As we examine the Bible one fact stands out with particular emphasis and clarity: The Bible was written for the
people, for the populace at large, not for some special class
among them.
St. Paul addressed his epistles to both "laity" and "clergy": "To all that be in Rome" (Rom. 12), "unto the church...
at Corinth... with all that in every place call upon the name
of Jesus Christ our Lord"
(I Cor. 1:2), "unto the churches of
Galatia" (Gal. 1:2), "to all the saints... at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons" (Phil. 1:1), etc.
When Paul proclaimed the gospel at Berea his hearers
did not take even this great apostle's word for granted, but
"searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were
so," and for this God called them "noble" (Acts 17:11). They
were the true spiritual aristocracy of their day.
Our Lord, when on earth, encouraged -- even challenged
His audiences to "search the Scriptures" for themselves
(John 5:39).
Indeed, since God has revealed Himself and His plan of
salvation in the written Word, we are responsible, each one
for himself, to study the Scriptures. When Dives begged
Abraham to allow Lazarus to go and warn his five brothers
about the horrors of hades, Abraham replied: "They have
Moses and the prophets, let them hear them," and when
Dives urged that a word from Lazarus would be more effective, Abraham answered: "If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose
from the dead" (Luke 16:29-31).
Do not depend upon your clergyman to interpret the
Scriptures for you but see for yourself what they say, for
"every one of us shall give account of himself to God"
(Rom. 14:12), and it will not be enough in that day to say:
"But my minister or priest told me..." You are responsible to "search the Scriptures" for yourself to "see whether
those things are so."
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.
Bible Study
