Bible Commentaries

Chapter46

Prayer

Almighty God, because thou art full of compassion our lives are spared until now. We are wicked, and deserve not to live, but thy grace is greater than our sin, and thy love enables us to live even amidst the corruption of sin. We have read of thy lovingkindness and thy tender mercies in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament of thy Son we see thy grace and truth and love. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He is thy Son. In him shone the fulness of thy glory. He was the express image of thy Person. So we do not only read of thy love: we see it, and touch it, and rest upon it, in the Person of Immanuel. He is all our salvation, and all our desire. In heaven he is the light; of the cities of the earth he is the One Saviour. By his grace he has redeemed all time from contempt, and saved the earth from being swallowed up. The Cross of Christ is our hope, and light, and infinite strength; hidden within its purpose, we know no pain, or shame, or fear: we have peace with God. Enable us continually to realize this sacred truth, and to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Keep us to vital principles. Root us and ground us in the unchangeable truth. Deliver our mind from all influences that are local and temporary, and fix our hearts upon eternal realities. Then shall we be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; not living in our own opinions, but in the broad and full and holy revelation of thy truth. May thy grace glow in our hearts like a hidden fire, which burns but not consumes. In that fire may we find thyself—the God of history and the God of prophecy, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last—filling the one circle which includes infinity. Reveal thyself to us day by day in new aspects, and speak to us with tones that shall surprise even the hearts that are most familiar with that sweet music. Thus shall we have the old and the new, eternity and time, the holy heaven touching with benediction the unholy and transient earth. Thou knowest us altogether. That is our terror and that is our joy! Give unto us according to our sin, necessity, and pain, and enable us in all thy gifts to trace the Image of thy Person. So shall we be consciously near thee, and every occurrence in life shall come to us, not as an accident that shall alarm, but as part of thy purpose which thou art carrying out with all the breadth of infinity, and all the duration and calmness of eternity itself.

We pray for one another: for the heart that is enduring the anguish of its first great sorrow; for the eyes that are looking upon death as they never looked upon it before; for the heart that feels the intolerable coldness of death. Thou dost make us acquainted with the enemy. Some of us thou hast made familiar with his presence, and some of us are now looking upon him for the first time, and the sight affrights us by its infinite ghastliness. Come, thou Spoiler of Death, and bless us with one glance of thine eye, with one smile of love, and all the darkness shall flee away, and the valley of the shadow of death shall be as the sanctuary of thy presence.

Regard those of us also who are in high glee of heart, full of prosperity, and abounding in strength, lest in the rioting of our power we forget that our breath is in our nostrils, and our roots are covered by a very shallow soil. Help us to make prosperity an altar, and success a place of sacred worship. Send messages of comfort to those who are in the sanctuary of home—prisoners for a time, but prisoners of hope; from thy banqueting table send some gift which shall make them glad also, yea, lengthen the table till it reaches from the church lo the house, and makes the banqueting chamber as large as human necessity. Kiss all the children, and give them to feel that thine arms are about them. Find flowers for them in the darkness, and sing songs to them when their little hearts are afraid. Send messages to the despairing; to the men who have broken all the commandments, and torn down the cross, and trampled under foot the blood of the everlasting covenant. We do not know their speech: it is not in our power to say one word to them; but thou dost make speech. Language is but an instrument in thine hand; make new words that shall touch this intolerable desperation. The Lord comfort us, enlarge our inheritance, show us that our estates and riches are in eternity, and away in the fair land where there is no sin, no night, no death. Amen.

Acts 15:1-2

1. And certain men came [were not sent; for the kind of men they were, see Acts 15:5. Peter may have preceded them; in that case we have Paul's opinion of them in Galatians 2:4] down from Judaea and taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised [ Galatians 5:3] after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved [liberal Jews, like Hillel, especially Grecian Jews, accounted devout Gentiles to be true proselytes, although uncircumcised: Pharisees, such as Shammai, would not eat with them; such persons worshipped Jehovah and kept the seven precepts of Noah and were afterwards called proselytes of the gate]. And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren [ Acts 15:1 and Acts 15:3] appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them Galatians 2:1] should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question [ Galatians 2:2].

The Christian Magna Charta

THIS is one of the most important chapters in ecclesiastical history. This chapter is the Magna Charta of the Christian Church. I make bold to say that if we could fully master the reasoning of this chapter, and fearlessly reduce it to practice, we should give the Church of Christ a new standing-place in the mind and heart of our age. This is the chapter which the Church either cannot or will not learn. The key to universal confidence and progress is here, and we are afraid to use it. There arose a certain number of men who said to Gentile Christians, "Except ye be circumcised, after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." What has that to do with this age? I reply fearlessly that with this age, and every age, this matter has to do vitally. The voice of the Judæan teachers was clear, and their doctrine was short. Behind it there was an. undoubtedly sacred history, and in the spirit of the men there was what would be regarded, without questioning, as a loyal and filial obedience to law and tradition. Just at this moment the Church needed a kind of man it had not yet fully known. From this point Paul becomes the man that God meant him to be when he elected him as a chosen vessel unto the Gentiles. Paul made history at this moment Just this type of man was wanted. Barnabas was no debater when he was alone. Peter could make a short, distinct, and emphatic speech; but even Peter had not escaped the period of education in which even noble spirits may momentarily dissemble. A new type of man was needed. Paul was a minister without whose presence the Church, humanly speaking, would not have been complete. He was intellectually and spiritually gifted with piercing insight; a man who could lay hold of the essential realities of things and distinguish between the accidental and the permanent. That man is needed in every age. So Paul, having had much dissension and disputation, said, "This matter must go further, and must be settled." The Judaizing teachers said to the Gentiles: "We are quite willing for you to come into the Church: you may believe in Christ as we have done; but you must do more; you must obey Moses as well as Christ; therefore, unless you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved; add circumcision to faith, and then all will be right." That seemed to be a reasonable case. The most difficult positions to assail are those which seem to be supported by-most obvious reasons. How will Paul address himself to this occasion? Compare his speech with others, and see how it rises immeasurably above them in spiritual majesty and moral massive-ness. Peter will make a good speech, but his speech will relate to an incident that occurred in his own life. Peter will relate an anecdote, and found upon it a gracious judgment. Paul will develop a philosophy. That is the difference between the men. This question must be settled upon principle. Any anecdote that can be quoted may be taken as helpful and elucidatory, but we cannot build a great temple of truth upon a personal incident; we must have principles, philosophies, and reasons time can neither change nor impair. At this moment Paul became his very self. "What," said Acts 15:3-6

3. They therefore, being brought on their way [sent, and accompanied part of the way] by the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

4. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received [formally, as messengers from the church at Antioch] of the church and the apostles and the elders, and they rehearsed all things that God had done with [xiv27] them.

5. But there rose up [in the church meeting] certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcise them [ Acts 15:1], and to charge them to keep the law of Moses [this had been to subordinate Christ to Moses].

6. And the apostles and the elders were gathered together [ Acts 15:22 and Acts 15:25 show that this consultation took place in the church meeting. Galatians 2:2 refers to other private visits to them paid by Paul] to consider of this matter.

Working on the Road

FOR a little time the noise of controversy ceases; the disputants determined to refer the question to a council to be held in the metropolis. Paul and Barnabas might have taken a much shorter way to Jerusalem than the one which they adopted; but Paul was a man who, like the Master, always wished to do some work on the way. When Jesus Christ was apparently hastening to a particular locality where His interposition was requested, He would often on the road stop a while to do some intermediate miracle. Paul was not a man to waste time in travelling. He said, "We will preach as we go; we will make this journey to Jerusalem a missionary journey; no doubt the question which is agitating us is an important one, but we will do some work on the road, so that we may gather fresh evidence of our calling, and add somewhat to the certitude of our faith"; Acts 15:7-11

7. And when there had been much questioning [general conversational debate], Peter rose up [in the meeting], and said unto them, Brethren, ye know how that a good while ago [G. "in the old days"—i.e, in the old days of this new dispensation, see Acts 10:11. For a similar reckoning of time, see Galatians 2:1] God made choice [from] among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

8. And God, which knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

9. and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

10. Now, therefore, why tempt ye God [either to allow his witness to be thus despised, or to punish you his despisers], that ye should put a yoke [comp. its weight, Galatians 5:1, with Christ's easy yoke, Matthew 11:29] upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

11. But we believe that we [though we also are unable to bear the yoke of the law] shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they [note the inversion of the terms—"we as they," not they as we. Peter has turned the tables upon the Pharisees. Here only Peter uses Paul's common phrase, "the grace of the Lord Jesus," Galatians 2:11-16].

Peter's Speech on Circumcision

LET us consider Peter's speech about the question of the circumcision of the Gentiles. We have considered the question itself apart from Peter; we have accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their journey from Antioch to Jerusalem; and in the latter city there has been much disputing. Now we read: "Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the Gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us,; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." Mark the time when Peter spoke. "And when there had been much disputing." That was the critical moment. Speeches acquire force and value from the time at which they are delivered. Wise men keep back as long as possible from delivering their judgment upon hotly-contested questions. Thus their wisdom goes for twice the value which it would be appraised at did they speak earlier in the discussion. Many a man who is not of first-rate ability acquires at least local and temporary influence by watching his time; he allows all the ready tongues to talk first, to relieve their feelings, to show their weak ability, and to secure what noise, mistakenly called applause, they can. Then when the assembly has fatigued itself, and would be only too thankful for a deliverance from the wordy entanglement and confusion, he rises, puts together, so far as he can patch them, the different opinions which have been expressed, finds the middle line, and invites the controversialists to join along that line of compromise. They hail him as a Acts 15:12

THAT is an unsatisfactory verse. When Paul speaks we want to know what Paul says. But some men must be their own reporters, for so unusual is their method and tone that it baffles every scribe to catch the one and reproduce the other. That Paul should have made a speech, and that it should be referred to in one brief sentence such as this, considering the gravity and dignity of the subject, cannot be satisfactory. Paul himself goes into the matter; we see, therefore, under Paul's own sign manual, what he said and what he did. So we turn for the moment from the Acts of the Apostles to the opening verses of Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. Where Luke contents himself with a summary, Paul passes into minute and instructive detail. Some verses are too condensed; some reports are simple variations of injustice. We do not care for our life to be huddled up in one sentence. By-and-by the master of criticism and detail will take our life to pieces by a just analysis, and will award to every one according to his deeds. We briefly said, "He called and prayed." It seems from that report as if the man did little or nothing. We do not say that he walked miles, and that when he prayed his heart wept. We deal too roughly with one another, and too summarily. We dismiss life too briefly. Thanks be unto, Heaven that judgment will be a criticism of detail, and not an off-hand pronouncement upon the tragedy of human life.

Paul says he went up to Jerusalem "by revelation." Then he went up in high temper—he was greater than the Jerusalem to which he went If he had gone up to Jerusalem awed by its metropolitan position and fame, he would have hesitated in his speech, and would have picked out right dainty words that could offend no one, but, by subtle flattery, might win the ear of many. In reality Paul went from heaven to Jerusalem, and, descending upon it, it withered into contemptibleness under the majesty of the visions from which he had just turned his eyes. Paul lived in a large world. It was no mere handful of dust upon which he set his foot, and within which he performed the little miracles of his power. In Paul's view the worlds all belonged to one another. The Lord had not made a countless number of links; the Lord had made a chain of planets, a chain of worlds. Touching one link, he sent a thrill through all the band of the constellations. We have dropped the word "revelation" except on the Sabbath day, when we venture to say it sometimes. We have meaner words—such as impression, conviction, feeling, unaccountable desire. These are inoffensive terms; an atheist might use such mock jewelry. The Apostle had no impression, conviction, transient feeling. He said: "I went up by revelation." God said to him, "Go." The angels said, "We will go with thee." It was a great day! "I went up with angel convoys, with banners unfurled by invisible hands, for I knew that the truth was with me, and I was anxious only that Christ's Cross should be lifted up above cloud and fog and dust, and be seen everywhere as the one way of salvation." Was Paul then afraid of Jerusalem, and "pillars," and "men of reputation," and who spoke ex cathedra? He was twice anointed, yea, with a double unction of the Spirit, so that Jerusalem became but a village to him, and men of illustrious name became brethren and equals. Paul says he was anxious to state the Gospel he had been preaching, so that the leaders of the Church might know exactly what he had been doing. Paul preached privately to them that were of reputation. Could we have heard him then! Speaking to a sympathetic audience, to men who had seen the Lord! They must have thought they were almost looking upon Him again; they had never heard such a voice before. Paul was never so great in any other instance. Speaking from the shrine of Acts 15:13-29

13. And after they had held their peace [G. became silent] James answered [ Acts 12:17, Luke 24:34—Hebrew form of Simon] hath rehearsed how first God did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

15. And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written:

16. After these things I will return, and I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; and I will build again the ruins thereof.

17. and I will set it up: that the residue of men [Luke translates freely from the lxx. The Hebrew text has "residue of Edom," i.e, those whom Amaziah ( 2 Kings 14:7) had left unsubdued. But the idea on which James's argument rests is supplied by the next clause] may seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord,

18. who maketh these things known from the beginning of the world ["saith the Lord who doeth," i.e, accomplishes "these things," is the Hebrew close of Amos 9:11, Amos 9:12. Either the Hebrew text James quoted from memory, or the lxx. text Luke translated from may have had the addition "things known from the beginning of the world." Or, this may be a remark of James or Luke. The idea Exodus 34:15], and from fornication [so common among Gentile idolaters, that the abstaining therefrom would appear rather a ritual than an ethical change], and from what is strangled, and from blood [( Genesis 9:6). These regulations were not equivalent to the "seven precepts of Noah," observed by "devout" Gentiles, but simply avoidances of heathen ritual rendered necessary by the heathen of that time].

21. For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath [and so the Jews and devout persons attending these synagogues would be scandalized if these four points were not strictly observed].

22. Then it seemed good to [ Acts 15:25 and Acts 15:28. This commonest of Greek phrases has been made into an ecclesiastical formula by the hierarchists] the apostles and the elders [G. has no comma], with the whole church, to choose men [ Acts 15:25] out of their company [out of the church meeting], and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: namely, Judas called Barsabbas [mentioned only in this passage], and Silas [Silvanus, 1 Peter 5:12], chief men [ Luke 22:26; lit.: leaders] among the brethren:

23. and they [those who chose, i.e, the meeting] wrote thus by them [G. "by their hand," i.e, sent this letter with and by means of them]. The apostles and the elder [hierarchist copiers have omitted the following words "and the" in many MSS. Sahidic34omits also "brethren"; Tischendorf retains "and the brethren"; but our Revisers have followed the hierarchists. Were this unprecedented Greek phrase possible at all, the adjective would be very emphatic. "The Elder brethren."—Or, as the Americans suggest, it may be imagined to mean, "the Elders: brethren," i.e, the Apostles and the Elders in their capacity of brethren (church members)—greet the Gentile brethren (the churches at Antioch, etc.). The meaning given by the Revisers" reading (comp. Acts 15:24) is that the "subverters" having falsely alleged the authority of the Apostles and the Elder brethren, the Antiochian Church sent the deputation to sift this allegation, and now the Jerusalem Church sends back two of its own members, sending with and by them a letter, in which the Apostles and the Elder brethren explicitly deny the "subverters"" report concerning themselves. Tischendorf Acts 15:22, "the Apostles and the Elders and the brethren," i.e, the church] unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting [G. "Rejoice!"].

24. Forasmuch as we have heard that certain which went out from us [ Galatians 2:4, Paul styles them "false brethren." Incontestably they were not either apostles or elders, as the hierarchical gloss of the Revisers implies, but Jerusalem Church members, "From us" is equivalent to "their company" of Acts 15:22] have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment;

25. it seemed good unto us [the event of Acts 15:22 is being related here] having come to one accord [ Acts 15:7, Acts 15:12], to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26. men that hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27. We [ Acts 15:22] have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth.

28. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost [G. no comma], and to us [note how similarly Paul, being sent on this errand by the Antiochian Church, says he "went up by revelation." For the question who were the "us," see also Acts 15:20, "that we write," etc, and the "brethren" of Acts 15:13], to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary [i.e, of present necessity; things rendered indispensable by the circumstances of the heathen cities] things;

29. that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols ["concerning" which see1Corinthians8 , and, for the general principle of these four temperance pledges, the last verse], and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication [put here separately last, with sense of the graver ethical point involved]; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well,

The Decision of the Council

WE now come to the conclusion of the whole matter. Some decision must be pronounced upon the vexed question which we have been considering, and that decision cannot but be of vital historical importance. This was a crisis in the history of the Church. The very greatest disasters might have befallen the Christian cause at this critical time. The man who, humanly speaking, saved the Church was Paul. From a human standpoint I have no doubt whatever that the Christian cause would have been lost in that furious debate but for this chosen vessel of the Lord. There was in him a fine spirit of conciliation as to manners and methods and usages; but when it came to the liberty of Christ, and the independence of the Church, he stiffened into inflexibility, and he "gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour." He was no circumcisionist, no baptist, no ritualist; he would let nothing stand between the soul and Christ, or between Christ and the soul; and the soul having begun in the faith, was not allowed to conclude in the letter—having begun in the Spirit, it must not conclude in the flesh. The maxim of Paul was Upward, higher still from one attainment to another, without coming back to do anything that could minister to the desire of the flesh or the vanity of the eye.

The little picture that is before us enables us to look a little into the detail of early Church life. We have seen how high the controversy ran; there was no small dissension and disputing; every man thought he saw the truth and knew it, and sometimes the dust was so vast and" thick that we could scarcely tell how the fight was going. In the fact that there was full discussion of the question, let us recognize the place of human thought and human independence in the consideration of Christian problems. We may all speak; no man is to be put down who speaks upon a question sincerely: every man who is not speaking intelligently or sincerely will put himself down. I know of nothing in the record which would justify us in supposing that men were hooted down on whatever side they were speaking. In modern Christian controversy we have all seen lamentable spectacles in relation to this very matter of putting men down. I have never been ashamed of the Christian cause more deeply and insufferably than when I have heard an orthodox man employ a heterdox tone for the purpose of putting down an opponent. I have listened to the opponent and disagreed with nearly every sentence he uttered, and if the man who interrupted him had spoken, I might probably have agreed with every proposition he was seeking to establish; but, in my soul, having heard the tone of the one man and the tone of the other, I have said the heretic may have the heterodox doctrine, but he has the orthodox soul, and this man has called "time" in a tone which proves him to be a heretic in his heart. Take care how you maintain a good cause. I have seen an infidel display a nobler spirit than has been shown by his nominally Christian antagonist. We stand not in the word only, but in the spirit: the Gospel must be preached in its own key. We may spoil the music of heaven by the harshness of a poor and selfish tone. So far as I can gather from the narrative, then, the discussion was full, impartial, and thorough. In the midst of all this due deference was paid to the apostles and elders, and the decision was pronounced by the President or Bishop. All things were done decently and in order. Decency and order are not accidents in chronology—they belong to the fixed calendar of progress, and are always in date, and when they are wanting the sanctuary is turned into a common place of assembly. Throughout all this intellectual and spiritual tumult there was a line of order, a spirit of decency; every man was heard, and when every man had expressed himself, the proceedings were summed up, and sentence was delivered—not in the terms of the Bishop's own choosing, but in words which seemed to gather up into themselves the common sentiment of the excited and earnest assembly. That is our notion of the Christian Church.

This little picture marks the beginning of Christian liberty. A wrong step here, and Christian liberty would have been lost. Paul was raised up at the very moment of time. He who made havoc of the Church kept it together; it was an arm terrific,—whether to strike or to build its energy was superhuman. Paul enlightened the whole Church—even James himself became almost a poet under the inspiration of this new voice. James quoted prophecies with a new tone and emphasis; under the teaching and illumination of Paul's ministry the horizon of James widened, until he dwelt no longer in the ecclesiastical cage, but ranged the whole liberty of God's boundless firmament! Sometimes the Church needs inspiration more than information. When the grate is full of fuel, what is wanting is not more fuel, but a light. James began to see that Christian liberty was founded on prophecy, "and to this," said Acts 15:30-35

30. So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered the multitude [the church, Acts 15:22] together, they delivered the epistle.

31. And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation [G, "comfort": contrast with the "trouble" of Acts 15:2 and Acts 15:19].

32. And Judas and Silas, being themselves also [G, "also themselves"] prophets [i.e, speakers as well as letter carriers], exhorted [G, "comforted" by speech, as the letter had] the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.

33. And after they had spent some time there, they were dismissed in peace [ Acts 16:36, usual formula of farewell] from the brethren unto those [sci, those brethren; back again from the one church to the other. The A. V. has here the hierarchist gloss "apostles"] that had sent them forth.

35. But Paul and Barnabas tarried in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also [Peter's visit, Galatians 2:11, being subsumed here, has led many critics to dispute the authenticity of this whole narrative, see Acts 15:1].

The True Law of Abolition

I DO not wonder that when the letter, sent from Jerusalem, was read at Antioch, the people "rejoiced for the consolation." It was an historical day. Never brighter had shone upon the young Church than when the Gentiles were told that, without any cutting of the flesh or any ceremonial processes, they were by faith in Christ Jesus sons of God and free men of heaven. We can hardly understand their ecstasy; but if we do not make some attempt in that direction, we shall lose one of the broadest opportunities we ever had of understanding the philosophy of the Divine education of the human race, and we shall fall out of the rhythm of Christian progress and advancement. The question was one of circumcision. It is a term which we can only know historically; but there is history enough before us to enable the intelligent mind to grasp the question in all its clearest and most particular bearings. We must think ourselves back a while: let us do so in a body. We must remember that circumcision was not a human invention, and therefore was not to be set aside by human authority. If you miss that point, all that may be said will be without coherence and pith. Circumcision was established by the Almighty himself, as is explained in the seventeenth chapter of Genesis; the doctrinal verse is the tenth, and reads thus: "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised." Language cannot be clearer; no exception was made for infirmity, mishap, or peculiarity of any kind. The language is inclusive, authoritative, final. We wonder how such an institution can ever be set aside, especially as the word "everlasting" occurs in its establishment once and again. That word everlasting needs to be explained. It is not a mere question of time; "eternal," "everlasting," are no arithmetical terms, or numeral quantities; they are expressive of quality. The words are clear: "My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant"; but what of the poor child that had not been circumcised for some reason? "That soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." We cannot but become extremely excited as to how such an institution can be not only modified but abolished. The sanctity of the Sabbath was not violated by the performance of this rite. Christ Jesus himself founds an argument upon that point. In the seventh chapter of John the Jews are told by Jesus Christ, "Ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision... are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day?" You have branded him with a token of the covenant, and I have completed in his flesh God's purpose of health and strength and typical immortality. The eating of the Passover was a great institution in Israel; no man might eat it except he had been circumcised. The law is laid down in Acts 15:36-41

36. And after some [G. "certain"] days, Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brethren in every city wherein we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they fare [Paul's second missionary journey thus began as a simple visitation of the new churches].

37. And Barnabas was minded [wished] to take with them John also, who was called Mark.

38. But Paul thought not good [G. "right"] to take with them him who withdrew from [G. "apostatized for them"] them [ Acts 13:13] from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work [Mark may have vacillated in doctrine also at this juncture, as did Peter].

39. And there arose a sharp contention [" an embittered feeling," Jeremiah 32:37], so that they parted asunder one from the other, and Barnabas took Mark [ Colossians 4:10] with him, and sailed away unto Cyprus;

40. but Paul chose Silas [who had again returned when he had fulfilled his commission of Acts 15:33], and went forth, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord [see also Philemon 1:25 and 2 Timothy 4:11].

41. And he went through Syria and Cilicia [each went towards his native home. 1 Corinthians 9:9] confirming the churches.

The Separation of Paul and Barnabas

WE are now out in the open air again. For some days we have been in a stifling atmosphere, listening to great men debating and determining the vexed question of circumcision. Now we come into another and quieter region. Surely we now feel more at home than in the council of the Apostles listening to contradictory and irreconcilable voices. We feel our need of rest, after the passionate excitement through which we have gone. We will now live amongst friends, and be quiet and trustful, and will grow silently but surely in our apprehension of Divine mysteries and purposes. Yet this is not to be. We come out of one contention into another. This is life all through and through—namely, a series of conflicts. The ground changes, the combatants change their personnel, but the undertone of life is a tone of controversy, disputation, conflict; and a superficial view of life would seem to confirm the suspicion that we do not advance in righteousness, but in mutual distrust and social alienation.

Now, Paul and Barnabas come before us in an undesirable light. Observe Paul's love of work—"Let us go again." Into that "again" what quiet and throbbing earnestness he threw! It has been well said that Paul was bitten again with mission hunger. He was no stay-at-home; he could hardly be kept within doors; he must go out, either to fight or to build. They only are in the Apostolic succession who are in the Apostolic spirit. Hereditary descent is not to be reckoned with Apostolic succession, in the sense of entering into the very spirit and purpose of Apostolic heroes. He will not have any one with him who has broken down. He says he will take a staff, but it will be a staff that is sound at the core. Paul could not trust a staff that had once snapped in his hands. He himself was earnest; therefore he could not tolerate insincerity. There was no breach in his all but infinite integrity, and therefore a flaw to him was not an accident but a crime in other men.

In his criticism of Mark , Paul gave a criticism of himself. His judgments of other men were revelations of his own spirit. Paul meant his work to be solid and enduring. This was the very purpose he had in view—namely, to consolidate young believers and immature thinkers and students; and to take with him, on such a mission, a man who himself had turned back from the plough, was an irony which vexed his soul. If he had been going out to make experiments, he might have taken with him such instruments as lay ready to his hands; but his purpose was to "confirm the Churches," to make them stronger and stronger; and to be working with an instrument which had already broken down in his hands was not only a contradiction in terms, but a moral irony, from which his very spirit recoiled. Everything depends upon the kind of work you are going to do. For some kinds of work fickle men may serve a useful end. There is a place in the Church for every one, and that is the problem which many Christian communions have not solved. The Papacy has solved it; but the Papacy is, from a statesman's point of view, the grandest and mightiest organization on the face of the earth. The Papacy can use all sorts of men; Protestantism can use only one or two kinds. We must learn to employ men in proper departments who do not come up to the Pauline standard of excellence. We may be good men, and yet broken here and there. Do not throw away any man for the sake of one fault, or even two. There may be a great deal of soundness in the apple that has upon it one patch of rottenness. We may be working for Christ without being counted worthy to rank with the "first three."

Barnabas comes out in a new light; he is willing to give a man another chance in life. By so much he was a great man. I love this aspect of his nature. In this respect I love Barnabas more than Paul. From the point of righteous discipline, Spartan sternness, there can be no doubt of the grandeur of Paul; but a man who would give a youth another chance seems to me to have in him the true spirit of the Cross, and to represent the charity of Christ. Some of you are too stern; the sternness may not be righteousness, but selfishness. Take heed how you administer discipline. You turn off your young men because they may injure your business, or jeopardize some of your commercial relations, or hinder you in some purpose in life. Commercially, that is right; but we are not all commercial travellers. We profess to use the balances of the sanctuary, and to imbibe daily the spirit of Christ, and reflect constantly the lovingness of the Gospel. Barnabas may have said in effect, "What you say about my nephew is literally correct, but give him another chance." Thank God for the few men here and there who are willing to try us again! We owe them our lives: we ought to live for them. Could any man say a word against them, we ought to spring instantly with the weight of our whole energy to their protection and vindication. They are, in the truest sense of the word, our helpers and friends and best philosophers. Barnabas was invincible. We have hitherto considered him only a kind, well-disposed, loving man, who would sit down anywhere, or stand up, or go or come, just as some superior nature might suggest or require. Such are often amongst the sternest men. Barnabas said to Paul, "No!" and even Paul could not change that No into a Yes. Afterwards the judgment of Barnabas was vindicated. Barnabas was in this respect a farther-sighted man than Paul. Thank God, Paul was not infallible! We must not preach an infallible Paul. There is only one infallible person in the Church, and he is its Lord; and it is well to find out the failings of even Pauline heroes, that they may sit down in the presence of the One Immaculate Righteousness and Infallible Wisdom. Paul was but a man at the best; he himself said so. "Who then is Paul and who is Apollos," said he, "but ministers, servants, and slaves of Christ?" In this respect Barnabas was a greater man than Paul. He is the great man who penetrates character, and he is not necessarily a great man at all who only judges by facts which he cannot dispute. He is the true intellectual reader who says about a young man, before the young man does one stroke of work, "He has the Spirit of God in him, and the indestructible seed of the kingdom." And he who, twenty years after, simply gives in to facts is not a man of penetration at all. He simply affirms what he cannot deny. "He was my friend" (the old man may say) "who spoke kindly and hopefully to me before I began my work. Looking at me altogether—for a man is not all head, or hand, or foot—but taking in stature, colors, shape, force, unction, look, voice, he said, "This man will do wonders for Christ."" Another observer says: "We must wait and look and carefully adapt such evidence as the passing days may contribute towards the formation of a judgment." Twenty years after, the second man said, "After all this long service, I am bound to say that he is a better man than I first supposed." That is not a judge of character, nor is that a eulogium, nor is that praise worth having. The man that read the soul was the man of prescience, and the man to whom intellectual honour and moral homage must be paid. Young man, live in the warm sunshine of those who hope the best about you. You owe nothing to the men who affirm your excellence when they cannot deny it. Some men found their judgments on what they call proofs. Barnabas founded his estimate of his nephew upon what he believed to be the inner quality and character of the young man's soul. I am thus at some pains to strip the Apostle Paul of his imagined infallibility. I repeat, there is only One who judgeth righteous judgment, and that is Christ; and the highest archbishop amongst us, if he know himself, will acknowledge that he is a fallible, sinful, erring creature.

There are mitigating circumstances in this controversy—both men were honest. It is something to have to deal with honest men, even when they oppose you. I respect an honest opponent infinitely more than an insincere friend—nay, he cannot be a friend who is capable of insincerity. Another mitigating circumstance is, that the contention was not about the Master. Paul and Barnabas did not take two different views of Christ. They are not going to found separate theological sects. Another mitigating circumstance is, that the work was not abandoned, but was doubled. Instead of one missionary excursion, there were two. Barnabas went to his native land, and the leonine Paul struck out for regions at once unfamiliar and unknown. The destinations they selected were revelations of the spirit of the men. Barnabas goes into obscurity, Paul rises like a sun into a broader firmament. We have already said good-bye to Peter, so far as the acts of the Apostles are concerned, except incidentally; so now we must say good-bye to Barnabas and Mark. At this point they both retire from the Acts of the Apostles. The withdrawment is in a kind of thunderstorm. Surely this cannot be all; surely the night does not settle so suddenly on Christian friendship and Apostolic brotherhood. Barnabas and Saul played together in the streets of Tarsus as boys: Barnabas was a friend, when Christian friends Saul had none. Barnabas took him by the hand when every one entertained concerning him the most inveterate suspicion. They cannot part in this way! The paroxysm was intense; but men like Barnabas and Paul, lifelong friends, must not be rent asunder, the one from the other, by a comparatively trivial incident like this. Is it so that our choicest friendships may die? May love be lost in anger? May comrades part as foes, hot with mutual displeasure? We must know more about this. In first Corinthians, ninth chapter and sixth verse, Paul says, "Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?" There Paul acknowledges that Barnabas, with himself, had acted a noble part in reference to the Churches, because, whilst they had the right to all the Churches could do for them, in the way of temporal support, they declined to accept the legitimate patronage, and resolved to work for their bread with their own hands. And Mark—what became of him? After he had worked with Barnabas in Cyprus, he returned to Peter, his spiritual father; and in his first Epistle, the fifth chapter and thirteenth verse, Peter writes these words: "The Church that is at Babylon... saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son." He was not lost, then. But did Paul know about his restoration? Read Colossians , the fourth chapter and tenth verse, where Paul says, "Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, saluteth you. If he come unto you, receive him." This is a touch of love Divine. In writing his short letter to Philemon , Paul says, in what we have marked as the twenty-fourth verse, "Marcus, my fellow-laborer."" They had come together again in service. Now Paul becomes an old man, a grand old warrior; and, writing his second letter to Timothy, he says, in the fourth chapter and the eleventh verse, "Take Mark , and bring him with thee; for he is profitable to me for the ministry." Well done, Mark! Well done, Paul! The position of the Apostle was not an easy one; for he confessed that in the first instance he had at least acted impulsively, though honestly. Few men have moral courage to correct themselves openly, to acknowledge that they were wrong in judgment and to repair wrongs which, however unconsciously, they once inflicted. Now Paul becomes almost infallible; our whole love goes back to him without stint or grudge. Truly, he is now a great man. Once he said to Mark , in effect, "You shall not go, because you are a bruised reed, or a broken staff; having put your hand to the plough, you turned back and showed yourself to be not fit for the kingdom of God." But Mark worked on under gentle auspices, recovered himself, and became, for him, quite a little hero in his own way. Paul said, "This is brave, this is good, this is noble"; and he called Mark his "fellow-labourer," told the Colossians to receive him, and bade Timothy bring Mark with him, because he was profitable to Paul in the ministry.

Acknowledge your faults. If you have done wrong to any young man, or if you were right at the time, and that young man has lived to contradict your judgment, say so frankly to him. Do not take refuge in the mean vanity, the petty and detestable fraud, which will not acknowledge a fault. A young man, then, may redeem his character. I speak to many young men now, and in Christ's spirit as well as in Christ's name, I offer them, where they need it, a new chance in life. You did act basely once, but that is no reason why you should continue to act basely to the end of your days. Why not stand up, and frankly acknowledge the baseness, and ask to be forgiven? There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. You once spoke a harsh word, and said you would do no more work for the Church, and give no more money or help to it in any way. Even Apostles have before this spoken in paroxysms and excitement, and then, when they came to their true selves, they did their best to obliterate the unworthy past. What say you? You once told a lie; you need not therefore always be a liar. Here is a new day—the Lord's day—full of sunlight, and this is God's house, built within the shadow of Christ's cross; and here is the Son of God, and he says to each of us, "Try again, do not despair; in my strength pluck up courage and do better next time." Why, I hope that all young men will spring to the noble challenge, and say, "By the help of God, we will rub out the past and live in Christ's grace and strength; so that at last we will be called his fellow-labourers, and be received, not by Apostles into a temporary home, but by the "general assembly and the Church of the first-born" into our Father's house."