The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-30
Sunday School Lesson
 and Religious Topic

1 seems to have passed away. Tne tShB l line of imprisoned champions of truth have been the iiberators of the pres ent generatfon.
 standing witk Their Leader. This picture of Peter ant John be- fore the sanhedrin as 1t sat in state recalls inevitably that earlier picture I of the same man when the Sanhedrin was once before sitting. Then he 1 covered and cringed' and skulked on the outskirts of sthe scene. startled by the mild words of q servant maid from his heart by q fire kindied by his Leaders enemies; and even lying and 1 cursing in a vain effort to separate himself from, relationship with the ma l jestic Prisoner within. An abiect. pit fable figure was that <cowardly Peter Now. however. we see him standing 1 just where his Master had stood. He is in his right place. face to face with the same foes. No more does he need to warm himself. for his heart is aglcw with joy and pride. that he has been counted worthy to stand ln the stead of his Master. We pity the heroes and martyrs of faith when really we ought to envy them. The most comfortable men in all that distinguished Jerusa- lem assembly that day were the two prisoners, Peter and John.
 There was exaltAeion in the spirit of this fearless prisoner. Ills arraign- ment gave him a chance to preach to the very leaders of the Jewish nation. They would not for any consideration come to hear him, but To! they had l brought him to them, where they were obliged to listen to him. Over against the trihing inconvenience of the ar- rest and Imprisonment was this glo- rious privilege of preaching straight Gospel to the men who had erucified Christ
 Knights wIthout Fear.
 l A man who has the fear of God in his heart Is never afraid of men. It was straight preaching that Peter did before the Sanhedrin. The sumptuous robes of the high priest, and the phy- factories Of the eminent theologians. Ftogether with all the conscious dignity 1 of the court. did not impress these two humble prisoners. They preached a direct and definite Gospel. while con- fronting thu ese eminent adversaries of their Lord. They challenged the lat- ter's position, and avowed themselves disciples of the Nazarene, concerning whom they said, whom ye cruelty" !" Quoting from the Scriptures in which these men were experts, the prisoners. with splendid audacity, declared: He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner"
 head of the corner" The picture Is one to ponder in con- trast with that of some modern prach- CTS who arc overwhelmed by the dig nity and social position of an occa- sionaI leading man in their pews. I have in mind at the momentsa preach CT whose pulpit ought to be finger boat for the thinking and living of his city, place of rare opportunity. A a1 the social, political and financial dig nity of few of his leading parishioners that he devoted all his great talents to winning Their approval. He suc- ceeded in this, but he failed as min ister. Never by a hairs breadth, ap- parently, has he turned those same men from conduct which has since been re- vealed to be infamously scandalous. Woe unto the preacher or the teach CT who has, abdicated his right to re- buke wick edness wherever found, or who differentiates between the rich and the poor in the pulpit!
 The Benefit of BOldness.
 The unabashed fear1essness of the two prisoners upset all the calculations of the Sanhedrin. Here occurs fa- nous phrase which is often used out of it's connection: "'rhey took knowl- edge of them. that they had been with Jesus" That is a phrase often heard in prayer-meetingss Why did the san hedrin take knowledge of Peter and John? Because of their boldness. It was when they beh cid the boldness of Peter and John. and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they maryelled; and they took knowl- edge of them that they had been with Jesus Those words "unlearned and ignorant men might be freely and correctly interpreted, "unordained lay men" The point Is that these men were not trained rabbis, but plain men from with out the schools. It still re- mains true that when the unprofes- sjonal disciple of Christ, the layman who is now coming Into place of power, stands tip to utter clear note of testimony, the world stops and iis-
 The boIdness of the disciples Is q characteristic of this book. It may be called the mark of the Lord Jesus Nell ther the Sanhedrin nor the world since would take knowledge Of Weak-kneed discipies that they have been with Je-, sus. A trait of those close to Christ is their utter fearlessness in witness hearing. It still confounds opposition even as 1t did in the case of the Sanhe- drin. The courage of the prisoners and the presence of the healed man, brought the persecution to standstill The Sanhedrln made OVerturesi TOT compromise. tut Peter and John would moi capItulaLe. They demanded free le m without conditions, To the request that they keep silence when freed, the answer promptly came. Whether it-is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rathef than unto God, judge ye: for we-csnnot bat speak the things which we saw and heard" Isn't that an utterance to put Iron into the blood of every timorous immortal?
 The Present Need.
 According to this narrativessthe first recorded prayer of the Christian Church was C. prayer for. boldness In bearing witness. Hard on the heels of the peti- ton is written the answer: And when they had .prayed. the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together, and they. were all fitted with the Holy Spirit and they spake the word Of God with boidness." That still is the greatest need of the Ghristian Church today, She does not speak up with bold ness concerning the things which she cherishes most dearly. The cry of the hour Is for witnessing church. Why ] is Christian sentiment oyer-ridden in public life? Because the Christian cola-