July 1928
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Gentiles. First there is to be an out- gathering (v. 14) of all who believe on Jesus Christ in this dispensation of grace. Next, there is to be a regathering (v. 16) of Israel and a setting up of the taber nacle of David. Finally, theffëj is to be a great ingathering 'of the residue of men (v. 17) in the Kingdom age. It is vital that we should understand that the program of this age is not to convert the world. Since Pentecost, the Hply Spirit has been calling out a people for His name. All Scripture'consistently teaches that this is God’s program. ■The facts of history accord with it. Not a hamlet can be found in which all have be come Christians. ;,’The average length of life in the world;.î.ïs said, to be about 33 years. This means the complete wiping out of thé world’s population three times in a century. Two-thirds of the world’s people have not yet even heard thé Gos pel. Three billion die every century with out having heard. Consider the tares among the wheat. Catching up with such a procession is a hopeless undertaking. All is sifnplified when we remember our Lord’s great commission to go to all na tions and make disciples. We are called to give a world-wide testimony. One of these; days the age of “taking out” will come to an end. It may be any. day (Lk. 21 ¡24; Rom. 11:25). “My sèntence is,"'said James,; "that we trouble- not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God, but that we Write unto them that they abstain from pollutionsJfof idols and from fornication, and from things strangled and from blood” (vs. 19-20). These were restric tions: intended to cut these Gentiles loose from the old connections with heathen dom. Three of them touch merely the law of charity as between Jew and Gen tile. Out of regard for the prejudices of the Jews, who had a natural abhorrence for certain practices,-it was advisable, that they observe these rules of conduct (1 Cor.ji0 :14; 2 Cor. 6:14). The fourth rule had to do with immortality,' and unchas tity was a part of heathen rites. This emphatic instruction was very essentia! Verses 22-29 record the letter, denounc ing the legalists, which was sent back to Antioch. The verdict of. the council was that the mixture pf law and grace was soul-destructive. If circumcision was to be recognized as essential, the whole law would be involved. It-was: illogical to in- jéctleSne portion of the law. Because of this issue;,/which', continued to confront Paul, he was led to write his Galatian Epistle, which is a divine treatise on this matter. L aw and G race in G alatians (Read Ga! 1 :6.) 1. Saved by operation of the Holy Spirit once for all. Law-keeping cannot make one any more saved (Ga! 3 :2-3l 6-8)., Compare ,Eph. 1:13-14. The Holy Spirit is the seal of eternal life. 2. Works of the law have nothing to do with justification before God (2:16). This does not contradict Jas. 2 :14-24. Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justi fies will not remain alone. Works are the visible/ evidence of justification by faith (vs. 21-23). 3. Salvation brings works, but works do not bring salvation (2 :20 ; 5 :22; cf. Eph. 2:9-10,; Tit. 3:5,8). Saved to serve, not serve to be saved.
ple Gospel of grace had been preached to them. Those who had received Christ had been born of the Spirit, their hearts purified and their lives made fruitful. Thus God had settled the law question by undeniably placing the seal of the Holy Spirit upon those who knew nothing at all of circumcision or the other Mosaic ceremonies. There are still many disputes as to what is essential. They could be easily settled by the same test. For instance, is baptism by one particular method essen tial to salvation? Some say that it is. Did not God place His seal of approval upon D. L. Moody and his work? He was never immersed. Has not God greatly used Dr. R. A. Torrey? He has been im- mersed. The'seal of the Holy Spirit has unquestionably been upon both men. Is Saturday worship essential to salvation ?. Some insist that, it is.. Hundreds- of the outstanding spiritual men have observed Sunday.
The apostle’s argument, however (Gal. 5:3-5), is exactly the .opposite. One try ing to-save himself by the works of the law is fallen from grace. To fall back upon law-keeping and good works as es sentia! in any way to salvation is to crowd out grace, which means absolutely un merited favor (Rom. 3:20). This issue was rightly decided at the Jerusalem council of churches. It is strange that some in our day Should still be raising the issue. , Salvation— alì of grace brings peace and liberty. Salva tion—partly of works—means bondage to rules and ritual, with no assurance. . Certain men from Judea had been teaching, that circumcision was essential to salvation (v. 1). .Erroneous teachers’ may be very sincere and earnest, yet en tirely wrong. These men went a long dis tance out of their way to inject their theories, and it is surprising today how far some people will walk, not to save souls,- but to pass out divisive literature and propagate their theories' among church people.. Thè vision vouchsafed to Peter (ch. 10) Shad already shown that the way into the kingdom was not through the door of Judaism. Paul and Barnabas instantly arid sharp ly resisted these teachings. If Jews, for the time, wished to honor some of the old ceremonies, they saw no objection), but to imposing these things upon Gentile be lievers, as essential to salvation, the mis sionaries were vigorously opposed. In effect these teachers of Judaism were denying the sufficiency of faith in Christ as the sole and complete condition of sal vation (Rom. 10:4). If grace is “unmer ited favor,” . my man can contribute to- grace. Works exclude grace. The Antioch church decided to send Paul and Barnabas with a delegation to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this issue. These tro.ublers had come from Jerusalem and possibly had represented that they spoke with th^ authority of the mother church (v. 24). A decision by the; original church would carry weight and make for the','future peace of the church. As the delegates went on their way to Jerusalem, they lost no time in doing good (v. 3), “causing great joy unto all the brethren.” At Jerusalem they were well received but encountered a group of Con verted Pharisees who were sticklers for the Old Testament law. They advocated laying down a command that the law must be kept. This brought the issue to a head, and a meeting of all concerned was called. After there had been “much disputing Peter rose up" (v. 7). Mark the fact that Peter was not the chairman of this meeting. He was in the congregation. He did not even express himself early in the rneeting. There was a time when he would have had the floor first. We are not accustomed to seeing him 'sit quietly in the pew until the argument had pro ceeded for some time. Peter had grown in grace. God had called Peter to witness to the Gentiles, and he had done so (v. 8). The Holy Ghost had set His seal of approval to this testimony just as He had upon that to the Jews. “He put no difference between us and them,” Peter said, “but purified their hearts by faith” (v. 9). Here was a conclusive argument. Get the force of it. These Gentiles had not been instructed in the Mosaic law. Nothing but the sim
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, Facts stronger than theories. If one says “You. must do thiS;4^or that—or you cannot be saved,” it is enough to point to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of thousands who have been saved bn John 3:16 alone. We; have heard of a minister who announced ds a Sunday topic: “Nine things one mu§t do to be saved.” Had he taken the plain statement of God’s Word, "Believe on thpr. Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt ■' be saved,” he would have cut his sermon short by eight points. The Holy Spirit had been poured out upon,,'Jew and Gentile alike, yet the ob servance of the law had not been preach ed on either occasion. Hundreds had been made "new creatures in Christ” and had received the assurance that they were eternally saved. Peter considered that good logic. “Now therefore,” . he reasoned, “why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers , nor we were able to bear? We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved” (vs. 10-11). The finished work of the cross is suf ficient for the . salvation of the soul, whether for Jew or Gentile. Barnabas and Paul were then given an attentive hearing as they confirmed Peter’s argument. They bore witness of the effects.of the simple testimony of the crucified Christ, without any of the trap pings of the law. God had approved their message also among the Gentiles. James, the Lord’s brother, brought the discussion to a close (Ga! 1:19). He first appealed to prophecy, showing that God’s plan included the calling out of a people for His name, both from Jews and
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