wealth to God who has caused his crops to grow. That very night God spoke to the rich man, saying, “ Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall these things be which thou hast provided?” The great missionary, Paul, reminded young Timothy that we did not bring anything into this world and we cannot take anything with us when we die. We should be content with what God provides for us and constantly praise Him for His gifts. Rather than want much money and many “ things” just because others have them, God’s children should desire to be rich in good deeds and willing to return to God at least one tenth of all that He gives to them. Even though Christians have but little money and goods, they should always be willing to share with those who have less than they. God says that “ the love of money is the root of all evil.” Those who love money are making it their god. Those who share the good things which God gives to them find that He always richly repays all that they give to Him and to others in His name. Sept. 13, 1953 Courageous Christian Witnessing 2 Tim. 1:3-14 Pointers on the Lesson Second Timothy is the last message of the inspired Apostle. He soon will be taking his departure from the scenes of earth. His last message is in the form of an encouragement to his son in the faith, Timothy, to remain faithful in spite of the difficulty of the times. This mes sage, of course, was intended for all the servants of the Lord, especially those who are the ministers of the Gospel. The first two verses of chapter one form the salu tation o f the letter. The Blessing of a Godly Heritage w . 3-7 Paul is always thankful. This is one way he manifested his new birth. Here he is thankful for Timothy and for the fact that God had prompted him to be faithful in prayer for this young servant of the Lord. In verse 3 Paul also recog nizes the debt he owes to his forefathers in the matter of his salvation—“ whom I serve from my forefathers” . It is true that every individual must be born again personally no matter how pious his par ents may have been. Yet it is a great thing to have had parents of the godly sort whose prayers and influence have much to do with putting their sons and daughters in a receptive attitude toward the gospel. Paul finds great joy as he thinks of what grace had done in the life of Tim othy. His own life had been enriched thereby. He is thankful for the exempli fication of faith he witnessed in Timothy which had also been present in his mother and grandmother (v. 5). It no doubt was a source of satisfaction to him as he real ized that he had a part in the establish ment of this faith in Timothy’s heart. Paul urges Timothy to remain diligent in the service to which he had been called. He is exhorted to “ stir up the gift of God” which was in him. Doubtless this refers CONTINUED ►
Sunday School Lesson Helps
Homer A. Kent, Th.D. Allison Arrowood (children) Lesson material is based upon outlines of the International Sunday School Lessons copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ In the United States of America. Sept.’ 6 , 1953 The Christian's Use of Possessions 1 Tim. 6:6-19 Pointers on the Lesson t
it is very deficient if it is only negative. Christianity is aggressive. It must declare itself against its opponents. In this con nection there must be a laying hold in a practical way of the things that accom pany our faith (v. 12). Still further, there must be a keeping of his testimony clear before the world until “ the appear ing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 14). At this point the "Apostle cannot refrain from indulging in a bit of inspired exalta tion of our blessed God. He is shown to be the only One worth worshiping. The Lord Jesus Christ has revealed Him and through Christ He has become ap proachable. Finally, those who would follow in the way of true blessing must not trust in uncertain riches. Bather their trust must be “ in the living God” (v. 17). The reasoning is logical. Material riches are “ uncertain” . They cannot be counted on. They are as slippery as oil. But the divine riches are certain. They will bless the soul upon this earth, and then will go on blessing the soul throughout all eternity. If perchance God’s people are possessed with earthly riches, the sensible thing for them to do is to put their riches to good purposes so that they will bring in returns for eternity. It is very possible to have material riches transformed into souls saved by the alchemy of divine grace. (See Luke 16:9.) Helps for the Children Sharing God's Gifts Luke 12:6-23; 1 Tim. 6:6-19 Memory verse: . . God . . . giveth us all things to enjoy. . . Be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to com municate." Probably most of you boys and girls leceive an allowance (some spending money) from your parents each week or each month. What do you do with this money? To whom does it belong? Just because you have earned it, are you free to do anything that you want with the money? One day the Lord Jesus told of a rich man who was a farmer. Because his crops grew so well, he decided to tear down the barns which he had been using and build larger barns to store his crops. Then he would say to himself: “ Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” The rich man did not even think of sharing his wealth with others who were not rich nor did he think of giving any of his
The keynote of First Timothy may rightly be said to be, “ That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the house of God” (3:15). It has a primary application to ministers of the gospel. However there are principles and teachings that ought to apply to all be lievers. This is definitely so in this week’s lesson. The Christian's Greatest Possession w . 6-10 The first verse of this section is the outstanding verse of the section: “ But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Anyone who is possessed of “ godliness with contentment” is rich no matter how little of this world’s goods he may have. Godliness means simply godlikeness. Those who are possessed of god-likeness in its truest sense have Christ in their hearts and have the source of real contentment. Compared with such riches all the ma terial possessions in the world are paltry indeed. The foolishness of putting too much emphasis upon money or possessions is suggested by the fact that we brought nothing into this world and we will not take anything away with us when we die. The danger of fixing attention upon material things is that it tends to lead men away from God (v. 9). A ll we need to do is to look around us and see what riches are doing to lead men to destruction and into all kinds of sins and sorrows. “ The love of money is a root of all evil” (literal translation). Certainly this can be abundantly substantiated. Men will do anything for money. They are doing it today. Thus the believer ought to center his attention upon the things of God rather than the material things of this world. True contentment comes this way. The Way to Possess God's Best vv. 11-19 First, the “man of God” ought to flee from all those things which result from trusting or fixing attention upon money or material things. Second, he ought to follow after the things of God (v. 11). Next, he has need to fight the good fight of faith. Being a Christian is a positive matter. It has its negative aspects but
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