The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-02-17
SERMON BY ELDER &. NJ. GO0DE.
How TO Study the Scriptures with
Reference to the Remission
of Sins.
5 sunday evening, February 4, ,s9i.
LIKE d IL

Sunday evening. February 4, ls9i.
LUKE "a Al.
Upon the simplest analysis this
scripture will be found TO contain the
following facts concerning the Divine
purpose:
/. That repentance and remission
of sins should he preached IN Christ 5
name.
2. This preaching was to be done
by the chosen twelve.
,. 1t was to begin (or first be
preached) in Jerusalem.
T.. The passage, as a whole, points
to an event hen in the future.
In proof of the last proposition we
offer the following: The events here
enumerated were to succeed each Other
in natural order: /. Christ must die.
3. BE buried. 5. Come forth TO life
again: and after this the preaching
was to be done. Now, | ask: Is
there an event in the after history OF
these men to which we can, with Ger.
talnty, point, as meeting the demands
of these Divine utterancesP
There is but one in all the records OF
time, and that was the first Pentacosl
after the resurrection. 1t came on
about ZEN days after the Master had
A. -u-,l, 80 tho tnNt
LET US IDENTIFY IT.
|. The preaching was to he done
by the twelve.
>. They were to receive power
from on high before the preaching and
preparatory to it.
3. The preaching was to be done ID
Jerusalem.
A.. They were to preach repentance
and remission Of sins in the name o.
Christ.
Now, let us turn to the second
chapter of the Acts OF the Apostles,
and prayerfully consider its content:
with reference to this Identification.
shall give four readings. The first
will be verses IA: sand whep the
day of Pentacost was fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place,
and suddenly there came q sound from
Heaven as, of a rushing, mighty wind,
and it filed all the house where they
were sitting. And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues, like as OF
fire, and sat upon each of them, and
they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with Other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them
u~tterance."
Verses 1928: eye men of Israel,
hear these words: Jesus, of Naza'
reth,' a man approved Of God, among
you by miracles and wonders and
signs, which God did by him in the
midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know: Him being delivered by the de-
tirminate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, We have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain"
Verses 1888: ssThis Jesus hath
| God raised up, whereof we all are wit
nesses. Therefore, being by the right
hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise OF
the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth
this, which We now see and hear"
Verses 37-3S: SHOW, when they
heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and said to Peter and the rest OF
the apostles: Men and brethren what
| shall we dol? Then Peter said unto
them: Repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and We shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"
Now, if we keep in mind the decla-
rations of the Son of God, IS reported
in the text, and the facts and phenom-
ena of this Pentacostal occasion, the
conclusion is inevitable that the one is
the counterpart of the other-that the
mind of Jesus was on this Pentacost
when he spake the words of the text.
To the student of Gods dealings
with men there is no occasion of greater
interest than this. 1t is the event for
which the ages had been preparing /;
the types of former times find their
antitype here, shadows their substance,
and former dispensations of Divine
providence their end. Here, too, is
the beginning of the church-the king
dom which was 10 Overturn. all other
kingdoms, fill the whole earth and
stand forever.
See Smiths Bible Dictionary, Art.
s.Church"-esThe day of Pentacost is
the birthday of the Christian church."
See the Schaff- Herzog Cyclic, Art.
..Church"-s.The historical church be-
gan on the day of Pentacost."
There, for the first time, the Divinely
chosen apostles preached repentance
and remissions of sins in the name of
Christ. They had preached before,
but they had never preached thus
before. See their commission, Matt.
10 :6-7: ..But go rather to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel, and as ye
90, preach, saying: The kingdom of
Heaven is at hand" Under this
commission, and in obedience to it,
they preached only to the Jews. The
theme of their preaching was the CON-
ing kingdom, "'Thc kingdom is at
hand" etc. On the day of Pentacost
nothing was said about q coming king
dom, nor did these men in their after
ministry tell the people that the ''King-
dom was at hand" The reasons for
this are very obvious:
/. The kingdom had come.
3. The commission Of Matt. 10 :6-7
had expired; on the day of Pentacost,
and ever afterward they preached
under a new commissiOn-one that
sent them not only to the Jews, but to
all the world-and to this last they
were as obedient as to the first.
Here is the place IN our study for
profound thought, and may the good
Father help us to understand.
See new commission, Matt. 2S:l9:
$50 We, therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost"
Mark 1G :15-16: s'And he said unto
them: GO, ye, into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature
he that believeth, and is baptized,
shall be saved; but he that believetl
not, shall be damned"
See Luke "a al: .'And that re-
peptance and remission of sins should
be preached in His name, beginning al
Jerusalem"
These three records give us the entire
commission under which the apostles
began their ministry on the day OF
Pentacost, and under which they con-
ILL.