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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1936
he would like to be more comfortable. Third, in all that the rich man has to say, he makes no plea to God, a fact of tremen dous significance. The attitude o f the soul toward God in this life will be carried “across the bar.” Death fixes, but does no 1 change, character. 3. The passage reveals clearly the con sciousness of the lost in the midst o f pun ishment after death. The rich man sees (v. 23), speaks (v. 24), feels (v. 24), hears (v. 25),und remembers (v. 25). All these are characteristic marks of conscious ex istence. Men do not cease to exist when they die. Death and life are simply differ ent modes of existence. D. Gordon tells the following story of a man who reckoned without God in the accumulation of his treasures. He says: “The wealthy owner o f a large business concern in Sweden had been a poor boy in a country district. His task had been the tending of cattle. One day he wanted to be away, and asked his sister to tend the cattle for the day, promising to let her hold for the day a small coin, current there, worth less than two annas, to be returned at night. She consented. The very sight of money was a rarity to her. Thus she spent a long, hard day caring for his cattle, and holding the bright coin, and re turning it again at night, quite content with the day’s pay. Long years afterwards, the brother was telling the story. He had grown very wealthy. He had allowed the love o f money to crowd out the Christ passion, to which he was not a stranger. He told the story to my friend with great glee, laughing at his sister’s childish sim plicity. My friend said quietly, ‘That is all you get; you hold your wealth to the end of the day of your life; then you give it up arid have as little as before, and the whole o f your life is gone!’ And the man’s startled face showed he quite understood.” —Sunday School Times. Golden Text Illustration S.
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of two places where existence continues, and that every one stays in his own place, his destiny haying been settled during his lifetime. Destiny hinges upon the personal acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as Saviour. _______________ Points and Problems 1. The passage in Luke 16:19-31 bears such a clear testimony as to the state o f the lost and the, saved immediately after death that some have sought to destroy its force by calling it a parable. This is the argument o f the late “ Pastor” Russell, whose -adherents now call t hems e l v e s “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Not believeing in the conscious existence o f the soul after death, nor in the conscious punishment of the wicked, they try to escape the force of the passage by making it a parable. But notice that it is nowhere called a par able. On the contrary, the narrative speaks ofis“a certain rich man” and “a certain beggar.” However, even if for the sake o f argument we admit the parabolic form, its force is not weakened, for no parable o f our Lord’s ever sets forth a situation which could not take place. The details of His parables are always things that can happen, and do happen. Solvers go forth to sow, tares grow in the wheat, women hide leaven in dough, fishermen catch fish, etc. 2. Concerning the rich man . and his punishment, three things are of deep in terest. First, he makes no complaint as to the justice of his punishment. He asks for “mercy," but not for justice, evidently recognizing that he is where he is justly. Second, he does not ask for deliverance from the place o f torment, but only that his condition there might be somewhat alleviated. It is a perfect picture of the lost. He knows he is where he belongs, bu 1 BLACKBOARD LESSON
Jesus’ Story of a Beggar Man L u k e 16: 19-31
Memory V erse : “He that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he” (Prov. 14:21). Approach : Jesus went on talking to His disciples and friends. He wished them to understand that everything that they had in this world came to them as a gift from
God, and that He expected them to use it unselfishly. Lesson S tory : He told them about a man named Lazarus who was lying at the gateway o f a rich man’s h o u s e . Lazarus lay there covered with sores and unable to move. He was hoping that
he might be fed with crumbs from the rich man’s, table. But the rich man was not thinking much of Lazarus, but sat at his fine table, dressed in his best clothes, and feasted. Never once did he thank God who had given him all o f these good things. Not once did he say to God, “What can I do with what Thou hast given me to show how much I thank TheeiS There is one word which tells us what was the matter with this rich man. He was selfish. And because of this, there is a very sad ending to this story. . [Continued on page 105] ♦ ' v i s t o 1
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