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if unknown is received w ithou t question when made known. The advantage in dealing w ith such cases is th a t it is not necessary to argue th e fact of sin. and dem onstrate its damage. There seems to be an imm ediate recognition of th e Gospel as adapted to meet th e sin n e r’s need and th is increases th e chance of its acceptance. The evidence of its ac ceptance is th e w itness th a t is borne to Christ as th e Saviour according to His prom ise in Acts 1:8, “Ye shall be w itnesses unto me.” This is stronger th a n “my w itnesses.” The la tte r would au th en ticate th e ir testim ony b u t the form er provides and determ ines its sub ject m atter. Such Was th e resu lt of th e testim ony which th e woman of Sychar bore to Jesus th a t many of h er fellow townsmen became H is disciples and th e work of grace was sta rted which grew into th e S am aritan Pentecost of th e eighth chapter of Acts. SUNDAY, Oct. 5. 1 Jo h n 1:1-10. The Claims of Christ Upon All Men. Christianity is no t only a historical religion, it is a universal religion. Since all have sinned, redemption m ust be for all. The universal claims of Christ have th e ir origin in H is sovereignty and in his Saviourhood. He is Lord of all and He died for all. He is also appointed to be th e Judge of all. The universal includes the particu lar. The world is an aggregation of individuals. The per sonal is th e determ ining factor of the universal. The Holy Spirit individual izes H is operations. Christ needs all men. Each and every man has h is own place to fill and his own work to do. No one can do th e work of another. If or der is heaven’s first law, variety may be said to be its second. This applies to creation and redemption. All men need Christ because He alone can make them w hat they ought to be. There is tra n s form ing power in th e touch of Christ. The shaky Simon becomes th e rock like P eter. Saul the zealot becomes P au l the m issionary. Wesley the for m alist becomes th e burning Methodist. Every hum an being is called to disciple- ship. As Jesu s was ta u g h t of the F ath e r, John 5:19-20, so His disciples are to be ta u g h t of Him by the Holy Spirit, John 16:13-14. As He was sent into th e world by th e F ath e r, so He sends His disciples into th e world. John 17:18. To find one’s tru e tru e self as th e prodigal did, Luke 15:17, to find
shaken in answer to th e apostles pray ers. This earthqu ak e was no coinci dence. E arthquakes do not unbar doors and unclasp fetters. God was in th is dungeon, breaking a way for th e Gospel into heath en h earts. H is mercy fol lows h ard upon th e heels of His power. Like a tru e Roman, th e jailer was about to k ill himself for the loss of his prison ers as he supposed. P au l prevents him and preaches th e Gospel to him and th e marvelous story of his conversion fol lows. P au l’s cry to th e ja ile r on the verge of suicide “Do thyself no harm , is th e call of God to man since th e world began. Sin is damage loss and harm , tem poral and eternal. Sin is suicide. No harm can come to man from w ithou t if he does no t h arm him self. Hos. 13:9. Even S atan can only suggest self-inflicted harm . Matt. 4 .b , 1 P et. 3:13. The Gospel is not only th e panacea for all hum an ills, it is the g reat prophylactic for th e individual and the race. Why did not P au l announce his Roman citizenship in th e first place, and be saved from all penalty and p a in . Because in th e Providence of God, was not to be th e aegis of Rome b u t th e hand of God th a t was to humble th e h augh ty m agistrates in th e dust. The m agistrates were a t th e feet o£ Pa^ $ £ * Silas before they knew them to be th e sons of the state, shielded by its laws. God had stru ck te rro r to th e officials h ea rts thu s bearing w itness to them and to all men th a t th e powers th a t be can not w ithstand th e tru th . SATURDAY, Oct. 4. John 4:27-42. The Samaritan woman Testifies to Christ. In reading th e account of th e con versation between Jesus and th e woman a t th e well, one marvels th a t th e Mas te r should disclose such deep sp iritu al tru th to one of h er ch aracter and th a t she should apprehend it so readily and act upon it so quickly. It m igh t seem to be beyond th e capacity of th e aver age congregation of Christians to ap preciate and understand. Any one who is engaged in evangelistic or mission work is often surprised to discover among persons of evil life in th e most degraded surroundings, a clear under standing of th e doctrines of grace and th e p ro lision s of the Gospel. In many cases no driubt it is th e resu lt of early train ing in home and Sunday school, bu t the fact rem ains th a t in spite of years of sin th e way of salvation is known or
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