September 1931
416
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m m s m i LESSON COMMENTARY Lesson Outline and Exposition Blackboard Outlines Golden Text Illustrations Children’s Division By B. B. Sutcliffe By Bessie B. Burch By Alan S. Pearce By Helen Gailey
Arriving in Macedonia, the g o s p e l preachers went to Philippi, the chief city of that province. There they tarried “cer tain days.” Soon the urge to preach led them to seek an opportunity for making known the glad tidings of God’s grace. The opportunity was not far to seek. On the Sabbath day, they found a group of women who were accustomed to gather beside a river for prayer, and they “spake unto the women which resorted thither.” We may see from this that, humanly speaking, the prayers of a few heathen women changed the whole trend of the gospel’s course. Wherever God finds a heart that is ready and willing to receive the gospel, He sees to it that that one has the opportunity to hear and to accept. III. T he C onversion of L ydia (A cts 16:14, 15). Lydia was the firstfruits of the gospel in Europe. She was the first member of the first church ever planted in Europe. In her conversion, there are several marks of every true conversion. From Lydia’s history we learn, first of all, that the natural heart must be opened by an outside influence. It is tightly closed against all approaches of the true God, not only by its own opposition to the truth, but by the action of Satan upon it (cf. Rom. 8:7; 2 Cor. 4:4). Only God has the power to open such a heart; He alone is able to deliver from Satan’s bondage. But there is, somewhere in each human heart, either the disposition to be moved upon by the Spirit of God, or the settled opposition to His power. In the second place, Lydia’s history teaches that it is the hearing of the Word that brings new life and salvation. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). When it is said that she “worshipped God,” it doubtless means that, while still follow ing her heathen conscience, she was aware that the heathen gods were power less and worthless, and that there was a supreme God above them all. It was He whom she worshiped, although, until the Word came to her, her worship was in ignorance. In the third place, Lydia’s history re veals that it is necessary and natural to witness for Christ, when one has become His child. She confessed her death to all the old nature and the old life by bap tism ; her oneness with those of like pre cious faith by constraining the apostles to abide in her house; and her new life in Christ Jesus by associating herself with the saints in spite of their ostracism and persecution for the Lord’s sake. None of these things constituted salvation, but they all witnessed to the fact that the all-im portant change had taken place within her heart. They were a testimony to her sal vation ; they were works of faith proving her possession of the new life in Christ.
II. T he C all to M acedonia (A cts 16:9-13). The call came in a vision granted to Paul as he waited at Troas for the fur ther leading of the Spirit. Having gone as far as he could in the direction divinely indicated, he waited for additional light. Some scholars think that the “man of Macedonia,” whom Paul saw in the vi sion, was, in reality, Luke. Whether or not this was the case, we know that it was probably at this point that Luke joined the party, since the pronoun “we” (v.. 10) is introduced here for the first time. The cry, “help us,” meant just one thing to Paul, and that was to give the gospel to those who needed it. He had nothing else to offer—no wealth, no pow erful friends, no governmental influence, no special methods of business—nothing but the gospel of the grace of God. Whether he dealt with Lydia, the wealthy seller of purple (v. 14), or with the poor slave girl (vs. 16-18), or with the brutal masters of this damsel (vs. 19-24), or with the ignorant Roman jailer (vs. 27- 34), Paul had just one message. It was the one thing that each of them needed— the gospel which is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Whatever of riches, or culture, or phil osophy, or familiarity with the arts and sciences Macedonia had, without Christ, it was poor and needy and helpless and hopeless. Paul desired to preach Christ to the men of that city, for he knew that He and He alone could meet their deep and common need. When the vision was received, Paul and his companions immediately concluded that the leading was of the Spirit, and they promptly arose to obey the call. When there is the readiness to obey the voice of the Lord, there will always be the assurance that the path trod is the path of the Lord’s choosing. International Commentary Appreciated I am teaching a Sunday-school class, and I cannot get along with out T he K ing ’ s B usiness . • •—B remen , O hio . I find that T he K ing ’ s B usiness is indispensable to me in the prep aration of the Sunday-school les sons. It contains the best commen tary that I have found. —P hiladelphia , P a . After using T he K ing ’ s B usi ness in our Sunday-school class, we thought it so fine that we de cided to order it for all seven mem bers of the class.— G allatin , M o .
OCTOBER 4, 1931 The Macedonian Call Lesson: Acts 15:36 to 16:15; Rom. 15: 18-21. Lesson Text: Acts 16:6-15; Rom. 15: 18-21. Golden Text: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19). * * * The events of the lesson, which are a part of Paul’s second missionary journey, occurred soon after the council at Jerusa lem had settled the question concerning the relation of the Gentiles to the law. Following this decision, ■Christianity went forth untrammelled by Jewish traditions. I. T he C ontrol by the H oly S pirit (A cts 16:6-8). 1. By means of direct command. The gospel ministers “were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” This in indicative of the fact that the place of the true missionary’s service is not self-chosen, nor is it decided by the demands of any particular locality. Surely there was need in Asia, with its teeming millions without the gospel! But the ap parent need is not always the real need. The Spirit of God knows where each Christian worker is .most required, and He alone can direct to that place. 2. By means o f providences. Again we read that “the Spirit suffered them not” to go into Bithynia. How He restrained them we are not told. It would seem that circumstances combined to make their journey unwise. Multitudes in Bithynia were without the gospel, and the workers would naturally go where crowds awaited their preaching. But be cause they were alert to know the Lord’s will, they received His direction in every small detail of their lives. 3. By means o f the workers? inner leading. The supreme desire of Paul and his companions was to preach the gospel. They waited for the bidding of the Spirit and received in their own hearts the as surance that they were in His will. When the Word of God and the provi dences of God and the Spirit of God all agree, then one may be assured that the way of God has been found. It has been said that “Waterloo changed the face of Europe.” But the movement described in today’s lesson, undertaken in obedience to the Holy Spirit, changed the face of the whole world. The apostle might have proceeded northeast and given the gospel to China, or southwest and preached in Africa; but, led by the Spirit, he went into Europe, and because he did, it is our privilege to enjoy the influences arising from Christianity.
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