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Here Comes the Just
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: HE IS JUST, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass” (Zech. 9:9).

When this writer was young, there was a trendy catch phrase among young people that some of you may still remember: Here comes the judge! Drawn from a skit on a popular television comedy show, this phrase could be found on many a poster hanging on many a teenager’s wall back in the day. Never having seen the show, we have no idea what it meant, but the phrase comes to mind every time we read the above text. A clear prediction of the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew quoted these words the day He entered Jerusalem on a colt just days before His crucifixion:

    “Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass” (Matt. 21:5).

It is always interesting to see the way in which the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament. When this writer taught hermeneutics (how to interpret the Bible) at Berean Bible Institute, an entire chapter of the textbook was dedicated to the subject of New Testament quotations of Old Testament texts. While many theologians find the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament to be problematic in many cases, we taught the students that there is often a doctrinal significance to the changes and omissions found in these quotations, and we believe that Matthew’s citation of Zechariah’s words here is no exception.

Did you notice that in Matthew’s quotation, the words “He is just, and having salvation” are conspicuous by their absence? We feel this omission was purposeful on Matthew’s part, and instructive on our part. You see, at the time Zechariah made his prophecy, there was no doubt in his mind that when the day came for the Lord to fulfill this prophecy, He would be “just,” and yet “having salvation.” The prophet didn’t yet understand how a holy God could give salvation to sinful men and still be “just,” but his trust in God was implicit. He knew that God would never be so unjust as to sweep the sins of men under the rug, and sneak them in the back door of the kingdom of heaven when the devil wasn’t looking.

The Apostle Peter spoke about this very thing in his first epistle. Speaking of the salvation of souls (I Pet. 1:9), Peter added,

    “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently…” (v. 10).

Peter then went on to make it clear that the prophets did not understand the glory that would follow the sufferings of Christ (v. 11), and that this glory would include the glorious way that God dealt with the sins of men by having His Son pay for their sins with His death on Calvary’s Cross. These were some of the things that, as Peter says here, “the angels desire to look into” (v. 12).

Angels love to learn about the Almighty and all of His ways (Eph. 3:10), and we believe that in Old Testament times, they were as clueless as Zechariah and the rest of the prophets as to how the Lord could be “just, and having salvation.” We feel their angelic curiosity about this was symbolized by the cherubim that overlooked the ark of the covenant. As they looked down at the mercy seat below their outstretched wings, they no doubt wondered how the blood of the bulls and goats that was sprinkled there could justly take away the sins of men.

On the day of our Lord’s “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem, it was clear to Matthew that Zechariah’s prophecy was being fulfilled. His Messiah was indeed meek and lowly enough to enter the city of the great king sitting astride a baby donkey. What was not yet clear to him, however, was how He could be “just, and having salvation.” We feel that this was the reason he purposely omitted that segment of the prophecy from his quotation.

It was the Apostle Paul who broke the story of how God could be “just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). Speaking of Christ, Paul revealed:

    “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins…” (Rom. 3:24,25).

Whenever we use our leafblower to sweep the front porch, we never have to lift the welcome mat. The tremendous blast of air from the leafblower is powerful enough to levitate the mat as it blows away all the dust and debris beneath and around it. This always makes us think of how, rather than sweeping our sins under the rug, the Lord Jesus Christ blew them away at the Cross on which He shed His blood!

And so it is, if you keep Paul’s revelation in mind, you can just picture the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem on that fateful day, and say with Zechariah: “Here comes the Just!”

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Euthanasia
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Scripture Reading:

    “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
    — Hebrews 9:27

It is our firm conviction that every believer in Christ should strongly oppose euthanasia on the grounds that it runs contrary to the revealed will of God. Euthanasia is the deliberate act of prematurely terminating the life of someone who is hopelessly ill. This is normally achieved through the controlled inhalation of carbon monoxide, by a lethal injection of drugs or withholding nourishment. Those who are advocates of this unwholesome rationale believe that it is morally acceptable to end the pain and suffering of a loved one whose life would otherwise be meaningless. In the name of compassion Michigan’s infamous “Dr. Death” has assisted in many such suicides, proclaiming himself to be an angel of mercy.

Thankfully most physicians still hold to the Hippocratic oath, which states that every effort should be made to preserve life. But even more importantly, man has no moral right to terminate a life that has been given by God. It has been appropriately said: “Suicide doesn’t end the pain, it only lays it on the broken shoulders of the survivors.” Many seem to have forgotten that it is God “in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). We sympathize, of course, with any family who has a loved one who is terminally ill. Nevertheless, to cut that life short may send them to a Christless eternity when they might have otherwise believed before their natural death. Also, we may never know how many souls in the medical profession have been saved because they were in the presence of a dying saint or family member who was faithful in sharing Christ. The Lord’s consolation at such times is “MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE!”

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On the Brink of Extinction
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


The extinction of the dodo bird has been so well known for such a long time that it has given rise to the expression, “dead as a dodo.” There is, however, another dodo that we fear is also on the verge of extinction:

    “Eleazar the son of Dodo…smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day…” (II Sam. 23:9,10).

Eleazar’s name appears here among a list of “the mighty men whom David had” (v. 8.), and in smiting the Philistines until “his hand clave unto the sword” and they literally had to pry his fingers from the hilt, this dedicated soldier proved himself mighty indeed! What an inspiration this makes him to those of us who are called upon by God to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (II Tim. 2:3)—and that would include all who name the name of Christ. It is the duty of every believer to “put on the whole armour of God” (Eph. 6:11), armor which includes “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17). Continue to use it even when someone tells you they don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word. No soldier ever sheathed his sword just because his opponent said he didn’t believe it would cut!

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A Saying That Shouldn't Go Without Saying
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    “This is a faithful saying…that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (I Timothy 1:15).

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Don’t criticize a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” I once heard a comedian add, “That way when you do criticize him, you’re a mile away, and you’ve got his shoes!”

While this addition makes that a humorous saying, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” is a faithful saying. That means if you’re a sinner needing a Savior, you can depend on the fact that Christ came to save you, no matter who you are or what you’ve done.

Don’t you wish all old sayings were that dependable? They say, “You get what you pay for,” but I don’t have to tell you that sometimes you don’t. But even under God’s kingdom program for Israel, the Lord declared,

    “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:12,13).

I’m barely old enough to remember when doctors made house calls, and my doctor once came to our home to treat my asthma. Of course, he wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t needed medical attention. Similarly, Christ wouldn’t have come into the world to save sinners if men didn’t need salvation.

But if you’re not saved, and are unwilling to admit you’re a sinner, you’re in trouble, for that would mean that Christ didn’t come to save you! If you’re willing to acknowledge that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23), but you think yourself to be pretty godly overall, you’re still in trouble, for “Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). If that forces you to concede you are an ungodly sinner, but you think you and God are still on good terms, you are still in trouble, for you must admit to being among His “enemies” if you want to be “reconciled to God by the death of His Son…” (Rom. 5:10).

But don’t be discouraged, all of this is actually good news! What if Paul had said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save tall people,” and you are “vertically challenged.” You can’t admit to being tall, but you can admit to being a sinner. Why not admit it right now, and believe that Christ died to pay for your sins, and rose again (I Corinthians 15:3,4). If you’re saved, why not repeat this old saying to someone today! “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” is not a saying that should go without saying!

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The Genuine Article
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


Have you ever used Romans 15:16 to point out to someone that the Apostle Paul was “the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,” only to have them argue that no, he was just a minister of the Gentiles, one of many who ministered to the nations? If you bump into someone who really knows his stuff, he may even point out that there are more verses that use the indefinite article to describe Paul as “a minister” (Acts 26:16; Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:23,25) than the lone Scripture that you can cite where he is called “the minister.”

If anyone has ever called you on this, as you’ve sought to press the apostleship of Paul, you don’t have far to go to turn the tables and give them pause and food for thought. You see, just a few verses earlier in Romans 15, Paul referred to the Lord Jesus Christ as just “a minister of the circumcision” (v. 8.).

How can this be? How can the Son of God be anything other than the minister of the people He came to save (Matt. 1:21; 20:28.)? I believe it is because, while the Lord Jesus was God in the flesh, He did not come into this world to sit in an ivory tower and dispatch other men to minister to the circumcision. He Himself was on the front line of the battle for the souls of men, standing shoulder to shoulder with other ministers of the circumcision, men like John the Baptist, the twelve, the seventy, and any and all others who ministered to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:6) in the face of opposition that came from men and devils alike.

In the same way, there is no question that the Apostle Paul was the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, the preeminent minister of the uncircumcision, as even an examination of the passages where he is called “a minister” will show (Acts 26:16-18; Eph. 3:1-7; Col. 1:24-29). But like his Lord, Paul was in the trenches, duking it out with the enemies of his gospel, standing shoulder to shoulder in the battle for truth with men like Timothy and Titus and Aristarchus and Epaphras and others.

So stick to your guns when it comes to standing for the distinctiveness of the apostleship and message of Paul. In the face of opposition from men and devils alike, continue to insist that whether he’s called by the definite or indefinite article, the Apostle Paul was the genuine article!

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So Very Rich (II Cor. 8:9)
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


So rich, so very rich, was Christ
Through past eternity!
As God the Son, with God enthroned,
The Heir of all was He.
So poor, so very poor, did He
As Son of man become!
From manger birth to shameful death
Rejected by His own.
For us, ah yes, it was for us
He bore such poverty.
That we by His redeeming grace
Might be as rich as He!

– C.R.S.

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The Folly Of Worldly Wisdom
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Is This a Contradiction?
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


    “Matthew says the chief priests took the money Judas cast down in the temple and bought the ‘field of blood.’ Peter, in Acts, says that Judas bought the field with the ‘reward of iniquity.’ On the surface, this appears to be a contradiction.”

First and foremost, the Word of God never contradicts itself. When there is an apparent contradiction, the problem is not with the Scriptures, but with our understanding of them. Most times the conundrum is easily resolved, which is the case here. However, when we are confronted with no suitable explanation; we simply have to wait on further light before we attempt to interpret a passage.

When the chief priests and elders refused to receive the thirty pieces of silver, as noted, Judas cast them to the floor and went out and hanged himself. After his departure, these religious leaders counseled together as to what to do with the money. Since these ill-gotten funds were used to betray innocent blood, they determined that it would be unlawful to put it into the temple treasury. An honorable thing, indeed, for men who only a few hours earlier were guilty of conspiracy.

So these unscrupulous leaders took Judas’ thirty pieces of silver, “and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in” (Matt. 27:3-10). Since it was Judas’s money that was used to buy the field, he is credited with the purchase. Peter confirms this when he said, “Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity” (Acts 1:18.).

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Grace Not Earned
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Have you ever noticed that God does not hold the great men of Scripture up to us because of their personal goodness? Almost invariably their records are marred by failure and sin, but God bids us look at their faith, to see what their faith did for them. Even those who lived consistently good lives are not held up to us for their personal worth, because God knows their imperfections. Thus Rom. 4:2,3 says:

    “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory– but not before God. For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”

And Verse 6 goes on to say about David:

    “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”

This is because man cannot live a life good enough to make him acceptable to God, for with God only perfection is good enough. One sin spoiled the earth; God will not allow one sin to spoil heaven too. This is why in grace He gave Christ to die for our sins and to pay the just penalty for us. Because of the all-sufficient payment of Christ in our behalf, God can now be “just, and the Justifier” of those who place their faith in Christ (Rom. 3:26).

The famous eleventh chapter of Paul’s letter to the Hebrews bears out the fact that salvation, or acceptance with God, is obtained, not by human effort, but by faith. This great chapter on the heroes in God’s “Hall of Fame,” begins with the words: “For by it [faith] the elders obtained a good report,” and then goes on: “By faith Abel …,” “By faith Enoch…,” “By faith Noah…,” “By faith Abraham…,” etc., and closes with the declaration:

    “…these all…obtained a good report through faith…”

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Your Greatest Need
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


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

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

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

    “…unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.”

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

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

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

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

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

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A Memorial Of Calvary
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


It is disappointing to find some well-meaning brethren calling the Lord’s Supper the Passover.

Surely Luke 22:14-20 proves conclusively that after the observance of the Passover, our Lord instituted a “remembrance” of His death.

When Paul recounts what our Lord did and said at the Lord’s Supper he mentions only bread and wine, while at the Passover there was certainly much more than this.

The Passover, like water baptism, was an Old Testament ordinance, but the Lord’s Supper is as distinctly associated with the New Testament, or Covenant.

    “For this is My blood of the New Testament…” (Matt. 26:28.).

The Passover, like water baptism, spoke of an unfinished work, for if water cannot wash away sin, neither can the blood of bulls and goats take away sins (Heb.10:4). Both were shadows of the redeeming work of Christ.

Because so many stumble over the fact that water baptism was practiced even after the cross, we repeat that the full results of Calvary were not manifested until “due time,” through the Apostle Paul. Blood sacrifices, circumcision, the sabbaths and feast days likewise spoke of an unfinished work, yet these were all observed after the cross — by the Spirit-filled disciples. This is simply because the time for the unfolding of God’s secret purpose and the gospel of the grace of God was not ripe until God raised up that other apostle, Paul. Indeed, even then its unfolding and the passing away of the old order were gradual matters.

BUT— whereas the Passover and water baptism were Old Testament ordinances, the Lord’s Supper is distinctly a New Testament celebration. The celebration of the Lord’s death should never be classed with the ordinances, not even with the ordinance of baptism, for while water baptism spoke of an unfinished work, the Lord’s Supper is clearly a celebration of the finished work of Christ.

At least three times the Lord’s Supper is stated to be “in remembrance” of Christ and His redemptive work.

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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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Grace Today And Tomorrow
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Paul learned what thousands upon thousands of God’s saints have learned from his day to ours: that it is often more blessed to experience God’s grace in suffering than to enjoy deliverance from suffering, for in the former case we lean the harder and pray the more, and so are drawn closer to Him. Moreover, we find that His strength is made perfect in weakness and that when we are weak, then are we strong (II Cor. 12:9,10).

But even better things are in store for God’s people: Some day, “in the ages to come,” God will display to all the universe “the exceeding riches of His grace.” How will He do this? “In His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

Dear reader, have you accepted the grace of God in Christ Jesus? Do you believe that He loves you and that He “came into the world” to bear all the blame and shame and punishment that was your due, so that you might be “justified freely by His grace” (Rom. 3:24)?

If not, will you take Him at His Word now and come to know the truth of II Cor. 4:15:

    “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”

Whatever your past; however great or many your sins, take God at His Word. Believe that He loves you in spite of all. Believe that He has already provided the payment for your sins in Christ:

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

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The Origin of Lawlessness
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


    “What do you attribute the lawlessness to that currently plagues the nations?”

It is a product of the mystery of iniquity, which is Satan’s plan to undermine all God-given authority. He has been effectively working behind the scenes since the days of the Apostle Paul to bring the world to a state of chaos, with a specific purpose in mind (II Thes. 2:1-12).

The false religions that Satan introduced throughout the centuries all stand in direct opposition to the true Church, where righteousness is extolled as a virtue. Contrariwise, in the name of religion, which Karl Marx called “the opiate of the people,” terrorists shed the blood of innocent victims to promote their ungodly ideology. Sadly, we are only witnessing the tip of the iceberg. Make no mistake, the primary target of these extreme jihadists is Christians. Simply watch their training clips, and you will find that most of the images they are shooting at have the Cross of Christ embossed on them.

Satan also loves to sing the praises of theological liberalism! The Word of God that once influenced the lives of both the believer and unbeliever is no longer held up as the final authority. The new normal is there are no absolutes any more. The mantra of our day is, “Let every man do what’s right in his own eyes” (cf. Judges 21:25). As a result, our streets have become like the wild west with shootings and murders commonplace.

With no spiritual mooring to the Word of God, marriage has become optional with more and more couples living together. This is the seed plot for immorality and pornography which have become rampant, leaving the souls of men and women burdened with guilt and a sense of worthlessness. Satan has successfully undermined the authority of the home, which is foundational to any society. Every time he destroys a home it weakens the moral fabric of a nation.

Clearly Satan is behind these evil influences and every other evil known to mankind. He merely sets things in motion, and the flesh is more than willing to accommodate whatever sinful pursuit that is put before it. The goal of the evil one is to bring the world to the precipice of utter confusion. When he accomplishes this objective, he will introduce the Antichrist after the Rapture of the Church. The man of sin will step onto the stage of the world as a man of peace, with all the answers to the world’s ills that have eluded men. He will be an overnight sensation being the Devil’s “Answer Man.”

[nChrist]

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God's Faithfulness And Ours
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Many people suppose that salvation is God’s reward to those who do their best to live good lives. This is not so, for God’s Word says of those who are saved:

    “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Tim. 1:9).

Referring to this “salvation which is in Christ Jesus,” St. Paul says:

    “It is a faithful saying, for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him” (II Tim. 2:10,11).

In other words: The believer, viewing Calvary aright, has “died with Christ.” Viewing the Cross, he has said: “This is not Christ’s death. He was no sinner. He had no death to die. He is dying my death!” And so by faith he is “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). The penalty for all his sins has been fully paid, for he died — in Christ, and thus has also risen with Christ “to walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3,4).

This is all God’s doing, and only now is the believer in a position to do good works that will please God. Thus the Apostle writes of believers, in II Tim. 2: “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us” (Ver. 12). When the believer’s service for Christ is reviewed some, indeed, will “receive a reward,” but others will “suffer loss,” though they themselves will “be saved, yet so as by fire” (I Cor. 3:14,15).

It will be deeply embarrassing, in that day, for unfaithful Christians to face empty-handed the One who gave His all, Himself, to save them. Yet salvation is by grace, thus the Apostle hastens to conclude his statement in II Timothy 2, with the words:

    “If we are unfaithful, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself” (Ver. 13)

Thus our rewards as believers depend upon our faithfulness, but our salvation, thank God, on His!