LESSON 28
A GREAT CONTROVERSY
Texts: Acts 15:1-35
"The union of Christians to Christ, their common head, and by means of the influence they derive from Him, one to another, may be illustrated by the loadstone. It not only attaches the particles of iron to itself by the magnetic virtue, but by this virtue it unites them one to the other."
Jews Scattered Over Empire.
As we followed Paul and Barnabas in their first missionary journey, we noticed that in nearly every city they visited, they found Jews, and that their preaching was frequently first done in a synagogue. The fact is, that the Jews were scattered over nearly all of the Roman Empire. They were on the coasts and islands of Western Asia, on the borders of the Caspian Sea, and some were even as far as China.
Jews Kept to Their Religion.
But no matter where the Jew was living, he always kept his own religion, and studied carefully the Law of Moses. That is what James meant when he said, "Moses of old time, hath in every city, them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Their religion taught them not to mingle with the Gentiles in marriage or in social intercourse.
Gentiles Would Not Worship With Jews.