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Who Shall Separate Us?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 8:35).

True Christians have been saved from the penalty of sin for one reason alone: because of “the love of God, which is [manifested] in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

St. John wrote by divine inspiration:

    “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sin.

    “We love Him because He first loved us” (I John 4:10,19).

Let us understand this clearly and remember it always. It is not our love to Him, but His love to us, that saves us — and it is His love to us that keeps us saved. This is where we must begin the Christian life.

A wayward husband returned to his grieving wife one day, after many months of living in sin. Sobbing his heart out in remorse and shame, he told her how often he had longed to be home again with the wife he knew to be so true to him. Asked why, then, he had not returned sooner, he explained that he was ashamed; to which his wife replied: “John, I want you to know something and never forget it: I love you.” John sobbed in response: “Who wouldn’t want to live for a woman like this!”

Just so it is the knowledge that Christ loves us no matter what; that nothing shall ever separate us from His love; it is this that makes the sincere believer determine, by God’s grace, to be always true to Him.

Thus the Scripture doctrine of the believer’s eternal security in Christ by no means leads to careless living. On the contrary, it affords the greatest possible motivation to “live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world” (Titus 2:11,12).

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But Now
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The words “but now” are found in many places in the Bible, but most often in the Epistles of Paul. These two words are deeply significant, for they indicate a change in program. If my secretary is transcribing some dictation and I say: “But now I would like you to take a letter,” this indicates a change in program.

So it is with this phrase as we find it in Rom. 3:21: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested.” Prior to this time God’s people were under the Law. There was no other way to approach Him. But though under the Law, they constantly broke the Law, so that those who sought salvation by the Law stood before God condemned rather than justified. Thus the Apostle says in Verse 20:

    “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

    “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested”(Ver. 21).

How can this be? How can a man be declared righteous apart from the Law? The answer, the only answer is, by grace through faith in Christ. Though perfect and sinless, Christ died for sin. Whose sin? Yours and mine. Thus as Paul declares in Acts 13:38, 39:

    “Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all who believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

    “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28.).

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Facing Up To Facts
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, Chapters One and Two, present a dark picture of the human race, but acknowledge the facts they record and you have taken the first step to salvation. By nature we shrink from facing up to our sins, but we are better off if we do.

If a man has early indications of cancer, and his physician keeps the truth from him, the patient will die of cancer. A good and wise physician will say: “You have cancer and we should do something about it without delay.”

Thus God, in His Word, tells us very frankly about our sinful condition, but only to save us from it.

This is where most philosophies and the Bible clash head-on. Most philosophies close their eyes to man’s sinful nature. They presume that man is good by nature when overwhelming evidence bears witness that he is sinful by nature. Thus human philosophies offer no salvation from sin and its just penalty. Only “the gospel of the grace of God” does that.

The Bible says of the whole human race: “All have sinned” (Rom.3:23), and to each individual: “Thou art inexcusable” (Rom. 2:1). But the same Bible says: “Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3), and “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

Trust in Christ for salvation and you have accepted God’s great message to the world. Then, as you consider that great Book, and especially the Epistle to the Romans, you will say with Fawcett:

    “It shows to man his wand’ring ways
    And where his feet have trod;
    But brings to view the matchless grace
    Of a forgiving God.”

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Delay In Judgment
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The Scriptures leave no doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ will come to this earth again, “in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God” and who “receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (II Thes. 1:8; 2:10). Nor will He forget His promise to give the twelve apostles thrones in His kingdom (Matt. 19:28.). There can be no successors to Peter and the eleven, for they themselves are to reign with Christ in glory. What is happening now is a parenthesis in God’s prophesied program. Delaying Christ’s return to judge and reign. God chose another apostle, separate from the twelve, to bring a message of grace to this Christ-rejecting world. How great is His mercy and love!

And how are men saved today? How are their sins remitted? Must they come to some recognized authority and be “baptized for the remission of sins”? Some, still following Peter rather than Paul, say, “Yes.” But let us see what St. Paul, by divine inspiration, has to say about this.

    “FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED, THROUGH FAITH, AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST” (Eph. 2:8,9).

    “NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WHICH WE HAVE DONE, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, BY THE WASHING OF REGENERATION, AND THE RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST” (Titus 3:5).

This stands in striking contrast to Peter’s “Repent and be baptized… for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38.). It stands in contrast, also, to the words of the so-called “Great Commission”: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Does not this indicate that a change in dispensation took place with the raising up of Paul, that other apostle?

But what about the kingdom? Does some man on earth hold the keys? No, for both the King and His kingdom are in exile. When a sinner obeys God and receives Christ as His Savior he is “translated into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13), and “made accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6).

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A Tale Of Three Cities
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In Thessalonica Paul reasoned out of the Scriptures for three sabbath days with men who were unwilling to be convinced (Acts 17:1-9). The bigotry of these Thessalonians not only kept them in spiritual darkness, but it moved them to bitter opposition to the truth, so that they persecuted Paul and Silas and even followed them to Berea, stirring people up against them.

Bigotry has the same effect today. Let us never close our minds so as to keep error out, for in doing so we will only shut new light out and close old errors in. Moreover, it is but a small step from shutting out new light from God’s Word to engaging in bitter opposition against it.

The Athenians went to the other extreme. They lost interest in what was old and clamored only to hear new things (Acts 17:21). Yet when Paul came to them with the good news of the gospel of grace, some “mocked” while others, more polite, said: “We will hear thee again of this matter,” and turned away (Verse 32).

The Athenian spirit too is still rife today. Many are constantly giving up the old and looking for something new, sure that the latest fashions, the latest statistics and the latest advice must be best. This is why the New Evangelicalism has gained so many followers in our day.

Significantly, the story of the noble Bereans falls between those of the Thessalonians and the Athenians in our Bibles. These Bereans possessed true spiritual greatness. They gave man’s word respectful consideration, whether old or new, but then subjected it to careful examination in the light of the Word of God. They received Paul’s word, we read, with open minds, and then “searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Verse 11). For this God called them “noble.” They were the spiritual aristocracy of their day.

May God help us to be neither “Thessalonians” nor “Athenians,” but true Bereans. If we follow men we drift on a sea of human speculation, for men disagree on the most vital issues. Only as we stand on the infallible, unchangeable Word of God can we be sure that we have the truth.

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Liberty -- How Precious!
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


We were interested to read, recently, about the man in California who ran short of grazing land for his herd of 13 buffalo. To solve this problem he put them on a barge and took them over to a large island in Lake Berryessa where there was lots of pasture. But what did the buffalo do? They jumped back into the lake, swam to shore and began charging fishermen and chasing automobiles — so enraged were they at being imprisoned on an island!

After all, neither man nor beast enjoys bondage, though many of us are in fact enslaved.

Our Lord said in John 8:32: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To this the religious leaders replied: “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?” But our Lord answered: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (Ver. 34). St. Paul says the same thing in Rom. 6:16:

    “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Sad to say, many sincere religious people think that they can free themselves from sin by putting themselves in bondage to the Law, the Ten Commandments. This never works, for the Law can only condemn the sinner. Rom. 3:19,20 declares that the Law was given “that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may be brought in guilty before God… for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Again we have to turn to Christ for salvation and true liberty. He “died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3) and has “redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Gal. 3:13).

Having believed this and trusted Christ as Savior, true Christians serve the Lord, not from fear, or to gain favor, but out of sheer love and gratitude. This is true liberty and this service is the only kind that God desires from us. Probably no man ever served the Lord more sincerely or tirelessly than the Apostle Paul. In II Cor. 5:14 he gives us the secret: “The love of Christ constraineth us…”

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The Wisdom Of This World
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (I Cor. 1:20).

This challenge was hurled at the intellectual world of nineteen hundred years ago, so famous for its philosophy, literature and art. Nor are these the words of one who himself lacked the benefits of higher learning. Rather, they flowed from the pen of one of the most learned men, one of the greatest thinkers of all time: the Apostle Paul. More than this, they are found in that Book of books, the Bible, which has withstood, not barely but magnificently, all the attacks of a thousand critics through centuries of time. This Book says:

    “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (I Cor. 3:19).

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10).

Actually, the “intellectuals” in any age are those who assent to the theories of those who agree with each other that they are intellectual! Dissent from them and you have automatically branded yourself an illiterate!

    “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

    “And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

    “That no flesh should glory in His presence” (I Cor. 1:27-29).

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The Privilege Of Prayer
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “He shall pray for thee” (Gen. 20:7).

Abimelech, king of Gerar, had taken Abraham’s wife as his own, but had done so innocently. Sarah was a beautiful woman and Abraham, fearful for his life, had said: “She is my sister,” and Sarah had vouched for Abraham’s subterfuge, telling Abimelech: “He is my brother.”

But to save the errant couple from the consequences of their own sin God appeared to Abimelech, warning him that if he valued his life he would immediately return Sarah to her husband — “and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live.”

What is this? Will God hear the prayers of guilty Abraham for innocent Abimelech? Yes, for Abimelech was a pagan who served other gods, while Abraham, with all his failure and sin, was God’s own child.

Abraham’s prayer would, of course, be a confession of his sin and a plea that it might not be laid to the charge of innocent Abimelech — innocent of this particular sin — but nevertheless it was Abraham, not Abimelech, who had access to God.

Many unsaved people point to the failures of God’s children and say: “I would not be guilty of that.” Nevertheless, such “good” people are lost, while poor sinners who have trusted Christ for salvation are “accepted in the Beloved.”

    “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

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How Full Is Your Assurance?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them… That their hearts might be comforted… unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding…” (Col. 2:1,2).

There is nothing worse than running low on assurance! During the gas shortage of the ‘70s, I was traveling from Illinois to Minnesota for a fishing trip with my father, when we began to run low on fuel. As we looked for a place to fill up, we were alarmed to find that one gas station after another had posted an “Out of Gas” sign. Suddenly all assurance that we wouldn’t find ourselves stranded along the Interstate was gone!

While the assurance that a full tank of gas can give is a comfortable thing, the assurance of salvation is infinitely and eternally better! No wonder the Apostle Paul was willing to endure “great conflict” for the saints to whom he ministered, that their hearts might be comforted by “the full assurance” that can be ours with a proper “understanding” of how simple faith saves us in the dispensation of grace (Col. 2:1,2).

But as we rightly divide the Word of truth (II Tim. 2:15), we find that to obtain the assurance of salvation, God required more than just faith of the Hebrews. In Hebrews 10:22, for instance, we read:

    “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Here we see that in a day when God required water baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4; 16:16; Acts 2:38; I Pet. 3:21), Hebrews could not enjoy “full assurance of faith” unless their bodies were “washed with pure water.” Of course! While men have always been saved by faith, when God required certain works as an expression of that faith, there could be no salvation without a performance of whatever work He required 1, and no assurance apart from that expression of faith.

We see this again in I John 3:17-19:

    “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?… let us not love in word…but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we… shall assure our hearts before Him.”

Clearly, if John’s readers wanted to assure their hearts, they had to express their faith by sharing “this world’s good” (things like food and clothing) with fellow Hebrews in need of these things. Here it must be remembered that John wrote these words with the coming Great Tribulation in view 2. After the Beast issues his mark, many Hebrews will find themselves unable to buy this world’s good without it (Rev. 13:17). Thus God has ordained that men seeking salvation in that day must express their faith by helping Hebrews in need (James 2:14-17 cf. Matt. 25:31-46). Under this arrangement, there can be no salvation without these works, and no assurance of salvation apart from these mandatory expressions of faith.

Nor could this brotherly benevolence be a one-time occurrence. Such charity will have to be maintained throughout the duration of the Tribulation, as we see in Hebrews 6:10,11:

    “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love…in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.”

The words “unto the end” here help us understand the meaning of verses like Matthew 24:13, where Hebrews were told, “He that endureth to the end shall be saved.” In a day when “the love of many shall wax cold” (v. 12), true believers will maintain their love for their brethren by continuing to supply them with this world’s goods all the way to the end of the Tribulation. Of course, this will become increasingly difficult as Daniel’s seventieth week wears on, especially since true believers will themselves be unable to buy food or clothing without taking the mark. No wonder these Hebrews are exhorted to “shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.” There can be no assurance of salvation in that day without continuing in these necessary expressions of faith.

How then can believers today enjoy “the full assurance” Paul described in our text? Well, notice that Paul speaks of “the full assurance of understanding” (Col. 2:2). To attain the full assurance of salvation today, in the dispensation of grace, God does not ask us to do something, He asks us to understand something. And He doesn’t leave us guessing as to what it is we must understand, for Paul goes on to talk about “the acknowledgment of the mystery” (2:2). The only way to enjoy the full assurance of faith today is to acknowledge that the mystery has introduced an era in which works are no longer required as expressions of faith. There can be no assurance of salvation without an “understanding” and an “acknowledgment” of this dispensational change.

Many suspect that the gas shortage of the ‘70s was man-made, designed to drive up the price of gasoline. While we know nothing of this, we do know that if you are suffering from a shortage of assurance, it is a man-made shortage, caused by men (perhaps wellmeaning men) who taught you God’s Word without rightly dividing it. But we trust that the “understanding” we have shared in this article will enable you to rejoice with us in “all riches of the full assurance of understanding.”

Notes:

    Except when this was impossible, as with the thief on the cross.
    The Hebrew epistles were written to 1st century Hebrews to instruct them as to how to be saved and enjoy the assurance of faith, even amid the terrors of the Tribulation. Had the dispensation of grace not interrupted God’s prophetic program, these people would have lived to see that terrible time. Even after the mystery was introduced, it was thought that the Rapture would take place quickly (as Paul’s use of the word “we” in I Thessalonians 4:15,17 indicates) and that the time of Jacob’s trouble would then come upon them.

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Dinosaurs
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Many years ago, I worked at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. When I entered the building, I had to pass by the dinosaur exhibit, which never ceased to amaze me. One of the largest ones on display at the time was a brontosaurus. This particular dinosaur made the Tyrannosaurus rex beside it look small and insignificant. After the lights were dimmed in the evening, the exhibit was unnerving to consider crossing paths with one of these monsters, back when they roamed the earth. If you have ever wondered if men and dinosaurs coexisted, the answer is a definite yes!

    “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron” (Job 40:15-24).

The behemoth in these passages is the Hebrew word for “great beast.” Notice that this beast has all the same characteristics of a brontosaurus, which we know to have been a vegetarian. Its strength is said to be in its loins—large and powerful! The tail was like the mighty cedars of Lebanon. Huge! And the bones of the behemoth were like bars of iron, crushing everything in its path. It also had an insatiable thirst and it could not be snared. He was the chief of God’s ways!

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Is It Important Who You Spend Time With?
by Pastor John Fredericksen


Whether we realize it or not, we are all affected by the people with whom we spend time. Their attitudes, philosophies, language, and spirituality (good or bad) have a tendency to rub off on us, even if we don’t realize it. The Lord warns us about this in I Corinthians 15:33: “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” This isn’t true only for young people. It is true for believers of all ages. We might not want to think this could happen to us, but the Lord encourages us not to be deceived about this important principle.

David realized how important it was to surround himself with the right kind of spiritually minded people. His testimony was, “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psa. 119:63). He intentionally chose to minimize the time he spent around the ungodly, or only somewhat spiritually minded, and to maximize his time around truly dedicated believers. Doing so gave him continual encouragement to walk after the Lord with a pure heart and not after the ways of the world.

The Apostle Paul must have embraced this principle for living too. As we look through his letters, it is easy to see the close relationship he maintained with many saints who were truly living for the Lord. Luke, Aquilla and Priscilla, Philemon, Titus, and Timothy are only a few he mentions with whom he had consistent fellowship. In contrast, neither Paul nor David spent a great deal of time with the lost, or ungodly, unless it was with ministry in mind.

We are not suggesting that believers cut themselves off from the unsaved or become hermits. We have instruction and examples to the contrary. We learn from II Corinthians 5:20 that “we are ambassadors for Christ” with the ministry of reconciliation or, in other words, the mission of sharing a clear gospel of grace with all that we can. Similarly, Ephesians 3:9 tells us Paul’s mission was also to “make (or help) all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery.” We too should share this goal of seeking to share with everyone the gospel of grace and the joyous news of God’s secret program of grace that is distinct from Israel and the Mosaic Law. So, we should have a ministry-minded outreach to others.

The proper balance to find should be in still maintaining an outward ministry, yet limiting our time with the lost, unspiritually minded, or even marginally spiritually minded. It is important for us to “be not deceived” about how others influence us and therefore to choose, like David and Paul before us, to make friends and companions of those who are so spiritually minded that we will be continually encouraged in the Lord. Is it important who we spend time with and how much time we spend with them? It certainly is! May God help each of us to cultivate the best kind of friendships: those with dedicated, spiritually minded believers of like precious faith.

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Water Baptism And The Future Day Of The Lord
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


The following was our response to a friend who inquired if baptism would be practiced again in the future Tribulation.

It does appear that water baptism will play a role in the terms of salvation during the coming day of the Lord. We know, for example, the gospel of the kingdom will again be preached, which included this water ceremony (Matt. 24:14 cf. Mark 16:15,16). When baptism was practiced by John and the twelve it was to manifest Christ to Israel (John 1:31). This will again be needful during the future Tribulation period following the Rapture. Since Israel was to be a kingdom of priests it was essential for John the Baptist to baptize believing Israelites into the priesthood (Ex. 19:5,6; 29:1-4; Isa. 61:6). It will be necessary for this to be continued during the time of Jacob’s Trouble as well. As we know, in time past, water baptism symbolized the washing away of Israel’s sins. While this aspect of the water rite will be replaced with the understanding that believing Israel will be redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (I Pet. 1:18,19), baptism will still be observed as an expression of faith in Christ’s death.

It is our firm conviction that water baptism will again be practiced when God resumes the prophetic program in the coming day of the Lord. God will pick up right where He left off at Pentecost. What we witness in Acts Chapters 2 and 3 will be reinstated at the beginning of the Tribulation.

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The Resurrection Day
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In Psalm 2:7 we find the prophetic words: “I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son: THIS DAY have I begotten Thee.”

Should we ask: “What day?” or “When was Christ officially declared to be the Son of God?” We will find the answer in Acts 13:33:

    “God hath fulfilled the same [promises] unto us… in that He hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.”

So it was at Christ’s resurrection that the “decree” was made and He was “declared” to be the Son of God — “begotten” in the larger sense of the word.

This agrees with what we find in the first chapter of Romans, where St. Paul speaks of God’s good news,

    “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power… by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:3,4).

This is a wonderful truth. It was Christ’s resurrection from the dead in power that proved that He was indeed God the Son. And more wonderful still: it was our death He died at Calvary, so that He might impart to us this everlasting resurrection life. In Eph. 2:2,3, we are all declared to have been “the children of disobedience” and therefore “by nature the children of wrath,” but see how this passage continues:

    “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” (Eph. 2:4-6).

Thus, because of Christ’s finished work of salvation, those who place their trust in Him are given His resurrection life and “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). This is their RESURRECTION DAY!

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Cursed Is Every One!
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


The Law curses “every one that continueth not in all things… of the law” (Gal. 3:10). The words “continueth” and “all” here tell us the Law demands 100% faithfulness 100% of the time! Though this may sound unreasonable, how many of our married readers are satisfied with 99% faithfulness from your spouse? Even if you could go 70 years without sinning, then sin, the Law would curse you. This too might sound unreasonable, but if you go 70 years without killing anyone, then snap, the law won’t let you slide just because you’ve never done it before, and neither will God!

“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident” (Gal. 3:11). The Greek word for “evident” here is translated “certain” when Paul says, “we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out” (I Tim. 6:7). You’ll never see a U-Haul trailer behind a hearse! And it is just as evident that no one can be justified by the Law. You might look good in your neighbor’s sight, but we’re talking about “the sight of God” (Gal. 3:11). Even Abraham looked good to his neighbors, but he couldn’t boast before God (Rom. 4:2), for God knew he lied about his wife.

No, “The just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11), that is, the way you get to be just is by faith. “And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them” (Gal. 3:12), i.e., live eternally (Lev. 18:5 cf. Luke 10:25-28.). God is fair. If you could obey Him perfectly, He would give you eternal life. It is not technically correct to say the only way to heaven is by faith. But while there are two ways to get to the moon, by rocket and by jumping, one of these two ways is impossible! Just so, there are two ways to get to heaven, by faith and by the works of the Law (Rom. 2:6-10), but the latter is just as impossible! (Gal. 2:16).

Thankfully, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). “That the blessing of Abraham [salvation] might come on the Gentiles through….” Through what? Through Israel? Through circumcision, or the Law? This was true for Gentiles in the Old Testament. But today the blessing of Abraham comes on us “through Jesus Christ.” Why not “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Notice it doesn’t say “believe and be good.” It just says believe and be saved! “Christ died for our sins…and…rose again” (I Cor. 15:3,4). Don’t try to add any good works to Christ’s work, for salvation is “to him that worketh not, but believeth!” (Rom. 4:5).

[nChrist]

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Until When?
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


One of the greatest prophecies of Scripture is found in Psalm 110:1 where David wrote: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.”

In Matt. 22:41-46 our Lord explained that this was a prophecy about Himself, David’s Son and Lord. Men might hate Him and cry “Away with Him!” They might nail Him to a tree and laugh and sneer at Him, but God the Father responds by saying: “Here, come sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

We should never forget that according to Bible prophecy God’s response to man’s rejection of Christ was to be judgment and wrath. In Psalm 2 the question is asked why the nations rage and the people of Israel imagine a vain thing: that they can get along without the One whom God has anointed to be King. The Psalm depicts God laughing at their attempts to thwart His purposes and predicts that “the Lord shall have them in derision” and “speak unto them in His wrath.”

At Pentecost all was ready for the judgment to fall. Christ had been crucified and “the last days” had begun, as Peter declared in Acts 2:16,17, quoting from the prophet Joel. But strangely, while some of Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled, or began to be fulfilled, at that time, the rest of it was not, for God did not — and has not yet — sent the prophesied judgment.

Thank God, in infinite grace He interrupted the prophetic program, delayed the remainder of its fulfillment and revealed to the Apostle Paul His secret purpose to offer to His enemies everywhere salvation and reconciliation by free grace, through faith in the crucified, risen Savior. In His Ephesian letter the Apostle asks whether they have heard of “the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery” (Eph. 3:1-3). Now, thank God, His eternal purpose in Christ is no longer a secret. While the day of grace lasts we may be “justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).