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The Commoner
vXT0L. 21, NO. 12
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ing in keeping a flro going for 'the cdm fort of
his shipwrecked follows, and oven While the
island's inhabitants oxpect to seo hira fall down
suddenly dead, he is miraculously preserved
from harm.
Tho father of the chief man of the island
lion sick, and ho prays, and lays hands on him,
and heals him. And others, also, comp, and
aro healed.
And after throe months ho takes ship again
adon with gifts from the island's inhabitants,
not one of tho ship's company of two hundred
and sixty-six having had so much as a hair of
his head harmed in all their harrowing experi
ences. Thoy first make Syracuse. From Syracuse
they fotch a compass and come to Rhegium, in
Italy, opposite Mossina, in Sicily. Then, tho
south wind favoring them, they make the Bay
of Naples in a day, landing from their ship,
the Castor and Pollux, at Putooli, in tho shadow
of Vesuvius, which has not yet overwhelmed
Porapoii.
THANKING GOD AND TAKING COURAGE
Seven days ho tarries with tho brethren found
thero: and so ho goos toward Rome.
As he travels overland' on the last stage of
hid journey to the goal of -his desire, word goos
ahead that he is coming, tind when within forty
odd miles of tho city, at the market of Appius,
whoro there aro three taverns beside the sreat
highway of tho triumphal , marches of the
Caesars ho meets with the final adventure of
his long and oyentful journey. For from Rome,
"when tho brethren hoard of us, they came
to meet us as far as Appii -forum, and The
three taverns: whom when Paul saw, ho
thanked God, and took courage.
"And when wo came to Rome, tho centurion
delivered the prisoners to rtho captain of the
guard; but Paul was suffered to dwell by him
self with a soldier that kept him."
How, simple, how unostentatious an entry
into Rome, yet how momentous, for the pagan
civilization of which that city, was tho head!
Qno qlause of this account of the great
Apostle's coming to 'Rome Ihas received - much
attention: ' "Whom when Paul, saw, he thanked
God, and took" courage.' . ,
Paul was on his Way from a shipwreck to a
prison. Ho knew that from which he had
escaped and that tof'whlch'he was going, and
yet, at the' presence 6f the1 brethren from Rome;
mooting mm along the Appian way, "he
thanked God, and took courage."
One must be an optimist 'to extract comfort
from such a situation, and that is what Paul
was. With tribulations enough to make a pessi
mist out of one less sustained by faith, he ever
maintained his buoyant spirit. and went unafraid
into ovory danger that lay in his path of duty.
THE GOSPEL OF; UNLIMITED CHANCES
A "Life of Paul" would be a good book to
put, ino the hands of any, one contemplating
suicide.
Trivial circumstances Tiaye often led to the
taking of' ones' own life. A disappointment
overwhelm ono, darkens the 'future an.d makes
lite seems a failure; then, in a moment of de
spair, a fatal resolve terminates this earthly
oxistence. '
Paul tcodhos us that nothing from without
can oloud the sky when it is illumined by an
inner faith in God. No way seems impossible
when one follows a heavenly vision; obstacles
summon tho energy necessary" to overcome
them, just as water, rising behind a dam, fur
nishes tho p'Ower necessary to sweep it out of
the way.
There is no excuse for despair, no matter
what tho circumstances. Christianity has
been' called tho Gospol of the Second Chance
It is more than that it offers unlimited
chances; it teaches exhaustless mercy.
Walter Malone, in a pooin on "Opportunity "
which seems intended to answer the rather
gloomy ode on the same subject by Senator
Ingalls, says:
"Wail not for precious chances passed away
Weep not for golden ages on tho wane!
Eaoh night I burn the records of the day
At suhrise every soul is born again.
No. shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep
But he might rise and be again a man!"
There is no day so dark, no condition so
threatening, that the Christian, like Paul can
not thank God and tako courage. '
A CHRISTIAN UNASHAMED
, VM tedth?, indnUablo courage that comes
from faith in. God, and so he could say to the
Romans (Romans 1:15, 16):- "I am ready to
preach the Gospel to you that aro at Rome also
for t am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ-
for it is tho power of God unto salvfltron'to f''X01 unto in
every one that believeth." But without thy mind would I do nothing w
Tnni anfrt that, hn was not ashamed of tho thoy benefit should not be as it Wcro f ? t
n "rri t4 , fW nnorln th llO em- but Willingly. -, ... '""-"Mly,
phasized today
Tho Gospol is sometimes preached in an
apologetic way. It is whittled down; -4t is
pruned of anything that would disturb the sensi
bilities of the unregenerate. That is not tho
kind of Gospel that Christ taught and not the
kind that He intended should be taught in His
T7,t rtAfVtnnii llrt ffiniAffn lnnn.l..i
that thou shouldest receive him forever' 0n
Not noW as a servant; but above a sorvnnf
brother beloved, specially to me, but how ELS
more uruo wee, doiii in mo iiesn and in tim fAvi
If thou count mo therefore d partner, rpplr'
name.
In that wonderful commission which Ho gave
His "disciples .after His resurrection, in His last
communion with them, He commanded that they
should teach the observance "of all things'
whatsoever I have commanded you." Nothing
but a complete Gospel proclaimed by those
who believe in it can save the world or satisfy
the needs of man.
Paul was not ashamed to preach the Gospel.
Ho resolved that he would preach nothing but
tho Gospel of the crucified Christ. His tongue
was not restrained by doubts as to the deity
of Christ, or questionings as to the fullness of
,His power, or as to the wholesomeness of His
doctrines.
Paul went all the way with Christ. He was
ready to give a reason for tho faith that r;as
in him, and he was as ready to die lor that
faith as to live for it. This was the religion i
that he communicated to those who looked to '
him for advice. And there was in them'' the '
same spirit that inspired Paul. It is a compell
ing spirit. l
"I, TOO, AM A CHRIST" ' v
In "Quo Vadis" there is a despicable char- .
acter who betrayed tho Christians into.-, tho
hands of the emperor and then rode with him-.in
his chariot when he drove through the rark
lighted by these human torchesbodies of
Christians in flames.
As the story goes, this enemy passed before
a dying Christian whom he knew iaud wh'd, by'
his treachery, had been brought tb' -the' stake. '
The Christian recognied him and, instead of '
exhibiting hatred or revenge, smiled asi if ih(
forgiveness. ' -L
It touched the heart of the cruel-' mahV He"
stepped down from the chariot of the emperori '
and, kneeling in the front of the 'tortured fdl-"
lower of the Nazarone, cried: "Ii too.Jhm a
" Christian." i , .
This was the snirit of the .early Christians'.
Thoy were not ashamed, and it was their Will
ingness to confess Christ before 'man 'and to
seal their confession with their blood that laid
the Xoundations of the Christian Ghurcli '
How long would it take Christianity to con
quer the world if the same spirit were in all '
who today profess His name?
A preacher once told me of ah experience
he had in a prayer meeting. He was exhort
ing tile members of the church boldly to pro
claim themselves followers of Jesus. To illus
trate what he meant, he said:
"You who are Republicans do not hesitate
to say that you are followers of Abraham Lin
coln. You, who are Democrats, are not
n!!1 t& Say that J0VL arQ followers of
iuuumo dOUOrauil'
WHY SHOULD YOU BE ASWAHnnn .
Before he could get any further, a gray haired
man in the rear of the room, mistaking the
purpose of the preacher's language, promntl?
arose and said, "I am not ashamed to say that
I am a follower of Thomas Jefferson " Tho
- response fitted into the preacher's remarks and
he used it to emphasize still further his appeal
Lawyers are not ashamed to admit they are
followers of the great lawyers of the past?
Physicians are not ashamed to confers that thev
follow the great men in medicine; and so it is
with business men. Why should a Christian
be ashamed of the Gospel? " unnsuan
"It. is the power of God unto ' salvation frt
every one that believeth." ' saivauon to .
I MIGHT ENJOIN THEE, BUT I PREFER
TO BESEECH THEE
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR DEC 11
vx-uuemon 8-21.) .
prisoner of Jesus Christ ' d now al0 a
haSSftoflJ my biff 0nesls Whom-1
Whom I would have . retained with "m. that In
na mvself. " "fcW,vnun
If ho hath -wronged thee, or oweth thee oueM
put that on mine account; uusnt,
I Paul have written It with mine own hnmi
will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how twJ
owest unto mo even thine own self besides
Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the lnr,i.
refresh my bpwels In the" Lord. no Lord:
Having- .confidence In thy bbedience I wrote imf
thee knowing that thoU Wilt also do more thnn t
say. . un l
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In previous Bible Talks, we have dealt -with
Paul as ran heroic, character, fighting againBt
great odds, hurling sentences that had the
momentum of a battering ram, exhorting tho
timid and praising the courageous.
We deal with him today as a friend, pleading
for a runaway slave who was converted under
his teaching and whom he had learned to love,
Our textPaul's ' touching epistle to Phile
mon a scant five hundred words that has been
called "one of ttie most beautiful pieces of lit
erature in. the world"' revqals an important side
of many-sided Pauls It gives us an inner Yiew
of the great apostle;- it enables us to estimato
the height, the depth : and. the breadth of the
man. And it holds a mighty lesson for every
man and woman and every nation today.
IS YOUR PQCKETBC-OK BAPTIZED?
Philemon Was a man of means of Asia Minor,
but he consecrated his means to the service of
God and to the ' advancement of Christian
ity, A story isftold.qf a':fiapti'st prdacher who
was about to' immetse an "applicant for mem
bership, wheri the latter stopped the ceremony
In, order to "take his poclcetbook out of his
pocket." '"Don't ' do that' said the preacher,
"I 'want' 'to baptifc'e yotff )pocketbook With you."
Philemon-evidently had" his pocketbook with
him Wlien he' was' baptized for His money seems
to-' liave 'be'en baptized also-. ' '
ne miestijin '; & WmeifiW asked: "How
mu'qh mdney catTa rritth 'hate and be a Chris
tian?" Any .anitiUnt provided he Barns, 'it hon
estly, so long as he is tlie,1mastor of liis money.
Whenever he gets so much that his money con
trols hinilt is time for Him to -read about tile
camel and the difficulty it had with 1the eye of
a, needle.' '. i '
Philemon ' was one dt the company of Chris
tians of Asia Minor and Paul had stopped at his
house. 'In this very epistle he asks Philemon
to prepare a lodging' for1' him against his day
of release from his chains. in iRome.
It seems that Onepimus was a slave, of Phile
mon's and had run away -from home and taken
refuge in Rome. . He camo under tho influence
of Paul's preaching and was" converted and be
came a servant of Faul'sr
The relationship between Paul and Onesimus
was so intimate that Paul, says that he is "not
now as a servant but aheve a servant, a broth
er beloved." He would like to keep him, but as
the slave had run away from' his master. Paul
felt that the master's claim came first and that
it was tho slave's duty to return, and fufill the
requirements ,of the law. ,.
THE TIE THAT BIOTS MANKIND
It is significant that tho, attitude of Onesimus
was changed. Before he was converted he ran
away, seeking his own pleasure, contrary to the
law as it then existed. When he-became a fol
lower of Christ and a companion of Paul his
viewpoint was changed and he- went willingly
back to his master. They could talk together
now and work togethor, because the tie that
bound them together as Christians was stronger
than the master's sense ot pwnership .and strong
er than the slave's desire for liberty. It makes
all the difference in the world what purpose
is dominant, because the dominant controls
that which is subordinate.
Paul, who sends Onesimus back to servitude,
pleads for him, saying' to Phi'lomon. "If thou
count me therefore a partner, . receive him us
myself."
That was asking a good deal of a friend, to
receive a runaway slave as if the slave were
Paul himself. But Paul went oven further,
"If he hath wrongeth thee, or oweth thee ought,
put that on mine account."
This was tho very spirit of the Christ to
whom Paul had given his life. As Christ had
taken tho sins of man upon Himself and died,
than man, through Him, might be saved, so
Paul stqps forward and offers himself in the
place of tho slave, 'asking that Philemon should
charge up .to him, Paul, anything lhat Onesimus
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