Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-11-10

Golden TeXt-"Herein do i eXer-
else myself to have a conscience void
of Offense toward God and toward
man." Acts 24-16.
1t is good to leave the moral mi
asma of PauPs last visit in Jeru-
salem and breathe again the pure
air cf conformity to the will Of God.
Those six days in Jerusalem consti-
tute the darkest spot in Paul's life;
but we learned last week how gra-
cious God was in forgiving Paul
and still having work for him to
do in Rome. He left Jerusalem I'M
dear heavy guard, going by night AZ
miles to Antipatris, and next day
the remaining 35 miles to Caesarea.
During the two years he remained
at Caesarea and the following year
Of trial by sea and land, and the
two years of Imprisonment at Rome,
Paul was a different man; he had
come back into the sunlight OF
Gods will, and while he had to suf-
fer much for his disobedience, he
never lowered his standards again,
even though abundant opportunity
was given him to do this. They
were barren years-that was part
Of the penalty Of his disobedience-
but he had learned to wait Gods
time and to walk Gods way.
Claudius Lysias was an adept at
writing a letter that would protect
himself. If you will study that let
ter in the light of the real facts,
you can appreciate how man can
tell the truth-part of it, at least
in a way to misrepresent the facts
entirely. We condemn this half
truthwhole lie method in Lysias,
and we condemned it also in Paul
although some would justify Paul
while they condemn Lysias). Lysias
was in danger of losing his head if
the whole truth was known. There
is one point in his letter at least
that we must notice-it showed very
plainly what he thought OF PauPs
innocence of the charges made
against him by the Jews.
1t took five days for the Jews to
be summoned from Jerusalem and
then the trial before Felix occurred
Not being familiar with the man.
ner of procedure in Roman court,
Jews hired a barrister, Tertullus.
His name would indicate that he
was himself a Roman, and this,
they figured, would strengthen
their case against this despised lit
tie Jew.
His speech was a fine example Of
flattery. He spoke Of the great
quietness they enjoyed under Fee
| lix and the many worthy deeds he
had done for the Jews. He did not
| fool anybody but himself; for Fe-
| lix knew that while he had put
down riot after riot, the quietness
was only superficial and might
break out any moment. He also
knew how thoroughly the Jews
hated him, and how often he had
used the "Sicarie," or paid assas-
| sins, to get rid Of this trouble, some
he would soft-soap Felix; but flat
terry is easily discerned by every
one but the flatterer.
Tertullus evidently saw the look
Of disgust on the face Of Felix, for
he said: But lest L be tedious to
you, will get right down to the
case" So he proceeded with his
charges against Paul, which were
threefold:
/. He was a traitor against the
Roman government.
2. A ring-1eader Of the sect of the
| NaZarenes.
3. He had profaned the temple.
They would have tried him before
| the Jewish courts and not bothered
| him, but the chief captain had
snatched him from them and or
dered them here.
The Jews swore this was all true.
| Then Felix gave Paul the floor.
How different and how dignified
was his introduction. He was glad
Felix could adjucate the matter, for
| he knew that he had been COVER
nor for several years and was,
therefore, familiar with the circurn-
| stances. He denied the first and
| third charges quietly-he was not
| in Jerusalem but a week; there had
| been no riot, Felix knew; and they
could not prove that he had pro-
| famed the, temple or anything else
they had charged.
The second charge, however, Paul
admitted He did worship God aft
er the way-they called it heresy,
| but it was in thorough accord with
the law and the prophets. And he
had a hope, which they also shared,
| of a resurrection life. To him this
was more than a creed; it was a
constant inspiration to holiness of
life. In his efforts to do his whole
duty as he saw it, he had brought
an offering to his nation; and that
had been the occasion Of his arrest.
The only criticism they could make
Of him was his remark before the
council when he threw them into