II. TBE GOSPEL DEMANDS FAITH, Here the special object of the faith should be dwelt on. The repentance of these Jews involved their believing that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed thoir Messiah. But this was not saving faith. It only cru:,hed end humbled. The faith required is personal trust in the living, exalted Lord Jesus Christ, the present Saviour, e.nd e.ctue.l surrender of bee.rt and life to him. It is belief in his Name e.s Saviour, '!'his distinction should be fully unfolded and illustrated, with earnest pleadings for the.t/aith, or personal truee, which e.ctually links us to the living Saviour. Ill. THE GOSPEL DEMANDS CONFESSION, 'l'bis is the ree.J point and meaning of the rite of baptism, which is the public a.et in which our faith in Christ is declared. If Wfl are sincere in our faith we shall be willing to make it known. If we are earnest in our faith we shall want to me.ke it known. And Christ's kingdom is to be spread by just this confession and acknowledgment of him. Therefore the demand is, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God bath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved," Show that this duty of "public confession II is sadly neglected in our day, and there is consequently a perilous vagueness, indefiniteness, and indistinctness characteristic of religious life. Press the importance of this duty, in relation both to persoual soul-culture and to the duty of witnessing for the Christ in whom we hope. Conclude by showing the.t the gospel response to those who meet its demands is forgiveness, involving acceptance with God and the privileges of restored sonship; and that this is scaled to us by tbl\ gift of the Holy Ghost.-R. T. Vers. 41-44.-Early impulses of Christian disciples. Estimate the fervour of feeling which those knew who bad found the Messiah; bad found him altogether more glorious, more spiritual, than their highest thoughts had ever conceived, and actually felt the joy of forgiveness from him, and the inward witness of his sealing Spirit. It was a time of rapture and intensity, in which all selfish thoughts would be easily overcome, and the common joy bind e.ll together in common bonds. In their enthusiasm they expected the Lord Jesus to returu at once, and therefore they were so ready to resign even their worldly goods, and devute all that they possessed to the use of the brethren. The custom of large numbers living and eating together is familiar to Easterns, and may be illustrated by the daily meals provided for the citizens of Sparta. Possibly the first thought that came to the early disciples was the.t they might realize, in the larger sphere, the state of things existing between Christ e.nd his apostles when he was in the flesh. Those apostles gave up their trades to be with Christ, and be and they bad lived together, and had "all things common." The company so gathered present the :first model of a Church. Circumstances soon modified the form of it; but we keep the essential idea of it, which is this: common indebtedness to Christ, and devotion to him, bring men together into a gracious sense of brotherhood and fellowship. They recognize their oneness in Christ. I. 'l'HE IMPULSE TO FELLOWSHIP. (Ver. 42.) Or, to gather together. The centre of the gathering was naturally the apostolic company. A desire to hear more about Christ was awakened, and the converts would not separate. Staying hour after hour, there would arise the necessity for meals; and though this may have been readily met on the :first day, some order and provision would be necessary as they kept together day after day. The impulse to fellowship felt by thoso sharing common opinions and beliefs is constantly recognized, and is tho basis of all associations, clubs, and societies of men. Those with tho common opinions enjoy, and are benefited by, each other's fellowship. 'l'herefore the apostle bids us "not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is." Urge that still this natural and proper impulse should be nourished and followed. Neglected fellowship is the sign of weak- ened impulse, failing "first love," e.nd inadequate impression of the "great grace" received in Obrist Jesus. II. THE IMPULSE TO SELF-SACRIFICE. Others were more thought of than self. There was a general desire to imitate Christ by giving ttp for others. This seems the idea in their "having all things common." "Under the strong and g_encral fe~lin_g of Christian charity, which sprang out of Christian unity, men giwe _as lrecly ~s if what they had were not really their own, but only held by them in trust l0r others. 91 TE:E ACTS or THE APOSTLES. [tJit. m.1-20.
Pr&ctically, what was any brother's came to be the brethren's; no man asserted his private proprietorship, or 'said that aught of the things that he posse~scd was his own.'" 'l'he following points may be illustrated :-1. Community qf goods is a dream. One which earnest and sentimental philanthropists have dreamed over and over again. 2. Community of goods is an impossibility. Socialistic systems have always brokeq down. If the community could be once established, the disabilities of life nnd the different dispositions of men would immediately introduce irregularities. "Religious communisms have generally rested, like the monastic orders, on an ascetic rather than a social basis. 'l'he fanaticism of the German Anabaptists, indeed, did not lack force, but it involved the ruin of society. Recent humanitarian attempts in France and America to realize a voluntary communism, wanting a religious motive, have broken down" (Dr. Dykes). 3. Community of goods is an ea;travaganl assertion of a true and high principl,e, viz. that whatsoever a man holds, he holds in trust, and in trust for the service of others. 4. Community of goods is substantially realized in the Cll.ristian Ohurch, where, ideally, each seeks not his own but his brother's good . •, There is no real cure for diseased society except the regeneration of the individual, and the individual is regenerated when you have substitttted brotherly kindness for selfishness as the ruling motive or ground of character." "Just in so far as any man takes in the peculiar teaching of the gospel, such as the saving mercy of the Father in heaven, our oneness in the incarnate Son, and the binding common life of the Holy Ghost-to that extent he will cease to be a difficulty in the way of social economics. He will help others as much, and grasp as little for himself, as possible." (',onclude by pressing the importance of keeping our hearts ever open to the gracious and loving impulses of God's Holy Spirit ; and also press the relation to an earnest life of charity, brotherhood, and goodness which is found in "keeping our firsl love."-R. T.