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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
October, 1933
from the dead. But legalism throws a doubt upon the sufficiency o f the work of Christ, the acceptable character of His sac rifice, and also upon God’s righteousness in raising Him from the dead and exalting Him to God’s right hand in heaven. Lesson Questions Vs. 1, 2. Where was Antioch, in relation to Jerusalem? What was the teaching of the “certain men” mentioned? Why did delegates go to Jerusalem to settle the mat ter ? Who went ? Vs. 22-29. What phraseology indicated that there was unity of thought and pur pose in the church? What was the sub stance of the letter that was written? To whom was it sent? Had the apostle author ized the teaching o f the legalists? What would lead,one to believe that Barnabas and Paul were held in high esteem ? What reference to their heroism is given? What is the significance of the phrase, “It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us” ? What restrictions were laid upon the Antioch be lievers? Why? (See “Walks and Talks in Holy Places.” ) Vs. 30, 31. What reception did the let ter have ? Golden Text Illustration A man who had been in the State prison at Thomaston, Me., for forty-three years was liberated by the governor. He had been condemned to life imprisonment, though insisting upon his innocence, and had been a model prisoner. He wept when he heard of the governor’s pardon, and when taking leave o f his fellow prisoners. He had become old in prison, and had lit tle idea o f the changes that had taken place in the world beyond the prison walls. When asked how liberty seemed, he re plied, “ It feels like a dream. I am dreading a sad awakening now, but it seems real.” Even at this late period in life, the bless ing of liberty evidently was very welcome to him. How much more wonderful is that liberty which Christ gives to all who show their desire o f it by coming to Him, the great Liberator !■—S elected . Settling a Dispute A cts 15:1, 2, 6-12 ’ Memory Verse: “Be ye kind one to an other, tender-hearted, forgiving one an other, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). Approach: You remember that Paul and Barnabas were chosen to be missionaries to go about into other parts o f the coun try and preach to the people. They did this,
So Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusa lem. There they met the apostles and elders. They explained the reason for their coming. Peter was there. He remembered the vision which God had sent him, to show him that Gentiles and Jews were all one in His sight. Peter stood up and reminded the rest that God had made no difference be tween, the Gentiles and the Jews. Peter said, “We believe that through the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” Then every one kept quiet because they knew that what Peter said was true. So they decided to write letters to the Chris tians in Antioch and thereabout and assure them that there was' no reason why they must first become Jews. When the people in Antioch read these letters, they rejoiced. The elders in Jerusalem were doing what our memory verse tells us to do.
NOVEMBER 12, 1933 PAUL IN MACEDONIA A cts 15 :36 to 17:15
Lesson T ex t : Acts 16:9-15, 25-31. . Golden T ex t : “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt' be saved” (Acts 16:31). H Philippi, a Roman Colony \ h e c it y of Philippi, named in honor of Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, was situated at the very northern end of the Aegean Sea. It was not directly upon the seacoast, but was ten miles inland from its seaport, Neapolis. In order to reach Philippi from
the Sabbath day, for it was there that the people met for worship. Outline and Exposition I. T he P lace of the L ord ’ s S ervant (9-12). The place of service is chosen by the Lord and not by the servant. Paul had at tempted to enter Asia and also Bithynia with the gospel (vs. 6, 7), but the Lord in tervened. W e may well thank God for this intervention because, humanly speaking, it was this that gave Europe the gospel, and from Europe the gospel came to us. It is important that the servant of the Lord should be guided, not by the seen need, but by the Holy Spirit who alone knows- what the mind of the Lord is. But it is also important for the servant of the Lord to know that one or even two closed doors does not mean that all doors are closed. The Lord has a place for each servant o f H is; it is for each one to find that place and occupy it for the Master. The place of service is indicated by the Lord. In this case, He did so by giving a vision to Paul. The Lord is ever ready to indicate the place He desires the servant to occupy, and the indication is recognized in the measure o f the surrender of the life. Some think that the “man o f Macedonia” was Luke, the writer of the book of the Acts, because the “we” by which he in cludes himself with Paul is first mentioned1 in the next verse (v. 10). The place of service is to be immediately accepted. Paul made no objection to pass ing by the millions in Asia or the multi tudes in Bithynia who needed the gospel. As far as numbers went, it would seem more important to preach in these places than in Macedonia. But the Lord has His own purpose in choosing the place o f His servants, each o f whom is to obey the call, remembering the Lord’s judgments are un searchable and His ways past finding out (Rom. 11:33). II. T he P ractice of the L ord ’ s S ervant (13-15). The true servant renders immediate obedience, Paul did not stop to inquire the “why” o f the command, but “immediately sought to go” (v. 10). He went with one purpose, to “preach the gospel” (v. 10). Whatever the people of Macedonia might be, they all had one common need—to hear the gospel. Hence, to Paul, the cry, “Help us” (v. 9) meant just one thing; that is, “preach the gospel to us.” The true servant does not wait for peo ple to come to him, but he goes to them. These people o f Macedonia had great ma terial riches, high culture, deep philoso phies, and a wide acquaintance with the arts and sciences, but in spite o f all they had, without the gospel they were poor and needy, helpless and hopeless. Paul found a group of women beside a river, and to them the gospel was first preached
the coast, it is neces sary to climb a slight ridge which rises be tween the sea and t h e higher moun tains to the north. Upon reaching the summit of this rise, one can look out upon a small valley in which the city is
located. This valley always has been quite fertile. There are many ' streams which flow from the mountains to water it, so at most seasons o f the year, it is a de lightful green. In the days of Paul, Philippi was a Roman colony. In many strategic locations along its borders, the Empire planted gar risons, which were given the name and standing of colonies. In most cases, they were founded by Roman citizens who came from the peninsula o f Italy. These colonies were miniature editions o f Rome itself. They were not subject to the laws o f the surrounding territory, and their citizens were immune to arrest and exempt from the payment of most taxes. The official language of the colonies was Latin, and all public documents were printed in the tongue of the mother country. The coins were like Roman coins, bearing Roman in scriptions. In fact, the colonies were a small part of Rome transplanted into an alien surrounding. Since Philippi was a Roman colony, few Jews had gone there, for they were usually interested in commerce and trading. As a ■consequence, there was no synagogue there. We are informed by historians that there was a small house of prayer in the city, but it was not adequate for a synagogue. That is why Paul went out to the river on BLACKBOARD LESSON
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and after a time they came back to Antioch to tell about their work to the people in the church there and to see how the church at An tioch w a s getting along. L e s s o n S t o PyS Paul and Barnabas found that there was a l i t t l e t r o u b l e
among the church members. Some Chris tian Jews had come from Jerusalem and told the Gentile Christians that they would have to become Jews before they became Christians. The Gentile Christians didn’t see why this must be, and they were troubled about it. Just at this time, Paul and Barnabas came back, and the Antioch Christians told them what the Jewish Christians had said—and they decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to talk to the elders of the church about it.
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