter 4:16. Today, however, the word is so sweeping that it includes both believers and religious unbelievers. While a true believer is a Christian, one who calls himself a Christian may not necessarily be saved. With that said, we prefer the terminology “believer,” “saved,” “brethren,” “saints,” or “faithful in Christ Jesus.” We would also include the designation “grace believers,” the sense of which is drawn from Paul’s letters, but it should be remembered that not all believers are “grace” as we understand the usage.

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Keeping On An Even Keel
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Occasionally we receive letters on the importance of preaching a “well-rounded” message. One old friend wrote us recently to the effect that, unlike this writer, he sought to keep on “an even keel” in his ministry, not just preaching the mystery revealed to Paul, but the whole Bible, and opposing fluoridations, communism, modernism and all that he felt was opposed to the truth.

Now we too seek to proclaim a “well-rounded” message and to keep on “an even keel,” but what does this involve? Is one who consistently proclaims the mystery lopsided or unbalanced in the message? Were the twelve apostles off balance when they proclaimed “the gospel of the kingdom”? Of course not, for this is what they were sent to proclaim (Luke 9:1-6).

And neither are we off balance or lopsided in our ministry when we consistently proclaim what Paul called “my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery” (Rom. 16:25), for this is our gospel too.

This does not mean that we are to preach only from the Pauline epistles. Far from it. But it does mean that we should make sure that our hearers are well-grounded in the Pauline epistles and that when we preach from other parts of the Bible we should relate it to the mystery, God’s message for today.

When the twelve apostles preached from the Old Testament Scriptures, they preached Christ according to the revelation of prophecy. But Paul’s “gospel” was “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery.” Hence when we preach from the Old Testament Scriptures, we should preach Christ “according to the revelation of the mystery,” applying, relating, comparing, and contrasting God’s programs for other dispensations with His program for the dispensation of grace. This is exactly what Paul himself does in Romans and Galatians, and this is “keeping on an even keel.”

A failure to “preach the Word” and to preach it rightly divided is not keeping on an even keel or bringing a well-rounded message; it is simply getting away from the message God has commissioned us to proclaim.

Since the faithful proclamation of this glorious message rouses Satan’s enmity more than anything else, we must pray for God-given boldness in making it known, like the Apostle Paul, who said:

    “[Pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19,20).

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What Was Accomplished At Calvary?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


If the Bible makes anything clear, it is the fact that the secret of all God’s good news to men is centered in Calvary. It was because Christ was to die for sin that God could proclaim good news to sinners down through the ages.

It was not until some time after the crucifixion, however, that “the preaching of the cross” was widely proclaimed as a message by Paul in “the gospel [good news] of the grace of God” (I Cor. 1:18; Acts 20:24).

The proclamation of “the gospel of the grace of God” was the natural accompaniment to the revelation of the cross as the secret of God’s good news to man. In this proclamation of His over-abounding grace to sinners, everything centers in the cross.

According to Paul’s epistles “we have redemption through His [Christ’s] blood” (Eph. 1:7), we are “justified by His blood” (Rom. 5:9), “reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10), “made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13), and “made the righteousness of God in Him” because “God hath made Him to be sin for us” (II Cor. 5:21).

The “covenant” of the Law was abolished by the cross (Col. 2:14), the curse of the Law was removed by the cross (Gal. 3:13), the “middle wall of partition” was broken down by the cross (Eph. 2:14,15), and believers in Christ are “reconciled to God in one body by the cross” (Eph. 2:16). Little wonder Paul calls this message “the preaching of the cross”!

To the believers it is thrilling indeed, and how thankful we should be, to see the cross as God’s reply to Satan when, at first glance, it had appeared that the cross was Satan’s greatest triumph.

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The Teachings of Jesus
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In the controversy over “Pauline truth,” not a few Fundamentalists have joined Modernists in attempting to exalt “the teachings of Jesus” (on earth) above the Word of God through Paul. “Which,” they ask, “should bear the greater weight with us, the words of Jesus, or the words of Paul?”

But do they ask this because they truly desire to obey these “words of Jesus” and to see them obeyed? No, for they flagrantly disregard and disobey them, from the Sermon on the Mount to the Great Commission.

With regard to the Sermon on the Mount, they do not subject themselves to the law of Moses (Matt. 5:17-19); they do not bring gifts to altars of sacrifice (5:23,24); they do not give freely to all who ask of them (5:42; 10:8,9); they do not refrain from laying up treasures on earth (6:19,25,26); they do not sell what they have and give alms (Luke 6:30; 12:33).

And while professing obedience to the so-called “Great Commission” as “the Church’s marching orders,” they do not proclaim faith and baptism for salvation (Mark 16:16); they do not—they cannot—perform miraculous signs (Mark 16:17,18.); they do not give the Jew first place in their ministry (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8.), and they certainly do not teach others to observe all things that Messiah on earth commanded (Matt. 28:20 cf. 23:1-3).

They set “the teachings of Jesus” (on earth) over against “the teachings of Paul,” not because they are determined to obey Jesus, but because they are determined to minimize that which God has “magnified”—the authority of Paul as “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13).

They seek to exalt the teachings of the earthly Jesus above those of Paul because they have closed their ears to the oft-repeated and Spirit-inspired claims of Paul that the glorified Lord spoke again from heaven, to and through him, committing to him “the dispensation of the grace of God” and the program for the day in which we live (Acts 20:24; 22:6-10,17-21; 26:12-18; Rom. 11:13; 15:15,16; 16:25,26; I Cor. 3:10; 11:23; 15:3; II Cor. 5:16; Gal. 1:1,11,12; 2:7-9; Eph. 3:1-4,8,9; 6:18-20; Phil. 4:9; Col. 1:23-27; I Thes. 4:15; II Thes. 3:14; I Tim. 2:5-7; II Tim. 2:7-9; Titus 1:2,3, etc.).

They have forgotten the stern rebuke the Galatians received for failing to recognize Paul’s teachings as a message from the risen, exalted Christ (Gal. 1:6-12). They have taken lightly Paul’s words to the Corinthians:

    “…if I come again I will not spare: since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me…” (II Cor. 13:2,3).

They have distorted Paul’s inspired admonition as to his own writings:

    “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing…from such withdraw thyself” (I Tim. 6:3-5).

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Cremation
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


    “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” — Psalm 90:10

With the rising cost of funerals these days many families are faced with the decision as to whether or not cremation should be considered as a viable option to burial. Many have concluded that this is an acceptable alternative since the matter is not addressed in Paul’s epistles, and we are living under grace. While there does seem to be liberty here, perhaps it is the better part of wisdom to consult the whole counsel of God.

In Biblical times cremation of the body was primarily identified with the pagan nations of the world. According to the Old Testament there were a few isolated occurrences of this practice, although they always seem to be associated with judgment or cases of emergency rather than merely disposing of the body (Josh. 7:25,26; I Sam. 31:6-13).

Consequently, cremation was more the exception than the rule.

Throughout the Scriptures it is said that they buried their dead.

    “Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah…”

    “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”

    “And the young men arose, wound him [Ananias] up, and carried him out, and buried him.”

In keeping with the Word of God, we believe it is preferable to bury our loved ones even though we may have liberty to do otherwise. Of course, the additional financial burden can be eased by planning ahead for our inevitable departure. The services that normally accompany a funeral bring the unsaved face to face with their own mortality.

Thus, the occasion, heartbreaking as it may be, has often been used of the Lord to bring many sons to glory. Whatever your conviction may be on the matter, it is important to heed the words of the Apostle Paul:

    “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5).

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The Old Nature In The Believer
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The believer who would be truly spiritual must recognize the presence of the old nature within. It would be dangerous not to recognize a foe so near.

The old nature in the believer is that which is “begotten of the flesh.” It is called, “the flesh,” “the old man,” “the natural man,” “the carnal mind.”

Just as “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8.) so that which is of the flesh, in the believer, cannot please God. “The flesh,” as we have already seen, is totally depraved. God calls it “sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3), warns that it seeks “occasion” to do wrong (Gal. 5:13), and declares that “the works of the flesh” are all bad (Gal. 5: 19-21).

Nor is the old nature in the believer one which improves by its contact with the new. It is with respect to “the flesh” in the believer, even in himself that the Apostle declares that in it “dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18.), that it is “carnal, sold under sin” (Rom. 7:14), that it is “corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Eph. 4:22), that it is at “enmity against God,” and is “not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7).

“The flesh,” even as it remains in the believer after salvation, is that which was generated by a fallen begetter. It is the old Adamic nature. It is sinful in itself. It cannot be improved. It cannot be changed. “That which is born [begotten] of the flesh is flesh,” said our Lord (John 3:6), and it is as impossible to improve the “old man” in the believer as it was to make him acceptable to God in the first place.

The “old man” was condemned and dealt with judicially at the Cross. Never once is the believer instructed to try to do anything with him or to make anything of him, but always to “reckon” him “dead indeed” (Rom. 6:11), and to “put him off” (Col. 3:8-10).

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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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Our Only Boast
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Gal. 6:14).

St. Paul was once a proud Pharisee, smug in his self-righteousness. In Philippians 3:5,6, he lists some of the things in which he took great pride:

    “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

But everything was changed since that day when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Suddenly he had seen himself a lost, condemned sinner in the sight of a holy God and had tasted the matchless grace that could reach down from heaven and save even him. He knew now that he could not stand before God in himself, or “on his own two feet,” as we say. His only safety before the bar of God was to take refuge in Christ, as he says in Verse 9:

    “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

Now he knew, as we all should know, that he really had nothing to boast of as far as his own standing before God was concerned. For the rest of his life, however, he did constantly boast of one thing: the cross, where the Christ he had so bitterly persecuted had died for his sins that he (Paul) might be justified before God. All else of which Paul boasted was embraced in the cross of Christ. This too is really the only thing we have to boast of and the most godly saint will enthusiastically join Paul in saying:

    “BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD.”

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The Gift Of God
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Men have given many gifts to each other down through the ages, but in James 1:17 we read that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” and comes to us from God. The greatest of these gifts is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the redemption He has purchased for us. In speaking to the sinner-woman at Sychar’s well, our Lord drew a picture, contrasting the barrenness of her own life with the refreshing joy of salvation, saying:

    “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water… Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst…” (John 4:10-14).

By nature we are all sinners, but by the grace of God we all may be saved.

    “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

    “For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8,9).

Thus St. Paul speaks of “the gift of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:7) and constantly emphasizes the fact that salvation is a free gift.

But a gift is not possessed until it is accepted. Thus the Apostle, in Rom. 5:17, refers to those who “receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness.” Those who receive Christ and the salvation He has wrought for them, find it natural to exclaim with Paul-

    “THANKS BE UNTO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT!” (II Cor. 9:15).

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Unions Or Unity?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Here is a company of Bible-believing Christians joined together in, let us say, an evangelistic endeavor. All are trusting in the shed blood of Christ for salvation, though some are Baptists, some Presbyterians, some Episcopalians and some represent other denominations.

Are all these believers one? Yes, in Christ, for “there is one body” (Eph. 4:4).

What united them? The “one baptism” (Eph. 4:5) by which the Holy Spirit unites all believers to Christ and to each other: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles…” (I Cor. 12:13).

Yet these same believers, all trusting in the finished work of Christ for salvation, remain sadly divided as far as fellowship in the work of the Lord is concerned. They may have blessed fellowship in their evangelistic endeavor, but at its conclusion they go back to their mutually exclusive church organizations.

The reason? Basically it is that they have confused “the gospel of the kingdom,” proclaimed by Christ on earth and His twelve apostles, with “the gospel of the grace of God,” proclaimed by the ascended, glorified Lord through the Apostle Paul (Acts 20:24; Eph. 3:1-3).

Striving over baptismal modes and meanings, most of them still require their particular forms of baptism for entrance into their churches, while explaining at the same time that the ceremony has no saving value and that it is not required by God for entrance into the true Church.

Can’t we stop being Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists and just be Christians? Why should the Church of Christ remain divided and weak, when God says:

    “WE BEING MANY ARE ONE BODY IN CHRIST, AND EVERY ONE MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER” (Rom. 12:5).

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When Things Look Bleak
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


    “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
    —Psalm 73:1-3

This particular Psalm, along with eleven others, is ascribed to Asaph, a Levite who ministered as the chief musician at the temple. After many years of faithful service, Asaph began to waver in the faith. With a heavy heart he says, “My feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped.” Most believers can relate to this having experienced the same struggle in their own lives. In fact, it is an all too common problem.

Notice what the stumbling block was: Asaph became envious of the prosperity of the ungodly. He made the mistake of comparing his life with the lifestyle of the rich and famous. “They have more than the heart could wish” (vs. 7), everything had been handed to them on a silver platter. And what was even more disturbing to the Psalmist was they had obtained their ill-gotten gain through corruption and violence (vss. 6,8.). Meanwhile, Asaph had labored day and night to barely make ends meet. He had compassion on the poor, but the wicked oppressed them seemingly with impunity. It just didn’t seem fair! As the old saying goes, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

The wicked in those days, as now, were not interested whatsoever in God and acted as though He really didn’t know or care (vs. 11). And to add insult to injury, the heavens were silent! The Psalmist, on the other hand, sought to live a righteous life only to find himself afflicted by the world and chastened of the Lord. This caused him to ponder, “Have I cleansed my heart in vain?” The more he dwelled on this, it was just too painful for him to bear. “Until!” Until what?

    “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors” (Psa. 73:17-19).

Have you ever awakened from a nightmare and felt thankful it wasn’t real? For the ungodly the nightmare described here is very real. The Psalmist’s “foot had almost slipped,” but he was spared by God’s grace and mercy in salvation; but the slippery slope the ungodly will find themselves on ends in terror. When things look bleak—Remember Psalm 73!

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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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The Water Of Life
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


For almost twenty-four hours, recently, Chicagoans had to boil their drinking water! Millions of small fish had jammed the water intakes far out in Lake Michigan, and had died there. It was, of course, a major operation to clear them all away and to make sure that Chicago’s drinking water was uncontaminated.

It is of the utmost importance, always, that the water we drink is pure and fresh, and this is no less so where spiritual matters are concerned. The Bible has much to say about stagnant water, and foul water, and poisoned water, but the water which God would give to us is called in Scripture, “the pure water of life,” doubtless because it is so wholesome and refreshing.

Perhaps the reader will recall the picture our Lord drew for that fallen Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar. John 4:10-14 tells how he and this woman had discussed Jacob’s well. Somehow she seemed to sense that He was contrasting her vain pursuit of pleasure with eternal life, when He said:

    “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him, a [fountain] of water, springing up into everlasting life” (Vers. 13,14).

How true this is! The pleasures of this world do not satisfy. Men go on “pursuing pleasure” to keep from being bored, but the everlasting life that God gives to those who trust in Christ is a never-ending source of refreshment and joy. Also, it provides the greatest incentive to serve Him. Those who possess the joy of sins forgiven and of peace with God naturally long to serve and please Him, and God desires no service except that which springs from genuine gratitude and love.

    “We love Him because He first loved us” (I John 4:19).