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tinuing in it "until the Lord comes.” Points and Problems 1. "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). The Revised Version says, “We must obey God.” This was the master principle which guided the leaders of the early church. It mattered 'not what was the cost; God must be obeyed. It. oft-times meant persecution, unpopularity, and loneliness. But it also meant power and purity. This was why the early church produced great results. Un questioning submission to God is the church’s greatest need today. 2. "God . . . raised up Jesus . . . him hath God exalted. . . the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him" (vs. 30-32). Herein we have revealed the secret of the apostles’ boldness and obedience. They were convinced of three great things God had done for them. God had provided Christ’s resurrection, Christ’s ascen sion, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. When these great facts grip the heart they make men want to obey God. Further more, they provide the power whereby men can obey God. F in a 11 y, they give the believer glorious subjects for obedient witnessing. 3. "And so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him" (v. 32). What a marvelous truth is here expressed! Believers are witnesses to the great facts of re demption. But so is also the Holy Ghost who abides in believing hearts. God intends that believers and the Holy Spirit shall be partners in the great business of witnessing to the gospel. Only as this relationship is realized will believers make a great impact upon the world (Zech. 4:6). The Spirit is the S p i r i t o f power. He gives dynamic to the church’s testimony. Only by Him can any be liever give a true witness, or make a deep impression upon the other hearts for the things of God. j 4. "If it be of God, ye cannot over throw it" (v. 39). Thus Gamaliel ex presses a truth that is axiomatic. Though we do not have definite evidence t h a t h e w a s a believer, he g i v e s demonstration of being blessed with s o u n d wisdom and judgment. It is good to know that what God has ordained and instituted cannot be defeated. It shall accomplish its divine purpose. This is so because of God’s omnipotence. He can thus exe cute His purposes. It is also true be cause of His unchangeableness. He will not suffer man nor devil to alter His plans. History has proved the truth of Gamaliel’s statement. The cause of God lives on and “the gates of hell shall not. prevail against” His church.
LESSON FOR JUNE 17 Leaders of "The W a y ”
now they were rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit. Thus the nation’s sinfulness would be complete by the rejection of their triune God (1 Sam. 8:7; Matt. 27:22-25; Acts 7:51).t It should be noted that while the Holy Spirit is not given in return for obe dience, obedience is the guarantee of the Spirit’s power for witnessing to the truth. II. T heir T reatment (V s . 33-35,38-40) Testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit either enrages or softens sin ners, and in this instance it so en raged the people that they "took coun sel to slay” the apostles. Doubtless this was one of the times that the apostles would be reminded of the words of Jesus concerning the hatred of the world (John 15:20, 21). One of the council, a tricky poli tician named Gamaliel, proposed a compromise. He would not take sides but would wait for proof as to whether these apostles were speaking the truth, or merely uttering vain words. He warned the council that a mistake might be made; if the movement were of God they could not hinder it, for thus they would be found fighting against God. Waiting for proof of the truth of God’s testimony is a trick of Satan’s. Faith needs not evidence, but will itself prove the truth; and with out faith nothing matters (Heb. 11:6). So, instead of killing the apostles, the Jews beat them and “commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus.” According to Ga maliel’s reasoning, if they had been consistent, they would either have slain the apostles or let Them go un harmed. Either way they were self- condemned by their actions. in. T heir C ontinuance (V. 42) They went forth with their own slo gan, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” With all. due respect for and obedience to constituted author ity, it must never be allowed to super cede obedience unto God. Whenever the commands of any authority run counter to the commands of God, the Lord must be obeyed irrespective of consequences. Hence these “leaders of the way” continued “daily in the temple, and in every house . . . to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” It would be well if the church today could as clearly recognize what really is her true tes timony to the world and then present that testimony boldly in the face of all - opposition and persecution, eon-
LESSON MATERIAL; Acts 5:29-35, 38-40, 42. GOLDEN TEXT : “ Ye shall be witnesses unto me both In Jerusalem, and in all Ju dea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most part of the earth” (Acts. 1:8).
Outline and Exposition I,
T heir T estimony (A cts 5:29-32) God had released the apostles from prison and told them to speak again in t h e t e m p l e (vs. 19, 20). They were in grave danger, surrounded by their enemies, but steadfastly deter mined to obey His orders. “We must obey God rather than man,” was their slogap, a priceless legacy for all Christians of all ages. Their testimony concerned the res urrection of Jesus. The keynote of all the preaching of these early leaders of the church was that the One who was slain had been raised from the dead. In this connection, here is an answer to all those who would exon erate the Jews from the murder of Jesus: “whom ye slew” said Peter and the apostles. While it is true that the actual, physical crucifixion was not performed by Jewish hands, with out the demand of the Jews for His death, Jesus would never have been slain. However, the whole race, in cluding both Jew and Gentile, is guilty of the blood of Jesus (Acts 4:23-28). Nevertheless, in spite Of their guilt, there was hope. They had rejected the claims of Jesus, and God had corroborated those claims by rais ing Him from the dead. Now, if they would receive the message, there would be a manifestation of God’s grace sufficient to cover all their wickedness and sin. They also declared that the risen Jesus was the One whom God had "exalted . . . a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” (Note that when speaking to Gentiles, Peter omitted the word “Prince,” because the Gen tiles were outside the covenant in volving the Prince (Acts 10:34-43). The Lord certainly knew this testi mony would be rejected, even as that of Jesus had been, yet He continued pleading with Israel, giving them every opportunity to repent, and mak ing every overture of love toward them. We are reminded here that the foreknowledge of God never interferes with the manifestation of His grace. It was a real bona fide offer even though God knew it would be rejected. The apostles further testified that not only they, but also the Holy Spirit was bearing the testimony. Israel had not embraced their opportunity while Jesus was among them in person, and
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