April, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
144
Then he “preached unto him Jesus.” For the Jew it would have been Christ, the promised Messiah; but for the Gentile it' was Jesus, the universal Saviour, who was the central figure in the sermon. Let it be noted that the preaching was from a Jew ish book, Isaiah. There is a type o f dis- pensational teaching abroad which would close the Old Testament, except for such use as might be made of it as a sort of museum o f curious prophetic foretellings. But “all Scripture” is profitable, and this Gentile eunuch will forever praise God for that portion o f the Jewish Scriptures which led to his acceptance of Christ. The whole Bible is concerned with the Lord Jesus Christ who is at once the Jewish Messiah, the universal Sovereign, and the personal Saviour o f all who believe. The eunuch himself was a most inter esting character. He was occupying a high and important position under his govern ment (v. 27) ; he was honest, or he would never have been trusted in such a position (v. 27) ; he was earnestly desiring to do right before God, or he would not have come to Jerusalem to worship (v. 27) ; he was an educated man, or he could not have been reading in a day when only the cul tured could read (v. 28) ; he was wealthy, or .he would not have possessed a copy o f the Scripture (v. 28) ; and he was humble, or he would never have ventured to court the scorn o f servants and friends by ask ing a stranger to instruct him in what he read (vs. 30-34). Nevertheless, he was an ignorant man, needing the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, by the man of God, to enlighten him (vs, 32-34). Philip preached Jesus, a Person, not a form or ceremony. And the eunuch heard the message, believed the message, and ac cepted the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. III. T h e C o n fessio n of t h e S a in t (Acts 8:36-39). The eunuch requested that he might be baptized. But before Philip would consent to the observance of this rite, he would make sure o f the faith o f the eunuch (vs. 36, 37). The Revised Version omits verse 37, but many authorities retain it. Upon the eunuch’s confession of faith in Jesus Christ, Philip consented to allow that confession to be made public in bap tism (v. 38). These brief notes can hardly provide a discussion of the manner of this baptism. Whatever differences o f opinion may prevail among Christians, all must agree that the baptism o f the eunuch was surely a public confession o f this man’s faith in Christ. The element o f this bap tism was water,'the subject was a Gentile believer, and the Gentile believer was al ready a member of the church, the body of Christ, by the baptism o f the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). And without doubt it was the Holy Spirit who was lead ing the eunuch to acknowledge in this pub lic fashion his faith in Christ. When the baptism o f the eunuch was accomplished, Philip’s work was donfe, and he was “caught away” by the Spirit o f the Lord. But though the human in strument was gone, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. He had found the Lord. Points and Problems The threefold work o f Matthew 28:19, 20 has been somewhat obscured by the Authorized Version, which translates two different Greek verbs by the same English word “teach.” In verse 19, we should change the word “teach” to “make dis ciples,” as in the American Revision. Thus we find three duties laid down by the in-
country o f their own and had begun to have houses for themselves, they wanted to build a house in which to worship God, so King Solomon built a splendid temple, and there they worshiped. After the Lord Jesus died, and after He had gone back to His Father in heaven, His disciples wished to meet and worship together. There were not many of them, and at times they had to meet secretly be cause their enemies were everywhere. At first, they met in the home of one o f the followers o f Jesus, and they worshiped there. Sometimes they met out of doors, often on the shore of the sea or lake. Later, the Christians, too, were able to build a place where they might worship. We have made our churches beautiful be cause, if we truly love a person, we want to give him beautiful things. When we come into a beautiful church, we must remember that it has been made beautiful because it belongs to God. This means that we must treat the building with reverence and respect. Another thing, if we truly love a per son, we will come often to his home, won’t we? God has asked us to come and wor ship Him in His house. He has shown us in His Book that He wishes us to come each week. If we love Him, we will obey Him. Object Lesson No S h ooting Objects: A cardboard sign which reads, ■“ No Shooting” ; a cardboard arrow cov ered with black paper; and a roll of band age. Lesson: When one goes walking in the country, he often sees notices such as this one, which reads* “ No Shooting.” Farm ers often put up such notices to protect the birds and animals. It would be a good plan if we would put up such signs as this in our Sunday- schools and churches. I do not mean that Lesson T ext: Matt. 28 :19, 20; Acts 8: 26-39. Golden T ext: “ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and o f the Son, and o f the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). Outline and Exposition I. T h e I nstru ction from t h e L ord (Matt. 28:19,20). W h atever may be the precise dispen- sational interpretation of this por tion of Scripture, or however good men may differ as to its meaning, there are certain principles here which should be impressed upon our hearts. First, the de sire of the Lord is that those who confess Him as their Lord should be instant in witnessing to the truth the world around. While the special message here given is to “ nations,” the message o f the church today is to individuals of all races and all coun tries. Second, the will of the Lord requires that His people proclaim His words wher ever men are to be found, and this proc lamation is to be continued as long as the church is left upon earth, irrespective of what reception is given to the message on the part o f the hearers. Third, the prom ise o f the Lord is to those who are doing the witnessing. It is the promise of His presence with them through all the days. The saints may have the confidence, the
there are birds and animals in our churches that need protection, but there are people who shoot and hurt each other with the arrows o f criticism and unkind words. This black arrow is marked, “ Crit icism.” It reminds us o f those people who shoot unkind words at each other. If all Christians would remember what the Apostle Paul said, they would not speak unkindly to each other. Paul said: “ So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12 :S). Supposing that the fingers on my left hand were cut and bleeding—would the right hand jab the cuts with this arrow, or would it gently wrap the cut fingers in this bandage? You are right; the well hand would wrap the hand that was bleeding. Paul tells us that we are members of one body. He wants us to be kind and loving to each other. If one hajid is kind to the other when it has been hurt, how much more should one Christian be kind to an other, since we are all members o f the body of Christ 1 Paul does not say, “ No Shooting,” as this sign does, but, in different language, he tells us not to wound other members of Christ’s body. When you are angry with some one, just remember this “No Shoot ing” sign; and, instead o f shooting the ar-3 rows of criticism, put on the bandages of love and kindness. comfort, and the calmness that such a promise brings. II. T h e C onversion of t h e S in n e r (Acts 8:26-37). Philip, though he was not an apostle, was ready to hear and obey the Word of the Lord and to witness wherever he had opportunity. Thus he was ready to re spond when the angel spoke to him (vs. 26, 27). He was obedient, even though he knew not why he was told to go to Gaza; he “arose and went.” More o f such obed ience today would bring more manifesta tions o f the Lord’s grace and power. Philip was also a tactful and an intelligent Christian (vs. 29-35). He waited for the Spirit to direct him, and waited also for the eunuch to invite him into the chariot. BLACKBOARD LESSON
MAY 19, 1935 BAPTISM M atthew ,3 :13-17 ; 28:19, 20 ; A cts 2 :38, 41 ; 8 :26-39 ; R omans 6 :1-14
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