“The story is told of a certain African tribe that learned an easy way to capture ducks in a river. Catching their agile and wary dinner would be a feat indeed, so they formulated a plan.

“The tribesmen learned to go upstream, place a pumpkin in the river, and let it slowly float down into the flock of ducks. At first, the cautious fowl would quack and fly away. After all, it wasn’t ordinary for pumpkins to float down the river! But the persistent tribesmen would subsequently float another pumpkin into the re-gathered ducks. Again they would scatter, only to return after the strange sphere had passed. Again, the hungry hunters would float another pumpkin. This time the ducks would remain, with a cautious eye on the pumpkin; and with each successive passing, the ducks would become more comfortable, until they finally accepted the pumpkins as a normal part of life.

“When the natives saw that the pumpkins no longer bothered the ducks, they hollowed out pumpkins, put them over their heads, and walked into the river. Meandering into the midst of the tolerant fowl, they pulled them down one at a time. Dinner? Roast duck.”¹

There is much deception in this world. We need to be cautious and on guard with the things we hear and read. In life, the pumpkins of false doctrine and error keep subtly coming at us. There are dangerous teachings around us at all times. Sometimes because of the volume of information coming at us through television, radio, the internet, and social media, we let our guard down and we begin tolerating them. We can feel safe when we are not. We can very easily get caught in “the snare of the devil” (2 Tim. 2:26) and be led astray into error and unsound doctrine if we don’t keep our focus on the truth of the Word, rightly divided.

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13).

This verse shows that Paul had no grand illusions that the world would become better and better. Rather, by divine revelation, he wrote that things and people will only get “worse and worse.” Paul informs us that, as the dispensation of grace progresses, deception will only go from bad to worse, and it will get so bad and out of hand that deceivers will believe their own lies. After peddling their lies for so long, they will actually come to believe them personally. Of course, we know that they are ultimately being deceived by Satan (2 Cor. 11:13-15; Rev. 12:9).

We visited Mount Rushmore earlier this year. As we were walking in, I noticed a booth set up by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the free speech area. There were a few people staffing the booth. As I looked at the booth and literature and knowing some of their deceptive, false teaching, it made my blood boil. On our way out, I saw an older man setting up a little chair and a simple sign with the gospel on it, right across from the Jehovah’s Witness booth. His hat said, “Jesus is my Boss.” I went over to him and thanked him for his boldness and willingness to be a light for the Lord. He was a dear brother in Christ. His name was Gary, and he had driven his motorcycle to Mount Rushmore from West Virginia just to sit there and pass out gospel tracts and share the truth. He thanked me for my encouragement and asked that we pray for him together. My family prayed with him, all of us holding hands in a circle. It struck me how the truth was made known by Gary very simply and humbly, with a small sign and some gospel tracts. He was just being a lighthouse for the truth.

Rather than telling Timothy to go after deceivers to correct the lies that they believe, Paul advises,

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Tim. 3:14).

Timothy needed to rely on what he knew to be true: what Paul had taught him. What Timothy learned from Paul, and had been assured about, was the revelation of the Mystery, the body of truth for this present dispensation of grace (Eph. 3:1-9).

We’re never going to right all the wrongs or correct all the lies people believe. It’s a waste of valuable time to try. We simply need to keep our focus on the truth and the proclamation of it. We need to do what Paul instructed Timothy to do, to “continue” or remain steadfast in the teachings of “the Word of His grace” (Acts 20:32) that the Lord committed to Paul. We must “continue” to stand for the message of grace committed to the Apostle Paul and “continue” to grow in our knowledge of it. By knowing and obeying God’s truth for today as found in the letters of Paul, we are protected from falling prey to the devil’s schemes and being pulled down into error and false doctrine.

Notes:

1. Wayne Cordeiro, “How Hunters Tempt and Nab Wary Ducks,” Preaching Today, accessed September 3, 2017, http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2013/april/7042213.html

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.

Mark’s record of our Lord’s commission to the eleven clearly states: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). As to unbelievers, baptism, of course, did not even enter into their case, thus the record goes on to say, “and he that believeth not shall be damned [condemned].”

This passage has always presented a problem for Fundamentalists who cling to the practice of water baptism and deny the special revelation committed to Paul for the present dispensation. The result has been that some change the meaning of this passage, while others contend that the last twelve verses of Mark 16 are not in the inspired originals.

To change this passage to read, “He that believeth and is saved ought to be baptized,” is simply to pervert and misrepresent the written Word of God. If a minister in the pulpit can lightly do this to one passage, beware of him; he may do it to others too.

As to the argument that the closing portion of Mark’s Gospel is not in the original, we reply that one cannot look into this contention without concluding that it is part of the inspired text.

First, it must be remembered that we have no original manuscripts of the Bible. Second, the manuscripts we do have contain it in the ratio of 300 to 1. Third, the Vatican and Sinaitic manuscripts, which do not contain it, leave spaces where it has been omitted. Fourth, we have translations earlier than our oldest manuscripts which do contain it. Fifth, we have the writings of fathers who lived still earlier, containing quotations from this passage.

The most conclusive evidence, however, is that contained in Peter’s testimony at Pentecost. Surely Peter was working under the “great commission” at this time. Surely, also, he was better able to interpret the commission than we are. The Lord had already “opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). With eyes thus opened, the apostles further sat under Christ’s special instructions for forty days before His ascension (Acts 1:3). And to cap it all, we read that “THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST” (Acts 2:4).

Surely, under such conditions Peter could not have misinterpreted his commission. And are the terms laid down in Mark 16:16 omitted from his offer of salvation, or does he change or minimize them aught? Indeed not! He emphasizes them as he says to his convicted hearers:

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

Surely, Spirit-filled Peter, taught for forty days by Christ, with his understanding opened to God’s revealed plan, would not have demanded water baptism for the remission of sins if he had not been instructed to do so. Those who would seek to eliminate Mark’s record of the commission to the eleven (later twelve) have this further fact to face. Sad to say, some also misrepresent these words of Peter’s by substituting three periods or an “etc.” for the words “for the remission of sins.”

Peter interpreted the rest of the Mark commission correctly too, for as it says, “these signs shall follow them that believe,” and he promised that “the gift of the Holy Spirit” (for miraculous power) would follow repentance and baptism.

Unless Fundamentalists are ready to interpret and proclaim the message of Mark 16:15-18 as Peter did, they should acknowledge that we are to labor, not under the so-called great commission given to the eleven, but under that much greater commission given by the ascended Lord to Paul and to us (2 Cor. 5:14-21); that commission in which water baptism has no place, but the all-sufficiency of Christ and His finished work is the theme.

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.

The early part of my Christian experience was closely identified with a denominational church that held dogmatically to the Acts 2 position. They were resting comfortably on the bed of tradition, and used its covers as security blankets to insulate themselves from the reality of God’s Word, rightly divided. But with me it was somewhat different. I kept tossing and turning and was unable to get a good night’s sleep, spiritually speaking. Something was wrong with the bed that I had climbed into, but I was unable to put my finger on the problem. The more that I studied and taught the Scriptures, the more restless I felt.

Tradition said, “Teach what Jesus taught.” But Jesus taught, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles…But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5,6). Tradition said, “Walk where Jesus walked.” But Jesus miraculously walked where no man has ever set foot before: “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea” (Matt. 14:25). Tradition said, “Obey the commandments of Jesus.” But Jesus commanded, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17,18). Tradition said, “The Church, the Body of Christ began in Acts Chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost.” But the narrative says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye [unbelieving Israel] have crucified, both Lord and Christ [Messiah of Israel]” (Acts 2:36).

When I pointed these inconsistencies out to those in spiritual leadership at the time, I was politely told not to take these things so seriously. They felt that it was far more important to win lost souls to Christ than to quibble over such insignificant matters. The Word of God insignificant—God forbid the thought! Thankfully for the sake of these religious leaders, we are not living under the former dispensation lest fire come out of heaven to consume them. Little wonder the Church is in such a state of confusion. Not long after this encounter, the Lord graciously opened the eyes of my understanding to the revelation of the Mystery.

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.