Gods Sabbath

T HE R EAPPEARANCE OF THE P ROBLEM

451

course, show a hostile spirit. Paul exhibited an attitude of re spect for them, while they maintained a very dignified and pol ished demeanor. Observers would have concluded that relation ships between the two parties were good. When Paul presented the liberal offerings from the field and related God’s wonderful providences, the Holy Spirit seized the opportunity to appeal once more to these fine, but misguided men. He desired to restore in them what they had previously re ceived at the great council but which had been lost as they re verted to their old thought patterns. Such is the wonderful love of the God who is ever seeking to forgive and to restore. Those men were without excuse, even as we are today. They had experienced the guiding hand of the Lord, they knew that Paul had been especially chosen to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and that he was acting under direct inspiration. Therefore, they should have been willing to leave Paul under the care of the Head of the church who had called and commissioned him. Yet, despite their willful rejec tion of these principles, the Lord still desired to save them if He could. This was why, when Paul stood in their presence, the Holy Spirit spoke with a power and directness which could not be ignored. After he had presented the gifts, Paul “reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry” Acts 21:19. This was another appeal to those responsible men to sur render their pride and position thinking and to recognize that the wall of partition had been torn down. The following para graph expresses this thought: “This recital of facts brought to the hearts of all, even of those who had been doubting, the conviction that the blessing of heaven had accompanied his labors. ‘When they heard it, they glorified the Lord.’ They felt that the methods of labor pursued by the apostle bore the signet of Heaven. The liberal contributions lying before them added weight to the testimony of the apostle concerning the faithfulness of the new churches established among the Gentiles. The men who, while num bered among those who were in charge of the work at Jerusal em, had urged that arbitrary measures of control be adopted, saw Paul’s ministry in a new light and were convinced that