SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON HELPS
blessings from God into the lives of those who give, and it causes those who received the gift to pray for the givers and to praise God for their love. Today there are many reasons why people give of their money to the poor or to the church. Some give to be seen of men, so that others will praise them for their generosity. Some give to try to earn their way to heaven. Some give so that they will not have to pay taxes on part of their money. Those whose gifts truly please God give because they know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and want to show their love for Him. They know that giving is one of the most wonderful ways in which they may serve their Lord. June 14, 1953 The Basis of Christian Liberty Gal. 2:1-10, 19-21 Poniters on the Lesson Galatians has been called the great Magna Charta of Christian liberty; the Emancipation Proclamation for every be liever. W e can well understand there fore why Martin Luther said of this epistle, “ This is my epistle; I am wedded to it.” One of his greatest writings was his commentary on the book of Galatians. The book clearly shows how men are saved. The keynote of the book is sounded in Chapter 2, verse 16: “ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” . Herein it is revealed in a crystal clear fashion that man is justified by faith, plus nothing. The First Church Council w. 1-10 The council written about in this chap ter should be studied in connection with Acts, Chapter 15, wherein the same gath ering is discussed a bit more in detail. The subject was on the matter of law and grace. Some false teachers had been teaching in Antioch that it was not enough that a person be linked to Christ by faith. He must also observe the Jewish ceremonial laW and be circumcised. Thus they were seeking to make salvation a mixture of law and grace. It was in real ity salvation by grace plus works. This is the agelong temptation of Satan where by he seeks to get men to minimize the importance of Christ’s finished and com plete work at Calvary. Paul makes it clear that he went up to Jerusalem to discuss this matter “ by rev elation” (v. 2). In other words, God was in this procedure. He and the deputation with him did not go about this business on their own charge. God was directing them. Paul had Titus, his son in the faith, with him as a sample of those who had embraced the gospel in this new dispen sation without having been circumcised (v. 3). Paul also makes clear that he and those who had embraced the pure gospel gave no consideration to the “ false breth ren” who had come to the church at An- CONTINUED ►
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. June 7, 1953 Principles of Christian Stewardship 2 Cor. 9 Pointers on the Lesson give cheerfully (7). There shpuld be joy in giving, even hilarity. The word cheer ful comes from a Greek word from which we get our English hilarious. Happy the church which has in it a group of hilar ious givers. There w ill be no need for any worldly methods of raising money such as raffle parties, ice cream socials, bazaars, etc.
The matter of money is a ticklish sub ject in some churches. Preachers and the church leaders hesitate to say anything about it lest they might offend someone. But surely this is not the Biblical attitude. It has much to say about money, and the one who faithfully presents God’s Word will not fail to set forth what God has to say with respect to the believers’ respon sibility in regard to giving for the sup port of God’s work. It is surprising to note how much space is taken by the Word to deal with money matters. Preachers and teachers therefore need not hesitate to speak about money to their hearers provided they do it in the scrip tural way. A Radiant Example of Giving 1-5 Paul had often spoken of the liberality of the Corinthians to the Macedonians as he went about raising money to help the poor saints in Palestine. Apparently they were well instructed in the matter of giv ing (1 ,2 ). They found joy in it. Because of their generosity, Paul states that their zeal in this respect “ hath provoked very many” to emulate their example. How ever, as yet their giving was only in the form of pledges. Paul is now ready to ask them to fulfill these pledges. He is soon to be on his way to Jerusalem to bring the aid of the brethren to these needy people. To make sure that these Corinthian brethren did not let him down in view of all the nice things he had said of them to the Macedonians, Paul sent Titus and one or two others to make sure that the pledges aforemade would be ready upon his arrival (3-5). If perchance any of the Macedonians might be traveling with him, he did not want his boasting of the Corinthians to be in vain through their failure to make good on their pledges. The Manner of Giving 6-15 This section reveals how the believers should engage in the ministry of giving. They should give liberally (6). The far mer will not reap an abundant harvest unless he puts plenty of seed in the ground. So the Lord will not bless giv ing of the niggardly sort. They should give purposefully (7). There should be a plan in giving and that plan should be consistently carried out. In this day of grace, the believer should not purpose to give less than they gave under the dispen sation of law. Many find the tithe a good basis for giving. It tends toward regular and sufficient giving so that the needs of the church will be met. And it should be noted'that the tithe antedates the dis pensation of the law. Believers should
Believers should give also in remem brance of God’s grace (w . 8-15). The Lord will not be a debtor to those who give in the scriptural manner. He, too, is on the giving hand. He will never be outdone by any of His children. If they will take the right attitude toward God and the support of His work, they will ex perience His benevolence in a marvelous way. Paul quotes from Psalm 112:9 which shows'the interest of righteous men in other people (v. 9). So the believer will find that if he gives to sustain God’s servants in other places, he will find that a blessing will come back to him. There is a circle of blessing here that is like the sea which gives forth its moisture into the clouds which in turn give rain to water the land and fill the rivers which in turn empty their contents into the sea. Ofttimes gifts of God’s children re- sxilt in conversions of individuals who in turn bring blessing to the givers by their prayers for them (v. 14). Then what believer would think of being niggardly in giving in the light of verse 15? Helps for the Children God Loves A Cheerful Giver 2 Cor. 9 Memory Verse: "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity: far God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). Some of the Christians in the city of Jerusalem were very poor. The great missionary Paul asked Christians in other towns to give money for him to take to these poor people. When Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, he told them that he had used their generous giving as an example to the Macedonian church. Paul wanted Christians to share 'that which God had given them with others, but he wanted the giving to be done gladly as unto the Lord and not because someone was forcing them to give. The letter to the church at Corinth tells us, as it did the Corinthian Christians, what kind of giving is pleasing to God. The gift must be given cheerfully, without any com plaining or any wishing that it did not have to be given. Everything that God’s children have is a gift from God to them. If they gladly give to Him and to His people, He will always richly bless them and supply their every need. When Chris tians give to those in need, their gift does two things. First, it supplies the needs of those who are in want. It also brings
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