31
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
January 1932
(tin ierna tiona l LESSON COMMENTARY Outline and Exposition By B. B. Sutcliffe Blackboard Outlines Golden Text Illustrations Children’ s Division In H oly Places By Bessie B. Burch By Alan S. Pearce By Helen Gailey By Herbert H.Tay
we cannot explain; shall we hesitate, then, to believe the Lord’s words because we cannot at present, understand them? He promises that the day will come when we shall understand, and until then, it is the path o f wisdom to believe simply because He speaks. 3. There must be a continuance in His Word. One who deserts God’s W ord deserts discipleship. The danger today is that, after we have been taught a little from the Word, we imagine that we are no longer in need of it, and we turn to what men have written, and give attention to what they say, forgetting that the Lord’s W ord alone is sufficient for the Lord’s disciples. The cause o f the present-day wide-spread ig norance o f truth and the powerlessness of Christians is the forsaking o f the W ord o f the Lord. Where the W ord is continued in, that is, put into practice, freedom and power always result. The soul comes to know the truth, and in that knowledge, it finds liberty from the bondage o f sin. The truth sets free from the accusations o f conscience as it brings before the believer the work o f the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It sets free from the _blindness o f tradition by which the Pharisees were so tightly bound. It sets free from the fear o f the unknown by opening the vistas o f God’s wisdom and government. It sets free from the igno rance of nature. And finally, it sets free from the death brought by sin, in which all are involved, “ for all have sinned.” But such liberty is little known, because the Lord’s W ord is little known; it is but faintly^ understood, as though it were an impossible ideal; it is but feebly desired, as though it would steal away some good from our lives; and it is rarely sought, as evidenced by the scarcity o f real continu ance in the Lord’s Word. II. T he U niversality of S in ’ s S lavery (33, 34). These two verses reveal three funda mental errors which combine to show the universality o f sin’s slavery. 1. The pride o f nature. When the Lord spoke o f the truth that would set men free, the persons whom He addressed immediately denied that they had ever been in bondage. Yet at that time they were nationally under the dominion o f Rome and spiritually under the hand of Satan. The natural heart rebels at the thought o f any kind o f slavery. But to deny its existence serves merely to bring it to light. 2. The accusation of. nature. The denial o f the truth o f Christ’s words put Him in the position o f a falsi fier. Nature does not hesitate to impugn evil, even to God, in order to defend itself. Any attempt to defend what we are by nature really amounts to accusing God of unrighteousness.
FEBRUARY 7, 1932 THE SLAVERY OF SIN M atthew 24:45-51; J ohn 8 :31-36
and this accounts for its choice for the temperance lesson. It will be best, how ever, to present to the class just one of these passages, and thus avoid confusion. Inasmuch as the quarter’s lessons are found in the Gospel o f John, the passage from that book is here discussed. The intemperate use o f strong drink is not re ferred to, but o f course it is included in the “sin” and its slavery to which our Lord here calls attention. I. T he A ntidote for S in ' s S lavery (31, 32). The whole o f the chapter should be carefully read. In it, our Lord appears bringing light for those in darkness, lib erty for those in slavery, and life for those in death. Our lesson is concerned with the second o f these aspects—liberty for those in slavery. The Lord had been opposed by the Pharisees, but as He spoke to them, some o f the common people heard His words and bfelieved Him. It is to this company o f believing ones that the words of our lesson are addressed, not to those who did not believe. The word “on” should not appear in the text. The correct reading is : “Those who believed him.” In these two verses, we are given the steps by which one may secure the' antidote for sin’s slavery. 1. There must be the hearing of. the Lord’s words. He is ready to speak to all who will lis ten. His words are found nowhere but in the Scriptures; hence these must be read if one would hear the words o f liberty. Today, while we do not have the privilege o f listening to Him speak as He did when on earth, we have the greater privilege of reading what He said. 2. There must be belief in what He said. The Lord Jesus said many things which, .at first sight, are difficult to comprehend. But if liberty from sin is to be secured, there must be belief in all that He said, irrespective o f whether or not it is under stood. In the common affairs o f our daily lives, we believe many things that BLACKBOARD LESSON
Lesson T ext: John 8:31-36. Golden Text: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34). The Temple in Jerusalem T he words of our lesson were spoken by Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. That temple was built by Herod for the Jews. It stood upon the same site as the first temple, which was built by Solo mon, and upon the site o f the second tem ple built after the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon. In time, true to
Jesus’ prophecy, it was torn down by T i tus, prince o f Rome, less than forty years after the events re corded in this lesson. Not one stone was left upon another. Today, upon iden tically the same spot, stands the building
Outline and Exposition It is difficult to see any connection be tween the two passages which the In ternational Sunday School Committee has chosen as the portion for study in this lesson. The subject matter o f each is en tirely different from the other. The word “ drunken” occurs in the latter passage, On the east, just outside the building, is a raised platform paved with flagstones. When standing upon this, one can see, through the ancient arches erected upon the edge o f this platform, the soft, tree- covered dome of the Mount o f Olives. The platform corresponds to Solomon’s porch, upon which Jesus often walked as He taught the people. The time-worn arches correspond to the Beautiful Gate, at which the beggar sat, who was healed when Feter and John came to the temple. From the Beautiful Gate, a wide flight of stone steps leads down to the ground level. From these, one may walk directly to the Gol den Gate in the east wall o f the city, which remains closed, waiting for the coming of the Messiah. which is commonly called the Mosque of Omar. This is a misnomer, for it is neither a mosque, nor was it named for Omar. The Mohammedans call it “ The Dome of the Rock.” It is so called because under its shining copper dome can be seen the bare rock o f the hill, Mount Moriah, jutting up through the rocky soil. It was upon this rock that, two thousand years before Jesus entered the temple, Abraham offered to God his only son, Isaac. It is said that this rock filled the most holy place o f the tem ple o f Solomon. T o the Hebrews, there fore, it is the center o f the world.
Y íelding O nce to D eliberate sin
U s I n t o
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