righteousness, "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” a

In this age and surrounded with such circumstances Jesus appeared. The gospel records of His life have no parallel in human history. Born as a Jew, and surrounded with the bigotry of His people and His times, He taught a philanthropy, mercy, and love unknown, unequaled, and which can never be surpassed. The four gospels give the birth, life, mission, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Being who has wrought the greatest changes in human society of all time. One of the most remarkable things about those who wrote the gospels is that they give a record of all Jesus did, taught, and suffered without a single note or comment of their own. No note of criticism, no word of praise or blame is given. Nothing to bias the mind or prejudice the judgment of others. True, we have expressions of their own deep love, and abiding affection for the Master, but from them the character of Jesus received no eulogium, no praise. John, alone, ventured so far as to tell us what his gospel was written for: Many other signs therefore did Jesus.. but "these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." This may be stated, in a general way, to be the meaning or purport of all the gospels. In order to produce this faith and give this life they give us a record of the sayings and doings of Jesus, the wonderful events attending His birth and death, and crown all by the testiJohn xx. 30, 31.

a Matt. xv. 9.

b

Even demons and

mony of God, angels, and men. Satan bear testimony to His superhuman power. We have, therefore, the Messiahship of Jesus and His divine mission confirmed, not only by miracles, signs, and wonders which God did by Him, and by His own declarations, but by every variety of evidence known to man. "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." The testimony is ample. The Messiah of prophecy is the Christ of history.

The chief object of the first great division of the New Testament-the gospels-then is to produce faith. They did not give a record of the Church complete, nor the history of the admission of any one to its blessings and privileges. It is only in concluding that the terms are given upon which persons may enter the kingdom of the risen Lord. His ambassadors, however, were restricted from promulgating them until He ascended and they were endued with power from on high.

In the study of the New Testament it is very important to keep in mind the proper divisions of the book. Without doing this it will be impossible to gain an accurate knowledge of its system of pardon or salvation. The gospels were written giving the history of Jesus as an example; His teaching, as instructions, and His death as an atonement; and all this for the purpose of producing faith and obedi

ence.

The Acts of the Apostles gives the history of the organization of the Church, the preaching of the apostles

under the commission of Christ, beginning at Jerusalem, and continuing to preach in various parts of the world. It gives the missionary labors of the apostles and evangelists, gives the minute and detailed account of the pardon of masses of people and of many individuals. And here alone can we find a full account of how the gospel was preached, received, and obeyed. Here alone, of all the books of the New Testament, are we told how persons come into the Church of Christ. This, then, is the book to which the believing penitent will go and ask, as thousands heretofore have asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" and receiving the same answer will do the same things and rejoice in the same hope.

The twenty-one epistles were written to organized churches--to Christians, giving instruction to officers, to members, in regard to all things pertaining to life and godliness. Here is set before the Christian his warfare, his race, his crown. Here are given in full the conditions upon which the Christian may enter the everlasting kingdom.

Fourteen of the twenty-one epistles were written by Paul. Paul was the great apostle to the Gentiles. He preached chiefly to them, and in his epistles is developed, as nowhere else, the true idea of the law and the gospel.

In no other epistles can we learn the distinction between the two. It is only by noting the fact that some of the other epistles seem to be general that we may infer that the Gentiles are addressed at all. none of these epistles are the Gentiles alluded to

In

favorably. Peter, addressing the strangers scattered abroad, commands them to have their "conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas they speak against you as evil doers." a Again, he says: "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.' ." John speaks of certain persons who went "forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles." In the Book of Revelation the outer court is spoken of "as given to the Gentiles." Thus the word "Gentile" occurs but four times in these seven epistles and in the book of Revelation, while it occurs some forty-four times in Paul's epistles alone. In the epistles of Paul the Gentiles are treated on terms of equality.

c

Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But all are one in Christ. If Gentiles would know God's will, both as converted and unconverted, they must search the Scriptures from the giving of the great Commission by Christ until the close of the epistles by Paul. Here all barriers and race distinctions are broken down, and the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man is developed and God's great love for the entire world is exemplified. Here for the first time the Jew and the Gentile meet in one family and rejoice together in the hope of the glory of God. The epistles then, b I Pet, iv. 3, 4. c 3 John 7.

a I Pet. ii. 12.

as a whole, were written to persons whose former sins had been forgiven, who had been adopted into the family of God; they were written to give instructions in regard to their walk and conversation; to teach them what they were to do, to suffer and finally to enjoy. The book of Revelation gives a prophetic history of the future of the Church, foretelling great calamities which were to come upon the earth, the sufferings and struggles of the saints of the Most High, and their final and glorious victory.

Of the gospels it may be said, "These are written that you might believe." The Acts of the Apostles gives a history of pardon and examples of conversion; the epistles direct Christians how to live; and the book of Revelation gives a prophecy of the future.