26
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
January, 1939
and praise God, and then tell the astonished crowd what had occurred to him earlier at that very place. It would be a grand thing if every child of God frequently would go back in memory to the Beautiful Gate where he first met the Lord, and would once again "leap for joy” of sins forgiven. Ip T he E xplanation (A cts 4:8-11) When the multitude gathered about the man who had been healed, Peter seized the opportunity to preach to them. But the authorities became angered because of his preaching of the resurrection from among the dead, and they had Peter and John ar rested and put into the jail. The next day, the apostles were brought before the coun cil and commanded to explain by what power or name they had made the lame man whole. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, ad dressed them as “Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel.” Peter was used by the Holy Spirit to bring a message to the nation through its accredited leaders. He refused to take any credit to himself, but explained: “By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.” Thus briefly but plainly Peter charged his hearers with the crime of crucifying Jesus. Just as plainly he declared that God had raised the Crucified One from the dead. The One rejected by them had been re ceived by God, and the One crucified by them had been exalted by God. The proof
that God had raised, received, and exalted the crucified Lord Jesus was there before their eyes, in the person of the man made whole—whose healing was wrought only in the name of Jesus Christ. It was an unan swerable argument. The world grows weary of scholarly discussions, of cold creeds and doctrines, of Christians’ fight ings over terms. It is useless for us to teach about Jesus without being able to manifest His risen life and power in practical ways. III. T he A pplication (12) Peter had preached of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, and thus had become the ac cuser of his accusers. He preached also concerning His triumphant resurrection, and thus he accused the Jews of fighting against God. He declared His power and presence. He proclaimed His glory and majesty, and thus accused them of refusing to believe the prophets whom they claimed to accept (cf. Psa. 118:22; Isa. 8:14; 28: 16). Peter’s preaching revealed that Chris tianity is both exclusive and intolerant; it is exclusive because it admits no peer, and it is intolerant because it denies every other religion as being a sufficient means of sal vation from sin. However, even then for those who heard the apostles’ cutting words, there was op portunity for redemption through the One whom Peter had preached. Indeed there was—and ever is—salvation in no other. Points and Problems 1. Peter and John went up “into the temple" (v. 1). We have here something Some of the most beautiful appealing pictures. Numerals easily read. Numbers for previous and following months shown. Prayer meeting texts. International Sunday School Lesson assignments. Size 9 Yz x 16 inches. Colorful. . . 30c Each • THE HOLY BIBLE An edition in a class by itself. Easy type to read——convenient to carry. Genuine leather binding, gold edges, teacher’s helps, self-pronouncing and an index to maps. Order C C by Number B03................... W
the significance of which is often over looked. The first members of the church bom on the Day of Pentecost did not real ize fully at the time what had happened. The fact that the church continued to use the Jewish temple as the place of worship shows clearly that its first members ex pected the nation of Israel to accept Jesus as its Messiah, and the temple to become His place of prayer just as predicted in Old Testament prophecies of the kingdom. And they were entirely correct in this expecta tion, except that they did not foresee that this glorious consummation would be delayed for centuries by the national unbe lief of the nation of Israel. 2. “The hour o[ prayer" (v. 1). Au thorities are not wholly agreed as to the exact hours of prayer in the temple at this time, but all agree that there were three different periods each day, probably morn ing, noon, and evening—the evening begin ning at the "ninth hour,” about three o’clock. For the Biblical background of this custom, see Psalm 55:17, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray.” The thought appears also in Daniel 6:10, "He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed.” 3. “And they knew that it was he" (v. 10). As an antidote to the many modem cults which claim to duplicate the apostolic miracles, we should note some interesting facts about this case. First, the physical malady was genuine, not merely a psycho logical problem. The man was bom lame.' Second, the case was well known. People
Are YOU Prepared— • SONGS OF LIFE
• 1939 SCRIPTURE CALENDARS
• STREAMS IN THE DESERT By Mrs. Charles Cowman Your rightful heritage is hap piness. Increases faith. A painless method of getting the Word. A message for each day in the year. Enjoy able. .......................$1.50 • CUT FROM THE LOAF By James M. Gray Daily Manna from the Bread of Life. Devotional reading for individual or family use. The Scripture reference in dex is helpful to any minister. The safe investment. $1.50
By Henry Weston Frost 120 pages of poems dedi cated to making you happy. Strengthen th e Ch r i s t i a n L i f e . .........................$1.25 • 101 FAMOUS POEMS With Prose Supplement A volume that enriches, ennobles, encourages. For the person who loves conven ience — 5 x 8 inches. New revised edition. Poems by Longfellow, Wh i t t i e r , and many of the other masters of the past. Grips the heart. Soul stirring. Cloth, gold stamping . . . . $1.00; Paper binding . . 25c • GOD’S BEST SECRETS By Andrew Murray T h o r o u g h l y e xpo s e s the reader to the happy life. A never-failing source of com fort and inspiration in daily life. . . . . . . $2.50
• THE BENT-KNEE TIME By S. D. Gordon
• PELOUBETS SELECT NOTES on the International Sunday School Lessons By Wilbur M. Smith, D.D. For the full year of 1939— 125 illustrations in the text. Maps, charts and helps for teachers and students. 65th annual volume . $2.00 • TORREY’S GIST OF THE LESSON— Vest-Pocket Size, 1939 Edition . . . . 35c A bit for every day in the year. Right to the point. C o n v e n i e n t p o c k e t size. Beautiful binding. Fragrant messages with gospel light. . . .... - • . . 75c (Postage is extra on books here advertised; customers in California will add 3% sales tax.) BIOLA BOOK ROOM 560 S. HOPE ST., LOS ANGELES, CALIF. “ Headqua r te r s—Fundamen ta l L i t e r a tu r e ”
Made with FlippingBook Online document