When we rightly divide the Word of truth, we learn that Paul’s epistles are written directly to us, the Church, the Body of Christ. The letters of Paul are the commands and will of Christ for His Church in this current dispensation of grace (Eph. 3:2). Our Bibles should reflect our belief. What you will often find with Bibles used by grace believers is that the pages for the letters of Paul are worn or even falling out. It’s easy to find Paul’s epistles because they are either bulging out or you can see the wear on the edge of the pages from turning there so often.

We are to read, study, learn, and declare “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), knowing that all the Bible is “written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4), but not all the Bible is written to us for our direct instruction and obedience. If you have a Bible that looks like the Bible pictured above, which is one of my father’s old Bibles, know that this is pleasing to the Lord. It shows you are following and living by God’s will for this dispensation of grace. And a well-worn Bible, especially with the pages of Paul’s letters worn out, can lead to a well-lived life. It is God-honoring to have a Bible that shows the wear on Paul’s epistles!

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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