The Acts of the Apostles (1911) — PDF Scan 213

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EXALTING THE CROSS 207 fail of the grace of God. And so, by word of mouth and by letter, he pleaded with those who had accepted Christ, to pursue a course that would enable them to be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, ... as lights in the world, holding forth the world of life."' Every true minister feels a heavy responsibility for the spiritual advancement of the believers entrusted to his care, a longing desire that they shall be laborers together with God. He realizes that upon the faithful performance of his God-given work depends in a large degree the well-being of the church. Earnestly and untiringly he seeks to inspire the believers with a desire to win souls for Christ, remembering that every addition to the church should be one more agency for the carrying out of the plan of redemption. Having visited the churches in Pisidia and the neighboring region, Paul and Silas, with Timothy, pressed on into ^'Phrygia and the region of Galatia,'' where with mighty power they proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation. The Galatians were given up to the worship of idols, but as the apostles preached to them, they rejoiced in the message that promised freedom from the thraldom of sin. Paul and his fellow-workers proclaimed the doctrine of righteousness by faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. They presented Christ as the one who, seeing the helpless condition of the fallen race, came to redeem men and women by living a life of obedience to God's law, and by paying the penalty of disobedience. And in the light of the cross, many who had never before ^PMl. 2:15, 16. 14 — Acts