A Sermon Preached by the Rev. W. E. Godson, M: A., in Holy; Tri Cathedral Sunday, July 3, 1927
"Phon Peter opened kis mouth and said, of @ truth I perceive that God is no respecter of person jut in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh -reghteousness is accepted with Hin," ™—Aets X, 34 and 35.
In the second Lesson appointed for this morning's service we have an account of one of the givat outstanding events in the early] iristory of the Christian Church. Tt was that of teaching St. Peter, and, through him, the Church generally, that "God is no respecter of persons"; that our Lord's last great command really meant that members of all nations were to be portals affording a glad welcome to teach and all who will enter in: door open to all was a great Gospel truth that St. Peter and others had to learn, When we are told that God is no respecter of persons, of course it does not mean, that He holds them all of litre account, but rather that one man may be as precious to God. as another. watered into the (Church's fold. It} was a very difficult lesson for a Jew to learn, and apparently needed} special vision, For long century ies the Jews had been nurtured upon the thought that they were the chosen of God, the elect, nation! of all nations. Had not the great founder of their race, Abraham, been specially called out of th midst of an: idolatrous people "to become the depository of the sacred trust?"
When the divine plan seemed to} be arrested by the captivity Egypt, "had He not chosen Mose og their rescuer and lawgiver: From his time on, did not great] men stand out as beacon lights all down the long history of the Jews? Joshua, Samuel, David,—Isaish, Jeremiah, kings and prophets, an endless succession, and all of them imbeed with the spirit of nationalist and the pride of race? Then came the Messiah, with His world-
Restricted "Vision The Jews as a nation saw a re~ stricted vision of the world—and glorified their own people. 'There iwas the same danger in the Church. The same danger exists to-day. St, Peter saw a large sheet let down from heaven, Some people appear to see the' sheet as only large enough to hold the members of their own Church; some nations see it only large enough to hold their own people. Some people in society have 4 sheet only large enough to hold their own set. Men of all nations fre of the same blood. "Rise, Peter, Kill and eat." St. Peter did not earn the lesson all at once, "Not 80, Lord." He appeared to be arguing with God; still there was the reve fence of "Lord." "I have never. There was the old nature asserting: itself, "a God made it clear it was qui time Bean annatinds "ENG eng seta today. We seem to think what wwe oka naviout and did. How ike to some. sivaness was @ difficult lesson for the Jew, but it was of the ver essence of Christianity. The national and religious prejudice which had taken such deep root in the heart of the Jows was exceedingly Aiffieult to uproot and destroy. Pre-Judice always has been so, and, as Tong as human nature is) what it is, always is likely to be. It is just fas blind and stubborn and. pitiless o-day. Yes, and pitiful, and mean, beliovet and small, as it has ever been,
The Fear of Truth When the telescope was first in-ented, certain disciples of a great teacher refused to look through it Because they feared it might overthrow ome of the mathematical] theories of their Master. There are men in the world to-lay who seem: afraid to look truth in the face, for fear it might prove some their pet theories to be false. Celsus, speaking of Christianity in the second century, said:—"A man mast be out of his mind to think that] Greeks and Barbarians,—Romans and Scythians, bondman and. free-ven could ever have one religion."
is a proved fact to-day that no nation is $0 exalted, no nation so law as to be beyond the reach of Christ's Gospel. This was the great Jessen St. Peter and other Apo-8 and Jewish Christians had to sam, Some of them learnt it, this verse 35. St, John learnt it too. Read Rev. vii, 9:—"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and kindveds and people and tongues stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, "clothed with white robes and palms in their hands! xxii, and 17:—"And let him health say "Come", and let him that t say' {Come', and Tet him take the reely." It is the urent truth our Lord emphasized, "whosoever believeth," ""whosoever cometh." "Cod is no respecter of persons"
Tt takes much time for the light] of @ new truth to pierce the darkness of prejudice. Truth is in one Yespect like the stars of heaven, 'The stars ave there, but the presence of some of them has only just made itself t: nown to men' by. the appearing of their Tight. Some truths are in existence but are only Just becoming known to. men by their light appearing. "Lain the door," said (Christ. Since We veturne ed; to the Father, He has been asi 4 door never closed, but by its open have not done, we eantot do, or do jot wish to try to do, or ought not to do, "Eh thing uncle commendable from heaven.' cleansed, that call not thou unclean." Ve was allowing an unreasonable prejudice to sway his mind and to. control his better nature, and rectified it. sheet came from heaven.
What blessing it would be if all we seo in the sheet of the Christian Chueh, ame from heaven. There is 20 much that is of earth in it. Probably we ave prejudiced against! what is in it from heaven, "Not 39, Lord, I have never." Is it not time we did? Is it not time we looked more closely into the reasons for some of our prejudices and seized and east them headlong out of their strongholds? One of the greatest needs of to-day, I believe, is a wider fand deeper perception of what St. Peter saw, and a definite acting upon it. "Of a tenth I perceive that God is no respecter of perser but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh with Him is accepted with Him." We know what!
amazingly disturbed state ths world is in to-day, with anrest and discontent in so many places, A vent deal is caused, no doubt, by economic forces. No such forces troubled St. Peter; his was ort concerned with racial prejudice and the new gospel of Christian brotherhood,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.