Two Minutes With The Bible ~ Christ The Son Of God

Christ The Son Of God 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society

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St. Paul opens his Epistle to the Romans by stating that the Lord Jesus Christ was “declared to be the Son of God with power,” or “powerfully declared to be the Son of God… by the resurrection from the dead” (1:4).

In Psa. 2:7, we have Christ, in prophecy, saying:

“I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee.”

Our Lord was, of course, eternally one with the Father, but the word “begotten” here comes from Israel’s laws, referring to the time when the child was officially declared to be the father’s full-grown son.

But what day was He referring to? On what day did the Father officially proclaim:

“This day have I begotten Thee”?

The answer is found in Acts 13:33, where the Apostle states that God “raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.”

So our Lord was officially — and powerfully — declared to be the Son of God at His resurrection from the dead. But what did Paul mean in II Tim. 2:7,8, where he said:

“Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL.”

The answer is that the twelve had proclaimed Christ as the Son of David, to sit on David’s throne. Theirs was “the gospel of the kingdom.” But when the King and His kingdom were rejected, God raised up another apostle, Paul, to proclaim “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24).

Christ was, indeed, raised from the dead to sit on David’s throne, and this will yet come to pass, but Paul has a message for us, here and now: that Christ was raised from the dead to certify our justification and to become the Head of “the Church which is His Body.”

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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.

                             Comments turned off while I am on blog vacation. Have a blessed day.

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ The Spirit of Holiness

The Spirit of Holiness 

by Pastor Ricky Kurth

Berean Bible Society

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“… Jesus Christ… was… declared to be the Son of God… according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:3,4).

What does it mean that the Lord’s resurrection declared Him to be the Son of God according to the spirit of holiness? Well, have you ever heard it said that there is a difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law? When you drive 66 m.p.h. in a 65 m.p.h. zone, you are breaking the letter of the law, but you are not breaking the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law is for you to drive safely and responsibly. This is why most police officers will not ticket you for going one mile per hour over the speed limit.

The letter of the law of holiness is expressed well in Proverbs17:15:

“He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord.”

But isn’t that what God did at the Cross, when He condemned “that Just One” (Acts 22:14) and justified wicked sinners such as ourselves? In so doing, He surely broke the letter of the law of holiness.

Or did He? For those who would argue that God was not acting in accord with the law of holiness, we would reply that when God the Father took your sins and placed them on the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, He justly condemned the One who was made wicked (II Cor. 5:21). Then when you believed the gospel, God took His righteousness and put it on you, enabling Him to justify the ones who were made the very righteousness of God in Christ (II Cor.5:21). The resurrection of Christ then proved that this was also done in perfect accord with the spirit of holiness, for Christ’s sacrifice surely satisfied the just demands of God’s righteousness.

If you haven’t yet trusted Christ as your Savior, however, God has not yet given you the righteousness that is available only in Christ. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, the Apostle Paul says,

“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

The forgiveness of sins purchased by Christ’s blood is only available in Him. If you are not in Christ, you are still “in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

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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.

Comments turned off while I am on blog vacation.Have a blessed day.

Taking A Break

I'm taking a break for a couple of weeks ... or so.

Just need some down time, let the 'ol wrists and hands relax. 

Let my mind wander, ponder, ruminate.

Maybe my soul will heal from losing Lucy and Maxie. It's been nearly a year, you know, since I lost my little angel puppy. My little buddy. I'm beginning to think the pain will never abate. *sigh*

I will continue to post the Sunday devotional. God's work should never cease, even when we don't feel like going on.

So y'all have a great time.

I'll be dropping in occasionally to leave a comment, or two.

Have a blessed day my friends.

Ride Safe,

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ Confessing Christ

Confessing Christ 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society

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“…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9,10).

In these sublime words the Apostle Paul sets forth God’s simple plan of salvation. He calls it, in the preceding verse, “The word of faith, which we preach.”

But often babes in Christ are urged to get to their feet in public testimony on the basis of the words: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth . . . thou shalt be saved.” Thus new Christians are given to feel that a heart faith is not enough to make them secure; that not until they have risen in public testimony are they saved and safe.

But what, then, does the Apostle mean by these words? Does he not plainly say, “If thou shalt confess… thou shalt be saved?” Yes, but here again, as with so many other passages, a traditional meaning has been superimposed upon the actual words of Scripture. What does the English word “confess” mean? Why, nothing more than to “acknowledge,” to “admit.” And this is exactly what the original Greek word means too, nor does Romans 10:9,10 say anything about confessing before men.

The trouble is that the idea of confession has been changed to profession — even public profession — and multitudes have followed the tradition of the fathers instead of examining the Word to see what it actually says. And so “the Word of faith” has been corrupted.

But does not the Apostle clearly say “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth… thou shalt be saved?” Indeed! And he adds, “and shalt believe in thine heart!” Now let us ask: Is it with that physical organ which pumps blood into our veins that we believe on Christ as our Savior? Oh, no! You say that is merely a figure of speech; somehow the heart is associated with believing. Exactly! Then you would insist that it is with the physical mouth we must confess! Can mutes not be saved then?

As if anticipating the misinterpretation of his words, the Spirit-inspired Apostle adds:

“For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Vers. 11,13).

This is “the Word of Faith, which we preach.”

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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.

Funny Friday ~ If The Democrats Were Defined As Avian

Get Fuzzy

by Darby Conley

Ride Safe,