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You Can't Judge a Woman by Her Cover
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head…” (I Cor. 11:5).

If you haven’t seen this in person, you’ve seen it in books or magazines or on television. Based on our text, women of certain religious persuasions wear a distinctive head covering whenever they are out in public, and not just when praying in church. Since the words of our text were penned by our apostle Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13; 15:16), we are often asked if our grace churches should insist that women cover their heads in like manner. Since we believe the answer is no, we need to give a careful look at what the Word of God has to say about this sensitive subject, especially since Paul begins this passage by saying, “Be ye followers of me” (v. 1).

To begin with, when Paul says that a woman with an uncovered head “dishonoureth her head,” this is a reference to her husband. You see, Paul had just finished reminding the women in the Corinthian church that “the head of the woman is the man” (v. 3). When a woman in Corinth went to church without a head covering, she dishonored her head, i.e., her husband. But why would that be?

Well, the word cover in Scripture often has the idea of protection. Moses once said of Benjamin:

    “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long” (Deut. 33:12). 1

The word cover is still used to indicate protection in our own day. When a soldier says, “Cover me,” to his fellow, he is asking him to protect him while he attempts to advance on the enemy. In the case of a woman in Paul’s day, a woman’s head covering was a symbol of the protection provided for her by a husband. In essence, her head covering was a sign that she was married. 2 For a married woman to go to church without this symbol dishonored her husband, for it meant that she refused to acknowledge the headship of her husband. It would be like a woman today refusing to wear a wedding ring.

So why do our grace churches not insist that our grace women cover their heads? We believe this is a cultural issue, and cultural things like this often change over time. In our day, women use different symbols to indicate that they are married. They still take their husband’s name, a tradition that dates back to when God blessed Adam and Eve, “and called their name Adam” (Gen. 5:2). But now, instead of covering their heads, women wear wedding rings to signify that they are married, a symbol that is recognized and understood in most, if not all, cultures around the world.

But what right do we have to ignore the plain words of our text and adopt this cultural change? Shouldn’t God’s people resist worldly trends and insist upon the plain teachings of His Word? Generally speaking, yes. But let’s consider yet another area where time has introduced yet another cultural change that is almost universally accepted by God’s people. Five times in the Bible we are told to “greet one another with an holy kiss” (Rom. 16:16; I Cor. 16:20; II Cor. 13:12; I Thes. 5:26; I Pet. 5:14), yet this is seldom if ever practiced in our grace churches. While believers in France or Italy or some of those other kissin’ countries might still observe this custom, this cultural symbol of love for one another has long since been replaced here in the United States by the warm handshake, and in more recent years, by the hug.

But what right did God’s people have to make this change, especially since it was our apostle Paul who issued four of the five commands to greet one another with a kiss? Well, we believe we can point to yet another area where God allows for cultural differences and changes among His people. It lies in the area of church government.

If you have ever studied the Scriptures looking for instructions as to how to set up the government of a local church, you know that God is very nonspecific in this area, and we believe that this was a purposeful omission on His part. You see, when God’s people were found only in the nation of Israel, He was very specific about how they were to be governed (Deut. 1:13-17). This was because they were one people, with one culture, located in one geographic area of the world. On the other hand, God knew that the Body of Christ would eventually be located throughout the world, encompassing many peoples and cultures. 3 For this reason, He left the description of local church government purposely open-ended, to allow for cultural differences within the Body of Christ.

For instance, here in corporate America, all of our corporations are governed by a board of directors, in accord with our government’s requirements for incorporation. Because most of our churches are incorporated with the state as non-profit organizations, most of our grace churches are governed by a board of directors. This arrangement has been criticized by some, but we see it as yet another example of how God allows culture to factor into how we live our lives as His children.

To return to the matter at hand, when cultural symbols change, we must change along with them, or else fail to convey the message we wish to convey. In the 1940’s, to extend two fingers in the air was a symbol that was commonly recognized as a “V” for victory sign. Ever since the 1960’s, however, this symbol has come to stand for peace. If we refuse to recognize this cultural change, we will not be conveying the message we think we are conveying when we extend our two fingers hoping to convey the idea of victory. In the same way, if a woman today were to cover her head but refuse to wear a wedding ring, she would not be effectively conveying the message that God wants her to convey, i.e., that she is married and under the headship of her husband.

Having said all this, if you live in an area where the women wear head coverings in church, you might want to cover your head when visiting their churches, out of respect for their custom. While Paul made it clear that in such matters “we have no such custom” as believers, “neither the churches of God” (I Cor. 11:16), he advised the women in Corinth to show respect for the local culture in which they found themselves (I Cor. 11:6-13), and we should be quick to do the same. Don’t forget, our text here in I Corinthians 11 comes close on the heels of Paul’s exhortation to be deferential to the personal convictions of others (I Cor. 8:13; 9:20-23; 10:33).

It has often been said that “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” but people often do, and so we regularly update the covers of our books here at Berean Bible Society in an ongoing effort to “adorn the doctrine of God” found within the pages of our literature (cf. Titus 2:10). In this article, we have attempted to show that you can’t judge a woman by her cover either, or lack thereof, and that’s why we gave that title to this article. But if you live in an area where people do judge you as a woman by your cover, you might want to adopt the attitude that the Apostle Paul expressed when he said:

    “…I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (I Cor. 9:22).

Your respect for the convictions of others just might be the thing that helps you lead a soul to Christ, or welcome a believer into “the fellowship of the Mystery” (Eph. 3:9).

Notes:

1    The word cover also has the idea of protection in Psalm 91:4 and Psalm 105:39.
2    Today this significance has been lost, and single women wear such coverings as well.
3    The word Gentile is a translation of the Greek word ethnos, from which we get our word ethnic. God knew that the Body of Christ would eventually encompass ethnic groups all around the world.

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Seated In Heaven
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


God sees every believer in Christ as already in heaven. See what the Bible says about this:

    “BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, FOR HIS GREAT LOVE WHEREWITH HE LOVED US,

    “EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN SINS, HATH QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST (BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED),

    “AND HATH RAISED US UP TOGETHER AND MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS:

    “THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE IN HIS KINDNESS TOWARD US THROUGH CHRIST JESUS” (Eph. 2:4-7).

Most sincere believers, poorly taught in the Word, are concerned about getting to heaven, but as far as God is concerned they are already there. They have been “made accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). God has given them a position “in Christ.”

We are well aware that most of God’s people know little about this experientially, but God says that as far as He is concerned, they are already in heaven, and this is what matters. As Christ took our place on Calvary’s cross, God now sees us in Christ, at His own right hand, the place of favor and honor. This is why the Apostle Paul says to believers in Christ:

    “IF YE THEN BE RISEN WITH CHRIST, SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.

    “SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE, NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH.

    “FOR YE ARE DEAD, AND YOUR LIFE IS HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD” (Col. 3:1-3).

And all this by the free grace of God:

    “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).

Our hearts go out to those of our readers who have not yet received this “gift of the grace of God.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

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The Folly Of Worldly Wisdom
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Has not the world made great progress, intellectually, since Paul’s day? Is this not evident on every hand? Of course! For one thing, our physicists have taught us how to kill each other much faster now. Moscow, London or Washington could be wiped out in a few minutes, and this is a considerable saving in time!

And think what has been accomplished in the field of electronics! We can now keep intelligent people glued to their TV sets for hours on end, their eyes riveted to shows which are often unwholesome, but sometimes at least entertaining and occasionally even informative. And think of the many time-saving devices in our homes! We are all saving so much time that we cannot even be hospitable to each other and our mental institutions are over-crowded with patients who have collapsed from enjoying all this leisure time.

Then consider our achievements in transportation! Our thoroughfares are crowded with automobiles whose drivers are getting jangled nerves in traffic jams and choking in the deadly carbon monoxide fumes, or else racing at high speeds, which is great fun until suddenly some object looms up ahead as if from nowhere. And the airplane! This is really something! We can now fly through the air with so much noise and commotion that innocent people for miles around our larger airports are kept awake nights. Of course, the minority should be willing to suffer cheerfully for the majority and it is important that great numbers of people get places fast, fast, fast.

But all this is nothing compared with what is going on in outer space. We now have all sorts of things orbiting around out there — and it’s not all debris. It includes some very sensitive instruments, serving us faithfully from day to day. Indeed, men from our earth have actually landed on the moon and have brought some of its rocks and dust back with them. Soon, maybe, we will have people from beautiful New England, or the breath-taking Rockies, or the lovely shores of Oregon, living on its barren wastes. Wonderful prospect! And we can always get the necessary billions from the taxpayers.

But the best of it is that while we have aspired to reach the moon, and even Mars, we’ve got a Great Society going on earth; a Society whose wild pagan music has all but replaced the beautiful melodies and harmonies of the classics, and whose twisted “art” reflects the bewildered confusion of our times; a Society in which children and young people are corrupted, women are robbed and raped, and men, women and children are murdered in the streets. Oh, it’s wonderful! The young people demonstrating at our universities for the right to use filthy language if they want to, and demanding a greater voice in running our institutions of learning; the minority groups marching to protest their various grievances, the rioting and bloodshed, the burning and looting! And meantime, ever so quietly, our most sophisticated mob syndicates are running fine motels and other business organizations — and pouring an ever-increasing flow of narcotics, pornographic literature, etc., into our enlightened community, judges and juries doing what they can to favor the criminals and, should any of them land behind prison bars, the parole boards are there to help get them released as soon as possible, so that our happy society may benefit from their experience and our mental and penal institutions may be further enlarged. Surely we’ve never had it so good.

Thanks be to God for the truth of Gal. 1:4:

    “[Christ] gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world [or, “age”] according to the will of God and our Father.”

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A Little Leaven And Lost Blessing
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine from Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, just what the Galatian believers thought the rite of circumcision would accomplish for them spiritually. We doubt that they knew themselves, but the Judaizers had come in among them and had captured their attention so that these, who had been so gloriously saved by grace, now “desired to be under the law” (Gal. 4:21). They did not deny the efficacy of the finished work of Christ, but they were interested — just interested — in submitting to a religious ceremony which would in itself be a denial of the all-sufficiency of His redemptive work (3:1; 5:2-4). Result: the blessing was already vanishing (5:14) and the Apostle had to warn them: “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (5:9). You can’t admit a little leaven and expect it to stop there.

With the Corinthians it was rather a case of countenancing moral wrong. One of their members had been living in grievous sin. But then, their number was large, and he was just one, and the congregation as a whole abounded in spiritual gifts. Feeling quite satisfied with themselves, therefore, they simply overlooked this disgrace to the name of Christ. But listen to Paul’s — God’s — view of the matter:

    “And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you” (I Cor. 5:2).

    “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a lithe leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

    “Purge out therefore the old leaven…” (Vers. 6,7).

In these days when both spiritual error and moral wrong are made so palatable, when apostate unbelief and worldliness are presented so appetizingly, we do well to take heed to the Spirit’s warning to quickly purge out the “little leaven” that threatens to permeate the whole loaf.

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That Blessed Hope
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


For believers in Christ it would be the most blessed of all if this year turns out to be the year of our Lord’s coming for His own. How long the present dispensation of grace will be prolonged we do not, and cannot, know. Even St. Paul, who was commissioned to make known the glorious truth of the rapture of the Church, did not know. He never dreamed that God would linger in mercy for more than 1900 years, for in I Thes. 4:16-18 he says:

    “We who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall be caught up…”

Thus instructed Bible-believers in every generation since his day have rightly been on the alert for their Lord to come for them, for they know that “the days are evil” and every hour is an hour of grace.

To the Philippians the Apostle wrote: “We look for the Savior,” to the Thessalonians: “[Ye]… wait for His [God’s] Son from heaven,” and to Titus he says that we should be “looking for that blessed hope, and the appearing in glory of …our Savior, Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20; I Thes. 1:9,10; Titus 2:11-13).

With the Lord’s coming and the close of “the dispensation of the grace of God” so much nearer than it was in Paul’s day, we say to the unsaved: “Receive not the grace of God in vain…. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (II Cor. 6: 1,2).

And to the saved we say: “Buy up the time,” take advantage of every opportunity to win the lost to Christ, for “the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16) and the day of grace may soon be brought to a close.

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Standing Whatever The Cost
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


When the Babylonian multitudes prostrated themselves in worship before the golden god which Nebuchadnezzar had erected, three young Hebrews refused to bow and remained standing, erect and alone.

When called before Nebuchadnezzar to answer for their impudence and threatened with death in a fiery furnace, they answered:

    “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us… but if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:17,18.).

This is the stand every believer should take for God and His truth. He is able to deliver us from persecution if we stand true, but even if He does not see fit to do this we should still stand alone, if necessary, for the light He has given us from His Word.

Many have suffered temporary loss for standing for their convictions. Hebrews 11 lists among the heroes of faith some who were “tortured, not accepting deliverance,” and others who suffered “trial of cruel mockings and scourgings …bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Heb. 11:35-37).

But we read that these all “obtained a good report” before God and looked forward to “a better resurrection” (Vers. 35,39).

As the apostasy rises all about us and those who stand for God’s truth are often ridiculed and despised, may God give us the grace to stand true regardless of the cost, remembering that any sufferings for Christ are only temporary while the rewards will be eternal.

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Your Greatest Need
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


Even in these challenging financial times, the greatest need of a Christian is not monetary. It is rather found in Colossians 1:11, where Paul prays that we might be

    “Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all…”

Unto all what? Whatever it is, Paul is convinced we are going to have to be “strengthened” with “all might” according to “His glorious power” to obtain it. As we read on, Paul tells us the goal of all this empowerment:

    “…unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.”

Patience? The reason we need all this mighty empowering is so we can be patient? While this may seem anticlimactic, we submit that patience is our greatest need. We need patience to put up with the world’s wickedness, the abortions, etc., patience in knowing the Second Coming of Christ will right the world’s wrongs. We need patience as televangelists continue to dominate the airwaves with their dilutions and pollutions of the gospel, and patience as Bible teachers muddle the minds of the saints by their failure to rightly divide the Word. And since no man today has the gift of healing, we need patience with our physical infirmities, and longsuffering as we wait for that wonderful change that will come to our bodies at the Rapture (Phil. 3:20,21).

Finally, we need patience with one another, as we learn to not just put up with other believers, but to actually give them the same unconditional love and acceptance God extends to us. Moses was patient with unbelieving Pharaoh, but lost his patience with his brethren. How like us! But ask yourself, when did David show greater spiritual strength, when he slew Goliath, or when he refused to slay Saul?

Paul says we are to be strengthened to all patience “according to His glorious power,” but what is God’s glorious power? The destructive power He exhibited at the Red Sea is called “glorious” (Ex. 15:6), but we suggest that God’s glorious power today is seen in His patience. The fact that God could put an end to the abortions and religious confusion, but doesn’t, is His most glorious power in the dispensation of grace.

The apostle concludes by praying that we might be patient “with joyfulness,” perhaps the hardest part of longsuffering. God doesn’t chafe under the vexations He receives from the world, religion, and the Body of Christ, and neither should we!

If this kind of power were not available to us, Paul would not be praying that we might have it. And so may his prayer also be the prayer of our hearts, as we enthusiastically study the only source of spiritual strength, God’s Word rightly divided.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


St. Paul wrote to Timothy, many centuries ago:

    “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3: 16).

The Apostle referred, of course, to the sacred Scriptures, also called The Bible and The Word of God. All of it, he says, is “God-breathed and profitable,” to “teach,” to “reprove,” to “correct” and to “instruct.”

But why, then, have so many heresies and false teachings sprung up through the years – all based upon the Bible? And why have so many thousands of sincere people been led astray by these false teachings?

The reason is that teachers and followers alike have failed to heed another important statement which Paul made in this same letter prior to his declaration that all Scripture is inspired of God and profitable. This statement is found in Chapter 2, Verse 15:

    “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”

The Bible can prove “profitable” to us only as we “rightly divide” it. We must rightly divide the Word of truth for the simple reason that if we do not do this we can pervert the truth and change it into error. Through the centuries God has periodically altered His dealings with mankind. Many religious rites which were commanded in Old Testament times are positively forbidden in this present dispensation of grace.

In Old Testament times, for example, animal sacrifices were required for acceptance with God, and from John the Baptist through Pentecost water baptism was required (Lev. 17:11; Mk. 1:4; Acts 2:38.), but some years after the death of Christ Paul was sent forth with “the preaching of the cross,” and he declared that: “We have redemption through [Christ’s] blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7) “Being justified freely by [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

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God's Just Judgments
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth…”

The first 15 verses of Romans 2 always make me think of our Lord’s dealings with the rich young ruler of Luke 18: 18,19. “Good Master,” the ruler had said, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

The Lord answered in effect: “Why do you call Me good? There is none good but God, so if I am good I must be God. But do you want to know what to do to inherit eternal life? Simply obey the Law, the Ten Commandments.”

Our Lord, of course, was trying to show the young man that it was impossible to earn salvation by doing good. To keep the Law was impossible for any child of fallen Adam, and breaking the Law could only bring condemnation. Now this absolute justice is the basis for the believer’s confidence in God.

It is wonderful to know that God does not merely pity sinners and smuggle them into heaven if they are sorry. If He did, someone in heaven could point an accusing finger at this writer and say: “What, you here!” Thank God, He has rather taken us before the bar of justice, pronouncing us guilty, but has stepped down, as it were, to pay the penalty for our sins Himself, then justly declaring us righteous! This is why salvation, in Scripture, is based upon Christ’s payment of our just debt. This is why Rom. 3:24 declares that believers are “justified freely, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

    “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21).

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Grace Abounding
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In a letter to his spiritual son, Timothy, Paul wrote, some 1900 years ago, about his conversion:

    “I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. AND THE GRACE OF OUR LORD WAS EXCEEDING ABUNDANT…” (I Tim. 1:13,14).

And he follows this with the now-famous declaration:

    “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” (Ver 15).

Upon reading this statement by Paul, those who know their Bibles will immediately recall the words of Rom. 5:20,21:

    “…the law entered, that the offence might abound, BUT WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND; THAT AS SIN HATH REIGNED… SO MIGHT GRACE REIGN…”

These two passages from the pen of Paul have a closer connection than may appear on the surface. The Apostle Paul, once Saul of Tarsus, had led his nation and the world in rebellion against Christ. “As for Saul,” we read in Acts 8:3, “he made havoc of the church,” and he himself testified to the Galatians: “Ye have heard… how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and laid it waste” (Gal. 1:13).

Yet God, in infinite mercy, had saved Saul, not only for Saul’s own sake, but to make him the living demonstration of His grace. Thus in writing to Timothy, the Apostle goes on to explain:

    “Howbeit, FOR THIS CAUSE I OBTAINED MERCY, THAT IN ME FIRST JESUS CHRIST MIGHT SHOW FORTH ALL LONGSUFFERING, FOR A PATTERN TO THEM WHICH SHOULD HEREAFTER BELIEVE ON HIM TO LIFE EVERLASTING” (I Tim. 1:16).

Let us, then, take our places with Saul, the sinner, and find salvation by grace through Christ, the Savior. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

[nChrist]

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Disciples And Apostles
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles” (Luke 6:13).

Many people fail to distinguish between our Lord’s disciples and His apostles. They suppose they are the same. This is incorrect, however, for our Lord had a multitude of disciples while He had only a few apostles. His apostles were chosen from among His disciples, as we learn from the above message from Luke’s gospel.

A disciple is a follower; an apostle is a “sent one”. A disciple is a learner; an apostle is a teacher. There is a great lesson here for us all to learn.

We must come before we can go. We must follow before we can be sent. We must learn before we can teach. We must listen to the Lord before we can speak for the Lord.

“Thus saith the Lord”, was the familiar phrase with which the Old Testament prophets began their messages. But at the head of the long list of Old Testament prophets we find Samuel, a young lad, saying: “SPEAK LORD, FOR THY SERVANT HEARETH” (I Sam.3:9).

Before we can do or say anything for God, then, we must listen to God. This explains why the reading and study of the Word of God is so important.

First, salvation itself comes by hearing and believing God’s Word, especially about Christ, and His death for our sins. Romans 10:17 says: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”, and I Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever”. Then, having been saved, we can serve God acceptably only by diligent study of His Word. Perhaps the most important passage in the Bible on this subject is II Timothy 2:15:

    “STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, A WORKMAN THAT NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.”

[nChrist]

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Grace Abounding In Paul's Ministry
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and THE MINISTRY WHICH I HAVE RECEIVED OF THE LORD JESUS, TO TESTIFY THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD.”
    –The Apostle Paul in Acts 20:24.

    “GRACE to you, and peace” (Rom. 1:7);
    “Being justified freely by His GRACE” (Rom. 3:24);
    “we have access by faith into this GRACE wherein we stand” (Rom. 5:2);
    “the GRACE of God, and gift by GRACE…is by one Man” (Rom. 5:15);
    “the abundance of GRACE and of the gift of righteousness” (Rom. 5:17);
    “where sin abounded, GRACE did much more abound…that GRACE might reign” (Rom. 5:20,21);
    “for ye are not under the law, but under GRACE” (Rom. 6:14);
    “not under the law, but under GRACE” (Rom. 6:15);
    “there is a remnant according to the election of GRACE” (Rom. 11:5);
    “if by GRACE, then it is no more of works; otherwise GRACE is no more GRACE…. But if it be of works, then is it no more GRACE” (Rom. 11:6);
    “By the GRACE of God I am what I am; and His GRACE… was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the GRACE of God which was with me” (I Cor. 15:10);
    “that the abundant GRACE might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God” (II Cor. 4:15);
    “receive not the GRACE of God in vain” (II Cor. 6:1);
    “ye know the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Cor. 8:9);
    “God is able to make all GRACE abound toward you” (II Cor. 9:8.);
    “the exceeding GRACE of God” (II Cor. 9:14);
    “My GRACE is sufficient for thee” (II Cor. 12:9);
    “I do not frustrate the GRACE of God” (Gal. 2:21);
    “the praise of the glory of His GRACE” (Eph. 1:6);
    “the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His GRACE” (Eph. 1:7);
    “the exceeding riches of His GRACE” (Eph. 2:7);
    “For by GRACE are ye saved, through faith” (Eph. 2:8.);
    “the dispensation of the GRACE of God… given me to you-ward” (Eph. 3:2);
    “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…singing with GRACE in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16);
    “the GRACE of our Lord was exceeding abundant” (I Tim. 1:14);
    “who hath saved us…according to His own purpose and GRACE, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Tim. 1:9);
    “Be strong in the GRACE that is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 2:1);
    “GRACE be with you all” (Titus 3:15).

[nChrist]

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Christian Conduct
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


A man’s conduct, in Scripture, is called his “walk”! The Bible has much to say about how we walk, morally and spiritually. Many “walk after their own lusts” (II Pet. 3:3) and “walk in darkness” (John 12:35). Some even “walk in craftiness” (II Cor. 4:2) trying to lead others astray. Indeed, even Christian believers are sometimes careless about their “walk” and so cause others to stumble.

Every true child of God should be very careful about his walk, or conduct. In Eph. 2:8-10 we read that while believers are not saved by good works, they are saved “unto good works.” God’s grace is the root of our salvation, and good works are the fruit.

Sincere believers in Christ are counted as one with Him, and it is expected of us that “as Christ was raised up from the dead” after having died for our sins, “even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).

Christians are exhorted in the Bible to “walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing” (Col. 1:10), to “walk in the spirit” that they might not “fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). They are exhorted to “walk worthy of [their] calling” (Eph. 4:1), to “walk in the light” (I John 1:7) and to “walk as children of the light” (Eph. 5:8.). They are exhorted to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Eph. 5:15), to “walk honestly” (Rom. 13:13), to “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2) and to “walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7).

Much more is said about the believer’s walk in the Bible, but never are we told that it is our “walk,” or conduct, that makes us acceptable for salvation. Our failing, stumbling ways could never earn salvation for us. On the contrary we are exhorted to walk pleasing to the Lord out of sheer gratitude to Him.

[nChrist]

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The Most Important Hour Of History
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The most important hour of all history was the hour when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary’s cross for the sins of mankind. Often, in Scripture, the hour of our Lord’s death is called simply “the hour ,” “My hour ,” or “His hour.”

To fulfill prophecy He could not have died one hour earlier, or one later: Until that hour arrived His enemies were somehow restrained from doing Him bodily harm, so that we read in John 7:30:

    “Then they sought to take Him: but no man laid hands on Him, because HIS HOUR WAS NOT YET COME” (See also John 8:20).

This hour was to be for Him a time of unspeakable agony and shame. Referring to this, He said to Andrew and Philip:

    “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father save Me from this hour? But FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I UNTO THIS HOUR” (John 12:27).

He had come to die for the sins of the world and would not now turn away from the sufferings involved. But this hour of suffering and shame was also an hour of glory, for there the Son of God paid a debt which would have sunk a world to hell. This is why, at this same time, in the very shadow of the cross, He said:

    “THE HOUR IS COME THAT THE SON OF MAN SHOULD BE GLORIFIED. Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:23,24. See also John 17:1,2).

Little wonder we read in John 3:35,36:

    “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. HE THAT BELIEVETH ON THE SON HATH EVERLASTING LIFE: AND HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT THE SON SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM.”