Two Minutes With The Bible

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The Gospel of Salvation
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


The Word of God teaches, "The wages of sin is death." When Christ stepped across the stars into this world of sin and woe, death was powerless over Him. Christ knew no sin! He was the sinless, spotless Lamb of God; therefore death could not lay its icy grip upon His shoulder.

Tell me then, how is it that, at the end of His earthly ministry, He's suffering and dying in shame and disgrace? You see, Christ wasn't dying for His sins, for He knew no sin (II Cor. 5:21; I John 3:5). He was dying for your sins and my sins upon that cruel tree. Our sins and iniquities were laid upon Him that He might redeem us back to God through His precious blood.

Now God turns to a lost and dying world with the good news of Calvary. Simply believe that Christ died for your sins personally, and rose again the third day, and God will wonderfully save you from the wrath to come, according to the riches of His grace. Do you know the joy of sins forgiven? If not, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:13; I Cor. 15:3,4).

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Let's Do Something...
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


…even if it's wrong. Have you ever heard that platitude? In every dispensation, God has always had well-meaning children who served Him sincerely, but without an understanding of His rightly divided Word, and so did and taught things that were dispensationally wrong. But in every dispensation there have also been men like "the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…" (1 Chron. 12:32), dispensationalists who knew where they stood in the program of God, and so knew how to do what is dispensationally right.

We are not shy to unabashedly proclaim that in the present dispensation of grace, grace believers are the modern day men of Issachar! We have an understanding of the times. We know what the Body of Christ ought to be doing. But with great knowledge comes great responsibility! Why not get in the battle for truth? After all, it's not what you know that counts, it's what you "do" (Phil. 4:9) with what you know. Let's do something now that we know that what we are doing is right.

[nChrist]

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God's Revelation of Himself
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


Romans 1:18-20 declares that God has revealed Himself to man in creation. Not that we can learn His plan of salvation from creation — far from it. But the creation: the glory of its star-studded heavens, the beauty of its flowers and sunsets, the sun and rain and crops to supply us with food, and the unchangeable laws of nature, all show forth, not only the existence of God, but His power, His love, His justice, so that man is a responsible being and, as Verse 20 says, “without excuse” for the deplorable condition in which he finds himself.

A believer, talking with an atheistic evolutionist one day, took out his watch, looked at it and put it back into his pocket, saying: “I have a wonderful watch; it keeps perfect time; never misses a second.”

“What make is it?” the atheist asked.

“Oh, no make,” answered the Christian.

“Well, who manufactured it?”

“Oh, nobody; it just put itself together somehow.”

“Nonsense,” said the atheist, “A watch can’t just come into existence. Somebody had to design it and somebody had to manufacture it.”

“True,” said the Christian, “yet you expect me to believe that this universe, with its billions of stars and planets, all working together in perfect order, just came about by itself; that it had no Designer, no Creator and no one who keeps it running? Isn’t that nonsense?”

No wonder Paul says that the godless are “without excuse,” including even the vast majority of “religious” people, who salve their consciences by giving a small part of each week or each day to the performance of some religious rite but keep God out of their businesses, their politics, their social relationships — their hearts.

But thank God, as He has revealed His power and glory in creation, He has revealed His mercy and grace, His plan of salvation, in the Bible, where we read how “Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3), so that we might have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

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Keep Your Eye on the Finish Line
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34).

Here in John 4, the Lord was just beginning His ministry, but He already had His eye on the finish line. What a great example for us! It is so easy to get caught up in the details of everyday life and give little or no thought to life's end. As Pastor Stam used to say, "Most people live for this life as if it were never going to end, and they live for the next life as if it were never going to begin, when the very opposite is the case!" Too often this is true of God's people as well.

Of course, as grace believers we are not just interested in what the Lord Jesus would do. Since we follow Paul as he followed Christ (I Cor. 11:1), we look to Paul as our example. But this is how he lived his life as well! He talked about how it was his goal, as he says, to "finish my course" (Acts 20:24). He too lived his life with his eye on the finish line!

If you are wondering what it means to live like this, notice that the Lord said that while on life's journey, He made it His "meat" to do God's will. The Bible word "meat" speaks of food of any kind, and food is the most important thing in your physical life. If you don't believe that, just try going without it for a few days! This writer has a friend who says that while fasting, he will sometimes go to the grocery store just to gaze upon food! Thus the Lord was saying that continuing to do the will of His Father was the most important thing in life, and the way to live with the finish line in view.

How about you, dear Christian friend? Are you living your life with your eye on the finish line? It is important to notice that while the Lord talked about the finish line at the beginning of His ministry, Paul spoke of it as he neared the end of his life. And so if you are a young Christian, it is not too early to start living with the finish line in view, and if you are a "seasoned citizen" in the kingdom of God, it is not too late!

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Leave the Landmarks Alone!
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    "Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it" (Deut. 19:14).

A "landmark" is a mark that designates where your land ends and your neighbor's land begins. Modern surveyors drive a metal rod into the ground to separate and distinguish property, but ancient landmarks often consisted of a stone that could be removed by someone wishing to encroach upon his neighbor's land. God pronounced a "curse" upon any man who would dare to so mistreat his fellow-Hebrew (Deut. 27:17). This was because after God divided up the Promised Land amongst the children of Israel in the Book of Joshua, He commanded them that it not be sold (Lev. 25:23; Num. 36:7). This is why Naboth refused to sell his land to Ahab (I Kings 21:1-3). Naboth wasn't being stubborn or disrespectful to his king, he was being faithful to the Law of his God (cf. Ezek. 46:18).

Landmarks to this day continue to mark where your land ends and your neighbor's land begins. However, today we also have certain societal landmarks that God has to help us distinguish between right and wrong. For instance, for thousands of years, mankind clearly understood where to draw the line between right and wrong when it came to the subject of abortion. Then in 1973, our Supreme Court removed the landmark when they legalized abortion, and we have been living with the holocaustic consequences of this "landmark decision" ever since. Now societal surveyors are taking aim at yet another God-given landmark, the definition of marriage that limits it to the bond that can only exist between a man and a woman in the eyes of God.

Such landmarks also exist in the spiritual realm of Bible doctrine. The historic fundamentals of the faith that define Christianity have for centuries helped God's people determine where truth ends and error begins. These spiritual landmarks are always under attack, and the day in which we live is no exception. To counter this trend that was present even in his own day, the Apostle Paul challenged young Timothy:

    "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 1:13).

While we should always be open to receiving new understanding from God's Word "with all readiness of mind" (Acts 17:10,11), we must "prove all things" and "hold fast" only "that which is good" (I Thes. 5:21). We have a rich "inheritance" in Christ (Eph. 1:11,14) that these landmark doctrines serve to protect. Let's work together to preserve them!

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Does Scripture Ban Piercings?
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


"Is there Scripture that bans earrings and other body piercings for Christians?"

Earrings for women are often seen in a favorable light in Scripture (Gen. 24:22; Ex. 35:22; Num. 31:50; Pr. 25:12; Ezek. 16:12). The men in Israel also wore them (Ex. 32:2; 35:22), although that may or may not have been because earrings were associated with slavery (Ex. 21:6), and they had just escaped from slavery in Egypt. Either way, they are certainly not associated with slavery today.

Judges 8:24 talks about some men who "had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites," and so we see that such ornaments on men were at one time associated with people other than God's people in Israel, just as they were once associated with pirates in more modern times. This suggests that male earrings might have an associative significance that changes with the times, and this is something that should be taken into consideration for any man contemplating them in our own day.

The Bible doesn't mention other piercings, other than when God was displeased with the people of Israel and vowed to "take away...their... nose jewels" (Isa. 3:18-21). But this was because He wanted them to mourn and not rejoice. If we say that He vowed to take away their nose jewels because they are wrong in and of themselves, we'd have to argue that "bracelets" and "bonnets" and "headbands" and "rings" are also wrong, for God vowed to strip them of these ornaments as well in that passage.

So the question of body piercings under grace seems to come down to a matter of personal conviction, and in such cases the apostle of grace advises us to be gracious, not judgmental (Rom. 14:3).

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Our Only Boast
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Gal. 6:14).

St. Paul was once a proud Pharisee, smug in his self-righteousness. In Philippians 3:5,6, he lists some of the things in which he took great pride:

    “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

But everything was changed since that day when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Suddenly he had seen himself a lost, condemned sinner in the sight of a holy God and had tasted the matchless grace that could reach down from heaven and save even him. He knew now that he could not stand before God in himself, or “on his own two feet,” as we say. His only safety before the bar of God was to take refuge in Christ, as he says in Verse 9:

    “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

Now he knew, as we all should know, that he really had nothing to boast of as far as his own standing before God was concerned. For the rest of his life, however, he did constantly boast of one thing: the cross, where the Christ he had so bitterly persecuted had died for his sins that he (Paul) might be justified before God. All else of which Paul boasted was embraced in the cross of Christ. This too is really the only thing we have to boast of and the most godly saint will enthusiastically join Paul in saying:

    “BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME, AND I UNTO THE WORLD.”

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Don't Give Up
by Pastor John Fredericksen


Being in the pastorate can be discouraging. After all, you are an obvious target for criticism. The messages are always too long or too short, you use too many illustrations or not enough, the content is too deep or too shallow, you stand too strongly on biblical truth or not strongly enough, and so it goes. On one occasion, I had a Christian leader harshly dress me down in public for 45 minutes and accused me of a variety of things I simply had not done. He only thought I had done them. I left that meeting so discouraged; I just wanted to give up the ministry, and maybe even give up walking with the Lord. Thankfully, He sent me encouragement when I needed it most.

Being discouraged spiritually isn't exclusive to pastors either. All believers encounter this at one time or another. You can almost feel the sorrow of heart when you read the testimonies of God's men of the past. David wrote: "I had fainted…" (Psa. 27:13), Jeremiah said: "When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me" (Jer. 8:18), and Jonah said: "...my soul fainted within me" (Jonah 2:7). They were so discouraged and spiritually weakened that they simply felt like giving up. Thankfully, these servants of God did not give up, and there is much to learn from what carried them through.

Jonah relates to us how he found the strength to carry on: "I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thine holy temple" (Jonah 2:7). Coupled with obedience to God's will, his discouragement turned when he stayed his mind on the Lord in prayer. Similarly, Isaiah proclaims: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength...they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). As you can see, Isaiah also found it helpful to focus his thoughts on the Lord through prayer.

The Apostle Paul had opposition from without and from within the company of believers, and had much to be discouraged about, but he didn't quit. His testimony was: "seeing we have this ministry...we faint not" (II Cor. 4:1). He kept his heart focused on serving the Savior, with Galatians 6:9 in mind: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Simply put, heaven and reward from the Savior strengthened the resolve of this servant. It can for us too.

Are you discouraged spiritually? Don't quit! Pray, focus on the importance of serving Christ, and rejoice in future reward!

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To Rebuke Is Not To Nuke!
by Pastor Ricky Kurth


    "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him" (Leviticus 19:17).

Years ago, a television commercial reminded people that "friends don't let friends drive drunk." In that same spirit, our text reminds us that caring Christians don't let their friends grieve the Spirit by continuing in sin (Eph. 4:30). If you truly love a brother in Christ who persists in a path of transgression, you need to rebuke him, "and not suffer sin upon him."

The problem is, when we think of rebuking someone, we generally think of a drill sergeant chewing a soldier up one side and down the other! And it's true that God once said, "I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes" (Ezekiel 25:17). But a quick check of the context of that verse will show that God was speaking of furiously rebuking His enemies. If all rebukes were supposed to be "furious" rebukes, God wouldn't have had to specify that He planned to rebuke the Philistines "with furious rebukes."

Yet how often well-meaning Christians seek to obey Leviticus 19:17 by unloading on a brother like a nuclear bomb when he sins! This despite the fact that the dictionary defines "rebuke" as to chide or scold someone. And this despite the fact that every time we're told what men say when they rebuke someone in the Bible, they always use words like the ones Joseph's father used to rebuke him:

    "...his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee...?" (Genesis 37:10).

Rather than going ballistic on his son, Jacob reasoned with him, asking about his dream, and explaining in a respectful manner why he thought Joseph was wrong to be saying such things. Later, when God Himself "rebuked" Balaam (II Pet. 2:15,16), He chose to do so through the humblest of animals, to teach us that rebukes should always be delivered in the spirit of humility. Consider the deferential words of the Father's rebuke:

"What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times...Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?" (Numbers 22:28-30).

Speaking through the dumb animal, God gently rebuked His prophet, reasoning with him, trying to get him to think about what he was doing and consider the wrongfulness of his ways. Sort of like the Lord later "rebuked" the apostles when they wanted to call fire down from Heaven on Samaria, saying, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:55,56).

In closing, it's still true that if you "rebuke a wise man" that "he will love thee" (Pr. 9:8), and "he that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue" (Pr. 28:23). But these things are only true if you manage to rebuke your brother "with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Eph. 4:2).

So remember, when it comes to rebukes, no nukes!

[nChrist]

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Rightly Dividing The Word
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


It is not enough to use the Bible as a grand book of wonderful sayings from which we may choose what we wish for our inspiration, nor will one who truly realizes that “God hath spoken” ever hold so shallow an opinion of the sacred Scriptures.

“The Word of truth” must be “rightly divided”; for while it is all given for our spiritual profit, it was not all addressed to us, or written about us. Thus one who truly desires to understand and obey God’s Word will seek first to determine what Scriptures are particularly related to him and will study all the rest in the light of these.

Sad to say, however, there are many who fail to give the Book of God the respect and reverence it deserves. They flip it open at random, let a finger light upon the open page and then read the verse indicated to see if perchance they may find leading from the Lord in that way. And if it doesn’t “work” the first time they try it again and again until it does “work.” They use “promise boxes” in the same way, on the basis that “every promise in the Book is mine.” They take passages out of their contexts, “spiritualize” them, and give them “private interpretations.” Finding “precious passages” anywhere at all, no matter to whom addressed or when or why, they place their own constructions upon them and claim them as promises of God to them! To take isolated statements from the writings of men and use them in such a manner would be considered dishonest, but even Bible teachers do it with the Word of God!

The Word, rightly divided, is of supreme importance to the Church at large as well as to the individual believer, and it is because this fact has not yet been sufficiently recognized that we have not experienced the true, heaven-sent revival that the Church so sorely needs.

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Disciples And Apostles
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


    “And when it was day, He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles” (Luke 6:13).

Many people fail to distinguish between our Lord’s disciples and His apostles. They suppose they are the same. This is incorrect, however, for our Lord had a multitude of disciples while He had only a few apostles. His apostles were chosen from among His disciples, as we learn from the above message from Luke’s gospel.

A disciple is a follower; an apostle is a “sent one”. A disciple is a learner; an apostle is a teacher. There is a great lesson here for us all to learn.

We must come before we can go. We must follow before we can be sent. We must learn before we can teach. We must listen to the Lord before we can speak for the Lord.

“Thus saith the Lord”, was the familiar phrase with which the Old Testament prophets began their messages. But at the head of the long list of Old Testament prophets we find Samuel, a young lad, saying: “SPEAK LORD, FOR THY SERVANT HEARETH” (I Sam.3:9).

Before we can do or say anything for God, then, we must listen to God. This explains why the reading and study of the Word of God is so important.

First, salvation itself comes by hearing and believing God’s Word, especially about Christ, and His death for our sins. Romans 10:17 says: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”, and I Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever”. Then, having been saved, we can serve God acceptably only by diligent study of His Word. Perhaps the most important passage in the Bible on this subject is II Timothy 2:15:

    “STUDY TO SHOW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, A WORKMAN THAT NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.”

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Alienation And Reconciliation
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


It is impossible, and unnecessary, to reconcile friends. Reconciliation postulates alienation. It is only after men become alienated that we may try to reconcile them. Thus the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles to God “in one body” could not begin until Israel, along with the Gentiles, had been alienated from God. This is why the Apostle Paul declares in Rom. 11:15 that “the casting away of them is,” or opens the way for, “the reconciling of the world.” Thus “God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32). Little wonder the Apostle goes on to exclaim:

    “O, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Ver. 33).

So now the wonderful message from God to a lost world is one of grace and peace, and it is with these words that the Apostle Paul opens all of his epistles signed by his name. In Ephesians 2, where he declares that we were all “the children of disobedience,” and therefore “by nature the children of wrath,” he goes on to tell of the riches of God’s mercy and love and grace, and says:

    “And [He] came and preached peace to you [Gentiles] which were afar off, and to them [Israelites] that were nigh” (Ver. 17).

What a blessing to enjoy peace with God, to be reconciled to Him! But this is possible only as we commit ourselves to Him who was “delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification.” Indeed, Paul follows these words in Romans 4:25 with the declaration:

    “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

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Practical Instructions For Our Teens
by Pastor Paul M. Sadler


Scripture Reading:

    “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise) that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
    — Ephesians 6:1,2

In all likelihood mom and dad have been impressing upon you the importance of only dating and marrying those who are saved. You may think that they are being narrow-minded, but the truth is, your parents are looking out for your spiritual well-being. The Word of God is quite clear when it comes to the matter of separation:

    “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14).

Some Christian young people feel strongly that there is no harm in just dating the unsaved. But why become emotionally involved in a relationship that has no future? Furthermore, it is unfair to the unbelieving party who will never understand your reasoning for breaking off the relationship. We have seen too many tragic cases where these types of associations end up in unequally yoked marriages that fail. So, may we encourage our young people to heed the godly counsel of their parents, for in so doing, you will spare yourself a lifetime of heartache.

But where can a Christian young person find Mr. or Mrs. Right? Since faithful believers do not frequent worldly establishments your search must begin where the Lord’s people gather. You must take the initiative to regularly attend church services, conferences, youth groups and camp meetings. In the meantime, a young man should be working toward financial stability while the young ladies learn to cook. After all, there is a limitation to McDonald’s!

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God No Respecter Of Persons
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In Romans 2:11 we read that “there is no respect of persons with God,” and these very words, with slight variations, are found many times in the Bible. How wonderful! No “big wheels” with Him! Rather, all stand on the same footing before His bar of justice.

Do you know why the kings in Israel’s history were — and were meant to be — so rich? This was so that they might rule with true justice, beholden only to God. The rich could not bribe the king, nor could the powerful intimidate him, for he was far richer and more powerful than they. There was only one person over the king, spiritually: the prophet, who kept reminding him of the Word and the claims of God.

Well, God is infinitely richer than all the wealthy rulers, barons and money magnates of this world put together, thus there is “no respect of persons with Him.” Also, justice is one of His divine attributes, hence it is unthinkable that He should show favoritism.

But now a question: If God is no respecter of persons, why did He favor one nation, Israel, above all the rest and, for many centuries, bless them above all others? The answer: God made a difference to show that “there is no difference” (Rom. 3:22,23). He made an artificial difference, a dispensational difference, to show that there was no essential difference, no moral difference. He erected a “middle wall of partition” between us to show that that wall must be broken down (Eph. 2:14-16).

And thus it is that the same God who once said to Israel:

    “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant … Unto you first…” (Acts 3:25,26)

— this same God now says:

    “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentile], for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.

    “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:12,13).

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The First Book To Read
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam


In years gone by, when life was simpler, men had more time to ponder over the really important questions: What will become of me when I die? Is there a heaven — and a hell? Can I know God? Will He forgive my sins? If so, on what basis? What must I do to be saved?

The materialism, commercialism and technology of our day, however, have so complicated life that secondary problems hinder many people from even considering at leisure that which is most important.

Yet, despite all the hurry and anxiety, all the noise and distraction, there are troubled souls, hungering and thirsting for true satisfaction, for hearts cleansed from sin, for deliverance from the awful burden of a guilty conscience.

Such people should read Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and meditate on its great message of salvation. In fact, this is the first book they ought to read.

In Romans the inspired Apostle declares that “all have sinned” (3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (6:23). But this is not all. Romans also proclaims the good news that the Lord Jesus Christ “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” and that therefore we may have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (4:25; 5:1).

More than this, Romans offers abundant grace to all who trust in Christ. “The law entered that the offence might abound, but where sin abounded grace did much more abound” (5:20,21). Thus believers are “justified freely by [God’s] grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:24) and “the [free] gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23).

We urge those who are not sure of salvation to read carefully and prayerfully this great Epistle to the Romans. You may be thanking God for the rest of your earthly life — and forever — that you did.