There may be considered to be some uncertainty as to the exact merits of the remarkable case which the history reproduces in this passage, but without rendering any verdict, pronouncing any opinion, or even offering any suggestion. In the room that is accordingly allowed for option, it is believed that the following positions, as they are certainly maintainable in themselves, are also to be impressed on us by the present history: -

I. THE ADVICE OF THE BEST-INTENTIONED POLICY, ON THE LIPS OF THE LEADERS OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH, IS DISTANT FROM THE ADVICE OF CLEAR CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE AND TRUTH, AS THE POLES ARE DISTANT FROM ONE ANOTHER. There was not a little in the exact tone of those who urged on Paul a certain course (ver. 20) and in the exact time which they used for pressing their suit, which invests it with suspicion, and which may very possibly have done so with Paul.

II. THE PRESSURE OF THE ADVICE OF MANY, AND THOSE MANY THE KNOWN LEADERS OF THE CHURCH, WILL NOT ABSOLVE THE INDIVIDUAL CONSCIENCE OR JUDGMENT. It is quite possible that the present was an occasion which Paul would have described as one of those when he would make himself all things to all men. It is also quite possible that this was a right occasion of observing that practice. And lastly, for that very reason the more, it may seem quite possible, that Paul's judgment was in no degree hoodwinked, nor his conscience eclipsed, when he yielded to the advice urged upon him. As no whisper of censure seems breathed upon him, the providence of God, nay, the Spirit himself, may have been his Guide now, to the end that facts should teach those who were responsible for the advice, while Paul would feel, ay, genuinely feel, that the compensation that was given to him for his sufferings consisted in the audience of Jew and Gentile of all sorts, of Roman governors and officers and soldiers, which he had in consequence the opportunity of addressing (ver. 39). If Paul were mistaken and at fault now, he reaps his punishment, though still he rescues some advantage out of all for Christ and the gospel. And he is taught that not even the kindness of his heart and willingness "to be persuaded" by the skilful representations in affection's hour of others, can be a substitute for the individual, steady, regulated judgment and conscience of the Christian. If he were not mistaken, the same lesson is taught, though by a very different route. He himself held and acted upon the conviction that his individual judgment, under the guidance of the Divine Spirit, should have its way - that judgment going to this that, though himself suffered, the leaders of the Church and "many thousands of zealots of the Law" should be effectually taught.

III. THE DIVINE PURPOSE AND WORK THROUGH ALL ERROR OF HUMAN JUDGMENT, THROUGH ALL UNCERTAINTY OF FIDELITY, EVEN IN HUMAN CONSCIENCES, TRIUMPH AND VINDICATE THEIR OWN RIGHTS.

1. The intended short way out of an apprehended difficulty and danger, suggested with coaxing tones and words (ver. 20, "Thou seest, brother "), proves a very long and painful way. Who can tell what must have been the excited apprehensions of James and the elders as the riot went on, nor stopped in a sense, till Paul set off for Rome itself?

2. For Paul, whose is both the active work and the keen suffering, "the beginning of the end" dates from this very Church meeting at Jerusalem. The road is opened to Rome and to Caesar and to "the palace and all other places" left for Paul's ministry. And the goal of his career comes into sight for the racer of keen vision as well as of keen energy. So the gospel gains fresh wings, and that grace of God which lovingly overrules where perhaps it was not allowed to rule, is made known to vaster numbers, and amongst them to some whom it might not have reached in any other way. - B.

Note here —

I. THE EARLY CONQUESTS OF THE GOSPEL. During the quarter of a century which had elapsed since Paul's first introduction to the Church at Jerusalem, what wonders Christianity had wrought! The historic sketch which he now presented caused his hearers to glorify the Lord, and they tell him that "many thousands of Jews believed." These triumphs serve to demonstrate —

1. The genuineness of gospel facts. There were ample opportunities of testing their truth.

2. The amazing force of Christian truth. What other system could have effected such revolutions?

3. The zeal with which the apostles prosecuted their ministry.

II. THE TENACITY OF EARLY PREJUDICE. Those Christian Jews could not give up the ritualism in which they had been brought up. "They were still zealous of the law." Early prejudices, especially in religion, warp the judgment, exclude the entrance of new light, impede the progress of the soul in intelligence, manly independency, and power. Prejudices give a colour to the glass through which the soul looks at truth, and thus prevents her from appearing in her own native hue.

III. THE SLANDEROUSNESS OF RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY. (ver. 21). Paul not only acted indulgently towards the scrupulous (Acts 16:3; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Corinthians 10:27), but in general disapproved of Jews relinquishing the observance of the law, and observed it himself (1 Corinthians 7:18; 1 Corinthians 9:20). All he insisted upon was, that no prerogative or claim to salvation should be built on legal observance, and that it should not be imposed upon Gentile believers. Who fabricated the slander? The bigoted Jews. Religious bigotry now, as ever, maligns the men whose doctrines transcend its narrow notions — in its pulpits, platforms, and press.

IV. THE CONCILIATORY GENIUS OF CHRISTIANITY.

1. James and the elders perceive that a schismatic spirit is rife, and they are anxious to promote concord. Hence their question (ver. 22), How shall this false impression, be removed? And they proposed the expedient of vers. 23, 24. He who does not strive to harmonise social discords has not the true love within him. Love is ever bearing the olive branch over the tumults of the world.

2. This conciliatory spirit of Christianity is further developed in the conduct of Paul. "Paul is among the Nazarites," says Lange —(1) Not as a slave of human ordinances, but in the light of evangelical liberty, which had power over all things that promote the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:12).(2) Not as a dissembler before the people, but in the ministry of brotherly love, which bears the infirmities of the weak (Romans 15:1).(3) Not as a fugitive from the cross, but in the power of apostolic obedience, which knows to deny itself from love to the Lord (Luke 9:23). Bold and invincible as was the apostle, his spirit of conciliation was very remarkable (1 Corinthians 9:1). Fidelity to principle is not inconsistent with a studious endeavour to avoid giving offence to our fellow men.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

I. MET BY FRIENDS.

1. Paul was glad to visit Jerusalem, and the brethren were glad to receive him. They and he were too good Christians to raise a loud lament because immortal duty doing had led the apostle into a place of mortal danger.

2. Paul rehearsed the things which God had wrought, humbly making of himself a mere instrument in God's hand. Naturally, then, the brethren glorified not Paul, but God.

3. Paul spoke much of results, and but little of difficulties and dangers and privations. It matters more to the true missionary what God does by him than what God does with him.

4. Paul worked abroad — and the brethren worked at home, etc., and rejoiced in each other's successful efforts. The cause of Foreign Missions and the cause of Home Missions should have the fullest mutual sympathy and support.

II. MISREPRESENTED BY ENEMIES.

1. No earnest Christian but meets with misrepresentation, and it usually increases just in proportion as his earnestness does.

2. No earnest Christian but will find that "they have been informed" of all sorts of imaginary errors in his teaching.

3. No form of opposition is more difficult for the earnest Christian to face than this anonymous misrepresentation. "They have been informed," and they — in the church or outside of it — hasten to spread the warning that Paul does not believe in the Old Testament.

4. Anonymous contributions are not everywhere rejected if they assail the teachings of a good and earnest man. Therefore the devil usually chooses to do his work anonymously.

III. MISREPRESENTATION MET.

1. It was well for Paul to vindicate himself for the Master's cause suffers so long as there is an imputation upon the servant.

2. It is well for the servant of Christ to concede a point provided no principle is sacrificed.

3. It is well for one to vindicate himself from a false charge as Paul did, by deeds rather than by words.

4. It is well to treat different men differently. There is a way in which to reach a Jew, and a way in which to reach a Gentile, and the two ways are not identical.

5. It is well to subordinate minor questions of Church polity, individual preference, denominational peculiarities to the great paramount object of soul saving. "All things to all men, that I may by all means save some."

(S. S. Times.)

Notice —

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF ORDER IN THE CHURCH. Paul was an apostle, but he respects the officers of the local church, consults their feelings, respects their judgment, and strengthens their hands. Under the specious statement that the work of God is the main thing, many belittle Christian organisation, as if it were not the very way to do the work of God. "Free lances " are often an hindrance to the Christian army, and their "freeness " is all too often mainly in the liberties they take with Christian truth and agencies. God's work is best done in God's way.

II. HOW DEXTROUS THE ENEMIES OF THE TRUTH ARE IN MISREPRESENTING CHRISTIAN ACTION. This policy need not surprise us. If men allege that we undervalue good works because we deny their saving power; that our views of God's sovereignty mean "fatalism"; that we have no Church because we do not hold "apostolical succession" — they are only misrepresenting us as Paul was misrepresented.

III. THAT IT IS FIT THAT GOD'S PEOPLE SHOULD IN ALL FITTING WAYS CLEAR THEMSELVES AND THEIR TESTIMONY OF SUCH INJURIOUS IMPUTATIONS. We are of little account personally, but the truth is great. There is a silly weakness that revolts from honest defence of the truth, and wants nothing but conventional commonplace.

IV. THAT THERE IS SOMETHING DUE TO THE HONEST READERS OF SCRIPTURE, EVEN IF WE INTERPRET DIFFERENTLY. When men set up fashion, antiquity, aesthetics, "Christian consciousness," or the like, it is one thing; when they honestly defer to the Divine Word as they understand it, it is another. So it was with these. So it is with good men who think David's psalms the only fitting material for praise; with "Friends " as to forms and titles; with Baptists who believe themselves bound to immerse.

V. THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN GRACES IN PROMOTING AND PRESERVING PEACE. Paul is modest and forgetful of self. The elders rejoice over him; at the same time they frankly tell him the facts of the case. Honesty and frankness are great conservators of harmony. Christian forbearance triumphing over selfishness is a grace of a high order. There are many who will go all lengths to meet the world, who look with lofty scorn on Christians who take different methods. Between believers "weak in the faith " and worldliness with no faith at all, there is a wide difference. In all things harmless let us go a long way to meet the one class and satisfy them; they are Christ's friends and ours. Concession to the others is not to be made of one "jot or tittle," because they are not friends, but enemies.

(J. Hall, D. D.)

or what appertains to bearing the infirmities of the weak: —

I. CHRISTIAN LOVE which is willing to bear them, while it has a tender feeling for the wants of the weak, and exercises a noble self-denial in condescending to them in word and deed.

II. CHRISTIAN STRENGTH, which is able to bear them, possesses freedom of spirit to distinguish between form and essence, the shell and the kernel, and has strength of character not to surrender with subordinate matters the chief thing, and not to deny the Lord from love to man.

(K. Gerok.)

I. NECESSARY. As such —

1. Practised by our Lord Himself.

2. Employed by His apostles.

3. Indispensable to us.

II. SALUTARY.

1. Without God's forbearance the world would be lost.

2. By the apostle's forbearance much weakness was gained;

3. By Christian forbearance, we do not indeed gain all, but we promote peace, and thus the kingdom of God in general.

(Lisco.)

1. "The brethren received them gladly." I am not sure about that; they never before have been received gladly, and the gladness now admitted of being stated in one half-line. I have no particular faith in that sort of gladness. When did Paul content himself with half a line when he was recognising his friends? Read his letter to the Philippians! The fact is they never liked Paul at Jerusalem. He was too big for them.

2. Then it is said that when they heard Paul "they glorified the Lord." Presently we shall know the meaning of that. They might have said something to Paul. There is a way of turning from a man that you may pray, when you ought first to have thrown your arms around him and said, "God bless thee, grand old soldier of the Cross; come, let us pray together." A little more humanity at Jerusalem would have done no harm; but Jerusalem is forgotten: Paul remains. A little humanity would do the Church no harm. A little recognition of merit, a kindly reference to loving service done by man to man, helps the wheel of life to run round more smoothly. It would be so at home if you would say how pleased you are with what has been done for you.

3. They could not have been so greatly occupied with the glory of God, for they instantly proposed to Paul a compromise, and said with such whining voices, "Thou seest, brother," etc. There the Church goes down. That spirit is still abroad, and we are saying of men of free spirit and Pauline heart, and as for us, we are all right with regard to them; but there is a general impression abroad that they are not orthodox." "Be quiet, or say something, or attend a service." Was there ever such a craven-hearted thing as a Church with this note in its throat? The men who are buried in a crowd were to dictate the policy of the world's greatest Christian prince and hero! But James had lived a long time in the metropolis; he seldom went from home; he could not bear a noise, and he would offer on the altar of prejudice this oblation. It was not right, but Paul will not hinder the great cause; he was willing to become "all things to all men," that he might by any means save some. We can imagine the smile of the heart as he consented to be "one of five," to go through certain customs and ceremonies in order to prove himself orthodox. Orthodoxy does not consist in doing certain things, but in doing something in the soul.

4. Now mark what follows. The Jews which were of Asia laid hands on him, crying, "This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the law," etc. In the very act of attempting to prove himself orthodox, to people who had no right to judge his orthodoxy, he was seized as a hypocrite. The temple was no protection. It suits some men to believe others to be hypocrites rather than to give them credit for good intentions, instead of saying, "We have been misinformed about this man; here he is submitting to the law of Moses." You cannot satisfy blackmailers; pay them what you like today, they will return tomorrow. There are blackmailers in the Church as well as in the world. You can never live holy enough to put an end to their diabolism of spirit. Never treat with them; stand upon the eternal right and say, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" What applies to character applies also to argument. When you have satisfied Aristotle with your logic, you have not begun to touch the blackmailer; he does not want the logic, he wants to torment the logician.

5. It will go badly with Paul then but for the State. James and the elders will not do much for Paul now, for, dear old gentlemen, they did not like noise! There is a time when the State must assert its authority. And when the mob "saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul." Cowards! And these were the men that Paul was asked to conciliate! To be recognised by them was an intolerable patronage. "Then the chief captain came near, and took him," etc. The State knows nothing about Christian ministers. It seems comical to hear the chief captain. "Art thou not that Egyptian," etc. You don't suppose the chief captains know anything about prayer meetings, or ministers' or deacons' prayer meetings? There is no rebuke perhaps more humbling than an inquiry as to your identity by men whom you thought respected you, and knew all about you. It would be amusing to Paul to be mistaken for an Egyptian. He, who had not been ashamed of the gospel of Christ; he who died daily for Christ, coming back from the wars, was mistaken by the State for an Egyptian, which had led out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers. Never mind; Paul owed the State a good deal in this instance. The State will see justice done to us. The State will not allow this property with which we ourselves are associated to be diverted from its proper purpose. So with human life. Thank God for civilised States.

(J. Parker, D. D.)

1. A victory of love which seeks not its own in carnal narrowness and self-will.

2. An earnest of the future union of Israel and the Gentile world under the Cross of Christ.

3. A triumph of the wonderful ways of God in the spread of His kingdom, and in the realisation of His plan of salvation.

(K. Gerok.)

In every scandal there is the warp and the woof; it is seldom that some ground cannot be had to work upon. The woof may be a fact wholly perverted, but upon it the liar may weave his warp, his figure of detraction and scandal; and it comes out all in one piece, and no man can say that there is not some truth in it, though if the truth were picked out, the lie would stand by itself, a clean and absolute lie. Mr. Wilberforce relates an instance regarding himself. He found himself held up to public ridicule in an unfriendly journal, the author of the slander having given the following instance of Mr. Wilberforce's Phariseeism. "He was seen lately walking up and down the Pump Room reading his prayers like his predecessors of old who prayed at the corners of streets to be seen of men." Wilberforce remarks, "As there is generally some light circumstance which perverseness turns into a charge of reproach, I began to reflect, and I soon found the occasion of the calumny. I was walking in the Pump Room in conversation with a friend: a passage was quoted from Horace, the accuracy of which was questioned; and as I had a Horace in my pocket I took it out and read the words. This was the bit of wire which factious malignity sharpened into a pin to pierce my reputation."

(G. B. Cheerer, D. D.)

The tongue of the slanderer is a devouring fire, which tarnishes whatever it touches; which exercises its fury on the good grain equally as on the chaff, on the profane as on the sacred; which, wherever it passes, leaves only desolation and ruin; digs even into the bowels of the earth, and fixes itself on things the most hidden; turns into vile ashes what only a moment before had appeared to us so precious and brilliant; acts with more violence and danger than ever in the time when it was apparently smothered up and almost extinct; which blackens what it cannot consume, and sometimes sparkles and delights before it destroys.

(J. Massillon.)

Agabus, Israelites, James, Mnason, Paul, Philip, TrophimusAsia, Caesarea, Cilicia, Cos, Cyprus, Jerusalem, Judea, Patara, Phoenicia, Ptolemais, Rhodes, Syria, Tarsus, TyreAbandon, Apostacy, Apostasy, Circumcise, Circumcision, Customs, Forbid, Forsake, Gentiles, Informed, Instructed, Jews, Law, Nations, News, Observe, Old-established, Ought, Repeatedly, Rules, Saying, Teach, Teachest, Teaching, Telling, Turn, Walk1. Paul calls at the house of Philip, whose daughters prophesy.
10. Agabus, foretelling what should befall him at Jerusalem,
13. he will not be dissuaded from going thither.
17. He comes to Jerusalem;
27. where he is apprehended, and in great danger, but by the chief captain is rescued;
37. and requests, and is permitted to speak to the people.

Acts 21:21

     5286   custom
     6260   uncircumcised
     8796   persecution, forms of

Acts 21:20-21

     7505   Jews, the

Acts 21:20-25

     7105   believers

Acts 21:20-26

     5155   hair

An Old Disciple
'... One Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.'--ACTS xxi. 16. There is something that stimulates the imagination in these mere shadows of men that we meet in the New Testament story. What a strange fate that is to be made immortal by a line in this book-- immortal and yet so unknown! We do not hear another word about this host of Paul's, but his name will be familiar to men's ears till the world's end. This figure is drawn in the slightest possible outline, with a couple …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Philip the Evangelist
'... We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.'--ACTS xxi. 8. The life of this Philip, as recorded, is a very remarkable one. It is divided into two unequal halves: one full of conspicuous service, one passed in absolute obscurity. Like the moon in its second quarter, part of the disc is shining silver and the rest is invisible. Let us put together the notices of him. He bears a name which makes it probable that he was not a Palestinian Jew, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Drawing Nearer to the Storm
'And it came to pass, that, after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2. And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. 3. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Paul in the Temple
'And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him. 28. Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. 29. (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Jerusalem to Rome
Acts 21:17-28:31 THIS JOURNEY Scripture, Acts 21:17-28:31 1. The speech before the Jewish mob in the temple (Acts 22:1-29) in which Paul tells the Jews how he was changed from a persecutor to a believer in Christ. He relates also the story of his conversion. 2. The speech before the Jewish council (Acts 22:30; 23:1-10) in which he creates confusion by raising the question of the resurrection. But the provocation was great for the high-priest had commanded that Paul be smitten …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

Parting.
"What mean ye to weep, and to break mine heart!"--Acts 21:13 "Was macht ihr, dass ihr weinet." [32]Spitta. transl., Sarah Findlater, 1855 What mean ye by this wailing To break my bleeding heart? As if the love that binds us Could alter or depart! Our sweet and holy union Knows neither time nor place; The love that God has planted Is lasting as His grace. Ye clasp these hands at parting, As if no hope could be; While still we stand for ever In blessed unity! Ye gaze, as on a vision Ye never could …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

As Thou Wilt.
"The will of the Lord be done."--Acts 21:14. "Wie Gott will! also will ich sagen." [72]Neumeister. transl., Jane Borthwick, 1858 As Thou wilt, my God! I ever say; What Thou wilt is ever best for me; What have I to do with earthly care, Since to-morrow I may leave with Thee? Lord, Thou knowest, I am not my own, All my hope and help depend on Thee alone. As Thou wilt! still I can believe; Never did the word of promise fail. Faith can hold it fast, and feel it sure, Though temptations cloud and fears …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

The Way to the Kingdom
"The kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15 These words naturally lead us to consider, First, the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, "the kingdom of God," which, saith he, "is at hand;" and, Secondly, the way thereto, which he points out in those words, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel." I. 1. We are, First, to consider the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, "the kingdom of God." The same expression the great Apostle uses in his Epistle …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

India as Carey Found It
1793 Tahiti v. Bengal--Carey and Thomas appointed missionaries to Bengal--The farewell at Leicester--John Thomas, first medical missionary--Carey's letter to his father--The Company's "abominable monopoly"--The voyage--Carey's aspirations for world-wide missions--Lands at Calcutta--His description of Bengal in 1793--Contrast presented by Carey to Clive, Hastings, and Cornwallis--The spiritual founder of an Indian Empire of Christian Britain--Bengal and the famine of 1769-70--The Decennial Settlement …
George Smith—The Life of William Carey

Chel. The Court of the Women.
The Court of the Gentiles compassed the Temple and the courts on every side. The same also did Chel, or the Ante-murale. "That space was ten cubits broad, divided from the Court of the Gentiles by a fence, ten hand-breadths high; in which were thirteen breaches, which the kings of Greece had made: but the Jews had again repaired them, and had appointed thirteen adorations answering to them." Maimonides writes: "Inwards" (from the Court of the Gentiles) "was a fence, that encompassed on every side, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Matthew.
Critical. Bernh. Weiss: Das Matthäusevangelium und seine Lucas-Parallelen erklärt. Halle, 1876. Exceedingly elaborate. Edw. Byron Nicholson: The Gospel according to the Hebrews. Its Fragments translated and annotated. Lond., 1879. Exegetical Commentaries on Matthew by Origen, Jerome, Chrysostom, Melanchthon (1523), Fritzsche, De Wette, Alford, Wordsworth, Schegg (R. Cath., 1856-58, 3 vols.), J. A. Alexander, Lange (trsl. and enlarged by Schaff, N. Y., 1864, etc.), James Morison (of Glasgow, …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Knox in Scotland: Lethington: Mary of Guise: 1555-1556
Meanwhile the Reformer returned to Geneva (April 1555), where Calvin was now supreme. From Geneva, "the den of mine own ease, the rest of quiet study," Knox was dragged, "maist contrarious to mine own judgement," by a summons from Mrs. Bowes. He did not like leaving his "den" to rejoin his betrothed; the lover was not so fervent as the evangelist was cautious. Knox had at that time probably little correspondence with Scotland. He knew that there was no refuge for him in England under Mary Tudor, …
Andrew Lang—John Knox and the Reformation

Chrysostom Evades Election to a Bishopric, and Writes his Work on the Priesthood.
About this time several bishoprics were vacant in Syria, and frequent depositions took place with the changing fortunes of orthodoxy and Arianism, and the interference of the court. The attention of the clergy and the people turned to Chrysostom and his friend Basil as suitable candidates for the episcopal office, although they had not the canonical age of thirty. Chrysostom shrunk from the responsibilities and avoided an election by a pious fraud. He apparently assented to an agreement with Basil …
St. Chrysostom—On the Priesthood

Whether Since Christ's Passion the Legal Ceremonies Can be Observed Without Committing Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that since Christ's Passion the legal ceremonies can be observed without committing mortal sin. For we must not believe that the apostles committed mortal sin after receiving the Holy Ghost: since by His fulness they were "endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49). But the apostles observed the legal ceremonies after the coming of the Holy Ghost: for it is stated (Acts 16:3) that Paul circumcised Timothy: and (Acts 21:26) that Paul, at the advice of James, "took the men, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Grace of the Word of Wisdom and Knowledge is Becoming to Women?
Objection 1: It would seem that the grace of the word of wisdom and knowledge is becoming even to women. For teaching is pertinent to this grace, as stated in the foregoing Article. Now it is becoming to a woman to teach; for it is written (Prov. 4:3,4): "I was an only son in the sight of my mother, and she taught me [*Vulg.: 'I was my father's son, tender, and as an only son in the sight of my mother. And he taught me.']." Therefore this grace is becoming to women. Objection 2: Further, the grace …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

From Antioch to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
Acts 13-28 and all the rest of the New Testament except the epistles of John and Revelation. The Changed Situation. We have now come to a turning point in the whole situation. The center of work has shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch, the capital of the Greek province of Syria, the residence of the Roman governor of the province. We change from the study of the struggles of Christianity in the Jewish world to those it made among heathen people. We no longer study many and various persons and their …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

The Letter of the Synod to the Emperor and Empress.
(Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. VII., col. 577.) To our most religious and most serene princes, Constantine and Irene his mother. Tarasius, the unworthy bishop of your God-protected royal city, new Rome, and all the holy Council which met at the good pleasure of God and upon the command of your Christ-loving majesty in the renowned metropolis of Nice, the second council to assemble in this city. Christ our God (who is the head of the Church) was glorified, most noble princes, when your heart, …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Sudden Conversions.
"By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain."--1 Cor. xv. 10. We can hardly conceive that grace, such as that given to the great Apostle who speaks in the text, would have been given in vain; that is, we should not expect that it would have been given, had it been foreseen and designed by the Almighty Giver that it would have been in vain. By which I do not mean, of course, to deny that God's gifts are oftentimes abused and wasted by man, which …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Prov. 22:06 the Duties of Parents
"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."--Prov. 22:6. I SUPPOSE that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is probably familiar to your ears, like an old tune. It is likely you have heard it, or read it, talked of it, or quoted it, many a time. Is it not so? But, after all, how little is the substance of this text regarded! The doctrine it contains appears scarcely known, the duty it puts …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

The Epistle to the Hebrews.
I. Commentaries on Hebrews by Chrysostom (d. 407, hermeneia, in 34 Homilies publ. after his death by an Antioch. presbyter, Constantinus); Theodoret (d. 457); Oecumenius (10th cent.); Theophylact (11th cent.); Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274); Erasmus (d. 1536, Annotationes in N. T., with his Greek Test., 1516 and often, and Paraphrasis in N. T., 1522 and often); Card. Cajetanus (Epistolae Pauli, etc., 1531); Calvin (d. 1564, Com. in omnes P. Ep. atque etiam in Ep. ad Hebraeos, 1539 and often, also Halle, …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Of the Prerogatives which the Elect Shall Enjoy in Heaven.
By reason of this communion with God, the elect in heaven shall have four superexcellent prerogatives:-- 1. They shall have the kingdom of heaven for their inheritance (Matt. xxv.; 1 Pet. i. 4), and they shall be free denizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Eph. ii. 19; Heb. xii. 22.) St. Paul, by being a free citizen of Rome (Acts xxi. 26), escaped whipping; but they who are once free citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, shall ever be freed from the whips of eternal torments. For this freedom was bought …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Positive Side
What is the relation of the Law (the Ten Commandments) to Christians? In our previous chapter we pointed out how that three radically different answers have been returned to this question. The first, that sinners become saints by obeying the Law. This is Legalism pure and simple. It is heresy of the most dangerous kind. All who really believe and act on it as the ground of their acceptance by God, will perish eternally. Second, others say that the Law is not binding on Christians because it has been …
Arthur W. Pink—The Law and the Saint

Paul's Journeys Acts 13:1-38:31
On this third journey he was already planning to go to Rome (Acts 19:21) and wrote an epistle to the Romans announcing his coming (Rom. 1:7, 15). +The Chief City+, in which Paul spent most of his time (Acts 19:1, 8, 10), between two and three years upon this journey, was Ephesus in Asia Minor. This city situated midway between the extreme points of his former missionary journeys was a place where Ephesus has been thus described: "It had been one of the early Greek colonies, later the capital …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

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