Purifying [cleansing] their hearts by faith. Purity comes from within. The influence of pure thought and pure feeling on practice. The purification of Judaism typical. The Holy Ghost did the work. When the temple was closed, the kingdom of grace opened. The Spirit must operate upon the spirit. All ritualism, as such, contradicts the essential principles of gospel liberty.

I. THE HEART NEEDS CLEANSING.

1. Of its falsehood. The heathen world a world of lies. The tendency of fallen nature to believe strong delusions.

2. Of its corrupt desires. The Fall was a lowering of the spirit of humanity to the level of the inferior races. Animalism is the characteristic of heathenism and of an unregenerate state.

3. Of its self-justification and pride. The evil holds to it. A broken and contrite heart is required.

II. THE HEART IS CLEANSED. Consider the nature of the purity bestowed.

1. The conscience, by a sense of forgiveness; "perilous stuff" cleansed away.

2. An object of love revealed to whom the heart is surrendered. "Thou knowest that I love thee." The germ of the new life in the soil of the affections.

3. Consecration. Circumcision was a covenant sign. "Out of the heart are the issues of life." A pure will is that which is pledged by a changed course of action and a new position.

III. THE HEART IS CLEANSED BY FAITH. The contrast between the old covenant and the new. The truth accepted becomes the power of God unto salvation. Spiritual cleansing differs from:

1. Mere ritual purification.

2. Mere nominal separation from the world by an external life.

3. Mere slavish obedience to the letter of the Law. A purity which rests upon faith is a purity embracing thoughts and desires, lifting the heart with joy, securing it against the temptation to self-righteousness and superficial morality. Believe; give your mind to the message; welcome the personal Savior; follow the leading Spirit. Rejoice in the liberty of God's children. Christ's yoke is easy, his burden light. - R.

A confession —

I. OF PENITENCE, which rests on a clear consciousness of sin.

II. OF HUMILITY, which attests the demerits of good works.

III. OF FAITH, which has recognised the riches of God's love in Christ.

IV. OF JOY, which is founded on the peace of a pardoned heart.

(Leonhardi and Spiegelhauer.)

Consider —

I. THE PECULIAR BLESSING OF THE GOSPEL. Salvation. This implies a bondage, in which the whole human race is involved. Not content with its sway in this world, sin pursues the sinner even beyond the grave. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." In the midst of this universal corruption, — the voice of the Eternal, re-echoed by the sinner's conscience, rolls — "The soul that sinneth it shall die." "Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them." Is not this a yoke from which deliverance is essential? Yes! and from this the gospel proclaims deliverance: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us"; and His disciples are emancipated, not only from the guilt, but also from the power of sin.

II. THE CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH THIS BLESSING IS CONVEYED. "Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." Salvation is not the reward of merit, but the gift of grace; not the purchase of man's desert, but the unearned bounty of God's free favour. As it is freely offered, so must it be freely accepted. No unbelieving doubts and hesitation on account of the magnitude of the gift and our own unworthiness to receive it; no Pharisaical standing-out upon conditions which, if required, could never be fulfilled; but a humbling sense of our own unworthiness, coupled with a grateful sense of God's undeserved mercy. Free grace shines conspicuous throughout the whole plan of man's salvation. It was grace that planned the remedy ere yet the disease was felt; it is grace that renders that remedy effectual. The Church was hewn out by grace, and by grace all its members are, as lively stones, built into a spiritual temple; and when the whole edifice shall be perfected, the Headstone thereof shall be brought forth with shoutings, crying "Grace! grace!" unto it. Unhumbled men will doubtless be offended at this, and rejecting salvation as a gift, will endeavour to earn it as a reward by seeking to establish some distinction between themselves and more vulgar sinners; but this is all labour in vain. It has pleased God to pronounce, on the one hand, that "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight"; and on the other, that man is "saved by grace through faith." Salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only salvation recognised in the Bible; the only salvation that will either exalt the holiness, vindicate the justice, and magnify the mercy of God, or speak peace to the sinner's conscience and assure him of acceptance with God. Such, then, is the peculiar blessing of the gospel. A salvation altogether of grace, decreed by the grace of God the Father, wrought out by the grace of God the Son, and applied and rendered effectual by the grace of God the Holy Ghost.

III. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THIS BLESSED SALVATION REACHES. "We shall be saved, even as they." There is no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile; but "the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." Our commission, as ministers of the gospel, is as extensive as the globe on which we live. And this is true also of the various degrees of affliction and of crime.

(W. Le Poer Trench, B. D.)

Consider the text as —

I. AN APOSTOLICAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. "We believe." We will call it the "Apostle's Creed," and it has quite as clear a right to that title as that which goes by the name.

1. The apostle did not believe in —(1) Ritualism. All his testimony is concerning the grace of Christ. He says nothing whatever about ordinances, ceremonies; and those are the true successors of the apostles who teach you that you are to be saved through the free mercy of God.(2) Self-righteousness. Peter did not say, "We believe that through doing our best we shall be saved like other people," nor even "that if we act according to our light, God will accept that little light for what it was." If we are ever saved at all we must be saved gratis, not by wages; by God's love, not by our own merits. Those who preach mere morality, or set up any way except this, preach another gospel, and they shall be accursed, even though they preach it with an angel's eloquence.(3) Salvation by the natural force of free will. He takes the crown from off the head of man in all respects, and gives all glory to the grace of God.

2. Take this creed to pieces. It implies the doctrine of —(1) Human ruin. Peter saw this most clearly, or he would not have been so explicit upon man's salvation.(2) The atonement. What does the apostle mean but the grace which came from the Cross of the Saviour? What the sun is to the heavens, that the doctrine of a vicarious satisfaction is to theology. Take away the cleansing blood, and what is left to the guilty?

II. THE CONVERTED MORAL MAN'S STATEMENT. A company of Jews have assembled to discuss a certain matter, and some of them say, "Well, perhaps these Gentile dogs may be saved; yes, Christ told us to go and preach the gospel to every creature; therefore, no doubt, He must have included them — we do not like them, though, and must keep them as much under our rules and regulations as we can; we must compel them to be circumcised." Now, you expect to hear Peter say, "Why, these 'Gentile dogs' as you call them, can be saved, even as you." No; he turns the tables, and says, "We believe that you may be saved, even as they." It was just as if you should say, "We believe that a drunkard, etc., may be saved," and I respond, "You may be saved even as these." What a rebuke that would be! This is precisely what Peter meant.

1. Now, some of us were favoured with Christian parents, and consequently never did know a great deal of the sin into which others have fallen. This is cause for great thankfulness; but if you ever are saved, you will have to be saved in the same way as those who have been permitted to plunge into the most outrageous sin. In this respect we are all alike; we are born in sin, and alike are we dead by nature in trespasses and sins, heirs of wrath, even as others.

2. Moreover, the method of pardon is the same in all cases. I never heard of but one "fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins." That fountain is for the dying thief as much as for you, and for you as much as for him.

III. THE CONFESSION OF THE GREAT OUTWARD SINNER WHEN CONVERTED. Now, I will speak for you. We shall be saved, even as the best are saved.

1. Yonder sits a very poor believer. Now, do you expect that when you get to heaven you will be placed in a corner as a pauper pensioner? "Oh, no!" you say, "we shall leave our poverty when we get to glory." Some of our friends are rich, but we believe that we shall be saved, even as they.

2. Others of you are poor in useful talent, You cannot preach, or conduct a prayer meeting, etc. Well, do you expect that the Lord Jesus will give you a second-hand robe to wear at His wedding feast, and serve you from cold and inferior dishes? "Oh, no! Some of our brethren have great talents, and we are glad that they have; but we believe that we shall be saved, even as they."

3. Most likely there is some doubting brother here — Mr. Much-afraid, or Mr. Little-faith; but, how is your heart? Do you believe that you will be put off with a second-rate salvation — will be admitted by the back door into heaven? "Oh, no!" say you; "I am the weakest lamb in Jesus' fold; but I believe that I shall be saved, even as they who are the strongest in grace."

4. I will suppose that there has been a work of grace in a prison. There are half a dozen villains there, but the grace of God has made new men of them; and, if they understood the text, as they looked across the room and saw half a dozen apostles, they might say, "We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as those apostles are."

5. I will select the three Marys whom Jesus loved and who loved Jesus. These holy women, we believe, will be saved. But I will suppose that I go to one of our Refuges, and there are three girls there who were once of evil fame: the grace of God has met with them. These three might say, humbly, but positively, "We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we three reclaimed harlots shall be saved, even as they."

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. AN ANTICIPATION OF AN INVALUABLE BLESSING. "Salvation" implying deliverance from spiritual danger, the enjoyment of spiritual good, the attainment of heaven. Man's state rendered redemptive interference necessary. Law was followed by rebellion: rebellion involves penal consequences.

1. The Scriptural statements of man's guilt and danger.

2. Observation and experience verify the Word.

3. The individual involvement in guilt and danger.

4. The necessary elements of salvation. Freedom from debasement, defilement, fear of death and judgment and what lies beyond. The bestowment of life, immortality, heaven.

II. THE METHOD BY WHICH THIS BLESSING IS TO BE SECURED.

1. The Incarnation was for the purpose of securing human salvation. Determined in the councils of the Father; types prefigured it; prophecy proclaimed its approach until the fulness of the time came. The necessary proofs of His appointment were the voice from heaven, miracles, witness of Scripture to His character and mission.

2. The manner in which He met the requisite conditions of human salvation. He was a great teacher, but He was more at the last supper, in the garden, on Calvary. There salvation effected. The fire fell and consumed the sacrifice which must otherwise have consumed the world.

3. Christ's sufferings were propitiatory, and formed part of a plan essential to the manifestation of the Divine mercy. Apart from Christ's atonement there is no salvation.

4. The Saviour rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and presents there the memorials of His sacrifice.

5. The principle upon which this salvation is bestowed. Through grace, unmerited mercy. Penance and merit are excluded.

III. THE TYPES WHICH WILL BE FOLLOWED IN THE BESTOWMENT OF SALVATION AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT SHALL BE CARRIED. "Saved even as they." The mistake of Jewish converts that they had some advantage. Their attempt to impose circumcision.

1. This salvation is available wherever the sovereignty of God applies it.(1) This is true of the various nations. Of all to whom it has been sent we can say we shall be saved even as they.(2) This is true of all the varieties and degrees of crime.(3) This salvation binds its recipients in perfect union, "Neither Jew nor Greek."

(James Parsons.)

Barnabas, Barsabas, David, James, John, Judas, Mark, Paul, Peter, Silas, Simeon, SimonCilicia, Cyprus, Jerusalem, Judea, Pamphylia, Phoenicia, Samaria, Syria, Syrian AntiochBelieve, Christ, Contrary, Faith, Grace, Manner, Salvation, Saved1. Great dissensions arise regarding circumcision.
5. The apostles consult about it,
22. and send their determination by letters to the churches.
36. Paul and Barnabas, thinking to visit the brothers together,
39. disagree, and travel different ways.

Acts 15:11

     2027   Christ, grace and mercy
     2324   Christ, as Saviour

Acts 15:1-12

     7610   Council of Jerusalem

Acts 15:1-19

     7336   circumcision, spiritual

Acts 15:1-29

     7241   Jerusalem, significance

Acts 15:5-11

     7416   purification

Acts 15:5-31

     7512   Gentiles, in NT

Acts 15:6-11

     5010   conscience, matters of

Acts 15:7-11

     5114   Peter, apostle
     6512   salvation, necessity and basis
     6669   grace, and salvation

Acts 15:8-11

     5882   impartiality
     7525   exclusiveness

Acts 15:10-11

     8774   legalism

Acts 15:11-14

     5834   disagreement

The Breaking Out of Discord
'And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2. 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. 3. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Charter of Gentile Liberty
'Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14. Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. 15. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

A Good Man's Faults
'And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.'--ACTS xv. 37, 38. Scripture narratives are remarkable for the frankness with which they tell the faults of the best men. It has nothing in common with the cynical spirit in historians, of which this age has seen eminent examples, which fastens upon the weak places in the noblest natures, like a wasp …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

A Message from the Crowned Christ
(Revelation, Chapters ii and iii) "The glory of love is brightest when the glory of self is dim, And they have the most compelled me who most have pointed to Him. They have held me, stirred me, swayed me,--I have hung on their every word, Till I fain would arise and follow, not them, not them,--but their Lord!"[64] Patmos Spells Patience. Patience is strength at its strongest, using all its strength in holding back from doing something. Patience is love at flood pleading with strength to hold steady …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 2 "Blessed are the meek: For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: For they shall obtain mercy." Matt. 5:5-7 I. 1. When "the winter is past," when "the time of singing is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land;" when He that comforts the mourners is now returned, "that he may abide with them for ever;" when, at the brightness of his presence, the clouds disperse, …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

"Now the End of the Commandment," &C.
1 Tim. i. 5.--"Now the end of the commandment," &c. Fourthly, Faith purging the conscience purifies the heart (Acts xv. 9.), and hope also purifies the heart (1 John iii. 3.), which is nothing else but faith in the perfection and vigour of it. This includes, I. That the heart was unclean before faith. II. That faith cleanses it, and makes it pure. But "who can say, I have made my heart pure (Prov. xx. 9.), I am clean from my sin?" Is there any man's heart on this side of time, which lodges not many …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Foreword
"Jesus of Nazareth, a Biography, by John Mark," recognizes the author of the second Gospel as that "John, whose surname was Mark" (Acts 15:37), whom Barnabas chose as companion when he sailed for Cyprus on his second missionary journey. In making use of the new title, the plan of the Editor is to present "The Gospel: According to Mark" as it would be printed were it written in the twentieth rather than the first century. Mark's Gospel has been chosen for this purpose to make available in more readable …
John Mark—Jesus of Nazareth - A Biography

The Subtraction Process
The baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire, the entering into the heavenly inheritance of Canaan, and the possession of the land, and all the blessings that follow are unmistakably a process of addition to the already blessed experience of the justified soul. This addition is scripturally termed "sanctification." No mortal language can ever express how much of an addition it is; but there must necessarily precede this marvelous grace, a definite and absolute subtraction, a loss of all things for the …
J. W. Byers—Sanctification

Cleansing.
As there are conditions requiring to be complied with in order to the obtaining of salvation, before one can be justified, e. g., conviction of sin, repentance, faith; so there are conditions for full salvation, for being "filled with the Holy Ghost." Conviction of our need is one, conviction of the existence of the blessing is another; but these have been already dealt with. "Cleansing" is another; before one can be filled with the Holy Ghost, one's heart must be "cleansed." "Giving them the Holy …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

Second Missionary Journey
Scripture, Acts 15:36-18:22 +The Inception+--After the Jerusalem Council Paul returned to Antioch where he spent some time, "teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord with many others also." "And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren i+The Companions+ (Acts 15:37-40).--Barnabas proposed to take John Mark, his nephew, with them on this second journey. But Paul strenuously objected, basing his objection on the ground that this young man had deserted them …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

Authorship of the Pentateuch.
The term Pentateuch is composed of the two Greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later Alexandrine usage signified book. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books; or, the five books of the law considered as a whole. 1. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the Pentateuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its present form in the days of Christ and his apostles, and had so existed from the time of Ezra. When the translators of the Greek version, …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Figurative Language of Scripture.
1. When the psalmist says: "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psa. 84:11), he means that God is to all his creatures the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector; but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15:21), he signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name. In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it may be embodied …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Council at Jerusalem.
(Comp. § 34, pp. 835 sqq. and 346 sq.) The most complete outward representation of the apostolic church as a teaching and legislative body was the council convened at Jerusalem in the year 50, to decide as to the authority of the law of Moses, and adjust the difference between Jewish and Gentile Christianity. [743] We notice it here simply in its connection with the organization of the church. It consisted not of the apostles alone, but of apostles, elders, and brethren. We know that Peter, …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The Synod of Jerusalem, and the Compromise Between Jewish and Gentile Christianity.
Literature. I. Acts 15, and Gal. 2, and the Commentaries thereon. II. Besides the general literature already noticed (in §§ 20 and 29), compare the following special discussions on the Conference of the Apostles, which tend to rectify the extreme view of Baur (Paulus, ch. V.) and Overbeck (in the fourth edition of De Wette's Com. on Acts) on the conflict between Acts 15 and Gal. 2, or between Petrinism and Paulinism, and to establish the true historic view of their essential unity in diversity. …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The Catholic Epistles.
I. Storr: De Catholicarum Epp. Occasione et Consilio. Tüb. 1789. Staeudlin: De Fontibus Epp. Cath. Gott. 1790. J. D. Schulze: Der schriftstellerische Charakter und Werth des Petrus, Jacobus und Judas. Leipz. 1802. Der schriftsteller. Ch. des Johannes. 1803. II. Commentaries on all the Catholic Epistles by Goeppfert (1780), Schlegel (1783), Carpzov (1790), Augusti (1801), Grashof (1830), Jachmann (1838), Sumner (1840), De Wette (3d ed. by Brückner 1865), Meyer (the Cath. Epp. by Huther, …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Whether the Justification of the Ungodly is the Remission of Sins
Whether the Justification of the Ungodly is the Remission of Sins We proceed to the first article thus: 1. It seems that the justification of the ungodly is not the remission of sins. It is clear from what was said in Q. 71, Arts. 1 and 2, that sin is opposed not only to justice, but to all virtues. Now justification means a movement towards justice. Hence not every remission of sin is justification, since every movement is from one contrary to its opposite. 2. Again, it is said in 2 De Anima, text …
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

Whether Purification of the Heart is an Effect of Faith
Whether Purification of the Heart is an Effect of Faith We proceed to the second article thus: 1. It seems that purification of the heart is not an effect of faith. Purity of heart pertains mainly to the affections. But faith is in the intellect. Hence faith does not cause purification of the heart. 2. Again, that which causes purification of the heart cannot exist together with impurity. But faith exists together with the impurity of sin, as is obvious in those whose faith is unformed. Hence faith …
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

Church Government.
By this time the Gospel had not only been firmly settled as the religion of the great Roman empire, but had made its way into most other countries of the world then known. Here, then, we may stop to take a view of some things connected with the Church; and it will be well, in doing so, to remember what is wisely said by our own Church, in her thirty-fourth article, which is about "the Traditions of the Church" (that is to say, the practices handed down in the Church) --"It is not necessary that traditions …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Whether Every virtue is a Moral virtue?
Objection 1: It would seem that every virtue is a moral virtue. Because moral virtue is so called from the Latin "mos," i.e. custom. Now, we can accustom ourselves to the acts of all the virtues. Therefore every virtue is a moral virtue. Objection 2: Further, the Philosopher says (Ethic. ii, 6) that moral virtue is "a habit of choosing the rational mean." But every virtue is a habit of choosing: since the acts of any virtue can be done from choice. And, moreover, every virtue consists in following …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Old Law was Good?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Old Law was not good. For it is written (Ezech. 20:25): "I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments in which they shall not live." But a law is not said to be good except on account of the goodness of the precepts that it contains. Therefore the Old Law was not good. Objection 2: Further, it belongs to the goodness of a law that it conduce to the common welfare, as Isidore says (Etym. v, 3). But the Old Law was not salutary; rather was it deadly and …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether There Should have Been Man Ceremonial Precepts?
Objection 1: It would seem that there should not have been many ceremonial precepts. For those things which conduce to an end should be proportionate to that end. But the ceremonial precepts, as stated above ([2105]AA[1],2), are ordained to the worship of God, and to the foreshadowing of Christ. Now "there is but one God, of Whom are all things . . . and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things" (1 Cor. 8:6). Therefore there should not have been many ceremonial precepts. Objection 2: Further, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Simple Fornication is a Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that simple fornication is not a mortal sin. For things that come under the same head would seem to be on a par with one another. Now fornication comes under the same head as things that are not mortal sins: for it is written (Acts 15:29): "That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication." But there is not mortal sin in these observances, according to 1 Tim. 4:4, "Nothing is rejected that is received with …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it is against the Natural Law to have a Concubine?
Objection 1: It would seem that to have a concubine is not against the natural law. For the ceremonies of the Law are not of the natural law. But fornication is forbidden (Acts 15:29) in conjunction with ceremonies of the law which for the time were being imposed on those who were brought to the faith from among the heathens. Therefore simple fornication which is intercourse with a concubine is not against the natural law. Objection 2: Further, positive law is an outcome of the natural law, as Tully …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Justification of the Ungodly is the Remission of Sins?
Objection 1: It would seem that the justification of the ungodly is not the remission of sins. For sin is opposed not only to justice, but to all the other virtues, as stated above ([2212]Q[71], A[1]). Now justification signifies a certain movement towards justice. Therefore not even remission of sin is justification, since movement is from one contrary to the other. Objection 2: Further, everything ought to be named from what is predominant in it, according to De Anima ii, text. 49. Now the remission …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

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