The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-10-05
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
International Lesson for October 4, 1903
The Power of the Gospel-Romans 1:S-17.

International Lesson for October i, 1893
The Power of the Gospei-Romans 1:S-17.
Especially Arranged from Peloubet's Notesl
GOLDEN TEXT am not ashamed Of the
Gospel of Christ; for 1t Is the power Of God
unto salvation to every one that believcth.-
Rom. 1910
TIME.-Wrtten early in the spring Of A. d.
SO, soon after the Epstle to the Galatians.
Nero was emperor at this time.
PLACE.-Written to the church Of Rome from
Cornth, at the close Of the three months resi-
dence there Of Acts 2o:3, the ''wntcring" of
Cor. 1e:6
COMPOSITION 1T was composed apparent
", in the house Of Corinthian Christian.
Gaius or Caius (Rom 1928, see l Cor. l:1D;
dictated by st. Paul, and written down by one
Tertius.
LANauAeE-Paul writes in Greek because
ul Greek was universally understood among
the half-forcign poorer classes of the Imperial
city. (2J Greek was the more famiiiar Ian
guage TO Paul, his native language, and he
could write more perfectly In this language
(3) Greek was by far the most perfect Ian
guage in which to embaln for oil ages the word
of God Paul had to speak
THE EPIsTLE W AS SpST by Christian wom-
an, a deaconess named Phebc who was about
to sail from one of the ports of Coripth to Rome.
THE CHURCH AT ROME was composed of
Jews and Gentiles, the latter prcdo1iinating.
The name of the original founder of the Roman
nor even celebrated by tradition. EARLY
church tradition says rarrar, sis indeed al
most unanimous in asserting that St Peter
was mlrtyrcd at Rome, but his visit to
the city did not long preccde his death"
1t is probable that private Christians
converted in Palestine, even as early as the
great outpouring of tho spirit on pentccost
(Acts 2:i0), made their way to R1me; but
probably the larger number of those WHO intro
duced the Gospel at Rome were converted in
various places under the preaching of Paul
himself There was continual intercourse be-
tween Rome AMI the cities of Greece and Asia
Minor. We know too from tho greetings in
chapter l6 that Paul was acquainted with
number of Christians there. According to Dr.
Schaff, the Jews in Rome itself numbered from
twenty to thirty THOUSAND souls, had even
synagogues and three cemeteries.
THE OBJECT OF THE EPIsTLE written to
church he had never visited, was apparently
% TO send q greeting to his many friends who
had gone there, and assure them of his abiding
affection: (2) to prepare the way for his visit to
them which he was planning to make; (9 to
comfort ana instruct those who had been strug-
Cling along without any apostle to keep them
from error to lesd them into larger truth
THE POWER OF GOD.
The End: Unto Salvation. This
power has particular object-salva-
ton. What is salvation? forgiveness
of sins, return to God the Father, de-
liverance from the punishment of sin,
welcome to Heaven, restoration of the
soul to it's true condition of spiritual
health. 1t is deliverance from the ruin
wrought by sin and restoration to the
holy will, the Heavenly character, the
loving nature, the spiritual life and
health, the grace and glory imaged in
Jesus Christ.
Christ the Power of God. 1. Christ is
the power of God because in the Di-
vineHuman Saviour are all the sources
of power by which sin can be over
come. (D Conviction of sin; (2) way
of forgiveness; (3) revelation of God
and Heaven and duty; (4) Divine au-
thority; (5) human sympa thy; (6) Di-
vine aid in the Holy Spirit; (7) rev.
elation of our danger; (S) kindling
of hope; (Y the drawing of the love
God; QO) perfect example. II. Christ
is shown to be the power of God by the
obstacles it overcomes. Power is meas
ured in two ways-by the difficulties it
overcomes, and by what it does in spite
of these difficulties. Now the cleans
ing of the human heart from sin, the
removal of sin from the world, is the
most difficult achievement proposed
to man. Human art and civiliza-
tion and labor can do almost every
thing but this. Here human religions
and PHILOSOPHERS are failure. Here
is that which says: "Thus far, and no
farther, and here shall thy proud waves
be stayed" III. Christ is shown to be
the power of God by what it has ac-
complished Notwithstanding this OBJ
stacle. 1t has changed the face of the
world, it has renovated it's morals, it
has lifted whole nations to a high state
of civilization, it is renewing the worst
Of men, and yearly changing null
titudes of lives for the better. 1t has
doubled the number of Christians in the
last eighty years. If you take map
Of the world like those made by the
government census bureau, and put
the countries in white where is the
highest morality and the greatest hap
piness, and darken the color as the
morality darkens, and place beside it
a missionary map with the Christian
lied countries in white, while the color
darkens as the Christianity grows i'm
pure, and the countries descend into
the blackness of heathenism, the
two maps will almost exactly coincide.
Where is the most of Christ crucified,
there are the purest morality and the
happiest lives. Nv. Christ is the power
of God, not only in overcoming sin,
but for destroying all other evils
sickness, sorrow, death, temptation,
ignorance. "To every one that be-
ieveth:" Believing is the means by
which the salvation is received. The
light of the sun is abundant for every
one who will open his eyes. Water is
unlimited for every one who will
drink. Salvation is offered to all the
world, to every one who accepts it, re-
ceiving it in his heart by faith. See
next verse. "To the Jew first:" In
time. Christ was Jew and preached
first to them, but it was meant ''also to
Tho Graolr ~ 1a <,x - ~