August 1931
373 that through his name whosoever believ- eth in him shall receive remission of sin,” Cornelius believed and confessed his sal vation in baptism. When he believed, the Holy Spirit came upon him. The Jews, with Peter, were amazed to see that God had thus accepted the Gentiles on equal ground with the Jews. The gospel was no longer confined to any one section or nation but was universal in its scope, ex tending to all men the offer of eternal life. Lesson 9. “The Mission to Cyprus.” Acts 12:25 to 13:12. Golden Text, Rom. 1:16. This lesson shows the qualifications of a missionary church. It is one in which the Word of God is thoroughly taught, and in which believers respond with prayer and fasting. All of this is said to be a “ministry unto the Lord.” In such a church, the voice of the Spirit is clearly heard, as He calls out certain believers for special service. When Saul and Bar nabas were thus chosen, the missionary church of which they were members en gaged in further prayer and fasting, sep arated the called ones unto the service for which they had been appointed, and finally sent them on their way to preach the gos pel wherever the Spirit should lead. The message of the missionaries was the Word of God. They were to preach it wherever they went. Opposition to such service immediately arose, when an agent of Satan attempted to silence the preach ing; but he himself was silenced by the apostle. Lesson 10. “Turning to the Gentiles.” Acts 13:42-52; Rom. 1:14-16. Golden Text, Acts 13:47. In this lesson, the final word of en treaty was spoken to the nation, .Israel. Then the apostles Saul and Barnabas, turned to the Gentiles with the message. From this time forward, the gospel was to know no national boundaries nor spe cial classes, but was to go to all men everywhere, saving all who believe, and bringing the saved ones into one body in which there is neither Jew nor Greek, but all are one in Christ. Lesson 11. “Some Missionary Expe riences.” Acts 14:8-23. Golden Text, Matt. 5 :10. The experiences of the first mission aries were not unlike those through which missionaries today are sometimes called to pass. When the lame man was healed, the people thought that the apostles, who had been instrumental in his restoration, were gods who had come down in the form of men. Sacrifice and worship would have been offered to them, but they re fused'it, informing the people that they are men of like passions with themselves, and that God alone was to be worshiped. The fickleness of the human heart is seen when these people, who at first counted the gospel witnesses to be gods, were so easily influenced against them, not only to offer physical violence but actually to slay them and leave them for dead outside the city. Lesson 12. “The Council in Jerusalem,” Acts 15:22-29; Gal. 2:1, 2, 9, 10. Golden Text, Gal. 5:13,. The lessons of the quarter closed with this most important one concerning the decisions reached at the council at Jerusa lem regarding the gospel of grace. It was revealed to the members of the council by the Holy Spirit that no restrictions
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men to take care of the temporalities of the infant church, while the apostles gave themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. The seven men who were chosen were called deacons. They took charge of the administration of the funds given for the relief of the poor. It is im portant to note that their qualifications were spiritual rather than temporal. They were men “of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.” Men of such caliber are greatly needed in the adminis tration of the affairs of the church today. Lesson 4. “Christianity Spread by Per secution.” Acts 7:59 to 8:4; 11:19-21. Golden Text, Rev. 2:10. The preaching of the apostles had been directed to Israel without any thought that the message should go beyond the borders of that nation. The Jews’ recep tion of it was increasingly unfavorable, however. In this lesson, the people went so far as to manifest their hatred by stoning the preacher. Stephen, as the first Christian martyr, exemplified his Master by praying for his enemies, even while they put him to death. It was the manner of his death, with its calmness and confidence in God, that stirred the heart of the man who was later to be come the great apostle to the Gentiles. When the Jews deliberately turned from the light and brutally put to death the one who bare it, the light was temporarily withdrawn and they began to be, as they are today, wanderers upon the earth, without a country or a home. Lesson 5. “Philip’s Missionary Labors.” Acts 8:26-40. Golden Text, Acts 8:4. Because of the persecution which arose after the death of Stephen, many of the disciples were scattered throughout the country. Wherever they went, they preached the gospel. One of them, Philip, went to Samaria where a great revival broke out and where many were added to the church. In the midst of this awak ening, Philip was called by the Holy Spirit to go to a desert place. There he found a Gentile eunuch riding in a char iot and reading the prophet Isaiah. Join ing him, Philip preached Jesus Christ to him, with the result that the eunuch was saved and went on his way rejoicing, needing no further aid from the evan gelist. Then Philip, being wholly under the control of the Spirit, was transferred to another field of labor where he con tinued to preach and to win souls for Christ. Lesson 6. “Saul Converted and Com missioned.” Acts 9:1-9, 17-19; 1 Tim. 1: 12-14. Golden Text, Acts 26:19. This lesson showed the grace of God in operation. Saul, a subject of grace, was not a friend of Christianity, but a bitter enemy. He was suddenly arrested, while in the midst of his hatred and blasphe my, and born again by the sovereign act of God. In his conversion there is a pic ture of the manner in which his nation will be converted in a future day. Lesson 7. “Sowing and Reaping.” Gal. 6:1-10. Golden Text, Gal. 6:7. In this, the temperance lesson for the quarter, we were taught that spiritual pride and selfishness, and blindness to the burdens and difficulties of others, are all forms of intemperance against which the Christian must ever be on guard. The evils of strong drink are not the only forms of intemperance. It is sad to have a wrecked mind and body, but it is worse
to have a wrecked soul and spirit. Noth ing but the gospel of the grace of God is sufficient to bring true temperance to any society. Lesson 8. “A Gospel for All Men.” Acts 11:5-18. Golden Text, Rom. 10:12. In .this lesson, we saw how God led Peter to give the gospel to the Gentiles, as represented by Cornelius. Peter, bound by Jewish traditions, did not want to go to Cornelius. But God showed him that, in the present age of grace, all nations were “clean” and had equal rights so far as the preaching of the gospel was con cerned. Following the vision, Peter went to Caesarea, as he had been commanded. There he preached Christ to the company assembled in the house of Cornelius. When he uttered the memorable words, “To him give all the prophets witness, What the Bible Is It is a book of laws, to show the right from the wrong. It is a book of wisdom, that makes the foolish wise; It is a book of truth, which detects all human errors. It is a book of life, which shows how to avoid everlasting death. It is a complete code of. laws. It is a complete body o f divinity. It is an unequaled narrative. It is a book of biography. It is a book of travels. It is the best covenant ever made, the best deed ever written. It is the best will ever executed, the best testament ever signed. It is the learned man’s masterpiece. It is the young man’s companion. It is the school boy’s instructor. It is the ignorant man’s dictionary and every man’s directory. It promises an eternal reward to the faithful and the believing. That which crowns it all is the Au thor. He is without partiality and without hypocrisy—the One with whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning. —S elected .
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