Acts 15:26

Acts 15:26. Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is well said by Wordsworth, that ‘the first Christians were not wont to praise each other in public, but that on the present occasion such a witness, especially to St. Paul, was seasonable and appropriate. It was a reply to the charges of the judges against him; it was a public declaration on the part of the other apostles at Jerusalem, that St. Paul's claims to Divine revelations and to an apostolic mission were true, and that there was no difference of opinion or disparity in dignity between him and the Twelve who had seen the Lord on earth.' These noble men were martyrs in will though their lives had not yet been laid down; they were well carrying out the command, which has been well and tersely expressed, ‘Die at the post of duty, but gain souls for the Lamb.'