T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
394
SUNDAY
SCHOOL
Lesson material is based upon outlines of International Sunday School Lessons, copyrighted by the International Council of Re ligious Education; used by per mission.
LESSONS
For the Children A llison A rrowood
Points and Problems H omer A. K ent
Outline and Exposition B. B. S u tc liffe
3. "And Paul said. But I was free born" (Acts 22:28). This was a third distinct advantage. Being a Roman citizen by birth gave him certain privileges, honors and protection that meant much to him as he journeyed across the Roman world, preaching the Gospel. Paul’s freedom was the re sult of Tarsus being a free city. As Paul was a Roman citizen through the situation of physical birth, so the child of God becomes a free citizen of Heaven by a spiritual birth or re generation. 4. "I live a Pharisee" (Acts 26:5). This was a fourth advantage Paul had. The Pharisees were the separa tists of the day. They stood against paganism and unbelief, but erred in making too much of tradition and the letter of the law. Against a rigid back ground of legality and ceremonialism, Paul was alile after his conversion to preach with more brilliance the free Gospel of God’s grace. For the Children A B oy of T arsus A cts 21:39; 22:3, 27, 28; 26:4, 5; P h ilippians 3:5, 6. MEMORY VERSE: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart” (Deut. 6:5). Some people say that it does not really matter what we do if we only believe that we are doing the right thing. They say that it d o e s not matter what religion we have if we believe that it is the right religion. God’s Word tells us about a young man who was certain that what he believed was right. So sure was he of this, that he punished and even had killed those who did not believe as he did about God. In the city of Tarsus, there lived a Jewish boy whose name was Saul. When Saul was old enough, he was sent to a school in Jerusalem, a school where one of the greatest teachers of that day taught the law of God in the Old Testament. Saul thought
a notoriously irreligious people (Acts 22:3). It was public knowledge that Paul lived after the “most straitest sect” of the Jews, that is, the Pharisees (Acts 24:4, 5). His life was such that he could say truthfully, as “touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Phil. 3:6). If human en deavor could have saved a soul, then certainly Saul of Tarsus needed no other Saviour. But alas, what he had was merely human righteousness which was not sufficient to obtain sal vation and secure fellowship with a perfectly holy God. Hence, Saul of Tarsus, with all the perfection of his life and background, needed what all men need, a Saviour other than him self (Rom. 3:23). Points and Problems 1. "A citizen of no mean city" (Acts 21:39). This is the first of several ad vantages Saul of Tarsus enjoyed in his unregenerate days which in later years contributed no little to his in fluence as a Christian. Tarsus, like Athens and Alexandria, was a literary center. It was a free city, made so by Augustus Caesar because of its effort and sacrifice on b e h a l f of Rome. Moreover it was a beautiful city located on the b a n k s of the river Cydnus and at the foot of the Taurus mountains. Paul’s association with Tarsus helped him in his contacts with men of culture as he proclaimed the Gospel. He kept his “home town” pride. 2. "Yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel" (Acts 22:3). This was a second great advantage Saul enjoyed. He took his postgraduate work in Jerusalem, the holiest city in the world, and under Gamaliel, the greatest exponent of Judaism in that day. Thus he became an expert in Hebrew law and tradition. He never lost his sense of loyalty to this school in which he, no doubt, was a brilliant scholar though he disagreed vigor ously w i t h the conclusions of its teachings.
LESSON FOR OCTOBER 6 Paul’s Background and Early Years LESSON M ATERIAL: Acts 21:39; 22:3, 27, 28; 26:4, 5; Phil. 3:5, 6. GOLDEN TEX T: “ Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth" (Eccl. 12 : 1 ). . Outline and Exposition i. A s a R oman ( A cts 22:27, 28) Politically, Paul was a Roman, free bom, and possessing privileges and rights that only Roman citizens' en joyed. The centurion, though an em ployee of the Romans, had been obliged to buy his citizenship, and he was astonished to learn that Paul was a Roman with unlimited political rights. Perhaps Paul’s father had rendered some signal service to the Roman government for which he had been granted * full citizenship. Thus his children were born Romans, so far as their political status was concerned. II. A s a J ew ( A cts 21:39) Racially, Paul was a Jew, born of Jewish parents, albeit they were Ro man citizens. In his home, he was in structed in the Old Testament Scrip tures. He was taught also a trade, which was the custom among the Jews. His parents were of “the best people,” but possessed a due sense of their responsibility toward God in the training of their son. As they were of the tribe of Benjamin, and Pharisees, Paul’s home training, boyhood school ing, and social status were first-class. III. As a L egalist ( A cts 22:3; 26:4, 5; P h il . 3:5, 6) Paul was taught in the strict cus toms of the Jewish religion by Gama liel, the leading teacher of Jewish youth, in Jerusalem. Hence, he became familiar with the law and its require ments, and engaged in all the cere monies that marked the Jews as being peculiarly religious in the midst of
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