The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-08-10
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Ananias and sapphira-Acts5 8: 1-1l-Au.
gust II, 1S92.
Lsnccially Arranged from S S. Ouarterly.l

Ananias and sapphira-Acts5 o: 1-1l-Au.
gust II, 1891.
Especially Arranged from S. S. QUARTERLY
GOLDEN TExT-Be not deceived; God is not
nocked for whatsoever man soweth, that
shall he also reap-Gal @: Z.
CENTRAL TEuTH-The hope of the hypocrite
shall perish.
OF the last lesson.
PLACE.-JeruSalem.
HELPS OVER HARD PLACEs.-l. "Ananias:"
grace Of God Nothing is known of him but
what is related here "Sapphira:" a sapphire,
or beauty "Sold" ostensbly 10 give to the
poor q Kept back part" while pretending
to give il all ". 81. "His wife also being priyy
to it," mentioned TO show that the sin was de-
liberately committed Laid it at the apos-
ties feet" in public, at meeting, thus
seeking 10 gain notoriety as gener-
Gus man and a saint 8. "Lie TO
the Holy Ghost" because the Offering was
made TO God rather than to man. 4. while it
remained" undedicated to God. No one com
PEELED him TO give away his money D. Gave
UP the ghost" his spirit; life. Peter did not
kill him. 1t was the direct act OF God. 8.
Buried HIM" the Jews usually buried their
dead the same day they died. 7,8 His wife,"
Peter gave her an opportunity OF confession.
But he did not wait for her TO know how her
husband had died. for then her confession would
have been insincere. And great fear (awe)
came upon all the church," great fear, fear
of God, an intelligent fear of his searching Wis
ion and unerring Judgment, and dread convic-
ton of the deadliness of sin. To produce such
a fear as should deter others from like otfense
was Gods intention in this miracle OF punish
ment The church were afraid to sin, afraid to
be hypocrites, and this tended to their purity.
The natural result of this was seen in great
numbers added 10 the church ". 1D. And God
worked a great number Of miracles OF healing
through the apostles. Spiritual ana
temporal blessings abounded. (2) Upon the
world. Upon as many as heard" Others were
ca afraid on account OF their sins, and this
tended to their conversion. (b) Having wit
messed the awful consequences of inconsistency
in the profession Of the Christian faith, they
felt that there was no little peril in joining
community endued with miraculous power OF
discriminating hypocrisy and unworthy motives,
as well as with gifts of languages and healing.
And this tended ". 49, TO save the church from
all pretenders and hypocrites, and keep it pure
| and powerful for its work. The punishment OF
these is not q more signal proof Of Gods hatred
of falsehood, than the sparing of so many liars
| is an evidence of His mercy.
LESSON NOTES.
The early church was in great danger
| from false adher ents, owing to the fact
! that for reasons that seemed wise to
| them, all the converts sold their prop
erty and ''pooled" the proceeds from
which they all lived in common. 1t
was to be feared that designing people
would for "lcaves and fishes creep into
the church, and at its very infancy
make it gathering of those who were
hypocritical This would have injured
it much at time when it needed more
than ever to be pure. And suppose
that this was the reason why such
stern measures were taken by Peter to
punish those who by their hypocrisy
tried to get into the church for the sake
Of gain.
Now You may well take up the mat.
ter of lying That this is very com
mon sin, no one who knows anything
will for moment doubt. 1t is far more
prevalent than drunkenness, and just as
bad in many ways. Now there is nc
one who says that it is right at times
and under proper circumstances to get
drunk. But | am sorry to say that
there are many people. and not a few OF
them Christians, who say that there arc
circumstances in which it is right tc
tell lie. This has been repeatedly af
firmed by some persons in days past
when our lessons have led us to such d
| discussion.
A lie is never justifiable Now as
soon as anyone says this, there arc
those who begin to say: We'll, undo,
such and such circumstances, would il
not be right to lic?' That is not tn,
way to come at this matter. Let IN,
suggest u better way to begin, Ask {
few plain questions first.
Question /. Who is tho author of tht
truth? God. In fact, He is the truth
From Him all truth flows and for Hin
it is impossible to lie. Ii God should
under pressure of circumstances. tel
one lie, all Heaven would stand aghast
for they would say: The foundation
of the truth has been undermined. |
God has lied once, we never can tel
when He will lie again
| Question .. Who is the author of lies
Satan. ''Ile is liar and the father o
it" John S:4i.) All who tell lies ar
by that very act made children of hir
who is the first liar.
Question 5. How did all the evil tina
is in this world start? by lie. Satal
lied to Eve. and she believed and actcC
on his lie, and the result may in part b
seen to-day. The full result will onl,
be seen in hell when eternity comes t.
an end
Question 4. What does God say will
be the portion of liars? "All liars shall
have their part in the lake that burnett
with fire and birthstone" Does thi
verse make no exception as to som
liars? No, it says all liars, and tina
leaves none out, even if they tell lie
that ARE allowable"
Question 5. Do you ever want anyon
to lie to you? No, certainly not The
what right have you to lie to anyon
else, even if you think that it is 70
their good? Anyway, who gave yo
the right to judge as to when you hav
a right to lie, and when you have not
Question 6. If anyone has once lied t
you, do you ever trust them again? Nc