King's Business - 1916 -11

1023

THE KING’ S BUSINESS

cient missionaries in Gaul, Germany and Britain and elsewhere also. Paul opened to the Jews the Old Testament Scriptures con­ cerning the death and resurrection and reign o f the Christ (cf. Ch. 17:2, 3; 26:22, 23) showing how all this was fulfilled in Jesus. He gave witness to the Kingdom o f God—that is, to the reign o f God on earth in the coming Messianic kingdom. All his exposition and testimony centered in Jesus. It was no abstract reign o f God—in an improved state o f society—that Paul pro­ claimed but a definite reign in a definite person, Jesus. Paul proved his points both from the “law o f Moses” arid “ from the prophets,” from morning until evening. I f Paul had been like many o f our modern so-called “ Bible teachers” he would have spent the day discussing whether or no the law really was Mosaic and whether the portions o f Isiah Which he expounded really were by Isaiah himself or by the “ Deutero—Isaiah” or still some other Isaiah. The method Paul employed o f going through the Scriptures and showing Jesus everywhere was the very method the Master Himself followed (Luke 24:27). W e see that not even the apostolic preach­ ing converted everybody: “ some believed” “and some disbelieved. Under true preach­ ing o f the word o f God in the power o f the Holy Spirit “ some” will believe, but very seldom all and often times very few. The faithful preaching o f the Gospel always causes division; those who are ordained to eternal life believe (cf. ch. 13:48),.and the rest reject (cf. ch. 13:48-50; 14:4;'17:4, 5; 18:6-8; 19:8, 9). Those who believe are saved, and those who do not believe are lost (Mark 16:15, 16). But the unbelief o f some does not make the faithfulness o f God non-effect (Rom. 3:3, R. V .).. Paul was not at all shaken in his own faith because so many, including scholarly ones, had not believed, on the contrary he was rather confirmed in his faith; for this unbe­ lief and rejection o f the Gospel and the Messiah presented in the Bible was a ful­ fillment o f prophecy (vs. 25-27). Note how plainly Paul spoke to these rejectors o f the truth o f God and we ought to use

vs. 21-22. “And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of (from) Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake (nor did any of the brethren come here or report or speak) any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere (it.is known to us that every­ where ) it is spoken against .” In Paul s day Christianity was everywhere spoken against, nevertheless, Christianity was to conquer the world and save it from moral ruin. Man’s judgments are npt God’s judg­ ments, indeed man’s judgments differ widely from God’s judgment, and the sect that is “ everywhere spoken against” may be thé very sect that God has chosen and appointed to bear His truth to the world (cf. John 15:18-21, 24). vs. 23, 24. “And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him unto his lodging (they came to him into his lodging in great numbers); to whom he expounded and testified (expounded the matters, tes­ tifying) the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus both out of (from) the law of, Moses, and out of (from) the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken of, and some believed not (disbelieved)." W e see here how all the schemes o f Paul’s enemies and the enemies’ o f Christ had turned out to the furtherance o f the Gospel. Indeed in the final outcome all the schemes o f the enemies o f Christ will turn out to the furtherance o f the gospel, (cf. Phil. 1:12). They had brought Paul to Rome at the expense o f the State, they had given Paul the opportunity to speak to the lead­ ing Jews, but further than this they had given Paul an audience o f Roman soldiers. These soldiers would never have come to a service conducted by a Jew, but as they had to guard Paul they had to hear what he had to say while they guarded him. We learn from other parts o f Scriptures that many o f these soldiers were converted (Phil. 1:13, R .V .). As the Roman soldiers went everywhere they became most effi­

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