Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-18
Gospel Is Preached
to Jew and Gentle
Sermon by
REV. FLOYD W. TOMPKINS.
Text; Acts Kill. 1852.


should pass away from the Jews to the
G"ntiles. God prepared His people for
the coming OF the Messiah. but He
never intended that the Jews alone
should be the recipients of His love and
I FAVOR. They were to be the light which
, would Shine out but they were never
caMea to hold the light OF Gods love
entirely TO themselves. What would
nave been the result II they had all
accepted Christ we cannot tell. nor
need we waste time In Improbable
conjecture. They had every oppor-
stunity TO accept Him. but they reject
:" Him. and then the apostles turned
!" the great world outside OF the Jew
Ssh kingdom and preached the Gospel
everywhere"
Let i. no; be thought that we arc
justified In treating the Jews unk!ndly
or critically because the Gospel was
preached to the Gentiles after the peo-
PIE 81 Judea rejected II. We can never
earn Gods love or approval by frown-
ing upon those whom He loved and
2monzs. whom He lived and died. We
want 20 do all we can to make the
Jews know that Christ was their Me-
ssah and those who !ll-trcat them and
are cruel by word action will not
only lose the favor Of God. but will
iUcHr His displeasure.
TIE LORD QUOTED
OLD TESTAMENT
The story is an interesting one. as
Ne READ il. for Paul had already be-
come leader amongst the Christians.
going from place 10 place and preach
| ing the Gospel. Particularly in Anti
| och IN P!sidia. And him delivering
sermon, wonderful In rs conciseness
and clear in its beautiful summary Of
history. We wonder how the Jews
listening TO him could have rejected
his words. for he quoted again and
again from their own Scriptures and
proved 70 them that Jesus was the
Kinz FOR whom they had go long wait
I'd Paul was wonderful preacher.
Il is fascinating 10 take his various
addresses out OF their environment and
\ study them as examples OF spiritual!
j, cNaltat!on and religious fervor. think
r re must have been very animated
speaker and can imagine how his
voice rolled out the sentences with
v!ror which must have startled his
hearers. while at the same time there
Was a tenderness In his tone when he
smoke OF the dear Christ and His love
for men. Let us remember that wheth-
eT we preach or speak. there can be
l!t,le power In our address unless Il
comes from a hearty loyalty 10 Jesus
/ Christ When a man loves the Master.
that very love makes him eloquent.
How wonderful II IN that Paul quotes
others from the Old Testament. II
these strange modern days some people
are saying that the Old Testament is
no longer binding. and that IL is only
as a matter OF interest that we need
road 81 A. all But remember. our dear
Lord Himself quoted II. Remember
how He said. Search the Scriptures"
referring thus 10 what we call the
old Testament. Remember how II Is
said again and again concerning this
or that event OF His iifc that thus
the prophecies were fulfilled" How
can il he possible that the message
which God gave TO His people before
! Christ came should be OF no value 10
us to-day when Christ declared that He
cane not 10 destroy. but 20 fuihN? NO.
indeed, We go 10 the Old Testament
for comfort and FOR help and we never
20 in vain The Holy Spirit has "a
message for us wherever we look in
The pages OF The Old Testament.
APOSTLES DID NOT
HESITATE TO GO FORTH
love 20 think that Paul as we'll as
the other Apostles was so loyal in
|, preaching first to the Jews The Dis
4 ciples were told TO begin At Jerusalem
Il when they went out after tho Ascen
4 sion of their Master. The FIRST Chris
tians were the converts from Judaism,
\ even as the Christian leaders them
,S.lves were all Jewish men and women.
Rut when the Jews refused TO accept
Christ, then the larger opportunity
came, a fulAllment OF our Lords words,
| 60 ye into all the world: and the
Apostles did not hesitate. but went
everywhere, preaching the Gospel
Here we have a lesson for ourselves.
VIC are not to neglect those who ara
about us. We must preach the Gospel
TO our own first, hut We must also
preach II everywhere. Because there
are people in our home land who arc
not Christians. Is no reason why we
h should not preach the Gospel In foreign
Nands We must begin at home. In our
own hearts and lives and in our own
I families. and In our own communities,
but we must reach out with that true
sympathy for all men which Christ
showed when on tho cross He stretched
out His loving arms. seeming 10 say to
all the world Come unto Me- We
must claim the world for Christ not
Only that part OF ii in which we live
l imagine it must have heen hard
for Paul to utter those words, "Lo, we
turn to the Gentiles." l am sure he
did not speak in anger, much less with
a scornful bitterness. While Paul was
Roman citizen. he was also a Jew.
IA l. is always sad when we cannot help
7 the very ones we especially wish to
help There is no greater sorrow in
the world than to find one whom we
love unwilling to accept the dear
Christ. But we must not be bitter
nor must we feel that the effort is
useless. because we have not succ eeded
with the one whom we love most
\ There are hungry souls waiting for
! The crumbs which fall from the table
unheeded by those who are careless
I. or Indifferent. There are lives waiting
for the word Of cheer To them we
! must turn with all our hearts, still
!, ,},aying and hoping for the one who
has refused our message but eagerly
seeking to do the larger work to which
cod calls us.
WAKE THE GENTILEs
i LEADERS IN CHRISTIANITY
| And how happy the Gentiles were!
I Many OF them, particularly in this sec
4 lion OF the country where Paul was
A preaching. felt themselves to be de-
4 sn,sed. They were called hard names
II often by the Jews. and their lives were
\ rr,ouently made miserable. But now
II mo apostle began to tell them the