The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-08
Exposition of the
Sabbath SCHOOL, Lesson
FOR FEBRUARY 16, 1902
Copyright, 1902, by John R. Whitney

FOR FEBRUARY 16, 1902
| Copyright, 1902, by John R. Whitney.
The Second Persecution-Acts v.
| 25-42.
| Golden Text-Blessed are they which are
| prosecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs
| is the kingdom of heaved.-Matthew, ", 10.
! When Ananias kept back part of the pro-
ceeds of his sale for his own use, he probably
| did not deliberately plan to deceive God, but
! only to appear we'll in the sight of men. He
insensibly hattered himself that if men ap-
! plauded him God would certainly accept him.
II The feeling deep down in his heart, however,
| that he could improve his standing before
| God by giving something to his cause which
! commended him to men was a radical and
ga s 1T was the a. at the
! 1t taught them false doctrine. If it had
been permitted to go uncondemned and I'M
the faGsho9d would have been
would have greatly strengthened the idea so
strongly rebuked and repudiated by Peter
thought that the git of GOD may be pur-
chased with money" viii, POI. Many be-
sides Simon would have bought it then.
! ally money and merit are synonymous.
Now, this idea-this false idea-so cunning
! ~ suggested by Satan, is a very common one.
everywhere men are 'going about to estab-
| lish their own Righteousness (Rom., x, -.
They persuade themselves that they must
! ard SO they do not wholly submit themselves
unto the righteousness Of God" It must be.
Church. 1t must be Just as Utterly repudiated
in thes present and in the future church.
Then God brought it into Judgment and con,
| it be in the end with all. For Christ saved
then. Christ saves now. Christ always will
chF alone And Christ
/ There is none other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must<be saved
! So when Ananias and sapphira died, great
/ fear came upon all the church and upon as
! many as heard these things ". 1D. Not
] might deceive themselves. So it produced
great screenings Of heart and
/ their Insufficient Savior-'twere the more
! added to the Lord, multitudes both of men
and women n ~ a. The confidence Of the
! was still further strengthened and established
/ by many miracles of healing.
ing confidence of the people awakened Storm
from without. For when "the high priest,
and all they that were with him"Sthe great
:; they were filled with indignation''-or as
the Revised Version states it, with jealousy
(v. 10. The alarm awakened when Peter
and John healed the lame man was now
greatly intensified. It was evident that The
apostles were gaining ground as accepted
iIedcueIS. beSlueS, Spocldi QOCCrlne That
there is no resurrection" (xxviii., S)-for
they were mostly sadducees-was being open
/ ~ denied by. the. preaching through Jesus
the resurrection from the dead dv., p.
/ So again they laid their hands on the apos-
ties and put them in the common prison.
(v. 49,. or public ward tR. ": The tide
they built, but, nothing daunted-still like
little childrenT--they again went to work to
1 build another But this was washed away
more quickly and more unceremoniously than
the first 1t did not even stand until the
next morning, for 1.-THE angel OF the Lord by
night opened the prison doors and brought
7 them forth " 1917.
l But he did not bid them flee for their lives.
It wouldshave been great relief to their
hurt the infant church. The young oak,
which needed wind and storm to make ii
=! strike its roots deeper into the soil, would
not have SO soon become sturdy, strong
tree, spreading out it's branches far and wide.
Their deliyerance, therefore, was not, in any
4 sense, an escape. from prison or DEATH. Ii
was the Rhand Of God underneath, upholdinp
Els cause. He was manifesting to His enc
8 mics how weak and insi gni1cant they were
when they. undertook to Withstand Him az
II So Peter and John walked out Of their prisou