The Lord Jesus, the Founder of the church, regarded himself as a missionary. Early in his ministry he applied to himself the words of Isaiah. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; he hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." He spoke of himself frequently as one sent of God, that is, a missionary. We have these phrases in the Gospels: "He that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me;" "As thou has sent me into the world;" "Neither have I come of myself, but he sent me." The frequency with which this thought occurs, more than fifty times, demonstrates the fact that he was a missionary.

      The twelve men whom he selected from among his followers that they might be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness, he named apostles or missionaries. Much of his time was spent in training these men for their life work. While he was yet with them he sent them out, two and two, into the cities and villages of Israel. They were to preach as they went, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." They were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. As they had received freely, they were to give freely. Somewhat later he appointed seventy others, and sent them, two and two, before his face into every place and city, which he himself was about to visit. This work as it was related to the people was evangelistic; as it was related to themselves it was educational. Their experience on these short tours prepared them for their work in the larger field.

      Our Lord's work and the work of his disciples during his earthly career was confined to Palestine. Of himself, he said, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." He charged the twelve not to go into any way of the Gentiles, and not to enter into any city of the Samaritans; but to go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The time which they could devote to this ministry was brief. He told them that [43] they should not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man would come. Besides, the twelve were not yet fully qualified for work among the Gentile nations. Not only so, but it was the purpose of God that the people he had been training since the days of Abraham were to hear the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, first. Moreover, it was not until after the death and resurrection of our Lord that there was a full gospel for these men to preach.

      While it is true that the apostles were restricted to Palestine, it is plain that this restriction was regarded as temporary. The fact that such a restriction was imposed leads one to think that the apostles were thinking of the larger field. The striking saying, "Let the children first be fed," shows beyond question that a world-wide thought was in the mind of Jesus from the beginning. There are many indications of this in his teaching. Thus we hear him say, "Ye are the salt of the earth; ye are the light of the world." Again, "And they shall come from the east and the west, and the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God." And again, "Other sheep have I which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." And yet again, "This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations." He told the twelve that they should be brought before governors and kings for his sake. Referring to the woman that anointed him in the house of Simon, the leper, he said, "Wheresoever the gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, that also which this woman hath done shall be told for a memorial of her." Alluding to his death on the cross, he said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself." Again, we hear him say, "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." In his interpretation of the parable of the Tares, he said, "The field is the world. " In applying the parable of the Vineyard and the Husbandman to his hearers, he said, "The Kingdom of God shall he taken from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." The universality of the gospel was manifestly not an afterthought, but was an essential part of the original program of our Lord.

      For good and sufficient reasons the universal commission was not given till after the resurrection of Jesus from among the dead. The work of redemption was then finished; the gospel was completed; the limitations which had restricted its extension were removed. Now they are to go everywhere and publish the good tidings of salvation through the Crucified. Our Lord's parting charge is reported by all four Evangelists. As given by Matthew it reads, "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations." As given by Mark, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation." As given by Luke, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." As given by John, "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Just before the ascension he said to them, "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

      The commission given to the apostles is the climax of the Gospels. All that goes before leads up to it and prepares for it. So Warneck truly says, "The gospel of Jesus Christ necessarily issues in a missionary commandment. It is penetrated through and through by thoughts of universal salvation which make it a religion for the whole world. These thoughts move through all the teaching of Jesus, and necessarily led, when his saving work was accomplished, to the institution of missions."

      The book called "The Acts" shows how the apostles understood and obeyed the commission of their Lord. It gives some account of the planting of the church in Jerusalem and of the spread of the gospel till it reached the heart of the Empire. Tradition says that the apostles remained in Jerusalem for twelve years. In those years a strong and prosperous church was built up by their labors. We have the statement that believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women. At the expiration of that period the apostles entered upon their missionary vocation, and James, the Lord's brother, who was not one of the twelve, was left in charge of the church.

      If the apostles were slow of heart to engage in the work outside the Holy [44] City, it was not because they were ignorant of the world-wide scope of their commission. In his first sermon, Peter quoted the words of Joel, "It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my spirit upon all flesh;" and again from the same prophet, "And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And in his second recorded sermon the same apostle quoted the promise given to Abraham, "And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed," and added, "Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." A little later he said, "And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein ye must be saved." It was not because the apostles did not apprehend the teaching of their Lord that they delayed for so long a time entering the regions beyond, but for other reasons.

      On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the believers who were assembled for prayer, and they began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. Peter stood up with the Eleven and preached to one of the most cosmopolitan audiences ever addressed by any man. There were dwelling in Jerusalem at that time Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. In Peter's audience there were Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians. These representatives of the Jews who were dispersed all over the Empire and the proselytes to the Jewish faith were in touch with their own people and it is almost certain that through them the story of what took place on Pentecost was published far and near.

      Of those who heard Peter's first sermon, three thousand believed and were baptized. The converts continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers, and the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved. We read that every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ. As a result of their persistent efforts many of those that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. A little later it is said that the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests became obedient to the faith. This work went on and the church was established in all Judea and Galilee and Samaria. The apostles had to contend against opposition and to endure persecution, but they were not dismayed. When they were beaten they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of their Lord.

      The growing opposition to the new faith led to the death of Stephen, the first martyr. His death marked a new stage in the progress of the church. By that time the essential differences between Judaism and Christianity became apparent, and as a necessary consequence the sympathy of the Jews towards their Christian brethren became antipathy. So it came to pass that the martyrdom of Stephen was followed by a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and the members were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Those who were thus scattered abroad went about preaching the word. Among this number was Philip, one of the seven deacons, who went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed unto them the Christ. The record states that the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did, and they were baptized, both men and women, When the apostles heard of what had taken place in the city of Jerusalem, they sent Peter and John to look into it. When they had accomplished the purpose of their mission and had testified and had spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem. It is added that they preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

      Having completed his missionary work in Samaria, an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza." Philip obeyed at once. On the way south he fell in with the treasurer of Queen Candace, of Ethiopia, who had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and was reading the prophecy of Isaiah on his return. The Spirit told Philip to go and join himself to the treasurer's chariot. He did so, and on invitation went up and [45] sat with the treasurer and preached Jesus to him from the Scripture he was reading, and baptized him. Tradition tells us that this man who was the first Ethiopian to receive the gospel was the founder of the church in his own country. The Spirit caught away Philip and he was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea.

      The conversion of Saul of Tarsus, which took place within a few years after the Ascension of our Lord, was an event full of significance for the church. He had been breathing out threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord; he had been exceedingly mad against them, and had persecuted them even unto foreign cities. He arrested and shut up many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death he gave his vote against them. When Stephen was stoned Saul stood by and consented, and kept the raiment of the men that slew him. While he was on his way to Damascus in search of Christians to bring them bound to Jerusalem, the Lord appeared to him to make of him a minister and a witness both of the things he had seen and should see, and to send him to the people of Israel and to the Gentiles, to open their eyes, that they might turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.

      As soon as Saul was baptized he began to proclaim Jesus, that he is the Son of God. On his return to Jerusalem he preached boldly in the name of the Lord; and he spoke and disputed with the Grecian Jews. Saul was a missionary to the Gentiles, as Peter was to the Jews. Saul glorified his ministry as a missionary to the Gentiles. He made it his aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that he might not build upon another man's foundation; but as it is written, "They shall see to whom no tidings of him came, and they who have not heard shall understand." More than any other man that ever lived, Saul of Tarsus established Christianity in the world. Next to his Lord, he was the chiefest of all the missionaries who have sought to fill the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters fill the sea. Saul's one ambition was to present the Gentile world as an acceptable offering to God the Father, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

      While Jerusalem was still the headquarters of the apostles Peter, on one of his missionary tours, visited Lydda. There he healed a man named Aeneas, who had been palsied and bed-ridden for eight years. All the citizens of Lydda saw the miracle that had been wrought in Aeneas and they turned to the Lord. From Lydda Peter was called to Joppa. There he restored Dorcas to life, and, as a result, many believed on the Lord. From Joppa the Holy Spirit directed Peter to Cæsarea to preach to Cornelius and his household. Peter demurred at first, but afterward consented and went. While he was preaching to this Gentile family, the Holy Spirit fell on all that heard the word, and Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

      The conversion of Cornelius marked another stage in the progress of the church. Prior to this event the gospel had been preached to none who were not of the seed of Abraham or proselytes to the Jewish faith. Now, for the first time, it is preached to Gentiles. Some of the brethren of the stricter sort contended with Peter because he went in to uncircumcised men and did eat with them. Peter expounded the matter in order unto them, and concluded his defense by telling the apostles and the others that the Holy Spirit fell on that Gentile family as he began to speak as upon the Twelve when they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and added, "Who was I, that I could withstand God?" When they heard those things they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life."

      The author of The Acts stated that those who were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phœnicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to Jews. It is possible that they had not heard of the epoch-making event in Cæsarea when Peter preached to Cornelius and to his family and the ratification of Peter's course by the Apostles and the brethren in Judea. In any event those scattered disciples confined their ministry to members of the Jewish race. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they reached Antioch, spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. "The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord." Later, under the preaching of Barnabas, "much people was added to the Lord." In that city Barnabas and Saul continued a whole year, and taught [46] much people. There is a tradition that the church in Antioch numbered 70,000 at one time.

      It was in Antioch that the Holy Spirit said to the prophets and teachers who were there, and as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." "Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, the port of Antioch, and from thence sailed to Cyprus. They proclaimed the word of the Lord from one end of the island to the other, beginning at Salamis and ending at Paphos. Then, sailing from Paphos they crossed over to the mainland. They landed at Perga in Pamphylia, and passing through from Perga came to Antioch in Pisidia. Having been invited by the rulers, of the synagogues to speak if they had any word of exhortation, Saul, or Paul as he is henceforth called, preached a sermon that is reported more at length than any other preached by him. His hearers were so impressed and so pleased that they asked him to repeat his sermon on the next Sabbath day. Seeing how popular he was with the Gentiles, the Jews were filled with jealousy and contradicted his words and blasphemed. In his reply Paul quoted the words of the prophet Isaiah, "I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth." His course in speaking to Gentiles as well as Jews, was in accordance with what their own prophet had said long before. In that city as many as were ordained to eternal life believed, "And the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout all the region." The uproar caused by the enemies of the gospel in this as in other cases caused it to be published broadcast.

      The persecution that was stirred up against Paul and Barnabas caused them to shake off the dust of their feet against them, and to go on to Iconium. They entered the synagogue of that city, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and Greeks believed. Learning that it was the purpose of both the Gentiles and of the Jews with their rulers to treat them shamefully and to stone them, Paul and Barnabas left Iconium and fled unto the cities of Lycaonia, Derbe and Lystra, and the region round about, and there preached the gospel. In Lystra Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city as dead. In Derbe many disciples were made. Derbe was the western and northern limit of Paul's first missionary tour. From Derbe Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps through Lystra and Iconium and Antioch in Pisidia and Perga and Attalia, and thence by sea to Antioch in Syria, from whence they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.

      After two years Paul and Silas started on a second tour. They passed through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. Thence they went on to Derbe and Lystra. On their way they delivered the decrees that had been ordained by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. "So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily." Having passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they wished to speak the word in the Roman province of Asia, but were forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Going on until they came over against Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not. Then passing by Mysia they came down to Troas. While waiting in Troas for orders a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." Paul and those that were with him sought to go into Macedonia straightway; for they concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel in Europe. Setting sail from Troas they made a straight course to Samothrace; and the next day to Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi. In that city the first church was planted on European soil.

      The next place entered by Paul and his fellow-workers was Thessalonica. He reasoned from the Scriptures with the people in the synagogue for three Sabbath days, seeking to convince them that the Jesus he preached was the Christ. Some of the Jews were persuaded and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. From Thessalonica Paul and Silas went on to Berea. The people of Berea received the word with all readiness of mind, and examined the Scriptures daily to discover whether the things they heard were so. "Many of them therefore believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not a few."

      The next city in which Paul preached was Athens. After hearing his discourse [47] in the midst of the Areopagus, some mocked; others, more courteous, said, "We will hear thee again concerning this matter." "But certain men clave unto him, and believed: among whom was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them." Leaving Athens Paul went on to Corinth. He spent a year and six months in that city, teaching the word of God. "And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue believed in the Lord with all his is house; and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized."

      On his third and last missionary tour Paul spoke for three months in the synagogue of Ephesus, reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the Kingdom of God. On account of the opposition of some of the Jews he separated himself and the disciples from the synagogue and spoke daily in the school of Tyrannus. "This continued for the space of two years; so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks."

      After this Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, and after that to Rome. While he was in Jerusalem he was arrested and carried away to Cæsarea where he was kept as a prisoner for more than two years. On appealing to Cæsar he was taken to Rome for trial. After his arrival he spoke from morning till evening to a great number that visited him in his lodging; to whom he expounded the matter, testifying the Kingdom of God, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and the prophets. "Some believed the things that were spoken, and some disbelieved." Paul abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went to him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him. While he was waiting the convenience of the emperor, he was establishing the church in the capital of the Empire.

      The book entitled the "Acts" is a missionary book. Every part of it has missionary significance. But it does not give a complete account of the missionary work of the whole church. It gives an account of the work of Peter and Paul and does that only in part. The work of the other apostles is not given at all. But it is evident from the rapid spread of the gospel into so many places that these men were busy somewhere. Tradition tells us that Matthew and Bartholomew and Nathaniel labored in Arabia; Matthias in Ethiopia; James the son of Alphaæus in Egypt; Simon the zealot in Mauritania and Libya; Thaddeus in Mesopotamia; Thomas in the district adjoining Parthia; and Philip in Phrygia. How reliable this tradition is it is not easy to determine.

      It is apparent that the work of spreading the gospel was not confined to the apostles and to the men and women whose names are found on the pages of the New Testament, Warneck states that in the youth-time of its first love the whole church was practically a missionary church. Gibbon says that it became the most sacred duty of a new convert to diffuse among his friends and relations the inestimable blessings which he had received. We are told on the very best authority that the supreme characteristic of the apostolic church was the missionary zeal and activity of the individual members. Soldiers, sailors, merchants, miners, craftsmen voluntarily made it one of their chief objects, whether at home or abroad, in private or public life, to extend to others the gospel message. "Then, as in no period since, was it true that every individual Christian was a missionary."

      Garrisons of soldiers were stationed along the frontiers of the empire; these military establishments became centers from which Christianity spread outside the civilized world. When the armies pushed beyond the boundaries of the Empire, Christianity was sure to go with them. History shows that Christian soldiers captured and enslaved by barbarians were the means of converting whole nations. The New Testament church was essentially a missionary organization. With it missions was not a by-work or a by-play, but the first work, the chief concern, the supreme business of all who called themselves disciples of Jesus Christ. Harnack has shown that the most numerous and successful missionaries were not regular teachers, but Christians themselves, by dint of their loyalty and courage. Above all, every confessor and martyr was a missionary; he did not merely confirm the faith of those who were already won, but also enlisted new members by his testimony and his death. "While he lay in prison, while he stood before the judge, on the road to execution, and in the act of execution itself, he won people to the faith. We cannot hesitate to believe that the great mission of [48] Christianity was in reality accomplished by means of informal missionaries." Women as well as men shared in the work. Paul sent salutations to fifteen women who rendered conspicuous service to the cause.

      The Roman Empire embraced the then known world. The area of the Empire was two million square miles; the population was one hundred millions. The Empire included part of three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. All three abutted on the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire was preëminently an empire of cities, and the Mediterranean furnished easy access from city to city. The conquest of the Empire for Christ was the one task before the church of that time.

      The records show that the gospel was preached in all parts of the Empire before the close of the first Christian century. In the Epistle to the Colossians, the author states that the gospel was bearing fruit in all the world and increasing: and again, that it was preached in all creation under heaven. By the time of John's death there were Christian churches all over Syria, Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece proper, the islands and Italy. Peter, in his First Epistle addressed the sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, and sent greetings from Babylon. Christianity found a lodgment from Spain to Babylon, and from Rome to Alexandria. Churches or believers were found in the following places: Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, Sharon, Cæsarea, Antioch in Syria, Tyre, Sidon, Ptolemais, Pella, Tarsus, Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Ephesus, Colossae, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Smyrna, Sardis, Philadelphia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Cenchreæ, Crete, Rome and Puteoli. It is probable that churches or believers were found in the following places: Edessa, Arabia, Petrea, Alexandria, Cyrene, Ancyra, Rhodes, Mileta, Carthage, Spain, Dalmatia, Britain and the Rhone Valley.

      Writing of the spread of Christianity Professor Purves says, "Our information is scanty, but there can be no doubt as to the fact. We have already noted its wide diffusion in the last years of Paul. That it entered Egypt with much power is proved by the remains of early Christian literature in that land from early in the second century. There is also reason to believe that it entered Arabia and Parthia, and possibly India, as well as in the West, Germany and Gaul. It touched Spain and perhaps Britain: while throughout the central parts of the Empire it had its adherents in every country.

      The language of the Revelation (e. g., 7:9) implies that the new faith included representatives of all nations. Clement of Rome (A. D. 96) refers to the apostles as preaching everywhere in city and country. Ignatius (A. D. 110) writes of bishops settled in the farthest parts (of the earth). Pliny, governor of Bithynia and Pontus in A. D. 112, found the Christians so numerous that the worship of the temples had suffered severely. It is probable that by the close of the century companies of believers existed in all the larger cities and many of the smaller towns of the empire, and that the new religion was represented from the Atlantic to the Indus, and from Germany to Egypt and Arabia."

      All races and all conditions were included. All nations were fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. All partition walls were broken. There was no distinction between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him. In the church there was neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female. A Christian because he was a Christian felt that he was a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. The converts represented every rank in society. Most of them were from the humbler classes; but there were some, though not many, who were wise; some who were mighty; and some who were noble. The gospel met the needs of every human soul.

      There were several things that greatly assisted the missionaries in the New Testament church. The first of these were the great roads built by the Romans for military and commercial purpose; the missionaries travelled along these as they went out to make disciples of all the nations. The caravan routes, we are told, led into the common basin of the Mediterranean, from Central Africa through the Sahara by several ways, down the Nile, from Yemen along the Red Sea; from the Persian Gulf through the Syrian desert; from Mesopotamia, the center of the trade of Central Asia, to which came the treasure from the Persian Susa, Hyrcania and Bactria, which in turn drew from China and from Hindustan and Farther India. The [49] whole coast of southern Asia was familiar to the merchants, and regular routes by the sea were open, finding their natural termini in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Commerce came pouring down from the region of the Baltic and from distant Britain. All this made it easy for those men who were seeking to obey the parting command of their Lord to accomplish their purpose.

      Secondly, the Greek language was understood in all parts of the Roman world. The Roman legions conquered Greece, and Greek letters and arts in turn conquered the conquerors. The New Testament was written in Greek and could be read by intelligent men everywhere. In passing from province to province and from continent to continent the Christian missionaries did not need to stop and master a new and strange tongue.

      Thirdly, the Jewish people were scattered abroad over the Roman Empire and even beyond its boundaries. Every land and sea was full of them. It was not easy to find a place in the world which had not received this race and was not occupied by them. The temple in Jerusalem was the cradle of the infant church. The believers continued steadfastly in the temple day by day. We know how Paul entered the synagogues of the cities in which he preached, even though he was a missionary to the Gentiles. The Jewish people carried their great promise and their great hope with them into all the world. In this, way they greatly assisted the work of the apostles and their associates.

      With the Roman government to police the world, with highways and harbors facilitating journeys by land and sea, with a universal language at their command and with Jewish people and prayer bands distributed all over the empire, the apostles went forth to conquer. These accessories enable us to understand how it was that they won such marvelous triumphs in so short a period of time.

      Moreover, they were greatly helped by the Lord himself. "They went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed." The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews has both by signs and wonders and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will. In sending out his chosen and trained missionaries our Lord said to them, "And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." He assisted them in these particulars: he gave them wisdom and faith and courage; he enabled them to heal the sick, to cast out evil spirits, and to raise the dead; he opened prison doors and brought them out; he removed serious obstacles as in the case of Herod when he was disposed to kill Peter as he had killed James; he guided them in the selection of their fields; he cheered them with assurances of his presence and deliverance and victory; he filled them with peace and joy and satisfaction in the service to which he had called them.

      The chief motive that impelled the missionaries of the New Testament church was their love for Christ. They had seen him rejected as an imposter and crucified; they desired to see his claim to be the Son of the Highest and the Savior of the world vindicated. They earnestly desired to see many diadems on his head, and the sceptre of universal empire in his hand; they desired to see him recognized as King of kings, as Lord of lords, as the blessed and only Potentate. They thought of the need of men, too, but their controlling motive was less than that their love for their Lord and their wish that he should receive the honor that was his due. Like the Moravians later, they sought to give to the Lamb that was slain the reward of his sufferings.

      Unquestionably, missions had the first place in the New Testament church, and none other. The apostles were not theologians, or prelates or philosophers, but messengers, and their one work was to give the gospel to all mankind. They did not take time to write elaborate treatises on systematic theology or on the philosophy of the Christian religion: their work was of a different nature. What they wrote was written in the thick of the fight against paganism. They wrote as Cæsar and Napoleon wrote their military dispatches, on the field of battle. Their writings are missionary documents and nothing else.

      The Gospels furnish the missionary with his message: they affirm that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and they furnish the evidence of that grand proposition. The book we call The Acts is a record of the missionary activity of that time. The Epistles were written to mission churches and have to do with the conduct of the members. The book of Revelation is a forecast of [50] the final victory, when all rule, and all authority, and all power opposed to Christ shall be abolished, and when he shall reign from pole to pole with undivided and undisputed sway. The church of the New Testament had this one task on hand and undertook in good faith to accomplish it.

      Missions were the business of that church. Important as buildings and other equipment are, they were considered of secondary importance. The work of filling the world with the gospel was the one work of supreme importance, and to the doing of that one work the church addressed herself with all possible earnestness and with all the resources she could command. As a result we read that "the word of the Lord grew and multiplied," and again, that "so mightily grew the word of the Lord and prevailed:" and from another source that "the fires of the faith burned down to the water's edge all around the Mediterranean and remade the Roman world."

      The church of the New Testament had all confidence in the universal triumph of the Gospel. They looked for the new heaven and the earth wherein dwells righteousness. They believed that "all Israel should be saved," and that "the fulness of the Gentiles should be brought in." John saw a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues; and they cried with a great voice, "Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb." When the seventh apocalyptic angel sounded there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, "The kingdom of the world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever." John saw the nations walking in the light of the Holy City, and the kings of the earth bringing their glory into it. He heard as it were the voice of a great, multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, "Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigneth." While the forces of darkness opposed them and sought their destruction, the early missionaries were cheered with the exceeding great and precious promise, that "all flesh should see the salvation of God; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

[DH 43-51.]