June, 1936
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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
JULY 26, 1936 i CHRISTIANITY SPREAD BY PERSECUTION A cts 7:54 to 8 :4 ; 11:19-21; 26:9-11; 1 P eter 4:12-19
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to his fathers (cf. 1 Tim. 1:12-16; Acts 26:9-12). The persecution of believers resulted in the scattering of the disciples—“through out the regions of Judea and Samaria”— and this circumstance in turn resulted in the proclamation of the gospel “abroad” in new and distant areas (8:1-4). “They were all scattered abroad . . . except the apostles.” The apostles were transformed men, no longer hesitating to acknowledge their Lord and fearful for their own lives. While the apostles tarried at Jerusalem, in the midst o f the persecution there, the disciples went forth, giving out the Word wherever they went. Their business was to make Christ known, regardless o f what persecution might be entailed, and this is also the task delegated to the church in every age. Persecution and martyrdom are by no means experiences only of the past. Those who go forth today bearing the precious seed to distant lands are likewise called to suffer. They feel the strength o f Satan’s power and the awful hardness o f the human heart. The messengers are often misunderstood, unaccepted, maligned. But accounts o f experiences on foreign fields—many of the incidents relating to our own day—tell of the continual presence of the Lord with His own, enabling the witnesses to endure hardness for His name’s sake, and even to pray for their persecutors and would-be murderers. Satan is satisfied when the testimony of the church has grown cold and ineffective® when it does not arouse the world. But when the cross of Christ is preached with its condemnation of all the old nature, and when the resurrection o f Christ is pro claimed as the only way of life, persecution invariably breaks forth in Satanic fury. II. T he P rospect of C hristianity (1 Pet, 4:12-19). The prospect that looms before Chris tians is like that which Jesus faced while He was on earth (vs. 12, 13). It is one o f suffering. As long as Satan and the» world remain unchanged—and they will remain unchanged to the end of the story —persecution will follow for the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. If Christians understood and accepted the Scripture teaching concerning this matter, they would “think it not strange concerning the fiery trial."- Opposition would be expected. Instead of complaining and questioning, they would rejoice, inasmuch as they “are partakers of Christ’s sufferings” (cf. John 1.5:18-21; 1 John 5:19, R. V .). With the sufferings there is the glorious hope of the future, when the glory o f Christ will be revealed and the believer will share in the heavenly joy. The prospect includes not only suffering with Christ but also likeness to Christ (vs. 14-16). Bearing the reproach of Christ, the Christian is brought into close fellowship with Him, and no one can com mune continually with Him without be coming like Him. While it is true that Christ is the Gift of God to all who will accept Him, and that for this Gift the Christian can pay nothing, it is also true that Christlikeness, for the one who would obtain it, does cost a great deal. “ I would give all the world to be like- Christ,” a person once said to a Christian who was known for his Christlike spirit.
Lesson T ext: Acts 7:59 to 8 :4 ; 1 Peter 4:12-19. Golden T ext: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Outline and Exposition I. T he P ersecution of C hristianity (Acts 7 :59 to 8 :4 ). S tephen , one of the deacons of the early church, became its first martyr. He was a great preacher, and the whole of his wonderful, Scripture-centered mes sage, that convicted his hearers and re sulted in their killing o f the preacher, should be read carefully in preparation for this lesson. Stephen’s words make plain the facts of God’s hatred of sin and His eternal love for the sinner; his sermon also revealed man’s inherent love of sin and his settled animosity to holiness. Hear ing these truths, men were enraged. They would silence the preacher in Heath! But with calmness and confidence, Stephen yielded his spirit to the Lord, and his action in so doing reminds one of the Saviour’s committal of His Spirit to God the Father, as the Son hung upon the cross. With Stephen, there was no fearful antici pation o f death, but a quiet assurance that bespoke an unruffled spirit. Stephen wished for nothing more than to have God’s will accomplished, and if God’s will for him included death, the messenger would wel come martyrdom. Moreover, he showed compassion for his murderers, and in this, too, he followed the action of his Lord. Christ on the cross had prayed for the forgiveness of His enemies. Stephen likewise could pray for the forgiveness of his persecutors, even when they cast the cruel stones that killed him. Stephen sealed his witness with his blood. But the Holy Spirit is careful to tell us that his experience was not one of terror and darkness, but one o f quietness and peace, for “he fell asleep.” Thus calm ly, confidently, and restfully, the first martyr of the church went to his death, upheld and sustained by the presence and power o f the Lord. The whole picture o f the death of Ste phen must have been stamped upon the mind and heart of Saul o f Tarsus who was standing by (8:1-3). Saul not only consented to Stephen’s death, but fol lowing the martyrdom, with a rage in cited by Satan, Saul also continued the persecution of the church. We must re member that he acted in ignorance. He was zealously following the dictates of his conscience as he attempted to blot out what, to him, was the threatened over throw of the religion which God had given BLACKBOARD LESSON
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