It Makes All the Difference

We once had a friend named Richard, a handyman who fixed small motors and engines. He had a faithful dog that kept him company everyday in his shop. This dog excitedly jumped to greet Richard, and then followed him around like a shadow, giving him affection, and acting like she thought he was the best man in the world. One day while observing all this, I complimented the dog. Richard smiled and said, “You know, she’s the same every day and after all these years, she’s never complained once.”

It’s a shame more people don’t have the same kind of disposition that Richard’s dog had: a good attitude. But it is possible. Remember God’s prophet Daniel? When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, Daniel, along with others, was taken captive to Babylon. In this process, he was forcibly stripped of his freedom, homeland, name, and ultimately his manhood (Daniel 1). He was placed in the charge of “the prince of the eunuchs” (1:7), which meant he was castrated to make him a safer subject in proximity to the king and his realm. Daniel could have responded to all these brutal events with anger and resentment, but he didn’t. The queen described Daniel as one who had “an excellent spirit” (5:12). It was because of this quality that Daniel had been elevated to “master” of the king’s magicians and astrologers. As the king observed Daniel, he elevated him further for his good attitude. Daniel 6:3 states, “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”

A famous preacher once commented that he believed attitude was more important than facts, education, money, circumstances, failure, or skill, that it will make you or break you.* Proverbs 17:27 says it this way: “He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.” Like Daniel, each of us can make a conscious choice to have a good spirit, or attitude, no matter what our circumstances. We can choose not to complain, be bitter, resentful, or negative. We can choose to exalt our Savior with not just a good attitude but with “an excellent spirit.” Is this going to describe you today?

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

On the Brink of Extinction

The extinction of the dodo bird has been so well known for such a long time that it has given rise to the expression, “dead as a dodo.” There is, however, another dodo that we fear is also on the verge of extinction:

“Eleazar the son of Dodo…smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day…” (II Sam. 23:9,10).

Eleazar’s name appears here among a list of “the mighty men whom David had” (v. 8), and in smiting the Philistines until “his hand clave unto the sword” and they literally had to pry his fingers from the hilt, this dedicated soldier proved himself mighty indeed! What an inspiration this makes him to those of us who are called upon by God to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (II Tim. 2:3)—and that would include all who name the name of Christ. It is the duty of every believer to “put on the whole armour of God” (Eph. 6:11), armor which includes “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17). Continue to use it even when someone tells you they don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word. No soldier ever sheathed his sword just because his opponent said he didn’t believe it would cut!

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Holding Faith – 1 Timothy 1:19-20

Summary:

If you are going to go to war to war a good spiritual war-fare (1:19), you’d better be “holding” a weapon known as “faith.” Comparing Scripture with Scripture we learn that “faith” is “the faithful word” that Timothy and Titus were “taught” by Paul (IITim.1:13). If you want to hold Paul’s message as tightly as the Jews held their tradition (Mark 7:3), you’ll have to view the Word as Job did (Job 23:12).

To war this warfare you must also be holding “a good conscience” (v.19). But don’t let your conscience alone be your guide, as the world says. Paul was able to say he had lived in all good conscience (Acts 23:1) even though he’d murdered believers (Acts 22:4). And he wasn’t talking about just since he was saved (II Tim.1:3). You see, he did it ignorantly (ITim.1:13), thinking he was serving God (John 16:2).

But does that tell you how dangerous it is to let your con-science be your guide? You must hold the faith given to Paul and a good conscience or like Saul and the men who flew those planes into the World Trade Center in all good conscience, thinking they were serving God, you’ll end up warring the wrong kind of warfare with the wrong people.

If you’re thinking that everyone’s conscience knows it is wrong to murder, you’re right, we are all born with a good conscience, but a conscience can be “seared” (ITim.4:1,2) to where it is “past feeling” (Eph.4:17-19) the pricks of conscience telling you you’re doing something wrong. This is caused by bad doctrine (I Tim.4:1,2). Don’t ever let anyone tell you doctrine isn’t important, and that teaching it as we do here at Faith Bible Church isn’t vitally important.

A conscience can also be silenced by just putting it away (1:19), divorcing it, as it were (Mt.5:31). Paul says “some” who knew Paul’s gospel put it away “for filthy lucre” (Titus 1:9-11). Compare this to how everyone’s conscience knows stealing is wrong, but thieves put their conscience away. These men knew lying about Paul’s gospel was wrong but they put it away concerning faith and made shipwreck. Using this word, Paul wants you to think of the story of his shipwreck when God promised him that all who stayed in the boat with him would be saved (Acts 27:24). 276 souls were saved because they remained in the boat with Paul. When the dispensation of grace began, all believers were in the same boat, all knew Paul’s gospel was the truth for today (Acts 27:31).The only way to war a good spiritual warfare today is to remain in the boat with him.

Two that didn’t continue sailing with Paul (1:20) taught the resurrection of the rapture was past and some had missed it (IITim.2:16-18). Thinking you’d been left behind would “overthrow” your faith (v.18). If you thought God lied about rapturing you, why would you believe anything else God said? Paul countered by saying the Lord knew all that were His and wouldn’t miss any (v.19).

To stop these men, Paul delivered them to Satan, which means he put them out of the assembly (cf.ICor.5:2,5,13). The “destruction of the flesh” occurs when the man who was so sexually aggressive he slept with his step mother (ICor.5:1) went on to sleep with others who would give him a disease to destroy his flesh. Hymenaeus and Alexander weren’t doing anything that would endanger their lives, so Paul put them out of the assembly that they might “learn not to blaspheme” instead.

We normally think of blasphemy as blaspheming God’s name (Lev.24:15,16) but resisting new truth is also blasphemy (Acts 18:1-6), and that’s what Hymenaeus and Alexander did. The prophets taught the Jews that they had to go through the Tribulation, then their resurrection would come. When Paul taught we’d be raptured prior to the Tribulation, they resisted this. They also blasphemed in saying God couldn’t do what he promised and rapture us before the Tribulation as He said He would (cf. II Kings 18:33—19:3).

But isn’t the best place to learn not to blaspheme inside the church? Why put them out? Well, some people have to learn the hard way, even great men like the psalmist (Ps. 119:71). Paul believed in what the world calls “tough love”

Peace in Trying Times

The other evening I turned on the national news to see what chaos and mayhem was going on in the world. I really wasn’t surprised by what I heard! Year after year, the headlines are becoming increasingly more ominous. In the Middle East, Syria is embroiled in a major civil war; Israel is repeatedly threatened with annihilation; and ISIS is attempting to build an Islamic State where the beheadings of those who reject their ideology is commonplace. Then there’s Iran, which is nearing the completion of a nuclear bomb, that will undoubtedly result in the nuclear proliferation of other nations in the region.

In Europe, many countries are facing financial collapse. Greece has already declared bankruptcy. Here in America, our government has managed to rack up a national debt to the tune of 17 trillion dollars, which our country will probably live to regret simply because there’s no one to bail us out. If this isn’t troubling enough, most of our cities are becoming more like the wild west where lawlessness has taken over our streets with daily carjackings and shootings being a common occurrence.

The opportunists have seized the moment to run commercials between these alarming headlines to alert everyone to the coming economic collapse that will make the 2008 crash look insignificant. The survivalist takes advantage of this mass hysteria to warn everyone to be prepared for the next act of God or man-made disaster by purchasing a survival kit with a large supply of food.

If you had to take two aspirins and lie down after reading these lines, it is important for you to remember that Paul predicted that perilous times (II Tim. 3:1) and lawlessness (I Tim. 1:9) would be widespread in the last days of the age of grace. These troubling events have caused many believers, who fail to rightly divide the Word of truth, to wonder if we are in the early stages of the Tribulation. But we want to assure everyone who reads these words that if you are a believer in Christ you are delivered from the future Tribulation and wrath to come (I Thes. 1:10; 5:9 cf. Rev. 6:15-17).

Not one Old Testament prophecy is being fulfilled today, including those found in the four Gospels and early Acts. This does not necessarily mean that the stage isn’t being set by Satan for coming world events. The above headlines should remind us that we are living in man’s day and will experience many times the injustices of man’s wrath (I Cor. 4:3). Through it all, we can rest in the peace of God that passes all understanding—it will keep our hearts and minds through the most trying times!

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Words Well Chosen

We have all had the unfortunate experience in life of having to speak with someone who is demeaning and offensive in how they approach a matter. They seem to relish putting people on the spot. Somehow they think that taking a hard-hitting approach will drive home their point more effectively. Usually the opposite is true, because their manner of speech is speaking more loudly than what is being said. Rather than relationships being strengthened, they are destroyed by abrasive words.

This type of response from the unsaved shouldn’t surprise us, but it should never be true of a believer in Christ. Sadly though, it is becoming increasingly true in the Christian community. One of the graces that nearly has been lost in the Church today is tact. Tact is a “keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or to avoid offense.” Essentially, it is having perception and grace when dealing with others. The Apostle Paul was a seasoned veteran in the art of tact. While he could be firm when it came to confronting error, he always did so with grace, hoping to restore the offender. More often than not, however, he exercised tact to accomplish his purpose.

A good example is when Paul addressed his countrymen in Jerusalem who were determined to take his life. As he was being led away to the castle, he requested that the chief captain allow him to speak to the unruly mob. We’re sure this probably seemed to be a strange request to the Roman captain, but he gave Paul permission to speak to his countrymen.

“Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel…” (Acts 22:1-3).

Before Paul shared his conversion on the road to Damascus, he, tactfully addressed them with titles of respect, “men, brethren, and fathers.” Then he perceptively spoke to them in the Hebrew language, the mother tongue of the chosen nation. Notice their response, “they kept the more silent.” Once he had their undivided attention, Paul identified himself with them, revealing that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, but lived most of his life in Jerusalem, where he sat at the feet of one of their revered doctors of the law, Gamaliel.

That’s tact! May the Lord give us this type of discretion when we minister to others! And may it be to the praise of His glory.

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

A Pauline Doxology – 1 Timothy 1:17-18


Summary:

Speaking of how he was the “chief” of sinners and how Christ came to save sinners (1:15,16) causes Paul to break into a doxology, an ejaculation of praise to God. Since he’s been talking about Christ, “the king” must be the Lord Jesus. Some grace believers think He is only Israel’s king since He was born “King of the Jews” (Mt.2:2). They reason that Israel was a kingdom (ISam.24:20) and kingdoms need kings, but we’re the body of Christ, and bodies need a head (Col.1:18).

It’s true there are some dispensational differences. A kingdom has to be governed by laws so God gave Israel a law that said to feed the hungry (Deut.15:8). But your head feeds your stomach because bodies are governed by love and you love your stomach (Eph.5:29). Kingdoms have laws that say don’t steal or kill so God gave Israel a law that said that, but we don’t steal or kill one another because we love one another (Ro.13:9,10; Gal.5:13). But if the mayor of the kingdom of Chicago announced there’d be no more laws, that everyone should just love one another, it wouldn’t work, it only works in bodies.

But we are part of the overall kingdom of the saved of all ages (Col.1:13). Christ sits on the throne of His holiness (Ps.47:8) till the 2nd coming (ITim.6:14,15). Meantime, if He’s your King, think maybe you should obey Him?

Like God the Father, God the Son is also “eternal” (1:17 cf. Micah 5:2; Heb.1:8-12). Christ is also “immortal,” (1:17), incapable of dying. We’ll put on immortality at the Rapture (ICor.15:53). That means we won’t be able to sin any more, for the wages of sin is death (Rom.6:23), something that must be deduced since no verses say this.

Christ was clearly visible when He was here on earth, but is now “invisible,” and not just because He’s gone. He dwells in the light of glory so bright He can’t be seen (ITim.6:16). That doesn’t mean we won’t be able to see Him in heaven. It’s just like Exodus 33:20 says no one can see God and live. You can see the glorified Christ, but you’d have to die — but we’ll be made immortal once we get to heaven!

Christ is “only wise” (1:17cf.Jude1:25) but not compared to the Father (Rom.16:27), only compared to false gods and men. In offering Christ “honour and glory” he is coming full circle back to what prompted this doxology, for He is worthy of honor and glory because He was slain (Rev.5:12), and Paul began this doxology based on this.

The “charge” (1:18) Paul speaks of is the one he gave Timothy in verses 3,4 to “charge” some to teach no other doctrine than Pauline doctrine. Since he gave him this charge according to some “prophecies” (v.18) we know the gift of prophecy hadn’t faded yet as God said it would when the Bible was complete (ICor.13:8-10). Prophecies like when Jacob predicted Judah would beat his enemies in the last days (Gen.49:1-16). Similarly, prophets predicted Timothy would be a leader of men, so Paul charged him to be one “according” to those prophecies (1:18). This suggests God saw something in that mamma’s boy that others didn’t, just as He saw in David. Even David’s father didn’t think he had it in him to be king (ISam.16:1-13). But God did, and saw something in Timothy and prophesied of it, to get Paul to charge him, and to get Timothy to respond as one of the sons of Judah did knowing what was prophesied of him (IISam.22:41). Timothy perhaps didn’t see anything in himself, but hearing these prophecies at his ordination, he manned up again and agreed with them (ITim.6:12).

We’re living in the time of the mystery and there are no prophecies of us, but we can draw courage from the “confidence” Paul had in even the Corinthians to war a good warfare (IICor.7:16; 10:3-5). Paul is confident that we’ll do more than he says (cf. Philemon 1:21). Just remember, we’re not at war with the unsaved who need the gospel, or with our brethren who teach error, we’re at war with the spirits behind them (Eph.6:11,12). How do we “war a good warfare” (ITim.1:18)? By remembering our weapons are not “carnal” (IICor.10:4), like belittling and ridiculing others. You war a good warfare by “speaking the truth in love” (Eph.4:15).

The Rapture and the Prophetic Saints

“There seems to be some confusion over the future resurrections these days. C. I. Scofield, for example, taught that at the Rapture, ‘Not Church saints only, but all bodies of the saved, of whatever dispensation, are included in the first resurrection.’ What are your thoughts on this statement?”

We hold the Scofield Reference Bible in high regard, but Dr. Scofield often failed to rightly divide the Word of God consistently, which is somewhat understandable, seeing that the truth of Paul’s gospel was still being recovered. With that said, the order of the future resurrections is as follows:

  1. Secret Resurrection of the Body of Christ: This glorious event will take place at the Rapture of the Church. It will only include those who are “in Christ,” from the Apostle Paul to the sound of the trump (I Cor. 15:51-53; I Thes. 4:13-18).
  2. First Resurrection of the prophetic saints: After the seven year Tribulation Period runs its course, it will be followed by the Second Coming of Christ to the earth. At that time, Christ will raise the believing prophetic saints of time past, along with the martyrs of the Tribulation, and usher them into the Millennial Kingdom (John 5:28,29; I Cor. 15:23; Rev. 17:6; 20:6).
  3. Resurrection of Damnation: This particular event occurs immediately following the 1,000-year reign of Christ. In that day, the unsaved of all ages will be resurrected from the dead and appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, where they will be found in their sins and judged accordingly (John 5:29; Rom. 2:4-6; I Cor. 15:24-26; Rev. 20:5,11-15; 21:8).

Thankfully, those who have trusted Christ as their personal Savior have been delivered from the wrath of God at the Great White Throne (Rom. 5:9). But what about that unsaved loved one or friend today? Don’t put it off another moment. Tell them about Christ before they slip away into a Christless eternity where all hope is lost.

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Did Christ Offer Animal Sacrifices?

“Did Christ offer animal sacrifices?”

You wouldn’t think He did, since sacrifices were brought “for atonement” (Ex. 29:36), and He had no sins for which to atone. However, He also had no sins of which He needed to repent to receive remission of them, and yet He submitted to John’s “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). Of course, we know that He was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). That is, in order for us to be numbered with the righteous, He had to be “numbered with the transgressors” so He could die for them (Isa. 53:12). So He was numbered with the transgressors in His baptism, and also when He died between two transgressors (Mark 15:28). But if He identified with sinners at the beginning of His ministry with His baptism, and at the end of His ministry with His death, perhaps He identified with sinners in between those events as well, with animal sacrifices.

But here we have to be careful how we say the Lord offered such sacrifices. As a Jew under the Law (Gal. 4:4) He had to keep the Law, for to transgress it would be sin (I John 3:4). Well, the Law required men to keep the seven feasts of Leviticus 23, each of which involved an animal sacrifice, and we know the Lord kept Israel’s feasts (Luke 22:15; John 7:2,10). These sacrifices were offered for the people of Israel as a whole, and He was one of the people, and so in this way He identified with them with animal sacrifices. But the One who “knew no sin” (II Cor. 5:21) never brought a sacrifice for any personal transgression.

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 lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.