These words were some of those addressed by Peter to a crowd of wondering and admiring spectators, and of attentive hearers also. These were gathered for him by the fret of the man whom he had delivered from his lameness resolving to cleave as long as he could to the side of his deliverer. The "common people" did on this occasion gladly hear Peter, as formerly they gladly were wont to hear his Master and their own. We are grateful to be able to recall these circumstances and this connection of the text; because on certain other occasions Peter, Stephen, and Paul, and many a time Jesus himself, had to refer to the ancestry of the Jews in order to point severest reproof and condemnation unrelieved. But it is not so now. Reproof and condemnation are only partly aimed at here. We have here -

I. A WORD OF REMINDING IN DUE SEASON. The office of reminding may seem but an humble one. But how true the friend sometimes who undertakes it - who waits not for some grand occasion of instructing, of informing you of what you did not know, or of charming you with the latest discoveries of science or applications of art, but who simply brings afresh to your thought what you had long known! Conscience is such a friend when we will listen to it. It does not teach what is new, but does remind and remonstrate. God's Holy Ghost is such a Friend when you will listen to him. He both reveals the new and brings to remembrance the old, specially those dear old words, of priceless value, of Jesus. The written and spoken Word of God is such a friend. How many of its messages are but the pronounced repetitions of your own reason, experience! They are your own judgment and observation, now ushered in with all the added impressiveness that comes from the "endorsement" of the Divine page and pen. And now Peter tells his hearers no new thing. They had long ago known it, and had built much upon it. They built, though too ignorantly, large part of their hopes of salvation upon their being the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their trust was in the covenant God made with Abraham. Their great charter was "Moses and the prophets." But had it not often come to this, that they eagerly remembered their boasted rights but kept a poor memory for their duties? They would enforce their claims, ignore the correlative demands upon themselves, long more than due! "We have Abraham to our father," was their ever-ready cry; yet they had "killed the prophets," and "stoned them that were sent to them," and had "crucified the Prince of life." "Of him," says Peter, "all the prophets spoke," from Moses the greatest, and Samuel the second greatest. And surely you won't forget that "you are the children of those prophets," and won't consent to act unworthily of that relationship! Was not this a word of reminding in due season? And was it not put very kindly by Peter to his congregation? Perhaps all the same tone of thought, all the same suggestion for memories, awake enough at the point of rights and claims, but that fade at the point of duty and responsibility, characterizes to a very large degree the present day. Men do not forget they are Englishmen; they do not forget to boast their freedom. Are they touched in one of these or the like respects, they resent it as though the apple of their eye was touched. But they forget they are the children of those who got these things for them "through much tribulation;" who fought, suffered, died, for their privileges. They forget they are the children of Reformers and Protestants, who "resisted even unto blood," and for conscience' sake were burned at the stake; that they are children of those who loved, spake, and did the truth, cost what it might. It was a very effective point which Peter made when, viewing it as a kindly reminder, he said, "Ye are the children of the prophets."

II. A WORD CONCEIVED IN THE VEIN OF REBUKE. While it is not at all necessary to construe the text as the language of stern rebuke, yet it may imply some rebuke. And this deserves rebuke, when men are so willing to touch human life at all its points of contact with pleasure, self-interest, honor, privilege, but are so very shy of it at its points of contact with duty, effort, sacrifice. With the many, the strongest bent, deepest inclination of their life is still but what they can get and have, what they can say or think to the advantage of themselves. The choice is a mournfully sorry one, when it is considered to what it comes. For its one-sidedness it earns rebuke. For its cowardice it earns rebuke. For its certain unprofitableness it earns rebuke. And not least does it earn rebuke because of its higher opportunities forfeited, and nobler passions and principles wasted and alienated. The harvest is too surely reaped, of disappointment, vanity, and vexation of spirit, or self-stricken darkness itself. But let some one begin life from the diametrically opposite standpoint. Let him accept the theory that life is for duty, that it is responsible for the vaster advantages with which it began than those with which it was begun by preceding generations, that it calls for work more strenuous, and sacrifice more willing, and self-surrender more entire by very virtue of the honor and advantage it has drawn from its own forefathers; and that life is shaped for high ends. It will not fail of real fruitfulness; it will not expire, a sorrow and a shame. The gentle suggestive rebuke couched in the text touches the essential difference between two such lives. You are not the children of possession, and of ease, and of the "rest and be thankful" school; you are the descendants of a nobler strenuous, solemn race. They had large brains, they had bone and muscle about them, sinew and nerve were firm and firmly tied, and their heart was capacious. Ay, to other sort men ofttimes prefer to trace their lineage; but to this sort, the kindly rebuke of Peter, of the Word and Spirit of God, of his providence, and of our own conscience, should oftener turn us and our ambition.

III. A WORD EQUIVALENT TO A STIRRING SUMMONS FOR A PEOPLE OF EXTRAORDINARY DIGNITY AND PRIVILEGE. It will be granted that the Jews were such a people. Yet, with all their honor and splendor, their unique religious privileges, and their preeminent political prestige, it must be allowed that they show but a faint type of ourselves. They rose to a pinnacle of national greatness, and great was their fall; but it was no mystery. The beginning of it was plain, the course of it was plain. It was often pointed out by priest, prophet, preacher, and by that man of the people themselves, who "was an Israelite indeed." Yet they wrought their own downfall, and cruelly undermined their own proud position, because they lost ear, heart, and pride for that which was their glory, and to its announcement greatly preferred to sound their own trumpet. But were there ever heirs like ourselves? Was there ever an heritage like ours? Of what prophets are we the children, when we think of the accumulations of knowledge, of conviction, of attestations of God's existence, providence, government, revelation, which the stream of time has been bearing down, richest freights to our shores? In such sense we are children of no obscure parentage, "citizens of no mean city, owning to a history of unsurpassed significance. Ages and centuries of the past bend their surprised gaze upon us; they compass us about with clouds of witnesses. And when the gentle reminding is passed, and the suggested rebuke seems to fail, one thing only remains - impassioned appeal, a summons that must wake all but those who are securely dead. Live we, then, worthily of our antecedents, mindful of our responsibilities as heirs of such a past. Let us flee from unfaithfulness, and. scorn the seductions of ease and luxury. Let us purge ourselves from vanity, per verseness, and serf. Let us pray for a divinely opened eye, mind, heart. And show by God's grace that we have not forgotten, but on the contrary do make it our business to remember, whose "children we are." - B.

I. ALL WHO HAVE BEEN DEDICATED TO GOD BY BELIEVING PARENTS, ARE CHILDREN OF THE COVENANT which God has made with their parents, and especially with Abraham, the great father of the faithful.

1. The blessings of the covenant with Abraham were all included in three great promises. The first was, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed"; the second, "To thee and to thy seed will I give this land"; the third, "I will be .a God to thee and to thy seed after thee." Of these promises the first was made to Abraham as an individual, and as the ancestor of the Messiah, and we have nothing to do with it, except to receive the Saviour whose coming it reveals. The second was made to Abraham, considered as the progenitor of the Jewish nation; and this promise also has been fulfilled, and we have no concern with it, only so far as it has a typical reference to the heavenly Canaan. The third promise was made to Abraham, considered as a believer, in covenant with God; as the great father of the faithful, or of all who should believe with a faith similar to His own. Of this covenant circumcision was the seal which answers to our baptism.

2. And now the question is, Are the baptized children of professed believers, like the Jews, born in covenant, and stand in the same relation to God? Notice —(1) It is frequently predicted that the Gentiles should be brought into covenant with God. Thus in Hosea, God says, "I will call them My people which were not My people." This passage is quoted by St. Paul, to prove our point, and in Isaiah the Jewish Church is assured that the Gentiles shall come to her light, that they shall come bringing her children in their arms, and that these shall supply the place of the children whom she had lost.(2) We learn from many passages in the New Testament, that all these promises were fulfilled. We are there told that Abraham is the father of all who believe, that the blessing of Abraham has come upon the Gentiles; that all who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Now one of the privileges which Abraham enjoyed, was the liberty of bringing his children into covenant with God, and one of the promises which was made to him was, "I will be a God to thy seed after thee." If, then, Christians are Abraham's heirs, they also have the same privilege; and God's language to every Christian parent is the same. It appears, then, that Christians stand in the same place, which was formerly occupied by the Jews; we take up what they laid down; we receive the privileges and blessings which they forfeited; and therefore if their children were in covenant with God, so, my Christian friends, are ours. This conclusion is confirmed by St. Paul when he says, "If the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches," i.e., relatively, holy as being dedicated to God in the ordinance of baptism.

II. If these truths have been established, it follows, THAT WE ARE AUTHORISED TO ADDRESS EVERY BAPTIZED CHILD OF BELIEVING PARENTS IN THE LANGUAGE OF OUR TEXT. To all such, then, I say, To you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, hath sent Him to bless you, etc.

1. One of the privileges which the Jews enjoyed in consequence of being children of the covenant was, the enjoyment of the first offer of salvation. Thus, when Christ commissioned His disciples to preach the gospel, he charged them to begin at Jerusalem. This command the apostles strictly observed. They preached the gospel at first, we are told, to none but the Jews only; and St. Paul, addressing the Jews at Antioch, says, It was needful that the gospel of Christ should first be preached to you. So now God sends the offer of salvation first to the children of believing parents. In this respect He acts as a wise earthly prince would do. Were such a prince disposed to confer distinguishing favours, he would doubtless offer them to the children of his obedient subjects, who had sworn allegiance to him before he offered them to the children of rebels or strangers. Now your parents have sworn allegiance to God, and engaged to use all their influence to induce you to do the same. In token of their readiness to do this, they have solemnly and publicly dedicated you to God; and He has so far accepted this dedication, that He now sends you the first offer of pardon and salvation through His Son. At the same time He can confer these blessings upon you only by turning you from your iniquities; for so long as you cleave to them, it is impossible that Christ should bless or prove a blessing to you. At the same time you cannot be turned from your iniquities but by your own consent. Christ's language to you is, "Turn ye at My reproof, and I will pour out My Spirit upon you, I will make known My words unto you. Come ye out from the ungodly world, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and be a Father to you, and ye shall be My sons and My daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

2. And now I ask every baptized person what answer will you return to these invitations? While you were infants, God permitted your parents to act for you; but now you must act for yourselves, and stand or fall by your own choice. And what is that choice? Will you take your parents' God to be your God? Will you take upon yourselves that covenant which they have made in your behalf, and perform its duties, that you may enjoy its blessings? Will you receive Christ as all must do who would receive power from Him to become the children of God? and as a proof of your willingness to receive Him, will you turn from your iniquities, and renounce all sinful pleasures and pursuits?

3. Permit me to suggest some considerations which may induce you to return such an answer us your duty and happiness require.(1) You are this day to determine whether God or the world shall be your portion, whether Christ or Satan shall be your king. One of these masters you must serve, but not both.(2) The choice you make will make a complete discovery of your true characters. If you choose to persist in pursuing worldly objects, it will prove that you are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; nay, that you are irreconcilably God's enemies, and that the tears, entreaties, and example of your parents cannot induce you to love Him.(3) Your choice is to be made for eternity. You are not to choose whether you will serve sin and Satan in this world, and God in the next; but whether you will be the slaves of sin, and, of course, the enemies of God for ever.(4) Your choice will decide, not only your character, but your doom. You must receive the wages of that master whom you choose to serve.

4. Will you, by your conduct, say to all about you, I am a wretch so totally devoid of goodness, that I prefer the world to God, hell to heaven?(1) If so, surely your guilt will be no common guilt; for you can make no excuse. You cannot even plead ignorance; for you have lived in pious families, and had a religious education. You reject a known, and not an unknown God. After seeing the difference between a life of religion and a life of sin, you deliberately choose the latter. Nay, more, you reject not only God, but your parents' God; you violate not only the obligations which all His creatures are under to love and serve Him, but the peculiar obligations which result from your baptismal dedication to God. In addition to this, you will be guilty of the most inexcusable ingratitude. In giving you pious parents, God has conferred on you one of the greatest blessings which He could bestow. And will you requite Him for this favour by practically saying, I regret that my parents were pious, or that they dedicated me to God?(2) If so, remember that as your guilt will be no common guilt, so your punishment will be no common punishment. How awfully aggravated it will be, you may learn from the terrible threatenings denounced against the unbelieving Jews who, like you, were children of the covenant. Christ declares that the very heathen will rise up against them in the day of judgment and condemn them. They who know their Lord's will and do it not shall be beaten with many stripes. And will you then, by refusing to turn from your iniquities, pull down upon yourselves this terrible fate? Shall all the prayers and exertions of your parents only serve to increase your condemnation? Shall the baptismal water, with which you have been sprinkled, be converted into drops of liquid fire? You are like Capernaum, raised, as it were, to heaven by your privileges. Will you, by abusing or neglecting them, be yourselves cast down to hell — to the lowest hell? And now I wait for your reply.

III. WHAT ANSWER SHALL I RETURN TO HIM THAT SENT ME, TO HIM WHO SENDS HIS SON TO BLESS YOU in turning away every one of you from your iniquities? I suspect that most of you will return no direct answer, but plead for time to deliberate, for a little longer delay. But this cannot be granted. You have already delayed too long. The Jewish children were required to partake of the passover, and appear before God at the solemn feasts, as soon as they arrived at a proper age; and this, as we learn from our Saviour's example, was the age of twelve years. If they refused or delayed to comply, they were doomed to be cut off from the people; to lose for ever the privileges which they slighted. Now a large proportion of those whom I am addressing, have not only reached, but overpast this period of life. You ought then long since to have embraced the Saviour, and thus have become prepared to appear at the table of Christ, who, the apostle tells us, is our passover that was sacrificed for us. Already you are liable to be cut off for ever from His people, in consequence of delaying to receive Him; and will you then talk of a longer delay? God's language to you is, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." "To-day, if ye will hear My voice," etc. I cannot but fear that some are still delaying a reply, and saying to the preacher as Felix did to Paul, "Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season I will call for thee." But, my friends, I cannot depart without a direct and decided answer. Indeed, if you persist in delaying, I have one; for, in this case, to delay is to refuse. Beware lest there be among you any profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright; for ye know how that afterwards, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, and found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Conclusion: It was my duty first to offer Christ to others. This duty I have discharged, and am now at liberty to make the same offer to you. Your heavenly Father is more careful for your happiness than even your earthly parents. They refused or neglected to give you to Him in your infancy, but He has provided a Saviour, through whom you may present yourselves to Him and be accepted, The Gentiles accepted Christ, when the children of the covenant rejected Him. Will you then imitate their example? Will you give yourselves to that God whom the children of the covenant neglect? Will you accept the privileges which they despise? If so, the blessing of Abraham will come upon you and your families, as it has on thousands of the Gentiles; and God will make with you aa everlasting covenant, as He did with him, to be a God to you.

(E. Payson, D. D.)

The life of Samuel manifests —

I. A HOLY CHILDHOOD Four things conduced to this.

1. A mother's prayers.

2. Dedication to God.

3. A Divine message.

4. Acceptance of the heavenly call.

II. A NOBLE MANHOOD.

1. He was a champion for God. God's service is ennobling.

2. He was an instrument of God.

(1)An instrument of defence to the people.

(2)An instrument of vengeance, soul, etc.

(3)An instrument of instruction.

3. He was a king maker and governor.

III. A USEFUL END. The great man often does as much in his death as in his life. Samuel, in the solemn moments of his end —

1. Vindicated his life. Not in egotism, but as an example.

2. Reasoned with and admonished the people. He urged them to serve the Lord.

IV. A HAPPY DEATH. He had served God in life. God honoured him in death, and he went to his reward. Here we see the steps to happiness. Mothers, much of your child's future rests on you. Childhood, how important is your training! A useful life and a happy death follow this.

(Homilist.)

Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, John, Peter, Pilate, Samuel, SolomonBeautiful Gate, Nazareth, Solomon's ColonnadeAgreement, Appointed, Blessed, Blessing, Covenant, Families, Fathers, Forefathers, Heirs, Kindreds, Offspring, Peoples, Posterity, Prophets, Saying, Seed, Sons1. Peter preaching to the people that came to see a lame man restored to his feet,
12. professes the cure to have been wrought by God, and his son Jesus;
13. withal reprehending them for crucifying Jesus;
17. which because they did it through ignorance,
18. and that thereby were fulfilled God's determinate counsel, and the Scriptures,
19. he exhorts them by repentance and faith to seek remission of their sins through Jesus.

Acts 3:25

     1348   covenant, with Abraham
     5078   Abraham, significance
     5701   heir
     6214   participation, in Christ
     6682   mediation
     7949   mission, of Israel
     8214   confidence, basis of

Acts 3:1-26

     7469   temple, Herod's

Acts 3:11-26

     7755   preaching, importance

Acts 3:19-26

     8466   reformation

Acts 3:21-26

     5467   promises, divine

Acts 3:22-25

     6708   predestination

Acts 3:23-26

     1340   consistency

Acts 3:24-26

     5048   opportunities, and salvation

Acts 3:25-26

     1335   blessing
     1352   covenant, the new
     2540   Christ, genealogy

March 19 Morning
God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in the turning away every one of you from his iniquities.--ACTS 3:26. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercies hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.--Saved by his life. Our Saviour Jesus Christ . . . who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.--As …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Healing Power of the Name
'And His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.' --ACTS iii. 16. Peter said, 'Why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?' eagerly disclaiming being anything else than a medium through which Another's power operated. Jesus Christ said, 'That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Servant of the Lord
'Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, In turning away every one of you from his iniquities.' --ACTS iii. 26. So ended Peter's bold address to the wondering crowd gathered in the Temple courts around him, with his companion John and the lame man whom they had healed. A glance at his words will show how extraordinarily outspoken and courageous they are. He charges home on his hearers the guilt of Christ's death, unfalteringly proclaims His Messiahship, bears witness …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

'Then Shall the Lame Man Leap as an Hart'
'Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3. Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms. 4. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, Look on us. 5. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

'The Prince of Life'
'But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15. And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.' --ACTS iii. 14, 15. This early sermon of Peter's, to the people, is marked by a comparative absence of the highest view of Christ's person and work. It is open to us to take one of two explanations of that fact. We may either say that the Apostle was but learning the full significance of the marvellous events that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Watching the Horizon
"Thy Kingdom Come." "Thou art coming! We are waiting With a hope that cannot fail; Asking not the day or hour, Resting on Thy word of power, Anchored safe within the veil. Time appointed may be long, But the vision must be sure: Certainty shall make us strong, Joyful patience must endure. "O the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honour, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord! Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned! …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 1 "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: And when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: For they shall be comforted." Matt. 5:1-4. 1. Our Lord had now "gone about all Galilee," (Matt. 4:23, ) beginning at the time "when John was cast into prison," (Matt. 4:12, ) not only "teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Apostolic Exhortation
It is noteworthy that Peter, in addressing this crowd, came at once to the very essence and bowels of his message. He did not beat the bush; he did not shoot his arrow far afield, but he hit the very centre of the target. He preached not merely the gospel of good news, but Christ, the person of Christ; Christ crucified--crucified by them, Christ risen, Christ glorified of his Father. Depend upon it, this is the very strength of the Christian ministry, when it is saturated with the name and person …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 14: 1868

Gladden -- the Prince of Life
Washington Gladden, Congregational divine, was born at Pottsgrove, Pa., in 1836. After graduating at Williams College he was ordained pastor, and occupied pulpits in Brooklyn, Morrisania, N.Y., and Springfield, Mass., until 1882, when he assumed charge of the First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio. He has also occupied editorial positions, and has published many books on social and civil reform and the practical application of Christian truth to popular and common life. His style, whether …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 8

That the Christian Miracles are not Recited, or Appealed To, by Early Christian Writers Themselves So Fully or Frequently as Might have Been Expected.
I shall consider this objection, first, as it applies to the letters of the apostles preserved in the New Testament; and secondly, as it applies to the remaining writings of other early Christians. The epistles of the apostles are either hortatory or argumentative. So far as they were occupied in delivering lessons of duty, rules of public order, admonitions against certain prevailing corruptions, against vice, or any particular species of it, or in fortifying and encouraging the constancy of the …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Thoughts Upon Worldly Riches. Sect. I.
HE that seriously considers the Constitution of the Christian Religion, observing the Excellency of its Doctrines, the Clearness of its Precepts, the Severity of its Threatnings, together with the Faithfulness of its Promises, and the Certainty of its Principles to trust to; such a one may justly be astonished, and admire what should be the reason that they who profess this not only the most excellent, but only true Religion in the World, should notwithstanding be generally as wicked, debauched and …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Whether Christ's Resurrection Ought to have Been Manifested to All?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's Resurrection ought to have been manifested to all. For just as a public penalty is due for public sin, according to 1 Tim. 5:20: "Them that sin reprove before all," so is a public reward due for public merit. But, as Augustine says (Tract. civ in Joan.), "the glory of the Resurrection is the reward of the humility of the Passion." Therefore, since Christ's Passion was manifested to all while He suffered in public, it seems that the glory of the Resurrection …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Christ's Persecutors Knew who He Was?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's persecutors did know who He was. For it is written (Mat. 21:38) that the husbandmen seeing the son said within themselves: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him." On this Jerome remarks: "Our Lord proves most manifestly by these words that the rulers of the Jews crucified the Son of God, not from ignorance, but out of envy: for they understood that it was He to whom the Father says by the Prophet: 'Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance.'" …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Christ Rightly and Properly Said to have Merited Grace and Salvation for Us.
1. Christ not only the minister, but also the author and prince of salvation. Divine grace not obscured by this mode of expression. The merit of Christ not opposed to the mercy of God, but depends upon it. 2. The compatibility of the two proved by various passages of Scripture. 3. Christ by his obedience truly merited divine grace for us. 4. This grace obtained by the shedding of Christ's blood, and his obedience even unto death. 5. In this way he paid our ransom. 6. The presumptuous manner in which …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

An Ox in the Congregation
Friday, July 10.--I rode to London and preached at Short's Gardens on "the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth" [Acts 3:6]. Sunday, 12. While I was showing, at Charles' Square, what it is "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God" [see Micah 6:8], a great shout began. Many of the rabble had brought an ox, which they were vehemently laboring to drive among the people. But their labor was in vain; for in spite of them all, he ran round and round, one way and the other, and at length …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

Christ Teaching by Miracles
We have seen how many valuable lessons our Saviour taught while on earth by the parables which he used. But we teach by our lives, as well as by our lips. It has passed into a proverb, and we all admit the truth of it, that "Actions speak louder than words." If our words and our actions contradict each other, people will believe our actions sooner than our words. But when both agree together, then the effect is very great. This was true with our blessed Lord. There was an entire agreement between …
Richard Newton—The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young

The "Times of Restitution" Can be Ushered in Only by the Second Advent of Christ.
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the Times of Refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the Times of Restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21). The "Times of Restitution" here promised to Israel on the condition of their national repentance is one of the names …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Christ and Pilate: the True King and his Counterfeit
'And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2. And Pilate asked Him, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. 3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things: but He answered nothing. 4. And Pilate asked Him again, saying, Answerest Thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against Thee. 6. But Jesus yet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Essay which Brings up the Rear in this Very Guilty Volume is from The...
The Essay which brings up the rear in this very guilty volume is from the pen of the "Rev. Benjamin Jowett, M.A., [Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, and] Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford,"--"a gentleman whose high personal character and general respectability seem to give a weight to his words, which assuredly they do not carry of themselves [143] ." His performance is entitled "On the Interpretation of Scripture:" being, in reality, nothing else but a laborious denial of …
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

Some Surprising Results of the Break.
The Surprised Jew: a clash of wills--thousands of believing Jews--the church displacing kingdom--two-fold division of men formerly--now three-fold--church different in organization from kingdom--the Baptist puzzled--Jesus did not fill out Hebrew prophecy--two characteristics, personal and official--personal details fulfilled--official not because of rejection--out of situation grew four gospels--Mark--Matthew's the gap gospel--Paul's audiences--Luke's gospel--these three tell of rejection mainly--John's …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Wilt Thou be Made Whole?
"Jesus saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool. Jesus saith unto him, Rise and walk. Immediately the man was made whole, and walked."--JOHN v. 6-9. "Peter said, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.... The faith which is by Him hath given this man this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."--ACTS iii. 6, 16. "Peter said, AEneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise. And he arose immediately."--ACTS …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Disciple, -- Master, what is the Real Meaning of Service? is it that We...
The Disciple,--Master, what is the real meaning of service? Is it that we serve the Creator and then His creatures for His sake? Is the help of man, who is after all but a mere worm, of any value to God in caring for His great family, or does God stand in need of the help of man in protecting or preserving any of His creatures? The Master,--1. Service means the activity of the spiritual life and is the natural offering prompted by love. God, who is Love, is ever active in the care of His creation, …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

Acts 3:25 NIV
Acts 3:25 NLT
Acts 3:25 ESV
Acts 3:25 NASB
Acts 3:25 KJV

Acts 3:25 Bible Apps
Acts 3:25 Parallel
Acts 3:25 Biblia Paralela
Acts 3:25 Chinese Bible
Acts 3:25 French Bible
Acts 3:25 German Bible

Acts 3:25 Commentaries

Bible Hub