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True Unity
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


There are many unions all over the world, but in only one place is true unity to be found: in the Lord Jesus Christ. The children of fallen Adam have always been divided. Adam’s first two children could not get along together. One killed the other. And now that the race has multiplied there are about three billion separate, individual wills in the world. Some of Adam’s children try to get along together amicably and enjoy some measure of success, but this always takes effort. It does not come naturally. Even the dearest lovers must be prepared to yield to each other’s wishes frequently to get along well together. There is no true unity in this world.

But where Adam’s children have been divided by sin, they may be saved and truly united in Christ. As Christ became one with us when He died our death (the wages of sin) at Calvary, so we may become one with Him as in faith we acknowledge that that death was not His but ours. This is what the Apostle referred to when he asked:

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” (Rom. 6:3).

This verse does not refer to water baptism, for no one can be baptized into Christ — become one with Him — by a physical ceremony. The only way to become one with Him is to accept by faith the fact that He died our death on the cross. The meeting place must always be Calvary. And as we acknowledge His death as ours and become one with Him, we automatically become one with each other.

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (I Cor. 12:13).

Unity in Christ is not something for which Christians are to strive. It is a fact of grace to be recognized and enjoyed by faith. True believers in and out of all denominations have been baptized into one body, whether or not they recognize this.

Now it is for us to appropriate and enjoy this unity in Christ, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) i.e., seeking to experience the unity which the Spirit has made. Only those who have been baptized into Christ by faith can appreciate the blessed oneness which believers may enjoy.

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Don't Pay Attention To Stories
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “Neither give heed to fables…” (1 Tim. 1:4)

As the present-day English reader comes upon the word “fables” in the Authorized Version, he is apt to think of Aesop’s Fables, but these were illustrations, while the original word muthois means simply stories, including stories of imagined incidents or events.

There are two types of stories that have exerted an amazing influence upon twentieth century Christendom. One is the novel, the other the promotional story. In considering the above passage, this writer examined the contents of the popular Christian periodicals coming to his desk and was astonished to find how many of them were largely filled with fiction and with stories written to promote projects or viewpoints. The Apostle says about such stories that they raise questions but do not answer them, for stories really prove nothing. This is also true of many Christian films.

Many Christian novels have indeed exerted a savory influence upon their readers — when they have been founded upon Scriptural truths and principles. Obviously, however, an author can make his novel “prove” exactly what he wishes to prove, for the novel involves us in a world of make-believe. Thus a novel can be dangerous to Christian faith and practice.

The promotional story holds, perhaps, an even more prominent place in our popular Christian magazines. No one can object to factual reports of what God has wrought, but too many of these stories are nothing more than promotional efforts. Many of these “success stories” are so successful that thoughtful readers question their validity and are apt to lay them aside without even finishing them. Less discerning readers, however, are often deeply moved by them.

We are well aware that our objections are not popular, but we are not trying to be popular; we are trying to help sincere Christians find their way back, step by step, to renewed spiritual power. This power has been too long frittered away by substituting the will of man for the Word of God.

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Should Believers Be Called “Christians”?
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


“‘And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch’ (Acts 11:26). The Apostle Paul addresses believers as saints, brethren, and the faithful in Christ Jesus, but never Christians. Should not believers today be more properly called ‘grace believers’ instead of Christians as so many denominations do?”

The term “Christian” is a title that was originally given to us by the world. Notice, the believers were “called Christians first in Antioch.” These believers spoke so frequently and affectionately of Christ that the world coined the term Christians. Of course, they meant it in a derogatory sense. The citizens of Antioch were famous for their witty quips; they were the punsters of their day. Since this expression has a Latin origin, it was probably the Romans among them who first assigned this name to believers.

Be that as it may, we have no major objection to believers being called Christians, based on Acts 11:26; 26:28, and I Peter 4:16. Today, however, the word is so sweeping that it includes both believers and religious unbelievers. While a true believer is a Christian, one who calls himself a Christian may not necessarily be saved. With that said, we prefer the terminology “believer,” “saved,” “brethren,” “saints,” or “faithful in Christ Jesus.” We would also include the designation “grace believers,” the sense of which is drawn from Paul’s letters, but it should be remembered that not all believers are “grace” as we understand the usage.

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A Template
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


With the knowledge of good and evil man came into the possession of conscience. A sense of blameworthiness smote him when he committed, or even contemplated committing, evil. This has been so ever since. The Bible tells us that even the most ungodly and benighted heathen “show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another” (Rom. 2:15).

It is true that man’s conscience can be violated so often that it becomes calloused or, as St. Paul puts it: “seared with a hot iron” (I Tim. 4:2), but events or incidents can take place which suddenly awaken the conscience and make it sensitive again. Many a person has indulged in “the pleasures of sin” more and more freely until, suddenly, his sin has found him out and his conscience has caught up with him to condemn him day and night and make life itself unbearable.

The Bible teaches that all men outside of Christ are, to some degree, troubled by guilty consciences and certainly most are “through fear of death… all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:15). But it also teaches that “Christ died for our sins” so that our penalty having been paid, we might be delivered from a guilty conscience.

The works and ceremonies of the Mosaic Law could never accomplish this, but sincere and intelligent believers in Christ, having been “once purged”, have “no more conscience of sins” (Heb. 9:14; 10:1,2). They are, to be sure, conscious of their sins, but they are no longer tortured by a forever-condemning conscience, for they know that the penalty for all their sins, from the cradle to the coffin, was fully met by Christ at Calvary.

This is not to imply that even a sincere believer may not be troubled about offending the One who paid for his sins, but he knows that the judgment for these sins is past. Thus he earnestly seeks, like Paul, “to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man” (Acts 24:16).

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The Value Of Bible Study
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 3:15).

Timothy was a fortunate young man. His father was not a believer in Christ, but his godly mother made up for this lack as, day after day, from his earliest childhood, she taught him the Word of God. As a result he came to know Christ at an early age and later became St. Paul’s faithful co-worker and close associate in making known the wonderful “good news of the grace of God.”

In his very last letter the great Apostle Paul recalls Timothy’s “unfeigned faith… which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice”(II Tim. 1:5).

If only we had more such mothers and grandmothers today, with husbands to help them! If only our American children were not set adrift on a restless sea of human speculation, but were taught the eternal truths of God’s Word, the Bible!

We all need to “know the Holy Scriptures,” not only because they teach reverence for God and build moral character, but most of all because they “are able to make [us] wise unto salvation through faith… in Christ Jesus.”

The theme of the Bible, the Old Testament as well as New, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the riches of whose saving grace are unfolded to us in the Epistles of Paul, the chief of sinners saved by grace. It was to Paul that God committed the preaching of the cross of Christ. He it is who tells us about the riches that flow from Calvary. He it is who tells us, by divine inspiration that:

    “…WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH [CHRIST’S] BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE” (Eph. 1:7).

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

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Christian Liberty
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Christian liberty is a priceless possession. It can be abused, of course, but legitimately used it is an overflowing source of spiritual joy and power.

God’s purpose with regard to the liberty of the believer in Christ is aptly summed up for us in one short verse in the Galatian letter:

    “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).

As the cause of spiritual decline in Israel was always their departure from God’s Word to them through Moses, so the cause of spiritual decline among believers today is always their departure from God’s Word to us through Paul, and if anything is made unmistakably clear in the Epistles of Paul, it is the fact that believers in this present dispensation of grace have been delivered from the Law and, as God’s full-grown sons in Christ, have been “called unto liberty.” The failure of God’s people to appropriate and enjoy this liberty today results in spiritual decline as surely as did the failure of the people of Israel to observe the law of Moses in their day.

Could anything be plainer than those passages in this same Galatian epistle, where the Apostle says by the Spirit:

    “CHRIST HATH REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

    “But when the fulness of the time was come, GOD SENT FORTH HIS SON, made of a woman, made under the law,

    “TO REDEEM THEM THAT WERE UNDER THE LAW, THAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION OF SONS” (Gal. 4:4,5).

Thus, to reject our blood-bought liberty and go back to the servitude of the Law is to repudiate not only the Word of God, but the Word of God to us, and this must necessarily result in spiritual decline.

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It Didn't Add Up!
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


In Daniel 9:25, the prophet Daniel was told that from the going forth of the commandment to restore Jerusalem "unto the Messiah" would be 69 weeks of years (cf. Gen. 29:27; Lev. 25:8). Frankly, this very specific prophecy baffled Bible students for many years, for the predicted time of 483 years (69×7) "unto the Messiah" did not match up with the time of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then, in his book The Coming Prince, a Bible teacher named Sir Robert Anderson realized the problem lay in the different ways Jews and Gentiles mark time. We number our years using a solar calendar wherein each year has 365 1/4 days, but the Jews used a 360-day lunar calendar, with each year consisting of 12 months of 30 days each.

Evidence of this is found in Genesis 7:11, where we read that the deluge began "in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month," yet exactly "an hundred and fifty days" later (v. 24), "the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month" (8:3,4). The only way an exact period of five equal months can end 150 days later on the same day of the month is if each of those months has 30 days. Further evidence of this is seen when we remember that the last half of Daniel's seventieth week is sometimes said to last "forty and two months" (Rev. 11:2), and sometimes it is said to last "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (v. 3). The only way 42 equal months can work out to 1260 days is if each of those months has 30 days.

Once Sir Robert recalculated the prophecy using lunar years, he found that the 69 weeks "unto the Messiah" worked out to the very day the Lord Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem and made an official presentation of Himself to Israel. No wonder the Lord lamented later that day, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!" (Luke 19:42).

The point? When you are asked why men should trust the God of the Bible, why not give the reason God Himself gives--fulfilled prophecy! (Isa. 42:8,9; 44:7,8 cf. John 13:19). To those who would tout the gods of the world's other religions, God says, "Produce your cause…bring forth your strong reasons…let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen…shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods" (Isa. 41:21-24).

The God of the Bible alone is God!

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Reaching Real Maturity
by Pastor John Fredericksen


Spiritually speaking, Paul considered Timothy his "son in the faith" (I Tim. 1:2). And, like any parent, he had noble aspirations for his loved one. In the Book of II Timothy, he is very specific about four things he wants Timothy to become for the Lord.

First, he wanted him to be a good servant of the Lord (1:6). God had given him a temporary spiritual gift that was not to be wasted, but consistently used in the local church, where he would have opportunities and the obligation to use this divine enablement.

Paul also wanted Timothy to become a good soul-winner (1:8). Apparently, there were real dangers in doing so for Timothy, and there was a danger he might shrink away from this essential task. He might allow the fear of men, and their reactions, to prevent him from sharing the gospel. If Timothy did not grow beyond such a fear, his lack of action would essentially be saying he was "ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." What a reminder for us today as well!

Next, Paul wanted Timothy to be a good student of the Word (2:15). Specifically, he wanted him to diligently apply himself to the study of the Scriptures so that he would be able to rightly divide the Word.

Finally, Paul wanted Timothy to faithfully hold fast to the distinctive doctrines taught only by the Apostle Paul (1:13,14), to continue in them without wavering (3:14), and then teach them to faithful men who would stand with him in dispensational truth (2:2). In Paul's eyes, it would only be as Timothy achieved these four goals that he would be a spiritually-mature saint.

In a practical sense, each of us today can gauge our own spiritual maturity by measuring ourselves against these four goals that Paul had for Timothy. If we are consistently using our God-given capabilities for the Lord in our local church, then we've taken a step toward spiritual maturity. If we are bold and faithful in giving out the gospel to lost souls, we have taken another step toward maturity in Christ. If we are willing to endure hardship in ministry for Christ, without stopping our service, we have taken yet another step in maturity. If we are unwavering in our loyalty to the distinctive dispensational truths of God's Word, as taught exclusively by Paul, we have taken still another important step toward spiritual maturity.

When young children begin to walk, they take one wobbly step at a time. Sometimes they fall down. The important thing in their development toward physical maturity is the process of getting back up when they fall, undeterred, and continuing to walk on toward greater stability. Dear saint, if you've fallen down in one of these four areas of growing in Christ toward spiritual maturity, get back up and start walking again in the right direction. Your Heavenly Father is watching and waiting to be pleased of what you choose to do next.

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Two-Faced Christians
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


Our month January is named after Janus, the mythical Roman god of gates and doorways. Janus had two faces which looked in opposite directions, just as January looks back on the old year and forward to the new. Hypocritical people are often called "Janus-faced" or two-faced. Abraham Lincoln, not known for his good looks, was once called Janus-faced. He responded, "If I had two faces, do you think I'd wear this one?"

We can avoid being Janus-faced spiritually by putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph. 4:22-24). But many Christians find this difficult. Some feel they could more easily muster up the spiritual fortitude to live a consistent Christian life if they could just speak to the Lord "face to face" on a daily basis, as did Moses (Ex. 33:11). This blessing is of course not available to us during this dispensation--or is it?

When Paul told the Corinthians that one day they too would see the Lord "face to face" (I Cor. 13:12), he spoke not of the day when they would see His face in heaven, but of a face-to-face relationship with the Lord that they actually lived to see and enjoy. You see, as Paul wrote these words the Bible was not yet complete. Consequently, men were able to see God only as "through a glass, darkly." The crude glass of ancient days gave men an unclear view of what was on the other side.

It reminds me of how before the launch of satellite telescopes, Earth-based telescopes labored under the limitation of having to peer at the stars through the earth's atmosphere, which distorted man's view of the heavens. One scientist likened it to bird-watching from the bottom of a lake! But the launch and perfecting of the Hubble telescope gave science a crystal clear image of Creation.

In much the same way, the addition of Paul's last epistles completed the Word of God (Col. 1:25), and launched our understanding into the heavens (Eph. 1:3). Now as we look into the pages of God's completed revelation, we are able to see God Himself "face to face."

Paul used yet another metaphor to drive this point home. Looking into the unfinished Word of God was also like looking into the crude mirrors of those days. Mirrors in Paul's day gave imperfect reflections, and so while everyone else knew exactly what Paul looked like, Paul himself knew what he looked like only "in part" (I Cor. 13:12). Similarly, with the Bible incomplete, men had an unclear view of the image of God. But once the Word of God was complete, Paul predicted: "then shall I know even as also I am known," i.e., then he would know God as clearly as men knew him.

Thus there is no excuse for us to be two-faced Christians. As we peer daily into the pages of the written Word of God, we can see God "face to face," and can sculpt our lives into His image:

    "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Cor. 3:18).

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Ambassadors for Christ
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


    "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20).

Such a glorious message as reconciliation must at all cost be taken without haste to the unsaved masses. This is precisely what God did when He commissioned us as ambassadors for Christ. I read some time ago that in the Roman empire there were two types of provinces-- senatorial and imperial. The senatorial provinces were peaceful for the most part, and never caused Rome any problem. This could not be said of the imperial ones, for they were dangerous and frequently rebelled against the empire. It was to the imperial provinces that Rome sent ambassadors to help ease tension and announce the emperor's objectives. They were some of the first diplomats in the truest sense of the term.

In the present evil age in which we live, the world is an imperial province that has nothing but contempt for God. In the midst of this tumult, God has sent in His ambassadors to offer amnesty the world's weary warriors of rebellion.

What an honor it would be to be chosen by the President of the United States to serve our country as an ambassador in a foreign land. Every ambassador seems to have three outstanding characteristics. First, they always look presentable. Secondly, they are dignified, and finally, they are well informed as to the goals of the commander in chief. If this is true in the affairs of men, how much more so as we represent Christ in His absence. Many in the world are dull of hearing and therefore need to hear again that God loves them and has reconciled them unto Himself. Unlike the Great Commission given to Israel, our commission does not concern nations, but individuals within the nations. Begin by committing the word of reconciliation to your loved ones, and remember that the mission field extends into foreign lands as well.

What has happened to the missionary zeal that was cradled in our country? The fires have seemingly gone out except for a few flickering AMBASSADORS for CHRIST By Pastor Paul M. Sadler embers that yet glow. Pray that God will ignite a fire in our hearts for lost souls in other lands. Permit me to say that far too often our Grace Missionaries struggle on meager salaries that would probably be below the poverty level in this country. They have left family and friends and the security of our homeland to preach Christ to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. The very least we can do is to encourage them with our financial support and pray without ceasing for their needs. I suppose the polar caps would melt before the denominational churches of North America would come to their assistance, for reasons that are obvious. We must rise to the occasion on their behalf before the doors of third-world countries are completely closed.

A Herculean task lies before us to spread the word of reconciliation. And may it ever be before us that "…if one died for all, then were all dead." Can it be truthfully said that all who have been born of the woman are born in sin and therefore spiritually dead? Then as the apostle says, Christ died for all without exception (2 Cor. 5:14,15). Yes, Christ died for you! "Now is the accepted time, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION." How many would you say have died in the last 24 hours around the world? Tomorrow death may tap you on the shoulder and say, "Your hour has come." Time is of the essence; to receive God's wonderful offer of reconciliation, simply believe that Christ died for your sins personally and rose again the third day for your justification. Do it today, eternity awaits.

— An Excerpt from Exploring the Unsearchable Riches of Christ.

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What About Foot Washing?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    "What about foot-washing (John 13:1-17)?"

The text you cite has prompted several Christian denominations to practice foot-washing as a religious ceremonial rite. We feel the Lord was merely teaching the apostles a lesson about humility, a lesson they sorely needed (Lk. 9:46; 22:24).

In Bible days, feet that walked in sandals on dusty ground needed washing when they arrived at their destination (Gen. 19:2; 24:32). This humble task was often rendered by a servant (Gen. 18:4) or those willing to serve as a servant (Lk. 7:38; I Tim. 5:10). Proud men would of course refuse to wash a man's feet (Lk. 7:44), and since this was sadly true of the apostles, the Lord washed their feet as "an example" (John 13:15) of humility.

This word example is important. The Mona Lisa is an example of Renaissance art, but this does not mean all Renaissance art is characterized by portraits of women. It rather means that the Mona Lisa has the same spirit of other works of that era. Thus the Lord washed the apostles' feet to exemplify how they should treat others in the same spirit of humility. While washing a man's feet exemplified this spirit well in Bible days, paved walks and leather shoes have rendered this particular example of humility obsolete. Today, guests are shown the same humble spirit with a beverage, a meal, and other gestures. We feel those who insist on practicing the exact example of humility the Lord gave are emphasizing symbolism over substance. They sometimes ask why we observe the Lord's Supper but not foot washing, but the former is never said to be an example of what to do. Paul rather says, "This do" (I Cor. 11:24,25).

Finally, there is a doctrinal significance to this ceremony that renders it exclusive to Israel. God promised Israel they'd be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6), and priests had to be washed in an initial baptism ceremony to initiate them into the priesthood (Ex. 29:4). Later they had to wash their hands and feet as part of their daily service (Ex. 30:19-21). When John preached that the kingdom was "at hand" (Mt. 3:2), he meant the kingdom in which Israel would be a kingdom of priests, so he baptized them to initiate them into the priesthood. In John 13, the time for the twelve to minister to the world as priests was drawing nigh, so the Lord washed their feet so they could function as priests (cf. John 13:6-10).

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Heaven Is Better Than This
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


A large percentage of the people of the world wake up every morning with some kind of ache or pain. If you are one of the many victims, with some infirmity of the flesh, perhaps you will agree with the little chorus which says: “Heaven is better than this.”

The Scriptures tell us that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:22). Note the expression: “the whole creation.” This takes in the whole world; no one is excluded. Indeed, the very next verse goes on to say to Christian believers:

    “And not only they, but ourselves also… even we ourselves groan within ourselves… waiting for… the redemption of our body.”

No doubt many of us feel like crying out with the Psalmist David, “Look upon mine affliction and my pain” (Psa. 25:18). In spite of all sorrow, trouble and pain which the child of God must endure, however, he can be assured with the Apostle Paul that: “our light affliction, which is but for a moment [comparatively], worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:17). When we go to be with the Lord we will no longer be living in “this earthly tabernacle,” but will have “a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (II Cor. 5:1). Paul even adds that as Christians we earnestly desire “to be clothed upon with our house [our new body] which is from heaven” (II Cor. 5:2).

Finally, St. Paul declared that “to depart, and to be with Christ… is far better” (Phil. 1:23); far better, not only than all earth’s sorrow and trouble and pain, but far better even than earth’s greatest joys and its dearest treasures. How wonderful it is to know that “Christ died for our sins,” to have a light beyond the grave, a hope beyond the tomb! Surely “heaven is better than this!”

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A Virtuous Woman
by Pastor John Fredericksen


Proverbs 31:10 asks the question: "Who can find a virtuous woman...?" Webster's dictionary defines the word virtuous as general moral excellence, goodness of character, or chaste. The end of verse ten goes on to say if you can find such a woman, "her price [or value] is far above rubies." The standard here is not an unrealistic perfection in all areas of life. Instead, it is an inward beauty of character and morals that can make any woman who seeks to cultivate these qualities a highly valued woman to all who know her.

We actually have biblical examples of virtuous women. Ruth was told that all the city knew she was a "virtuous woman" (Ruth 3:11) for her devotion to Jehovah, loving care for her elder mother-in-law, work ethic, and humility to listen to instruction. The virtue of Sarah is described in 1 Peter 3:4-6 for her submission to her husband with a "meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

Proverbs 31 emphasizes several qualities of a virtuous woman. She is worthy of her husband's trust (verse 11), will always do her husband good and not evil (verse 12), diligently and consistently "worketh willingly" to advance family finances (verse 13-24), she conducts herself with "strength and honor" (verse 25), "opens her mouth with wisdom [or discretion, and]...kindness" (verse 26), and "looketh well to the ways of her household" without engaging in "idleness" (verse 27). Verse 30 seems to also imply that while she may possess or desire outward beauty, she realizes this is "vain," or empty, and fleeting. Therefore, she places a higher value on the inner beauty of the virtues studied above, and she does so because she has godliness or is "a woman that feareth the Lord."

If you are a man who has found a virtuous woman, you are greatly blessed. Proverbs tells us "a prudent wife is from the Lord" (19:14), and she is "a crown to her husband" (12:4). Tell your virtuous woman today that you greatly appreciate her godliness, which makes her a true "trophy wife." If you're not yet married, this is the kind of woman you should be looking for. If you are a woman who is not satisfied that these qualities are developed fully enough in you, don't be discouraged. Instead, take one of these qualities, ask the Lord to help you grow in this virtue, and prayerfully work on it today.

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Capitalizing on Confusion
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


Depending on when your monthly Searchlight arrives, the Mayan calendar deadline for the end of the world has either come and gone, or else it is looming in the imminent future. All the hoopla that surrounded this gloomy prediction got me to wondering if there might not be some way that Christians could capitalize on yet another failed non-Biblical prophetic expectation. After all, last year when the Rapture failed to take place on the date designated by a popular radio Bible teacher, God's people were able to take advantage of this by pointing out that, when it comes to the Second Coming of Christ, the Bible says that "of that day and hour knoweth no man" (Matt. 24:36). Those that knew the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming were also able to point out that the date of the former is just as unsearchable in Scripture as that of the latter. Surely there has to be a way to similarly benefit from the failure of the Mayan calendar disaster as well.

I wonder if what we are looking for might be found in Isaiah 41:21-24. There, God Almighty thunders forth a challenge to all the false gods of the nations, daring them to "produce your cause," that is, to produce "strong reasons" why anyone should believe they are God. If you are wondering what kind of reasons He had in mind, the Lord went on to say, "let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen…

"Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods…."

This challenge went unanswered in Isaiah's day, of course, for only the God of the Bible knows the future, something He has proved over and over again in Scripture, and something that the failed predictions of others serve to magnify.

With all this in mind, why not put together a short mental list of fulfilled Bible prophecies, and mark Isaiah 41 in your Bible? That way when the subject of the Mayan calendar comes up the day after the December 21st deadline (as you know it will!), you can capitalize on the biggest non-story of the year by reminding people that the challenge of Isaiah 41 has still gone unanswered, and that the God of the Bible is still the only God worthy of worship. Let's determine to be ready to offer "a word in season" (Isa. 50:4) to all who are disillusioned by the gods of the nations, and are in desperate need of the God who sent His Son to die for their sins.

[nChrist]

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An Indisputable Fact
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


The theological confusion in the Church today is basically the result of her rebellion against the authority of Paul as the divinely-appointed apostle for the present “dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:1-3).

On every hand Paul is referred to merely as one of the apostles, sometimes even as one of the twelve, though the record of Scripture proves that he could not possibly have qualified as one of the twelve (See Matt. 19:28 and cf. Acts 9:1).

In Galatians 1 and 2 the Apostle throws down the certificate of his apostleship, as it were, to those who questioned it in his day. He opens his argument with the declaration:

    “…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” (Gal. 1:11,12).

The Scriptures teach beyond the shadow of a doubt that Paul’s apostleship and message were absolutely unique and separate from that of the twelve or of any who had preceded him. This is what Christendom as a whole has refused to accept. Is it any wonder, then, that they confuse God’s prophesied kingdom program with “the mystery,” committed to Paul for us in this present dispensation?

The Scriptures emphasize not only the Apostle’s constant use of the first person pronoun, “I,” “me,” “my,” but the unique character of his apostleship and message. Ignore this fact and confusion must inevitably result; accept it and a hundred seeming contradictions in Scripture disappear.