A message by Pastor Paul M. Sadler from the 2001 Fall Bible Conference of the Midwest Grace Fellowship.
Monthly Archives: October 2016
The Cross of Christ
Perhaps you are reading these lines but do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We want you to know that life begins at Calvary! To illustrate consider for a moment the vertical beam of the Cross. It represents the way through which the broken relationship between God and the sinner can be restored. The way is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).
In your heart of hearts you know that you are not right with God. Sin has separated you from the Holy One of Heaven and has made a mess of your life! It’s left you living in fear of death and the judgment to come. I know, I’ve been there! Salvation is not found in what you can do to make yourself acceptable to God, but what He has already done for you at Calvary.
The only way to restore your broken relationship with God is to believe that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (I Cor. 15:3,4). As the song says, “When He was on the Cross, you were on His mind.” The moment you place your faith in Christ’s finished work, you will be forgiven of all your sins: past, present, and future. Keep in mind, too, that the day Christ died all of your sins were yet future.
Nothing in this life is free, someone paid for it! This is also true of God’s provision of salvation; Christ paid for it with His precious blood. Today, God is offering salvation as a free gift to all who place their trust in His Son. When you believe the gospel, the burden of your sins will be lifted. You will for the first time in your life experience “peace with God” through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1). Once this relationship is established, it is permanent because you are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the redemption of the purchased possession (Eph. 1:13,14).
We might liken the horizontal beam of the Cross to our relationship with those around us. Our lives touch the lives of others. God has believers in every walk of life so that those who are still outside of Christ might have the opportunity to hear the good news. This horizontal beam also represents the importance of reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have yet to see the revelation of the Mystery (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:8,9), which raises an important question: when was the last time you shared Paul’s gospel with a Christian friend?
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.
Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.
A Spiritual Oxymoron – 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17
Summary:
The word “fast” (v.15) can mean firm or secure, as in how God set the mountains securely in place (Ps.65:5,6). So when Paul tells us to “stand fast” in the knowledge that God has chosen us to salvation from the Tribulation (v.13,14), we should stand in that truth as firmly as a mountain. Did you know Paul always told people to stand fast in things in which they weren’t standing fast.
He told the Corinthians to “stand fast in the faith” because they had departed from the faith when they ceased believing in the resurrection (ICor.15:32). He told the Galatians to “stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal.5:1), the yoke of bondage being the Law of Moses. They had forgotten that “we are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom.6:15). The apostle told the Philippians to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil.1:27), because two ladies were feuding (4:2) and the church was taking sides. But Paul told the Thessalonians to stand fast in the knowledge of the pre-tribulation rapture because they weren’t standing fast in it, due to a letter that someone wrote them and signed Paul’s name to (2:1,2).
When Paul told them to “hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (v.15), Rome uses this verse to enforce their position that the oral traditions of the church are equal in authority with Scripture. They also point to II Timothy 3:14, where Paul tells Timothy to continue in things he had “learned” apart from “the holy Scriptures (v.15).
But the danger of following oral traditions can be seen in one that got started in the Lord’s time (John 21:21-23). Rome claims her traditions should be obeyed because they go back to the early church, but this one goes back earlier than that, and is still wrong!
The Pharisees accused the Lord’s disciples of breaking their tradition (Mt.15:1-3), but He pointed out that their tradition transgressed God’s Word. Traditions that contradict the Word are transgressions.
The only reason Paul told Timothy to continue in the things he learned apart from Scripture was because Timothy knew he learned them from Paul (IIITim.3:14,15). Before the Bible was complete, oral traditions of the apostles were equal with Scripture, but when the Bible was complete they were incorporated into the Word. No tradition today outside the Word can be trusted. So the “word” of II Thessalonians 2:15 that they were to hold was the word of Paul.
The word “tradition” just means things delivered (Rom. 6:17). Paul expected the Thessalonians to keep the doctrinal traditions delivered to the Romans, and to all seven churches he wrote to, just as the Lord told each of the seven churches in Revelation 2,3 to obey the information in all seven letters (Rev.2:l7,11,17,23,29; 3:6, 13,22). Paul actually uses the word “delivered” for the doctrines of salvation (ICor.15:3,4) and the Lord’s Supper (11:23).
A “consolation prize” is what you get when you don’t receive the main prize, but “everlasting consolation” (IIThes.2:16) refers to the main prize of the comfort of the pre-trib rapture. Paul uses the word “comfort” for this doctrine over and over (IThes.3:1-3; 4:17-5:11).
That’s why he goes on to talk about “good hope through grace” (IIThes.2:16). Israel’s hope under the Law was to go through the Tribulation to enter the kingdom, but our good hope under grace is to be raptured before it.
There are other differences in our hope. Israel will be “comforted in Jerusalem” (Isa.66:13). “He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden” (Isa.51:3). God won’t comfort saved Jews by taking them to heaven, He’ll bring heaven to Jerusalem for them.
Paul says the knowledge of the pre-trib rapture will “stablish” us (IIThes.2:17). Of course! It’s part of Paul’s gospel (Rom.16:25). This is different than how Israel was established, only after suffering the Tribulation (IPe.5:10).
Reaching Real Maturity
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.
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.
Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.
Saved By Grace Alone
A message by Pastor Paul M. Sadler from the 2001 Fall Bible Conference of the Midwest Grace Fellowship.
Enriched in Utterance and Knowledge
“I’m a little foggy on the meaning of this passage. ‘That in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you’ (I Cor. 1:5,6).”
The key to understanding this passage is to remember that Paul was writing to the Corinthians during the transition period. The apostle was showing them how they had been enriched by the Lord when He imparted to them the supernatural gift of tongues (utterance) to communicate Paul’s gospel, and the gift of knowledge that they might more fully understand the will of God (I Cor. 12:4-11). This is confirmed for us in the very next verse where Paul said to them, “So that ye come behind in no gift” (I Cor. 1:7). These miraculous gifts were the “testimony of Christ” that was confirmed in them. This was a demonstration that God was now working among the Gentiles. Thus we are introduced by the Apostle Paul to a new creation, which is the Church, the Body of Christ.
Once the Body of Christ was established in the faith, and the Word of God was completed by Paul (i.e., the Mystery), the supernatural sign gifts of the Acts period ceased (I Cor. 13:8-11 cf. Col. 1:25,26). God has replaced these gifts with something infinitely better: faith, hope, and love (I Cor. 13:13). Subsequently, if you want to know the will of God for this present age you must turn to Paul’s epistles for guidance. This is also true as you live for Him day by day
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.
Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.
Bound to Give Thanks – 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
Summary:
Paul is not thanking God that He saved them from Hell. The word “salvation” has different meanings. Israel was saved from the Egyptians (Ex.14:13; Jude 1:5). Paul talked about being saved from a storm (Acts 27:31). And in the Thessalonian epistles, “salvation” can refer to salvation from the Tribulation. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord” (ITh.5:9). You don’t have an appointment to obtain salvation from Hell, you obtained it when you believed. But you have an appointment to obtain salvation from the Tribulation by the “salvation” of the Rapture (Romans 13:11).
And it is this salvation to which we were chosen, not salvation from Hell. True, the Bible says “He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph.1:4), but it doesn’t say we were chosen to be in Christ, it says we were chosen—in Christ. Christ is God’s elect:
“Behold…Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth…He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:1).
Christ is the only man God could delight in. When we go to the polls, we have to hold our nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. Not God! He delighted to elect Christ to rule the Gentiles in the kingdom. And the way that Jews became part of His elect was by faith in Him. But God also chose Christ to rule the angels in heaven, and when we believe in Him, we become part of that elect (ICor.6:3).
We are also “predestinated” (Eph.1:5), but that doesn’t mean God predetermined our destination to heaven as op-posed to hell, it means to heaven as opposed to the earth where Israel will rule the Gentiles. Remember, “we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated” (Eph.1:11). Our inheritance is to judge angels, but was told, “thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles” (Isa.54:3). But you’re predestination to go to heaven in the pre-tribulation rapture, is thesalvation Paul felt “bound” to thank God for.
“Bound” means under legal or moral obligation. Even
under the Law, thank offerings were voluntary, and Paul wasn’t under the Law (Rom.6:14). But he felt a moral obligation to thank God they were saved from the Tribulation for them, since they were no longer thanking God for it now that they lost the hope of the pre-trib rapture.
Anytime God does anything, someone should thank Him. The unsaved don’t thank Him for the sun and rain He gives them (Mt.5:45), or for “life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25), so we should thank God for them.
We were chosen to this salvation “through sanctification of the Spirit” (IITh.2:13). Sanctification means to be set apart to God (Ex.13:2,12), and we’ve been set apart to be saved by the pre-trib rapture.
Normally sanctification is from the unsaved (ICor.6:9-11), but here it is from the Jewish kingdom saints who will have to go through the Tribulation. That exact phrase “sanctification of the Spirit” is only elsewhere used by Peter to write to “the…elect according to the fore-knowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit” (I Peter 1:1,2). God foreknew the Jews would go through the Tribulation, so the Spirit sanctified them from us, the people He foreknew would be raptured before it. Peter went on, “that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold…though it be tried with fire” (1:6,7) and that’s Tribulation talk (Zech.13:9;14:1)
This is why Paul went on to say that they’d been chosen to be saved from the Tribulation “through belief of the truth,” Paul’s truth, and why they were called by Paul’s gospel (IIThes.2:14). If they were called by Peter’s gospel, the Spirit would have separated them to go through the Tribulation. This explains why Paul called us “them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate” (Rom.8:28). God predetermined that our destination would be in heaven rather than the earth, so He called us by Paul’s gospel to obtain the glory of the pre-trib rapture. Saved Jews under the kingdom program were also called to obtain glory but only after they have “suffered” the Tribulation (I Pet.5:10).
Was Paul Saved Under the Kingdom Program?
“Was Paul saved under the kingdom program?”
No, Paul was “a blasphemer” (I Tim. 1:13) who, as a strict, Law-abiding Pharisee (Acts 26:5), would never blaspheme the Father, but was among those who blasphemed the Spirit when they stoned Stephen (Acts 7:51-8:1). This rendered him ineligible for salvation under the kingdom program, for the Lord had warned, “him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven” (Luke 12:10).
How then could God save Saul? Well, remember that the Lord had warned, “whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come” (Matt. 12:32). The nation of Israel blasphemed the Spirit in the world that the Lord spoke of as “this world” when they rejected Stephen, a man filled with the Spirit (Acts 7:55). “The world to come” is defined in Hebrews 2:5 as the kingdom, the “world” which God will “put in subjection” under Christ, where people will fully know “the powers of the world to come” (Heb. 6:5) that they only tasted at Pentecost.
Since blasphemy against the Spirit was unforgivable in both those worlds, we know Saul was saved under the program of a whole new world, the dispensation of grace, “this world” in which we live (Eph. 1:21), “this present world” in which we are to walk and please God (Titus 2:12).
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."
To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.
Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.
Berean Searchlight – October 2016
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The Charter of the Church
A message by Pastor Paul M. Sadler from the 2001 Fall Bible Conference of the Midwest Grace Fellowship.
