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THE K I N G ’ S BU S I NE S S
when Christ'rose from among the dead (cf. Col. 1:18). God sees the old crea tion as dead and buried. To turn to the law, which deals with the old cre ation-, would be to repudiate this truth. To attempt to get good out of that old creation is to deny the necessity of the death of Christ, and to attempt'to bring the new creation under the law is to deny the power and efficacy of the resurrection of, Christ, In the be liever, all this becomes experimental with his personal acceptance of the death and resurrection :of Christ. While living “in the flesh” (v. 20), there need be no yielding to the flesh. The Christian now reckons -the old nature to be dead, and he himself “ alive from the dead”—in Christ Icf. Rom. 6:13). We must realize that in the old nature there can be no change for the better, however much it may be decorated with good works and a moral life (cf. Jer. 17:9; Rom. 8:7). He who turns to the- law; either as, a medium of salvation or as a rule of conduct for the Christian, frustrates “the grace of God” (v. 21). The gospel of the grace of God is received by simple faith in a great Saviour. Points and Problems 1. "Subverting your souls" (Acts 15; 24). This word “subverting” occurs no where else in the New Testament. It is a picture word and aptly sets forth what the troublemakers from Jeru salem had done. It literally means to pack up baggage with the purpose of carrying it off to another place, and is applied to plunderers who steal in to houses and disrupt property. In a spiritual sense, this is exactly what had been done at Antioch. Judaizing teachers had stolen into the church, unsettled the minds of the Gentile believers, and robbed them of their peace hy telling them that unless they were circumcised like the Jews they could not be saved. 2. "Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 26). People will listen to the testimony of those who are willing t salvation. S a l v a t i o n comes only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ apart from the works of man. Second ly, that subsequent to salvation, for the sake of one’s testimony, it is neces sary to live a life of separation from the idolatry and sin of the world. It is salvation first, then works. The re verse order does violence to the gospel. Golden Text Illustration R omans 5:1 A man in England" was being tried on a serious charge. When the lawyer proved his case, the man remained calm. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and he remained calm. The judge passed a severe sentence, but he remained undisturbed. Then he quietly produced the royal pardon which he had by some means ob tained. That explained his calmness. “■Therefore being justified by faith, we have pedee with God” (Rom. 5:1), and being possessed of the Royal par don, we, too, can remain perfectly calm.—One Thousand Tales Worth Telling. Better Than Fussing ixCTS ' 15 MEMORY VERSE: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called _ the children of God” (Matt. 5:9). AIM: To center , attention on the lovely and all-sufficient Saviour. 'APPROACH: G 1e n n was a new member in the boys’ class. All the oth ers seemed to be talking to him at once. “Well, you can’t be one of us thing?” When Paul and Barnabas were go ing from placé to place doing the mis sionary work that the Lord had asked them to do, they found people, just , like those boys, who were making a , great deal of small matters and for getting the most important ones. LESSON STORY: Wherever Paul and Barnabas went, they spoke of the Lord Jesus. They said to all the peo ple, “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be . saved” (v. 11). •“No,” some of the people must have argued, “we think that is not the way at all. You must keep this rule, or that law.” The missionaries showed them that all God’s commands are good, that they have a purpose, and that the heavenly Father does not want His children to be fussing about the rules, but to spend their time thinking of unless y o u wear your badge every single Sunday! . . . And u n l e s s you bring an offering. . . . And—” “B o y s ,” t h e i r teacher said kindly, “ aren’t we forget t i n g t h e ma i n on the International Uniform~Lessons Union Lesson Helps offer sound, inspiring lesson expositions written by specialists for every age group. Undenominational and uncontroversial with room only for constructive truth. Write for free specimens 1816 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. B e s t W i s h e s from W . A . B R O W N ... «Î “ SSffi Syclo^dva°d * 1 to 8 | ^ 0ttndeo«ÿ SACRED PIANO SOLOS "THERE’S A WIDENESS IN GOD’S MERCY" “ BLESSED BE THE FOUNTAIN" “SAFE IN THE ARMS OF JESUS" Classical arrangements. Original introduc tions. Rich harmonies. 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