Yearly Archives: 2016

Is the Word of God Consistent?

Posted on by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

Inconsistencies are the way of man. Politicians are inconsistent; they often promise one thing and do another, depending on how the political winds are blowing. The testimony of a murderer is often inconsistent with the evidence that is presented. Even medical science is inconsistent with its own declarations. The conventional wisdom years ago was to stay in bed for two weeks after major surgery to heal properly. Today, most patients are required to be up and around the same day.

I recall the time I was speaking to a young dispensationalist who was convinced that the “two…in the field; the one…taken, and the other left” was clearly the Rapture. I graciously shared with him that he was anticipating revelation. That is, he was taking something he had learned from Paul’s writings and was superimposing it on the Lord’s teaching about His Second Coming. I pointed out to him that his view was inconsistent with the context of Matthew 24. When I inquired who was removed from the earth in the days of Noah, the believer or the unbeliever, he was speechless.

Unlike man, the Word of God is never inconsistent with itself, even though it may appear to be at times. God is omniscient; therefore, His Word is like a finely woven tapestry from beginning to end. A friend in Christ once wrote to me about an observation he had made from the gospel according to Matthew:

Here’s one that will probably stump you—it has me! Matthew states that the “blood money” that was used to purchase the potter’s field after Judas hanged himself was in fulfillment of “…that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet” (Matt. 27:8-10). I’ve searched the Book of Jeremiah thoroughly and I am sorry to report, it’s not there.

He’s right! A few years ago he would have had me over a barrel on this one. But recently, I did some research on this portion and discovered the solution to the problem staring me in the face. Normally, the Gospel writers state, “As it is written…,” such as we have in the case of John the Baptist (Compare Luke 3:4,5 & Isa. 40:3,4). However, Matthew does not say that which was fulfilled was written. Instead, Jeremiah is said to have spoken these words, which the Spirit of God revealed to the apostle by a special revelation. This is another thread of inspiration that is carefully interwoven throughout the Scriptures (II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:21). Indeed, the Book you hold in your hand is the Word of God!

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

An Apostolic Example – 2 Thessalonians 3:8-10

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Summary:

Paul was raised a scholar (Acts 22:3) but he had a trade (Acts 18:1-3), so was able to say he didn’t eat any man’s bread “for nought” (IITh.3:8) or for nothing. That is, he paid for his keep. Paul had to work “night and day” (3:8) to pay for his own needs and those of his helpers (Acts 20:34).

He did this even though he had the “power” not to do this (IITh.3:9). When he told the Corinthians he had the power to “forbear working” (ICor.9:1-6), he wasn’t implying that being an apostle wasn’t hard work. He told Timothy to give himself “wholly” to the ministry (ITim.4:13-15), and he wouldn’t ask him to do anything he wasn’t doing himself. Giving yourself wholly to studying and teaching the Word is hard work (Eccl.12:12).

No, he meant he had the power to “forbear working” as a tentmaker. He gave up this right in Corinth (ICor.9:12,15) because they were a big church, the only church Paul wrote to that was too large to meet in a home (ICor.11:18cf.22), and they were in a wealthy city. Because of this, “ten thousand instructors” had descended on the church, all claiming to be spiritual leaders, and all wanting to be paid.

That means when Paul hit town, he knew he had to do something to distance himself from these religious hucksters, so he didn’t do what he usually did when he entered a city. He usually went straight to the synagogue (Acts 13:13,14; 14:1; 17:10). He eventually got to the synagogue in Corinth (18:4), but first he got a job (18:1-3) to show he wasn’t after their money like all the religious profiteers. This way they knew he wasn’t lying when he told them he didn’t want their money, he wanted them (IICor.12:14).

Paul also gave up his right to forbear working in Ephesus, as we’ve seen he told the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:34). He prefaced that remark by saying he hadn’t coveted their gold (v.33) because he’d probably been charged with coveting their gold. People probably suspected he put the idol-makers out of business so that he could swoop in and start a church and start collecting the money that people used to spend in worshipping Diana. In addition, since Paul added that he worked with his hands in Ephesus to teach the elders to give to the weak (v.35), we know this was another reason he gave up his right to forbear working.

In Thessalonica, Paul gave up his right to forbear working as “an ensample” to them (IITh.3:9), knowing that some had quit working when they heard the Rapture was imminent. To address this error, he reminded them that from his very first visits with them he had told them if any wouldn’t work, he shouldn’t eat (3:10). Notice that he didn’t say if any couldn’t work he shouldn’t eat, he was addressing those who could work but had ceased working.

Even under the Law, if you lost your job, no one handed you a free lunch. Farmers were told not to glean their crops too carefully so that the poor and unemployed could follow the reapers and earn their meals (Lev.19:9,10).

It is human nature to overreact to the thought of imminent deliverance. After Moses told Israel they were about to be delivered (Ex.4:29-31), they couldn’t quit their jobs as slaves, of course, but they may have slacked off enough to give merit to Pharaoh’s charge that all that talk about going into the wilderness to sacrifice to God had “let” or hindered them from their burdens (Ex.5:4,5). It is natural to overreact to the thought of imminent deliverance, but doing what comes naturally is never a good thing (ICor.2:14).

If you’re thinking this wasn’t much of an Easter message, I assure you that working for a living is part of living the resurrection life of Christ (Phil. 3:10). “The power of His resurrection” was the power that enables us to do good works. When the unbeliever does good works it is sin (Mt.7:22,23). So if Paul says we should work with our hands the thing which is good (Eph.4:28), surely going to work is a good work—if you are a believer. If you are not a believer it is a sin (Pr.21:4). Going to work is a good and righteous thing to do, but if you are not saved, it is a work of self righteousness, something that is filthy in the eyes of God (Isa. 64:6).

Determining What is Acceptable to God

Posted on by Pastor Paul M. Sadler

“Living the Christian life can be challenging at times. How do we determine what is acceptable to God when there is no direct command of Christ?”

The Word of God is always relevant—it transcends the ages! If a particular matter isn’t dealt with specifically in Paul’s writings, we are to defer to a broader principle. For example, you may want to ask yourself the question, will my action or participation in something glorify God? If you have any reservations whatsoever, you are probably skating on thin ice. Paul says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31).

Another principle to apply is to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil” (I Thes. 5:21,22). Proving has the sense of putting things to a test. If you are remodeling an old house and the steps going upstairs look unsafe, you naturally make sure that the steps will hold your weight before you attempt to ascend the stairs. We wouldn’t think of placing ourselves in harm’s way—the same should also be true of our spiritual life.

Test: Should we take possession of something that is not rightfully ours? To illustrate, what would you do if you came across a satchel of money sitting beside a park bench? Often, examining the conduct of a servant of God in such matters will help determine whether our actions will be acceptable to the Lord.

When the Apostle Paul won Onesimus to Christ at Rome he could have reasoned that since this runaway slave’s slate was wiped clean from past offenses he would claim him as his own. After all, think how profitable Onesimus could have been to Paul in the work of the ministry. But Onesimus rightfully belonged to Philemon, so the aged apostle returned him, along with a letter, to allow his coworker in the faith to make that decision. In other words, he didn’t simply assume his friend would understand, he did what was right. The Lord will handsomely reward Paul for his good deed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. What would you do if you found yourself in a similar set of circumstances?

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

What’s Hiding Under that Cloak?

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

“If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin” (John 15:22).

What on earth did the Lord mean here when He said that if He hadn’t come, the unbelieving Jews He had mentioned in the previous verse “had not sin”? Surely they had sinned, whether He had come or not!

To find out what He meant, we have to define a word that we don’t use very often, the word “cloke,” spelled cloak in our day and time. A cloak is a loose, sleeveless garment that is worn over other clothing, and about the only time that this writer hears the word even mentioned is when someone puts their coat in the cloakroom of a restaurant. If you can’t picture what a cloak would look like, but you can picture the mythical character Dracula, he is always depicted wearing a cloak.

Now the thing about a cloak is that you can easily conceal something under a loose, sleeveless garment, such as a dagger. This has given rise to the expression cloak and dagger, a figure of speech that refers to espionage. For this reason, when this word is used as a verb, to cloak something means to hide it. Star Trek fans will remember that Klingon and Romulan vessels were equipped with cloaking devices that made it so that you couldn’t see their ships coming. And no, I’m not a geek, I had to look that up!

All of this helps us understand what the Lord meant when He said that if He hadn’t come they would not have had sin. He didn’t say “they had not sin, then I came and now they have sin.” He rather said, “They had not sin, then I came and now they have no cloak for their sin.” In other words He was saying, “Now that I’ve come, they can’t hide their sin any more,” and I believe He had a specific sin in mind, an all-encompassing one that He mentions in the next verse.

“He that hateth Me hateth My Father also” (John 15:23).

The comprehensive sin that these unbelievers were cloaking so successfully before the Lord came was hatred of the Father. Since the Law commanded the Jews to love the Father (Deut. 6:5), it was a sin to hate Him, and for centuries unbelieving Jews had cloaked their hatred for God with their religion, which provided the perfect cover. Practicing Judaism made it appear that unsaved Jews loved the Father, but as the Lord said of them: “This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matt. 15:8 cf. Isa. 29:13).

If you are wondering how the Lord’s coming uncloaked their hatred of the Father, remember that He represented God the Father in the flesh, and so when He showed up and they hated Him, it showed they hated the Father.

But notice in our text that it wasn’t just the Lord’s coming that uncloaked their sin. He said, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not sin” (v. 22). How did His words uncloak their hatred? Well, remember, His words were the Father’s words (John 3:34; 8:26; 12:49). So when the Lord spoke the words of the Father and they hated His words, they were actually hating the Father’s words!

If you are not convinced that this is what the Lord had in mind, consider what He went on to say:

“If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father” (John 15:24).

This sounds a lot like what He said in our text verse, but remember that there He said that His words uncloaked their hatred, while here He affirmed that His works uncloaked it, speaking of the miraculous works that He did among them. If you are wondering how His works uncloaked their hatred of the Father, remember He said that “the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works” (John 14:10). And so when the unbelievers in Israel ascribed His miraculous works to Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24), their hatred of His works were actually hatred for the Father’s works. That’s how the Lord’s words and works uncloaked their hatred of, as He says here, “both Me and My Father.”

All this reminds us of how if you are looking for a certain book on the internet, you will usually see advertising popup ads that say something like, “If you like this book, you might also like…,” and then go on to try to sell you some other books that are similar to the one for which you had been searching and found. Similarly, if you don’t like the Lord Jesus Christ, you don’t like God the Father. You might say that you do, as the adherents of many religions do, but you really don’t! Religions that claim to love God but reject His Son are nothing more than cloaks for hatred of the Father, and you have God’s Word on it!

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

Berean Searchlight – November 2016

Posted on by kevin

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Commanding the Brethren – 2 Thessalonians 3:6-8

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Summary:

As the apostle of the Gentiles (Rom.11:13) Paul has the authority to command us (IIThes.3:6). But when he called those under his command his “fellowsoldiers” (Phil.2:25), we know he never looked down on the people he commanded, for the word “fellow” means equal. Likewise, as the “masterbuilder” of the church (ICor.3;10), he considered the builders under his command to be his “fellowlabourers” (Phile.1:24). All this means that as a good leader he’d never command us to do what he himself wouldn’t do (ITim.6:12 cf. IITim.4:7), as we’ll see later in this passage.

To command us “in the name of our Lord” means to say what the Lord said and shut up (cf. ISam.25:5-9). That’s important because commanding us to “withdraw” from a brother (IITh.3:6) doesn’t sound like something Jesus would do, it sounds like something Paul added to the instructions he received from the Lord.

But there are two Pauline reasons to “withdraw from a brother. First, if he isn’t teaching right (ITim.6:5; IITim.3:5-8). You’ll be accused of breaching the unity of the Body if you withdraw from false teachers, but those who teach other than Paul breach the unity (Rom.16:17). When we teach Pauline truth we are repairing the breaches they cause, like Israel’s priests (IIKi.12:5), something God will reward (cf.Isa.58:12).

But we are also to withdraw from those who aren’t living right (ICor.5:11-13), and we know that’s the context here since Paul says to withdraw from those “that walketh disorderly” (IITh.3:6). When Paul told them about the imminence of the Rapture, they got so excited they quit their jobs (IIThes.3:11). This impatience was why Paul prayed the Lord would direct them “into the patient waiting for Christ” (IITh.3:5).

This was a problem Paul had to address in the first epistle (ITh.4:11). Notice Paul warned those who had quit work before telling others to shun them, and then he also told the others to warn them as well (ITh.5:14). That word “unruly” is the same Greek word as “disorderly” (IITh.3:6). Only when these measures don’t work should we take the additional step of withdrawing from these brethren. Of course, those who are too “feebleminded” or “weak” to work are excluded from the instructions to withdraw from those who would not work (ITh.5:14).

Those who didn’t work weren’t following the “tradition” Paul delivered them (IITh.3:6 cf. ITh.2:9). This means in commanding them to work, he was showing himself to be a good leader who wouldn’t do anything he asked those serving under him to do, as we noted earlier.

In commanding them to follow him by working, we see a dispensational difference. While here on earth ministering to the Jews (Mt.15:24) the Lord told His followers to quit their jobs (Mt.4:18,19; Lu.5:27). This was because the Lord preached “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt.4:17), and He meant the kingdom in which Israel would be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6). And what do we know about priests? The priests, the Levites, had no inheritance in the promised land (Deut.18:1), no way of supporting them-selves other than the tithes of the other 11 tribes. But in the kingdom of heaven on earth, all Jews will be priests (Isa.66:20) and live off the support of the tithes of the Gentiles (Isa.61:6). This is why the Lord told His followers to quit their jobs, to be ready to be priests in the kingdom.

But Paul says that we are to follow the Lord as he followed Him (ICor.11:1). To follow the Lord today you have to keep working in order to have “lack of nothing” (ITh.4:11,12). This too is a dispensational difference. God has never wanted His children to lack for the basic necessities of food and clothing (ITi.6:8), but the means by which we obtain these things has changed. To have “lack of nothing” in Moses’ day, you had to collect manna (Ex.16:15-18; Deut.29:5). When the Lord sent the 12 out to preach without provisions, they didn’t lack (Lu.22:35), since the people they ministered to supported them as He said they would. At Pentecost they had no lack because they pooled their resources (Acts 4:34,35). But to have no lack in the dispensation of grace, you have to go to work!

A Reason to Sing!

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

During their seventy years of captivity in Babylon, the people of Israel didn’t feel much like singing:

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

“We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

“For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psa. 137:1-4).

We are told that the children of Israel were well known for their music, and we wouldn’t be surprised if this were so, for faith in our God has inspired countless great compositions down through the centuries. But when their captors demanded that they sing the songs that expressed the joy they felt in their God and their homeland, the sorrow they felt in their hearts would not allow these captives to give voice to such expressions while shackled with the chains of Babylonian bondage.

But if God’s people cannot sing outside of their Promised Land, how can Paul call on us to be “speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19)? How can we sing the Lord’s songs in the land made strange to us by the anti-God sentiment found all around us, and the iniquity upon iniquity that we see on every hand?

We believe it is because God has already “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). Remember, we serve a God that “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Rom. 4:17). In that passage, God was able to call Abraham “the father of many” before he had any children. This is because God had promised to multiply his seed, and so in the mind of God he already had a multitude of descendants! In the same way, God can use the past tense in describing how we are already “glorified” (Rom. 8:30), and since the Lord has promised that we will one day “reign with Him” (II Tim. 2:12) from thrones on which we will sit together with Christ in heavenly places, in His mind it is as good as done, we are as good as there.

And if that’s not something worth singing about, I don’t know what is!

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

What About ‘Heaven Is For Real’?

Posted on by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Back in 2014, a popular film called Heaven Is For Real told the story of a 3-year-old boy who had a near-death experience.  Afterwards he told his parents stories about his trip to Heaven.  This story is often touted as “proof” that Heaven is real.

But as the Lord said, “no man hath ascended up to heaven” (John 3:13). We know that later, when Paul was stoned to death (Acts 14:19), he was “caught up to the third heaven” (II Cor. 12:2), but this was so he could continue to “come to visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1). Now that the Bible is complete, there is no need of any further revelations from God, and so there is no need for anyone to be caught up to heaven and return.

The only reliable information about heaven is found in God’s Word. After describing the vision of the kingdom of heaven that the Lord gave him, Peter added that the Word of God was “more sure” than what he had seen with his own eyes (II Pet. 1:16-19).

It’s tempting to think that this boy’s experience will persuade people to believe, but Abraham was right: “if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.