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A Ransom For All
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Tim. 2:5,6).

Man, in his present condition is not fit to stand in the presence of a holy God. If we are honest with ourselves we will feel the need of a mediator — a go-between — who can represent us in the presence of God. Job felt this when, realizing this need, he cried:

    “There is no daysman who can lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:33).

Thank God, a “daysman” or “mediator” has been provided for sinful men — a go-between, who can act as an intermediary between sinful men and a holy God. This Mediator is Christ, Son of God and Son of man.

What a blessing to know that the Son of God became the Son of man that the sons of men might become the sons of God! Though perfect and sinless, He died upon Calvary’s cross, disgraced as a malefactor, so that His payment for sin might be credited to our account and we might stand before God without one sin to our charge.

Though Christ’s death for sin was credited to all believers, even of past ages, it was not proclaimed until sometime after the cross, when God in grace saved Saul of Tarsus, the chief of sinners (I Tim. 1:15). This is why the Apostle declares that Christ “gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

It was when Saul, the chief of sinners, was saved on the road to Damascus, that God began to show to him that Christ had died as “a ransom for all,” and God sent him forth to proclaim this glorious message.

This is why Paul’s epistles are so filled with references to salvation through the cross, the death, the blood of Christ. And it is on this basis that the Apostle offers to all salvation by grace, through faith in the finished work of Christ, and proclaims to all the simple offer of salvation: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

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Living a Dedicated Christian Life
by Pastor John Fredericksen


Why do missionaries leave their families and native country to labor in distant lands?  Why do Christian workers (teachers, secretaries, etc.) labor in ministries instead of working in higher paying positions in the world?  Why do most believers cheerfully give from their income to the local church when they could spend it on things of pleasure?  Why do Sunday School and Bible teachers sacrifice their time to prepare for their ministry to the saints instead of using that time for leisure?  Why do so many believers make it a priority to set aside time to consistently be in Bible class, the preaching hour, and mid-week prayer and study services when they could choose to spend this time at work or play?

The answer to the above questions is found in II Corinthians 4:18: “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  You see, a truly spiritually minded believer does NOT simply live for this life alone.  Instead, he weighs his present actions and choices from a heavenly and eternal perspective of gain or loss.  He is able to look at today’s time, ministry, finances, and choices as an opportunity to invest in eternal future reward, and he is motivated to do so with consistency, diligence, and joy.

How have you been looking at your life?  Have you been only looking at the “things which are seen,” or have you been looking at, and valuing most highly, the things which are eternal?  This may be a good day to change focus and priority.

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A True Catholic
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


In the Catholic Encyclopedia, the entry for the term “Catholic” begins, “The word Catholic (katholikos from katholou—throughout the whole, i.e., universal) occurs in the Greek classics….”  We agree that the term catholic simply means “universal.”  In the early church, the terminology catholic Church was used by Christians to distinguish the true Church from those who held to the heretical teachings of Gnosticism and pantheism.  The true Church is comprised of all those, regardless of their race, gender, denomination, or other religious affiliation, who place their faith in the finished work of Christ (Eph. 1:12,13), that He died for their sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (I Cor. 15:1-4).  According to the Word of God, the true Church is called the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18.).

The Roman Catholic Church, as we know it, technically did not come into existence until 325 A.D., during the reign of Constantine, the ruler of the Roman Empire at the time.  He adopted Christianity as the state religion of the empire and adopted all the trappings that eventually came with it.  While Rome has always touted itself as being the “true Church,” which is universal, the very title, Roman Catholic Church is a contradiction of terms.  Roman is a “specific term,” referring to those who align themselves with her unsound teachings and her pope, while the term catholic means universal.  In reality, it is the Protestants who believe that the Church, the Body of Christ is catholic or universal.  This universal Church would include our Roman Catholic brethren who have placed their faith solely in the finished work of Christ, and not in works or the organized church.

Rome has often pointed out that the beliefs of Protestantism are something relatively new.  It claims they are merely the fruits of the Reformation, which is far from the case.  We certainly agree that the Reformers were used of the Lord to confront the indiscretions and outright errors of the organized church of their day and to encourage believers to return to the Scriptures as their final authority.  The Reformers, to their credit, were simply returning to biblical Christianity.  Essentially, the beliefs of the Reformers were the same as the early Christians during the first three centuries of Christianity.  Some of those teachings include the sole authority of the Scriptures, justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ’s finished work alone, that there is only “one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” etc.  Most evangelicals today, ourselves included, hold these doctrines to be among the fundamentals of the faith.

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Is God Dead?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand…” (I Kings 18:15).

Is God dead? According to the above passage He certainly was not dead to Elijah, who knew Him intimately as the living God. The prophet had used similar phraseology on a previous occasion when he had declared to the wicked King Ahab:

    “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).

Elijah’s prediction had come horribly true. For three years and six months there had been no rain nor even dew in Israel. Rivers and brooks were drying up. The land lay parched and cracked in the sun. There were no crops, nor any grazing land for the cattle and they had been dying like flies.

The king himself had been brought down from his throne to search for a bit of green grass along the remaining streams “to save the horses and mules alive,” lest they “lose all the beasts.” The king’s humiliation had in turn enraged the haughty Queen Jezebel, so that she hated Elijah with a deep and bitter hatred.

Indeed, so intensely was the prophet hated by Ahab himself that the king had sent far and wide to find Elijah and had not given up until he had taken oaths from the heads of the surrounding nations that he was not to be found. It was under these circumstances that “the word of the Lord came to Elijah…saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab…” (1 Kings 18:1). God was about to use the prophet to publicly expose the sham and impotence of Jezebel’s god Baal.

As the prophet went to look for Ahab he met Obadiah, the governor of the king’s house, and said: “Go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here” (1 Kings 18:8.). Obadiah shuddered at these words and begged Elijah not to make him go. He knew the bitter hatred which the king harbored toward Elijah and he feared that while he went to convey the news the Spirit of God might take Elijah away to some other place.

It was now, when it meant far more than it had meant three and a half years before, that Elijah replied: “As the Lord God of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today” (1 Kings 18:15). As we know, he kept his word.

Is all this now changed? Some say yes, that God died in Christ at Calvary and is now dead! They also deny, of course, that Christ rose from the dead. But if this be true, then the story of Elijah is but a stirring memory and the Christian today is actually an ambassador, a representative of no one!

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God's Delight
by Pastor John Fredericksen


We delight in the embrace of a child, the gathering of family, even in things and hobbies.  But what delights the heart of God?  In Proverbs 15:8 we learn, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is His delight.”

When the lost seek to worship or give to the Lord apart from saving faith in Christ, in effect, on their own terms, it cannot please the Lord.  Oh, but when God’s redeemed children come to Him in the praise and dependence of prayer, it is His delight.  He created us for fellowship with Him.  He longs for your relationship with Him to be vibrant and consistent.  Each of us can delight the heart of God by daily making time to be with Him in prayer and in the study of God’s Word.

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Wisdom Or Folly?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


That moon shot, some weeks ago, was really something! We hit the moon, right on target, took 4,319 pictures on the way, as close as 1,000 feet, and all in extraordinary detail, so that we now have pictures of the moon 1,000 times sharper than any previously taken.

How proud many of us feel now! How wise and great we Americans are! Yet, now that our achievement is a few weeks old, let’s look at it again in the light of the whole picture of American life.

Let’s face it; America is perhaps the most violent of “civilized” nations — and we can’t seem to curb the rapid growth in crime.

Our women dare not walk the streets of many of our larger cities at night — and none of us dare walk through some localities. From shoplifting to armed robbery, from intoxication to dope addiction, from assault to murder, crime in America has risen to an all-time high — and is rising faster all the time.

What good will it do us to achieve landings on the crust of the moon in, say six or eight years, if in the meantime we dissipate our moral strength in dishonesty, immorality, vice and crime? It is in this very connection that St. Paul wrote by inspiration of God:

    “For the preaching of the cross is to those who perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent”(I Cor. 1:18,19).

The world, with all its wisdom cannot save itself. It is only Christ’s death on the cross that can save, for there our sins were paid for, that we might be “justified freely by [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

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The Significance Of The Resurrection
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In his great Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul introduces himself immediately as “a bondslave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,” to proclaim God’s good news about Christ.

Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God” was essentially about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was always talking about Christ. His epistles are filled with Christ. Christ, in his message, was everything. This is in striking contrast to much of our modern preaching and evangelism, which is not Christ-centered, but man-centered.

The gospel Paul proclaimed was God’s good news about Christ and His power and glory in defeating Satan, overcoming death, paying for sin and nailing the Law to His cross.

This is why the Apostle calls his message “the good news of the glory of Christ” (II Cor. 4:4). To enter experientially into the truth of this good news is the greatest blessing one can possibly experience.

In Verse 4 of his introduction to the Roman Epistle, the Apostle declares that Christ was powerfully declared to be the Son of God “by the resurrection from the dead.”

The resurrection of Christ had been both prophesied and proclaimed as a historical fact before Paul, but to Paul was committed a special message of good news concerning the resurrection. In his God-given message, Christ was raised from the dead to demonstrate that as God the Son He had paid the full penalty for sins that would have sunk a world to hell. Thus the Apostle writes to Timothy, his son in the faith:

    “Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

    “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David [this is how Christ had formerly been known] was raised from the dead according to my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds” (II Tim. 2:7-9).

Read the Epistles of Paul and see how salvation by grace through faith always hinges upon the finished work of Christ for our redemption. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”

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Banners To Display
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


If there is one thing that God would have His people do amid the rising apostasy of our day it is to show their colors. As the enemy comes in like a flood, even Bible-believing Christians are apt to hide a banner which they should unfurl and boldly display. That banner is Christ. How many believers fear to speak up for Him because His name is increasingly despised!

But, as in any war of any size, many and varied flags are carried into battle, this is so in the Christian conflict too, for the Bible, godly living, faithful comrades, etc., are all banners by which we should take our stand, flags we should display.

One such banner is fundamentalism, a slogan, a battle cry, which many believers are putting aside and hiding away just when they should display and wave it boldly. Some, recognizing the spiritual decline among fundamentalists, prefer to be called simply believers or Christians. We can appreciate this point of view but do not feel it is valid in this time of spiritual crisis.

At a time when the fundamentals of the Christian faith are being threatened as never before, we can do much to show that we stand for these basic doctrines, identifying ourselves openly with them by calling ourselves fundamentalists. The rapid pace at which the apostasy is rising about us makes it the more urgent that we display this banner. We believe that there is strong Scriptural support for this view, e.g., in Acts 23:6, where we read that Paul called himself a Pharisee to show that he stood for basic Bible doctrine and against those who denied it.

Bible-believing Christian: show your colors!

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What's Happened Since 1909?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In 1909 Dr. C. I. Scofied wrote the following passage in the Introduction to the Scofield Reference Bible:

    “The last fifty years have witnessed an intensity and breadth of interest in Bible study unprecedented in the history of the Christian Church. Never before have so many reverent, learned and spiritual men brought to the study of the Scriptures minds so free from merely controversial motive. A new and vast exegetical and expository literature has been created….”

Even the years that followed the writing of this passage produced many great Bible expositors, but their number has since dwindled fast, until today evangelistic-revival campaigns have all but replaced the great, thrilling Bible conferences of some decades ago.

Regardless of the popularity of such campaigns, however, the Church will not make true progress, either in spiritual power or in the number of genuine converts to Christ, until it once again places due emphasis on the Word of God, both in private study and in public ministry.

Unpopular but vital Bible doctrines have stopped many preachers and Bible teachers short and have hindered them from bringing to the Scriptures “minds free from merely controversial motive,” largely because the price of standing for these truths has seemed too great. But until it is the sole passion of men of God to know THE TRUTH and make it known, true revival will not come, for the Church has never made one step of progress apart from progress in the study of the Word.

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The Bible On The Floor
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “…Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name” (Psa. 138:2).

As I passed by my study the other night, I noticed that I had left a Bible lying on the floor next to a chair. In studying I had put it down momentarily to consult a reference book and had neglected to pick it up again.

Now, as I caught a fleeting glimpse of that blessed Book lying there, it bothered me; in fact it bothered me enough to make me go back and pick it up and put it where it belonged.

Then I began wondering why so trivial a matter had troubled me. Was it because I remembered how dad would never allow anything to lie on top of the Bible? Had mere sentiment confused my thinking?

Surely the Word of God is forever settled in heaven and that book lying on the floor was only paper, ink and a leather cover. Or was it? Was it not also the Word of God as given to us? And as such, was it not representative of God Himself? If our country’s flag must be treated with honor and respect; if it is sacrilege to treat it as mere cloth, how much more is this so where the Holy Bible is concerned!

No, it was not merely dad’s example that came to mind as I saw the Bible lying there: certainly it was not only that. Rather it was a Scripture passage of which he often reminded us; the inspired words of David quoted above:

    “Thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name.”

To be sure God would have us use His Word as a textbook from which to learn His will. It is no sign of reverence for this great Book to leave it lying untouched on the shelf. He would have us use it and study it, perhaps underlining important passages and marking significant connections. But with all this we must never forget to treat it with the reverence and honor due the written Word of God.

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Paul Tells Others About His Gospel
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


It is true that now there is but one gospel and God’s anathema is pronounced upon any who would presume to proclaim any other (Gal.1:8,9), but those who suppose that Paul proclaimed the same good news which the twelve before him had proclaimed, should carefully read Galatians 2:1-9.

The twelve had been proclaiming our Lord’s kingdom rights in “the gospel of the kingdom”. The kingdom having been rejected, however, God raised up Paul to proclaim “the Gospel of the Grace of God” (Acts 20:24). In Galatians 1:11,12, this apostle declares:

    “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

This is only one of many passages in which he declares that he was commissioned to proclaim a special message by the glorified Lord Himself (Eph. 3:1-4; Rom. 16:25; etc.).

Now in Galatians 2:2, the apostle states: “I went up by revelation[God sent him] and communicated unto them [the apostles and elders at Jerusalem] that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles….” But was he not merely checking to make sure that he and they were preaching the same good news? No, for he goes on to say: “But [I went] privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain”.

Verses 7 and 9 then go on to tell how “they saw” and “perceived” the grace that had been given to Paul, so that they publicly and officially gave him “the right hands of fellowship”, acknowledging him as the apostle of grace, sent to the world with a message of grace:

    “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

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True Blessedness
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


It has been said that the word “blessed,” in our English Bible, simply means happy. Thus the “blessed man” of Psalm 1 is a happy man and the “blessed God” of I Tim. 1:11 is a happy God. (We refer to the Hebrew and Greek words most often rendered blessed).

To say the least, this is a superficial understanding — or misunderstanding — of one of the most wonderful words of Scripture. A fool can be happy, a drunkard can be happy, a wicked man can be happy, but none of these are truly blessed, for one who is blessed has a deeply valid reason to rejoice.

Thus Psa. 1:1,2 says that the man who shuns “the counsel of the ungodly ,” “the way of sinners” and “the seat of the scornful” and meditates and delights in the law of God, is “blessed.” He is well off and has great reason to rejoice.

Few, of course, would dare to claim that they have fully lived up to this passage in the Psalms, but God’s Word has good news even for such. In Romans 4:6-8, St. Paul declares:

    “David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

This blessedness is not a mere feeling of happiness. It is rather the state of being well off; with a deep and abiding reason to rejoice.

Thus Psalm 40:4 says: “Blessed is that man who maketh the Lord his trust,” and when the Galatians stopped trusting completely in the Lord and began leaning on their own works, the Apostle asked them: “Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?” (Gal. 4:15).

Thus to be truly blessed is to be well off; with the greatest possible reason to rejoice. This is why the believer in Christ, saved and eternally safe in Him, is, like God Himself, “blessed for evermore.”

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Mercy To All
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Years ago, during Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia, I asked a class of boys: “Who is the most respected, most honored, most loved man of all history?” Immediately hands shot up, as one said this and another that. One boy said Mussolini was the most beloved and honored, but the others laughed at that idea. Finally, one sincere-looking lad said: “Jesus.” But he was as far off as the one who had suggested Mussolini.

We wish that our Lord were as greatly honored, respected and loved as He should be, but He is not. Rather He is widely rejected and blasphemed, while many are hypocritical in pretending to worship Him.

Without question the most honored, most respected, most loved man of all history is Abraham, proudly owned as “father” by millions of Jews, millions of Mohammedans and millions of professing Christians. Clearly this is why God used this man to demonstrate to all mankind how we may be declared righteous before a just and holy God. Note what Romans 4:2,3 says about this:

    “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to boast; but not before God.

    “For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”

Thus God uses the most beloved, respected man of history to demonstrate the fact that salvation is received by faith alone. And thus the Apostle concludes:

    “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).

In every age men have been saved by doing what God commanded them to do then. Now He tells us to do nothing, but simply to trust in Christ, who died for our sins. This is God’s plan of salvation.

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God Is Central
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Paul’s Epistle to the Romans is the foundation book of Christian theology. It brings us face to face with facts we ought to know and must know to be saved.

In the 16th and 17th verses of the first chapter, the apostle declares that he is proud of the gospel because therein the “righteousness”, or rightness of God is revealed.

God had to deal righteously with sin before He could offer salvation to sinners. Sin is not merely an affliction; it is moral wrong and kindles the wrath of a just and holy God.

The wrath of God is too little discussed by modern evangelists and preachers. They like to talk about the love and mercy of God, as though He were a Grand Old Man with a tolerant attitude toward sin. But they never fully appreciate His love and mercy because they do not understand His infinite wrath against sin.

Much evangelism today has become sort of a “try God” gimmick. The pleasures of the world don’t satisfy? Try God. You can’t shake off some terrible bondage? Try God. When all else fails, Try God!

But this humanistic approach is foreign to Scripture. God, His holiness, His wrath against sin and His love in providing salvation — these are central in Scripture, not man and his condition and his needs.

We are not to look upon God as our servant, who will help us in time of need, but as the Holy One whose justice we have offended but who, in infinite grace, paid for our sins Himself so that we might be redeemed. This is why the Epistle to the Romans begins its mighty argument with almost three chapters on the subject of sin. Then follows the Good News of God’s grace in settling the sin question so that we might be “justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

And thus the same inspired writer declares in Ephesians 2:2-4 that we were “the children of disobedience” and therefore “the children of wrath”, but then goes on to show “God, who is rich in mercy” and “great” in “love”, saves believers by grace, giving them eternal life in Christ, who died for our sins.

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Paul Not One Of The Twelve Apostles
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Occasionally the Lord’s apostles are charged with acting arbitrarily in choosing Matthias to take Judas’ place. It is said that they first chose two candidates and then asked God which of these two He would have to fill the vacant position. Paul, according to some, was actually God’s choice for Judas’ place. But this charge is not based upon the record of Scripture.

    The apostles, with Peter as their chief, had been given authority to act officially in Christ’s absence (Matt. 16:19; 18: 18,19).
    They acted upon the Scriptural declaration that another apostle should be chosen to fill Judas’ place (Psa. 109:8; cf. Acts 1:20).
    Their action was bathed in many days of united prayer (Luke 24:49; cf. Acts 1:12-15), and when two candidates were found they again prayed and left the final choice in the hands of God (Acts 1:24-26).
    Probably only two (Matthias and Joseph Barsabas) were eligible, for only those could qualify who had followed Christ continuously from the day of His baptism by John until His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:21,22; cf. Matt. 19:28, “Ye which have followed Me”).
    Paul would not have been eligible, for he had not even seen Christ during His earthly ministry (I Cor. 15:8.).
    The conclusive proof that the eleven acted in the will of God in this matter is found in the fact that the Scripture clearly states that Matthias “was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26) and that “THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Acts 2:4). Men out of the will of God are not filled with the Holy Spirit.

Thus Paul stands separate and distinct from the twelve as the apostle of the present dispensation of grace (Eph. 3:1-3).