20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood,

Before the day of the Lord come,

That great and notable day:

21 And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; 23 him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay: 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David saith concerning him,

I beheld the Lord always before my face;

For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades,

Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou madest known unto me the ways of life;

Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance. 29 Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; 31 he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear. 34 For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself,

The Lord said unto my Lord,

Sit thou on my right hand,

35 Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? 38 And Peter said unto them,

Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him. 40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. 41 They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.

The presence and power of the Holy Spirit were manifested at Pentecost not only by the gift of tongues, but quite as truly by the sermon of Peter which resulted in the conversion of three thousand souls. How else can be accounted for the intrepid courage of the man who in cowardice, a few days earlier, had denied his Lord, but who now stands before a multitude in the streets of Jerusalem boldly rebuking a nation for its unbelief and crime? No less astonishing are the skill and wisdom shown by this untutored fisherman as he so marshals his arguments and presents his proofs as to avoid offense and to bring conviction to a hostile and bigoted multitude.

No modern preacher can claim such divine inspiration as Peter enjoyed; yet one who would be used by the Spirit should imitate him in at least two particulars: he preached Christ, and he expounded the Scriptures. The purpose of his address was to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the divine Saviour of the world; in demonstrating this theme he used as his proofs Old Testament quotations which indeed comprised nearly half of his

sermon.

(1) The Introduction, vs. 14-21, shrewdly refers to the gift of tongues, defending the disciples against the charge of intoxication on the ground of Jewish customs, and explaining the miracle as a partial fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel which declared that this present age would be marked by such manifestations of the Spirit's power as Peter declared the gift of tongues to be. Joel had predicted, however, that the age would end amidst terrific portents and in divine judgment, but that "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." That

Jesus of Nazareth is the divine Lord who will some day return in judgment, upon whom men must now call in penitence and faith, this is the truth Peter proceeded to establish; and it is the heart of every gospel message to-day.

(2) The Argument, vs. 22-36, is threefold: (a) Jesus had been approved of God by "mighty works and wonders and signs"; of these the hearers were witnesses. In modern days it is not popular to argue from the miracles of Christ to the reality of his claims and to his saving power; but one need not be ashamed to imitate this logic of the Apostle Peter.

(b) Jesus died and rose again, vs. 23-32; the Christ, according to Scripture was to die and rise again; therefore Jesus was the Christ. This argument from the resurrection of our Lord is still valid. His victory over death was the greatest of all miracles. Our Christian faith is still based on the facts implied by that empty tomb. This truth is still to be proclaimed as the hope of the world. Of this resurrection Peter declared the disciples were the witnesses; to the same fact of a living Christ all believers should bear testimony by their words and deeds.

(c) Jesus ascended to the "right hand" of God; the Christ, according to the prediction of David, was so to ascend, vs. 34, 35; the gift of the Holy Spirit was proof that Jesus thus had assumed the place of supreme power. Therefore this argument, like the two already stated, led to the conclusion that Jesus is indeed the Lord and Christ of whom Joel and other prophets had spoken; and it was at once evident that, in rejecting and crucifying him, the Jews had been guilty of an unparalleled crime. So, too, the present work of the Holy Spirit is a witness to the divine power of Christ, and those who reject Christ are refusing a salvation which he alone can give, and are placing themselves in opposition to the only power which can bring blessing to them and to the world.

(3) The Appeal, vs. 37-40, with which Peter closes his sermon, is made to men who have been stirred in their hearts by his presentation of Christ. He pleads with them to repent and to be baptized, and he promises them the

gift of the Holy Spirit; for all the blessings which the divine Lord can give are assured to those who turn from sin and sincerely confess their faith in him.

(4) The Result of this sermon, v. 41, was the conversion of three thousand souls; this, too, was a manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit, for, no matter how eloquent or Scriptural the sermon, souls are renewed only by the Spirit of the living Christ.

c. The Life of the Converts. Ch. 2: 42-47

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need. 46 And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.

No less marvelous than the gift of tongues or the eloquence of Peter or the conversion of a multitude was the conduct of those who accepted Christ as their Saviour. Many persons seem to suppose that Pentecostal power is attested by striking gifts or ability in public speech; its best proof is found in the daily life of the believer. These early Christians continued to seek for instruction from the men who really knew the Lord; they rejoiced in spiritual fellowship; they observed the sacrament which reminded them of the Saviour's death; they met frequently for prayer and praise; they were cheerful and contented; they loved one another so fervently that "they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need." The Spirit of Christ bound these believers into one body, united in faith and love and hope; and thus it is not strange that Pentecost is commonly regarded as the true birthday of the Christian Church; nor is it surprising that such men were held in

"favor with all the people" and that additions were made to their numbers "day by day."

3. The First Opposition. Chs. 3: 1 to 4: 31

a. The Lame Man Healed. Ch. 3: 1-10

1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man that was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door 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 to receive 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 from them. 6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his anklebones received strength. 8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

The healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple was not the first and possibly not the most marvelous miracle which had been wrought by the apostles since the Day of Pentecost; but it is related because it brought the apostles to the notice of the Jewish rulers and resulted in the first serious opposition to the Christian Church. The whole story forms an important section of The Acts, for in the history of "The Church Witnessing for Christ" this narrative shows the independence of the Church and its boldness in witnessing.

The recital of the miracle is in itself interesting, instructive, and dramatically vivid. The agents through whom the marvel is wrought are Peter and John. As in the Gospel narrative they are united in closest fellowship with Christ, so in The Acts they are companions in the leadership of his Church. These two apostles "were going