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| The Sunday School |
MAX'S FIRST SIN.
January 19, 1913. Gen. 3.
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mitteth sin Is the servant of sin."?
John 8:34.
HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS.
M.?Gen. 3-1-12, 22-24. Man's First
Sin.
T.?Job 14:1-13. Man's Fraillty.
"W.?Ps. 90. Man's Transitorincss.
T.?Rom. 3:9-20. All Men Sinners.
F.?Rom. 7:14-25. Spiritual Conflict.
S.?Rom. 8:1-11. Carnal and Spiritual
Mind.
S.?Rom. 5:12-21. Sin and Grace.
SIIORTER CATECHISM.
V- 33. w iiai is jusuncauont
A. Justification is an act of God's
free grace, wherein he pardoneth all
our sins, and accepteth us as righteous
in his sight, only for the righteousness
of Christ, Imputed to us, and received
by faltli alone.
LESSON OUTLINE.
The tempter and the first temptation,
s. 1-6.
The first sin, vs. 6.
It* punishment, vs. 7-24.
The first promise, vs. 15, 21.
LESSON STn>Y.
A Personal Devils He came in the
guise of a serpent. He approached Intelligent
beings. With a sophistry born
of his shrewdness and evil purpose, he
appealed to their reason and led them
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that he was not a mere influence or
myth but a person. So of all his other
appearances as recorded in the Scriptures.
The Tempter must have personality
like the tempted.
The PeTil's Wlllness: He did not
come to Adam hnd Eve at first with a
direct challenge of God, or a direct
den'al of God's command. Such an
approach would have heen too bald and
too bold. It would have put Adam and
Eve on their guard, or they would have
revolted against the implied condemnation
of God. He adopted a shrewder
course. He led then to the act of disobedience
through their own method
and will, craftily guiding their errant
thoughts Into his own prepared channels,
and almost without the consciousness
on their part that he was leading
them.
A Misplaced Interrogation: Whenever
the soul begins to call in question
God's word and ways, the mischief Is
begun. "Hath God said?" He put it
Into Adam's and Eve's minds to question
whether the prohibition as to the
tree was really true. Had God uttered
It? Had they understood him? Perhaps
there was a mistake somewhere.
When one begins thus to question, with
an interrogation whloh starts In an in
quiry and uncertainly nnu enus m a.
doubt, the evil has been wrought.
Something else Is put In the place of
God. The prime error of all the modern
criticism of God's word lies Just hero.
71 Is but a repetition of Satan's original
inquiry, "Hath God said?"
Progress in Temptation: Satan did
not dare to coine out at first. Adam
and Eve would hare seen through him
at once and would have recoiled. His
flrst ston was to insinuate a doubt:
"Hath God aatd?" Hla next atep was to
deny that the evil which the woman described
would come. Hla next was to
nssert that so far fron evil coming,
positive good would follow. "Ye shall
be as gods, knowing good and evil."
When a young man Is tempted to drink.
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t'?e Tempter always begins by making
the tempted one doubt all that Is Bald of
the evil. Then he ventures on the denial
of the facts of the case. Then he
puts before him the lure of the Indulgence.
Satan Is repeating his old tac
urg every any, in every age, in every
land.
Sin's Subterfnges: It tries to Justify
itself by calling in question God's
word, by denyingg the reasonable, and
fact of the penalties pronounced
aeainst sin, by picturing the sweets of
sin, bv having companionship, involving
others In the wrong-doing and in
the results, by laying It, in the most
cowaTdlv manner, upon others. Adam
was willing even to charge it all to his
wire, and then In Ms still further ahufIfne
and shlftlroe he tried to hold God
himself responsible. "The -woman
whom thou pavest to he with me, she
cave m? of the tree, and T did eat."
This last act of Adam was sufficient to
brand bf-r as totaUv eone aside. His
and Eve's hldlnp was but the expre?rlon
o' all these elements of evil. "Sin
makes cowards of us all." "T was
afraid, because I was naked."
The Orleln of Sin: Why it was permitted
to enter Into the world we may
not be able to tell. How a God who had
infinite power allowed Its existence we
mav not say. One thinp we do know,
and that Is that God Is of purer eve*
than to behold sin and cannot look
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must not be charged with It Anot^e"thing
Is certain, and we know ft, and
that is. had freedom of will not been
given, man would not have been msn:
and It was In this freedom that man
made his choice and elected sin. A far
more Important question to us is, Have
we accepted the sovereign remedy for
sin which God has provided at Infinite
cost to himself?
The Results of Sin: First, there was
immediate and unhappy consciousness
of their condition of nakedness. Then
cme effort to hide their shame. Then
they hid from God. Then came the
shifting and shufTllng and foolishness
of the attempted accounting for their
guilt. Then came the curse of toll, of
sweat and thorns and briars, of pain
to the woman. Then came the expulsion
from the Garden and from the
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ud God was broken. The Image of
God was effaced. Posterity was involved
in the consequences.
Adnm a Representative: Adam stood
for all his race in the covenant of
works which he broke. His establlsihment,
through obedience, in holiness
and blessedness would have accrued,
in Its benefits, to all his posterity. So
the evil of his sin came to all. The
imputation of his guilt to others is no
unjust, unkind act of God. if so, then
the giving of his benefits to others, had
he stood, would have been unwarranted.
Nay more: If guilt be not imputed, how
may we reason or expect that the righteousness
of Christ, the second Adam,
should he counted to believers, The
imputations stand or fall together.
Where Art Tlioul This Is God's call
to all the children of Adam. Where are
they? A scheme of grace by which they
may recover from the fall is offered to
nil. God's loving voice lt? crying to
men to come out from their hiding place
In sin and to embrace the offer of life
and of restoration of the divine Image.
Invite one special Guest with special
earnestness to meeting, and let him
irow that the welcome will be sure
Mat warm. Invito Christ there! He
will come, whenever asked. Where
two or three meet in his name, asking
him to he present, "There am I," nays
he, "in the midst of them." His presence
will make a better prayer-meeting
every time.
in op the south
lYoung People's SocietiesI
V 'I
BETTER PRAYER MEETINGS.
Topic for Sunday, January 19: How
Tan Wf Belter Onr Prayer Meetlnga?
Matthew 18:18-20.
DAILY READINGS.
Monday: "More private prayer. Matthew
6:5, 6.
Taruilar * OmW ???^11? -
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thew 6:7-13.
Wednesday: More faith In prayer.
Mark 11:20-24.
Thursday: More earnestness. Genesis
32:24-31.
Friday: Unity in prayer. Acts 12:1217.
Saturday: Spirit-inspired prayer.
Inde 20.
A glance at most of our prayer-meetings
will show that this is a most practical
question.
The problem is right here, with us
How far are we responsible for the
conditions which need remedy,
It will be well for us to make this an
Intensely personal question and to give
its proper answer in our own acts.
More prayer Is needed to make more
prayer-meetings of the right kind.
There's plenty of prayer such as It Is,
at most of the prayer-meetings.
But "such as It Is" is a qualification
which we might well seek to strike out.
There Is really hut one kind" of prayer,
and that Is the right kind. Anything
else is not prayer.
The formal prayers must he got out
of the way. They are not of the nature
of talking to Cod. They are oni3?"^)ratIng
to men or saying over to oneself.
Prayer meetings do not thrive on them.
A great deal of nrivate nrayer. too.
preceding the public gathering, will
help to change the complexion of the
irirayer-meetlng and give It a healthier
tone and hue. We do not usually
enter the meeting well prepared.
PraycrB need not he couched In stilted
phrase In order to be prayers. Asking
with the simplicity of the child is
Just as acceptable to God and helpful
to the congregation as any atsdled
piece of oratory or phrase-making.
There, should he many prayers and
short nravcrs. Each one leading might
rot to feci It to he his duty to compass
the heavens and the earth and to touch
upon every problem of theology and
service In each prayer he makes.
It has been found a good method
sometimes for the one In charge tn
give to each person who Is called t?pon
the topics In .which the latter Is to lead.
This secures (brevity, variety, and a
most excellent practice or exercise. It
is stimulating In Its effect.
The great aim of the true prayermeeting
will be to emphasise the estimate
which God ;tnls apon concerted
prayer. "If any two oif you will agree,"
Is his condition. Whatever makes or
Increases the realization of this make*
that much better a prayor-meetln-g and
that much happier -people In It
Formality usually means emptiness,
ft is not the outward In the meeting
that makes it but the Inward; and the
life of the prayer-mcetlttf wilt mako
its shape. The meeting Is formal as a
rulo because there !s no lite there.
T ffa anil ?ewml V* nn air a f,h In <ro MirtoWo
of belnr moulded into beauty. When
they are not they can be shaped.
Pufblie prayer, concerted prayer, private
prayer all need the spirit of grace
and supplication to make them successful.
That earnestness, sense of need,
unity, confession of sin, a grateful
spirit must be under every prsyer to
give it efFect, is a fact that needs only
to be stated to be believed.
[January 8. 1913
The Prayer Meeting
THE GOODLY PEARL.
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.MatL 15:46, 4fi. Week of January IS.
This parable is intended to illustrate
substantially the same truth as that
presentt-d in the parable of the hid
treasure. The Important truth In both
parables is that our Lord'a kingdom,
which Is a kingdom of abounding grace
and salvation, ia the most valuable of
all possessions, and becomes ours on
the condition that we are prepared for
its sake to cheerfully surrender all
earthly treasures. Not that this is literally
required. There are many instances
in which it is. There is a
great cloud of witnesses who have suffered
the sundering of all earthly ties
that the.y might remain true to Christ
or might dedicate their whole life to
him. But suoh heroic service, often involving
martyrdom, has not been demanded
of the great multitude of believers.
However, ono great principle is involved
in the case of all believers, the
subordination of everything to our relation
to Christ: the renunciation of
everything that would mar that relation,
and the consecration of every interest
to his service and glory. He
blesBea some of his servants with
wealth, hut that wealth must be sulbject
to their Master's use or disposal. To
some ho gives positions of authority,
hut that trust must be made subordinate
to the honor of him from whom all
rightful authority is derived, and must
be dedicated to his glory. Some are
endowed with unusual personal attractions,
which may tempt to pride and
vain-glory, but which if dedicated to
him wili be most sacred and the means
or renaering nonor to nis name.
The distinctive teaching of this parable
Is the emphasis that it places on
seeking. The merchantman is represented
as devoting himself to that as
his vocation. His time, judgment, and
effort are engaged In this one pursuit
The truth emphasized Is one of
very wide application. The souls of
men aro seeking goodly pearls. They
often seek In very mistaken and foolish
-ways. They often have vfcry perverted
notions of the nature of the objects
of their quest Such doubtless
was the caJ?e of the weary and b^avy
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rest If lliey would oa.Tie to him. There
1e a very broad and deep meaning In the
Psalmists words, when he said, "My
rouI thlrsteth lor God, for the living
God," or, "My heart and my flesh
orleth out for the living God." These
are the words of his servant, hut they
express uninterpreted or unconfessed
longing < that are native to tJio aoui, for
God's Image there is not totally effaced.
Indeed this 'native hungering which
none but God can satisfy accounts for
much of the restless actlrlty, the running
to and fro that we see In society
at large. The soul was made for God
and wil", find no rest until It rests In
him.
How deplorable that the multitudes
nttempt to feed their souls with" that
Vhich will not satisfy or nourish. Wlhv
will men spend their oagney for that
wblcth Is not bread and their labor for
V* o f nr Vi A Aib aaMdfialh n/\f I? WKtr will
they forsake God, the fountain of living
waters and hew them out cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
L*t us he wise ljke the "merchantman
seeking goodly pearls, who when
he had found one pearl of great price,
went and sold all that he had and
bougjbt It"