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the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain, one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that are nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore we are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth into an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the spirit" (Eph. 2: 11-22).

Therefore the immortality, the salvation which God offers alike to Jew and Gentile, is called the common salvation, and so Jude says, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation." It was common to men of all nations, therefore "whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely," and when Paul wrote to Titus, he says, "To Titus, mine own son after the common faith." It was free to people of all nations, for the door of faith was opened to all. Again he says to Titus (2:11-13), "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and 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."

CHAPTER X

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

The Apostles' labors - Great conference at Jerusalem in regard to keeping of the law by Gentiles - Apostles' decrees - Relation of Jewish Christians to the law The law superseded by new covenant as means of salvation Proof from first, covenants - second, priesthood — third, sacrifices and offerings — fourth, circumcision-fifth, forms of heirship — What must we believe? Sin of unbelief-Cutting off Jews-Cutting off Gentiles Latter times-So-called end of the world - God's righteousness" Doing by nature things contained in the law"-" Earnest expectation of the creature."

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THE APOSTLES' LABORS

Paul and the other apostles who were commissioned and sent of God as ambassadors to the nations, commanding all nations to repent and do works. meet for repentance, these faithful men did their work well, looking not for their reward now, knowing and teaching their disciples that through much tribulation they must enter into the kingdom of God, and with their eyes fixed upon the coming of Christ as the time of reward, as they so often said; for instance, Paul says to the Corinthians (I Cor. 1:7), "Come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ "; again (II Cor. 1:14), "We are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus." Again (Phil. 1:6), "He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ "; again, "Be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ." Thus they encouraged the hearts of the disciples, and spread the glad tidings of the kingdom of God far and wide, and finished their work, and fell asleep,- mostly by the hand of the enemy and the avenger, as their Master had done before them,- but to sleep in the dust of the earth till the trump of God shall call them forth to glory, honor, and immortality, and ever after that to be with the Lord.

So well did the apostles accomplish the work that the Master gave them to do, that Paul says in writing to the Colossians (1:5-6), "The hope that is laid up for you in heaven whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel which is come unto you, as it is in all the world." Again he speaks of the hope of the gospel in verse 23, "of which," he says, "ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I Paul am made a minister."

But the apostles' work was not done when they had preached the mystery of the gospel to all nations, and established churches throughout the world. In enumerating the trials and tribulations that he encountered, Paul adds, 'Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily,

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the care of all the churches." This was a great care indeed, for the enemy was vigilant; false teachers began to multiply, and they sought theirs, not them, as Peter said, "Through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you." And Paul, to justify himself in contrast with those who had made such headway against him in Corinth, writes in his second epistle to them (11:18-20), "Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also, for ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer, if a man devour you, if he bring you into bondage, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face."

All these things they could endure at the hand of false apostles, for they were bold and impudent men and were not afraid to maintain their errors in the very face of the apostles of Christ; and to check their influence and put down their errors, required the constant care and attention of the apostles of Christ, and even then it could not be done, for Paul said to Timothy (II Tim. 3:13), “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." And again (4:2-4) he says to Timothy, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts, shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn them away from the truth, and shall be turned into fables." And so far had this already become a fact, that he says in this same epistle (1:15), appealing to Timothy's own knowledge of these things, "This thou knowest, that all they which be of Asia, be turned away from me." Ephesus was one of the cities of Asia, and the last time that Paul met the elders of the church which was established there by his labors, as it is recorded in the twentieth chapter of the Acts (20: 18-30), after recounting to them his diligent and faithful services, his disinterested and self-denying labors to build them up in the faith, he warns them to be diligent and follow his example, and to take heed to themselves and to the flock over the which the Holy Spirit had made them overseers. "For," he says, “I know that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock, Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away men after them."

These evil things Paul foreknew and warned the disciples of, but good sometimes comes out of such things also, for Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says (I Cor. 11: 18-19), "For first of all when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it; for there must be also heresies among you, that they that are approved, may be made manifest among you." Now the approved of God would be manifest among them by resisting error, and by reproving the works of darkness, and having no fellowship with them.

Again, when evil men and deceivers arose in the churches and taught things subversive of the truth, the apostles wrote many letters disproving the errors of the wicked, and setting forth the truth in its stead so clearly, that by these we also may be instructed, and so avoid the rocks on which they split. The epistles of the apostles, and especially Paul's weighty and powerful letters, are to us invaluable in unfolding the hidden wisdom of God, as contained in Moses and the prophets, and in refuting the errors of false

teachers in our own times, for the apostles were aided by the Holy Spirit which obtained in the primitive churches in their generation and in the last days of the Mosaic, or Hebrew world, after which they ceased.

The errors that the apostles encountered were many and various. Some denied the resurrection of the dead and demanded to know how the dead were raised up, and with what body they come. Others said that the resurrection was past already, and overthrew the faith of some. Others were presumptuous and spake evil of dignities, whereas angels bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But the chief difficulty, and the one which occasioned the apostles the most trouble, arose from among those that believed, who were Jews, and who were of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, who mixed up matters of the faith of Christ with the works of the law, and could not, or would not be taught the right ways of the Lord. They travelled among the churches that were established in the cities of the Gentiles, and wrought much havoc and evil among the disciples; and so determined and irrepressible were they, that in Antioch, where a large church had been established by the labors of Paul and others, so much did they trouble the church there and resist Paul and Barnabas, that something decisive had to be done, and so it is recorded in the fifteenth chapter of the Acts concerning them and what was done; for Luke says, "And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved."

When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders, about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy unto the brethren.

THE GREAT CONFERENCE AT JERUSALEM, CONSISTING OF THE
APOSTLES AND ELDERS, AND CHURCH AT JERUSALEM

This was evidently one of the most important conventions ever held in the church of Christ since his ascension into heaven, to settle and determine by the aid of the Holy Spirit as to how much of the law of Moses the Gentile converts to Christianity were required to keep and observe. And this question, involving the great question of justification before God, as to whether men were to be justified by the law of faith, or by the law of Moses, or by a mixture of the two, was now to be fully discussed and settled by the inspired apostles of Christ and the church in Jerusalem in conference assembled, and therefore it is said, “And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they (Paul and Barnabas) declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." Thus the issue was fairly stated before the conference. The advocates of this error which was destructive of the faith were bold men, and not afraid to maintain and argue their question in the very teeth of the apostles themselves, and therefore the conclusions arrived at in that conference, and pub

lished from thence, are of the greatest and most important character to the churches, not only of that day but to all God-fearing men down to the times in which we live, for the advocates of some features of that error still live to champion their cause.

This question was then thoroughly debated, for it is said, "And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter, and when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, Ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we, were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they."

These statements of Peter are clear and forcible; as he says, the Lord at the first made choice of him, that the Gentiles by his mouth should hear the word of the Gospel and believe; and as God gave them the Holy Spirit as well as he gave it to the Jews, purifying their hearts by faith, this was proof positive that God accepted Gentiles without the works of the law, for Peter, when he baptized the household of Cornelius, which he referred to above, did not by God's command enjoin upon Cornelius and all his household that they should be circumcised and keep the law, in order that they might be saved, and mark, Peter did not even say that they should be saved even as we, but on the contrary, "We believe that we shall be saved even as they," that is by faith, and not by the works of the law. Then it is said, "All the multitude (for they were many) kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them." And the bearing that these facts had upon the question was this, that all these things were done in making the Gentiles obedient to the faith, without having anything to do with the works of the law.

When Paul and Barnabas had concluded their interesting narrative, and after they held their peace, James answered saying, "Men and brethren, hearken unto me. Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name." And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written (Amos 9: 11-12), "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works, from the beginning of the world."

The Scriptures which James here quotes to show that the conversion of the Gentiles, as reported in this vast assembly by Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, was in conformity with the Scriptures, and the Scripture which he quotes from the Prophet Amos, relate to the future building up of the throne of and kingdom of David in the latter days, that, as Amos says, "they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the Gentiles, which are called by my name, saith the Lord." Now it is testified by Zachariah saying, "And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be his people." The Lord's name will be

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