The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1909-05-21
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
The Senior Berean Lesson for SUM-
day, May %, 1909.
THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM
Acts Is. l.35.

-A CtA 10, IL,
The Lesson Text, Acts IS, rs; 22-2e.
/. And certain men which came
down from Judea taught the breth-
rem. and sad. Except We be circum-
cised after the manner OF Moses, We
cannot be saved.
,. When therefore Paul and Barna-
has had no small dssension and dis
putation with them, they determined
that Paul and Barnabas. and certain
other OF them. should go up TO Jeru-
salem unto the apostles and elders
about this question.
3. And being brought on their way
by the church, they passed through
Phenice and Samaria. declaring the
conversion of the Gentiles; and they
caused great JOY unto all the breth-
rem
4. And when they We're come TO
Jerusalem, they We're received of the
church, and OF the apostles and elders.
and they declared all things that God
had done with them.
D. But there rose up certain of the
sect OF the Pharisees which believed,
saying, That II was needful to circum-
else them, and 90 command them TO
keep the law of Moses.
%. Then pleased II the apostles
and elders. with the whole church. TO
send chosen men of their own com
pany to Antioch with Paul and Bar
nabas; namely, Judas surnamed Bar
sabas, and Silas, chief men among the
brethren:
%. And they wrote letters by them
after this manner. The apostles and
elders and brethren send greeting
unto the brethren which are 81 the
Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and
Cilicia:
~. FOrasmuch as we have heard.
that certain which went out from MS
have troubled YOU with words, sub
verting your souls saying. Ye must
be circumcised and keep the law: 10
whom we gave no such command
ment:
25. 1t seemed good unto us. being
assembled with one accord. TO send
chosen men unto YOU with our be
loved Barnabas and Paul,
2G. Men that have hazarded their
lives for the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ
%. We have sent therefore Judas
and Silas. who shall also tell you the
same things by mouth.
rs. For il seemed good to the Holy
Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no
greater burden than these necessary
things;
20 That we abstain from meats OF.
| fered to idols. and from blood, and
from things strangled. and from forni-
cation: from which If we keep your
selves, We shall do well. Fare We well
The Lesson Explained.
Verses l-5 The Great Dispute.
! Certain men which came down from
! Judea-Christiani Pharisees. They
| represented at once a doctrine and
locality; they cherished the beliefs
for which the Pharisees had always
stood. and they proclaimed these be
liefs in a manner that savored spe
cially OF Judea. just as in our ma
tional days of storm and stress an
abolitionist from New England repre-
scented distinct type. But twice II
the history of the Christian Church
al the Council of Nice. where tbs
question of the Trinity was settled
and in 1917, when Luther nailed the
ninety-five theses on the church door
at Wittenberg and proclaimed the doc
trine Of justification by faith. has
there been a crisis of such importance
as that now 10 be considered Since
these men came from Judea more re
Gently than Barnabas had come, wha
they said would naturally be accepte,
by many in Antioch as representing
the later findings OF the apostles The
brethren whom they taught were O
very diverse origin. Jewish. proselyte
pagan (see H. 19. 2O). The Gentle
converts especially, who all theii
lives long had been treated con
temptuously by Jews as outsiders
"the uncircumcised. would be mucl
disturbed. We can hardly overesu
mate the gladness with which the.
had accepted the broad doctrines o
Paul and Barnabas; but now !
seemed that a higher ecclesiastical
authority than they declared circum
cision necessary TO salvation. AM
even that was not the worst: for bacl
Of all such teaching was the unavoid
, able implication that the disciples
, one and all, should conform to the en-
tire ritual. and thus ignore all tina
had been gained by the advent Q
Christ For manner read custom.
We cannot be saved-So. then, u
spite of Barnabas and Paul God ha
, not opened the door OF faith unto IN
, Gentiles (Acts IL. 21. Paul and Bal
, nabas had no small dissension an
, disputation questioning with ther
And the conflict now begun wa
continued all Pauls life. The judah
churches. at least in some places
maintained a separate organization
and Christian Jews who. like Pau
believed that with Christians ther
! was neither Jew nor Gentle, neithe
: bond nor free. and associated freel
> with Gentle converts. were regarde
, by them as wicked men. They dete
I mined ["the brethren appointed J.
, The Church at large came to this d.
, termination. for the question was {
vital Importance. Paul and Barnaba
! and certain other of them-Doubtles
some Of those other" represented III
Judaizing party. But not all, fo
Titus, a Gentle convert, uncircur
! cised and yet endowed with the gi
Z, of the Holy Ghost, was one. Shoul
4 go ND 10 Jerusalem unto the apostl,
e and elders about this question--Pete
(. John and James were now the pri
8 cipal pillars" OF the church the
t (Gal. /. Is. 10; 2-9), and they with II
/ unnamed elders" had governing POI
Q ers over all Christendom. This w;