Two Minutes With The Bible

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Will We Judge Angels?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “Will we judge fallen or unfallen angels (I Cor. 6:3), and how will we judge them? I understand that Christ is the judge.”

The reason Paul reminded the Corinthians that we will judge angels was to suggest that they should be able to settle disputes among believers (vv. 1-8.). This implies that the angels we will judge are likewise unfallen. It is doubtful we’d be involved in judging fallen angels, or any beings, to eternal damnation.

The word judge has different meanings. Courtroom judges decide guilt or innocence and determine levels of punishment, while Olympic judges judge the performance of athletes and award them different degrees of reward. The Bible uses the word judge these ways, but in another way as well. The entire Book of Judges is all about the men who ruled over Israel. This is what the Lord meant when He told the twelve they would “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28.). We know that judge here also means to rule over since the Jews they will rule over will in turn rule “over” the cities of the world in the kingdom (Luke 19:17,19).

Psalm 82:1 said of God that “He judgeth among the gods,” i.e., the angels. While God will eventually condemn fallen angels to hell (Matt. 25:41), I Kings 22 shows how He judged among the angels in time past (vv. 19-22), and suggests how we will judge them in the ages to come.

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A Day of Small Things
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


When Zerubbabel laid the foundation of the second temple after the Babylonian Captivity, many of his countrymen viewed the effort with contempt, believing it would never amount to anything. The prophet Zechariah responded to these critics in the following manner: “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zech. 4:8-10). Zechariah reminded the people that even though the work seemed, in their eyes, to be insignificant, they were not to despise it because the hand of the Lord was with Zerubbabel.

When Gideon amassed a large army to do battle with the Midianites, who were said to be like grasshoppers upon the land, the Lord whittled the number of Gideon’s forces down to a mere three hundred. Throughout the Scriptures there is a recurring theme that God is far more interested in quality than He is in quantity. The smaller the number, the greater the glory and honor and adoration He receives, which is clearly demonstrated in the story of Gideon’s three hundred.

As we move down the corridor of time, although it may appear that the Grace Movement is small and insignificant in the eyes of our denominational critics, they should take great care not to despise the day of small things. It is true that we are small by comparison to the mega-churches of our day that often consider us second class citizens of heaven. However, just the opposite is true if we apply the above principle from time past. For those who never took the Grace Message seriously, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Lord may well acknowledge all those who willingly stood for Paul’s apostleship and message to the praise of His glory.

So we must never become disheartened that we are small in number, for God has honored us with an understanding of the Word, rightly divided. But this does not mean that we should think too highly of ourselves, seeing that we have a God-given responsibility to make all men see what is the fellowship of the Mystery. And it is essential that we carry out this charge by speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).

While we rejoice that Christ is preached in denominational circles, for the most part, they have turned aside from the truth of the Grace Message. With this in mind, may I call upon you to unite together with us in prayer that there might be one last great awakening of our denominational brethren to Paul’s gospel before we are called into glory? Remember, God is able “to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

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The Spirit of Holiness
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “… Jesus Christ… was… declared to be the Son of God… according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:3,4).

What does it mean that the Lord’s resurrection declared Him to be the Son of God according to the spirit of holiness? Well, have you ever heard it said that there is a difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law? When you drive 66 m.p.h. in a 65 m.p.h. zone, you are breaking the letter of the law, but you are not breaking the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law is for you to drive safely and responsibly. This is why most police officers will not ticket you for going one mile per hour over the speed limit.

The letter of the law of holiness is expressed well in Proverbs 17:15:

    “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.”

But isn’t that what God did at the Cross, when He condemned “that Just One” (Acts 22:14) and justified wicked sinners such as ourselves? In so doing, He surely broke the letter of the law of holiness.

Or did He? For those who would argue that God was not acting in accord with the law of holiness, we would reply that when God the Father took your sins and placed them on the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, He justly condemned the One who was made wicked (II Cor. 5:21). Then when you believed the gospel, God took His righteousness and put it on you, enabling Him to justify the ones who were made the very righteousness of God in Christ (II Cor. 5:21). The resurrection of Christ then proved that this was also done in perfect accord with the spirit of holiness, for Christ’s sacrifice surely satisfied the just demands of God’s righteousness.

If you haven’t yet trusted Christ as your Savior, however, God has not yet given you the righteousness that is available only in Christ. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, the Apostle Paul says,

    “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

The forgiveness of sins purchased by Christ’s blood is only available in Him. If you are not in Christ, you are still “in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

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The Twelve Apostles And Paul
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In comparing the ministry of the twelve apostles with that of the Apostle Paul, we must observe carefully:

1. The twelve were chosen by Christ ON EARTH (Luke 6:13) while Paul was later chosen by Christ IN HEAVEN (Acts 9:3-5; 26:16).

2. Prior to Paul’s conversion the twelve had known Christ only ON EARTH (I John 1:1). Even at His ascension to heaven “a cloud received Him OUT OF THEIR SIGHT” (Acts 1:9). But Paul knew Christ only IN HEAVEN, having never seen Him on earth (Acts 26:16; I Cor. 15:8.).

3. The twelve represented their own nation. The number twelve has no connection with the “one Body” of Christ. As we know, Jacob of old “begat the twelve patriarchs” (Acts 7:8.). From these sprang the twelve tribes of Israel. These tribes had twelve princes over them (Numbers 1:16). Even when Israel was ruled by kings there were still to be twelve princes — one over each tribe (I Chronicles 27:22). Thus, as He went forth proclaiming “the gospel of the kingdom” our Lord chose twelve princes for the twelve thrones in the kingdom to come (Matt. 19:28.).

On the other hand, Paul, as one apostle, represents the “one Body,” the Church of today (Rom.12:5; I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4). However, he was both a born Hebrew and a born Roman, so represented believing Jews and Gentiles “reconciled…unto God in one body by the cross…” (Eph. 2:16).

4. The twelve were sent to proclaim Christ’s kingdom “at hand” (Matt. 10:7), and later to offer its establishment on earth (Acts 3:19-26). But Paul was sent to proclaim “the gospel of the grace of God”(Acts 20:24), while the kingdom is held in abeyance.

5. The ministry of the twelve was based on covenant promises (Isaiah 60:1-3; Luke 1:70-79; Acts 3:22-26). Paul’s ministry was not based on covenant promises, but wholly on the grace of God through Christ (Rom. 3:21-28; 5: 20,21; Eph. 1:6,7; 2:7; etc.).

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Light Out Of Darkness
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

    “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us” (II Cor. 4:6,7).

Any instructed Christian reading this passage from the pen of the Apostle Paul naturally goes back in his mind to the time when God first said: “Let there be light,” and dispelled the darkness of the primeval world.

He might also recall the incident related in the book of Judges, when Gideon’s army went to battle against the Midianites, each man with a sword in one hand, and a lamp hidden within a pitcher in the other. At Gideon’s command the soldiers broke the earthen vessels and the lights shone out to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, who could not account for the crash and the blaze of light at this midnight hour.

For every believer God has caused light, wonderful light, to shine out of the darkness and fill the heart, just as once He said to the dark and chaotic earth: “Let there be light — and there was light.”

But we believers have come into “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” by coming to know Christ. Our Lord rightly said: “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). God is unknown and unknowable apart from Christ, who is God manifested in the flesh. It was He who lived a perfect life and then died a sinner’s death in order to bring us into relationship and fellowship with God.

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The Cross And The Christian
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Nothing will prove so helpful to a Christian in overcoming sin as an appreciation of Christ’s death for sin at Calvary .The Bible teaches that:

1. The cross stands between the believer and his SINS: the wrong things he does, or is prone to do, in thought, word and deed.

    “And you, that were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled, in the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight” (Col. 1:21,22).

2. The cross stands between the believer and his SIN. It is not only men’s sins that keep them out of heaven, but their sin; not merely what they have done, but what they are and what they will do; not merely their deeds, but their nature. But Christ’s death took care of this too.

    “…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin… But… much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many… That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:12,15,21).

    “For [God] hath made Him to be sin for us, [Him] who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).

3. The cross stands between the believer and his SINNING.

    “What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? … Our old man [nature] has been crucified with Him… that henceforth we should not serve sin… let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof; neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves to God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Rom. 6:1,2, 6,12,13).

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Enemies Of God And Worshippers Of Satan
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “…we were enemies…” (Rom. 5:10).

    “…the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not…” (II Cor. 4:4).

Many religious but unsaved people will not accept the fact that they are enemies of God, and fail to understand why the Bible should insist that they are.But the God who says that they are sinners, worthy of everlasting judgment; that their only hope of salvation lies in the One who poured out His life’s blood to pay the penalty for their sins — this God, the God of the Bible, they cannot abide. Let one of His servants tell them what He says about them and they are insulted. When this God, the true God, refuses to accept their “good” works or their “righteous” conduct they react like Cain, of whom we read: “And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Gen. 4:5). They simply will not bow to this God, and their attitude betrays their enmity against Him.

But why will they not turn away from their self-righteousness and trust in Christ, who died for their sins?

Simply because they worship Satan, “the god of this age,” who “hath blinded the minds of those who believe not.” Worship Satan? This too is hard for the unregenerate man to believe about himself. As he has his own conception of God, he also has his own conception of Satan — a wrong one.

Unbelievers do not know that the real Satan, the Satan of the Bible, has a vast wardrobe and, in this dispensation of grace, doubtless appears most often as “an angel of light” with “ministers of righteousness” (II Cor. 11:14,15). This Satan they do indeed worship. They adore him, and try to live by his precepts, convinced that the way to salvation is to do and be good.

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The Lord's Prayer Dispensationally Considered
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Scripture Reading:

    “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”
    — Matthew 6:7,8

Religious leaders love to have their people recite the Lord’s Prayer. It’s been the religious thing to do for centuries. The Lord’s Prayer is one of the most beautiful, meaningful, and touching prayers in the Prophetic Scriptures, but those who recite it today are committing two major blunders. First, the Lord warned the disciples that they were not to pray this prayer, or any prayer for that matter, repetitiously (Matt. 6:5-7). Prayer is not a religious exercise, but rather communication with God; therefore, it should always be spoken from the heart. Second, the Disciples Prayer, which is the correct connotation for this prayer, was given as a model for those who would be called upon to endure the Tribulation. Since the Body of Christ is delivered from the wrath to come, this prayer does not apply to us in this dispensation (I Thes. 5:9).

The Disciples’ Prayer

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.The reference here to “our Father” is to the God and Father of Israel — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In prophecy, heaven was His throne and earth His footstool. His name was so holy that the Jews feared they might inadvertently speak it in vain, consequently they changed it from Yahweh to Adonai — Master, Ruler (Deut. 5:11; Isa. 66:1; Matt. 15:31; Luke 1:68.).

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.The hope of every Israelite was the establishment of the Davidic Kingdom. God’s will for the earth is to overthrow the kingdoms of this world and establish the millennial kingdom of His dear Son (II Sam. 7:8-17; Luke 1:68-72; Rev. 11:15; 20:6).

Give us this day our daily bread.In the future Tribulation, God will set a table in the wilderness for His people, as He did in time past. The saints in that day will find it necessary to pray for their daily provision of food, since they will be unable to buy or sell without the Mark of the Beast. Subsequently, God will supernaturally nourish the chosen nation (Rev. 12:14 cf. Rev. 13:13-18.).

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.Today we are to forgive others, even as God for Christs sake has forgiven us, but under the kingdom gospel, forgiveness was based upon a like-spirit (Matt. 18:21-35 cf. Eph. 4:32).

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil [Gr. noun: evil one]. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. The sense here is, “Lord lead us not into the Great Tribulation, but deliver us from Satan, who brings death and destruction in his wake” (Rev. 6:7-11; 12:12; 13:1-10).

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Sad, But True
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler



    “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” — I Corinthians 10:12

Heard a story told by a Grace Believer who met another Grace Believer in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge:

“I was standing in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge admiring the view when another tourist walked up alongside of me to do the same. I heard him say quietly, as he took in the beauty of the view, ‘What an awesome God.’

“I turned to him and said, ‘You a Christian?’

“He said, ‘Yes, I am a Christian.’

“I said, ‘So am I,’ and we shook hands. I said, ‘Are you a liberal or a fundamental Christian?’

“He said, ‘I am a fundamental Christian.’

“I said, ‘So am I,’ and we smiled and nodded to each other.” I said, ‘Are you a Covenant or dispensational, fundamental Christian?’

“He said, ‘I am a dispensational, fundamental Christian.’

“I said, ‘So am I,’ and we slapped one another on the back.” I said, ‘Are you an early Acts, mid-Acts or late Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian?’

“He said ‘I am a mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian.’

“I said, ‘So am I’ and we agreed to exchange Christmas cards each year. I said, ‘Are you an Acts 9 or 13, mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian?’

“He said, ‘I am an Acts 9, mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian.’

“I said, ‘So am I’ and we hugged one another right there on the bridge. I said, ‘Are you a pre-trib, or post-trib, Acts 9, mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian?’

“He said, ‘I am a pre-trib, Acts 9, mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian.’

“I said, ‘So am I,’ and we decided to exchange kids for the summer.”I said, ‘Are you a 12 in or 12 out, pre-trib, Acts 9, mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian?’

“He said, ‘I am a 12 in, pre-trib, Acts 9, mid-Acts, dispensational, fundamental Christian.'”I said, ‘You heretic, and I pushed him off the bridge!'” — Author Unknown

The above is sad but all too true, with the exception of being pushed off a bridge, although some may have even considered that! Of course, the shoe could have been on the other foot; that is, the weary traveler might have held the 12 out position — heaven forbid! The point is, no matter how deeply our convictions may run on secondary issues, they should never disrupt our fellowship together. Issues such as: Are the 12 in or out of the Body of Christ? Was Paul the author of Hebrews? Should we observe holidays? Was Paul in or out of the will of God in Acts 21? Where did the Church begin — Acts 9, 11, or 13? And on and on we could go.

Our Fellowship in Christ must rest solely on the Fundamentals of the Faith and the Doctrines of Grace found in Ephesians 4:4-6. There is no room for further discussion on these matters. On other areas of the Word of God where we may find ourselves in disagreement, let us “agree to disagree” in a Christ-like manner. This will help maintain the unity of the Spirit among us and glorify God in the process.

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The One True Church And How To Join It
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


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

This is because the true Bible Church is not an organization, much less a political state. It is a living organism, a spiritual body, with a living Head and living members. Again and again St. Paul, by divine inspiration, calls the Church, the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5; I Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30).

It should be observed too, that the true Bible Church has one Head — not a man on earth, but the glorified Christ in heaven (Eph. 1:22; 4:4,5; 5:23; Col. 1:18.). Nowhere in Scripture do we read that any man is to act as His earthly representative as Head of the Body.

How, then, do we become members of this one true Bible Church, the Body of Christ? First, we must acknowledge ourselves to be sinners in God’s sight, for Ephesians 2:16 relates how Christ died for sinful men “that He might RECONCILE both [Jew and Gentile] to God in one Body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.” Thus, when believing sinners are RECONCILED to God by faith in Christ, they are REGENERATED, given a new life, by the Spirit, and by the Spirit are BAPTIZED into the Church, the Body of Christ.

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

    I Corinthians 12:13: “For BY ONE SPIRIT ARE WE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY”.

Every one of us should ask himself: “Have I been baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ?” Those who have not, do not belong to the one Church which God recognizes. But membership in the true Church is still open. Simply, but sincerely, trust Christ as your Savior. He is the Head of the Church. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Then associate yourself with some local assembly where Christ is honored and the Bible taught, rightly divided. We will be glad to suggest such a place of worship.

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Standing, Walking And Running For God
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In a way the Christian life is a stand; in another it is a walk, and in still another a race.

In I Cor. 15:1 the Apostle Paul writes of “the gospel… wherein ye stand” and in Rom. 5:2 of “this grace wherein we stand,” while in Gal. 5:1 he bids us: “Stand fast… in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” Perhaps all this is well summed up in his appeal to his beloved Philippians:

    “Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown… stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Phil. 4:1).

But the Christian life is more than a stand — it is a walk (which in Scripture refers to conduct). Once, says Paul, we walked “in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1,2) but having been saved by grace, through faith in Christ, we are now to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). Thus the Apostle bids us to “walk worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10), to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).

But the Christian life is even more than a walk; it is a race. Sad to say, many Christians whose “walk” is consistent and commendable, have never come to look upon the Christian life as a race. These never put enough into it so that it might be said of them that they are running. Yet the same great Apostle wrote, by divine inspiration:

    “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

The word “patience” in this passage points up the fact that the Christian life is not a short “hundred-yard dash”; it requires much endurance. Thus we should put into it all that we have. “They which run in a race,” says the Apostle, “run all,” but they do not all receive the prize. Hence the admonition: “So run that ye may obtain” (I Cor. 9:24).

Those who have not trusted Christ as Savior have not even begun to stand, or walk, much less to run a race for Him. These might as well forget rewards until they first accept “the gift of God… eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

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Sharing Right Division
by Pastor John Fredericksen


Do you remember how dispensational truth was first shared with you? This writer cannot think about rightly dividing God’s Word without remembering the wonderfully gracious way these truths were patiently shared with him and his wife. No one acted like they were superior to us, that they were smarter than we, nor did they attempt to attack key doctrines where we might disagree. No one sought to win a scriptural argument. We were not embarrassed by public questioning. There were no threats, implied or otherwise, that fellowship might be withdrawn if our convictions remained unchanged, nor was there any hint of frustration with our understandings.

Those who first shared dispensational truths with us did so as it should be done, in a gracious and godly manner. As the saying goes, “You can attract more bees with honey than vinegar.” So, those who ministered to us did so in an extremely loving manner. They followed the instruction Paul gave to Timothy: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves” (II Tim. 2:24-25).

Nonetheless, there certainly was opposition on our part when these servants of the Lord began to shed new light on traditionally held doctrines. Yet, with tenderness, they put Colossians 4:6 into practice: “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” These discussions were frequent and sometimes lasted into the wee hours of the morning, but there was diligence on the part of these soldiers of Christ. Their method of ministry made the doctrines they believed in palatable to us. We thank God this was the approach that was taken with us, and it is probably the only one that would have worked. As we read this testimony, may each of us be encouraged to share dispensational truth with others and always be certain to do so in such a tender way that we “adorn the doctrine” we believe.

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Four Kinds Of Men
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


According to St. Paul’s inspired epistles, the human race is divided into four categories:

    The natural man, i.e., the fallen son of Adam, as he is, without God. Of him the Apostle says: “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14).

    The babe in Christ.  When a person sees himself as a sinner and trusts Christ as his Saviour, he is “born again” and becomes a “babe in Christ”. But babes can and should grow, so these are exhorted: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere [pure] milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2:2).

    The carnal Christian is one who, though perhaps a Christian for years, has not grown, due to indifference and neglect of the Word of God. He still has to be treated as a babe in Christ. The Corinthian believers were examples of this. Paul had to write them: “I…could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear [digest] it, neither yet now are ye able” (I Cor. 3:1,2). Everybody loves a baby, but the joy that fills the hearts of loving parents turns to bitterest sorrow if their baby fails to grow.

    The spiritual Christian is one who, through prayerful study of the Word of God, has grown to spiritual maturity. He is no longer merely a child of God; he is a “man of God”. We should all “desire the sincere [pure] milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet. 2:2) — “THAT WE HENCEFORTH BE NO MORE CHILDREN, TOSSED TO AND FRO, AND CARRIED ABOUT WITH EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE” (Eph. 4:14). Let us then heed St. Peter’s inspired exhortation: “BUT GROW IN GRACE, AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST” (II Pet. 3:18.).

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Living To The Glory Of God
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31).

This is the great guiding principle of the Christian life.

The Apostle Paul points out in the preceding context that what may be perfectly right for one person to do may trouble another’s conscience. The sincere and gracious believer, therefore, will not carelessly violate his brother’s conscientious scruples, offending him by indulging in that which he considers wrong. In Paul’s day, this particularly involved the foods of which men partook, but from both Romans 14 and I Corinthians 10 it is evident that Christian conduct in general is involved.

If, in my daily conduct, I consider not only my own, but also my brother’s conscience, it does not follow from this that I am disobeying Gal. 5:1, failing to “stand fast… in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.” True, I have no right to give up my blood-bought liberty, but I do have liberty to give up my rights. This the world about us is slow to do, but it is one of the signs of true regeneration.

My aim in life should not be to gratify my own desires, much less to show up my brother’s weaknesses by vaunting my liberty in Christ. My one aim should rather be to glorify God in all I say and do.

All this, of course, has to do only with the conduct of believers in Christ. The unbeliever can do nothing to the glory of God. His very rejection of Christ is a continual offense to God who, in love, gave His Son to die in our place. The only way in which the unbeliever can honor God is to turn from his unbelief and trust Christ as Savior and Lord.

[nChrist]

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The Blessings Of Crisis
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The Apostle Paul, who had been through one desperate crisis after another, wrote as follows:

    “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”(Rom. 8:28.).

How many people have found life going along smoothly for years when, all of a sudden, they have found themselves in the middle of some serious crisis!

Perhaps the sudden death of a loved one changed life completely and presented serious problems wholly unanticipated. Perhaps it was the sudden loss of wealth, so that life had to be completely readjusted. There are hundreds of unexpected incidents that can suddenly bring one face to face with stark and stern realities completely unforeseen.

For believers in the Lord Jesus Christ such crises can prove great spiritual blessings. They tend to draw us closer to our heavenly Father, to cause us to pray more and to lean harder upon Him. They show us the insecurity of all that is temporal and give us a greater appreciation of our eternal security in Christ. They give deeper meaning to the Scriptures we study and even to the hymns we sing. They sanctify and enrich our fellowships.

To those — and only those — who truly love God and are “the called according to His purpose,” all things do indeed “work together for good” — caused by God, of course, to “work together for good.”

This is why God’s Word to the Christian is:

    “Be careful [care full] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6,7).