Abimelech, king of Gerar, had taken Abraham’s wife as his own, but had done so innocently.

Sarah was a beautiful woman and Abraham, fearful for his life, had said to Abimelech: “She is my sister”. Indeed, Sarah, also fearful, had vouched for Abraham’s lie, telling the king: “He is my brother”.

But to save the failing couple from the consequences of their own cowardice and sin, God had appeared to Abimelech, warning him that if he valued his life he would immediately return Sarah to her husband — “and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live”(Gen. 20:7).

Can this be a correct account of what actually took place? Will God hear the prayers of guilty Abraham for innocent Abimelech? Yes, for Abimelech was a pagan who served other gods, while Abraham, with all his failure and sin, was God’s child.

Abraham’s prayer would, of course, be a confession of his sin and a plea that it might not be laid to the charge of innocent Abimelech, but nevertheless it was Abraham, not Abimelech, who had access to God.

This is an important lesson to learn, for many unsaved people point to the failures of believers and say: “I wouldn’t be guilty of that. If he goes to heaven, I certainly will get there”. Nevertheless, such “good” people are lost, while poor sinners who have trusted Christ for salvation are saved and “made accepted in the Beloved One”(Eph.1:6).

There is only one way to find acceptance with God; this is by faith in His Son. Our Lord said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6), and in John 3:35,36 we read:

“The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 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.

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