Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1921-07-08

REF ERENCE MAJ EnlAb
Gal l:l3; Phil. 3:4-6; / Tim. llS'
PRIMARY TOPlC-Going 10 seiooi 80
Jerusalem-Acts 22;3, 4; b:A
JUNIOR TOPIC - Saul Persecu''"s
Christians. ,,,,
INTERMEDIATES AND SENIOR Toflo
"A Young Pharisee. ,,c
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT Iofie
Saul Prosecuting the Church,
l.. Saul's Training as rna''ss'
(Acts ~ :3,4 ~ :4,5).
l. Taught to love his own nation
am Jew" The Pharlsees "ere
the nationalists of their day ihose
who are intelllgently loyal TO their own
nation can more effectively help Others
2. Taught to love Gods law. Taught
according to the perfect manner Vi 'ne
law of the fathers" Love for the
Holy Scriptures is a valuable asset
In life. One may mislnterpret II anu
dangerously msapply it; but II ne
has love In his heart for 1t there ID
hope of getting him to come INTO right
relationship to 1t.
3. Was Jealous toward God Inc
root of the word Jealous signihes
ito boil" 1t means passion for Goa
and His work. 1t was zeal for Goa
that made Saul think of ana pan
for his work. This zeal for God ex-
pressed itself In persecution OF the
Christians whom he regarded as 10
ing that which was contrary to Gods
law and purpose. lie spared neither
uge nor sex, even to Imprisonment ana
death (Acts 22:D.
u. Saul Thoroughly Conscientious
(28:9, 10Y.
In his cOnsclentiousness he opposed
Jesus, for he regarded Him as an
impostor. Saul is to be commented
in that he responded to his conscience,
but he liz to be condemned for his
attitude toward Jesus; for there was
overwhelming evidence that Jesus was
Gods Son and came In fuliillment OF
the Scriptures. The resurrection OF
Christ was such an outstanding mira
cle--a proof of the Deity of Christ
that there was no room left for doubt
Saul was to be blamed for mis- lg-
norance. Conscience is the law Of
life for every man, but 1t should be
regulated by the Word Of God.
~. Stephens Martyrdom (Acts u:
"a; S:3).
In order to understand the slgnltl-
canoe of his martyrdom we must OBJ
tain a synthetic view of his life.
/. Who Stephen was (6:l-O. He
was one Of the seven who were ap-
pointed to look after the temperate
ties of the church. A division Of the
newly formed church was averted by
the appointment Of properly qualified
men to look after the distribution Of
the benevolenceS.
2. Why Stephen was opposed (6:S-
15). In his work he testified Of Christ
and by the Holy Spirit wrought mira
Giles. These mighty works aroused
the people. The following features
characterized him: ~ Wisdom,
which means common sense; (2)
grace, which means beauty Of charac.
ter; go power. He had the ability
to do wonders and great signs and
speak the truth effectively. The men
of the opposing synagogues were not
able to withstand the wisdom and
The Spirit by which he spake." They
arrested and brought him before the
great council. Even here they could
not silence him by argument, so they
decided to do 1t by violence. When
the hearts of wicked men are set
against the TRUTH the testimony of
Spirit-tilled men only exasperates them
They accused him Of blasphemy and
employed false witnesses to prove that
he had made an attack upon the tenn
pie.
3. Stephen stoned q $4,000. Before
the council he made a magnificent de-
tense. This he did by tracing the
history of Israel from the call of Abra
ham to the crucihxion of Christ. His
aim In this review was to show that
God never had been localized and that
the temple was but a small part OF
Gods plan. In his address he die
not speak against the temple, but
showed that God did not in the full
est sense dwell In II at any time. lie
proved this from Scripture lisa. u
l, 2; Kings S-27). In his conclu
sion he declared that the Jews hat
always been a stiff-necked people, re
slsting the Holy Spirit, and now theil
stubbornness had reached Its culmina
ton in the betrayal, rejection anC
murder of the Son of God. Thi
charge cut to the heart. His argu
ments were unanswerable. Being un
willing to answer him and at the sam,
time to accept the truth presented
their anger was stirred to Its hlghes
pitch so their only answer was stones
They gnashed upon him as q mad dog
In this hour OF trial God gave him
wonderful vision. He was permitte,
to see into heaven itself, and Their
he. got sight Of the glorlfed Son o
Man standing at the right hand o
God.
A. Stephens burial tS:1-3). Hi
death is described as falling aslees
This Is really all that death is to tn
Christian. Devout men buried hin
making great lamentation over him.
Are vou WEAK or WtlIfui?