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v. 16. H is sp irit was stirred in him. Irrita te d , p u t into paroxysm. He re belled against idols. W hat he saw in A thens may be seen anywhere, a t any t i m e i n t h e COMMENTS FROM world, and nota- MANY SOURCES bly dn cities, for K eith L. Brooks an idol is any th ing th a t is in th e place of God.—Haldeman. One of the su rest tests of any man’s life is th e character of th e influence which most readily moves him to action. T h at which exercises impelling stren g th and driving force over him is th e thing which declares the quality of his soul. We have th e same Christ P au l had. W hat is our common outlook upon the world? How complacently do we be hold its ido latry !—Holden. v. 17. He disputed. P aul began a crusade against damning erro r and in th e most effective way, by personal work;*!—'Torrey. In th e m a rk e t daily. He talked of Christ no t only in church, b u t engaged the people in conversation where he m et them. If we are zealous for Christ we will be ready to ta lk for Him on all occasions. Sonfe m inisters o f Christ speak for Him only in the pulpit. Not so w ith Paul..—Brooks. v. 18. C ertain philosophers. Gigan tic brains have never yet b rough t men to God. Stuffed heads usually go along w ith starved hearts. This lesson is es pecially adapted to the present day, when we have so many new religions th a t begin w ith a doubt, end w ith a guess and have no tomorrow .— Echoes. Epicureans and Stoicks. The Epicurean system was m aterialistic. The senses formed th e only source of knowledge. The Stoical system was pantheistic— God is all and all is God. These present num erous resemblances to modern un- Christian modes of thinking.— Beysch- lag. This babbler. L iterally, “ seed- picker”— a mere scatterer of words or picker up of learn ing ’s crumbs. Thus some of the world’s "th in k e rs” look upon those who preach the Word today. — Eliot. P reached un to them Jesus. He did not preach Jesu s as a good man or as a philosophic example to men. He preached a Jesus who had been crucified and who had risen from th e dead. ..This constituted the Gospel for Paul (1 .Cor. 15 :1 -4 ). I t was his suplrbme theme (1 Cor. 1:21-23). He determ ined to know nothing else (1 Cor. 2 : 2 ). He refused to glory in anything else (Gal. 6 :1 4 ).— Haldeman.
(John 5:27) (c)
An Assured Judgm ent. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is th e fledg e and proof of th e coming judg m ent of th e world. I t behooves men to face the facts concerning the resurrec tion. The Bible, th e Church, th e Lord’s Day, the life of th e believer, are all of them a constant, persisten t testimony to th e fact of th e resurrection and judg ment, and are a summons to men every where to Repent, believe, accept Christ and come out from under the judgment. ; John 5 :2 4 ). (3 ) The S eparating R esults. “ Some mocked: * * * certain * * * believed.” The resu lt of P au l’s sermon was three-fold in effect. Some derided,— , mocked and scorned. Some delayed— postponed th e m a tte r to another day. Some decided—accepted th e tru th and became followers of th e apostles and of th e Lord. It has been so ever since P aul left A thens, never to retu rn . Many who heard th e message th a t day and rejected the testim ony will be eternally doomed by th a t Man whom they spurned as Saviour and Lord. PRACTICAL POINTS (1 ) T ru th is still a strange sound to .the ears of some people. (2) Men may be very religious and yet have no real religion. (3 ) Handmade temples are tempo rary ; b u t th e “ house not made w ith hands” is eternal. (4 ) God needs nothing a t m an’s hand; b u t God’s hand supplies all man’s needs. (5 ) The destiny of nation s is not de term ined by chance, bu t by th e direction of God. (6 ) H e who seeks to see God will not fail to find Him. (7 ) God’s condition for the sinner is found in His command to repent. (8 ) The resu rrection of Jesus Christ is th e positive proof of a righteous judgm ent. -
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