September 24, 2009 OUR NATIONAL FRUSTRATION by Cornelius R. Stam Printer Friendly Version The administration has been launching a counter-attack against what it calls "the rising mood of national frustration" over the contest with the Soviet Union. This "mood of national frustration" is reflected daily in the press and over radio and TV. So much of the news, lately, is disheartening; so little encouraging. But this national frustration is not basically the result of Soviet saber-rattling; it is the result of our own moral and spiritual decadence, for the same newspapers that carry so much bad news about communism, are filled with reports of drunkenness, rape, murder, corruption in business and government, and all kinds of immorality, vice and crime. And what is the reason for all this wickedness? America is getting farther and farther away from the Bible and its message about Christ and His redeeming work. While proclaiming man's inherent goodness, men are demonstrating their inherent badness and their need of salvation. True Christians are not frustrated by the present circumstances, however. Acknowledging that they are unworthy in themselves and confessing Christ as the One who "bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (I Pet. 2:24), they rejoice that they stand before God "accepted in the Beloved [One]" (Eph. 1:6). "Therefore, being justified by faith, [they] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:1) and claim His help in all they do. Far from being frustrated, the true believer in Christ exclaims with Paul: "Thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ" (II Cor. 2:14). Do men consider him the loser because he is despised and sometimes persecuted by those who do not share his concern about sin and salvation? He replies: "Nay, in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS, through Him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37). Is he afraid? Not at all. Enjoying a personal relationship with God, he says: "HE HATH SAID: I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE, SO THAT WE MAY BOLDLY SAY:... I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN SHALL DO UNTO ME" (Heb. 13:5,6). 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." We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.