Orange County observer., 1909-05-20
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INTERNATIONAL LESSON CON-.
MENTs FOR MAY %.
subject: The Council at Jerusalem.
Acts 1915 Golden Text:
Acts 15:11-Commit Verses IS,
29-Commentary.
| TIME.-5O-52 "A. D.. PLACE.
Antioch, Jerusalem.
EXPOSITION.-I. ..Except We bc
circumcised after the manner. of
Moses, ye cannot be saved, 1-5. The
church In Antioch was getting on ia
| mously. and the devil brought in
! Ialse teachers to upset the faith cf
ltne young converts. The main point
] OF doctrine with these false teachers
was that it was not enough to believe
On Jesus, one must also keep the law
or Moses. The great controversy in
the early church was whether man
was saved upon faith alone apart
from works Of the law or whether
man Is saved upon faith and works of
L
up in our day, in new form. 1t is
Sabbath-keeping "after the manner
/ of Moses" that is now insisted upon.
Three arguments were brought for
ward at the council Of Jerusalem to
refute the legalizers: (1) Peters ar
gument. God has borne them wit
ness by giving the Holy Ghost to the
unc1rcumcised as we'll as unto us and
has put mo difference between us
and them, purifying their hearts by
faith Tvs. 8, 81. God in a similar
way to-day is bearing witness to those
who do not keep the Jewish seventh
day Sabbath. (2) Paul's argument.
God has wrought signs and wonders
among the Gentiles by us and thus
set His seal upon our preaching of
salvation by faith apart from works
Of the law ". 12). CD James ar
gument. It is according to Old Tes-
lament Scripture that God will take
people for His name from among the
uncircumcised Gentiles as we'll as the
law-keeping Jews Tvs. 1910. The
teaching Of the Judaizers caused end
less trouble in the Antioch church ".
I ~. It was wisely decided to submit
the. question to the apostles and eld-
ers in Jerusalem. Paul and Barna-
bas made good use Of their time on
their journey to Jerusalem All
along the way they declared what
God had done among the Gentiles.
The story they told caused great JOY
unto all the brethren Nothing causes
greater Joy among true brethren than
the story of how men are converted
from sin to Righteousness.
III. The Decision of the Holy Ghost
and the Apostles as to the Authority
Of the Mosaic Law Over Gentle
Christians. 1920. The apostles and
elders and the whole church took
abundant precautions to guard
against any misrepresentation OF
their decision being taken back to
Antioch by the legalizers. They
knew the men they had to deal with
Thus Paul gained his chosen comran-
ion of coming days ". 40). Good
had come out Of the schemes of Pauls
enemies. The mode of address used
I in the letter is full of significance,
1.-THE brethren which are Of the Cen
tiles Faith in Christ makes all men
kin. They were bound together by a
very tender tie, that of faith in a
common Saviour. Many American
Christians have not even yet reached
the point where they regard every
converted Chinaman or African as a
brother. The description Of the Ju-
| daizers is very striking and suggest
i've ". 24). There is no way in
which the devil can more trouble be-
levers (and especially young con-
verts), or more thoroughly unsettle
Cor subvert) their souls, than by
false words These false words must
be met by words of truth (Col. 4:6),
oh oil " 10 nf 0d
Tim. $780, The apostles en-
phatically denied all responsibility
for this pernicious and subverting
teaching, that men must keep the law
of Moses in order to be saved ". ~.
They had come to absolute unanimity
about the matter in question. It is a
great thing when brethren who differ
can meet together and study the
Scriptures together under the Holy
Spirits guidance. as did these early
Christians, and thus "come to one ac-
cord" The apostles and the whole
church bestowed very lofty praise on
Paul and Barnabas. 1t was we'll de.
served e Cor. 11:23-2D. Of how
many disciples to-day could it be
justly said that they had hazarded
their lives for the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ? It was not their own
! decision on this great question that
they were sending; it was the Holy
Spirits decision. They were per-
fectly sure of this (v. 28). 1t was
because they sought and obtained the
mind of the Spirit. that they were
able to ''come to one accord" It is
because we seek the wisdom of men,
rather than the mind of the Spirit.
that we are so4often at variance with
one another The one who insists
upon the binding authority of the
Mosaic law upon Christians is oppos
i ing the Holy Ghost. Four points OF
the Mosaic law and no others were
adjudged necessary for the Gentiles
There was great JOY in Antioch when
/ the troublesome question was settled
/ ". 31). There we're two reasons for
this Joy. Painful division had given
way to pleasant harmony, and, more
/ over, the irksome bondage Of the law
i had given way to the joyous liberty
| Of the Gospel: There is always JOY
when one comes out of the bondage
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