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The Berean Searchlight Studying God’s Word, Rightly Divided April 2000
The
Berean SearchlightStudying God’s Word, Rightly Divided April 2000
SPRINGTIME SPECIAL
The Triumph of His GracePreparing Ourselves for the Rapture
By PAUL M. SADLER
This volume is a comprehensive study on the doctrine of the pretrib-ulational Rapture of the Church. In addition to giving a completeexposition of our Blessed Hope, this work contrasts the two comings ofChrist. The Triumph of His Grace contains charts, outlines, time linesand numerous comparisons to help the reader understand that the Bodyof Christ will be “delivered from the wrath to come.”
CLOTHBOUND GOLD STAMPED
(Includes Scripture Index)
Special Price: $9.00
THIS OFFER ENDS APRIL 30, 2000Orders up to $20.00, please add $2.00 for postage and handling.Orders over $20.00, please add 10% for postage and handling.
*Foreign orders must be remitted in U. S. currency!
April 2000 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUEApril 2000
The Berean Bible Society is an organization for the promotion of Bible study by meansof newspaper series, recorded Bible lessons, and the distribution of Bible study literature.It is a non-profit organization, a work of faith supported by the gifts of Christian friends.
The Berean Searchlight is the official organ of the Berean Bible Society,and is sent free of charge to any who request it.
Editor: Paul M. Sadler
Composition and Layout: Kevin J. Sadler
Printing: Lithocolor, Westchester, IL
Questions, comments, book orders? You can reach us at:
Berean Bible SocietyN112 W17761 Mequon Road
PO Box 756Germantown, WI 53022
Internet: <www.bereanbiblesociety.org>
E-mail: <[email protected]>
The Berean Searchlight (ISSN 0005-8890), April 2000. Volume 61, Number 2. No sub-scription price. The Berean Searchlight is published monthly (except July) at no subscriptionprice, by the Berean Bible Society, N112 W17761 Mequon Road, PO Box 756, Germantown,WI 53022-0756. Periodicals postage paid at Germantown, WI. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Berean Searchlight, N112 W17761 Mequon Road, PO Box 756, Germantown, WI53022-0756.
From the Editor to You ................................................ 4
The Life and Letters ofthe Apostle Peter (Part III) ..................................... 7
Three Crosses ............................................................... 12
Judge Not—Judge All Things ..................................... 13
Seven Basic Bible Facts EveryChristian Should Know and Believe ...................... 18
The BBI Byline ............................................................. 21
Spring Bible Conferences ............................................ 23
News and Announcements .......................................... 24
4 Berean Searchlight
From the Editor to You:
Dearly Beloved,As an author I have discovered that
writing a book is like diving off a jaggedcliff into the ocean below. You don’t fullygrasp what you’re getting into untilyou’ve taken the plunge. It begins asan adventure. You can’t wait to getstarted. After thoroughly researchingthe subject, you choose a title, jot down
the chapter headings, and pen the Preface and Introduction. This isfun!! It isn’t long however before the work becomes an obsession con-suming all of your time.
Remember that summer your family took a cross-country trip?After the first day it was as if dad had turned into a different person.He drove mile after mile without a break until the family nearly col-lapsed from exhaustion. Dad was on a mission. Well, this pretty welldescribes the second stage of writing a book. Your office becomes acloister that most monks would envy.
Just about the time you think you’re making headway, the work turnsinto a tyrant. Between trying to turn a phrase differently and writer’sblock, the taskmaster is unrelenting, driving its captive to finish theproject. At this point, the famous line by Garfield the cat came to mind,“Are we still having fun!” But then, as Winston Churchill once saidafter completing a novel, you “slay the beast and fling it to the public.”Now that Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians is finally in print, we ear-nestly pray that it will prove to be as much of a blessing to you as it wasfor me to write, in spite of the above.
As you can see, the tables in our mailroom were overflowing withbooks being prepared for shipping. In fact, to my knowledge this hasbeen the largest number of orders we have received for any volume inthe history of BBS. Of course, one of the reasons for this is due to thefact that very little has been written on Ephesians from a grace stand-point. So we thank the Lord for the interest the book has generatedand for His goodness in helping us bring it to completion.
I also want to convey my sincere appreciation to all those who faith-fully prayed for us and gave sacrificially to give birth to the messagecontained in this work. Although it is unusual, the printer somehowhad a shortfall of about five hundred volumes. Normally this is just theopposite. This means that the entire first printing is nearly gone. I toldthe staff that if they need me I can be reached at 1-800-VACATION!!!
Gratefully yours,
Paul M. SadlerPresident
April 2000 5
From Our MailbagActs 14:27
From New York:“I’m ordering Paul Sadler’s book
Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. I’mexcited about Pastor Sadler’s new book.A number of years ago my understand-ing was opened to many truths in God’sword. After I sent a letter to the Be-rean Bible Society by mistake, thinkingit was part of a different organization,Paul Sadler replied to my letter and alsowas moved to send me a copy of his bookExploring the Unsearchable Riches ofChrist along with his letter. At first Ijust thought it was very nice of him, butafter reading the book I knew it wasthe grace of God working through him.Previously I have been a diligent Biblestudent and thought I had a firm un-derstanding of the Scriptures. I neverthought I would receive a book thatwould open my understanding to rightlydividing the Word of truth. But Explor-ing the Unsearchable Riches of Christhas done just that. Thank you.”
From Washington:“Please send me six extra copies of
the Berean Searchlight each month asI like to share them with our senior cen-ter Bible class we have each Wednes-day for one hour. For 28 years I wasin bondage to a cult, today enjoy Ga-latians 5. I stand fast in the libertywherewith Christ hath made me free.”(The gospel really does “set the prisonerfree.” Ed.)
From California:“How refreshing to read the Search-
light from cover to cover. I would thatChristendom’s Evangelicals could, orrather would, see the truth rightly di-vided. What a difference it would makein the believer’s life. Without it one canonly fellowship to a point and mainlyon salvation.”
From Alaska:“A note to let you know how much
your literature means to us. We cur-rently have a home church of two, asthere are no grace churches in our area.Thanks for being there with us.”
GOD’S BLESSINGON BBS MINISTRIES
From Colorado:“Through the grace of God, the tol-
erance of a good friend, and literaturefrom the Berean Bible Society, I havebeen saved, blessed, and born unto aneternal life given to me in Christ. Re-joice evermore! I thank you for beingHis instrument in making the Word soeasy to understand. What is hard tounderstand is how so many ‘Christians’have no concept of the gospel of the Mys-tery. Don’t they read their Bibles? Mayour continued fellowship of the mysterybring Paul’s gospel to all who will hear.”(That may be the problem, they readthe Bible, but fail to study it. Ed.)
From New Mexico:“My husband and I are so grateful
to learn of the Word rightly dividedfrom my husband’s uncle in Arkansas.He told us about your little book, Be-rean Searchlight. He loaned us one towrite to you and get one sent to ouraddress. That was over six years ago.Thanks so much.”
From Indiana:“I just got home from a visit to my
parents. My mom was telling me howmuch she enjoys your books and themonthly Searchlight. She shares thesepublications with many people and theyare blessed as well. So, here is anothersmall donation to keep the Searchlightshining into a dark world. May God blessyour labors and increase your knowledgeof His love, truth, mercy and grace.”
From Tennessee:“We are thankful for your good min-
istry. Only wish we had one of yourpreachers in our area.”
From Pennsylvania:“I was so deeply blessed by the mes-
sages you gave to us on the two VHSvideo cassettes. All my family has notbeen saved yet. I think these messageson the Unsearchable Riches of Christwould finish their conversion. So pleasesend me two more sets. Thank you andGod bless you.”
6 Berean Searchlight
From Iowa:“Our prayer is that God will continue
to bless you and that many souls willcome to know Christ Jesus as their Lordand Savior. January 11th was my 85thbirthday and we thank God for each dayHe gives us. My wife and I are in goodhealth for our age. We are thankful weknow Christ Jesus and the cleansingpower of His shed blood to save us.”(Happy Birthday! Ed.)
From Tennessee:“First, I want to say how much I ap-
preciate what I have learned from theBBS. I hope that you are being greatlyblessed by the Lord and the ministry isexpanding.”
From Michigan:“First I’d like to express my grati-
tude for the receipt of the Searchlightthese many years. I am thankful foryour faithfulness in the Lord, sendingit out each month. It is most times veryhelpful and encouraging to me, as I learnmore of God’s Body truth for today...I amglad you have the Letters to the Editorsection in the front. That puts me intouch with the hearts of so many otherbelievers across the country and in theworld. My heart goes out and identifieswith the longing for fellowship sharedthere, the encouragement that othergrace churches are springing up hereand there and that other believers aregrowing in the Lord and being helpedin their daily lives and ministry.”
From Washington:“I do enjoy your Searchlight. It puts
me to sleep many nights as I end theday in Christ through you. God blessyou and your society now and always.”(Sweet dreams! Ed.)
From Michigan:“We enjoy your Searchlight and pray
for God’s great blessings on you andyour faithful service.”
From North Carolina:“Dear Pastor Sadler, your letter of
January 20th acknowledging my com-ments on certain religious issues was amost kind and gentlemanly missive. Itwas a pleasure to receive it for unfor-tunately so many in Evangelical circlesseem to lack both kindness and gentle-manly qualities. For your attitude, theLord is to be thanked.” (Courtesy is avirtue. Paul’s correspondence to Phile-mon is a good example of it at work inevery day Christian life. Ed.)
From Anonymous:“Thanks for allowing Christ to work
through you. Really enjoy the Search-light and the books. Keep spreadingthe gospel of reconciliation. Accept thissmall token of my appreciation. Wishit could be more.”
From Illinois:“Please find enclosed a check in the
amount of $.... to be used where it is mostneeded. We do appreciate the work youare doing. May the Lord bless you boun-tifully during 2000.”
From Pennsylvania:“Thank you once again for the work
at BBS and the Word of God rightlydivided. We are enjoying the tapes ofPastor Sadler’s Exploring the Unsearch-able Riches of Christ and hope to sharethem with others to bring an under-standing of God’s Word.” (Someone oncesaid to me as I started to introduce my-self: “Say no more, I’d recognize thatvoice anywhere!” Ed.)
From Iowa:“Thank you for faithfully sending out
the Searchlight so full of God’s Wordand encouragement in these confusingdays. May the Lord continue to useyour ministry, as we know God’s Wordwill not return void. We appreciate yourmessages rightly dividing the truth.Thanks again.”
“These [Bereans] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, inthat they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searchedthe Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” —Acts 17:11
April 2000 7
The Life and Letters of theApostle Peter (Part III)
By Paul M. Sadler
Having established that Paulwas careful not to build upon
Peter’s foundation, we too shouldbe vigilant to follow in his foot-steps. Although the influence ofthe Pauline revelation is clearlyseen in Peter’s writings, espe-cially in regard to spiritual re-demption, this in no way impliesthat Peter preached the Mysteryto his hearers.
Here a note of clarificationshould be given. When Peter cameto Antioch Paul justly rebuked himbefore all for withdrawing himselffrom the Gentiles. At the Jerusa-lem Conference it was Peter whodefended Paul’s apostleship, clari-fying that God was doing some-thing uniquely different amongthe Gentiles. The winds of changewere beginning to blow across thebiblical landscape. As we know,God was tearing down the middlewall of partition. Therefore, con-cerning the Body of Christ, thereis no difference between the Jewsand the Gentiles. But when Peterwithdrew himself, being aware ofthis, his actions essentially deniedPaul’s message.
It is imperative that we remem-ber two things here. First, thoseat Antioch were members of theBody of Christ operating under theguidelines of the Mystery. Thus,the Jews present were confused byPeter’s withdrawal, which causeda division. He was building againthe middle wall of partition thathe helped to destroy in regard toPaul’s ministry. Second, we must
not lose sight of the fact that dur-ing the transition period therewere two programs running sideby side. Consequently, we havetwo entities serving the Lord, theKingdom Church, and the Church,the Body of Christ.
As God gradually withdrew Hisblessing from the Kingdom Churchtheir number became fixed, whichmeant this Church eventually van-ished from the scene. Accordingto God’s secret purpose, the Churchthe Body of Christ superceded it.This naturally left the kingdomsaints at that time wonderingwhat God had in store for them.Of course, the scoffers were quickto say, “Where is the promise of Hiscoming [Second Coming]? (II Pet.3:4). They were implying, of course,that the Twelve were confused re-garding the establishment of themillennial kingdom.
While we do not deny that thetransition is a confusing periodfor many, nevertheless, Peter re-mained a kingdom apostle, beinga minister of the circumcision.(Gal. 2:7-9). Thus, he was chargedwith the task of writing to thekingdom saints, both past andfuture, to confirm the faith thathad been delivered unto them bythe Old Testament Prophets andthe Twelve (II Pet. 3:1,2). Petercharges them, “Wherefore girdup the loins of your mind, be so-ber, and hope to the end for thegrace that is to be brought untoyou at the revelation of JesusChrist.” In others words, God is
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not slack concerning His promise.They would receive their inherit-ance at the first resurrection whenChrist returns in His glory to setup the kingdom (I Pet. 1:13 cf. II Pet.1:11-21).
So then, although Peter was wellaware of the present truth of Jewand Gentile in one Body, he wasnot writing to the Body of Christ.Rather he confines his message tothe elect nation that had givenbirth to the “little flock” commonlyknown as the kingdom saints.
A HOLY NATION“Elect according to the fore-
knowledge of God the Father,through sanctification of the Spirit,unto obedience and sprinkling ofthe blood of Jesus Christ: Graceunto you, and peace, be multiplied”(I Pet. 1:2).
In keeping with the PropheticScriptures, Israel was a chosennation according to the foreknowl-edge of God the Father. God choseher from among the nations, notdue to the fact that she was thegreatest in number, for we knowshe was the fewest of all people.Rather, He chose her because Heloved her. Foreknowledge does nothave so much to do with God’sprior knowledge of the nation’sconduct, although this is included,as it does with what He would gra-ciously do for her.
Hence, Peter calls his hearersa “holy nation” (I Pet. 2:9). Eventhough she was being set aside atthe time of this writing, she hadbeen the apple of God’s eye. It wasthrough Israel that He channeledHis blessing, which will again betrue in the coming day of the Lord(Deut. 7:6-8 cf. Obadiah 1:15-21).
But simply because one was ofthe seed of Abraham did not guar-antee that he was of believing Is-rael. When John the Baptist warnedthe elect nation about the impend-ing wrath of God, he gave a scath-ing rebuke to the leaders of thenation, calling them a generation ofvipers. “And think not to say withinyourselves, We have Abraham toour father: for I say unto you, thatGod is able of these stones to raiseup children unto Abraham” (Matt.3:9). Thus, the nation was dividedinto two parts, believing Israeland those who rejected the coun-sel of God against themselves.
Peter addresses the formergroup that were set apart by theSpirit, “unto obedience and sprin-kling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”Their obedience as the covenantpeople of God had brought theminto a new relationship with theRedeemer. The phrase “sprinklingof the blood” is a Hebraism that isfound throughout the Old Testa-ment. While foreign to the Gen-tiles, this phraseology was veryfamiliar to Peter’s hearers.
You will recall Moses “took halfof the blood, and put it in basins;and half of the blood he sprinkledon the altar. And he took the bookof the covenant, and read in theaudience of the people: and theysaid, All that the LORD hath saidwill we do, and be obedient. AndMoses took the blood, and sprinkledit on the people, and said, Beholdthe blood of the covenant, which theLORD hath made with you concern-ing all these words” (Ex. 24:6-8).
This great historic event tookplace when Israel emerged as anation shortly after her captivityin Egypt. The moment Moses
April 2000 9
sprinkled the people with bloodIsrael was bound to the law, whichshe willingly agreed to obey. Shesoon learned, however, that it wasa yoke about her neck drowning herin one failure after another. Yearslater, as the light was about to goout in Israel due to the nation’srebellion, Peter reminds the obe-dient that through the sprinklingof the blood of Christ they werebrought into a new and living way.
With this in mind, at the firstencounter John the Baptist hadwith the Messiah he declared, “Be-hold the Lamb of God.” But suchwas the case with many utter-ances of the prophets; they didn’tunderstand the full meaning oftheir own words. It was not untilafter the Apostle Paul unfoldedthe significance of Calvary thatPeter began to view the Cross ina whole new light.
At Pentecost he essentially pro-claimed Christ as the silent lambbeing led before his shearers, avictim who was slain at the handsof evil men. What appeared to be agrave injustice on the surface wasthe means by which God would re-deem His people. Careful to main-tain the imagery of the lamb, withwhich his readers could easily iden-tify, Peter shows how they were re-deemed “with the precious blood ofChrist, as of a lamb without blem-ish and without spot” (I Pet. 1:19).
The sacrificial blood that wasshed, poured, and sprinkled inthe Old Testament only served tocover their sins. Interestingly, thesource of “the blood” is rarely men-tioned in time past; however, inregard to the Redeemer, “the blood”never stands alone. As it has beencorrectly said, “The One who shed
the blood is invariably specified,for it is the Person that gives valueto the work.” Consequently, theblood of Christ is called “precious,”for the sprinkling of it cleansesfrom all sin. Indeed He was “theLamb of God, which taketh awaythe sin of the world.”
GRACE AND PEACEMULTIPLIED
“Grace unto you, and peace, bemultiplied….Of which salvationthe prophets have inquired andsearched diligently, who prophe-sied of the grace that should comeunto you” (I Pet. 1:2,10).
Everything about the Mysteryis characterized by grace. Asmembers of the Body of Christ weare living in the dispensation ofGrace. Thus, we preach the gos-pel of the grace of God, salvationis by grace through faith, graceteaches us how to live a godly lifein Christ Jesus wherefore we walkby grace, and in the ages to comeGod is going to show forth the ex-ceeding riches of His grace.
Since Peter ministered under aperformance based system it is lit-tle wonder he says about Paul’steachings, “As also in all his epis-tles, speaking in them of thesethings; in which are some thingshard to be understood” (II Pet.3:16). Observing the grace of Godamong the Gentiles, Peter was be-ginning to have a fuller apprecia-tion of the prophesied grace thatwould come unto them. In fact, theSpirit had directed him to declareat the Jerusalem Council, “we be-lieve that through the grace of theLord Jesus Christ we shall besaved, even as they.” You see, theprophets had prophesied about
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the sufferings of Christ and theglory that would follow shortlythereafter in the kingdom. That’sgrace! (I Pet. 1:10-12).
Peter had caught glimpses ofgrace during the earthly ministryof Christ. A good example was thewoman taken in adultery. Whenher accusers required her deathaccording to the law our Lord in-quired: “He that is without sinamong you, let him first cast astone at her.” They were so con-victed, having more than likelycommitted the same sin in theirheart, they departed. Probablythose present heard plop! plop!plop! plop! as the stones droppedat their feet. Our Lord was a mas-ter at disarming His enemies. Hethen asked the woman, “where arethose thine accusers? hath no mancondemned thee? She said, Noman, Lord. And Jesus said untoher, Neither do I condemn thee:go, and sin no more.” The Mastercould have condemned her, for Heknew no sin, rather, He showedgrace to her (John 8:3-12).
Peter witnessed the grace of aloving God again on the day of Pen-tecost when God forgave Israel ofcrucifying her Messiah, thus givingher a second chance to receive Him.As he pondered the wonderfulworkings of God he could only say,“Grace and peace be multiplied!”
But when will the kingdomsaints fully partake of the grace ofGod that was prophesied to comeunto them? As we know, betweenthe sufferings of Christ and theglory to follow, Israel was set asidein unbelief. The casting away ofthe chosen nation covered approxi-mately a 35 year period, which wasdrawing to a close as Peter wrote
to those of the Jewish dispersion.Once again, Peter instructed hishearers to “hope to the end for thegrace that is to be brought unto youat the revelation of Jesus Christ”(I Pet. 1:13). Peter consistentlypointed his countrymen to the fu-ture resurrection and Second Com-ing of Christ at the last day.
A LIVING HOPE“Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which ac-cording to his abundant mercy hathbegotten us again unto a lively hopeby the resurrection of Jesus Christfrom the dead” (I Pet. 1:3).
Notice that Peter doesn’t ad-dress the Father as the God ofAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thiswas still true, of course, but hewanted the kingdom saints to un-derstand that the sprinkling ofthe blood of Christ had procureda closer relationship for them. Inthe Old Testament, the Father wasunapproachable due to the sinsof His people. You will recall thetime Moses sought to gather thechildren of Israel at the base of themount. When the Israelites sawthe lightning and heard the thun-der and felt the earth shake be-neath their feet, in essence theysaid to Moses, you go up there anddie, we’re going home! But nowbecause of Calvary, Peter says tohis countrymen, Christ is the way,who “suffered for sins, the just forthe unjust, that he might bring usto God” (I Pet. 3:18).
According to the Father’s abun-dant mercy He “hath begotten usagain unto a lively hope by theresurrection of Jesus Christ fromthe dead.” That is, they were bornagain unto a living hope. Men
April 2000 11
have many hopes in this life, butas Solomon wisely observed, “whena wicked man dieth, his expecta-tion shall perish.” Sometimes aman’s hope is cut short long beforehe dies as a result of illness or un-foreseen circumstances. Alexanderthe Great was reported to have said“he left hope to himself.” At the pin-nacle of Alexander’s glory his lifewas cut off and his hopes perishedwith him. It is sad indeed when aman and his hope die together.
By contrast, the hope of thesebelievers was a living hope. It willnever die because this hope findsits rest in Christ who conquereddeath. He has risen from or “outfrom among the dead” forever-more, which insures the futureresurrection of these saints. TheApostle John adds, “Beloved, noware we the sons of God, and it dothnot yet appear what we shall be:but we know that, when He shallappear, we shall be like Him; forwe shall see Him as He is. Andevery man that hath this hope inHim purifieth himself, even as Heis pure” (I John 3:2,3).
We can only imagine what acomfort this would have been tothese Jewish believers of the dis-persion who had been driven outof their homeland into the jaws ofhostile nations. Peter speaks oftheir plight as “manifold trials.”They stared into the face of death,daily, as it were, for faithfully pro-claiming the Way, the Truth, andthe Life. Their hope enabled themto endure one distress after an-other to the glory of God. ButPeter’s words here carry even moreweight for his countrymen whowill suffer through the coming dayof the Lord.
“To an inheritance incorruptible,and undefiled, and that fadeth notaway, reserved in heaven for you”(I Pet. 1:4).
Note that their inheritance isnot said to be heavenly, but re-served for them in heaven. Thereis a difference. Although the bridgehas been temporarily washed outby Israel’s national rebellion, thesaints of the dispersion and of thefuture Tribulation are depictedas marching on to Canaan’s rest,which is the end of their journey.Thus, Peter emphasizes again andagain the importance of continu-ance, hope to the end, deliveranceto be revealed in the last days, mak-ing their calling sure, obedience,etc. (I Pet. 1:5,7,9,13,14; II Pet.1:10,11; 3:14).
The inheritance that they willreceive at the day of visitation issaid to be incorruptible, and un-defiled, and that fadeth not away.Since it is of divine origin it can-not be corrupted by unscrupulousfamily members or soiled by big-otry or legal entanglements. Sinand death would be unable to robthese saints of what rightfullybelonged to them. This will beespecially comforting to the futurekingdom saints due to the inten-sity of the wrath to come. In thatday death will be a blessing, fortheir lives will be filled with sor-row upon sorrow.
“Peter emphasizesagain and again
the importance ofcontinuance....”
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THREE CROSSES“Three crosses on a lonely hill.
A thief on either side,And, in between, the Son of God...
How wide the gulf—how wide!
Yet one thief spanned it with the words,‘Oh, Lord, remember me;’
The other scoffed and turned asideTo lost eternity.
Forsaken is the hilltop now.And all three crosses gone.
But in the believing hearts of menThe center Cross lives on.
And still, as when these sentinelsFirst met earth’s wondering view,
The presence of the Lord divides—Upon which side are you?”
—Helen Franzee Bower
According to the Scriptures, what must you do to be saved? Be-lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ that He died for your sins, was buried,and rose again, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31; I Cor. 15:3,4).
In the context of the kingdomprogram, these saints are to inheritthe earth, a place in the kingdompromised to David, eternal life,etc. (Matt.5:5; 19:29; 25:34). Whilethe promise of the kingdom wasparamount in the mind of mostJews, Peter seems to lay specialemphasis on the greater promisesof the resurrection and eternal life,all of which were being reservedfor them in heaven.
This is in keeping with a prom-ise our Lord made to the Twelve.As He prepared to return to heavenHe said, “And if I go and prepare aplace for you, I will come again, andreceive you unto myself; that whereI am, there ye may be also” (John
14:3). You will recall that this wasin fulfillment of the parable of theNobleman who went into a farcountry (heaven) to receive a king-dom for himself (Christ), and thenreturn (the Second Coming). In Hisabsence they were to occupy untilHis appearing, laying up theirtreasures in heaven where neithermoth nor rust could destroy them.(Luke 19:12,13 cf. Matt. 6:20,21).
However, when God interruptedthe Prophetic Program with theMystery, their inheritance and thepromises associated with it werereserved in heaven until Christreturns in glory at the close of theGreat Tribulation.
To Be Continued!
April 2000 13
Judge Not—Judge All ThingsBy Cornelius R. Stam
How often, in our efforts to“stand” for the truth and
“withstand” error, we have beentaken to task with the use of suchScripture passages as “Judge not,that ye be not judged” (Matt. 7:1)and “the servant of the Lord mustnot strive” (II Tim. 2:24).
These passages taken by them-selves and out of context can induceweak believers to great irrespon-sibility, but it is our purpose in thisarticle to examine the Scripturesas a whole and see what they haveto say about judging others, orjudging what they say or do.
The Scriptures have much tosay about judging others and sev-eral synonyms are used. Since,however, one Greek word, “krino”is most often used in discussingthis subject, and since this is theword our Lord used when He said,“Judge not,” we will deal only withthose passages in which thisGreek root “krino” (to judge) andits derivatives, “anakrino” (tojudge strictly) and “diakrino” (tojudge thoroughly) are used. Inthis way there can at least be lit-tle or no “strife about words.”
If the interpretation so oftenplaced upon our Lord’s words,“Judge not,” were consistent withthe Scriptures as a whole, wewould not—indeed, should not—have had a Scofield, a Darby, aCalvin, a Luther—or a Paul, forthose who interpret it thus surelywould have taken strong excep-tion as Paul and Barnabas “hadno small dissension and disputa-tion” with the Judaizers who had
come to Antioch, seeking to bringthe Gentile believers there underthe Law, or as later at Jerusalem,Paul “gave place by subjection” tothese same Judaizers, “no, not foran hour, that the truth of the gos-pel might continue with [the Gen-tiles]” (Acts 15:2; Gal. 2:5).
As to the root word “krino,” (tojudge), it should be observed atthe outset that some of the pas-sages using this word urge us notto judge, while others teach asstrongly that we should judge, in-deed, that “he that is spiritualjudgeth all things” (I Cor. 2:15), sothat the interpretation of anyScriptural statement on judgingmust be determined, not by any“private interpretation,” but in thelight of the context and/or of re-lated Scripture passages.
JUDGE NOT“Judge not, that ye be not judged”
(Matt. 7:1).
Our Lord’s words here have, ofcourse, to do with judging persons(obviously for what they do or failto do), but Verse 5 indicates thatthey have reference to a certaintype of critic, “Thou hypocrite,” orone who has a “beam” in his owneye, while criticizing the “mote”(any small, dry particle) in hisbrother’s eye. Such a critic wouldsurely not be the “spiritual” per-son of I Corinthians 2:15. ThusMatthew 7:1,2 is a warning thatif you are too quick to judge oth-ers, you may expect others tojudge you. The parallel passagein Luke 6:37,38 brings this out
14 Berean Searchlight
even more forcefully. Paul, also,in Romans 2:1, says to those whohypocritically condemn others:
“...wherein thou judgest another,thou condemnest thyself; for thouthat judgest doest the same things.”
In Romans 14:4-13 the Apostlehas an extended exhortation onsuch readiness to judge others.Dealing with the friction betweenthose on the one hand who feel freeto “eat all things,” and those on theother who are convicted that theyshould only “eat herbs,” he says:
“Let not him that eateth despisehim that eateth not; and let not himwhich eateth not judge him thateateth; for God hath received him”(Ver. 3).
In Verses 10,12 he urges thoseon both sides to refrain from criti-cizing each other since all of us—each one individually—will oneday give a personal account to God:
“But why dost thou judge thybrother?1 or why dost thou set atnought thy brother?2 for we shallall stand before the judgment seatof Christ.”
“So then, every one of us shallgive account of himself to God.”
And he concludes:“Let us not therefore judge one
another any more; but judge thisrather, that no man put a stum-blingblock or an occasion to fall inhis brother’s way” (Ver. 13).
It is important to note that allthis has to do with judging oneanother as to way of life; indeed,Romans 14 has to do with judg-ing one another in matters not
specifically dealt with in the Wordof God. Such judgment should beleft to Christ, at whose “judgmentseat” we shall all one day stand.In the same vein the Apostle saysin I Corinthians 4:5:
“Therefore judge nothing beforethe time, until the Lord come, whowill both bring to light the hiddenthings of darkness, and will makemanifest the counsels of the hearts:and then shall every man havepraise of God.”
Let us then rather be criticizedthan to criticize, rather be judgedthan to judge—except in matterswhere God has given us the clearknowledge of His will. To the Ga-latians, for example, who had beenenticed to go back under the Lawafter Christ had so gloriously setthem free, the Apostle wrote:
“Stand fast therefore in the lib-erty wherewith Christ hath madeus free, and be not entangled againwith the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1).
And then he proceeds to tellthem in stern language how theywill belittle Christ, and what theresults will be if they continue intheir course.
Thus too, he writes to the breth-ren at Colosse, this time urgingthem not to accept the criticismsof those who would bring themunder the Law:
“Let no man therefore judge youin meat, or in drink, or in respect ofan holy day, or of the new moon, orof the sabbath days:
“Which are a shadow of things tocome, but the Body [i.e., the sub-stance] is of Christ” (Col. 2:16,17).
“...all of us—each one individually—will one daygive a personal account to God.”
April 2000 15
HE THAT IS SPIRITUALJUDGETH ALL THINGSBut where God has clearly made
His truth and will known believersshould judge between truth and er-ror, not only “standing” for what isright, but “withstanding” what iswrong (Eph. 6:11,13), and this ofteninvolves “judging” and “withstand-ing” persons involved. Using thesame root, krino, the Apostle says:
“But he that is spiritual judgethall things, yet he himself is judgedof no man” (I Cor. 2:15).
The truly spiritual man is sofar above the wisest sages of thisworld, yea, so far above the massof Christians with whom he comesin contact with, that he can un-derstand them, but they can neverquite understand him.3 It is a sadfact, however, that in the Churchtoday, as in that of Paul’s day,there are so few, comparatively,who are truly spiritual and trulyqualified to judge. Referring tothe senseless and shameful con-tentions among the Corinthianbelievers, Paul wrote:
“I speak to your shame. Is it so,that there is not a wise man amongyou? no, not one that shall be able tojudge between his brethren?” (I Cor.6:5).
Here he reprimands them be-cause there is not one man amongthem who is spiritual enough toreprove the wrong and defend theright.
Indeed, Paul himself, an emi-nently spiritual man of God, oncefound it necessary to rebuke Peterpublicly, even though Peter hadbeen used of God to bring thou-sands to Messiah’s feet beforePaul had even been converted.Read the passage carefully:
“But when Peter was come toAntioch, I withstood him to theface, because he was to be blamed.
“For before that certain camefrom James, he did eat with theGentiles; but when they were comehe withdrew and separated him-self, fearing them which were of theCircumcision.
“And the other Jews dissembledlikewise with him, insomuch thatBarnabas also was carried awaywith their dissimulation [hypoc-risy].
“But when I saw that they walkednot uprightly according to the truthof the gospel, I said unto Peter be-fore them all, If thou being a Jew,livest after the manner of the Gen-tiles, and not as do the Jews, whycompellest thou the Gentiles to liveas do the Jews?” (Gal. 2:11-14).
Surely this must have beenembarrassing to Peter, but whocan deny that Paul was right inthus dealing with this crisis, step-ping in immediately to rebukePeter’s hypocrisy in going back onthe great truths which God hadrevealed to him with regard to theoneness of Jewish and Gentile be-lievers in Christ. Paul’s action wasnot only right; it was necessarylest Peter “build again” the wallof separation between Jewish andGentile believers which he himselfhad helped to “destroy” (Ver. 18 cf.Acts 15:9-11).
While Paul, in I Corinthians,deals with judging in the contextof spirituality, he is not the firstin Scripture to declare that God’speople should, when truly quali-fied, judge others. When ChristHimself was judged by His an-tagonists, He said:
“Judge not according to the ap-pearance, but judge righteous judg-ment” (John 7:24).
16 Berean Searchlight
Surely our Lord indicated bythese words that His hearersshould judge—fairly and rightly,though “hypocrites” (as in Matt.7:1-5 above) should take care notto judge at all.
In I Corinthians 6:2,3, the Apos-tle declares that believers will oneday “judge the world” and willeven “judge angels,” basing uponthis fact his exhortation that theyshould be able to judge in matterspertaining to this life (Ver. 3) andreproving them for their inability“to judge the smallest matters”(Ver. 2). And in Verse 5, as we haveseen, he speaks to their shamethat there is not even one amongthem who is spiritual enough, andtherefore respected enough, tojudge between his brethren.
Thus God calls upon His people,not merely to judge others, but tobe such as are qualified, morallyand spiritually, to judge in mat-ters concerning truth and error orright conduct and wrong.
Thus he instructs Timothy andTitus, both truly spiritual men ofGod, to act in situations in whichit is necessary to judge. To Timo-thy he writes:
“Them that sin4 rebuke before all,that others also may fear” (I Tim.5:20).
And again:“...reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine” (II Tim.4:2).
Likewise, to Titus he writes:“For this cause left I thee in Crete,
that thou shouldest set in order thethings that are wanting, and ordainelders in every city, as I have ap-pointed thee” (Titus 1:5).
“For there are many unruly andvain talkers and deceivers, spe-cially they of the circumcision;
“Whose mouths must be stopped,who subvert whole houses, teach-ing things which they ought not, forfilthy lucre’s sake” (Vers. 10,11).
Not just anyone would be qual-ified, spiritually and morally, tojudge the recalcitrant believers towhom Timothy and Titus minis-tered, but these two men of Godwere thus qualified and the Apos-tle instructed them to do so firmly.
This brings us to a most impor-tant consideration appertainingto us all.
JUDGING OURSELVESIn Paul’s well-known passage
on the Lord’s Supper, he warnsagainst partaking of this sacredmemorial in an unworthy manner(I Cor. 11:27), as some of the Co-rinthians were indeed doing. “Leta man examine himself,” he says,“and so let him eat of that bread,and drink of that cup” (Ver. 28).
Indeed, it was because they hadbeen so irresponsible in this mat-ter that it had become necessaryfor God to discipline them. Manyamong them were “weak and sickly,”and some had even been takenaway in death (Ver. 30). Thiswould not have been necessary,the Apostle declares, if they hadjudged themselves (Vers. 31,32),each one carefully examining him-self in the presence of the Lord sothat he might be in the proper
“In I Corinthians 6:2,3,the Apostle declares that
believers will one day‘judge the world’ and willeven ‘judge angels’....”
April 2000 17
spiritual condition to celebratethe death of Christ for sin. Con-cluding his remarks about livingso that they could partake of thisremembrance in a worthy and sin-cere manner, he says:
“For if we would judge ourselves,we should not be judged.
“But when we are judged, weare chastened of the Lord, that weshould not be condemned with theworld” (I Cor. 11:31,32).
Whatever one’s dispensationalviews of the celebration of theLord’s death at “the Lord’s table,”all of us should surely take theApostle’s exhortation here to heart.If we would judge ourselves Godwould not have to discipline us forour irresponsibility and we wouldbe in a better position to serve Himas those who are truly spiritual.
This writer is keenly aware thatthe mere fact that a man judgesothers does not of itself indicatethat he is truly spiritual. Indeed,one who judges himself and istruly spiritual will not be quick tojudge others. Yet, should it not be
Endnotes1. i.e., the one who feels he may eat all
things.2. i.e., the one who feels he should not
eat all things.3. The writer’s book, True Spirituality,
deals at length with this subject.4. The present active participle, i.e., those
who persist in sin.
our desire to be truly spiritual sothat we might correctly “judge allthings” (I Cor. 2:15) and, thusjudging, “stand” for what is Scrip-tural and right and “withstand”what is unscriptural and wrong,even when, in so doing, it is nec-essary to withstand those whoteach or practice what is unscrip-tural and wrong?
Away, then, with the use of suchpassages as II Timothy 2:24 andMatthew 7:1 merely as excusesfor irresponsibility and for thecriticism of those who seek tostand true to God and His Word.Let us rather consider prayerfullyall that God says about judging,that we might truly please andhonor Him.
“If Christ be not risen, then is our preach-
ing vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and
we are found false witnesses of God, because
we have testified of God that He raised up
Christ, whom He raised not up, if so be that
the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your
sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in
this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them
that slept” (1 Cor. 15:14-20).
18 Berean Searchlight
FACT NO. 1—That the BibleMUST be rightly divided in orderfor it to make sense. Notice whatit says: “Study to show thyselfapproved unto God, a workmanthat needeth not to be ashamed,RIGHTLY DIVIDING the Word oftruth” (II Tim. 2:15). This is one ofthe cardinal rules for interpretingthe whole Bible. Neglect of thisrule or a faulty use of it will leadto only one result, CONFUSION,since our God is not the author ofconfusion.
The reason for a right divisionof the Bible is because of God’stwo distinct purposes: (1) His pur-pose concerning Israel and theworld according to PROPHECY,and (2) His purpose concerningthe Gentiles in this present ageaccording to the MYSTERY re-vealed to Paul. God doesn’t wantus to confuse the teaching of thesetwo purposes. He has very gra-ciously given us the key for aproper understanding of this.
FACT NO. 2—That the DIS-TINCTIVENESS of Pauline truthis a most important doctrine of theBible. The risen Lord Jesus Christrevealed His heart and His mindto the Apostle Paul: “But I certifyyou, brethren, that the gospelwhich was preached of me is notafter man. For I neither receivedit of man, neither was I taught itbut by THE REVELATION OFJESUS CHRIST” (Gal. 1:11,12). “Ifye have heard of the dispensationof the grace of God which is given
me to you-ward; how that BY REV-ELATION He made known untome the MYSTERY...” (Eph. 3:2,3).
This proves conclusively thatPaul did not preach what the 12Apostles preached. Rather he wentup to Jerusalem to TELL THEMof the special gospel of grace thatChrist gave to him (Gal. 2:2). Hepreached Jesus Christ accordingto the REVELATION OF THEMYSTERY which was kept se-cret, hid in God (Rom. 16:25; Eph.3:9). He was the Apostle to theGentiles and magnified his office(Rom. 11:13).
FACT NO. 3—That the gospelwe are to preach is called the Gos-pel of the grace of God. “But noneof these things move me, neithercount I my life dear unto myself,so that I might finish my coursewith joy and the ministry which Ihave received of the Lord Jesus,to testify THE GOSPEL OF THEGRACE OF GOD” (Acts 20:24).This is God’s only message forthe lost in this present age. Weare to follow Paul as he followedChrist (I Cor. 11:1). In his writ-ings ALONE do we find the doc-trine, position, walk, and destinyof the Christian.
Some other important aspectsof grace are:
1. We are saved by GRACE—Eph. 2:8,9.
2. We are justified freely by HisGRACE—Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7.
3. His GRACE is sufficient forus—II Cor. 12:9.
Seven Basic Bible FactsEvery Christian Should Know and Believe
By Robert C. BrockEditor of the Journal of Pauline Dispensationalism
April 2000 19
4. We are not under Law butunder GRACE—Rom. 6:14,15.
5. This age is the age of GRACE—Eph. 3:2.
6. We are to approach the throneof GRACE in prayer—Heb. 4:16.
FACT NO. 4—That the Bibledefinitely teaches that water bap-tism was and is a part of Israel’sreligion (Heb. 6:1,2; 9:10). It wasfor the remission of sins and wasby sprinkling (Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38;Ezek. 36:25).
In this age there is only ONEbaptism, not two: “One Lord, onefaith, ONE BAPTISM” (Eph. 4:5).This baptism is the placing ofthe Christian into the Church,the Body of Christ, by the HolySpirit: “For by one SPIRIT are weall BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY,whether we be Jews or Gentiles,whether we be bond or free; andhave been all made to drink intoone Spirit” (I Cor. 12:13). This bap-tism takes place once for all at thetime of salvation.
The Apostle Paul was not sentto baptize with water: “For Christsent me NOT TO BAPTIZE but topreach the gospel...” (I Cor. 1:17).Only a change in God’s purposewould necessitate a statementlike this. There is no importanceattached to water baptism, today.It is not a part of Christianity andonly causes confusion.
FACT NO. 5—That we mustunderstand the two-fold ministryof our Lord Jesus Christ. DuringHis earthly ministry He minis-tered exclusively to Israel: “ButHe answered and said, I am notsent but unto the lost sheep ofthe HOUSE OF ISRAEL” (Matt.15:24). His whole ministry to theNation was under the Law of Moses
(Matt. 5:17; Gal. 4:4,5). Christiansare not under the Law so we arenot to live according to Israel’steachings.
During His present ministry inHeaven, He is ministering accord-ing to what He revealed to theApostle Paul. He is saving men ac-cording to His gospel of Grace. Heis at the throne of grace makingintercession for us (Rom. 8:34). Weare to live in Paul’s epistles wherepure Christianity is found. Thisis not to say we should neglect therest of the Bible. It is ALL for usbut not all TO us (I Cor. 10:6,11).
FACT NO. 6—That SIGNS be-long to the Nation of Israel and itsreligion: “For the JEWS REQUIREA SIGN, and the Gentiles seek af-ter wisdom” (I Cor. 1:22). Speakingin tongues is a SIGN: “WhereforeTONGUES are for a SIGN, not tothem that believe but to them thatbelieve not...” (I Cor. 14:22).
In Jesus’ day, those who soughtafter signs were called an eviland adulterous generation (Matt.12:39). The eight miracles of theGospel of John are properly calledSIGNS, which included the ris-ing of Lazarus from the dead; andin the commission of Mark 16:15-18, water baptism is associatedwith SIGNS. This is proved in thebook of Acts because everywherewater baptism is mentioned aSIGN is mentioned in the imme-diate context.
This present age is a signlessage. We have been blessed withall SPIRITUAL blessings in theheavenlies in Christ (Eph. 1:3).This is where the emphasis liesfor the Christian.
FACT NO. 7—That the COM-MISSION the Church, the Body of
20 Berean Searchlight
Christ, is to work under, is foundin II Corinthians 5:14-21 andEphesians 3:9. The Kingdom com-mission of Matthew 28:19-20 andMark 16:15-18 does not belongto God’s present grace purpose.The message of reconciliation hasbeen committed to US, the Bodyof Christ.
RESULTS:1. The Christian would begin
to perceive and grasp the deepthings of God (I Cor. 2:10-12).
2. There would be a wonderfulgrowth into spiritual maturity andadulthood (Eph. 4:12-15).
3. He would become a faithfulsteward of the mysteries of God(I Cor. 2:7; 4:1,2).
4. He would possess the Bibli-cal answer to Satan’s false cults like
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons,Christian Scientists, Unitarians,Modernists, etc. They all borrowsome aspects of Israel’s religion.
5. A mighty revival would takeplace if Christians would get backto Pauline truth.
My friend, if you are not saved,the grace of God invites you toreceive the Lord Jesus Christ asyour personal Saviour. You are asinner and need to be saved (Rom.3:23). “Believe on the Lord JesusChrist and thou shalt be saved...”(Acts 16:31). “...now is the acceptedtime; behold, now is the day of sal-vation” (II Cor. 6:2). It is infinitelybetter to receive Him and spendeternity in Heaven than to rejectHim and spend eternity in theLake of Fire!
7 Basic Bible Facts Every Christian Should Know and Believe is avail-able in tract form. Quantities can be ordered directly from Brother Brock at6260 12th Street S, St. Petersburg, Florida 33705 or from the Berean BibleSociety, PO Box 756, Germantown, WI 53022. BBS Price: $3.00 per pack-age of 100.
Our Newest Outreach for the Cause of ChristBOOKS ON TAPE
Narrated by Brother Dave Allen
Things That Differ—C. R. Stam5 Tapes with Album—Price: $20.00
Exploring the Unsearchable Riches of Christ—Paul M. Sadler4 Tapes with Album—Price: $17.00
The Triumph of His Grace—Paul M. Sadler4 Tapes with Album—Price: $17.00
SPECIAL OFFER—PURCHASE ALL THREE SETS FOR $40.00
THIS OFFER ENDS APRIL 30, 2000Orders up to $20.00, please add $2.00 for postage and handling.
Orders over $20.00 please add 10% for postage and handling.*Foreign orders must be remitted in U.S. currency!
April 2000 21
Who Was Paul?By Dr. W. Edward Bedore
Executive Director, Berean Bible Institute
THE BBI B YLINE
“And last of all He was seen of mealso, as of one born out of due time.
“For I am the least of the apos-tles, that am not meet to be calledan apostle, because I persecutedthe church of God.
“But by the grace of God I amwhat I am: and His grace which wasbestowed upon me was not in vain;but I labored more abundantly thanthey all: yet not I, but the grace ofGod which was with me.”
—I Cor. 15:8-10
Peter and the other eleven apos-tles had been with the Lord JesusChrist from the time He was bap-tized by John the Baptist until Hiscrucifixion. They also witnessedthe fact that the Lord Jesus hadindeed been raised from the dead.They had seen Him.
Paul, on the other hand, had notbeen a follower of Christ during Hisearthly ministry. He was openlyhostile to those who preached thatJesus Christ was in fact Israel’spromised Messiah, and with greatzeal he persecuted them. He wasin no way qualified to be an Apos-tle of the Kingdom as were Peter
and the eleven (see Matt. 19:27-28; Luke 22:24-30; Acts 1:21-24 forthe qualifications).
Paul was born both a Romancitizen and an Israelite. Rome rep-resented the heathen and pagannations of the world while Israelwas God’s own chosen nation. Withthe rejection of Jesus Christ as herGod-Anointed King, Israel joinedthe ranks of the unbelieving Gen-tile nations in their enmity againstGod. Jew and Gentile alike werenow on equal terms with God ascondemned sinners.
But, God’s mystery (secret) pro-gram of pure grace would now berevealed. By an act of divine grace,the Dispensation of Grace was re-vealed to Paul, who would preachsalvation by grace through faithto both Jew and Gentile withoutnational distinction.
Paul’s dual citizenship made hima true representative of a world oflost sinners to which, after beingsaved, he was sent to preach theGrace of God in Jesus Christ (I Tim.1:16; II Cor. 5:14-21; Acts 26:12-18).
Are You Receiving the BBI Bulletin?
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Class Schedules & Class Descriptions,“Mail Re-ceived at Box 40” and more!
To receive the BBI Bulletin simply write to:Berean Bible Institute, PO Box 40, Germantown,WI 53022. Sent free to anyone anywhere!
22 Berean Searchlight
Acts Dispensationally Considered
Inventory Sale
ACTS VOLUMES I, II, and IV
As you know, we recently consolidatedour four-volume Acts set into two vol-umes. Since we still have a limited quan-tity of volumes I, II, and IV from the oldset, we are offering them at a specialprice until our supply is depleted. Thisis an inexpensive way to introduce afriend or loved one to the correct inter-pretation of the early chapters of the Actsrecord covered by I & II. It is also a greatway to complete a broken set if you’remissing a volume. Sorry, volume III isout of print.
VOLUMES I, II, and IV(Volume IV does not have a jacket)
These volumes were originally priced at $9.00 each,but while supplies last we are offering these
works at the reduced price of $4.00 each.
CLOTHBOUND GOLD STAMPED
Special Price: $4.00
Or the broken set of three volumes for $10.00
(No Substitutions)
THIS OFFER ENDS WHEN THEINVENTORY IS DEPLETED!
Orders up to $20.00, please add $2.00 for postage and handling.Orders over $20.00, please add 10% for postage and handling.
*Foreign orders must be remitted in U. S. currency!
April 2000 23
CONFERENCE AND SPEAKING SCHEDULEFOR APRIL AND MAY 2000
Northeast Bible ConferenceLocation: Berean Bible Church,
2902 Old French Road,Erie, Pennsylvania
Dates: April 14-16, 2000
Speaker: Paul M. Sadler, President ofBerean Bible Society
For more information, please contact:Pastor Bud Hughes (814) 899-4353
Northern Indiana Regional MeetingsLocation: Holiday Inn, I-94 & US 421,
Michigan City, Indiana
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2000
Guest Speakers:Ricky Kurth, Pastor of Faith Bible Church, Steger, IL
Paul M. Sadler, President of Berean Bible Society, Milwaukee, WIJoe Watkins, Director of Things To Come Mission, Indianapolis, IN
For more information, please contact:Mr. Dan Sanborn (219) 465-6215
5th Annual Spring Bible ConferenceLocation: Kettle Moraine Bible Church,
204 S. 7th Avenue,West Bend, Wisconsin
Dates: May 5-7, 2000
Guest Speakers:Paul M. Sadler, President of Berean Bible Society, Milwaukee, WI
Curt Crist, Pastor of Grace Bible Church, Hendersonville, NCDick Ware, Pastor of Grace Bible Church, Oshkosh, WI
Ricky Kurth, Pastor of Faith Bible Church, Steger, ILKevin Sadler, Bible Teacher, West Bend, WI
Kevin Mepsted, Bible Teacher, Lena, WI
For more information, please contact:Pastor Mike Keshan (262) 306-1982
24 Berean Searchlight
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
A SPECIAL WORD OF THANKS is in order to Pastor David Havardwho worked untiringly to make our 60th Anniversary edition of the BereanSearchlight a stunning success. Endless hours were spent gathering pic-tures, writing captions, arranging and rearranging, editing, and makingsure everything stayed on schedule, which is no small task.
We also want to acknowledge, Kevin Sadler, our typesetter, who metic-ulously set the text and pictures and made one adjustment after anotherover a two-month period. He had to put up with both David and me on thisissue. We’re pleased to report that he survived. Thanks, too, to FredWisniewski, Mrs. Bedore, and Mrs. Sadler who all proofread the copy andmade many helpful suggestions. By the way, additional copies are avail-able for $1.00 each. Simply request the Anniversary edition!
A HOME BIBLE STUDY is now being held in the Canton, Ohio area.For further information, please phone Bob Hewitt at (330) 493-8401.God’s very best to these dear folks as they share the good news of Paul’sgospel.
ADVANCE NOTICE:Smoky Mountain Grace Conference will be held May 26-28, 2000
at Grace Bible Church, 114 S. Allen Street, Hendersonville, NorthCarolina. For brochures and directions, please contact: Pastor CurtCrist (828) 693-5812. More next month!
The Midwest Grace Fellowship 11th Annual Bible Conferencewill be held June 2-4, 2000 at Miracle Hills Ranch. For additionalinformation, please contact: Pastor Ken Lawson (217) 623-4014 orDan Heyle (660) 425-6853. More next month!
Rocky Mountain Grace Camp will be held July 10-15, 2000 atLong’s Peak Inn, Estes Park, Colorado. For a brochure and moreinformation, please contact: Pastor James Harley (303) 452-9148.
The Celebrate Grace Camp will be held July 30th thru August 4,2000 at San Juan Bible Camp, S.W. Colorado. The main speakerthis year is Pastor John Fredericksen. For reservations and addi-tional information, call, write, or e-mail Jerry and Judy Worthley, 627Co. Rd. 3, Canon City, CO 81212. Phone: (719) 276-2469\E-mail:<[email protected]>. Happy camping!!
*The picture of the lighthouse that appears on the front cover was takenby Mrs. Betty France. The lighthouse is located in Norway.
April 2000 25
PRICE LISTBIBLE STUDY BOOKS BY CORNELIUS R. STAM—FOUNDER
(Clothbound—Gold Stamped) QuantityActs, (Commentary) Volumes I & II ................................................... $18.00_______Acts, (Commentary) Volumes III & IV (w/Bible Index) ...................... 18.00_______Author’s Choice, The .............................................................................. 9.00_______Baptism and the Bible ........................................................................... 8.00_______I Corinthians (Commentary) ................................................................. 10.00_______II Corinthians (Commentary) ............................................................... 10.00_______Divine Election and Human Responsibility ........................................ 8.00_______Galatians (Commentary) ....................................................................... 12.00_______Hebrews, Who Wrote It and Why? ........................................................ 8.00_______Lord’s Supper and the Bible, The ......................................................... 7.00_______Man, His Nature and Destiny ............................................................... 10.00_______Moses and Paul (w/Bible Index) ............................................................ 7.00_______Our Great Commission (w/Bible Index) ............................................... 8.00_______Pastoral Epistles (Commentary) ........................................................... 10.00_______Paul, His Apostleship and Message (w/Bible Index) ........................... 9.00_______Romans (Commentary) .......................................................................... 10.00_______Satan In Derision ................................................................................... 9.00_______Sermon on the Mount, The .................................................................... 8.00_______Suggestions for Young Pastors .............................................................. 8.00_______I & II Thessalonians (Commentary) ..................................................... 9.00_______Things That Differ (w/Bible Index) ....................................................... 9.00_______True Spirituality (w/Bible Index) ......................................................... 9.00_______Two-Fold Purpose of God, The (w/Bible Index) .................................... 7.00_______Two Minutes With the Bible ................................................................. 10.00_______50th Anniversary Memorial .................................................................. Free_______
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Exploring the Unsearchable Riches of Christ (w/Bible Index) ........ $10.00_______Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians (w/Bible Index) ............................... 14.00_______Triumph of His Grace, The .......... Special ’til April 30: $9.00 .......... 11.00_______Are You Secure? (Booklet) ................................................................... 1.00_______Historical Beginning of the Church, The (Booklet) ........................... 3.00_______Institution of Marriage, The (Booklet) ............................................... 4.00_______Trials and Temptations (Booklet) ....................................................... 2.00_______Water Rite, The (Booklet) .................................................................... 1.00_______
SPECIAL OFFERSAll 25 Clothbound Books by C. R. Stam,
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26 Berean Searchlight
BIBLE STUDY BOOKLETS BY CORNELIUS R. STAMAbiding Trinity ....................................................................................... $0.50_______Ambassadors for Christ ......................................................................... .50_______Ant and the Raven, The ......................................................................... .50_______Charismatic Movement, The ................................................................. .50_______Courage for the Conflict ........................................................................ .50_______Faith of Christ, The ................................................................................ .50_______Fulfillment .............................................................................................. .50_______Hope for the Bereaved ........................................................................... .50_______Lord’s Prayer, The .................................................................................. .50_______Love of Christ, The ................................................................................. .50_______Methuselah and Paul ............................................................................. .50_______Now is the Time ..................................................................................... .50_______Our Oneness in Christ ........................................................................... .50_______Panoramic View of the Program of God, A ........................................... .50_______Pentecostal Signs Being Restored?, Are the ........................................ .50_______Rapture of the Church, The ................................................................... .50_______Rome’s Greatest Blunder ....................................................................... .50_______Simple As Can Be .......... (Spanish Translation also available) ......... .50_______Sonship .................................................................................................... .50_______Standing, Walking and Running With Paul ......................................... .50_______Truth Aflame .......................................................................................... .50_______Unanswered Prayer ........ (Spanish Translation also available) ........ .50_______Unpardonable Sin, The .......................................................................... .50_______When the Lord Became Angry .............................................................. .50_______Why Was Christ Baptized? .................................................................... .50_______Will There Be Tears In Heaven? ........................................................... .50_______Answer to Catholicism, The .................................................................. 1.00_______Apostolic Authority of the Twelve, The ................................................ 1.00_______Believer’s Walk, The ............................................................................... 1.00_______Dimensions of the Mystery, The ............................................................ 1.00_______Early Ministry of Paul, The ................................................................... 1.00_______God and Man .......................................................................................... 1.00_______God’s Plan of Salvation Made Plain ..................................................... 1.00_______Knowledge of the Mystery, The ............................................................. 1.00_______Logic of the Plan of Salvation, The ....................................................... 1.00_______Lord’s Supper, The .................................................................................. 1.00_______New Evangelicalism, The ...................................................................... 1.00_______Paradoxes and Puzzles .......................................................................... 1.00_______Paul the Masterbuilder.......................................................................... 1.00_______Power of God versus The Power of the Occult, The ............................. 1.00_______Preaching of the Cross, The ................................................................... 1.00_______Saul the Sinner and Paul the Boaster .................................................. 1.00_______Seven Times a Failure ........................................................................... 1.00_______That Blessed Hope ................................................................................. 1.00_______This is That ............................................................................................. 1.00_______Water Baptism ....................................................................................... 1.00_______We Know a Secret .................................................................................. 1.00_______Writings of John ..................................................................................... 2.00_______Your Faith In God’s Word ...................................................................... 2.00_______
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II CorinthiansBy C. R. Stam
It is interesting indeed to notehow many profound doctrinesare discussed in II Corinthiansin contrast to all the rebukes,corrections, instructions, etc.,found in I Corinthians. Two of thegreatest of these are, perhaps, theNew Covenant and the doctrineof reconciliation.
I CorinthiansBy C. R. Stam
Like the Church today, the Co-rinthian believers were superfi-cial in their perception of thetruth, and unbelievably permis-sive in their moral conduct. Also,as a congregation they despisedPaul’s apostolic authority. Thusthe intent of this epistle was tocorrect the unruly conduct of thesesaints.
THE BEREAN SEARCHLIGHTN112 W17761 MEQUON ROAD
PO BOX 756GERMANTOWN, WI 53022-0756
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“LORD, lay some soul upon my heart, and lovethat soul through me, and may I nobly do
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