The Acts of the Apostles

S82 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
begin the mission to the Gentiles—the real originators
were anonymous men of Cyprus and Cyrene—
he allowed that the Law remained in force for the
Jewish Christians, provided only that they did not be-
lieve that righteousness was gained by keeping it ; and,
what is more, he taught that a special role was reserved
for the nation of Israel, that the promises given to it
would still be fulfilled, and that the time would come
when " all Israel will be saved." In this sense he
remained a Jewish Christian. Lastly, though his
demonstration of universalism and of the abrogation
of the Law is most profound, it is also most difficult
to comprehend. Scarcely any one understood it, and
it did not make its Avay into the thought of the
Churches. St. Paul always regarded the question as
a problem—a problem capable indeed of solution
yet still to be solved ; and so long as a man regards
important principles as being still problems, he will
not be able to commend his thought to others. Only
trivial truths are successful. A thought in which
there is still something to be thought out has no
prospect of being widely accepted.
Thus the teaching and the procedure of St. Paul
left much to be desired. Ought a Jewish Christendom
to be left in continuous existence side by side with
Universal Christendom ? Must not its simple exist-
ence exert a perplexing and disturbing influence.^
Could a special Hope for Israel Kara a-dpKa be re-
cognised side by side with the general Hope of all
Christians ? Must it not appear a gigantic paradox
that for this nation, in spite of the Divine sentence
of hardening of heart, there should yet be reserved a
;