Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-10-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON III, FOURTH QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, OCT. II.

10. After five days Paul is now before
Felix, tho governor, and is permitted to
speak for himself in the presence of his &C
cusers. the high priest and others who have
come from Jerusalem 10 condemn him
(vcrso u. They accused him of many
things, but all their accusations were false
Oversees 5-9), and thus he had increased fell
lowship with his Lord i'm that they spoke
mischievous things of him, imagined de-
ceits and laid to his charge things he knew
not of ops xxXviii, II; Xix, ~. All man
ner of fellowship with God and with Christ
should he priced by us as II gift as much
as to believe on Him Phil. i, 29).
lib Paul with few words sweeps away
all their accusations as utterly untrue and
without foundation He knew that God
was with him, and he had no fear. He
could calmly face all his accusers, and the
devil himself, their captain. lie knew in
his soul that there were moro with him
than with them III Kings vi, l6) and could
say Though my soul isumong lions, men
whose teeth are spears and arrows and
their tongue sharp sword, be thou cxalt-
cd. O God. My heart is fixed. will sing
and give praise" FPS. lvii, -.
If Here he hcgins to state the real cause
of their anger against him. He believed
all things written in the law and in the
prophets, and that made him "A very trou-
blesome fellow to these religious people,
who did not believe God. A minister in
Chicago said the other day that these peo-
pie calling themselves Bible students were
very troublesome, and certainly they must
be to such ministers as prefer their own
ease, with lots of cricket and lawn tennis
and hunting and fishing, rather than Bible
study and real work for God.
10. "There shall be resurrection of the
decd both Of the just and of the unjust.
This was and is even to this day trou-
blesome doctrine to many, though plainly
taught even in the chcrubim story of Gen.
iii, and very clearly set forth in Dan. xii,
1-3. Not that just and unjust shall rise
at the same time, for Rev. Xxx, B. 6, says
that thousand years shall intervene, and
to this there is no contradiction in all
Scripture, for the hour of John V, 2S will
cover the thousand years as easily as the
hour of John V, % has already covered
over 500 years. Our Lord Jesus made
very evident distinction between the two
restrictions when He told a certain one
of rewards at the resurrection of the Just
duke xiv, 14.
IS. The blessed hope of the return of
Christ the resurrection of the righteous
and their rewards for service at His COM
ing for His saints is that which purifes
us from the delilcmentS and the cntangle-
ments of this present evil world and makes
us labor to be ever acceptable to Him.
Every believer is accepted in Him (Eph. /,
81, and that stands unchanged, but be-
cause of this we seek to be acceptable to
Him in all things, and trust Him to work
in us those things which are well pleasing
in His sight (Iicb xiii, 2D.
17-19 Here is true and brief statement
of the case rs to why he was in Jerusalem
and why in the temple when they found
him there, ana who his accusers ought to
have been, if any. The secret Of the whole
trouble was that which Paul well under
stood, for he himself was once heartily
one with the high priest and elders in their
hatred of Jesus and the story of His resur
rection from the dead. If Jesus Of Naza.
reth was really Israel's Messiah, then the
nation was guilty of crucifying their King
and that they would not submit to. Paul
had actually seen Him, and knew that il
was even so, and that the crucihed Christ
was really risen from the dead and was at
the right hand of God, Israel's true and
only Messiah, Son of David, Son of a bra
ham.
90 p. "ToUching the resurrection OF
the dead am called in question by you
this day" 1t was that which set the
council in an uproar (XXiii, &, y, and they
knew it, 1t was the resurrection from the
dead which with power declared Him to
be the Son of God (Rom. i, ~, and the
fun import of the great fact is finely set
forth in Cor. Ky. There is no gospel, no
salvation, no forgiveness of sins no use in
preaching, no ground for faith, no sense
in baptism or any ordinance of the church
if Christ be not risen. His life and death
were all in vain if He be'not risen But
He is risen, and that secures everything
for all who are His or are willing to be-
come His Ivy faith i'm Him.
%. Felix evidently saw more clearly into
the whole business than the high priest and
elders wished that he might and the man
who could now give the most important
testimony, next in order, was the chief cap
tain who had twice rescued him from the
infuriated Jews. There was, therefore,
nothing further to be done till Lysias
should come. The waiting times for the
people of God when the work seems hin
dered by the indifference or open opposition
of the enemies Of God is one Of the mys-
teries 1t would seem from verse % that
Paul was prisoner at Cwsarea for two
years. Might all this have been escaped
if he had NOT insisted upon going TO Jeru-
salem just at that time: Anyway, to rest
in the Lord and wait patiently for Him is
surely good.
23 Paul is kind of free prisoner He
is under guard, but at liberty To see all
who come To him. So ii was also on the
way to Rome and at Rome (XXyii, 3;Xxviii,
16), and Paul doubtless made the best pos
shle use of his liberty for the glory of God