Buying UP The Time
by
Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Nineteen hundred years ago Paul wrote to his fellow- believers in the
vicinity of Ephesus: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as
wise, redeeming [Lit., buying up] the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15,16). Those were indeed
evil days, when a wicked tyrant ruled the Roman Empire, when Messiah had been
rejected, not only in incarnation, but in resurrection, and Christianity was
fighting a life-and-death battle to penetrate the prevailing pagan darkness
with the light of God’s grace. Surely Paul never dreamed that the dispensation
of grace would continue for more than nineteen hundred years. He expected the
Lord to come at any time to recall His ambassadors and bring the day of grace
to a close. Hence the urgency of his appeal to be “buying up the time, because
the days are evil.”
But if Paul had reason to
suspect that the day of grace would soon be brought to a close, we today have
greater reason to think so. Now that the light of the gospel has been brought
to Europe, America and many other parts of the world, men are turning their
backs on it. Only a small minority of even Christendom truly believe the Bible
and know the Christ it presents — and how very few know the riches of His
grace!
Meanwhile our governments,
our educational institutions and our social systems are becoming ever more
godless. The result? The newspapers, radio and TV — even a trip downtown to any
fair-sized city, will tell us all we need to know. Once again “the days are
evil” and the Lord’s coming for His own seems imminent. There is still much
talk about lasting peace and prosperity, but no thoughtful person believes that
we are headed in that direction. Rather the world appears to be heading
straight toward the prophesied “day of wrath.”
What a comfort it is to the
believer, then, to know that “God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us…” (I Thes. 5:9,10).
“For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed” and
“whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom.
10:11,13).
Transformed By Grace -
Transformed By Grace -
Kevin Sadler
Transformed By Grace
#1 - Unity in Christ
Transformed By Grace #2 - One Body in
Christ
Transformed By Grace #3 - The Apostle of
Grace
Transformed By Grace #4 - The Gifts of
Christ
Posted By Cecil and
Connie Spivey
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