The incidents here narrated have been previously considered in their bearing on St. Paul's conversion. The apostle now repeats the story, with a definite purpose. He is on his defense, and he is striving to show that throughout his life he had been loyal to Judaism, and in the matters which men misrepresented he had but followed and obeyed special Divine directions given to him. He had visions and commands direct from God, and, as a Jew, he "dared not be disobedient unto the heavenly vision." Such a defense was most effective for his audience, as no true Jew would deny that Jehovah might choose any of his people for special service, and give them immediate visions and directions. So we find the people heard the apostle patiently until he referred to the "Gentiles," and then national jealousy and religious bigotry were aroused, and uncontrolled passion put St. Paul's life again in peril.

I. PERSONAL DIVINE REVELATIONS HAVE COME IN EVERY AGE. Distinguish between the ordinary inspirations which may direct a man's preaching and writing, and the special occasions on which God may tell his mind and purpose, or give some trust and some work to an individual. Such personal revelations do not necessarily affirm the superiority in character, or in Divine favor, of the person communicated with; but they always declare the Divine recognition of a special fitness and adaptation for the work assigned; and our attention should be fixed on the fitness and the work rather than on the privilege that may be involved in having such a trust. Illustrations of personal revelations may be taken from

(1) the patriarchal age;

(2) the times of the judges;

(3) the prophets. It should be shown how well the selection of individuals, and direct communication with them, fits in with the idea of a theocracy. God, as actual and ever-present Sovereign of the nation, has the right to ask for any man's service, and to address himself directly to whomsoever he pleases. And nothing is more reasonable than to expect he will do so. Coming to later times, we get illustration

(4) from John the Baptist;

(5) from the Lord Jesus Christ regarded as a man called to a special mission; and

(6) from the apostles, e.g. St. Peter in the matter of Cornelius. What is called the conversion of St. Paul, but is more properly his call, is a case in perfect harmony with all that had gone before in the history of the nation. The God of the fathers, Jehovah, the theocratic King, had, by a gracious manifestation of himself and of his will, called the apostle to his service. This was the sole and all-sufficient explanation of his life and conduct; and this became his entire defense - "A revelation from God, the God of my fathers, has come to me, and I must obey it." Compare the main argument of Stephen's speech, which is this - God has not only spoken to our own nation in the Mosaic system, he has spoken directly to individuals age after age, but it has always been characteristic of the Jewish nation that they have resisted these prophet-revealers of God's will. Theoretically, they would admit that God might send messages directly to individuals; practically, they refused to recognize such messengers. This was proved once again in the case of St. Paul.

II. PERSONAL DIVINE REVELATIONS MAY COME NOW. This truth it may be difficult for us to receive; and, indeed, it needs to be stated with careful limitations and qualifications. Under the ministration of the Spirit, and with the Spirit actually witnessing in our hearts, it would seem that we can expect no direct Divine communications. Yet they do surely come to open hearts. It may be shown that they are granted:

1. In the spheres of truth. We cannot conceive of finality in the written revelation we have, but we may be sure that all further revelations will be in perfect harmony with that we have. We may, however, rather look for new apprehensions of truth than new truth.

2. In the spheres of duty. In the perplexing circumstances of life, hearts that are really open to God, and dependent on him, do receive direct Divine guidance.

3. In the spheres of work. God still speaks directly to the souls of his servants, calling some to the missionary field, some to the ministry, some to service for the children, and some to philanthropic labors. And, still, none of us may be "disobedient unto the heavenly vision." - R.T.

I. SAUL'S MISDIRECTED ENERGY. The immense energy of the man is apparent to us at once.

1. Energy is a splendid trait in any man's character. It is great, and we love what is great. It is a grand thing to look upon the mighty sea, when the waves rise mountains high, and the great ocean breast is stirred with the wild commotion of the storm. There seems to be such Divine energy in it, and our hearts are filled with wonder and with awe as we gaze upon it. It makes us think of God. And it is a grand thing to see in a fellow man something of this great force of doing; a great soul full of active energy. We watch such a man battling his way through the host of opposing forces, overcoming every obstacle, trampling down every difficulty, until he reaches the point towards which he was striving. "There is energy," we say; and we admire it from our hearts. We can never admire a man who altogether lacks this force of character; who is idle and listless; who never seems to have a definite object in view; who is never struggling for anything.

2. A distinction must be drawn between lovable energy and unlovable noise and show. Intense energy is often intensely quiet.

3. And so, although it is a splendid thing to have energy of character, it is withal a very dangerous thing.

4. See the unutterable importance for energetic souls of wise and holy guidance during their early years.

5. Think, too, how sad must be the closing days of a man of strong character who has never yielded himself to God.

II. GOD'S METHOD OF CONVERTING SAUL'S MISDIRECTED ENERGY. He was converted by —

1. A vision of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:8).

2. Hearing the voice of Jesus.

III. THE ENERGETIC SOUL'S INQUIRY AFTER HIS CONVERSION — "What shall I do, Lord?"

(J. Kirk Pike.)

How orderly and exactly does Paul after so many years know how to relate all the circumstances! This is a proof not only that all things occurred when he was in the full possession of his faculties, but also that the grace which befel him made an indelible impression upon him. Certainly he who is snatched from death to life will never forget what the Lord has done.

(Apostolic Pastor.)

The bright light it casts upon the paths of our life. It illuminates —

1. The dark ways of sin which we have traversed.

2. The blessed ways of grace by which the Lord has come to us.

3. The Christian ways of duty in which we are to walk in the strength of the Lord.

(K. Gerok.)Paul's vision near Damascus: —

I. THE MATERIAL AND EXTERNAL.

1. The great light.

2. The appearance of Jesus Christ.

3. The voice that spoke.

II. THE INTERNAL AND SPIRITUAL.

1. The cardinal truth announced — "I am Jesus Christ," etc. The solemn remonstrance — "Why persecutest thou Me?" Paul had certain qualifications to be an excellent persecutor.

(1)Personal respectability.

(2)Learning and youth.

(3)Religious zeal.

III. THE APPOINTMENT TO A GRAND COMMISSION. To be —

1. An apostle.

2. A teacher.

(Caleb Morris.)

Note —

I. THAT MAN IS THE OBJECT OF DIVINE INSPECTION. Though Christ was now in heaven, yet His eye followed Saul. Little did Saul know that He whose name he endeavoured to blot from the earth not only marked his every footstep, but saw his every passing thought and feeling. That God knows all about man individually is obvious —

1. From His omniscience. He who sees all things, see each thing — the minute as well as the vast.

2. From history. Hagar in the wilderness, Jacob at Bethel, Elijah in the cave, and now Saul on his way to Damascus.

3. From the teachings of the Bible (Psalm 139; Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13). This solemn fact should make us serious, circumspect, devout.

II. THAT CHRIST IS THE ORIGINATOR OF MORAL REFORMATION. What now gave the turning point to Paul's life? The manifestation of Christ in the "light," the "voice," the address. Conversion does not originate with self; nor with the agency of man outside, but always with Christ. It is a resurrection. Who can raise the dead but He? It is a creation. Who can create but He? This fact agrees —

1. With the consciousness of the good. The good everywhere ascribe their goodness to Him. This is the burden of heaven's anthem.

2. With the teachings of Scripture. "Of His own will begat He us," etc. "When it pleased God to reveal His Son in me," etc.

III. THAT HUMILITY IS THE CONDITION OF HEAVENLY COMMUNION. Saul heard the voice of Jesus when he had fallen to the ground. Humility implies a deep sense of need, and without that the soul will never open its eye or ear to the Divine. We must take off the shoes from our feet, like Moses — fall to the dust, like Isaiah — smite our breast, like the publican, if we would hear what God has to say. "Unto that man will I look who is of a broken spirit," etc.

IV. THAT UNION WITH CHRIST IS THE PRIVILEGE OF THE GOOD. "Why persecutest thou Me?" So dear are His disciples to His heart, that their sufferings are His. He bears their infirmities, and carries their sorrows, even in heaven. They are "members of His body," and no part can be wounded without quivering to the sensorium (Matthew 25:40, 45).

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

as reflecting the image of every converted heart.

I. THE ZEAL AND STRIVING OF THE NATURAL HEART AND THE LORD'S VOICE. "Why persecutest thou Me?"

II. THE QUESTION OF THE OBSTINATE HEART. "Who art Thou, Lord?" and the Lord's answer, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."

III. THE QUESTION OF THE HUMBLED HEART. "What shall I do, Lord?" and the Lord's reply, "Arise," etc.

(Gerlach.)

is like, entirely and wholly refitting an old ship, and employing it in the service of a new and better master. By nature, a man is full of vanity, sailing under the colours of the world. Now, when Christ meets a man, and apprehends him in conversion, He takes him off all the ends he had in himself, takes possession of the ship, puts in a new pilot, a new compass, and turns its prow another way; and all the lading the ship contains which He dislikes, He throws overboard, and fills it with a better cargo.

(G. S. Bowes, B. A.)

None of the fanciful transformations of which Ovid sang of old could ever rival the matchless work of God when He displays His power upon the human mind. Oh, what a difference between a sinner and a saint! between "dead in trespasses and sins," and quickened by Divine grace! If God should speak to Niagara, and bid its floods in their tremendous leap suddenly stand still, that were a trifling demonstration of power compared with the staying of a desperate human will. If He should suddenly speak to the broad Atlantic, and bid it be wrapped in flames, we should not even then see such a manifestation of His greatness as when He commands the human heart, and makes it submissive to His love.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

Conversion is no repairing of the old building; but it takes all down, and erects a new structure. It is not the putting in a patch, or sewing on a list of holiness; but, with the true convert, holiness is woven into all his powers, principles, and practice. The sincere Christian is quite a new fabric — from the foundation to the top stone all new. He is a new man, a new creature. All things are becoming new. Conversion is a deep work, a heart work; it turns all upside down, and makes a man be in a new world. It goes throughout with men — throughout the mind, throughout the members, throughout the motions of the whole life.

(R. Alleine.)

When grace subdues a rebel man, if I may so speak, the citadel first is taken, afterwards the city. It is not as in those great sieges which we have lately watched with such anxious interest. There, approaching with his brigades and cavalry and artillery, man sits down outside the city. He begins the attack from a distance, creeping like a lion to the spring, with trench and parallel and battery, nearer and nearer to the walls. These at length are breached; the gates are blown open; through the deadly gap the red, living tide rolls in. Fighting from bastion to bastion, from street to street, they pass onward to the citadel; and there, giving no quarter, and receiving none, beneath a defiant flag, the rebels, perhaps, stand by their guns, prolonging a desperate resistance. But, when the appointed hour of conversion comes, Christ descends by His spirit into the heart — at once into the heart. The heart won, she fights her way outward from a new heart on to new habits. A change without succeeds the change within.

(T. Guthrie, D. D.)

I. HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE HERE UNITED IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST. The Saviour here identifies Himself with the world which He had left, calling Himself by His human name, and associating with it the Galilean village where He lived. The name which was His reproach here has gone with Him to His heavenly throne.

II. JESUS OF NAZARETH IS LORD OF HEAVEN. Saul gave Him this title, and He accepts it as His right. Two things especially engendered the conviction that He was Lord while on earth: His miracles (John 9:36) and His teaching, both from its matter (John 6:38) and manner (Matthew 7:29). The miraculous light which shone forth upon Saul, with the rebuke of authority which accompanied it, convinced him of the dignity of the Person who addressed him.

III. BECAUSE THE LORD OF HEAVEN IS JESUS OF NAZARETH, HE HAS A SPECIAL SYMPATHY WITH HIS PEOPLE'S WRONGS. The sympathy of Jesus arises not merely from His having while on earth passed through human suffering: His vital connection with His Church as its Head (Ephesians 5:23) makes Him now a sharer in their sufferings for Him. Lessons:

1. The powerlessness of death to destroy conscious identity. Christ has passed through death, yet is still "Jesus of Nazareth."

2. The place where we have honestly toiled in this world will be remembered by us in the next. The carpenter's shop at Nazareth was as much a part of the Saviour's education (Hebrews 5:8) as His after experience. So is the scene of our lowliest work.

3. It is dangerous to harm a Christian, seeing his intimate relation with the Lord of glory.

4. The gentleness of the Saviour's reproof of this bitter persecutor may encourage any who mourn over their past opposition.

(W. Harris.)

This is the name by which our ascended Saviour would be remembered. It contains the gospel of condescension. Nazareth was our Lord's early home, and remained His common abode until His personal ministry began. He might well say to startled Saul, "I am Jesus of Nazareth," for with no other point on earth had He so close and continued associations. Twenty-one times was He styled Jesus of Nazareth — by His enemies in the garden, and in the Judgment Hall; by the people generally; by His disciples, both during His lifetime and after; by the angels at the sepulchre; by devils; yea, by Himself. We shall find in His name —

I. PRECIOUS DOCTRINE.

1. The identity of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth in heaven was unchanged from what He was below. But when you add to this the ability which He claimed on high to dispense the blessings received of the Father, how does the assurance of His sameness bridge the distance between earth and heaven!

2. The influence of His Nazareth experience upon His present condition. All the things through which He passed have made Him in the skies far different from that before His birth in Bethlehem. Before He was with God, then He was Emmanuel, God with us. Now is He with God and God with us; bringing God near unto each disciple, and bringing every disciple near to God. He had the crowns of creation, of providence, of kingly control, before He wore the crown of thorns; but in the redemption of man Jesus holds the sovereignty. The centre of all worship is a Nazarene, who has been exalted by the Father because of His Nazareth experience.

3. The basis of His work on high is His Nazareth experience. Whilst resting in triumph, He does not forget Nazareth. The least and the lowest are as much His care as the proudest and the most princely. An identity of experience has given a new, deep meaning to the word "sympathy." But more, His qualifications, His plea in intercession, is in Nazareth. Our Advocate with the Father: "Jesus Christ the righteous," and His righteousness was wrought out in the Nazareth life. Even so His kingly, His prophetical, His sustaining, His comforting offices are based upon this one experience which He sums up in the word "Nazareth." Nazareth has long since become a ruin, but it is remembered in heaven.

II. PERSONAL INSTRUCTION. Doctrine is worthless unless it comes down to life. It is bread; let the poor man eat it. Stop talking about its chemistry. It is a house; the storm overtakes one while the admiring critic is telling about its architecture. Open the door and let the man in to the well-spread table. The true theologian is the living Christian. Here we have —

1. A warning to persecutors. "I am Jesus of Nazareth." The wisdom and the hatred of men are this day in league against the Nazarene. An exalted Saviour, Himself maintaining a plea for men, is that which proud unbelief cannot endure. But let such listen. God hath thus exalted Him, and those who oppose Him will find it hard, as Saul did, "to kick against the pricks." It will be hard in thy conscience; it will be hard, growingly hard, in thy experience; it will be harder for thee by and by.

2. Great comfort in perplexity. It is a perfect key to every lock of the Dungeon of Despair. It makes a full provision for every anxiety of the Christian. Art thou ignorant? — Jesus of Nazareth is thy Teacher. Art thou weak? — He is thy Strength. Art thou fearful? — He is thy Power. Art thou tempted? — He is thy Defender. Has the hour of death come? — now thou enterest into life. Tell me some want of the soul for which this Nazarene Jesus does not present Himself as a specific!

3. Assurance of our partnership in His triumph. The Head carries with Him the members. Where our Forerunner has entered, there shall everyone who trusts Him and loves Him at last appear.

(S. H. Tyng, D. D. , jun.)

Christ was in heaven when He spoke those words, and they were addressed to Saul on his way to Damascus. Nazareth was the early home of Jesus. Though not born there, yet there He was brought up.

I. That a change of worlds does not destroy the PERSONAL IDENTITY OF MAN. Christ had died, ascended to heaven, and yet He says, "I am Jesus of Nazareth"; I am the same Being that was brought up in Nazareth. Sublimely encouraging to us is it that Jesus, who was here on earth, so full of tenderness and love, is the same Jesus now in heaven. Nor does the change of worlds destroy the identity of men. Abraham is the same as when he dwelt in the tents of Mature. A man once, a man forever. Conscious personality will always be preserved. The words suggest —

II. That great natures are NEVER ASHAMED OF THEIR ORIGIN, HOWEVER HUMBLE. "Jesus of Nazareth!" "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Christ, though amidst the highest aristocracy of the Creator, was not ashamed of His origin.

III. That the meanest spots on earth, when they become the SCENES OF HOLY LIVES, ARE FAMOUS IN THE UNIVERSE. "I am Jesus of Nazareth." No doubt sainted men talk of the varied scenes of their earthly life in the upper spheres of being.

(Homilist.)

(Text in conjunction with Acts 9:7). —

The sights and sounds of life: — The little discrepancy between the occurrence as given by Luke in chap. Acts 9, and as stated by the apostle here, instead of invalidating, confirms the authenticity of the accounts. Identity of statement by two different individuals, after an interval of about twenty-five years, might justly awaken serious suspicion of collusion. You have here two things —

1. A voice heard by all, but understood only by Paul. The voice vibrated on the ears of his companions, and so shocked their nervous system that they fell "speechless"; but it conveyed no idea. Whereas it conveyed a wonderful message deep into Paul's soul.

2. A light seen by all, but revealing nothing except to Paul. It was mere dazzling brightness. But in that radiance "The Lord, even Jesus, appeared unto" Paul. Now, this extraordinary circumstance indicates what is common in human life. Everywhere there are men, hearing the same voice, but receiving different impressions; seeing the same lights, but observing different objects. A "voice" fraught with deep meaning to some, is mere empty sound to others. A "light" revealing the grandest realities to some, discloses nothing to others.

I. MEN'S LIVES IN RELATION TO MATERIAL NATURE SHOWS THIS.

1. The "lights" of nature, to the thoughtless, reveal just what they reveal to the brute, and nothing more. To the superstitious they reveal hosts of unearthly existences, dreaded as demons or worshipped as gods; to the sceptical philosopher nothing but a system of forces, working by its own inherent impulse; to the Christian, a wise and loving Father.

2. The "voices" of nature convey to some nothing but mere sensation, to others superstitious awe, to others scientific intelligence, to others thoughts from God Himself.

II. MEN'S LIVES IN RELATION TO HUMAN HISTORY SHOW THIS. To some history —

1. Is without any governing law at all. Its social, mercantile, political movements are ascribed only to blind impulse and capricious passions. There is no law seen shaping or systematising the whole.

2. Has only the governing law of human might, viz., that the strong preys upon the weak. The progress and decline of commerce, the rise and fall of empires, the fate of many battles, are all ascribable to superior strength.

3. Is governed exclusively by evil. The devil is absolutely the god of the human world. He is in the schemes of the trader, the thunders of the orator, the edicts of the despot, the craft of the priest, the rage of the warrior.

4. Is governed by the mediatorial plan of God. The restorative purpose of Heaven, as revealed in the Bible, is seen running through the ages, stimulating, shaping, and subordinating all things. Even the bitterest sufferings of humanity are regarded as parturition throes giving birth to a higher order of things.

III. MEN'S LIVES IN RELATION TO THE INSPIRED ORACLE SHOW THIS. Ecclesiastical history, theological polemics, religious life, are fraught with illustrations. The sceptic and the believer, the Papist and the Protestant, the Calvinist and the Pelagian, the Socinian and the Trinitarian, the Churchman and the Nonconformist, are examples as to how the same "light" and "voice" of the one Book affect different men. What is the articulate voice of God to one is mere hollow sound to another. And what is "a light" to one is either darkness or stupefying brightness to another.

IV. MEN'S LIVES IN RELATION TO THE GOSPEL MINISTRY SHOW THIS. The sermon which, as a Divine "voice," speaks to the conscience of some, has no meaning to others; or which, as Divine "light," flashes moral conviction and reveals Christ to some, is either not seen at all, or regarded as a mere glare of human genius or blaze of human enthusiasm. Conclusion: This subject —

1. Reveals a distinguishing attribute of human nature. Men have the power of hearing and seeing with the soul, which brutes have not. Ezekiel, Isaiah, John, Milton, etc., show what men can see with the organs of the soul. "The pure in heart shall see God."

2. Explains the great difference between spiritually and carnally-minded men.

3. Presents an object after which all should strive. Each should get the eyes and ears of the soul quickened so as to see and hear the Divine everywhere. When the servant of Elisha had his eye and ear open, he saw and heard the supernatural. So it will be with us.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

Ananias, Gamaliel, Paul, Saul, StephenCilicia, Damascus, Jerusalem, Nazareth, TarsusAttacking, Cruelly, Ears, Fell, Ground, Persecute, Persecutest, Persecuting, Saul, Saying, Voice1. Paul declares how he was converted to the faith,
17. and called to his apostleship.
22. At the very mentioning of the Gentiles the people exclaim on him.
24. He would have been scourged;
25. but claiming the privilege of a Roman, he escapes.

Acts 22:3-8

     8497   witnessing, approaches

Acts 22:3-16

     5108   Paul, life of

Acts 22:3-21

     5944   self-defence
     8820   self-confidence

Acts 22:6-8

     6756   union with Christ, significance

Acts 22:6-11

     6629   conversion, examples

Acts 22:6-16

     5109   Paul, apostle

Acts 22:7-8

     2545   Christ, opposition to
     2570   Christ, suffering

Acts 22:7-9

     5196   voice

Rome Protects Paul
'And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance; 18. And saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me. 19. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on Thee: 20. And when the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Paul on his Own Conversion
'And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why perseoutest thou Me? 8. And I answered, Who art Thou, Lord? And He said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me. 10. And I said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Being Easily Entreated
Not long since I saw in the report of a meeting a statement something like this: "The brethren were easily entreated, and so all personal difficulties were easily settled." One of the greatest problems that ministers meet and one that requires the most patience and wisdom is the problem of settling personal difficulties. These difficulties are often found existing between those professing to be Christians. And sometimes they are very hard to get settled. There is just one reason for this: those involved …
Charles Wesley Naylor—Heart Talks

Some Scriptures for Daily Practise.
If we seek God earnestly in the prayer of faith to help us in our daily practise of the following Scriptural texts and then put forth our best efforts, we shall find life daily growing more holy and beautiful. The beauty and enjoyment of a holy life is that it can always be improved upon. We can live in all the light that shines upon us from these texts today, but tomorrow we find them shining a little brighter and fuller light, so that we shall have to live a little more holy than we are living …
C. E. Orr—How to Live a Holy Life

What is God's Will?
"The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will."--ACTS xxii. 14. WE resume to-day a subject, the thread of which has been broken by the interval of a few Sabbaths--the subject of the Will of God. Already we have tried to learn two lessons:-- (1) That the end of our life is to do the will of God. (2) That this was the end of Christ's life. It will help to recall what has gone before if we compare this with another definition of the end of life with which we are all familiar. …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

Beyond the Brightness of the Sun
T. P. Acts xxii. 11 I was journeying in the noontide, When His light shone o'er my road; And I saw Him in that glory-- Saw Him--Jesus, Son of God. All around, in noonday splendour, Earthly scenes lay fair and bright; But my eyes no more behold them For the glory of that light. Others in the summer sunshine Wearily may journey on, I have seen a light from heaven, Past the brightness of the sun-- Light that knows no cloud, no waning, Light wherein I see His Face, All His love's uncounted treasures, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Early Life the Place of Paul +The Man
STUDY I EARLY LIFE THE PLACE OF PAUL +The Man, Paul,+ judged by the influence he has exerted in the world, is one of the greatest characters in all history. He is pre-eminent not only as a missionary, but as a marvelous thinker and writer. "He was a personality of vast power, force, and individuality." There are some men who seem to be born and prepared to do a large work for the world; Paul makes the impression upon those who carefully read the record of his life that he stands first in this class …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

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

Jesus the Guest of Martha and Mary.
(Bethany, Near Jerusalem.) ^C Luke X. 38-42. ^c 38 Now as they went on their way [he was journeying through Judæa, attended by the twelve], he entered into a certain village [It was the village of Bethany (John xi. 1), which was on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem]: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet, and heard his word. [Sitting at the feet was the ancient …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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

Divine Calls.
"And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel; Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth."--1 Samuel iii. 10. In the narrative of which these words form part, we have a remarkable instance of a Divine call, and the manner in which it is our duty to meet it. Samuel was from a child brought to the house of the Lord; and in due time he was called to a sacred office, and made a prophet. He was called, and he forthwith answered the call. God said, "Samuel, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Baptism, a Divinely Appointed Means of Grace.
When we inquire into the benefits and blessings which the Word of God connects with baptism, we must be careful to obtain the true sense and necessary meaning of its declarations. It is not enough to pick out an isolated passage or two, give them a sense of our own, and forthwith build on them a theory or doctrine. In this way the Holy Scriptures have been made to teach and support the gravest errors and most dangerous heresies. In this way, many persons "wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction." …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Prodigal Son.
"And he said, A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

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

How to Make Use of Christ for Cleansing of us from Our Daily Spots.
Having spoken of the way of making use of Christ for removing the guilt of our daily transgressions, we come to speak of the way of making use of Christ, for taking away the guilt that cleaveth to the soul, through daily transgressions; "for every sin defileth the man," Matt. xv. 20; and the best are said to have their spots, and to need washing, which presupposeth filthiness and defilement, Eph. v. 27. John xiii. 8-10. Hence we are so oft called to this duty of washing and making us clean. Isa. …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Nature of Justification
Justification in the active sense (iustificatio, {GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA}) is defined by the Tridentine Council as "a translation from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

The Birth of Jesus Proclaimed by Angels to the Shepherds.
(Near Bethlehem, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke II. 8-20. ^c 8 And there were shepherds in the same country [they were in the same fields from which David had been called to tend God's Israel, or flock] abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. [When the flock is too far from the village to lead it to the fold at night, these shepherds still so abide with it in the field, even in the dead of winter.] 9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them [He stood upon the earth at their side, and did …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1 Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Eternally He is this because He is "the express image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory and spake of Him" …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Of Baptism.
1. Baptism defined. Its primary object. This consists of three things. 1. To attest the forgiveness of sins. 2. Passages of Scripture proving the forgiveness of sins. 3. Forgiveness not only of past but also of future sins. This no encouragement to license in sin. 4 Refutation of those who share forgiveness between Baptism and Repentance. 5 Second thing in Baptism--viz. to teach that we are ingrafted into Christ for mortification and newness of life. 6. Third thing in Baptism--viz. to teach us that …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Jews Make all Ready for the War; and Simon, the Son of Gioras, Falls to Plundering.
1. And thus were the disturbances of Galilee quieted, when, upon their ceasing to prosecute their civil dissensions, they betook themselves to make preparations for the war with the Romans. Now in Jerusalem the high priest Artanus, and do as many of the men of power as were not in the interest of the Romans, both repaired the walls, and made a great many warlike instruments, insomuch that in all parts of the city darts and all sorts of armor were upon the anvil. Although the multitude of the young …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

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