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individuals were saved, as it is only by that Word that salvation comes tip any soul. Points and Problems 1. "Ail amazed" and "in doubt" (Acts 2:12). The English word “doubt” hardly expresses the exact meaning of the orig inal, because in modern speech “doubt” expresses a very positive attitude of mind, the attitude of unbelief. But these men were not doubters in this sense. They sim ply were at a complete loss to explain the phenomena of tongues. They did not doubt the fact, for they had heard and were “amazed." “Perplexed" would be better than “doubt” (cf. R. V.). 2. "Ye men of Judea" (v. 14). It is a popular blunder to overlook the fact that the testimony on the Day of Pentecost was given solely to Jews. Compare verse 22 where Peter again addresses his audience as “Ye men of Israel." Consider also verse 36 where he addresses his testimony to “all the house of Israel," and verse 46 where we are told that the newly made converts con tinued daily “in the temple" a place which excluded Gentiles. See also verse 5 which describes Peter’s audience as composed of “Jews . . . out of every nation under heaven.” All this is exactly as it should be, for according to the divine commission, the gospel of God’s grace was to be borne first to the Jew, and still more specifically, to the Jews in "Jerusalem” (Acts 1:8). 3. "Save yourselves” (v. 40). We have here an excellent illustration of the danger of using isolated texts apart from their con text and doctrinal considerations. On the basis of this text taken alone, legalistic teachers easily could make out a case for salvation by human effort, if the clear teaching of other portions of the Word is ignored. The only way that men can save themselves is by confessing that they can not save themselves, and by taking salva tion as the free gift of God’s grace. It had been announced that Signor Vitelli would play upon his five-thousand-dollar violin, in the great Auditorium at Ocean Grove. . . . The great musician took a violin from the table; drawing the bow across the strings, he made it give out some of the most marvelous music the huge audi ence had ever heard. Then something seemed to go wrong; he turned one of the tuning pegs of the violin and drew the bow across the strings, but the music did not seem to please him. He touched another peg, and then another . . . . The audience noticed a scowl settling down upon his features. He tried again and again; then suddenly he grasped the violin by the neck and broke it into a hundred fragments over a chair by his side. Half the great audience sprang to their feet, as if to rebuke the man for such an unwarranted display of temper and for the destruction of so costly an in strument. But godly Father Stokes arose and motioned the audience back, and said, “Friends, Signor Vitelli was only trying to teach us a lesson. He wanted us to know that after all, the music is not so much in the instrument as in the master. The violin which Signor Vitelli just destroyed cost Golden Text Illustration Z echamah 4:6
$1.28; he will now play upon his five-thorn- sand-dollar violin.” ; And then the great artist picked up his own instrument, and although the music was wonderful indeed, it doubtless would have taken a better musician than you or I to hâve told the difference. It is exactly so in the Christian life.. . The Holy Spirit is waiting to master your life, to fill and to furnish it with divine equipment. Yield your life to Him, let Him have His way with the instrument, and see what He will do.—Adapted from Illustra tions from Art, by Biederwolf. A Sermon That Made People Glad A cts 2:1-18, 36-41 Memory Verse: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psa. 122:1). Approach: Before the Lord Jesus went back to heaven, He told His disciples that after He was gone, they were to wait to gether in Jerusalem for a Gift that He w o u l d send. The Gift that was com ing to the disciples was the Holy Spirit, a wonderful Person whom they would not see, but who would be very real to them. Jesus had told t h e m a little about this Spirit. He called Him "the Com forter,” and “the Spirit of truth." Lesson Story: As Peter waited for the Holy Spirit to come, he must have won dered about Him. Peter probably felt sorry because he had been a poor kind of follower of Jesus. I am sure that he wished many times that Jesus were still here. Peter needed a Comforter! He must have remem bered, too, the time when he was such a coward that he was afraid to say he was a friend of Jesus. Would he ever be able to stand up boldly and tell people about Jesus? Would the Holy Spirit help him to do this? Yes, that is just what the Holy Spirit did; for we read that all of a sud den, after the Holy Spirit had descended upon the disciples, they stood up and preached there in Jerusalem to all of the people from many countries who were there. Even Peter, who had been so afraid, stood right up and said, “Know . . . that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” What a different person Peter had become! If we belong to Jesus, we may have this Gift, too, the Comforter who helps us to tell others about Jesus. Object Lesson B ill D rill Objects: A steel drill one-half inch in diameter, two nails, two six-volt dry-cell 5 -blYISIOrv
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