The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 419

now risen One-" a. So.viour, Jesus "-e.e the almighty Saviour, living Lord, Divine Friend, he offers to be to us all. III. 1TB 0AitDlNAL DOC7I'RINE, (Vere. 38, 39.) "Through this man is preached unto you the forgivenes~ of sins;" "By him o.11 that believe are justified " etc. There can be no real religious life without the conscious enjoyment of God's favo~r • and this cannot be o.tt11ined until sin has been forgiven. The initial step into the ki~gdom of God is, therefore, the remission of sins, the justification of the sinner before God. This is the cardinal doctrine of the gospel of Christ; " This [he said] is my blood of the new testa- ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. xxvi. 28). There may come times when this doctrine will be neglected, but to it mankind will continually return; for it is the sense of sin and the consciousness of condemnation which stand between the soul of man and its heritage in God, and it is the forgiveness of sin and the justification of the sinner which open the gates of the kingdom of peace, of joy, of eternal life. IV, 1TB GLORIOUS COMPREHENSIVENESS, "Men of Israel, and ye that/ear God, give audience" (ver. 16; "Children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among yon feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent" (ver. 26); "By him all that believe are justified" (ver. 39). Already the old and narrowing traditions had been broken; already the strong prejudices had melted away; already the hearts of men had been enlarged, and Gen tiles and Jews were invited to believe and to be saved.. As mis- sionary work proceeded, and as more light from heaven broke in, the world-embracing thought of God became clearer and fuller to the minds of men. V. 'l'HE URGEN0Y OF ITS 0LAIM, (Vera. 40, 41.) A most sad succession of steps- despise-wonder-perish; but one that has been taken by thousands of the children of men. We cannot oppose ourselves to a" great salvation" without being bruised and broken by our folly (Matt. xxi. 44). The height of blessedness e.nd dignity to which we rise if we accept a Divine Saviour marks the depth of shame and woe to which we fall if we reject him.-C. Vere. 42-52.-Ministerial success. I. THAT IT IS A BEAL MINISTERIAL GAIN to EX0ITE RELIGIOUS INQUIRY. (Vere. 42-44.) It was a considerable success to have called forth the interest of the Gentile audience, so that they begged to hear the same truths stated again (ver. 42). It was the beginning of "the grace ot God" in their hearts (ver. 43); it resulted in the excitement of still more extensive inquiry, so that" the whole city" was agitated and solicitous (ver. 44). We may thank God for the com- mencement of religious life, for the sprouting of the seed, for the first signs of spiritual awakening; we need not hesitate to ascribe this to the hand of God 011 the heart of me.n, I!, THAT BUCH A.WAKE~'ING MUST BE FAITHFULLY FOLLOWED UP BY THE CHRISTIAN TEA0HEB. Paul and Barnabas" persuaded them to continue," etc. (ver. 43). We must not only plant, but water (1 Cor. iii. 6). We should watch for the first signs of religious earnestness, and promptly follow up what has been wrought, bf wise, earnest, devout encouragement. III. 'l'HAT THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER SHOULD A.VAIL HIMSELF OF EVERY PBOVIDENTL\L OPENING. (Vere. 45-4 7.) The rejection of the gospel by the Jews might have led some half-hearted missionaries to abandon their work. But to those who were here at work it simply acted as an incentive to go forth into 11, wider field. They took the shutting of one gate to mean entrance through another; the blocking of one way to prove that the finger of God was pointing in another direction, where more ground was to be cultivated and larger harvests were to be reaped. So must we strive to gain good from apparent evil, and look on every e.dverss event as showing us what other and what better thing our Master would have us do. IV. THAT Gon's WORK WILL BE WROUGHT IN SPITE OF MAN'B ENMITY, A.ND EVEN BY MEAffil OF IT. The violent and determined opposition of the Jews (ver. 45) led the apostles to a conclusion in favour of more extensive Christian labour earlier than they could otherwise have reached it. The language of Paul (ver. 46) indicates 110 little tension of feeling. The enemies of the truth urged onward the chariot of the kingdom, and it rolled forward at full speed, And the fervent words of the apostle met with a prompt e.nu earnest response (ver. 48) ; the Gentiles " glorified God," and many of  U8 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [ OH, XllL 1-52,