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us to keep aloof from sinners. Like our Lord, we may need on occasion to eat with the worst of sinners in order to preach salvation to them. But once they profess to believe and enter the church, such things are to be no longer tolerated. The modern church has prac tically reversed the Word of God on this point. It spends more time trying to discipline the world than its own membership. Instead of trying to dis cipline their members for attending the pagan sensualities of -the movie, the preachers work themselves in a sweat trying to discipline Hollywood. Is it possible that men cannot read the plain Word of God: “What have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth.” If the churches would clean up the sin ners inside their own gates, it might be easier.to save sinners on the outside. Golden Text Illustration M atthew 5:13 A.s the salt of the earth, Christians are not always to bring joy and com fort into the lives of others. Salt has other uses.- A Bible study group of college girls were recently discussing the familiar passage in the Sermon on the Mount, and were asking why Chris tians are like salt. All thought at once of salt’s preservative qualities. Then a Chinese girl in the, group quietly sug gested, “Salt creates thirst.” The truth went home. As one of the leaders afterward said, “Our lives should be such that people would con tinually come to us and ask us to explain ourselves.” Do our lives create in others the thirst that only the Water of Life can satisfy?—The Sunday School Times.
in . T he M inister to B e an E x a m p l e ( T it . 2:7, 8) The minister is to be the example for the flock o.ver which the Holy Spirit has made him the overseer. He is to be a pattern of good works for the church and the world to see. His speech may be criticised and his teaching refused, but his message is to be of Such a quality that it cannot be condemned. This kind'of manner Of life and work on the part of the minister will'do much to silence those in the world who crit icise. Even those who refuse the tes timony would be in the position of hav ing “no evil thing to say of” the church or its ministers. Points and Problems The title of this lesson is_ “The Re sponsibility of the Church Regarding Beverage Alcohol.” Considering the first of the passages' chosen (1 Cor. 5:9-13), the title might have been more accurately stated as “The Re sponsibility of the Church Regarding the Discipline of Its Members.” Cer tainly, the matter of alcohol is involved, for the “ drunkard” is one of the per sons who should be dealt with by. the church. But there are others who in God’s sight are just as bad. Read the list in verses 10 and 11: fornicators, covetous, extortioners, idolaters, railers, and drunkards. The passage suggeáts several things: 1. It is the duty of the church to discipline its members. The Word of God commands it, not only here but in other Scriptures. Yet action of this kind on the part of any Protestant church is so rare that some church ' members have never even heard of such a thing. Preachers carefully avoid the whole subject. Many congregations have lowered their standards to such an extent that the difference between a church member and the worldling is imperceptible. But worst of all, if some faithful pastor in a spiritual church disciplines a member, all the erring dne needs to do is .walk around the block to find another church that will gladly take him in with no questions asked. This is one of the reasons that the world hol4s the average church in con tempt. 2. The first duty of the church in this matter is to its own members, not to those outside the church. The apostle clearly states the matter in verses 9 and 10. When he tells the church to have no company with “fornicators,” he quickly adds that he does not refer to such sinners who are “ of this world.” Such a policy would be impossible, re quiring us to “go out of the world.” But if a man who is “called a brother,” that is, a professing Christian, should begin practicing any of these deadly sins, we are not even to eat with this man. Thus the Holy Spirit recognizes that in the church’s work of saving sinners, it is not always possible for
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At Our House T itus 2:1-8
MEMORY VERSE: "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Lk. 6:31). APPROACH: Did you ever watch your mother measuring curtains? What ' did she use ? A tape measure is not
thé only tliing with which we,can meas ure ; sometimes we use the yardstick or the foot rule. God h a s a. measuring s t i c k , too. It is called the Golden Rule. : LESSON: Not so long ago we had a story c a l l e d “At
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Lydia’s House,” and you remember Lydia was a very gracious person. I wonder how it is in our houses. If you stood up beside God’s measuring stick, how “tall” would you be?' The steps on a foot rule are called inches. God has steps on His rule, too. They show us how much we have grown. He says
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