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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
February, 1934
the value of sacrifice; it thinks that is useless. And it has no understanding of the value o f man; it thinks he is not worth the sacrifice. All this is because human nature is ruled by Satan (v. 23). It would seem that Satan knows that apart from the cross, sin cannot be put away; salvation cannot come to man; God’s righteousness cannot be made manifest, nor His justice vindicated, nor His holi ness maintained. , Peter’s reasoning was natural, but behind it was Satan, who con trols the reasoning powers of the natural man. IV. T he P athway to H is F ellowship a n d R eward (24-26). There are three steps on this pathway (v. 24). The first is self-denial. This means taking another’s life instead o f one’s own; that is, in this case, taking Christ instead of self. It means that one must treat self as the crowd treated Jesus when it “denied the Holy One” (Acts 3:14), and desired a murderer in His place. The crowd chose Barabbas rather than Christ. We are to choose Christ, rather than self. The second step is self-renunciation. This means taking another’s cross, voluntarily. The cross o f which our Lord speaks here is something that the Christian may or may not assume. It really means doing or not doing certain things, simply because one belongs to Christ. The third step is self-abnegation, or taking another as a leader. W e are to follow Christ to His desires, not our own. Following Him is the only way to have fellowship with Him. To some, this pathway may seem hard, but when followed, it will be found to lead to peace and to rest (cf. Matt. 11:28-30; John 8:12; Psa. 23). Every individual must face this fact: My life is all I have to invest. If I invest it in things of this world, although I secure the whole world, what will I be advan taged? I will either be taken from my pos sessions, or they will be taken from me, and in either case, I will lose. But by invest ing my life in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, by denying self, taking up the cross, and following Him, there will be eternal gains from my life and through all eternity, I shall have something to show for it. Points and Problems The very heart o f this lesson revolves about the question as to the value of right belief. On every hand, in newspaper and in pulpit, you will hear the popular opinion that it does not matter what we believe about Jesus, just as long as we follow His moral precepts. But the answer is that it does matter what we believe. First, it matters to Jesus Christ Him self. When He calls upon His disciples to report the public reaction to their wide spread preaching campaign, His first ques tion is not, “Are men keeping My Golden Rule?” But it is, “Whom do men say that I . . . am?” (v. 13). More than once our Lord showed that He was deeply interested in what men thought about Him, and He is greatly pleased when He finds men who have arrived at a correct estimate o f His person—“Ye call me Mas ter and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” (John 13:13). Furthermore, the church is founded not on a set of ethical principles, but upon a confession o f Him self as “the Christ, the Son o f the living God” (vs. 16, 18). Second, what we believe about Jesus will make a great difference to us. Apart from the priceless boon of eternal life which comes to us who believe, and which
believed this before He could allow them to be His helpers. He knew that soon He should leave this earth, and that the work which He had begun was to be carried on by His followers. It was most important, then, that they should believe what He had come to tell. Now that He was sure that they did be lieve, He began to tell them that soon He should be leaving them. They did not want Him to say this. They would miss Him. They felt afraid. What would become of them when He was gone? Then Jesus told them that if they were to be followers of His, they must not be afraid of hard things. They must be willing to lose even their own lives for His sake. He said that the important thing is not your life, but your soul—the part of you that lives forever. If we believe on Him, we, too, shall live forever. We need not fear any trouble which we may have in this world; God will take care o f us. Golden Text Illustration Benjamin Disraeli, Earl o f Beaconsfield, three times Chancellor o f the Exchequer, and twice Prime Minister of Britain, seems to have studied the claims o f Christ, for he uttered this striking testimony: “Had it not been for Jesus Christ, the Jews would have been known only as a high Oriental caste which had lost its country. Has not He made their history the most famous in the world? The wildest dreams of their rabbis have been far exceeded. Has not Jesus conquered Europe and changed its name to Christendom ? The time will come when countless myriads will find music in the songs of Zion, and solace in the parables o f Galilee.”—S elected .
BLACKBOARD LESSON
is of course the great thing, what about the matter of practical moral living? There is a deep conviction, based on both the Word and personal experience, that all of us will work harder to follow the ethical commands o f Christ if we believe they are the commands of One who is the eternal Son of God, instead of being mere ly the speculations o f an obscure Galilean peasant who lived and died 1900 years ago. If Jesus be only the Jewish rabbi of modernism, one may safely ignore Him. But if He is God manifest in the flesh, then one disobeys Him at the peril of one’s soul. The average man may not be very wise, but he can see this much. Once the modern reformers have convinced their hearers that Jesus is only a Man, it is little wonder that they find serious diffi culty getting the world to do what He commands. Lesson Questions Vs. 13-17. Whom did some men say Christ was? What was Peter’s answer? From whom does this revelation come to any man (John 6 :44) ? Vs. 18-20. When were “the keys” which the Lord committed to Peter first used for the Jews? for the Gentiles? (cf. Acts 2 and 10). What is meant by the terms “bind” and “loose” ? Why did Christ at this time ask that His identity be hid from the world? Vs. 21-23. Why did Christ begin to prophecy His death at this point in His career? What immediate reasons demand ed His death? What great eternal reason dictated His death (Acts 2 :2 3)? From Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ revelation of coming events, what do we learn is the first law o f life in the heart of a natural man? What did our Lord teach con cerning self-preservation (John 12:24) ? Vs. 24-26. What are the three steps in the pathway of service for Christ? How many have you taken? Memory V erse : “ Thou art the Christ, the Son o f the living God” (M att 16:16). Approach: One day, Jesus asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” They said, “ Some say that thou art Peter’s Answer to Jesus’ Question M atthew 16:13-22, 24-28
Object Lesson M r . and M rs . N eedle
Objects: Two needles o f different sizes, a magnet, a glass o f water, some black ink, a paper lid for the glass, which has two holes, one marked “Death” and the other “ Christ’s Coming,” and a small quan tity of red gasoline or furniture polish. Lesson: We will put some ink in this glass o f water and let it represent the world of sin in which we live. I want you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Needle. He is tall and slim, and she is short and stout. We will drop them into the black water to show how unsaved people sink in a sinful world. When Christ died on the cross, He shed His blood that we might be saved from sin, and some day be taken out of this sinful world. As we pour this red fluid into the glass, we are reminded o f the blood o f Christ. The red stays at the top o f the glass. Mr. and Mrs. Needle are at the bottom. Christ once said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). His drawing power is something like this mag net. I place it near the bottom o f the glass, and move it slowly along the side and toward the top. What is happening? “Mrs. Needle is coming up.” ( I f it is Mr. Needle that responds first, the names [Continued on page 73]
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John the Baptist; som e E l i a s ; and others, Jeremias, or one o f the prophets.” This was just what Jesus had thought. Many people did not believe that He was the Son o f God. L e s s o n S t o r y : Jesus wondered what His d i s c i p l e s be lieved. He said, “ But
whom say ye that I am?” Simon Peter answered for them: “ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus had to be sure that His disciples * 'V is \ 0 *
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