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November 1929
T h e
K i n g ' s
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cut short by the judgment of God because of disrespect and disobedience to parents. Many are the blessings forfeited likewise on account of this sin. In verse 4 Paul exhorts the fathers to be gentle, kind, and considerate towards their children in order not to provoke them to anger. He urges the fathers to bring up their children “in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.” Parents should rear their children in the fear of God and should teach them that disobe dience on the part of the child will be punished by the Lord Himself. All per suasive powers should be used to correct their evil habits; if, however, moral sua sion fails, the parent then must resort to correction by “the rod,” as God com manded. Servants, under the system of slavery which then existed, constituted part of the household, being very intimately in touch with the entire family. Therefore it was necessary to give special instruction to Christian servants to serve their mas ters in the proper spirit, rendering service to them who were their masters ac cording to the flesh as if they were rendering real service to the Lord Jesus Christ. In his instructions to them he urges them to work in the absence of their master with the same fidelity, loy alty, and sincerity as they would if he were present. Responsibility, likewise, rests upon the masters to reciprocate the faithful, sin cere Service of their slaves by the proper consideration of these men in bondage. The special point which he emphasizes is that they should practice the Golden Rule toward them—always keeping in mind that while they were masters of the slaves, they themselves were servants of Christ. In 2 Tim. 1:3-5 appears a glimpse into the simple, pious home life and environ ment in which Timothy was born and reared. Timothy had a great inheritance in that both his mother and grandmother were pious, godly Jewesses. In chapter 3:14, 15 appears the sidelight on the re ligious instruction which Timothy re ceived in his Jewish home. It is indeed a blessing to a boy to have parents who teach him the pure Word without addi tion or subtraction. P ith and P oint A distinguishing mark of Christianity is its regard for children. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Three characteristics of a home: sim plicity, consistency, and piety. “If you are a child of God, your life in the home should reveal it.” Home—:the place where one is treated the best and grumbles the most. December 8 , 1929 Helping Neighbors In Need Scripture References: Matt. 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37; Jas. 1:27; 2:14-17. Devotional Reading: Lk. 6:27-36. Golden Text: “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Je hovah” (Lev. 19:18).
L esson in O utline Introduction: Historical Setting. Beginning the Lesson. I. Neighborly Treatment t o w a r d s Christ’s Brethren. Matt. 25:31-46. II. Neighborly T r e a t m e n t towards Strangers. Lk. 10:25-37. III. N e i g h b o r l y Treatment towards Widows, Orphans, and the Needy. Jas. 1:27; 2:14-17. —o— Introduction: Historical Setting. Matt. 25:31-46 is the conclusion of the “Olivet Discourse,” which was the last sermon preached by the Lord Jesus Christ before Hisarrest and crucifixion. He spoke it while sit ting u p o n t h e M o u n t of Olives, looking toward Je rusalem. The par able of the Go o d S a m a r i t a n was spoken by the Lord Jesus in Galilee af ter the return of the Seventy who went throughout thecountry preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. James, the Lord’s brother, wrote the ■Epistle of James, probably 49 or 50 A.D.—the first of the New Testament books written. He ad dressed it to the Hebrew Christians—the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion. Beginning the Lesson. To interest the children in the matter of helping one’s neighbors, the teachers of the lower grades might have each pupil relate some instance in which he has done a good deed to someone or assisted another when he was in trouble. The teacher will likewise do well to draw forth from the class its idea of “neigh bor” and stranger.” I. N e i g h b o r l y Treatment towards Christ’s Brethren. Matt. 25:31-46. As stated in the Introduction, this Scripture forms the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse. The paragraph preceding verses 14-30, deals with the awarding of rewards to His faithful servants. Verses 31-46 pre sent a graphic picture of the assize of sur viving, living nations. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, . . . then shall he sit on the throne of his glory.” During the Great Tribulation, when God’s judgments are in the earth (Isa. 24), the bulk of the human family will be swept into eternity, with only a few men (comparatively speaking) left. These few men will be gathered before this Throne of Glory upon which the Son of man will be seated. This pronouncement of judgment and separation of the na tions, doubtless, is the great judgment scene presented in Joel 3:12. That this judgment is not what is usually called “the great judgment day,” when all people will be brought before Him and the Christian separated from the lost, is evident from the following facts: First, the dead are never, in the New Testament, spoken of as “nations”; sec ond, the basis of this judgment is “good works” toward His (Christ’s) brethren; third, the Christian’s judgment occurred when Christ was crucified (Gal. 2:20;
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John 5 :24); fourth, men are saved by grace through faith and not by their good deeds. From the foregoing reasons it is evident that this judgment is not the separation of the saved from the lost; neither is it the giving of rewards to His servants. The basis of this judgment is the kind of treatment accorded Christ’s brethren (probably the Jews) during the Tribula tion period. At that time they will suffer great disadvantages such as they have never experienced before, though they have suffered severely during the cen turies. Those placed upon the right hand who are permitted to enter the kingdom pre pared for them, are the moral, kind, unregenerated people who, having passed through the fires of the tribulation, sur vive it. When the kingdom is first set up at that time, God, according to Joel 2 :28f, will pour out His Spirit upon all of them and they will yield themselves to Him and His benign reign. It will be from them that the earth during the millennial age will be repeopled. Those put on the left hand are the wicked, inhumane, and hardened sinners, who have rejected the claims of Christ and who harbor in their hearts not only the spirit of antagonism to Christ and His followers, but also the spirit of anti- Semitism. These stubborn sinners will go off into the “eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels." Hell is an in stitution which has been prepared for Satan and his hosts and not for men; but since men refuse the Lordship and salva tion of Christ, there is but one thing that can be done, namely, they will have to be sent to associate throughout eternity with the on.e whom they have served, namely, Satan. The life into which the righteous go is eternal; so is the punishment of the wicked. The same Greek word modifies in both places. II. Neighborly Treatment T o w a r d s Strangers. Luke 10:25-37. A certain lawyer, attempting to trap Jesus, asked Him, “What shall I do to in herit eternal lifef" Jesus replied by ask ing him what was written. To the latter’s query the lawyer replied, quoting Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18, the two great com mandments, namely, to love God with all one’s being, and his neighbor as himself. Jesus commended him as he answered correctly, and exhorted him to do thus that he might live. It is very difficult for men to rise above legal standards. The popular conception is that men must do certain good works in order to obtain eternal life. God in His wisdom refused to put salva tion upon the condition of obedience to law or good works. Men are saved by trusting Jesus absolutely. When one does thus trust he will naturally do that which
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