T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May, 1941
188
New Testament, election generally ap pears after the gospel has been preached and decisions have been made, not be fore. This does not mean that election is based on what man may do, for the Bible teaches that it is based on the good pleasure of God. But while this is true, it is also true that the Bible never presents the doctrine openly until God has offered life and men have made their decisions. See Matthew 11:20-27 and John 6:64, 65 for fine examples. Notice also the precise order in the lesson (Acts 13:44-52). 1. We find the offer of the gospel (v. 44). Almost the entire city had gathered to hear this Word. And the offer was to all, not to some select group, but to both Jews and Gentiles (cf. v. 47). 2. We find definite decisions for and against the gospel. (Some who heard the free offer set themselves against the truth, “contradicting and blasphem ing” (v. 45). But others heard the mes sage with gladness, and “glorified the word” by receiving it unto eternal life (v. 48). This is the place where human responsibility enters the situation. If men are lost, it is not because God is not willing to save, nor because men are bound for hell by reason of some ir revocable decree, but because they have willfully rejected the light and chosen darkness: “Seeing ye put it from you” (v. 46) is the way Paul describes what happened. The full responsibility for their doom rests on the lost, not on a sovereign God. 3. We now meet the truth of divine election. After the work was done, af ter the offer had been made, after men had heard and made their decisions— then the workers, looking back, re flected that “as many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (v. 48). Thus the Holy Ghost teaches us that it is the priceless privilege of the preacher or soul-winner to seek refuge in the divine sovereignty, but only after the day’s work is faithfully done. Golden Text Illustration G alatians 3:26 A visitor was once watching a .group of slaves, slouching and shuffling pff to their work. One tall, broad-shoul dered fellow strode on, head erect and with the gait of a man. “How’s that?” the visitor asked. “Oh, he’s the son of an African king,” was the reply. “He never forgets that.” Alas! we forget, amid the drudgeries of earth, that we are sons and daugh ters of the King of kings, and in train ing for thrones in His empire! —The Christian Herald. A Man Who Had Never Walked A cts 14:1-18 MEMORY VERSE: “Thy faith hath made thee whole” .(Matt. 9:22).
Some individuals might say that this verse reveals that there are some who cannot be saved. The answer is that all who believe and accept the gospel find that they have been ordained to eternal life. To know whether one has been ordained, one has only to accept the gospel. Let us imagine that there is a door through which one enters to ob tain eternal life. On the outside of the door are the words: “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17); on the inside of the door one may read: “Chosen . . . in him be fore the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). For Paul and Barnabas, the opposi tion continued, and finally they were cast out of that city, and they made their way to Iconium. However, the disciples left at Antioch were “filled With joy, and with, the Holy Ghost" (v. 52). They were not. helplessly de pendent upon Ahe presence of the preach ers when once they had the Person who was preached. Too many preachers speak in such a manner that the people become attached to them, rather than to Christ. m . T he U nity of the B elievers (G al. 3 : 26 - 29 ) Believers, whether Jews or Gentiles, become children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. They are all members of the same spiritual family, possessing the same nature imparted at regeneration, and having the same Father. In that family, there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, but all are “one in Christ Jesus” (v. 28). Racial, geographical, and other distinctions are obliterated. All born-again ones have the same relationship to Christ and to God. There are some who enjoy more of what they have than others do, but there is none who has more than any other (cf. Eph. 1:3). Points and Problems In one verse of this lesson there is a statement which has puzzled many sincere students of the Word: “And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). Some have' passed over it in silence. Others have tried to explain it away. It is better to accept the statement just as it reads, ■ * but at the same time note carefully its setting in the whole Biblical account. The doctrine of election is certainly taught in Scripture, and we do not honor God when we try to ignore or explain it away. But on the other hand, the Bible never introduces the truth of either predestination or election as the spearpoint of a theological system. Thus presented, it often becomes a cold and forbidding doctrine. But it is never so if we teach it in its proper New Testa ment setting. Wherever declared in the
APPROACH: The Bible says: “Every good and every perfect gift is from
above” (Jas. 1:17). If we owe all that we have to God, who should receive the gT6ry for any success that comes to us in life? No true Christian will want glory for him self. LESSON STORY:
5 ' b l V I S I O n
When Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel in Iconium, they were persecuted and finally they were stoned and driven out of that city. They fled to Lystra, where they found a man who had never walked. When Paul looked at him, he saw that he had faith to be healed, and he told him to stand upright on his feet.' Immediately he leaped and walked. Can you imagine how happy the man was when he found that he could walk? Can you imagine how excited the peo ple were? They thought Barnabas and Paul were gods, and they brought oxen and garlands and were going to make a sacrifice to them. Do you think Paul and Barnabas liked this? No, indeed! They ran in among the people and told them to stop, saying, “We also are men of like pas sions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God” (Acts 14:15), You see, they took every opportunity they could to preach the gospel and spread the missionary cause. And God blessed them because they Refused glory for themselves and gave it all to Him.
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Object Lesson F lashlight F riends
OBJECTS: Four flashlights. (On the lens of one glue a yellow heart on which a dollar sign has been drawn. On an other put a black heart with the word “Sin” printed on i t On the third place a green heart with “Envy” written on it. On the last glue a purple heart marked “Pride.”) LESSON: How do you like these four flashlight friends? They are different from ordinary flashlights. They have hearts. Did you ever hear of flashlights with hearts? Flashlights are intended to shine and give light in the dark. But instead of seeing the light from these flashlights, you are attracted by their hearts.
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