_For do I now persuade men, or God?_ or do I seek to please men? I. That the governing principle and motive of the religious life, is a practical concern not for the favour of man, but for that of god. “Do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should no... [ Continue Reading ]
_That the gospel which was preached of me is not after man._ THE INSPIRATION OF ST. PAUL The greater part of our knowledge must always rest on the authority of others. No single man is able to ascertain for himself the innumerable facts, in all the various fields of human investigation, out of whic... [ Continue Reading ]
_For ye have heard of my conversation in time past._ MY CONVERSATION IN TIME PAST I. An humbling and painful recollection. We should study the true uses of the past. The past is rightly used when it-- 1. Deepens our sense of guilt. 2. Illustrates the greatness of Divine mercy. 3. Inspires us wi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And profited in the Jews’ religion above many._ PAUL’S PROSPECTS IN THE JEWISH RELIGION He might, no doubt, have been the head of the Pharisaic faction in the last expiring struggles of his nation; he might have rallied round him the nobler spirits of his countrymen, and by his courage and pruden... [ Continue Reading ]
_But when it pleased God to reveal His Son in me._ PREVENIENT GRACE Although Paul was suddenly converted, yet God had had thoughts of mercy towards him from his very birth. God did not begin to work with him when he was on the road to Damascus. That was not the first occasion on which eyes of love... [ Continue Reading ]
_Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me._ ASPECTS OF THE NEW LIFE I. Negative. He did not report himself. 1. The apostles were stiffly conservative, and (1) might have suspected his conversion; (2) would probably have questioned his Divine commission; (3) would ce... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem._ ST. PAUL’S RETURN TO JERUSALEM He returned from a spiritual as Ezra had from a bodily captivity, and to his renewed mind all things appeared new. What an emotion smote his heart at the first distant view of the Temple, that house of sacrifice, that... [ Continue Reading ]
_Save James the Lord’__S BROTHER._ James appears, to whatever source we may turn for information, as the one authoritative ruler, the one undoubted representative of the Christian society. But whatever the influence he exercised, or the authority be maintained, it was due not to his apostleship, but... [ Continue Reading ]
_I lie not._ TRUTHFULNESS; ITS VIOLATION Untruthfulness is something more than direct and deliberate misstatement, _e.g., _by the practice of making excuses for faults in conduct which do not fairly admit of them; by exaggeration, which from carelessness or vanity overstates the case; by equivocat... [ Continue Reading ]
_I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia._ CHRISTIAN SERVICE I. Its sphere. 1. Among strangers--“Syria.” 2. Friends--“Cilicia.” II. Its nature. 1. Not (1) the propagation of philosophic dogmas; (2) the practice of mere philanthropy; (3) the gathering of a personal following. 2. But pr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which were in Christ._ Relation of Churches to Christ: I. They are founded on Christ (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2). II. They are built by Christ (Ephesians 4:16). III. They are the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23; Ephesians 4:12). IV. They are redeemed through Christ (Acts 20:28; Ephesians... [ Continue Reading ]
_But they had heard._ TRUE FAME True glory takes root and spreads! All false pretences, like perishing flowers, fall to the ground: nor can any counterfeit last long. (_Cicero._) THE WIDENING SUCCESS OF MISSIONARY TOIL The immediate influence of the labours of a missionary will, in all probabilit... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they glorified God in me._ GOD’S GLORY IN THE SOUL I. In the act of conversion God is glorified. It is strange how many misapplications of this word “conversion” prevail in the world and the Churches. It is used to express the change from one civilization to another; the Chinaman is converted... [ Continue Reading ]