The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-03-20
cHNlsT FORoIVINo SIN.

chNlsT FORolvlNo SIN.
international s-,nday s school Lesson for
March %, 1890.
Especially arranged fro. 8. 8. ouarteriy1
LESSON TExr-Luke b:i7.06.
GOLDEN TExr-who can forgive sins but
God daionef--Lukc :21. N
CENTRAL TRuTH--Jesus Christ forgives che
sins Of all who come 70 Him IN faith.
TrME-Summer Of A. d. 20 several weeks
after the last lesson.
PLAcE-The city Of Capernsum in Galilee.
PARALLEL AccoUNTs--Matt. e:i-8; Mark
2:1-12. Jesus between thirty-one and thirty.
two years old. Near the middle Of His min.
istry. John the Baptist in prison at Macherus.
INrRopUCT1oN-Jesus, after His great day at
Capernaum Less. 10), went on IN evangelizing
tour through Qalilee with the four disciples
LESS. 1D. Only one incident in that tour is re.
then returned TO CapeYnsum mark 2:D.
HELPS OVER HARD PLAcHs--i7 On certain
day. after His return. In private house in
Capernaum. Phortsess: sect Of the Jews,
very particular about the outward observance
of the law. Doctors: those learned in the law
and teachers Oft the scribcs. The pocer cfths
Lord Wds pressst to heoI them: not the Phar.
isees, but any who were sick. II should read
was present with Him to heal" 18 A 0ed: .
Tken NTH a p 10y: palsy is short for paralysis,
q disease Of tho nerves which destroys the
power Of motion or Of feeling, or both. Tho
term palsy, or paralysis, is used by the ancient
physicians in . much wider sense than by our
modern men Of science. II included not only
what we call paralysis, which is rarely very
painful, but also catalcpsy and tetanus;
|. O., cramps and lock-jaw. The cramps, In
Oriental countries, Is fearful malady, and by no
means infrequent. It is caused by the chills Of
the night. The limbs when seized by 1t remain
immovable, sometimes turned In and some
times out In the same position as when they
were first seized. The person afflicted re-
sembles man undergoing tho torture and ex.
periences nearly the same exquisite sufferings.
10. Tn U.nt upon thi h0u'efop and let hffn
down through the taing: the common houses,
such as this probably was, were low, with fiat
roofs, covered with tiles or earth, and with
starways from the street to the roof. What
these four did was not uncommon in the East.
90 7nsirJ Joth. tho faith of tho man and his
friends. Jesus saw their hearts, and they
proved their faith by overcoming difflculties.
Thy sins are forgiven: his first need and desire.
81. BlGsphemies: evil speaking Of God and re-
ligion; acting as II he could do what God only
does. 49, Whether 70 easier to sdv: not which is
easier to do, but to prove the truth Of what you
say. AS, for instance, 1t is not SO easy to speak
Chinese as French; but 1t Is easier for one who
Is ignorant to say that he can speak Chinese,
for few could detect his pretonsions; but multi.
tudes could detect his pretensions to French.
"a But that ysn,ay kno,c: by Divine act which
they could see, He proves the reality OF the 9th.
er Divine act they could not see.
FORGIVENESS OF SINs-QD Forgiveness Is not
merely the taking away Of the punishment OF
sin, but it is restoration to the family Of God,
to His favor to the enjoyment Of His love, to
being children and heirs Of God (9 Forgive.
ness includes the washing away Of sins. twill
be remembered no more. The past life will be
seen in the radiance Of Gods love, which will
make US forget the sin in admiration OF Gods
goodness and mercy and love, In the salvation
Of such as we are (9 Sin is forgiven for Christ's
sake, because He has by His atonement made It
possible for God to be just, and yet justify Qor-
give) those who believe. The atonement re.
moves the evil which would come upon the in.
dividual and upon the community II FREQ pardon
were offered to all without this preparation and
condition.
LESSON PoINTs.-The great need. The
case Of this man was pitiful, and most
probably hopeless. He had doubtless
tried many doctors, but all in vain; none
could help, much less heal. If he was
to be healed, Jesus must do it, or he
must remain all the rest of his life
hopeless paralytic. In many respects
the case of the sinner is an exact
parallel to that Of this poor man. The
sinner can by no means help himself.
In many cases great effort has been
made to break away from the bondage
of sin, and to undo that which has been
done, but all in vain. Friends can not
give any assistance; and the case Of the
sinner, unless help comes from above,
is as desperate as that Of the man in
our story. Jesus must help, or all is
vain. But notice in the story:
The great help. First, the mans
spiritual wants are met, and then with
single word his bodily ailments are
cared for; SO that, though his friends
had to carry him to that house, he would
have been able to carry any one Of them
home with him on his back. As in all
the other cases that we have studied,
his cure was immediate and complete.
So, too, in the case Of the sinner. When
he brings all his woes to the blessed
Master, he receives full and free pardon.
Jesus never forgives some sins, while
ct the same time He declines to pardon
others. AAor none is His rule. When
at the first the sinner receives pardon,
he is as fully pardoned as he will be
million years hence. And not only so,
but he has the strength given him to
walk in the Christian way forever after.
The fact that many Christians do not
avail themselves Of this power does not
prove that it Is not given, but only that
thew do not now make usa NJ a. IT,
proves their folly and nothing more. 1t
was because of this power that Paul
was able to say: II can do all things
through Christ that strengtheneth me-"
Here lies the secret Of the power of the
sinner. BY Divine help the drunkard
stands firm, the gambler is reformed
and sinners of every kind are estab-
lished. Because they refuse this help
Christians stumble and are brought to